The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.
Wenjian Sect was far too lenient with its disciples! How could they let a rotten apple like this freeload in the sect for so long?
Slacking Great Master Yu Wenqiu
Gu Chengming had no idea someone had already set their sights on him.
After all, people immersed in the Gala Game didn't know the world around them existed.
If he had to name one difference from before, it was that his "mature-looking" junior brother Jiang Lu hadn't visited in quite a few days.
Come to think of it, had that one sword of his really given the other man so much to reflect on?
Gu Chengming rubbed his chin, gaining a more concrete sense of the benefits that came with Cultivation Method favorability.
Though Junior Brother Jiang Lu might be considered an unremarkable, lower-middle-ranking disciple in the entire Wenjian Sect, he was still pretty decent by Huiyuan Gate's standards.
To beat him in a swordsmanship contest—those thirty-odd points of favorability were probably worth years of painstaking cultivation to someone else.
Sure enough, the Gal Great Dao was the true path to heaven.
Gu Chengming thought smugly.
Lately, though, his "GAL Great Dao" had run into a bit of a bottleneck.
Practicing the sword was called sword practice, but in the end, it was just one form of cultivation.
And cultivation inevitably consumed resources.
At least for Gu Chengming, barely half a month of practice had already left his body struggling to keep up.
His poor constitution might have been part of the reason, but the main problem... was that he'd run out of cultivation resources.
Or rather, from the very beginning, he hadn't given cultivation resources much thought.
Only now, when his body was starting to feel the strain, did Gu Chengming suddenly realize:
Oh, I can take pills.
Pills like Blood Replenishing Pills and Spirit Condensing Pills were quite useful at the First Realm stage.
As one of the most prominent sects on the Nine Provinces Continent, Wenjian Sect provided its disciples with a generous supply of resources.
A First Realm disciple could claim ten Blood Replenishing Pills, five Spirit Condensing Pills, and one low-grade Spirit Stone from the sect each month.
For a diligent disciple, these resources weren't exactly abundant, but they were enough to cover their everyday needs.
Gu Chengming's cultivation level might have been pathetic, but he hadn't missed out on any of the benefits.
And there was another piece of good news for him.
Before transmigrating, he hadn't paid any attention to cultivation.
In other words, he hadn't collected a single resource during his three years as a disciple!
In a way, wasn't this a windfall from heaven?
To keep the Huiyuan Sword Art from squeezing him dry, Gu Chengming decided to claim all the resources he'd missed out on.
Wenjian Sect, Sword Repository Pavilion.
Though it was early morning, voices were already beginning to fill the air.
The half-acre stone building stood on the eastern side of Wenjian Sect. Bronze wind chimes hung beneath its flying eaves and interlocking brackets, yet no sound came from them when the wind blew. Its doors were two heavy sandalwood panels carved with Bluebird Carrying Lingzhi patterns, and its rings were shaped like Taotie Swallowing Pearls, cool to the touch. Dozens of outer disciples in blue-gray robes were already waiting there.
Despite its imposing name, the Sword Repository Pavilion held few weapons. Instead, it was piled high with cultivation resources such as pills, Spirit Stones, and talismans.
They said that when the pavilion was first built, it really had been used to store the sect's various divine weapons. But as the sect grew, the disciples' demand for pills and Spirit Stones steadily increased, and the Sword Repository Pavilion gradually became a large "supply depot."
There was another interesting secret about the pavilion. They said that a sword once wielded by the Founding Ancestor was still kept on the top floor. But that sword had a strange temperament and could be wielded only by a peerless genius. Once, an Elder who refused to believe it had tried to subdue the sword by force, only to be injured by its Sword Qi. It took him a full century to recover. After that, no one dared lay a hand on the sword again.
By the time Gu Chengming arrived at the Sword Repository Pavilion, quite a few disciples were already lined up inside to collect their resources.
He stood at the end of the line, curiously looking around.
The pavilion's interior was vast. Rows of tall wooden shelves were lined with Jade Bottles and wooden boxes of every kind.
A faint medicinal fragrance hung in the air, refreshing anyone who breathed it in.
Just then, the disciple ahead of Gu Chengming seemed to get into an argument with the female Elder in charge of registration.
"Elder Yu, you must have made a mistake. How could there be anything wrong with the Resource List I submitted?" the disciple said anxiously.
Gu Chengming craned his neck to look toward the front desk.
A woman in an Elder's robes was lounging in her chair with a list in hand. She glanced over it absentmindedly, then raised her eyelids and spoke in a cool, emotionless voice:
"Three Crimson Flame Grass and two Clear Heart Lotuses. Didn't you claim those last month? You used them up that quickly?"
Her voice was lovely, like a clear spring in the mountains, but her words made the disciple break out in a cold sweat.
"Th-this..."
The disciple stammered, unable to get a word out.
The female Elder was named Yu Wenqiu. Her long, ink-black hair fell loose down her back, unbound by anything. Her skin was fair, and her features were so exquisite she looked like a person in a painting. But her eyelids drooped slightly, giving her the drowsy air of someone who hadn't woken up yet.
"You've come to me with forged accounts?"
A mocking curve tugged at Yu Wenqiu's lips.
"Get lost."
She uttered the word without the slightest heat, yet the disciple seemed pardoned by heaven itself. He scrambled away as fast as he could.
Gu Chengming couldn't help marveling to himself: They could fake accounts here?
Soon, it was Gu Chengming's turn. He handed over his Identity Token and Resource List.
Yu Wenqiu took the list and gave it her habitual glance. When she saw what was written on it, she couldn't help pausing.
Huh? Three years since entering the sect, and he'd never claimed resources even once?
She raised her head and looked Gu Chengming over, then glanced at his cultivation level.
First Realm Level Three.
Hmm... No wonder he was still First Realm Level Three.
As for Yu Wenqiu, she was quite a Divine Person within Wenjian Sect.
Though she was an Elder and her cultivation was no low, she was incredibly lax about practicing and paid little attention to the sect's affairs.
Every day, she did nothing but sleep and read Storybooks. When an Elder Assessment drew near, she'd cram at the last minute and push herself to cultivate a little.
Naturally, this behavior annoyed many diligent Elders and disciples. Unfortunately, Yu Wenqiu's talent was simply extraordinary. Every time she crammed at the last minute, she still managed to break through without fail, making everyone cry out that heaven was unfair.
But the sect couldn't stand watching her any longer, so they assigned her the idle job of managing the Sword Repository Pavilion.
They called it "sharing the sect's burdens," but in reality, they just wanted her to rein herself in.
And so, a Slacking Great Master fell from grace.
Yu Wenqiu looked away and glanced at the list again.
But why had this kid suddenly decided to claim his resources now, after three years without taking any?
The question surfaced in Yu Wenqiu's mind. Then she remembered that the Disciple Assessment was coming up soon.
Could he... be the kind who crammed at the last minute, just like her?
Oh! So there was someone in this world so much like her!
Though she knew nothing about him, Yu Wenqiu couldn't help feeling a little fond of him.
She was just about to approve Gu Chengming's resources with a flourish when she noticed a problem while checking the Resource List.
For some reason, half the resources that should have gone to the male disciple in front of her had vanished into thin air.
Huh?
Yu Wenqiu furrowed her brows.
She continued checking the records and discovered that Gu Chengming's resources had been taken by another disciple as far back as a year ago.
Was he related to some Elder?
Could there really be such an injustice in the world?
Yu Wenqiu was about to lose her temper and stand up for this "kindred spirit." But when she kept looking and saw the name of the disciple who had taken the resources, her spirits sank at once.
Ji Chang.
Ji Chang... Wasn't he the grandson of Patrolling Elder Ji Fenglin?
Yu Wenqiu didn't know many people in the sect, but Ji Fenglin was one of the few she did know.
Not because they were close. Quite the opposite: Elder Ji Fenglin was one of the Elders most displeased with her behavior.
And he was a Patrolling Elder, too... One rank higher was enough to crush a person, and he was three ranks above her.
Thinking of her own miserable circumstances, then looking at the male disciple before her, who was still First Realm Level Three after three years in the sect and hadn't collected a single resource, Yu Wenqiu felt a pang of fellow feeling.
Sigh, Gu... Gu Chengming... Xiao Gu, it's not that I don't want to help you. I just don't have the power to do anything.
Thinking this, she approved the one year of resources he had left. As she handed them to Gu Chengming, she said discreetly:
"You entered the sect late, and some of your resources... were claimed in advance. Here's what you have left for the year. Take it."
Gu Chengming seemed a little surprised.
But he took it in stride. He wasn't discouraged; instead, he smiled and said:
"Thank you, Elder."
Seeing him act that way made Yu Wenqiu feel even more guilty.
She gritted her teeth, took a Jade Token from her robes, and handed it to Gu Chengming.
"Take this token to the sect's library and claim a Cultivation Method. Consider it compensation."
This time, Gu Chengming really was surprised. He took the token carefully and ventured:
"Elder, you don't need to worry. I won't tell anyone about this."
He had clearly mistaken Yu Wenqiu for the person who had secretly taken his resources.
Yu Wenqiu was so irritated she could hardly stand it. But she couldn't be bothered to explain, and simply waved him away in annoyance.
"Go on, go on. You're in the way."
After sending Gu Chengming off, Yu Wenqiu felt that what she'd just done had been a little impulsive.
After all, she wasn't exactly a busybody or a do-gooder.
Gu Chengming was rather handsome, but she wasn't the sort to be swayed by a pretty face, either.
She thought about it, but couldn't come up with an answer. She figured she'd simply gotten carried away in the heat of the moment and lost her sense of proportion.
Besides, it was only the right to claim one Cultivation Method.
She had never liked practicing anyway. Who knew how many claimable Cultivation Methods were stored on that token? Giving it away was no big deal.
With that thought, Yu Wenqiu put the matter out of her mind, pulled another Storybook from her drawer, and began reading with relish.
Hundred Bones Cry
Hmm, Elder Yu was a good person.
As he walked, Gu Chengming rubbed the smooth, warm Jade Token in his hand and thought to himself.
The token she'd given him allowed him to claim an Elder-level Cultivation Method.
Of course, even if he got his hands on those profound Cultivation Methods, they wouldn't do him much good.
After all, he was only First Realm Level Three. He hadn't even reached the threshold for those methods.
But he really was short on Cultivation Methods right now.
At the moment, he had only the Clear Heart Art and the Huiyuan Sword Art.
Before you continue