Bully at Home, A-grade
Lu Ping paused for two breaths between options A and B.
People dying was the norm.
Staying out of trouble was how those at the bottom survived.
But the Number 98 meditation cushion was right beside him.
If Number 98 exploded, the formation core in Zone C would grow stronger.
Once it did, the Number 97 cushion wouldn't be spared either.
Lu Ping chose A.
[You chose A.]
[You reached out and pressed a hand onto Number 98's shoulder, sending your Body Tempering Realm Completion Qi and Blood into his meridians.]
[You forcibly cut off the rhythm of his breathing cultivation.]
[Number 98 abruptly spat out a mouthful of black blood.]
[The blood landed on the formation patterns on the floor, hissing as wisps of green smoke rose from it.]
[Heavy Tomato User triggered.]
[The black blood contained traces of Soul Bewildering Incense and Spiritual Qi sediment.]
[You confirmed that the problem with the Ascension Hall wasn't limited to Spiritual Qi infusion. There was also mental inducement.]
[Number 98 survived.]
[He lay sprawled on his meditation cushion, unable to get up for a long time.]
[Everyone in Zone C looked at you.]
[The tall, thin youth opened his mouth, then swallowed his words.]
[The wealthy young man dropped the Grain Avoidance Pill in his hand. He bent down twice before he managed to pick it up.]
[A burly man who had been cultivating his breathing with all his might also stopped immediately.]
[Liu Cheng stood at the entrance to the hall and gave you an indifferent glance.]
[That night, you were summoned to a side chamber in the Ascension Hall.]
[The chamber was narrow, with only one table and two lamps.]
[Liu Cheng sat behind the table.]
["Number 97, what did you notice?"]
[You bent at the waist just the right amount and lowered your voice respectfully.]
["You flatter me, Deacon."]
["This disciple comes from the countryside and hasn't seen much of the world."]
["As for what I noticed, all I saw was how precious the opportunity the sect has given me is. My life isn't worth much, and I can't let it go to waste."]
[Flattery took effect.]
[Liu Cheng's displeasure lessened, but he didn't let you off.]
[He took a cyan pill from his sleeve.]
[There were tiny black specks on its surface.]
[As it drew near, a faint fishy smell reached your nose.]
[Liu Cheng pushed the pill to the edge of the table.]
["Good. Since you're kindhearted, it's all the more important that you reach Qi Refining soon and serve the sect."]
["This is a Spirit-Urging Pill. Take it."]
["It's a reward from me. Free of charge."]
[You obtained a Spirit-Urging Pill (experimental).]
[Options appeared.]
[A: Take the pill on the spot to show your loyalty.]
[B: Pretend to take it, hide it under your tongue, and find a chance to spit it out.]
[C: Give the pill back to Liu Cheng and say you've recently given up sugar.]
Pretending to take it sounded clever.
But Liu Cheng was sitting right across from him.
He was a deacon of the Greenwood Sect, the person with the highest cultivation in the entire Ascension Hall.
This so-called Spirit-Urging Pill was an experimental version, no less. It looked like it was meant to forcibly raise cultivation.
If he didn't take it, he would probably be found out.
Once he was found out, there naturally wouldn't be anything wrong with the pill Liu Cheng had given him. The only one who could be at fault was the person taking it.
Lu Ping chose A.
[You chose A.]
[You accepted the Spirit-Urging Pill and took it on the spot. The pill entered your stomach, and its medicinal power erupted.]
[Heavy Tomato User took effect.]
[The spiritual impurities and Pill Poison in the medicinal power were broken down, while its spirit-urging effects were retained.]
[Your meridians began to heat up.]
[Liu Cheng watched you for ten breaths.]
["Go back."]
[You bowed and withdrew, returning to Zone C to continue cultivating.]
[The Spirit-Urging Pill's remaining effects, combined with the Spiritual Qi in the Ascension Hall, brought you to the threshold of the Qi Refining Stage.]
[But beyond that threshold lay not a smooth, broad road, but an invisible shackle imposed by heaven and earth.]
[Spiritual Qi could enter your meridians and sink into your Dantian.]
[But to transform it into spiritual power, you needed an impact of greater density.]
[The first month soon passed.]
[You traded everything you had to the Greenwood Sect, including a pair of wild boar tusks and all the silver you carried.]
[In exchange, you received fifteen Grain Avoidance Pills.]
[You had risked life and limb to plunder those belongings from the Black Tiger Gang, only to hand them respectfully over to the Greenwood Sect.]
[In the second month at the Ascension Hall, Liu Cheng began selling Spirit-Urging Pills.]
[Ten disciples bought Spirit-Urging Pills on credit. Nine of them exploded that very night, turning into blood mist that was absorbed by the hall.]
[One disciple successfully broke through and became an Outer Sect Disciple.]
[You noticed Liu Cheng's gaze. He was looking at you, though he quickly looked away.]
[You understood then: the Spirit-Urging Pill Liu Cheng had given you for "free" was meant to make you test the medicine.]
[And Liu Cheng, the "middleman," had pocketed your payment for testing it.]
[In the third month, people began dying in Zone C. Three exploded in a single night, one after another.]
[The formation patterns sucked the blood mist dry, and the infusion from Zone C's formation core intensified once more.]
[At twenty, you had completed two years of service.]
[Generating Trait...]
[Congratulations, you have obtained the Trait: Bully at Home (Grade A)—Within the sect or institution you belong to, you possess absolutely invincible combat power against people of the same level; none can defeat you. Against people of a higher level, you can also exert five times your combat power.]
Lu Ping stared at the words "Bully at Home," his heartbeat quickening.
The Trait had a corny name, but its effect was rock solid.
In other words, within the Greenwood Sect, Lu Ping was invincible against those of the same level.
Even against higher-level opponents, he could exert five times his combat power.
The mighty system had finally gotten tired of seeing him so beaten down and given him a card to save his life.
Bully at Home was a god of civil war.
[Currently equipped: Heavy Tomato User (S-grade) / Salty Fish (S-grade) / Friend of Women (Grade A) / Flattery (B-grade).]
[Would you like to replace a Trait?]
Lu Ping fell silent. His silence at that moment was deafening.
As excited as Lu Ping had been a second ago, he was just as conflicted now.
He couldn't touch Flattery yet.
Where there were people, there was a jianghu.
And the jianghu wasn't about fighting and killing; it was about relationships and knowing how the world worked!
Heavy Tomato User was even more untouchable.
The Ascension Hall was full of Soul Bewildering Incense, Spiritual Qi sediment, and Spirit-Urging Pills. Going without it would be like streaking naked into a chemical plant.
He couldn't touch Salty Fish either.
Halved efficiency looked like a trap, but inside a high-pressure spirit-infusion machine like the Ascension Hall, halving it actually saved his life. More importantly, his Dao Heart was stable.
That left only Friend of Women.
The Trait had saved his life, but it had also brought him plenty of indescribable workplace injuries.
There might be female deacons in the Greenwood Sect.
But the immediate threats before him were Liu Cheng, the Ascension Hall, and the fine line between life and death for the disciples in his intake.
Distant water couldn't put out a nearby fire.
Lu Ping chose to replace it.
[Friend of Women has been unequipped.]
[Bully at Home has been equipped.]
[Currently equipped: Heavy Tomato User (S-grade) / Salty Fish (S-grade) / Bully at Home (Grade A) / Flattery (B-grade).]
[You continued to keep your cultivation speed down.]
[The Spirit-Urging Pill's remaining medicinal power was still circulating inside you.]
[Heavy Tomato User and Salty Fish remained in effect.]
[You progressed steadily.]
[There was no Pill Poison, no shaky foundation, and no loss of control over your mind. You were just slow.]
[On the seventeenth day of the third month at the Ascension Hall,]
[You were summoned to the side hall again, and Liu Cheng once more gave you a "Spirit-Urging Pill" for "free."]
[This pill was darker than the last.]
[Fine lines covered its outer coating, and it gave off a pungent smell when brought close.]
["Number 97, I have high hopes for you. Take this one too."]
[Liu Cheng looked at you expressionlessly.]
[You obtained a Spirit-Urging Pill (defective).]
[Options appeared.]
[A: Drop to your knees and kowtow furiously, your head striking the floor with loud thuds: "Spare me, Deacon! This disciple is too weak to take a tonic. If I eat another one, I'll explode into fireworks right here for you to see!"]
[B: Heh, Transport Captain, back to drop more gold coins?]
[C: Shove the poison pill into your mouth, lunge at Liu Cheng, pin him down, and passionately French-kiss him to feed it back to him, roaring, "Dalang, it's time to take your medicine! The two of us have to become one today!"]