Steward Wu's Overture?

"Brother Chen, you broke through to the fourth level of the Body Tempering Realm?" Watching Zhao Junhao leave with his tail between his legs, Liu Qiaogui hurried over to Chen Huai'an and asked.

His face was filled with shock and admiration as he spoke.

Chen Huai'an's cultivation speed was simply terrifying. How long had it been? Yet he had already broken through to the middle stage of the Body Tempering Realm. At this rate, within a year, he would be able to reach the late stage of the Body Tempering Realm, join the outer sect, and become an outer sect disciple.

"My breakthrough was all thanks to you. If not for those spirit bird eggs of yours, I wouldn't have reached the middle stage of the Body Tempering Realm." Chen Huai'an smiled.

"That's not right. I ate spirit bird eggs too, so why didn't I break through to the middle stage of the Body Tempering Realm? Could there have been a mistake when they tested your spiritual roots? Are you actually a top-grade single spiritual root?" Liu Qiaogui kept looking Chen Huai'an up and down.

This guy was said to have five-element mixed spiritual roots. Mixed spiritual roots had no grade at all; calling someone like that an ordinary mortal would not be an exaggeration. Since when did such ordinary people cultivate so quickly?

"What, you don't believe me? When I was tested, my aptitude really was the worst kind of five-element mixed spiritual root." Chen Huai'an smiled.

His cultivation speed was nothing compared to those geniuses.

If those geniuses knew how many cultivation resources he had consumed just to break through, they definitely would not praise him for cultivating quickly.

With that many cultivation resources, to put it bluntly, even a pig could break through to the Qi Refining Realm.

Yet Chen Huai'an had spent so many cultivation resources just to reach the seventh level of the late Body Tempering Realm. His aptitude could no longer be described as poor; it could only be called worthless.

But Chen Huai'an could not say any of this. He could only keep it buried inside. In their words, he had sturdy bones and a solid foundation. He consumed more resources for breakthroughs in the early stages, but later on, his path would be smooth sailing.

"Brother Chen, Zhao Junhao clearly isn't a good person. He came looking for trouble this time because you signed up for the challenge tournament but did not fight him. Next time, though, he'll deal with you openly. He's at the eighth level of the late Body Tempering Realm and one of the top five hundred experts on the Spirit Elegance Ranking." Liu Qiaogui looked at Chen Huai'an with a worried expression.

"What's there to worry about? I'm only at the middle stage of the Body Tempering Realm right now, so I have plenty of room to grow. I believe that in a month, my cultivation will definitely improve. It's even possible that I'll reach the seventh level of the late Body Tempering Realm." Chen Huai'an replied with a smile.

"Enough about that. You should hurry up and cultivate too. Break through to the middle stage of the Body Tempering Realm as soon as possible, and you can sign up for the challenge tournament as well."

Zhao Junhao had left without giving Chen Huai'an a brutal beating. When Zhang Biao learned of this, he was so furious that flames seemed to rise from his head.

"Useless trash, good-for-nothing. Couldn't that guy at least have taught him a lesson first?"

"Young Master Zhang, Young Master Zhao must have refrained because of the sect rules. Chen Huai'an has signed up for the challenge tournament. In a month, we can arrange for more people to challenge him. Young Master Zhao is one of the top five hundred on the Spirit Elegance Ranking, so it would not be appropriate for him to make a move. But those whose cultivation is comparable to Chen Huai'an's? As long as we leak a little word, plenty of people will be willing to deal with him." One of Zhang Biao's lackeys said with a grin.

"Then let him jump around a little longer. I need to prepare properly this time too. My ranking of ninety-eight needs to move up a few spots." Zhang Biao spoke blandly.

Chen Huai'an was weak. If they wanted to kill him, they could simply do it in secret.

But as Chen Huai'an's strength increased, killing him would become much more difficult. They could no longer act without restraint and would have to operate within the rules.

So-called geniuses were nothing if they had not yet grown up.

The stronger you became, the more cultivation resources the sect would provide, and the more protection you would receive from it.

The Spirit Elegance Ranking among menial disciples was, in fact, a form of protection the sect offered its disciples.

Even if Chen Huai'an's aptitude was poor, as long as his strength rose and he secured a place on the Spirit Elegance Ranking, the sect would not simply watch him die.

But if you could keep surviving within the rules, it proved that you had value, and the sect would protect you. If you could not endure, then you could only blame yourself for having no value worth cultivating and make way for someone more capable.

News that Chen Huai'an had broken through to the fourth level of the middle Body Tempering Realm caused quite a stir among the water-carrying menial disciples. Many people began to regard Chen Huai'an as a role model.

Even Steward Wu sought out Chen Huai'an, lavishly praising him and giving him a strong commendation.

Just as Chen Huai'an turned to leave, Steward Wu called after him. "Chen Huai'an, you carry water every day and still managed to break through to the middle stage of the Body Tempering Realm in such a short time. If you had enough time, your cultivation could improve even further. If you want, I can arrange for you to work in the dining hall. That way, aside from being a little busy around lunch and dinner, you'll have plenty of time to cultivate and grow stronger."

"You want to arrange for me to become a menial disciple in the kitchen?" Chen Huai'an looked stunned.

Kitchen menial disciples received far better treatment than water-carrying menial disciples.

Liu Qiaogui and the other water-carrying menial disciples dreamed of working as kitchen hands in the dining hall, but they had always been turned away with the excuse that all the positions were filled. Now, Steward Wu had suddenly stopped Chen Huai'an and wanted to arrange for him to work in the kitchen. For a moment, Chen Huai'an could not tell what Steward Wu was really plotting.

In truth, whether he carried water in the rear courtyard or worked as a kitchen hand had little to do with Chen Huai'an.

Especially now, Chen Huai'an did not need to complete his water-carrying duties himself at all. He only needed to focus on cultivation.

If he really went to the kitchen, he suspected he would have even less time to cultivate than he did now.

Still, this was Steward Wu's way of showing him goodwill. Otherwise, he would not have arranged for him to become a menial worker in the dining hall's back kitchen.

Other than having slightly more cultivation time than water-carrying menial disciples, working in the back kitchen had another, even more important benefit.

The menial disciples could skim off a portion of the spirit meals from the dining hall.

With these spirit meals to support them, their cultivation improved quickly.

That was why many menial disciples wanted to work as kitchen hands in the dining hall, where they could gain substantial benefits.

If Chen Huai'an did not have the Spirit Gourd Space, then becoming a kitchen-hand menial disciple would definitely have been a cushy job in his eyes.

A few days ago, the sect rewarded all menial disciples with a spirit meal, allowing many people to break through their bottlenecks. The dining hall cooks, meanwhile, had been living high these past few days. They had all profited by skimming some spirit meal ingredients and had been cooking extra meals for themselves. Their cultivation had all improved somewhat.

"Steward Wu, thank you for your kindness, but I'm just a rough man who only knows how to use brute strength. I'm not very good at cooking and tending the fire." After pondering briefly, Chen Huai'an chose to refuse. The small benefits of being a kitchen hand would not be of much help at his current realm.

Staying behind to carry water was the way to maximize his gains.

"You actually refused? Do you know how many of those water-carrying menial disciples want to work as cooks in the dining hall but have no way in? And you're refusing?" After a brief moment of stunned silence, Steward Wu stared at Chen Huai'an in disbelief.

This guy actually dared to refuse his goodwill.