Niu Dabao

About seven or eight minutes passed. He carefully put away the item in his hand before raising his eyes to look at Yang Chen.

"New to the sect?"

Yang Chen did not answer. A trace of smugness flashed through the dark-skinned disciple's eyes. He could tell that Yang Chen was clearly furious, yet did not dare show it, able only to vent his dissatisfaction through silence. That feeling delighted him.

He came from an impoverished mountain village and had survived by chopping firewood in the mountains. A year ago, when he entered the city to sell firewood, the Sun Moon Sword Sect happened to be throwing open its gates for new disciples. He had gone in with the thought of trying his luck, never expecting to pass the examination smoothly.

Before entering the sect, how high-spirited had he been? He had felt certain he was one of heaven's favored sons. Yet after entering the sect, he discovered that even within a great sect, the gap in one's origins remained a mountain impossible to cross.

During the task selection stage, he had the misfortune of being assigned to mine in the mountains. That had been nothing at first, but later he learned that some people had greased the supervisors' palms and received easy assignments.

This filled him with resentment. Then the cultivation Rankings Board appeared, utterly plunging him into despair.

Because those newcomers from powerful, wealthy families showed him what reality truly was.

Only a month after entering the sect, many had already become true martial artists. The person at the very top of the rankings had even reached the Qi Martial Sixth Level.

The enormous gap left him utterly disheartened, until half a year later, an organization called the Hemp-Clad Society entered his world...

It had now been over a year since he entered the sect, and his cultivation had reached the Qi Martial Sixth Level.

For a disciple like him, with neither foundation nor resources, reaching the Qi Martial Fourth Level after a year would already have been a blessing beyond measure. But the existence of the Hemp-Clad Society gave him an extra sliver of hope.

He knew that even so, his chances of advancing to the Outer Sect were still infinitesimal. But at least there was still a chance.

Besides, he especially liked this time of year, because while carrying out his task, he could see the expressions of those heaven's favored sons in his eyes—furious yet unable to speak.

Without a doubt, he hated those born into better circumstances than himself. Whenever he saw them suffer humiliation, he felt incomparably satisfied.

"Tomorrow, at three quarters into the hour of the tiger, I'll come again."

The dark-skinned disciple wore a smug expression. "And I'll be coming every day for the next few days."

Yang Chen kept a grim face and said nothing. Little did he know that the more he acted this way, the more excited the dark-skinned disciple became. "Will you come watch tomorrow too?"

Yang Chen cursed inwardly, flicked his sleeve, and left without looking back.

"Remember the time tomorrow."

The dark-skinned disciple called out loudly in invitation. Watching Yang Chen leave with his fists clenched tight, the smile on his face could not be suppressed.

After returning to his wooden hut, Yang Chen felt stifled with grievance, yet had no choice but to swallow this insult.

"It's only a few days. Endure it, and it'll pass."

As he kept comforting himself, Yang Chen found that the knot in his heart had loosened considerably.

He poured his energy into cultivation and temporarily forgot about the matter.

Before three quarters into the hour of the tiger, he arrived at the fields. Sure enough, yesterday's dark-skinned disciple appeared right on time.

Seeing that Yang Chen was truly there, the dark-skinned disciple could not help letting out a smug snort. After finishing his task, he even raised his brows provocatively. "My name is Niu Dabao. I'll be back tonight!"

Three days later, Yang Chen returned to his wooden hut with a livid face.

Just now, he had run into Xu Qingqing. They could not be called familiar, but they lived nearby and could at least be considered nodding acquaintances.

He had thought Xu Qingqing was also a victim of the Hemp-Clad Society, so he said a few extra words when they met. Yet he had not expected Xu Qingqing to know nothing about it, and she even said that the spirit field she was responsible for had not suffered any decrease in spiritual energy.

Yang Chen felt as though he had been struck by lightning and left with a forced smile.

A term came to mind: differential treatment.

Why did Xu Qingqing receive special treatment? He could not puzzle it out. Was her background astonishing, or was her talent so outstanding that the Hemp-Clad Society feared her?

He knew nothing of Xu Qingqing's background. Assuming it had nothing to do with background, where did the difference between him and Xu Qingqing lie?

There was only one answer—strength!

Xu Qingqing's strength was plain to see: Qi Martial Fifth Level. She was a name on the Rankings Board, while he was utterly unknown and had never even displayed his strength in the square.

"If people are wary of strength, then no matter what, I have to give it a try!"

Niu Dabao's provocation and the unease of having his spiritual energy siphoned away had been troubling him all along. But now, it seemed a road lay before him.

"I've finished the Fierce Beast Meat. I need to go back today or tomorrow anyway, and while I'm there, I'll ask around and see whether it truly has something to do with being on the rankings."

Among this batch of newcomers, eight had been assigned the task of patrolling spirit fields. One of them was also on the rankings. His name was Hong Zhen, and he was currently responsible for Spirit Field Number Thirteen, not far from Yang Chen's side.

The last time Yang Chen had checked the rankings, Hong Zhen had ranked only three places below Xu Qingqing.

That afternoon, Yang Chen returned to the residential area after several days away. He did not rashly seek out Hong Zhen to verify things. Instead, using the excuse of buying supplies again, he invited Wang Feng to his residence.

Less than half an hour later, Wang Feng arrived with the answer.

"Just as you thought!"

Having received the answer, the huge stone in Yang Chen's heart finally fell to the ground.

Since the Hemp-Clad Society kept its distance from disciples on the rankings, treating them with respect, the most urgent thing for him to do was get onto the rankings as quickly as possible.

"It's impossible to get on the rankings this month, but starting next month, I'll have a great chance."

That night, he spent the night uneasily in his residence. The next day, he hurried early to the dining hall and left carrying eighty jin of Fierce Beast Meat.

At three quarters into the hour of the tiger, Niu Dabao arrived precisely on time. Upon seeing Yang Chen, he complained, "Where did you run off to last night?"

Yang Chen was truly speechless toward this person. He pressed his lips together and said nothing.

"You really have a big heart. Aren't you afraid I might accidentally ruin the Spirit Rice?"

"Hehe."

Niu Dabao gave a smug laugh. "Don't forget to come tonight."

Yang Chen endured Niu Dabao's smugness until he had finished siphoning away the spiritual energy, then left with a stern face.

Another day passed. Only one day remained until the Spirit Rice harvest.

That day, Yang Chen still arrived early and waited outside the spirit fields. But after waiting and waiting, until a pale strip of dawn appeared on the horizon, neither Niu Dabao nor the others showed up.

He guessed that they had probably stopped, which made sense.

Tomorrow was the day the Spirit Rice would be harvested. No matter how powerful the Hemp-Clad Society was, it could never dare delay the sect's important affairs.

He felt as though a heavy burden had been lifted. Over the past few days, his nerves had been stretched taut, and he had not dared relax for even a moment, afraid something might go wrong with the spirit field under his care.

Fortunately, it was all over. Though he had suffered plenty of humiliation, at least the outcome was acceptable.

Once this crop of Spirit Rice was harvested, the next time the Hemp-Clad Society came would have to wait until the end of the year.

By then, whether they could still siphon spiritual energy from his side remained to be seen.

He returned to his wooden hut and cooked a huge pot of Fierce Beast Meat mixed rice. As though celebrating, he devoured it ravenously. After eating his fill, he summoned his panel:

[Realm: Qi Martial Third Level, Punching Force: 3881 kilograms]

The Qi Martial Third Level to the Qi Martial Fourth Level was a minor threshold. To break through, his Punching Force had to reach 4500 kilograms. At his cultivation speed, he still needed more than ten days.