Nothing More Than an Outer Sect Disciple

Su Wanqing had learned the news of Xiao Chen breaking through to the 6th level of Qi Refining on the very next day after returning from the Flying Rainbow Mountain Range.

"Another Sudden Comprehension? Hmph!"

After the brief shock came smug certainty. She had already guessed Xiao Chen's background.

It had to be some Inheritance Secret Method passed down from ancient times, one that could drastically increase Cultivation Speed.

This, in turn, explained why Xiao Chen had needed to gather a large number of Spirit Stones before he could advance his cultivation.

There was only one truth.

Those Spirit Stones were the price of using that secret method.

Such methods were not particularly rare. From what Su Wanqing knew through her family's records, they usually had two major flaws.

First, achieving a Cultivation Speed several times greater than ordinary people's required consuming dozens of times more resources. Overall, it was hardly worth it.

Second, using external power to improve oneself had the feel of pulling up seedlings to help them grow.

It was easy to get stuck at bottlenecks, especially the Major Bottleneck between Major Realms, wasting even more time instead.

Of course, Xiao Chen could worry about those matters himself.

What Su Wanqing needed to consider now was how to make use of these problems to reach a deeper level of cooperation with Xiao Chen and make him willingly join the Su Family.

Besides, according to the information she had gathered so far, Xiao Chen only possessed an Azure Gourd he had exchanged for upon entering the sect. He was severely lacking in suitable magical artifacts.

So in her view, Xiao Chen lacked magical artifacts, Spirit Stones, and Boundary Breaking Spirit Medicine. Those were his three weaknesses.

As long as she prescribed the right medicine for the illness, she would not have to worry about failing to attract him.

Thus, Su Wanqing did not seek him out immediately. Instead, she spent several days preparing before confidently arriving at Branch 2.

"Senior Brother, open the door!"

Xiao Chen opened only a crack in the door. "Junior Sister Su, what is it?"

"Senior Brother, come on. I'll take you out for something delicious. I reserved White Jade Workshop's signature dishes today."

"Sorry, Junior Sister Su, I have other matters to attend to. You can go by yourself."

Being treated to a meal was certainly a good thing, but Xiao Chen's instincts told him that Su Wanqing's intentions were definitely not so simple. It was best to stay away from her.

A cultivator's instincts could be frighteningly accurate sometimes, so he chose to trust his sixth sense.

"But I carefully prepared a gift for you too, Senior Brother. Are you really not going to come take a look?"

"Don't be so quick to refuse, Senior Brother. I guarantee you'll be interested in this gift."

The corners of Su Wanqing's lips lifted, looking utterly confident.

"Junior Sister Su, you're treating me to a meal and giving me a gift, but if I remember correctly, today is only the second time we've met, isn't it?"

"Is it? Oh my, I never paid attention to such things. As far as I'm concerned, Senior Brother and I are already friends."

"But I don't think I'm that familiar with you yet, Junior Sister Su."

"Is that so? And here I went out of my way to collect some Azure Wood Spiritual Liquid for you, Senior Brother. It seems I'll have no choice but to take it back and water my flowers with it."

Azure Wood Spiritual Liquid!

It was an important material for repairing the Azure Gourd. Xiao Chen had asked around about it many times before, and it was likewise out of stock in the market.

Moreover, with the Trade Route cut off by the Divine Fire Sect, there was probably no hope of getting any in the near future.

Who would have thought the Su Family actually had some in reserve!

You should've just said you had something like that. Why go around in circles?

"Ahem, Junior Sister, it would be such a waste to pour out perfectly good Spirit Liquid. You said you reserved a meal, right? Then let's hurry up. If we get there too late, the dishes will go cold."

"Senior Brother, slow down."

Second floor of White Jade Teahouse.

Once all the dishes had been served, Xiao Chen looked at the third person at the table. "And this Senior Brother is?"

Besides Su Wanqing, a young man in a blue jacket was seated in the private room.

He gave off the aura of Qi Refining Layer Eight. A sky-blue Flying Sword hung at his waist, faint threads of water spiritual energy seeping from it.

From the moment Xiao Chen entered, he had kept his head lowered, intently playing with a string of agate beads in his hand.

Su Wanqing introduced him, "This is my second brother, Su Yuanpeng. He is currently serving under Elder Qi at the sect's Azure Water Peak."

There were five small mountains around Li Fire Sect, each corresponding to a different one of the Five Elements Attributes. Together, they were called the Five Elements Peaks.

Inner Sect Disciples who remained on the mountains to cultivate all had to join one of the Five Elements Peaks according to their own Spirit Root Attribute.

Elder Qi was the Peak Master of Azure Water Peak. She excelled in Water Law, possessed Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivation, and was also widely acknowledged as a beauty within the sect.

Xiao Chen immediately understood. "So it is Senior Brother Su. I have long admired your great name. I am Xiao Chen of Branch 2. It is a pleasure to meet you today."

Su Yuanpeng merely lifted his right eyelid and glanced at him. "You look pretty ordinary too. You're no pretty boy, so how did you swindle a magical artifact out of my little sister?"

???

Xiao Chen blinked. Swindle a magical artifact? Was he talking about him?

Su Wanqing was even more at a loss. This was completely different from what they had agreed on beforehand.

She had clearly called her second brother over to help win Xiao Chen over. What was he trying to do now?

"Second Brother, did you get tired of waiting for us and start drinking by yourself? There's a bed in the inner room. Why don't you go rest for a while?"

Su Wanqing had a flash of inspiration and made up an excuse, while signaling Su Yuanpeng with her eyes to leave.

But Su Yuanpeng ignored her signal. "Third Sister, you're still too young. It's too easy for you to be fooled by mud-legged nobodies who crawled their way up from below."

He pointed at Xiao Chen. "I came here today to warn you: stay away from my sister, and don't fucking dream of a toad eating swan meat."

"I don't care what tricks you used to deceive her. What's past is past. But from now on, if you keep pestering her, I'll break every one of your legs."

Su Wanqing was practically fainting. "Second Brother, what exactly are you talking about? Have you considered my reputation when you speak like that?"

Su Yuanpeng looked at her. "Then tell me, why did you suddenly start caring about this piece of trash with a Low-grade Spirit Root after you returned from the Trial?"

"You went out and lost Spirit Stones and magical artifacts. I think you lost your heart too, didn't you? You even specifically asked people to look into him."

"This morning, Auntie told me that you asked her for some Azure Wood Spiritual Liquid too. Tell me yourself, who was that meant for?"

Su Wanqing's expression turned ugly. "These are all my private affairs. How did you find out?"

Su Yuanpeng raised his chin. "Hmph, naturally I have my ways. Just tell me, have you taken a fancy to this brat or not?"

Su Wanqing could not help rubbing her forehead. She looked at Xiao Chen. "Sorry, Senior Brother Xiao. My second brother must have gone crazy. Please wait a moment, just a little while."

Then she grabbed Su Yuanpeng. "You, come out with me!"

Su Yuanpeng did not struggle, but before leaving, he still did not forget to shoot Xiao Chen a vicious glare.

Sigh, my sixth sense really was right. I knew this Azure Wood Spiritual Liquid would not come easily.

Xiao Chen walked to the doorway and pricked up his ears to listen. He could hear the faint sound of an argument outside.

"What's so special about the 6th level of Qi Refining? He's nothing more than an Outer Sect Disciple. He only got where he is today through a stroke of luck."

He was not unfamiliar with that claim. Although he had been busy visiting the Scripture Pavilion to look up information these past few days, he had heard similar remarks.

The main reason was that his breakthrough to the 6th level of Qi Refining had set the highest record for an Outer Sect Disciple's cultivation speed.

Thus, discussion had sprung up not only in Branch 2 but also in the Other Branches. Most of it said he was lucky to experience consecutive Sudden Comprehensions.

Naturally, there was no lack of people jealous of him, spreading sour words behind his back.

Those words seemed to have worked rather well. Hadn't Su Yuanpeng believed them?

Su Wanqing's voice was too low to make out clearly.

Su Yuanpeng's voice, on the other hand, was much louder. "What fucking potential does he have? Then tell me, what exactly are his strengths?"

"You can't say, or rather, you can't come up with anything?"

"Do you two have some sort of agreement, or some secret? Did he tell you not to speak of it to anyone? I'm telling you, I've seen plenty of swindlers like this."

"Then tell me, what is so good about him that he deserves your investment? That he deserves this much attention from you?"

Then came a burst of footsteps. Su Yuanpeng pushed open the door and entered, holding a glass bottle in his hand. "I have some Azure Wood Spiritual Liquid too. If you have what it takes, take it from me."

"Don't say I'm making things difficult for you. I'll seal my cultivation down to the 6th level of Qi Refining. We won't use magical artifacts, and we'll go outside for a fair and square fight."

"If you lose, or if you don't have the guts, then stay away from my sister from now on."

The wager Su Yuanpeng proposed was not truly fair.

Usually, the side with higher cultivation also possessed greater combat experience and had mastered more spells.

But for Xiao Chen, who had the Hextech Buff, fighting opponents at the same level was practically invincible. He simply did not know how he could lose.

What interested him more was this: "And if I win? You'll give me that Azure Wood Spiritual Liquid for free?"

Su Yuanpeng sneered. "You? If you win, not only will I give you the Azure Wood Spiritual Liquid, I'll bow and apologize to you. I'll pour your wine and serve you food to make amends."

Su Wanqing immediately objected. "No! Xiao Chen, you absolutely must not accept this match. My second brother has loved challenging people to magical combat since he was little, and he specifically learned many spells for it."

"Starting ten years ago, he has never lost a magical duel against a cultivator of the same level. Making such a demand is clearly just waiting for you to fall into his trap."

But Su Yuanpeng provoked him instead. "Third Sister, don't scare Junior Brother Xiao. Didn't you want to give him Azure Wood Spiritual Liquid? Then add your bottle of Spirit Liquid to the wager too."

As he spoke, he turned to Xiao Chen. "Well? As long as you win, both bottles of Spirit Liquid will be given to you for free. With such a good deal, you're not going to choose to be a turtle hiding its head in its shell, are you?"

"Of course, if you're afraid, I can understand. As long as you slap yourself twice and swear to stay away from my sister, I'll let bygones be bygones."

Xiao Chen calmly accepted the challenge. "You want a magical duel? No problem. Then it's a deal. If I win, both portions of Spirit Liquid belong to me."

Su Wanqing immediately panicked. "Xiao Chen, how could you agree to—"

But before she could finish, Su Yuanpeng interrupted, "Third Sister, he agreed himself. Are you going to make the decision for him?"

"Besides, don't worry. I'll only teach him a lesson. I guarantee I'll show mercy later."

Su Wanqing looked at Xiao Chen, then at Su Yuanpeng. Finally, she stamped her foot. "Then I'm coming too. I have to be there."

Thus, the three of them left the market together.

This chapter was three thousand words. Since the whole section below was one continuous scene, I did not forcibly cut it apart just to meet the word count. It might flow more smoothly for everyone this way. Any readers want to praise me?