Zhang Hu Seeks Revenge?

"Damn Skinflint Zhou! It's not even light out, and he's already making us work. Is he trying to work us to death? How are we supposed to have any time left to cultivate?" A stream of curses came from the neighboring room.

Even in Chen Huai'an's room, the sound of people kicking doors could be heard.

The kitchen had started using water. Since there was consumption, they had to get to work replenishing it.

For the first few days, these newcomers definitely would not be able to adapt. Given enough time, they would naturally get used to it.

Working all day long, they truly had no extra time to cultivate.

But they could take Spirit Spring Water to aid their cultivation. How far they could ultimately go depended on their own fortune.

"Chen Huai'an, you're late. You'll have to carry one extra vat of water today. If you can't fill it, don't expect to eat." When Chen Huai'an arrived in the courtyard, Old Li immediately launched into a harsh tirade.

"Understood." Chen Huai'an did not argue. He answered blandly, then picked up a shoulder pole and buckets to fetch water.

Old Li was the strongest among the water-carrying servants. Yesterday, a young man had refused to accept his discipline and had been sent flying by a single slap. Half his face was still swollen.

Someone had already tested the waters for him. Though they were all servant disciples, these people would not band together for warmth. There was no reason for him to deliberately curry favor with Old Li, nor any reason to offend him. He only needed to do his own job well.

They had all made their way through life like this. Chen Huai'an could do the same.

Today, Chen Huai'an's goal was to collect more water, preferably filling the gourd's internal space completely.

Also, aside from using the purified and evolved Spirit Spring Water to irrigate the medicinal herbs inside the space, he should find several jars to store some of it.

The more Spirit Spring Water he had, the better it would be for his future development.

Halfway up the mountain, he took out the Purple-Skinned Gourd and drank a mouthful of Spirit Spring Water. The water tasted even better now—sweet and refreshing. The moment it went down his throat, his entire body felt comfortable, and the fatigue from the journey vanished without a trace. Even his cultivation improved slightly.

It had such an effect from merely drinking it. This was only low-grade Spirit Spring Water; if it were mid-grade or even high-grade Spirit Spring Water, what effects would it have?

When Chen Huai'an arrived beside the Spirit Spring pool, there were no disciples drawing water. Those people had only just left.

Chen Huai'an untied the Purple-Skinned Gourd, tied it to a rope, found a relatively secluded spot, and lowered it into the Spirit Spring Water to fill on its own. Today, he had to fill it to the brim. Otherwise, all his hard work would have been for nothing.

After finishing all this, Chen Huai'an immediately shouldered his buckets and hurried after the companions ahead of him.

Although Chen Huai'an had arrived last, his strength had already broken through to the first level of the Body Tempering Realm. Neither his stamina nor endurance could be compared to those of the new disciples, and he quickly caught up.

Once Chen Huai'an caught up with the others, he slowed down and followed far behind them.

When heading down the mountain, however, he rushed to the front. Once his buckets were full, he dawdled until the end again, took a mouthful of Spirit Spring Water, and continued on his way.

He repeated this over and over until the water in the gourd space was full. Only then did he tuck the Purple-Skinned Gourd close against his body.

The Purple-Skinned Gourd was his greatest support and source of confidence. He did not want any accidents to happen.

The Spirit Spring Water in Chen Huai'an's Purple-Skinned Gourd space was full, and the water level in the Spirit Spring pool on Servant Peak had also dropped by a considerable amount.

However, the spring water was consumed every day. A little less of it had little to do with servant disciples like them.

Spirit Spring Water was not an inexhaustible resource. There would come a day when it ran dry.

Chen Huai'an had been punished with carrying an extra vat of water, while Old Li did not lift a finger to help all day.

In order not to draw certain people's attention, Chen Huai'an kept carrying water until very late, dawdling until he finally filled the last vat.

After finishing work, Chen Huai'an did not feel tired in the slightest, and his cultivation had even improved somewhat. Still, he put on an exhausted appearance and lay on his bed like a dead dog, just like everyone else.

Without the Purple-Skinned Gourd, Chen Huai'an would have been the same as them. After working himself to exhaustion all day, how could he possibly have had time left to cultivate?

Once they lay down, they did not want to get back up. As for cultivation, to hell with it all.

That was why so many servant disciples remained stuck in the Body Tempering Realm, unable to break through into the Qi Refining Realm.

The cultivation world was exceptionally cruel. If one did not advance, one fell behind.

Without cultivation resources, merely grinding away through the years would never lead to a breakthrough unless one possessed heaven-defying talent.

Speaking of which, this created two extremes. Those with good talent naturally became increasingly outstanding, and they would never lack cultivation resources.

Those with poor talent, on the other hand, could never obtain cultivation resources. Naturally, their cultivation was very difficult to improve.

That was why Old Li, despite being over sixty and having served as a servant disciple in the Qingyun Sect for nearly sixty years, had never broken through to the Qi Refining Realm.

Forget breaking through to the Qi Refining Realm—he had not even broken through to the later stages of the Body Tempering Realm.

There were many disciples like him in the Qingyun Sect. On Servant Peak, they were seasoned old hands, and such people were also the most dangerous.

Wealth should not be displayed. Chen Huai'an did not want to be targeted by these people. For cultivation resources, they would certainly take desperate risks.

Especially when he was still so weak.

Old Li and Steward Wu were both no good. They only knew how to exploit them in roundabout ways. If they learned Chen Huai'an's secret, they would probably devour him without leaving even a scrap of bone behind.

Over the past two days, Chen Huai'an had not dared to cultivate with abandon, nor had he dared to casually enter the space.

From those old men, Chen Huai'an had also learned that if he wanted a peaceful place of his own, he had to break through to the Qi Refining Realm, pass the outer sect assessment, and become an outer sect disciple. Then, he would have an independent cave dwelling.

Although outer sect disciples also had to carry out missions, they would not have endless tasks every day like these servant disciples. As long as they completed the missions assigned by the sect, they would have ample time to cultivate.

Why did Old Li stubbornly remain in the dining hall? At his age, after serving as a Qingyun Sect servant for nearly sixty years, he had contributed even if only through his hard work. If they were willing to apply to leave the sect, the sect would provide some preferential treatment and a generous sum of money for them to return home and live out their remaining years in peace.

But Old Li had not done so. He wanted to break through to the Qi Refining Realm.

Breaking through to the Qi Refining Realm was like the difference between heaven and earth compared to his current state, and it would also grant him several more decades of lifespan. That was why he stubbornly refused to leave.

With old bones like Old Li's refusing to go, the newcomers suffered for it.

They had the newcomers do the tasks, while they reaped the benefits everywhere, giving themselves time to break through to higher cultivation bottlenecks.

If Chen Huai'an were strong enough, at the later stages of the Body Tempering Realm, he could do the same.

While Chen Huai'an was responsible for carrying water at the dining hall, Zhang Hu made inquiries through various channels and learned that Chen Huai'an was hiding in the dining hall, helping to carry water.

"Kid, you think becoming a kitchen hand in the dining hall means you can escape my grasp?" Zhang Hu had spent the past two days consolidating his realm. He was already at the second level of the early Body Tempering Realm. If he wanted to deal with Chen Huai'an, he had to do it quickly. He feared that dragging things out too long would work against him.

As soon as Zhang Hu had some free time, he came to cause trouble for Chen Huai'an.

Zhang Hu did not go to the Servant Peak dining hall. Instead, he waited on the path they had to take when carrying water, intending to block Chen Huai'an.

When Zhang Hu saw Chen Huai'an lagging at the back of the group, he jumped down from a tree and blocked his path.

"Kid, are you going to tell me where that Spirit Spring Water is or not?"