Turns Out They Were Competing Over Who Was More Useless

"This world truly ran on the hard logic of fists!"

After returning to his dormitory, Lu Ren was filled with emotion.

If his strength had been inferior to Xiao Huohuo's, he would probably still have been kept in the dark about the Fire Spirit Sword.

"Master probably knows I sold her Fire Spirit Sword and is blaming me. Never mind, I'll raise my strength first!"

"I'll return the martial skills first!"

Holding the three manuals, Lu Ren left the courtyard.

When he arrived at the Martial Arts Pavilion, the elder guarding it recognized Lu Ren at a glance and asked, "Lu Ren, how has your martial skill training gone this past month?"

"Just so-so. I'm here to return the manuals!"

Lu Ren smiled and handed over the three manuals.

Looking at the three manuals before him, the old man guessed that Lu Ren had already given up on training martial skills. After all, with a Scrap Bloodline, he simply had no talent for cultivation. Being able to open his first Spiritual Aperture had already been a gift from an immortal.

To train martial skills, without three to five years of bitter cultivation, he would likely find it difficult even to get started.

"I said you could return these three martial skills whenever you wanted. Why not keep trying a little longer?"

The old man guarding the pavilion asked curiously.

Lu Ren smiled calmly. "I've already been cultivating very diligently!"

He had cultivated bitterly for eighty-two years. When it came to diligence, who could compare to him?

"You call that diligence?"

The old man guarding the pavilion grew slightly angry. "I made an exception for you out of respect for Elder Yun, and because you have a Scrap Bloodline. Yet after cultivating for only one month, you've returned the martial skills. Your talent is poor, and if you still refuse to work hard, you'll be kicked out of the sect sooner or later!"

"But I've already learned all three martial skills!"

Lu Ren replied, then turned and left.

If the old man guarding the pavilion knew that Lu Ren had not only learned all three martial skills, but had also brought two to perfection and one to great mastery, who knew what he would think.

He had even opened six Spiritual Apertures.

After Lu Ren left, Elder Qiu merely shook his head, feeling somewhat disappointed in Lu Ren. He had finally received an immortal's gift and opened his Spiritual Aperture to become a Martial Artist, yet he did not know how to cherish it.

"Elder Qiu, what did Lu Ren come to the Martial Arts Pavilion for?"

At that moment, Yun Qingyao walked in.

Because of Lu Ren, she had not been in a good mood to begin with. She had come to the Martial Arts Pavilion on the way to borrow several sword manuals and improve her self-created swordsmanship, only to run into Lu Ren.

However, she had deliberately avoided Lu Ren, unwilling to have too much contact with him.

"So it's Elder Yun!"

Elder Qiu instantly flared up and berated, "That disciple of yours has no desire to improve himself. He finally opened his Spiritual Aperture, so he should have cultivated diligently, but the three martial skills he borrowed from me were returned after only one month of training!"

"Only one month of cultivation?"

Yun Qingyao froze, then said regretfully, "His bloodline is scrap, but now that he has opened his Spiritual Aperture, if he were willing to train his martial skills diligently, he might not be unable to enter the Spirit Stream Realm."

At this thought, Yun Qingyao let out a long sigh in her heart, feeling it was a pity for Lu Ren.

She had originally planned to teach Lu Ren properly, but with such a temperament, he would never amount to much.

After Lu Ren returned to the courtyard, he began thinking about making money. He had originally planned to make a fortune with the Fire Spirit Sword, earning eighty-eight thousand Copper Coins every month in the future—equivalent to more than twenty years of cultivation time.

Now that source of income had been cut off, he could only think of another way to make money.

"If I cultivate for another twenty-plus years, I should be able to train the Spirit Cat Steps to perfection and open my seventh Spiritual Aperture!"

Lu Ren could not wait to open his seventh Spiritual Aperture, then advance into the Spirit Stream Realm.

As far as he knew, even the most talented new disciple generally needed three to five months before they could attempt to enter the Spirit Stream Realm, pass the assessment, and become an outer disciple.

New disciples risked being expelled from the sect, but outer disciples were different. Even if their cultivation became difficult to advance further, they would still remain outer disciples.

Therefore, Lu Ren wanted to enter the Spirit Stream Realm as soon as possible.

But even the cleverest housewife could not cook without rice!

He needed money, lots and lots of money.

He needed at least a hundred thousand Copper Coins before he could possibly train the Spirit Cat Steps to perfection.

"Training?"

Lu Ren suddenly recalled the description in the Disciples' Rules.

New disciples who had opened more than six Spiritual Apertures could take missions to earn contribution points. With contribution points, they could borrow Human Tier High-grade Martial Skills from the Martial Arts Pavilion and purchase some cultivation resources within the sect.

However, carrying out missions came with risks. New disciples were especially weak and lacked experience, so they could only join teams led by senior disciples, treating it as training and earning some spoils of war.

Of course, the most important purpose of taking missions was to temper oneself.

No matter how well one trained martial skills, without actual combat, it was meaningless and could not be converted into combat strength.

"I've now trained two martial skills to perfection, while the Spirit Cat Steps have reached great mastery. It's time to test my strength in real combat!"

With that in mind, Lu Ren crossed the Iron Chain Bridge and headed toward another mountain peak.

The outer sect area of Qingyun Sect had three peaks.

One peak contained only disciples' courtyards and the Dining Hall; one held the Martial Hall, Martial Arts Pavilion, and so on; the other housed the Contribution Hall.

When Lu Ren reached the plaza before the Contribution Hall, he saw quite a few disciples gathered there. Many stood in groups of two or three, all with rather formidable auras.

"These people should all be senior outer disciples, right?"

Lu Ren secretly guessed.

For outer disciples like them who had opened their Spiritual Apertures, if they failed to enter the Spirit Stream Realm within three years, they would also be expelled from the sect.

At that moment, quite a few disciples had gathered in one corner of the plaza, forming a circle.

At the center of the circle stood a girl with a delicate, curvaceous figure. Her pretty face was exquisite, and her green training outfit outlined her high, full chest and proud figure.

Beside the girl stood two young men, both wearing excited expressions.

"Senior Sister Qin Yu, recruit me! I promise I'll behave. I'll just stand by your side and shout 'six-six-six'!"

"Senior Sister Qin Yu, you know my talent. I've been a new disciple for two years and have only opened three Spiritual Apertures!"

"Recruit me, recruit me! I'll definitely lie down and play dead!"

Having just squeezed into the circle, Lu Ren heard the commotion.

Curious, Lu Ren asked the senior brother beside him, "Senior Brother, who is she?"

The senior brother glanced at Lu Ren. "You're a new disciple, aren't you? You don't even know Senior Sister Qin Yu?"

"I really am a new disciple. Who is Senior Sister Qin Yu?"

Lu Ren asked with a smile.

"Senior Sister Qin Yu is the number one genius among the new disciples!"

The senior brother said.

Lu Ren asked doubtfully, "If she's a genius, shouldn't she have become an outer disciple long ago?"

"What do you know? Senior Sister Qin Yu could have entered the Spiritual Aperture Realm long ago, but she wants to break through her limits and open an eighth Spiritual Aperture!"

After saying this, the senior brother revealed a look of worship.

"An eighth Spiritual Aperture!"

Lu Ren was utterly dumbfounded. Didn't a Martial Artist have only seven Spiritual Apertures in their body?

"Mm!"

The senior brother nodded. "This time, Senior Sister Qin Yu plans to take three weaker disciples out for training to temper her actual combat ability. She's already recruited two, and only lacks one more!"

"Why does she need to take three weaker disciples?"

Lu Ren looked curious.

The senior brother replied, "New disciples must form a team of four to take missions. With Senior Sister Qin Yu's strength, bringing three strong disciples would offer no challenge at all."

"No wonder!"

Lu Ren nodded slightly in realization. "So these disciples were competing over who was more useless!"