"What kind of nonsense is this?!"
As Yang Chen walked, he mulled over the pros and cons brought by this decision. In the end, neither side sat well with him.
If he had not come to offer a gift, then once he was assigned to the mining area, Zhou Han could retaliate against him at any time.
Now that he had come, however, it felt like walking straight into the tiger's jaws.
If nothing unexpected happened, Chen Jinhai had already set his sights on him. When the day came to squeeze out some profit, Yang Chen would probably be the first person Chen Jinhai thought of.
"The first day of missing Martial Uncle Lin..."
Only at this moment did he realize just how good Lin Chuan had been. Not only had Lin Chuan never withheld spirit crystals, he had repeatedly rewarded the disciples under all manner of pretexts.
Carrying a trace of worry, Yang Chen arrived at the side room. From some distance away, he saw Huang An sitting at a table, drinking tea.
Sensing someone's arrival, Huang An set down his teacup and looked over.
When he saw it was Yang Chen, a trace of disdain flashed through his eyes.
There were two kinds of people he hated most in his life: geniuses, and geniuses younger than himself.
Whenever he faced a genius with limitless prospects, an indescribable disgust rose within him.
Yang Chen quickly reached the doorway and cupped his fists. "Yang Chen greets Supervisor Huang!"
"Oh." Huang An dragged out the word. After looking Yang Chen up and down, he said unhurriedly, "What have you come to see me about?"
"This disciple wished to seek guidance regarding the spirit field assignments."
Yang Chen stepped closer and took out fifteen spirit crystals. "Although I have been carrying out assignments for over a year, there are still many things that confuse me. I will surely need to trouble Supervisor Huang for guidance in the future."
At the sight of the fifteen spirit crystals, greed flashed through Huang An's eyes before vanishing. A smile also appeared on his face. "Easy, easy. As a spirit field supervisor, this is my duty in the first place."
"However..."
Huang An changed the subject, his face carrying a teasing look. "Junior Brother knows that the steward intends to redraw the lots. And drawing lots depends entirely on luck."
Yang Chen's brows tightened almost imperceptibly, then quickly relaxed. Lowering his voice, he said, "I hope Supervisor Huang will not hesitate to offer guidance."
Seeing him lower his brows and submit obediently, Huang An's mood immediately improved. Hinting at something, he said, "What a coincidence. The steward assigned me the task of making the lottery box."
Yang Chen took out another five spirit crystals and handed them over. "I hope Senior Brother Huang will show me some extra consideration."
Huang An licked his lips, yet made no move to take the five spirit crystals, as though he had not seen them at all. Instead, he looked around and spoke of something else. "There are many people in Area 8, but only so many good assignments. Whoever gets a good assignment gains more time to cultivate. Do not underestimate that little bit of time. Some people spend five years and end up only one step away from the Outer Sect. Yet that very step is missing because they lacked this little bit of time. Wouldn't that be a pity, Junior Brother?"
Yang Chen's expression froze. After roughly three breaths of silence, he forced out a smile and took another three spirit crystals from his robes.
Seeing Yang Chen's expression, Huang An felt utterly vindicated. He also knew he could not push too far, or Yang Chen might smash the jar since it was already broken.
He immediately gathered up all the spirit crystals and said with a broad smile, "Rest assured, Junior Brother Yang. When assigning spirit field tasks, we will certainly give priority to experienced disciples like you. Go back and wait for my good news."
"Thank you, Senior Brother Huang."
Yang Chen forced a pained smile onto his face and left, looking back every few steps.
"Hmph."
After Yang Chen left, Huang An snorted smugly and stuffed all the spirit crystals into a bag beneath the table.
On his way down the mountain, Yang Chen's face was somewhat grim.
His purpose in coming today had been achieved, but both Chen Jinhai's attitude and Huang An's greed made anger surge in his heart.
Huang An in particular—he did not care much about twenty-three spirit crystals, but no one would be happy about being ruthlessly fleeced.
"Huang An!"
Yang Chen snorted and committed the man to memory.
Once he grew strong enough, every last one of these people would be unable to escape his reckoning.
Only after returning to his residence did Yang Chen gradually calm down. Sometimes, that was simply how it was: beneath another man's roof, one had no choice but to bow one's head.
There was no shame in lowering oneself for the moment. What mattered was knowing shame, then striving onward with courage.
Two days later, in the afternoon, the lottery-based assignment of tasks began.
The results were no surprise to Yang Chen. Anyone assigned a good task had pulled strings. Most were familiar faces, while only a very small number were lucky people Chen Jinhai had used to stop others from talking.
He still retained his spirit field assignment.
After the lottery, his days returned to peace. Every day, he cultivated step by step to ensure his cultivation advanced steadily.
Besides that, he spent three spirit crystals to set up an iron training dummy outside Spirit Field No. 8, specifically for practicing swordsmanship.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
On the roadside outside Spirit Field No. 8, the clash of metal rang out from time to time.
Yang Chen held a longsword wrapped in specially made cotton cloth, practicing the Ten Sword Technique through basic moves such as thrusting and lifting.
The Sword Technique Essays recorded that if one wished to achieve something on the path of the sword, one's foundation had to be solid.
The foundation spoken of here referred to basic skills.
A sword was an extension of the arm, but to wield it as easily as one's own limb required countless repetitions of basic practice.
Only when the foundation was solid enough could one's sword strikes be fast, accurate, and steady, truly striking wherever one pointed.
It was like shooting at a target. Many people thought of the bullseye and aimed at the bullseye, yet without thousands upon thousands of repetitions, the result was often worlds apart.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The clash of metal rang without end, while the sound of the sword tearing through the air rose and fell.
Yang Chen turned into a sword fanatic, deaf to all matters outside the window, wholly immersing himself in sword practice.
On a field ridge not far away, Xu Qingqing watched this scene, a strange light appearing in her eyes.
Ever since she had heard the commotion last time, she had paid more attention to Yang Chen. Over the past few days, he had swung his sword tens of thousands of times each day, come rain or shine.
"Is this why his attainments in swordsmanship improved so quickly?"
Three days ago, she had noticed that Yang Chen's swordsmanship was extremely high. He had directly raised a sword technique to the Minor Accomplishment stage. Moreover, she guessed that Yang Chen seemed to cultivate more than one sword technique, and the realm of his other sword technique was likely not inferior either.
"At least two sword techniques, both cultivated to Minor Accomplishment..."
Xu Qingqing felt a trace of dejection. Yang Chen had obtained sword techniques later than she had, yet he had overtaken her from behind and walked ahead of her.
"Junior Sister Xu, peeking at someone else practicing swordsmanship is not a good habit."
Just as Xu Qingqing became distracted, Yang Chen's voice drifted over.
Xu Qingqing's cheeks reddened. Just as she was about to explain, she discovered that Yang Chen had already sheathed his sword and entered the wooden house.
She pursed her lips, feeling strangely unsettled inside.
It was not that her pride was so strong that she insisted others fawn over her. Rather, over the years, too many people had flocked to her like ducks. Yang Chen's casual attitude left her unable to adapt at once.
"Damn it!"
Inside the wooden house, Yang Chen peered into his Storage Bag again and again.
Resources such as Qi and Blood Pills were all gone!
He rubbed his hair, only then remembering that Wang Feng no longer handled resource deliveries.
From now on, he would have to personally go to town to purchase all resources.
"I'll make a trip this afternoon."
After thinking it over, he took out the Sword Technique Essays and continued studying it.
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