Niu Dabao

About seven or eight minutes passed, and he carefully put away the item in his hand before looking up at Yang Chen.

"A new disciple?"

Yang Chen didn't answer. A hint of smugness flashed in the dark-skinned disciple's eyes. He could tell Yang Chen was clearly angry but dared not show it, only able to vent his dissatisfaction through silence. This made him feel incredibly pleased.

He came from a very poor mountain village, making a living by chopping firewood on the mountain. A year ago, he came to the city to sell firewood and happened upon the Sun Moon Sword Sect opening its gates. He decided to try his luck and, to his surprise, passed the assessment.

Before joining the sect, he was full of ambition, feeling like he was destined for greatness. But after joining, he realized that even within a major sect, the disparity in background remained an insurmountable mountain.

During the task selection phase, he unfortunately was assigned to mine in the mountains. It wasn't a big deal at first, but later he learned that some people had bribed the supervisors and were assigned easier tasks.

This filled him with resentment. Later, when the cultivation ranking list appeared, it completely crushed his hopes.

The newcomers from prominent families showed him what reality was.

After only a month in the sect, many had already become true martial artists, with the top-ranked individual already at Qi Martial Sixth Level.

The huge gap left him disheartened. It wasn't until half a year later that an organization called the Hemp-Clad Society appeared in his world...

Now, over a year had passed since he joined the sect, and his cultivation had reached Qi Martial Sixth Level.

Normally, for a disciple with no foundation and no resources like him, breaking through to Qi Martial Fourth Level in a year would already be a tremendous stroke of luck. But the existence of the Hemp-Clad Society gave him a glimmer of hope.

He knew that even so, the possibility of advancing to outer disciple was still incredibly slim, but at least there was a chance.

Furthermore, he really enjoyed this time of year because, while carrying out his tasks, he could see the expressions of those so-called chosen ones, who were angry but dared not speak.

Undoubtedly, he hated those with better backgrounds than himself. Every time he saw them in a bind, he felt immense satisfaction.

"Tomorrow at 3:45 AM, I'll be back."

The dark-skinned disciple said with a smug expression, "And I'll be here for the next few days."

Yang Chen's face was grim, and he remained silent. He didn't realize that the more he acted like this, the more excited the dark-skinned disciple became. "Will you be watching tomorrow too?"

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

"Remember the time tomorrow."

The dark-skinned disciple shouted invitingly. Seeing Yang Chen leave with clenched fists, the smile on his face was irrepressible.

Back in his wooden hut, Yang Chen felt stifled but had to swallow his anger.

"It's only a few days; I'll endure it."

With constant self-consolation, Yang Chen found his mood improving significantly.

He poured his energy into cultivation, temporarily forgetting the matter.

Before 3:45 AM, he arrived at the fields. As expected, the dark-skinned disciple from yesterday appeared right on time.

Seeing Yang Chen actually there, the dark-skinned disciple couldn't help but let out a smug hum. After completing the task, he provocatively raised his eyebrows, "My name is Niu Dabao. I'll be back tonight!"

Three days later, Yang Chen returned to his wooden hut with a furious expression.

He had just encountered Xu Qingqing. They weren't exactly close, but they lived nearby and were acquaintances.

He thought Xu Qingqing was also a victim of the Hemp-Clad Society, so he said a few extra words when they met. To his surprise, Xu Qingqing was unaware of the situation and stated that the spirit field she was responsible for hadn't experienced any decrease in spiritual energy.

Yang Chen felt as if he'd been struck by lightning and left with a forced smile.

A word came to his mind: preferential treatment.

Why was Xu Qingqing treated differently? This baffled him. Did she have an astonishing background, or was her talent so outstanding that the Hemp-Clad Society feared her?

He knew nothing of Xu Qingqing's background. He assumed it wasn't related to her background, so what was the difference between him and Xu Qingqing?

There was only one answer—strength!

Xu Qingqing's strength was obvious: Qi Martial Fifth Level, someone on the ranking list. He, on the other hand, was unknown, never even having displayed his strength in the plaza.

"If people are feared because of their strength, then I must fight for it!"

Niu Dabao's provocations and the unease of his spiritual energy being siphoned had been plaguing him. Now, a path seemed to have opened before him.

"I've finished all the Fierce Beast Meat. I have to go back today anyway. I'll gather some information and see if being on the ranking list is really the key."

Among their batch of newcomers, eight were assigned to patrol the spirit fields. One of them was on the ranking list. This person was Hong Zhen, who was now responsible for spirit field number thirteen, not far from his own.

The last time he checked the list, Hong Zhen's rank was only three places below Xu Qingqing.

That afternoon, Yang Chen returned to the residential area after a few days. Instead of rashly seeking out Hong Zhen to verify, he used the excuse of buying supplies again to invite Wang Feng to his residence.

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

"Just as you thought!"

With the answer in hand, the heavy burden in Yang Chen's heart was lifted.

Since the Hemp-Clad Society maintained a respectful distance from disciples on the ranking list, his immediate priority was to get on the list as soon as possible.

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

That night, he spent it uneasily in his residence. The next day, he rushed to the mess hall early and left with eighty jin of Fierce Beast Meat.

At 3:45 AM, Niu Dabao arrived right on time. Seeing Yang Chen, he complained, "Where did you run off to last night?"

Yang Chen was speechless towards this person, pressing his lips together and saying nothing.

"You're really carefree, aren't you? Aren't you afraid I'll accidentally ruin the Spirit Rice?"

"Heh heh."

Niu Dabao chuckled smugly, "Don't forget to come tonight."

Yang Chen endured Niu Dabao's smugness until he finished siphoning off the spiritual energy. Only then did he leave with a stern face.

Another day passed, with only one day left until the Spirit Rice harvest.

That day, Yang Chen still arrived at the spirit field early to wait. He waited and waited until the sky began to show the first light of dawn, but Niu Dabao and the others did not appear.

He guessed that the other party had stopped. This made sense.

Tomorrow was the Spirit Rice harvest. No matter how strong the Hemp-Clad Society was, they absolutely could not interfere with the sect's major affairs.

He felt a sense of relief. These past few days, his nerves had been on edge, and he hadn't dared to relax for a moment, fearing any mishap with the spirit field he was responsible for.

Fortunately, it was all over. Although he had endured a lot of frustration, the outcome was at least acceptable.

Once this batch of Spirit Rice was harvested, the Hemp-Clad Society would have to wait until the end of the year to come again.

By then, it was uncertain whether they could still siphon spiritual energy from his area.

He returned to his wooden cabin, cooked a large pot of Fierce Beast Meat with rice, and ate heartily as if celebrating. After he was full, he summoned his status panel:

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

The transition from Qi Martial Third Level to Fourth Level was a small leap. To break through, his punching force had to reach 4500 kg. With his current cultivation speed, it would still take him more than ten days.