Chu Xinghe's Popularity

Wei Deqian was truly dumbfounded. Three million Shen Spirit Herbs? What was the Vast Heaven Sect planning to do?

But he didn't dare ask. Glancing at the robes Chu Xinghe wore, which only a personal disciple was qualified to wear, Wei Deqian swallowed every word.

If he had been dealing with an ordinary disciple today, even an elite disciple, he would have asked him to confirm the order again. But Chu Xinghe had become the Spirit Crane Palace's Grand Elder's personal disciple at such a young age, so he was no ordinary person. How could someone like that make a mistake?

The Vast Heaven Sect probably had some secret, but it wasn't his place to ask about it.

After confirming that there were no problems with the rest of the list, Wei Deqian took out the purchase contract.

Without even giving it a second glance, Chu Xinghe signed his name on the contract with a flourish.

"Young Hero Xinghe, this... this contract needs not only your signature, but also the Grand Elder's elder token to take effect."

"The elder token?"

Chu Xinghe jolted. The elder token was in the Grand Elder's hands. If he took the contract to show the Grand Elder and the Grand Elder noticed, wouldn't his plan be screwed?

Suddenly, Chu Xinghe thought of something.

"The Grand Elder has been busy these past two days, and I don't know where he's gone. The elder token won't be easy to find. Will the Haotian Token do?"

"This... it's more than enough..." Wei Deqian stared at the Haotian Token in Chu Xinghe's hand, dumbfounded.

Just what was Chu Xinghe's background?

In the Vast Heaven Sect, only those personally granted a Haotian Token by the sect master were qualified to have one, and possessing one meant, in a sense, that the holder represented the sect master's will. Chu Xinghe was so young, yet not only was he the Spirit Crane Palace Grand Elder's personal disciple, he even had a Haotian Token. Just what was this guy's background?

Though Wei Deqian had a hundred thousand questions in his heart, he didn't dare ask a single one.

The Haotian Token left its mark on the contract, and the contract officially took effect.

Wei Deqian laboriously hauled his three-hundred-plus-jin body out of the chair, smiled, and bid Chu Xinghe farewell.

After seeing Wei Deqian off, Chu Xinghe let out a long breath!

Three million Shen Spirit Herbs!

The Grand Elder was definitely going to be so pleasantly surprised, wasn't he?!

Humming "Today Is a Good Day," Chu Xinghe wandered around the newly built Medicine King Palace and nearly got lost. In the end, he had to ask several senior brothers before he found his way out.

Over the next few days, the purchases from various suppliers arrived at the Vast Heaven Sect one after another. What did it mean to spend money like running water?

Chu Xinghe truly saw it for himself. Every single order was enough to bankrupt a major clan on the spot, yet the Vast Heaven Sect paid for all those orders without so much as blinking.

Chu Xinghe couldn't help marveling that the greatest sect under heaven truly lived up to its name. Its foundations were overwhelmingly formidable. Trying to destroy the Vast Heaven Sect was simply too difficult...

But how did that saying go again? Long was the road and far the journey; he would search high and low!

No matter how difficult the road to bringing down the Vast Heaven Sect was, as long as he stayed true to his original intention, one day he would destroy the sect and attain the Dao!

As vast quantities of purchases arrived at the Medicine King Palace, order there gradually began to return, and Chu Xinghe's miserable days began as well.

The moment the Medicine King Palace was able to resume pill refinement, the Grand Elder sought out Chu Xinghe.

With profound meaning, he told Chu Xinghe, "Xinghe... although you have received the Medicine Saint Inheritance, the road of medicine refinement is long and arduous. You too must search high and low!"

"Only by staying true to your original intention can you one day attain the Dao through medicine!"

Damn it... why did that sound so familiar?

Then the Grand Elder personally taught Chu Xinghe various medicine-refining techniques. Although he no longer needed to distinguish the differences between Moon Nether Grass, Moon Soul Grass, and evening primrose, medicine refinement itself was a grueling chore.

Chu Xinghe swore that medicine refinement was what he hated most in his life. That Vermilion Bird had definitely heard his innermost thoughts about hating medicine refinement and given him the inheritance to get revenge on him. It was going to drive him mad at this rate.

On the surface, however, Chu Xinghe remained the picture of an obedient child, doing whatever the Grand Elder arranged, because he knew that the gift he had prepared for the Grand Elder was almost here.

One day, under the Grand Elder's guidance, Chu Xinghe refined a fourth-grade pill, the Fire Spirit Pill.

The Medicine Saint Inheritance truly defied the heavens. Even though Chu Xinghe disliked it, in just a few days he had gone from an expert at blowing up furnaces to a fourth-grade medicine refiner.

He could even measure himself against Senior Brother Feng Fei in medicine refinement now.

The Grand Elder, however, was clearly dissatisfied with Chu Xinghe's progress. That was the Medicine Saint Inheritance! By rights, if Chu Xinghe mastered just ten or twenty percent of it, becoming a ninth-grade pill refinement grandmaster should be as easy as playing around.

Surpassing him should also be just around the corner.

The Grand Elder now absolutely regarded Chu Xinghe as his own son. What father didn't hope his son would become a dragon? The Grand Elder's greatest hope now was for Chu Xinghe to surpass him at once. When that happened, he would hand the entire Spirit Crane Palace over to Chu Xinghe without delay.

With the Vermilion Bird Spirit Fire bolstering it, the pill in the furnace gradually took shape, and a fiery-red Fire Spirit Pill appeared before everyone.

A group of medicine-refining senior brothers clicked their tongues in amazement at the Fire Spirit Pill. After all, this was Chu Xinghe's first time refining a fourth-grade Fire Spirit Pill, and he had succeeded on his first attempt. The Medicine Saint Inheritance was overwhelmingly powerful.

But the Grand Elder still looked dissatisfied.

"Xinghe, the Medicine Saint Inheritance is meant to refine more than ordinary pills. You still have a long way to go. From now on, any pill you refine will count as a failure if it is merely ordinary grade. Only a supreme-grade pill will count as a success!"

Chu Xinghe nearly spat blood, but could only nod and accept it, while the way the senior brothers looked at him changed.

As expected of their Junior Brother Xinghe! Others would thank heaven and earth for a seventy-percent success rate in pill refinement, while Junior Brother Xinghe's success rate had been one hundred percent since he started. Yet now even a one-hundred-percent success rate wasn't enough. The Grand Elder demanded that anything short of supreme grade count as a failure. Wasn't that ruthless?

"All right, take a break first. We'll refine other pills in a little while."

"All right..." Chu Xinghe felt helpless. Medicine refinement was too dull. The only consolation was perhaps that he could absorb spiritual power during the process to strengthen himself.

That was why, although everyone in the Spirit Crane Palace refined pills and even entered the Dao through medicine refinement, their cultivation was not a whit inferior to that of the other palaces.

Chu Xinghe was taking a rare break, and the Grand Elder had also begun attending to other matters, when Feng Fei ran in from outside. He rushed straight to the Grand Elder's side, glanced around, then leaned close and whispered in his ear.

"What?" The Grand Elder's eyes suddenly widened, his face full of disbelief.

Seeing that expression, Chu Xinghe knew he had succeeded!

Everything was just as Chu Xinghe had expected. The Daxing Chamber of Commerce had come... delivering the various goods on the list. Normally, there would have been nothing unusual about that, but when three million Shen Spirit Herbs were laid out before Feng Fei, he was dumbfounded on the spot.

When had the Vast Heaven Sect ordered three million Shen Spirit Herbs?

Their Vast Heaven Sect was rich, but it wasn't stupid!

Were they freaking sick in the head? Buying so many Shen Spirit Herbs to use as a meadow?

Feng Fei immediately started arguing with Fatty Wei Deqian, but when Wei Deqian produced the list and the contract, Feng Fei was dumbfounded.

The contract stated it clearly: three million Shen Spirit Herbs, without the slightest mistake.

Most importantly, the signature on it was Junior Brother Xinghe's... and Junior Brother Xinghe hadn't even used the elder token. He had used the Haotian Token directly!

Feng Fei knew something had gone wrong and hurried over to tell the Grand Elder.

The Grand Elder followed Feng Fei outside and snatched the contract from Wei Deqian's hand. One glance was enough to make him nearly spit blood in anger.

Chu Xinghe's name was clearly written on it, and there was absolutely no mistaking the Haotian Token's mark.

But the problem was those three million Shen Spirit Herbs!

Chu Xinghe had followed them out as well. Seeing the Grand Elder's dumbstruck expression, he was beside himself with excitement... Wouldn't the Grand Elder strip him of his status as a personal disciple in a fit of anger, as punishment?

After all, he had caused the sect enormous trouble and losses!

It wouldn't make sense not to punish him severely.

More and more Spirit Crane Palace disciples gathered around. When they heard that a purchasing mistake had resulted in an order for three million Shen Spirit Herbs, every one of them gasped in shock.

"Grand Elder, this disciple is guilty..." Feng Fei suddenly knelt before the Grand Elder.

"Grand Elder, you entrusted the purchasing to me, but I handed it over to Junior Brother Xinghe, who had never handled purchasing before. Now that a mistake has been made, I ask that you punish me!"

Feng Fei knelt on the ground with his head lowered, his face full of bitterness.

Chu Xinghe saw this and thought, How could I let that happen? If you wanted to steal the credit, I wouldn't say a word, but stealing my punishment? No way!

"Grand Elder, this has nothing to do with Senior Brother Feng. I was the one who insisted on taking part. The mistake in this purchase was entirely mine. Senior Brother Feng has exhausted himself over the construction of the Medicine King Palace and hasn't had a proper rest for days and nights. Besides, I was the one who broke the sect's rules by not asking you to review the purchase, which led to this outcome. Please punish this disciple severely!"

Wei Deqian was dumbfounded...

His head was buzzing. By now he could see that something had gone wrong with the purchase, though he wasn't worried about the Vast Heaven Sect reneging on the payment. Given the Vast Heaven Sect's status, how could it show its face if it broke a contract?

But what truly baffled Wei Deqian was that, while he had seen people fight for credit, this was his first time seeing people fight for punishment.

Severe punishment, even? What, was he addicted to being punished?

The Grand Elder's face was full of helplessness as he looked at Chu Xinghe and Feng Fei kneeling on the ground. Both were disciples he valued most, but such a mistake really should not have happened. Feng Fei's part was easier to understand; after all, he was only human and could get tired, so it was reasonable for him to seek help.

But as for Chu Xinghe, getting the purchase list wrong was one thing. Most importantly, without authorization from the Grand Elder's token, he had used the Haotian Token on his own. That was a grave offense.

"Grand Elder, Junior Brother Xinghe has only recently joined the sect and doesn't understand its rules. This mistake was unintentional. Please forgive him." Shen Chun dropped to the ground with a thud and pleaded for Chu Xinghe.

"Grand Elder... Junior Brother Xinghe was indeed at fault, but please forgive him on account of his youth..."

"Junior Brother Xinghe is sincere and honest. Ever since joining the sect, he has been diligent and conscientious, never daring to make a mistake. This must have been unintentional. Please forgive him, Grand Elder..."

"Grand Elder..."

"Grand Elder..."

In a rush, every disciple around them knelt on the ground. Even the disciples who arrived later knelt to plead for Chu Xinghe once they learned what had happened.

The sight left Wei Deqian staring.

To be honest, when Wei Deqian first saw such a young personal disciple of the Vast Heaven Sect, he had even suspected the guy might be the Grand Elder's illegitimate son.

But at this moment, Wei Deqian knew he had been too narrow-minded.

When a person made a mistake, it wasn't hard to find someone to plead for him. What was hard was for everyone in the entire Spirit Crane Palace to kneel and plead for him when he made a mistake. Just how well-liked was he in the Spirit Crane Palace...?