Chapter 36: Review

“I know you look down on me. You must think a Water-Fire Spiritual Root is trash, since no one has ever cultivated with it all the way to ascension. Am I supposed to thank you for charitably handing me these cultivation resources?”

“Thanks, but I don’t need them! Besides, I don’t believe a Water-Fire Spiritual Root is trash. Since it exists, there must be a way to cultivate it all the way to ascension. I’m no different from any other cultivator in this world; I’m just walking a path no one has ever taken before!”

“You, on the other hand—you think that because you can’t cultivate, you’re naturally inferior to everyone else. If you care so much about what others think, why do you do things like this? Don’t project your narrow-minded views onto me. I’m telling you, I, Bian Chunzhou, will definitely forge a path through!”

Chen Zui stood at the doorway and spoke up, a bit awkwardly, “Um, did I get here late?”

How could they not call him for a fight after not seeing each other for just one day? Didn’t they agree he would be their absolute best junior brother? Chen Zui glanced at the black-and-blue Mystic Physician Ming. “Was it you who sent someone to leave this saber at the entrance of my cave dwelling?”

Pei Mingshan’s expression was incredibly dark. “You don’t want it either?”

“My mother said that if someone you don’t like gives you a gift, you can refuse it.” Chen Zui set down the box containing the saber. “I don’t like you, and I already have a saber of my own.”

With this final blow from the honest Chen Zui, the self-proclaimed mastermind Pei Mingshan began to seriously look at the standards of Yonglu Mountain’s disciple recruitment for the first time.

Wen Xu was the most talented disciple Yonglu Mountain had recruited this time. As the Disciple of the Divine Venerable, it was understandable for him to reject a lavish gift. After all, with his future and background, he had every right to be willful.

But what about Bian Chunzhou and Chen Zui? One had a trash spiritual root. Although he had entered the inner sect, his master, Venerable Ruoshui, was not famous, and she clearly could not help Bian Chunzhou much in his cultivation. The resources Pei Mingshan offered would have undoubtedly saved him from many detours. How much was pride even worth? He had seen far too many cultivators grovel and flatter just to advance their cultivation. He truly had not expected to hear such words! For the first time, Pei Mingshan couldn’t help but look at this unlucky cultivator with the clashing Water-Fire Spiritual Root in a completely new light.

As for the other one, though his spiritual root was decent, his aptitude was dull. With just a few deceptive words, he had easily believed that Pei Mingshan was a Mystic Physician from Chengxin Hall. Pei Mingshan had thought that given the boy’s obsession with sabers, he could never refuse this precious blade. Yet, to his surprise, he was rejected again.

“Exactly! Take your things and get lost. Coming to apologize without any sincerity is no different from coming to Yonglu Mountain to pick a fight! Since we walk different paths, we have nothing to say to each other. I hope we never meet again!”

Bian Chunzhou angrily dragged his two friends outside. Suddenly remembering something, he turned around and spat fiercely. “And that bullshit mission of yours—since you didn’t post it with any sincerity, you’d better withdraw it as soon as possible!”

He was so furious. He absolutely had to have hot pot tonight to make up for it, or he would never get over this anger!

“Tell me, how can someone be so detestable? He has all his limbs and is filthy rich. If I were him, I’d wake up laughing from my dreams every day. Yet here he is, taking his anger out on society. It’s not like society stopped him from cultivating. He’s sick! Seriously sick, diagnosis complete.”

Wen Xu had been quite angry, but seeing his friend even angrier than he was, his anger suddenly dissipated.

“Do you think he’ll face any punishment?” Bian Chunzhou plucked a blade of Danxiang Grass and twirled it idly. “He’s the Young Master of Jinding Pavilion. Are we just going to let it go after giving him a beating?”

“No,” Wen Xu said suddenly.

“Really?”

After a brief silence, Wen Xu spoke. “My master said my complaint was very successful, so Jinding Pavilion must give Yonglu Mountain an explanation. Otherwise, he said…”

Wow, as expected of the Divine Dragon Master, he was so reliable! Bian Chunzhou’s eyes lit up. “Otherwise what?”

“Master said he doesn’t mind playing the role of the elder who steps in when the kid gets bullied^[1].”

Bian Chunzhou, whose eyes were covered by eight hundred layers of Divine Dragon filters, thought: As expected of my Divine Dragon Daddy! Divine Dragon Daddy is the absolute GOAT.

Wen Xu: …As expected, Chunzhou has a peculiar kind of respect for my master. Confirmed.

“Heh, so didn’t he just come here to get beaten up today? If I’d known, I would’ve thrown a few more punches to vent! Do you think he’s really only at the first level of Qi Refining? Whatever, I’m too lazy to think about it.” Bian Chunzhou’s mood suddenly brightened. “But Wen Xuxu, I can’t believe you actually hit someone. I thought scholars believed that a gentleman uses his tongue, not his fists. He must have really pushed you to the limit!”

In a way, that guy was quite impressive.

“Yeah, he doesn’t speak very pleasantly,” Wen Xu said vaguely.

“That’s true. Nothing good ever comes out of his mouth. He said he came to apologize, but it felt like he was here to hand out charity. Did he think that just because I have a Water-Fire Spiritual Root and am some country bumpkin cultivator, I’d be starving for resources? And Golden Core… he probably thinks in his heart that I can only ever reach the Golden Core stage.”

Believe it or not, Bian Chunzhou’s guess was spot on. That was exactly what Pei Mingshan thought.

Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Pei Mingshan was escorted to the foot of the mountain by the rather discourteous disciples of Yonglu Mountain. When he turned back to look at the mountain gate, it had already shut tight, just like… when he was twelve years old, and the door to cultivation had shut him out.

Pei Mingshan thought, Why does everyone get to trample on me? Why does everyone assume I’ll turn bad?

Why should I give them what they want and become a bad person? I won’t. I’m going to be a good person. If even that Water-Fire Spiritual Root dares to talk so big to my face, how can I let myself be looked down upon!

But whatever Pei Mingshan thought and however he chose to live his life in the future was none of Wen Xu and Bian Chunzhou’s concern. As for Chen Zui, he wouldn’t waste his energy thinking about such tedious matters anyway.

While waiting for the hot pot to boil, Bian Chunzhou asked curiously, “Don’t you usually practice your saber at this hour? Why did you make a special trip over?”

Chen Zui’s eyes were fixed on the bright red broth. “I finished early.”

“What? You can actually finish early?” Did the sun rise from the west today?!

“I suffered a minor injury, so Master told me to cut back on my saber training,” Chen Zui said reluctantly. “Besides, I’m only human.”

Bian Chunzhou: “…It’s not very obvious. I always thought you were made of iron.”

Hearing this, Chen Zui actually nodded. “Thank you for the compliment. I’m still some distance away from the realm of having a body made of iron, but I will work hard.”

…Nobody asked you to put effort into that! Seriously.

Bian Chunzhou was speechless. He began using a freezing talisman to freeze the meat and slice it into mutton rolls. Honestly, talismans really changed lives; they were even more convenient than technology. He even felt that using talismans for combat was far less satisfying than using them in daily life.

If only he could live on Yonglu Mountain forever. At this moment, Bian Chunzhou’s thoughts were on the exact same wavelength as a certain former personal disciple of a sect master.

But if he wanted his cultivation to progress, he couldn’t just hide away forever. Although it had felt great to stand there with hands on his hips and curse the man out just now, Bian Chunzhou knew in his heart that there were countless people in the cultivation world far more detestable than Young Master Pei. Could he really rely on his friends’ life-saving talismans to rescue him every single time?

It was impossible. Being lucky this time didn’t mean he would be just as lucky next time.

“What are you thinking about? If you don’t want to slice it, I’ll do it.”

Perhaps because he hadn’t had his fill of saber training today, Chen Zui took over the slicing job. He chopped the meat with a rapid clattering, looking for all the world like he was practicing his saber techniques on the cutting board.

His job stolen, Bian Chunzhou blinked, then summoned a handful of water to wash his hands. He casually poked at the water droplets gathering in midair. “Before we eat hotpot, I need to do some self-reflection.”

“Self-reflection?” That was a bit sudden.

“First, I was too careless in choosing this down-mountain mission. In the future, when taking on sect missions, I must keep my eyes wide open, scout the location beforehand, and only then accept it.”

Wen Xu: “…But I heard from a senior brother on Kaiyuan Peak that the mission board has entered a rectification period. From now on, anyone posting a mission must leave their real name and a spiritual energy imprint of their cultivation level.”

Bian Chunzhou really hadn’t known. “They’re that efficient?”

Wen Xu nodded. “It went into effect yesterday evening.”

“Second, my attitude was a bit too casual. Our original plan was to disguise ourselves as ordinary people and gather information in the marketplace. Going to Biyu Tower was my idea, and I dragged Chen Zui-zui along. If I hadn’t gone in so recklessly, we wouldn’t have been targeted by evil cultivators, and we wouldn’t have been set up right to our faces by that Young Master Pei.”

Wen Xu hadn’t expected Chunzhou to reflect so deeply.

“In that case, I am also at fault.”

“You did nothing wrong! If not for you, we’d be goners!”

Wen Xu shook his head. “Actually, back at the inn when we saved that man parasitized by the Evil Seed, I already had some suspicions about his identity. That’s why I made a special trip to Chengxin Hall when we split up that day.”

There was even that part?! Bian Chunzhou’s eyes widened. How had he suspected him?!

“None of the spirit doctors at Chengxin Hall are in the Qi Refining Stage. It’s just that I wasn’t sure of his identity at the time, so I didn’t inform you. I should have told you right away.” Instead of brushing it aside, thinking he could just tell them later.

“And…”

“And?”

“And when I went to the slums that day, I heard that handsome young men in Wushan Village had turned into white-haired, wrinkled old men within a few months. I should have been alert and reported it to the sect immediately, instead of waiting to meet up with you to discuss it. If I had notified them then, perhaps Senior Brother Huang would have arrived in time.”

He had underestimated the dangers of the cultivation world. A single moment of carelessness could cost him his life; his so-called safety was nothing but self-delusion. After joining Yonglu Mountain, he had become too relaxed, thinking that by leaving the Mortal Realm behind, he could let his guard down. But the dangers facing cultivators far exceeded his imagination. Whether for revenge or his own safety, he had to cultivate desperately. He could no longer afford even a single moment of complacency.

“So, is it finally my turn?” Chen Zui had finished slicing the meat. He brandished the kitchen knife, making it whistle through the air. “I think everything you two just said is pointless. As long as you’re strong enough, none of this is a problem!”

…Very well, that was classic Chen Zui. Yet, surprisingly, he had hit the nail on the head. They really were too weak. If even one of them had advanced to Foundation Establishment, why would they have needed to use a life-saving jade talisman against the evil cultivators of Biyu Tower?

At this moment, the trio’s desire to grow stronger surpassed even their craving for the hotpot on the table.