For an angler, getting skunked was impossible. Pulling up some wild greens, having a bowl of soup, heading to the market—there were plenty of ways to make do.
Someone like Lin Yu, a cultivator, was even less likely to accept that. He still had a guaranteed trick up his sleeve: change the bait and put a Qi Ling Pill on the hook.
Since it required too little skill, and Junior Disciple Brother was right beside him, he could not bring himself to change it.
Lu Bei carried his catch back to the mountain gate. Hu Jiao poked her head out of the window, then came running to his feet, chattering away as she asked why he had stayed out all night.
Lin Yu watched the scene and secretly nodded. They had a good relationship, and the little fox trusted Lu Bei deeply. He had merely been overthinking the idea of keeping a monster pet for amusement.
However, having a good relationship was one thing, while Fox Spirit taking human form was another. He felt that he ought to remind Junior Disciple Brother that excellence came from diligence, while play bred decay. He absolutely must not lose himself in feminine beauty and neglect his cultivation.
Getting skunked was depressing. Seeing the neighbor haul in a full catch was even more depressing. Seeing Lu Bei's abundant harvest, Lin Yu temporarily lost interest in fishing. Remembering that he had a task to complete, he greeted Lu Bei and hurried toward the Other Peaks of Nine Bamboo Mountain.
Among the peaks of Nine Bamboo Mountain, only Yang Fuliu, the master of Qingguang Monastery on Two Worthies Peak, and Zhao Shiran, the head of Piaoxiang Sect on Seven Plate Peaks, had not directly encountered Lu Bei. Every other sect master had interacted with him to some extent.
Their verdict was almost unanimous: having such a neighbor meant they would suffer for years to come.
But that was something they could only think privately. They certainly could not say it aloud. With Zhu Family Trading Company forcing out SITONG Trading Company, every one of them had benefited.
So not only could they not speak ill of him, they had to offer their thanks.
When the sect masters learned why Lin Yu had come, their eyes lit up. They spared no words of praise, seizing Lu Bei and praising him to the heavens. They practically blew flowers into bloom, wishing Lin Yu would take him away that very instant. Every additional day would be an immeasurable loss to the Cultivation World.
Ding Lei was the most extreme. His wording was sickeningly exaggerated, and he laid it on with tremendous vigor. Lin Yu was practically blushing from his praise.
Ding Lei did not want to act like this either. Upon learning that this was Lu Bei's senior apprentice brother from faraway Yue Province standing before him, there had been one brief moment when he had wanted to hug the man's leg and wail.
You finally came!
He had held himself back. As sect master, he had to consider the greater picture and take the long view from a realistic perspective.
Ding Lei knew exactly how cruel reality could be. If he praised Lu Bei against his conscience, there was still a chance Lu Bei would be taken away, and the goose might yet be saved. If he instead complained about and denounced Lu Bei's misdeeds, the latter would stay on Sanqing Peak one hundred percent of the time. Settling accounts afterward would only make the already impoverished Emei Sect suffer even more.
Lin Yu collected the sect masters' evaluations and obtained a Junior Disciple Brother who was handsome and dashing, eloquent and extraordinary, respectful toward his teachers, charitable, brave in the face of injustice, destined for greatness... blah blah blah... overflowing with righteous aura. He had no choice but to cut and trim the descriptions, leaving only "kindhearted" and "diligent in study."
He had to cut them. They sounded far too fake.
If he reported them honestly, not even his sect-master father—let alone his mother, the head of the Discipline Hall—would believe him. To be safe, it was better to be a little more modest.
Lin Yu soared from peak to peak, visiting eight of them in a single day. After collecting the sect masters' evaluations, he judged Lu Bei's assessment results to be excellent.
He removed the highest hundred points, then the lowest hundred points, and took the average, arriving at one hundred points.
It might have been because of his miserable experience getting skunked at the back mountain, or perhaps because he was eager to develop a new fishing spot. Lin Yu, who had originally planned to stay for three to five days, left Sanqing Peak that very night after setting up the array formation.
He had not even planned to eat, but when he heard that there would be an entire fish feast, including Silver-Striped Back from the deep pool at the back mountain, he stayed a little longer and angrily polished off half a table of fish.
After Lin Yu left, Lu Bei studied Feather Transformation Sect's new Mountain Protecting Great Array. His senior apprentice brother handled matters briskly and was very willing to spend money. The array's coverage extended to the deep pool at the back mountain, placing the underground palace within its protection as well.
Of the two jade disks that controlled the array, Lu Bei kept one and gave the other to Hu Jiao, telling her to stay vigilant. If a bad person dressed like a scholar came to the door, she need not waste words—she was to activate the array directly and blast him into smithereens.
With the array completed, Lu Bei finally put one of his worries to rest. That night, he locked himself alone in his room.
A person needed ambition. He could not become complacent just because he had run rampant through the beginner zone of Nine Bamboo Mountain, beaten Du Jinglan in a fight, and overwhelmed Pang Miaosong with words. Peers like Lin Yu and Bai Jin were the targets he needed to catch up to.
With a target came motivation. Enough talk—he began cultivating.
Lu Bei lay beneath the covers and opened his Personal Panel for a glance. After pondering for a moment, he began investing experience. Summarizing his previous level-up tricks, he first downed a bottle of Experience Pills.
Three-Revolutions Origin Nurturing Pills could not be taken consecutively. For NPCs, their medicinal power was too fierce and could overwhelm the body; for players, there was a casting-bar cooldown.
There were twenty Three-Revolutions Origin Nurturing Pills in the porcelain bottle left by Mo Buxiu. Converted into experience, they came to exactly one million.
By the time Lu Bei finished taking them, dawn was breaking outside. He checked his Main Profession experience, filled the twenty-thousand-point gap, and leveled up to Level 26.
Once the Main Profession level exceeded twenty, the Free Attribute Points and Skill Points awarded with each level-up would be multiplied by two. Above Level 30, they would be multiplied by three, and so on. As a result, he obtained 10 Free Attribute Points and 500 Skill Points.
With 840,000 experience remaining, Lu Bei first invested in the Demon Slaying Scripture, attempting to cultivate the technique to perfection. The follow-up technique was the Great Wilderness Monster Cultivation Record; if he cultivated diligently, he would miss out on the benefits corresponding to his level.
[You comprehended the Demon Slaying Scripture and made progress. Strength +8, Speed +8, Spirit +8] [You comprehended the Demon Slaying Scripture and made progress. Strength +7, Speed +9, Spirit +9] [You comprehended the Demon Slaying Scripture and made tremendous gains. Total Level Experience +200,000, Cultivation +1,200, Life +1,000] [You comprehended the Demon Slaying Scripture and broke through the technique realm, severing one demonic thought. Total level increased by 5.] [You comprehended the Demon Slaying Scripture and broke through the technique realm, tempering your Demon Slaying Will. From now on, all basic attribute growth will be calculated at three times the normal rate.] [You comprehended the Demon Slaying Scripture and made progress. Str... [You... [You comprehended the Demon Slaying Scripture and made tremendous gains. Total... [You comprehended the Demon Slaying Scripture and broke through realms consecutively, comprehending the skill Blood Nest. Spirit +10, Stamina +8, Charisma +2, Free Attribute Points +6, Skill Points +500]
He threw 600,000 experience into it. The Demon Slaying Scripture rose four levels in succession, but even after reaching Level 10, it still had not been cultivated to perfection. Lu Bei had no time to marvel at the technique's outrageous appetite for experience; his attention was wholly captured by the triple calculation of basic attributes.
"Gulp!"
He swallowed hard and raised his hand, giving the... bedboard a slap.
"This isn't a dream. I really can sever a second demonic thought."
After the immense surprise passed, Lu Bei thought of Lin Yu and Bai Jin. He quickly awoke from his daydream of knocking down the Huangji Sect with one punch. Without rushing to distribute his attribute points, he pondered for a moment, then continued investing experience into the Seated Breathing Method and the Qi Nourishing Longevity Method.
Originally, he had planned to pour the remaining experience into the Array Dao Primer and several practical skills. Now that he had seen that his basic attributes could surge once more, he decisively chose the two beginner-stage techniques.
These two techniques were ones Lu Bei had obtained when he touched the Daoist Canon Classics. Because he had been weak at the time and especially resistant to the Cultivation World, both techniques leaned toward longevity, health, and defense. After obtaining the Demon Slaying Scripture, his inflated State of Mind had changed somewhat. He had looked down on the two beginner techniques, practiced them casually, and left them in a corner.
Now, they were so good.
Beginner techniques could provide Free Attribute Points and Skill Points while consuming very little experience. Their cost-effectiveness was beyond question.
While his Main Profession level was still low, he had to raise them to the max quickly. Otherwise, raising them later would not only yield no rewards, it would also waste experience for nothing.
Seated Breathing Method Lv9
Qi Nourishing Longevity Method Lv8
Just as he had expected, the two techniques had low level caps. With only 130,000 experience, he raised both to the max, but did not comprehend any new skills.
With 100,000 experience remaining, Lu Bei did not save it either. Gritting his teeth, he threw it all in. He first allocated it to the skills Blood Rage and Dark Tide, raising them to Lv4, then left the remainder for the new technique Array Dao Primer and the new skill Blood Nest, gaining a few more rewards.
Blood Nest Lv4 (10/20000)
Array Dao Primer Lv5 (0/50,000)
He did not distribute his Free Attribute Points. A person had to have dreams, so he would save them for now. After severing another demonic thought next time, when the Free Attribute Point multiplier rose to four times, he would use the thirty points he had in stock.
Name: Lu Bei
Level: 32
Experience: 10/450,000
Cultivation: 5810/5810
Life: 4250/4250
Main Profession: Dao Cultivator (Foundation Establishment)
Attributes: Strength 222, Speed 192, Spirit 305, Stamina 205, Charisma 6, Luck 3
Evaluation: Kid, you've got some promise after all!
"Hehehe—"
"Hahahaha—"
"Wonderful!!"
Lu Bei rubbed his little hands together, his laughter especially... peculiar. Next door, Hu Jiao poked her head out of the window. Her little head was filled with enormous confusion.
What happened to the sect master? He tossed and turned all night without sleeping, and now he's acting up first thing in the morning. Could it be that he can't bear to see his senior apprentice brother leave?
Before you continue