What a joke. Even an Immortal Seedling Realm Fifth Leaf cultivator had gained no advantage against him. If this pack of lackeys rushed in, wouldn't they just be asking for a beating?
Seeing his underlings grow afraid, Zhang Kuang knew he could no longer play the coward. Otherwise, how would he ever hold his head high again? Only two or three steps away from Qin Haoxuan, he gathered his courage and shouted, "Why fear him? Once I attain the supreme Great Dao, what is a mere Qin Haoxuan worth? If he dares hurt you today, I will repay it a hundredfold, a thousandfold in the future!"
Qin Haoxuan directly ignored Zhang Kuang, who only dared write empty checks at present. With a contemptuous look, he patted the face of the wretched disciple he held captive, whose face had already turned crimson, then glanced around and sneered, "You're an Immortal Seedling Realm cultivator, after all. If I, someone who hasn't even sprouted, cripple you, how will you ever hold your head high again?"
Though these words were ostensibly meant for the person in his grasp, they were actually a warning to the others not to make a move.
Slap, slap—the sound of smacking faces rang out. It landed on that wretched disciple's face, yet it was no different from striking Zhang Kuang's face!
Had any new disciple who had entered only seven days ago—whether Zhang Kuang or Li Jing—spoken such words before so many Immortal Seedling Realm cultivators, they would surely have provoked public outrage and been swarmed by the crowd, ending up either dead or crippled. But when these words came from Qin Haoxuan, who had defeated Immortal Seedling Realm Third Leaf and Fifth Leaf cultivators, they carried entirely different weight.
Qin Haoxuan's freakish ability to withstand beatings was already known throughout Spirit Field Valley. If they failed to injure him but were injured by him instead, they truly would be too ashamed to face anyone if word got out. Even if their cultivation became far greater in the future, the stain of having been defeated by a mere mortal would never wash away! And even if they beat Qin Haoxuan, so what? Bullying a mortal who had only just entered the sect with the status of a cultivator would only invite ridicule if word spread.
After weighing the pros and cons, those who had been itching to move halted their steps. Even the few Immortal Seedling Realm Fifth Leaf experts had no intention of acting. For people with some standing like them, reputation was especially important. Qin Haoxuan was far too strange; they did not want to capsize in a gutter and ruin a lifetime's illustrious name for nothing.
The wretched disciple in Qin Haoxuan's grasp had turned from red to purple, taking in little air and breathing out more than he took in. Qin Haoxuan tossed him onto the ground like a dead dog, kicking up a cloud of dust, then planted a foot on his face. Yet his gaze was coldly fixed on Zhang Kuang, only three steps away. "Before you have the ability to defeat me, you'd best not swagger around in front of me! Otherwise, killing you would be as easy as turning over my hand. If you don't believe me, try it!"
By now, Zhang Kuang was drenched in cold sweat. For more than ten years, Qin Haoxuan's accumulated intimidation had weighed too heavily on him. The domineering aura Qin Haoxuan displayed today, one that even dared look down on Immortal Seedling Realm Fifth Leaf experts, was enough to make not only Zhang Kuang, who still lacked any real strength, but even those Immortal Seedling Realm Fifth Leaf cultivators, afraid to act rashly!
Qin Haoxuan had subdued everyone in one stroke. Even Li Jing, watching from afar, felt inferior to the bearing he displayed. Li Jing secretly sighed in relief that Qin Haoxuan was merely a weak-seed disciple. If Qin Haoxuan were also a purple seed, he would surely be Li Jing's greatest enemy on the path to the supreme sect leader's throne. As things stood, there was no need to care too much about him. Given time, Li Jing would be able to leave Qin Haoxuan far behind.
Still, Qin Haoxuan's bold charge into Zhang Kuang's camp today had shattered Zhang Kuang's courage in one stroke and thoroughly exposed his outward strength and inner weakness, greatly pleasing Li Jing. Zhang Kuang could not even handle a mere weak seed, while the few Immortal Seedling Realm Fifth Leaf cultivators he had recruited were also cowardly, trouble-fearing trash. If Zhang Kuang kept developing like this, then as long as Li Jing could win Xu Yu over, Zhang Kuang would amount to nothing! Then he only needed to devise a way to kill Qin Haoxuan, that fool who could not recognize a favor.
After making a scene in Zhang Kuang's camp, Qin Haoxuan wisely stopped while he was ahead. His purpose had been to suppress Zhang Kuang's arrogant momentum, not truly to fight him until the fish died and the net split. There were several Immortal Seedling Realm Fifth Leaf experts in Zhang Kuang's camp. If they truly came to blows, Qin Haoxuan might not gain any advantage.
As he turned around, his gaze happened to collide with Li Jing's. Seeing the wariness filling Li Jing's eyes as he watched him, Qin Haoxuan could not help but smile bitterly. Why were Taichu Sect's two Supreme Purple Seeds both neglecting their proper work? Why weren't they cultivating diligently instead of tangling with a weak seed like him?
After basking in the limelight, Qin Haoxuan returned to his dormitory. Yet before he had even sat for half an incense stick's time, Xu Yu personally came to invite him to her room to look over the class notes from the past few days.
Her room was in the female disciples' dormitory area. Under countless suggestive gazes, Qin Haoxuan walked in and shut the door.
The moment he entered Xu Yu's room, the distinctive fragrance of a girl's chamber drifted into his nose. There were not many things inside: a bed, a table, and a chair, all arranged in perfect order. Several flowers and plants grew on the small windowsill, one tiny flower blooming toward the sun. In one corner of the room, more than ten little medicinal herb seedlings had been planted, adding a touch of life to the small room.
After looking around the room, Qin Haoxuan finally turned his eyes to Xu Yu and saw that her face was flushed red. After a brief daze, he realized why. Girls were thin-skinned; even he had felt embarrassed beneath those suggestive looks, let alone Xu Yu.
The atmosphere was slightly awkward, and the hostess was the one to break the silence. "Sorry, Brother Haoxuan. Elder Chu assigned too many lessons these past few days, so I truly couldn't find the time to bring you the notes."
Seeing Xu Yu lower her head and apologize, Qin Haoxuan was both amused and touched. This silly girl actually treated bringing him notes as her duty. He hurriedly smiled and said, "You're a purple-seed disciple. Of course Elder Chu has to give you special attention. This works out perfectly—I can go through several days' worth of notes all at once."
As Qin Haoxuan spoke, he picked up Xu Yu's notes from the table and was about to read them when he suddenly sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere. Looking again at Xu Yu, he found her eyes slightly red, her face filled with grievance. "Brother Haoxuan, I didn't mean to look down on you. It doesn't matter that you aren't a purple seed. I believe your future achievements definitely won't be worse than Zhang Kuang's and the others'!"
Xu Yu's tearful voice instantly threw Qin Haoxuan into a panic. He had not been this flustered even when facing Immortal Seedling Realm Fifth Leaf cultivators head-on. For a moment, he did not know what to do with his hands or feet.
Qin Haoxuan's reaction made Xu Yu let out a snort of laughter. "All right, Brother Haoxuan, read the notes. If there's anything you don't understand, just ask me."
Qin Haoxuan nodded repeatedly in relief, wishing he could bury his head in the notebook.
After reading for a while, he came across an introduction to a spiritual art called the Spirit Infusion Technique.
Spirit Infusion Technique: Gather the spiritual energy nearby and infuse it into growing plants. It can accelerate their growth, urge them to grow, and increase their medicinal potency! Can be cultivated after sprouting.
Seeing Qin Haoxuan turn to the Spirit Infusion Technique, Xu Yu explained, "In half a year, the sect will no longer provide us with food rations. We'll all have to grow our own. The Spirit Infusion Technique can increase the growth rate of the spiritual herbs we plant. That's why we need to practice it until we're proficient now, so we can put it to use right away then. Oh, and when refining pills, the Spirit Infusion Technique can also infuse spiritual energy into medicinal herbs to improve the quality of the finished pills. But that requires very high cultivation attainments, so we can't do that yet."
After Xu Yu finished speaking, she began teaching Qin Haoxuan the hand seals.
She extended ten slender, pale fingers and pressed her palms together. After curling her middle and ring fingers, she placed her remaining three fingers together and chanted a formula under her breath. Before long, thin spiritual energy truly gathered around her hands. But when she tried to infuse that energy into the growing herb seedlings, it suddenly dispersed.
Xu Yu smiled. "I haven't rooted yet, so the spiritual energy I gather is very thin and doesn't meet the standard for infusion. I'm not proficient enough either. As soon as I move even slightly, the spiritual energy disappears. But once I sprout, I should be able to master the Spirit Infusion Technique."
Qin Haoxuan nodded. For purple seeds, such a low-level spiritual art was as easy as turning over one's hand. A few days ago, when they cultivated the Qi Guiding Technique, the three purple seeds had nearly mastered it the moment they practiced it. Yet Qin Haoxuan and the other weak-seed disciples had spent a long time learning it.
After Xu Yu taught Qin Haoxuan several times, he followed her example and drew a gourd after the pattern of a gourd. Sure enough, he failed. But he was not discouraged. Everyone's aptitude differed; it was decreed by heaven and could not be forced. As long as he worked diligently through acquired effort, he believed he could still catch up to the purple-seed disciples.
Xu Yu had wanted to comfort Qin Haoxuan, but when she saw his utterly unconcerned, calm expression, the worry that she might hurt his feelings faded away. After interacting with him these past few days, she had also come to understand that Qin Haoxuan was a positive, optimistic person with a broad mind.
Though his aptitude was quite ordinary, his personal charisma was powerful. He could always stand out from the crowd, and even purple-seed disciples with better aptitude could not conceal his brilliance. Otherwise, he would not have drawn the jealousy of Zhang Kuang and Li Jing.
Qin Haoxuan carefully read through the notes, humbly asking Xu Yu about anything he did not understand. Xu Yu too held nothing back, explaining everything she knew. By the time he had finished reading the notes from the past few days, dusk was approaching, and his stomach had begun to rumble.
After having dinner with Xu Yu, Qin Haoxuan, whose appetite was five times that of ordinary people, drew countless stares. Following the nickname "monster," he earned another glorious new nickname: rice bucket.
After parting from Xu Yu, he had intended to return to his dormitory for a good sleep. The injuries from the past few days, combined with overloaded cultivation, had left even him, a practitioner of the Great Dao Heart Seed Demon Technique, somewhat weary. This was not physical exhaustion, but mental fatigue.
Yet as soon as he returned to the dormitory, he saw quite a few weak-seed disciples sitting on their beds and cultivating desperately, each straining with all their might to absorb spiritual energy. The spiritual energy in the dormitory had become much thinner as a result. Moreover, the remaining medicinal power in Qin Haoxuan's body kept tormenting him with scorching heat. Without the geothermal heat of the Lava Cellar to suppress it, the feeling was truly unbearable.
Since the medicinal power in his body had not yet been fully digested, he had no intention of venturing into the Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley again for the time being. Sleep was also an extravagant hope for someone burning hot all over. He could only turn and leave the dormitory to find a quiet place to cultivate.
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