Zhao Long's figure disappeared at the end of the path.
The ingratiating smile on Zhou Xuan's face vanished in an instant.
He turned and went back to his shabby Wood hut.
The room was bare. Apart from a hard wooden plank bed, there was Nothingness else.
Zhou Xuan lay down on the bed and focused his mind.
A deep blue screen, visible only to him, appeared before his eyes.
[Host: Zhou Xuan]
[Talent: Five Elements Impure Spirit Root (Unrivaled Ultimate Trash)]
[Years of Cultivation: 2]
[Realm: Body Forging, First Stage (Trash!)]
[Skills: Sweeping, Cleaning Toilets (Beast of Burden)]
[Possessions: Half-eaten Spirit Ginseng Whisker (Ultimate Pauper)]
[Metal Touch Value: 60]
[Summary: An ultimate beast-of-burden trash with no cultivation talent whatsoever, exploited by the Sect]
"Ultimate beast-of-burden trash..."
Looking at the system's completely emotionless summary, Zhou Xuan's mouth twitched.
He nearly burst into tears.
It was so damn accurate, so damn hurtful.
But he quickly fixed his gaze on the last line.
Metal Touch Value: 60.
Turning trash into treasure—that was his ticket to turning his life around. He wanted to raise his strength right away!
He sprang off the bed, dropped to the floor, and felt around for a hidden compartment beneath the bedframe.
Carefully, he took out a battered Wood box.
He opened the Wood box. Inside lay several shriveled ginseng whiskers, so withered they were almost ready to crumble to dust.
A few days ago, while cleaning the Pill Room in the Inner Sect, he had secretly picked them out of the medicinal dregs.
Though they were only scraps, they still contained a trace of Spiritual Energy.
He had treasured them like jewels, planning to save them for one last push when he tried to break through to the second stage of Body Forging.
But now...
He had a better option.
"System."
Zhou Xuan murmured inwardly.
"How much Gold Touch Value will it take to enlighten this thing?"
[Ding! Detected low-grade Spiritual Energy item—damaged Spirit Ginseng Whisker.]
[Spend 10 Gold Touch Value to perform Enlightenment and turn trash into treasure?]
Ten points!
Zhou Xuan's pupils suddenly shrank.
Twenty Low-grade Spirit Stones had only gotten him sixty points.
This would use up a sixth of them in one go.
But he didn't hesitate. He had been in the Sect for more than two years, and had long since learned that strength ruled the Cultivation World. Before, he hadn't had the means. But now he had the system, and he was going to get stronger immediately.
"Yes!"
The moment the thought crossed his mind...
The ginseng whiskers in the Wood box floated into the air.
A faint Metal light enveloped them.
Before his very eyes, the withered whiskers began to plump up and unfurl.
New roots sprouted at an incredible speed.
In just a few breaths...
A whole Spirit Ginseng, crystalline from root to tip and radiating a rich medicinal fragrance, appeared before Zhou Xuan.
A powerful surge of Spiritual Energy instantly filled the cramped Wood hut.
Zhou Xuan trembled with excitement.
He'd struck it rich!
Ten Gold Touch Value—worth just a little more than three Low-grade Spirit Stones.
And the complete Spirit Ginseng he'd gotten in return contained a concentration of Spiritual Energy that probably couldn't even compare to a single Mid-grade Spirit Stone!
In the Sect, it took a hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones to exchange for one Mid-grade Spirit Stone!
A steal!
He hesitated over whether to trade it for Spirit Stones or consume it himself. Trading it for Spirit Stones would attract too much attention. The Cultivation World was a place where the strong preyed on the weak.
Without a second thought, Zhou Xuan grabbed the still-glowing Spirit Ginseng and shoved it straight into his mouth.
It melted as soon as it touched his tongue.
Boom!
A vast, pure torrent of Spiritual Energy burst through his body like a floodgate giving way!
The Spiritual Energy surged through his limbs and bones, his organs and Five Viscera and Six Bowels.
He was about to break through!
Overjoyed, Zhou Xuan immediately sat cross-legged and guided the power toward the barrier of the first stage of Body Forging.
At that very moment, just as Zhou Xuan was about to break through...
The Inner Sect.
In the quarters on Green Bamboo Peak.
Zhao Long was lounging comfortably on a cushioned couch, idly playing with the cloth pouch he had snatched from Zhou Xuan.
"Junior Sister Liu really is softhearted."
"Twenty Low-grade Spirit Stones—that's a whole month's pay for me."
"And she just gave them to that piece of trash. What a waste."
He scoffed, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.
"Could a good-for-nothing like him even make use of Spirit Stones?"
"I'd better use them for him!"
As he spoke, he untied the pouch, casually poured out a Spirit Stone, and held it in his palm, ready to begin cultivating.
"Huh?"
The sensation of Spiritual Energy entering his body never came.
Zhao Long frowned.
"What's going on? Why is there not a trace of Spiritual Energy in this Spirit Stone?"
Unconvinced, he took out a second one.
It was the same.
Cold and lifeless, just like an ordinary rock.
Zhao Long's expression darkened at once.
He dumped every Spirit Stone in the pouch onto the bed.
One.
Two.
Ten.
Twenty!
He inspected every last one.
The result was the same!
Every one of them was a worthless stone!
"Damn it!"
Zhao Long roared and slammed his fist into the bed, the veins on his forehead bulging.
"How dare you cheat me!"
The first person he thought of was that menial laborer, Zhou Xuan.
But then he calmed down.
"No."
"I watched him pick up the Spirit Stones Junior Sister Liu gave him."
"He's a trash at the first stage of Body Forging. What could he have done to switch them right under my nose?"
It didn't add up.
So where was the problem?
Zhao Long's gaze flickered. Suddenly, a flash of insight streaked through his mind.
Could it be?
Had Junior Sister Liu given him these worthless stones in the first place?
He suddenly understood.
"So that's it!"
"Junior Sister Liu wanted to distance herself from this while making sure that trash didn't actually benefit!"
"She made a show of giving him compensation to silence the gossips, but in truth, she didn't give up a single hair!"
"Brilliant!"
The more Zhao Long thought about it, the more certain he became that this was exactly what had happened.
The anger slowly faded from his face, replaced by an amused smile.
"Looks like Junior Sister Liu isn't as pure and innocent as she seems."
"So she saw through Senior Brother's plan long ago. Interesting!"
He murmured her name, a cold smile tugging at his lips.
"But that trash handled the Spirit Stones. How could he not know they were just rocks? He actually dared to trick me."
Zhao Long's eyes turned cold. With a wave of his hand, all the Spirit Stones crumbled into powder.
Then he stood and headed straight for the Outer Sect Steward's office.
Meanwhile, Zhou Xuan knew Nothingness about it.
Inside his shabby Wood hut, Spiritual Energy surged.
The torrent of Spiritual Energy born from the Spirit Ginseng rampaged through his body, washing every inch of his Meridians.
Who knew how long passed.
Boom!
A muffled thud sounded inside him, as if a Nothingness-shaped shackle had been broken.
Second stage of Body Forging!
Third stage of Body Forging!
Zhou Xuan slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a mouthful of stale air.
He felt the strength in his body, several times greater than before, but his face showed little joy.
One whole Spirit Ginseng.
It had cost him ten Gold Touch Value.
The Spiritual Energy it contained would have been enough to take an ordinary Outer Sect Disciple from the first stage of Body Forging all the way to the fourth, perhaps even the fifth!
But for him...
It had only raised him by two stages.
"Damn it, I really am trash!"
Zhou Xuan gave a self-mocking laugh.
"This Five Elements Waste Spirit Root really is a Nothingness-bottomless pit for Spiritual Energy."
Before you continue