When Lu Ping Thought the Beautiful Life of Cultivation Was Beckoning to Him

[The examiner dithered for a long time, then glanced at the Greenwood Sect's Alchemy Hall elder beside him. In the end, he could only helplessly pick up his brush and write two characters on the register: pass.]

Lu Ping breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this.

Rules could protect people sometimes.

Even rules built on self-interest.

[The examiner took out a jade token on the spot and tossed it to the Alchemy Hall deacon.]

["Lu Ping, you are granted the qualification of First-Rank Registered Alchemist."]

["Next."]

[After the examination ended, the jade token finally came into your hands.]

[First-Rank Registered Alchemist was engraved on the front, and Heavenly Certification Alliance on the back.]

[On the day the examination ended, you went to the Alchemy Hall's accounting office.]

[You began legally selling Grain Avoidance Pills, Qi-Replenishing Pills, Hemostatic Powder, and some Poison Pills.]

[The Alchemy Hall bought the finished pills that had piled up over five years at the price paid to formally registered Alchemists.]

[The accounting disciple worked the abacus until his hands ached.]

["Principal owed: one hundred and fifty stones."]

["Interest paid in full."]

["Cave abode miscellaneous fees paid in full."]

["Pill Furnace repair fees paid in full."]

["Medicinal residue environmental protection fees paid in full."]

["Special isolation cave abode pollution surcharge paid in full."]

[He paused.]

["You have a balance of seven Low-Grade Spirit Stones remaining."]

[That night, you returned to your cave abode and spread the yellow loan paper on the stone table.]

[The Spiritual Qi imprint on the contract gradually dissipated, and the paper finally turned into a pinch of ash.]

[You looked at the First-Rank Registered Alchemist jade token in your hand.]

[For the first time, you felt you had half a foot planted firmly in the Greenwood Sect.]

[You sat quietly by the stone table and boiled a pot of water.]

[You placed a Qi-Replenishing Pill you had refined yourself on the table.]

[For once, you did not immediately cultivate.]

[You thought a beautiful life of cultivation was beckoning to you.]

[Just then, without warning or any Spiritual Qi leaking out, the restrictions on your cave abode were silently broken.]

[The formation patterns snapped apart inch by inch at the crack in the door.]

[A figure stood in the doorway: Han Changqing, sect master of the Greenwood Sect.]

When he saw Han Changqing's name, a thought passed through Lu Ping's mind: Just as I expected.

I can't let my guard down for even a moment.

One second, his simulated self was boiling water, setting out a Qi-Replenishing Pill, and canceling his loan contract.

The next, the big boss had personally come knocking.

This rhythm was all too familiar.

In his previous life, an employee would barely finish paying off a mortgage before the company started reorganizing.

[Han Changqing walked into your cave abode.]

[He was not wearing the fine robes from the sect master's grand ceremony, only a blue-green robe draped over his shoulders.]

[His Foundation Establishment Perfection presence was not being released.]

[But the Spiritual Qi at Qi Refining Fifth Layer inside you had already shrunk into a ball on its own.]

[The Spirit-Eroding Powder disguise on the surface of your body was still working.]

[To outsiders, you still appeared to be only at Qi Refining, First Layer.]

[Han Changqing passed the Pill Furnace, the Alchemist jade token, and the loan contract on the table that had already turned to ash.]

[He raised a hand, took out a Spirit Stone, and flicked it lightly.]

[The Spirit Stone landed on the stone table with a soft thud.]

[You were slightly taken aback and recognized the Spirit Stone.]

[It was the one you had handed over when you joined the sect five years ago, the Spirit Stone from the Black Tiger Gang's storehouse.]

[Han Changqing sat down on the other side of the stone table and spoke in an indifferent tone.]

["Tell me, where did this Spirit Stone come from?"]

[You looked bewildered on the surface, but inwardly you immediately sifted through all your memories.]

[You had handled a great many Spirit Stones over the past few years, and finally realized that this one really was different from an ordinary Low-Grade Spirit Stone.]

[In an ordinary Low-Grade Spirit Stone, the Spiritual Qi was evenly distributed, like running water poured into an empty shell.]

[In this Spirit Stone, the Spiritual Qi was denser, as though it had grown naturally inside the stone.]

[It was not the product of infusing Spiritual Qi into a spirit blank; it was more like... a natural Spirit Stone?!]

[No wonder you had felt that the Spirit Stones Liu Cheng first gave you were a little different from the one you had handed over.]

[Yet its total amount of Spiritual Qi was about the same as a Low-Grade Spirit Stone's.]

[Options appeared.]

[A: Tell the truth. It came from the Black Tiger Gang's storehouse, and you took it with you when you fled.]

[B: Falsely claim it is a Lineage heirloom and that you do not know where it came from either.]

[C: Ask the sect master in return whether he intends to refund your sect entry fee, and thank the sect's accounting office for recovering an old payment while you're at it.]

Lu Ping chose A.

The Black Tiger Gang was already in turmoil, so the source could be checked, but not necessarily investigated in depth.

Besides, even if the Black Tiger Gang's affairs were investigated thoroughly, there was nothing about them worth a cultivator's attention.

A Lineage heirloom, on the other hand, could easily raise questions about his bloodline.

This time, I, Lu Ping, will be a good person and tell the truth.

[You chose A.]

[You bowed.]

["Sect Master, this disciple obtained it from the Black Tiger Gang's storehouse."]

["This disciple was fleeing for his life that day. Seeing that it resembled a Spirit Stone, I took it with me."]

[Han Changqing did not reply immediately. Instead, he reached out and pressed his hand on the Spirit Stone.]

["The Black Tiger Gang? A mundane gang in the Savage Wilderness Expanse could get its hands on something like this?"]

["Lu Ping, aren't you underestimating me a little?"]

[You kept your head lowered.]

["This disciple would not dare deceive you."]

[Han Changqing paused, then slowly spoke.]

["In the Ascension Hall, it took you five months to reach Qi Refining."]

["Your aptitude looked mediocre. Yet Liu Cheng gave you two Spirit-Urging Pills, and you survived both."]

["In five years at the Alchemy Hall, you remained at Qi Refining, First Layer the whole time."]

["You owed one hundred and fifty Spirit Stones, and you never missed a payment."]

["Your efficiency at infusing Spiritual Qi is several times that of an ordinary Qi Refining disciple."]

["You used a broken furnace and an inferior cave abode, with poisonous gas leaking out, and still passed the First-Rank Alchemist examination on your first try."]

["Lu Ping, tell me, which of these things is consistent with an ordinary disciple?"]

[Options appeared.]

[A: Continue playing dumb and insist that your aptitude is mediocre and you were merely lucky.]

[B: Admit that you concealed some of your alchemy skills and offer to hand over your insights into improving them in exchange for the sect master's trust.]

[C: Your eyes redden with emotion, and you shyly lower your head. "Five years... So the sect master has been secretly watching over me for five whole years, keeping even the broken furnace I used and every time I wasn't late on a payment etched into his heart. Since your love runs so deep, Sect Master, this disciple won't pretend anymore! The restrictions have already been broken tonight. Whether you want me or my insights, it's entirely up to you, Sect Master. I only ask that you be gentle, for this disciple's body is weak."]

Lu Ping looked at A and immediately ruled it out.

Playing dumb might fool an ordinary deacon, but it would not fool someone at the peak of Foundation Establishment who had been watching him for five years.

C? There is no option C.

The most frightening thing in life was having no value for others to exploit. As long as one still had value to exploit, there was room to turn things around.

Trading skills for his life was a working stiff's last bargaining chip.

Lu Ping chose B.

[You chose B.]

[You raised both hands and placed the First-Rank Alchemist jade token on the table.]

["This disciple did indeed conceal things. I came from humble origins and know how treacherous the world is, so I only dared hide my abilities."]

["My insights into infusing Spiritual Qi, refining pills from inferior medicines, and controlling the fire for Poison Pills—this disciple is willing to hand them all over."]

["This disciple is willing to serve the sect."]

[Han Changqing did not look at the jade token. Instead, he glanced at the special Spirit Stone and sighed.]

["Lu Ping, you are indeed valuable. That's why I won't kill you."]

[He paused.]

["But your value is not for the Greenwood Sect to determine."]

["Five years. I've been fishing with you as bait for five years."]

["No one contacted you, there were no secret signals, and no rendezvous. You didn't even take any additional action."]

[Han Changqing picked up the Spirit Stone between two fingers.]

["That makes it even more troublesome."]

["Either the person behind you is very cautious, or even you yourself don't know what you're carrying."]