Do Not Bully the Poor Young Man

Time flowed by, and in the blink of an eye, five days had passed.

At the Heavenly Dao Sect, Xiao Lingxi slowly awoke from cultivation and let out a breath of stale air.

"Finally, I've reached Second-Level Qi Refinement! Does that make me an unparalleled genius too?" Xiao Lingxi murmured, a flash of delight and excitement passing through her eyes.

Five days, Second-Level Qi Refinement!

Even across the entire Great Zhao Empire, this was a legend no one had ever achieved!

Ling Xiao, the foremost prodigy of the Lingxiao Sect, possessed a Supreme-Grade Spirit Root, yet even he needed over a month to reach Second-Level Qi Refinement!

This was entirely due to the formidable effect of the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra. There was no need to purify spiritual energy, saving far, far too much time.

"Hehe, my cultivation has caught up with Senior Brother Zhuge's..."

Before Xiao Lingxi could finish speaking, she heard movement from the other side. Looking closely, she saw that Zhuge Feng's cultivation had broken through once more.

Third-Level Qi Refinement!

"Hiss—" Xiao Lingxi sucked in a cold breath, her pretty face becoming utterly strange.

Whenever she thought about how a Heavenly Spiritual Root had failed to pass the Lingxiao Sect's examination, she wanted to laugh.

Lingxiao Sect, Lingxiao Sect, you will never know what kind of genius you missed!

Moreover, Senior Brother Zhuge was not only more talented, but also more hardworking. He wished he could cultivate twenty-four hours within a single day's twelve double-hours—far more diligently than she did.

[Host]

Name: Su Bai

Age: 18

Realm: Sixth-Level Qi Refinement

Items: 200 taels of gold, 3,020 taels of silver

When Xiao Lingxi entered Second-Level Qi Refinement, Su Bai's cultivation naturally reached Sixth-Level Qi Refinement.

That was the powerful effect of having ten times his disciples' cultivation!

There was no need to cultivate at all. He could level up just by lying down!

"No, no. My cultivation is still improving too slowly. There are too few disciples—I need to recruit more."

Su Bai rose to his feet, not content with his current cultivation.

At this moment, the sect points had reached 90. He was only one step away from meeting the conditions for an upgrade.

When Xiao Lingxi entered First-Level Qi Refinement and Second-Level Qi Refinement, she added 10 and 20 sect points respectively.

When Zhuge Feng entered Second-Level Qi Refinement and Third-Level Qi Refinement, he added 20 and 30 sect points respectively.

By that calculation, every time a disciple broke through in cultivation, the sect points increased. The higher their cultivation, the greater the increase.

As for what sect points were used for now, he did not yet know. Still, they would likely be needed after the next sect upgrade.

A moment later, the master and his two disciples slowly descended the mountain and headed toward Cloudwater City.

"Master, did you buy back the veil I asked for yesterday?"

Xiao Lingxi suddenly turned around and asked, blinking her eyes.

Hearing this, Su Bai immediately took an exquisite violet-colored veil from his Storage Bag.

"Yes! Your master personally picked it out." Su Bai smiled faintly.

Xiao Lingxi accepted the veil and nodded in satisfaction, a shallow curve appearing at the corner of her lips.

"Junior Sister, why did you suddenly think of wearing a veil today?" Zhuge Feng asked somewhat puzzled.

Xiao Lingxi put on the veil and said, "I think Zhao Baoxiao definitely will not let this go. His spies may already be everywhere in Cloudwater City."

Hearing that, Zhuge Feng nodded in agreement.

"Yes, that is indeed the case!"

Zhao Baoxiao's power was not something they could confront head-on at present.

Su Bai said nothing. Though he was invincible within the Heavenly Dao Sect, now that he had left it, his cultivation was only Sixth-Level Qi Refinement.

It was still best to be careful. Lying low and developing was the kingly path.

Very soon, the three arrived at Cloudwater City.

At the entrance to the Hundred Sects Assembly, Su Bai did not go in. Instead, he said to the two disciples beside him:

"You two should go buy whatever daily necessities you need. Don't worry, it won't count toward your monthly salary. The sect will reimburse the expenses."

As he spoke, he took out two hundred taels of silver from his Storage Bag and gave one hundred taels each to Zhuge Feng and Xiao Lingxi.

"Thank you, Master, but I have silver myself!" Xiao Lingxi said with a giggle, waving the Storage Ring on her hand.

A Storage Ring was ten times more precious than a Storage Bag. Even the stewards of the Lingxiao Sect could only afford Storage Bags.

Yet Zhuge Feng did not move for a long while.

One hundred taels of silver was an enormous sum to him!

"Master, there's no need for so much. A few hundred copper coins would be enough," Zhuge Feng hurriedly declined.

What virtue or ability did he possess to accept so much silver?

Seeing that neither disciple wanted the silver, Su Bai put on a stern face and said, "Are you not even going to listen to your master's words?"

"Lingxi, I know you have silver, but that is your own. This is what the sect is giving you, so just keep it!"

"Zhuge Feng, as the chief disciple of the Heavenly Dao Sect, you must set an example. Yet you are still wearing clothes washed so often they have faded white?"

"Lingxi, you have good taste. Buy your senior brother a fine set of clothes. If you do not spend all this silver, do not come back!"

"Got it, Master..." Xiao Lingxi pouted, looking unwilling.

Zhuge Feng's eyes reddened slightly. His nose stung, and waves of warmth surged through his heart...

"Master's kindness toward me is as weighty as a mountain. I will never fail your expectations!"

He secretly clenched his fist and made up his mind. He had to cultivate diligently, become strong as soon as possible, and be able to hold up one side of the sect on his own!

Su Bai watched the two leave, then turned his gaze in another direction.

"Xiao Yan, I have already become a disciple of the Cloud Heaven Sect's sect master, while you cannot even pass the entrance examination!"

"I have a Supreme-Grade Spirit Root, while you possess a useless Spirit Root!"

"I am already at Sixth-Level Qi Refinement, while you are still nothing but a mortal!"

"The gap between us is so vast that you cannot even imagine it. You are destined to be trampled beneath my feet and can only look up at me forever."

"Our engagement ends here. From now on, there will be no ties between you and me!"

A delicately dressed young girl stood in the street, her beautiful face filled with mockery and disdain.

Before her stood a somewhat thin young man, his head lowered, his fists clenched tight.

Su Bai watched quietly. This scene, along with that name, could not help reminding him of the protagonist of a novel from before he had transmigrated.

He wondered what the young man before him would do.

Would he meet the standard that would move Su Bai to take him as a disciple?

At this moment, a crowd had already gathered around them, all talking at once.

"Isn't this the useless young master of the Xiao Household? He still hasn't even succeeded in Qi Refining?"

"I heard Liu Yanran has become the young sect master of the Cloud Heaven Sect. The Cloud Heaven Sect is a super sect among the Immortal Alliance Top Five Hundred!"

"Heh, who in the entire Great Zhao Empire does not know the Cloud Heaven Sect's mighty name?"

"A toad dreaming of eating swan meat—wishful thinking!"

The crowd pointed and gestured, their jeers endless.

Listening to the voices around him, Xiao Yan looked up and saw that every face was filled with amusement.

His hands clenched into fists, his nails digging into his flesh, yet he did not notice at all.

At last, he erupted.

"Liu Yanran, three years from now, I will go to the Cloud Heaven Sect and challenge you! I will prove to you that I, Xiao Yan, am not trash!"

He roared, his voice loud and clear. After throwing down those words, he left in fury.

Within the crowd, everyone burst into laughter, as though ridiculing Xiao Yan's childishness and stupidity.

No matter how much an ugly duckling wished to prove itself, it could never become a white swan.

The ugly duckling that could become a white swan was one because it had always been a white swan.

Xiao Yan walked all the way to the depths of a dead-end alley before finally stopping.

By then, tears had already streamed down his face.

"Why? Why has Heaven made it impossible for me to cultivate!"

"Why? I have clearly worked hard, clearly been so diligent, clearly given so much—so why am I still unable to refine Qi? Why?!"

"Could it be that I was born trash?"

He pounded the wall painfully, venting the grievance and sorrow he had endured within his heart.

Just then, footsteps sounded from behind him, accompanied by a voice.

"Young man, have you ever heard this saying?"

"Do not bully the poor young man!"