Rewards

"Junior Brother Yang, we meet again."

Zhou Han stood with his hands behind his back, his expression giving away neither joy nor anger.

"Senior Brother Zhou handles countless affairs every day. What made you think of waiting for me here?"

Yang Chen's muscles tensed all over as he prepared to flee and call for help at any moment. Since Zhou Han could serve as a supervisor, his cultivation was at least at the Blood Martial Seventh Level. The gap in strength between them was far too great; if conflict broke out, he had no chance of winning.

"I heard from those below that Junior Brother Yang has now broken through to the Blood Martial Realm. Truly, the younger generation is to be feared."

A trace of icy darkness lurked deep in Zhou Han's eyes. Yang Chen's cultivation speed made him wary. At this rate, Yang Chen would surely become an Outer Sect disciple someday.

There was no denying that Yang Chen was a formidable rival. If they had been outside, Zhou Han would have uprooted the grass and eliminated the roots without hesitation. But this was the Sun Moon Sword Sect; killing a fellow sect member was tantamount to seeking his own death.

He had come to probe Yang Chen's intentions. If there was still room for reconciliation between them, he was willing to let bygones be bygones.

"From Senior Brother Zhou's expression, it doesn't seem like you came to congratulate me."

Yang Chen curled his lips in a cold smile. "This junior brother is busy. If Senior Brother has no important business, forgive me for not keeping you company."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Han understood that reconciliation between them was no longer possible. He abruptly stepped forward, an intense chill flashing in his eyes.

Yang Chen's hairs stood on end, as though he had been targeted by the most terrifying vicious beast. The killing intent crashing toward him seemed ready to drown him whole. He shouted, "What does Senior Brother Zhou intend to do?!"

At his sharp shout, probing gazes turned toward them from afar.

"What? Junior Brother seems afraid I'll make a move?" Zhou Han looked at Yang Chen with a smile that did not reach his eyes. "Don't be nervous. How could I possibly act here?"

"You think I'm afraid?"

Yang Chen replied coldly. He did not believe Zhou Han would be willing to perish together with him.

Naturally, Zhou Han would not be foolish enough to perish together with him. He had a chance to advance into the Outer Sect, and a bright future lay beneath his feet. Why would he do something so stupid?

"Yang Chen, we'll see."

After tossing out those words, Zhou Han left without looking back.

Once he had gone far away, Yang Chen let out a breath of relief, then quickly sneered. "Then we'll see!"

Before long, he returned to the residential area. The bustling voices scattered the worries in his heart. As he responded to the greetings of other disciples, he made his way toward the square.

Arriving beneath the Cultivation Ranking, he looked up. Compared to two days ago, three more Blood Martial Realm cultivators had appeared on the Cultivation Rankings, while his own rank had fallen to ninth.

"Look, Senior Brother Yang is here to challenge the Rankings Board again."

"Senior Brother Yang is really able to keep his cool. The rankings are about to close, yet he only came now."

"That's confidence. After all, the rewards are calculated according to the rankings on the day the list closes at the end of the month."

Amid the expectant gazes of the disciples, Yang Chen stepped before the Testing Stele and threw a punch.

A result soon appeared on the Testing Stele—18,858 kilograms. At the sight of that number, wails of despair broke out all around.

"More than three hundred kilograms of punching force in two days—how are we supposed to have the face to keep living?"

"Isn't this rate of growth too outrageous? More than a hundred kilograms of punching force in a single day?"

"I heard that after reaching the Blood Martial Realm, each cultivation session increases strength far more than in the Qi Martial Realm. Could that be related?"

"Look, Senior Brother Yang is ranked seventh!"

Quite a few disciples were immediately drawn in. Sure enough, Yang Chen's ranking had moved up two places, reaching seventh on the board.

The discussions erupted once more. This was nothing like the previous few months. These were the top ten, the rankings with the highest value. Ever since the Cultivation Rankings had opened, the names on them had hardly changed.

Yet Yang Chen had only squeezed into the top ten the day before yesterday, and today he had moved up another place. It was simply too unbelievable.

Within the crowd, Xue Cang silently watched the scene, jealousy churning within him.

He had also broken through to the Blood Martial Realm today, yet he was now ranked thirteenth, growing ever farther from the top ten.

He truly could not understand how Yang Chen cultivated. In terms of talent, he possessed a Ninth-grade Bone Root. Yang Chen could at most be ninth-grade as well; he could not possibly be extraordinary, much less Saint Realm level.

In terms of resources, during the Qi Martial Realm, he had ensured that he received one Qi Strength Pill every day. Moreover, because he had always ranked in the top ten of the Cultivation Rankings, he often bought Spirit Calming Incense to restore his condition.

Yet even so, Yang Chen had still charged out of the encirclement with an unstoppable momentum.

Why?

"Unless that bastard does nothing but cultivate every single day, there's no way he could improve this fast!"

But Xue Cang did not believe that. He could understand persisting for several days or even more than ten days, but remaining unchanged for ten months as though it were one day? That was clearly unbelievable.

Where were there so many crazed lunatics in this world?

"The gap is getting bigger and bigger."

Xue Cang was not the only one finding this hard to accept. Wei Xiao also stood in the crowd with a sour expression. He had already tested his strength just now, but his ranking had not changed. He was still tenth.

That should have been something worth celebrating, but he truly could not feel happy now. Xu Qingqing, standing beside him, had shimmering eyes, clearly growing curious about Yang Chen.

His mother had said that when a woman became curious about a man, it was the beginning of her heart stirring.

"Zhu Xi, you told me he was from your Fulong County?"

"How could a tiny backwater place like your Fulong County produce someone this fierce?"

Meng Shijun, with his thick brows and large eyes, nudged Zhu Xi beside him with his elbow, his eyes full of doubt. Over this period, through his deliberate efforts to befriend him, he had already become friends with Zhu Xi.

Zhu Xi spoke with a bitter smile. "How would I know? He wasn't like this before!"

His feelings were probably the most complicated. Both of them had come from Fulong County, and their family backgrounds were comparable. His own origins were even slightly better than Yang Chen's.

Yet he was still ranked ninety-third, while Yang Chen had charged into seventh place. He simply could not understand it. It could not be that the Yang family had gone mad and poured all its resources into Yang Chen.

That was clearly impossible. The Yang family was, after all, a major clan of a county. Counting clan members, maids, and servants, there were at least a thousand people. How could they spend such a massive fortune on Yang Chen alone?

"You brat are pretty lucky. If Yang Chen truly soars straight up into the sky, a single word from him will let you enjoy riches without end."

Meng Shijun looked at Zhu Xi with some envy. Friendships formed in humble times had always been the most precious.

Zhu Xi sighed inwardly. The rift between him and Yang Chen had yet to be resolved. He had been trying to find a way, but he had never found a suitable opportunity.

Not long after, Lin Chuan arrived.

He loudly praised Yang Chen and the other ranked disciples, then announced exciting news: every disciple would receive three spirit crystals as a reward!

Once those words were spoken, the scene nearly spun out of control. All the disciples who had not made the rankings cheered loudly.

Lin Chuan arranged for people to distribute the spirit crystals, then led Yang Chen and the other thirteen people to a secluded place.

"You have all done very well!" Lin Chuan smiled. "I promised you that as long as you could raise Area 8's ranking to second place, you would be richly rewarded."

Upon hearing "richly rewarded," even Huang Tianyu could not help but feel anticipation.

"Huang Tianyu, Area 8's rise to second place was chiefly your achievement!" Lin Chuan praised him warmly. "Therefore, I have decided to reward you with 300 spirit crystals!"

Three hundred spirit crystals?!

Everyone's breathing stopped. Huang Tianyu's pupils suddenly contracted, followed immediately by overwhelming delight in his eyes. He bowed and said, "Thank you, sir!"

A reward of 300 spirit crystals was far too precious! It was an astronomical sum that Labor Disciples could not accumulate even over five years.

Lin Chuan looked at him with a smile, personally handing a cloth bag to Huang Tianyu. He then patted him on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Cultivate well. Strive to advance into the Outer Sect as soon as possible and contribute your share to the sect."

Even though Huang Tianyu came from the imperial family and had seen all manner of intrigue and deception, he still felt as though tears might fill his eyes at that moment. Cradling the bag of spirit crystals, he said with fervor, "Please rest assured, sir. Huang Tianyu will not disappoint your expectations!"

This was precisely the effect Lin Chuan wanted. He said no more and turned his gaze toward Yang Chuan.

If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you won't have trouble finding it next time.

At the request of many readers, an ad-free VIP membership feature is now available.

Click to view