Rage

After Xia Xue recovered, the two of them settled back into a peaceful routine. With the spiritual herbs they had acquired, Xia Xue poured all her focus into refining pills, hoping to elevate her alchemy to the next level. Chu Xiaotian had little interest in alchemy; the complex properties of various herbs and the myriad taboos involved made his head spin. After watching Xia Xue refine a batch once, he stopped paying attention and devoted his energy to cultivating the Heavenly Corpse Art.

However, the yang energy during the day was far too intense, making the efficiency of practicing the Heavenly Corpse Art abysmal. An hour of cultivation during the day couldn't even compare to a quarter-hour at night. Consequently, after one attempt, Chu Xiaotian stopped practicing the art during the day, choosing instead to focus on the Talisman Art he had mastered. Chu Xiaotian understood the power of talismans better than anyone; he knew that in this world, such things would undoubtedly prove immensely useful. Moreover, he had a natural affinity for them—a tiny slip of paper holding such marvelous utility was something anyone would find fascinating.

He spent his days practicing talismans and roasting meat for him and Xia Xue to enjoy, while his nights were dedicated entirely to the Heavenly Corpse Art. Life was fulfilling and comfortable. With each passing day, Chu Xiaotian's strength grew rapidly, and Xia Xue's alchemy skills continued to improve.

Before they knew it, a month had passed since Chu Xiaotian arrived in this world. The day arrived for Xia Xue to deliver her pills to the Mad Blade Martial Hall. After breakfast, the two left the valley and headed toward Greenwood Town. Although the process of refining pills was cumbersome—rumor had it that high-grade pills could take days, months, or even years to form—first-grade pills were not nearly so daunting. At her current level, Xia Xue could refine a batch in three hours, yielding five to ten pills per batch. Calculating two batches a day, she could produce about sixteen pills daily. However, success was never guaranteed; a fifty-percent success rate was considered quite good. Over the twenty-plus days she had been refining, she had accumulated around one hundred and fifty pills. Even so, this was nearly double the amount from last time.

The one hundred and fifty pills consisted of three types: Recovery Pills for healing injuries, Spirit-Refining Pills that slightly enhanced physique and accelerated cultivation for those below the Pulse-Opening Realm, and Origin Spirit Pills for restoring spiritual energy to those at or above the Pulse-Opening Realm. For any cultivator, these three types were almost essential. While such pills were useless to high-level cultivators, there were no such people in this area. Xia Xue's one hundred and fifty pills could be sold for ten Origin Stones each to the Mad Blade Martial Hall or the Hundred Herb Pavilion. If the Hundred Herb Pavilion sold them, they would fetch at least thirteen Origin Stones, and they were often in short supply.

While Origin Stones were worthless in the eyes of high-level cultivators, they were indispensable to low-level ones like Chu Xiaotian. Fifteen hundred Origin Stones was a significant fortune, especially considering that the cost of the materials Xia Xue used was only about five hundred Origin Stones. In such a short time, she had tripled her investment. Chu Xiaotian now considered Xia Xue, a first-grade alchemist, to be quite a little heiress.

The two walked straight toward Ba Dao's Mad Blade Martial Hall without stopping. After the incident with Cheng Yuhu, even though Xia Xue and Chu Xiaotian appeared even closer than before, no one on the street was foolish enough to come looking for trouble.

However, upon entering the Mad Blade Martial Hall, they found the atmosphere amiss. The usual sight of numerous disciples training in the courtyard was gone. Instead, the disciples stood there with faces full of rage, silently watching the main reception hall, many of them bearing injuries. Following their gazes, one could see a young man in white robes sitting in the seat of honor, with two burly men in their forties standing on either side of him.

Ba Dao stood in the center of the hall, speaking to the young man in the seat of honor with a face full of fury. Behind Ba Dao lay four disciples of the Mad Blade Martial Hall. Though it was unclear if they were alive or dead, it was certain that their condition was dire.

"What is going on? Where did those guys come from?" Chu Xiaotian asked, pointing at the young man in the seat of honor while standing next to one of the disciples.

"He's Huang Nian, a direct descendant of the Huang Family from Yufeng Prefecture. He's just here to throw his weight around because he's bored," the disciple replied, spitting on the ground with unconcealed disgust. He then recounted what had happened.

From his words, Chu Xiaotian pieced together the situation. Greenwood Town was a border town, and its strongest inhabitant was Ba Dao, a master at the peak of the Pulse-Opening Realm. There were thirty or forty such towns surrounding Yufeng Prefecture, which acted as the administrative hub for these smaller settlements. Yufeng Prefecture was vastly larger than Greenwood Town, and naturally, the experts there were far beyond anything this town could produce.

As one of the two major powers in Yufeng Prefecture, the Huang Family would normally never visit a place like Greenwood Town. But today, perhaps as the disciple suggested, they were simply bored and wanted to show off their power, so they had come.

Upon arriving, they first visited the Hundred Herb Pavilion, one of the two major powers in Greenwood Town, before coming to the Mad Blade Martial Hall. Seeing the disciples training, the young man named Huang Nian claimed he wanted to spar with them to "guide" their cultivation. Despite being only eighteen, Huang Nian's cultivation was high, already reaching the peak of the Pulse-Opening Realm. Naturally, the disciples were thrilled at the prospect of being guided by him.

Unexpectedly, the man had no intention of truly guiding them; it was more like he was using them to vent his frustrations. He struck with brutal force during the sparring, injuring nearly everyone, and several were beaten to the point where their survival was uncertain. Had Ba Dao not intervened to stop the fighting, few in the Mad Blade Martial Hall would have been left standing.

Having seen his disciples injured, Ba Dao naturally demanded an explanation. He had been reasoning with these people for an hour, but there had been no resolution.

Understanding the situation, a surge of anger flared in Chu Xiaotian's heart. He had a good relationship with the Mad Blade Martial Hall, and with his youthful temperament, he couldn't stand to see such bullying. He felt no fondness for the man surnamed Huang and wished he could stomp him into the ground. Of course, he only thought about it; he had no intention of acting on it. Putting aside whether he could even defeat the guy, even if he could, the man's family would likely eliminate him in short order.

Chu Xiaotian was filled with rage, but Ba Dao's anger was even greater. He wanted justice for his injured disciples, but despite talking for so long, the young man surnamed Huang showed no reaction. He sat there leisurely sipping tea, his eyes darting around, showing no intention of listening. This wasn't just contempt; it was blatant disregard. If not for the powerful guards at the man's side, Ba Dao would have been tempted to beat him senseless.

Finally, Ba Dao stopped speaking and simply stood there, looking calmly at Huang Nian in the seat of honor.

"Oh? Why did you stop? Go on, keep talking," the young man said, sounding displeased. He looked back at Ba Dao with a faint smile, as if everything Ba Dao had said was nothing more than a joke.

"Young Master Huang, as a direct descendant of the Huang Family, it is our honor that you would deign to guide the cultivation of us simple folk. It is only our fault that these disciples are too weak to withstand even a single move from you. However, these four disciples are severely injured, and in this humble place, we have no way to heal them. I beg you, Young Master Huang, to show mercy and save them. The Mad Blade Martial Hall would be eternally grateful." Ba Dao did not let Huang Nian's provocation drive him to a frenzy; instead, he had become completely calm. He no longer expected compensation; in the eyes of such people, they were likely nothing more than tools for venting frustration. Compensation was unrealistic. But he had to get Huang Nian to treat the four disciples, as he truly had no way to wake them himself.

"Hahahaha, save them? Tell me, Hall Master, you're quite the comedian. Go to Yufeng Prefecture and ask around: has anyone who lost consciousness at the hands of Huang Nian ever woken up?" Ba Dao's concession did not yield the result he wanted. Huang Nian laughed heartily, treating his plea as a joke. The four burly men at his sides also sneered, looking at Ba Dao as if he were a clown.

Ba Dao's face turned ghastly pale. From their expressions, he realized that these four disciples might never wake up. At that thought, an aura erupted from him, and he glared at Huang Nian with bloodshot eyes, his voice raspy. "Why? They had no grudge against you. Why would you commit such a vicious act?"

"Why? Why? Why? You ask me why? How would I know why? They were too weak to take a single hit—is that my fault? Look at you, what is this? Are you angry? Want revenge? Do you have the ability? Go on, if you have the guts, kill me now. I promise I won't fight back." Huang Nian remained as arrogant as ever, holding Ba Dao in complete contempt.