Junior Sister Bai Was Here!

Chun Xiaobai shook his head hard. Once he cleared his mind, he checked how his body felt.

Never mind the "sense of qi" mentioned in the manual-he had not even found where his "dantian" was.

"Grrrrr..."

His stomach chose that inopportune moment to growl, too.

Could it be that I'm too hungry to concentrate?

But if he went down the mountain to get food, the round trip would take at least a day and a night. By the time he returned, he would be hungry again. How would that work?

After some thought, Chun Xiaobai simply dumped all the bottles and jars out of his Storage Bag.

He picked them up and examined them one by one.

Qi-Restoring Pills, Meridian-Nourishing Pills, Spirit-Gathering Pills, Beauty-Nourishing Pills... There were over thirty bottles of various sizes.

On one exquisite little green bottle, he also spotted the tiny words "Foundation Establishment Pill."

"Is this the Foundation Establishment Pill that female disciple was dreaming of?"

A pill that a female disciple would sell her charms to obtain had to be worth a fortune.

Chun Xiaobai carefully put away the Foundation Establishment Pill, then casually picked up a bottle of Beauty-Nourishing Pills.

"All those years exposed to the wind and sun on the mountain have left my skin terribly rough. It's about time I gave myself a proper beauty treatment."

He took out three bottles of Beauty-Nourishing Pills and pulled out their stoppers. Each held ten brown pills the size of a fingernail, with a faint floral fragrance when he sniffed them.

Chun Xiaobai tipped his head back and poured them all straight into his mouth. He chewed them like candy beans and swallowed them in a few bites.

Aside from the floral taste lingering in his mouth, he did not feel anything particularly different. His skin still had its healthy tan.

Still, he seemed less hungry.

"These things really can serve as a meal!"

He picked up another four bottles of Meridian-Nourishing Pills, thinking he would lay some groundwork for his body first.

When he opened them, he found over twenty brown pills the size of a cat's eye inside.

He could not be bothered to count them and once again poured the whole lot into his mouth.

After swallowing the pills, he smacked his lips. Sure enough, he was full.

"These pills really are useful. They keep hunger at bay!"

Normally, he had to put away at least ten huge bowls of rice to feel this full, yet these few bottles of pills had filled him right up.

They really lived up to the name of medicinal pills!

With his belly full, Chun Xiaobai sat cross-legged again and silently recited the Azure Cloud Manual.

But he found that he still could not sense even the slightest trace of qi, nor could he locate his dantian.

It seemed he would have to find someone to guide him through this.

He had initially planned to fetch that fat fellow right away for some instruction.

But seeing that it was getting late, he set the idea aside. He would get a good night's rest first, so he could concentrate tomorrow and find that so-called "sense of qi."

The night deepened, with few stars in the sky.

Before long, heavy snores drifted out of the courtyard residence.

The next day, before he could go looking for the fat fellow, Fang Yuan came knocking at the door of his loft instead.

Chun Xiaobai rubbed his bleary eyes and glanced out the window. The sun was already high-it was noon!

"Damn! I really need to break this habit of sleeping in!"

"Senior Brother Chun," Fang Yuan called from outside, "Elder Liu will be giving a lecture at the Merit Transmission Hall this afternoon, sharing his insights on cultivation with us disciples. Are you going?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't I?"

Chun Xiaobai grinned. Just when he was fretting over having no one to guide him, someone had delivered a pillow as he was nodding off.

He opened the door, slung an arm around Fang Yuan's shoulders, and headed out of the courtyard.

Faced with Chun Xiaobai's easy familiarity, Fang Yuan quickly found himself chatting away with him. They soon hit it off, and he became a loyal little follower.

As they walked, he filled Chun Xiaobai in on all sorts of rumors and juicy gossip about Green Bamboo Peak.

Chatting along the way, the two soon reached the huge boulder at the foot of the mountain bearing the words "Green Bamboo Peak."

Today, however, two mountain-guarding disciples had inexplicably appeared beside it.

Chun Xiaobai took a closer look. There was a man and a woman, both looking rather haggard-and somewhat familiar.

Damn, aren't these the two illicit lovebirds from yesterday?

Did they lose everything and come here to guard the mountain for a meal?

Or were these illicit lovebirds mountain guards to begin with? Perhaps they fell in love after guarding the gate together day after day, then skipped work and sneaked off to the back mountain for a tryst, only for me to pay them a visit.

Otherwise, why weren't there any mountain guards here when I came up yesterday?

"Greetings, Senior Brother Fang!"

As soon as they saw the pair approach, Wu Liang and the female disciple, Lin Yue, immediately nodded and bowed, giving Fang Yuan a deep salute.

Fang Yuan nodded, then pointed at Chun Xiaobai and introduced him to the two.

"This is Senior Brother Chun, who has just joined our Green Bamboo Peak. Hurry up and pay your respects!"

"Yes, yes!"

The two immediately turned toward Chun Xiaobai and saluted respectfully. "Greetings, Senior Brother Chun!"

Anyone whom even Senior Brother Fang, at the seventh level of Qi Refinement, addressed as "Senior Brother" had to be above the seventh level of Qi Refinement.

Wu Liang gave Fang Yuan a grateful look.

Senior Brother Fang had gone out of his way to introduce them, giving them a helping hand. The gifts they had given him before had not gone to waste.

Chun Xiaobai nodded lightly, adopting the air of an accomplished master as he spoke with lofty assurance.

"Not bad. I have high hopes for you two. Keep up the good work!"

"Uh... thank you, Senior Brother Chun!" Both of them lit up with excitement.

They had never expected this newly arrived Senior Brother Chun to be so approachable, or to think so highly of them.

Should I give this senior brother a gift? Wu Liang wondered.

Unfortunately, he had been robbed yesterday after ducking into the grove.

He would have to go home and ask for some money first.

After exchanging greetings, Fang Yuan led Chun Xiaobai toward the Merit Transmission Hall.

Along the way, however, he noticed that Chun Xiaobai kept scanning the disciples passing back and forth. Whenever someone walked past, his gaze lingered on them for a few seconds.

Something stirred in Fang Yuan's mind, and he understood at once.

Looks like I'll have to get him a copy of the Outer Sect beauty rankings when I have time!

Before long, they reached the Merit Transmission Hall, and Chun Xiaobai deactivated his [Treasure-Seeing Divine Eye].

He had scanned everyone and found only yellow or green throughout the Outer Sect. Beyond those two colors, he had not seen any higher-grade wealth aura.

"Senior Brother Chun, Elder Liu will be teaching swordsmanship at the Merit Transmission Hall today. Every lecture of his is packed, so let's hurry and grab a seat."

"Swordsmanship?"

Chun Xiaobai's face darkened instantly.

"Why didn't you say so earlier?!"

Isn't this just a complete waste of time?

It seemed he would have to live on pills for another day.

But on second thought, it would be good to broaden his horizons. Once it was over, he could have this fat fellow tutor him privately.

The two entered a grand chamber in the Merit Transmission Hall, where over a hundred Outer Sect disciples were already seated cross-legged.

Following Fang Yuan, Chun Xiaobai found an empty spot in the back row and sat cross-legged, copying everyone else.

Before long, Chun Xiaobai felt his legs going numb.

He was not someone who could sit still. He unfolded his legs, leaned forward, and slumped onto the low, narrow desk in front of him before asking Fang Yuan beside him a question.

"Say, Fang Yuan, how much longer do we have to wait?"

"It should be soon," Fang Yuan said, sitting stiffly upright with his plump belly wobbling. "About... two hours, I'd say."

"Say what?" Chun Xiaobai's eyes went wide. "Two hours? And that's 'about'?"

Damn it!

Two hours would be enough for this bandit king to catch another nap back at the stronghold!

Chun Xiaobai wanted to turn around on the spot and go home to lie down.

Listening to swordsmanship instruction now was a sheer waste of his time.

Still, since he was already here, he could only risk his life to keep a gentleman company and grit his teeth through the lecture.

"All right, then, Junior Brother Fang. I'll take a little nap first. Wake me when the lesson starts."

"Uh!"

Fang Yuan froze, inwardly muttering to himself.

This powerful backer did not look like some wealthy young master with a fortune behind him, so why was he so indifferent to cultivation?

Other people could not even secure a seat for Elder Liu's swordsmanship lectures, yet this fellow was treating the place as somewhere to sleep.

Still, after thinking it over, he did not feel he could say much. The man's strength spoke for itself, after all. Of the big shots he had encountered over the years, how many had not been arrogant?

As time passed, fewer and fewer empty seats remained in the Merit Transmission Hall, and the hubbub inside grew louder and louder.

The noise made Chun Xiaobai's head throb, leaving him in no mood to nap.

He simply lay over the desk, closed his eyes, and began silently visualizing the Azure Cloud Manual in his mind. He would try his luck and see whether a blind cat might stumble upon a dead mouse, letting him reach sudden enlightenment.

"Senior Brother Fang!"

Suddenly, a sweet voice rang out beside Chun Xiaobai's ear.

"Junior Sister Bai! Come, sit down. I've already saved your seat."

When Fang Yuan saw who had arrived, he sprang from his seat and eagerly greeted the graceful figure before him.