A Will Eternal

by Srtyi

One will to create oceans. One will to summon the mulberry fields. One will to slaughter countless devils. One will to eradicate innumerable immortals. Only my will… is eternal. Translator: Deathblade

3. 64

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Chapter 64: Morale and a Funeral

As Ouyang Jie watched Li Qinghou leaving, his voice rang out to the surrounding disciples. "Split up and do everything you can to locate Bai Xiaochun. Whoever finds him will receive a reward of merit points from me personally. If you encounter any surviving Luochen Clan cultivators, kill them!"

Two thousand cultivators spent an entire month searching the 5,000 kilometer area.

They searched virtually every possible location, but no one ever found Bai Xiaochun. However, they did discover the corpses of the Luochen Clan cultivators he had killed. As corpses turned up one after another, the Inner Sect disciples grew more and more shocked.

Virtually all of the Luochen Clan cultivators had been killed with a single blow. The Inner Sect disciples could scarcely imagine how an Outer Sect disciple in the sixth level of Qi Condensation could possibly have done something like that.

Qian Dajin gasped over and over again, and suddenly realized it would actually be much better for him if Bai Xiaochun was dead. He himself was probably not a match for someone so violent and powerful. Li Qinghou's fury caused him to grow more nervous, and he even began to wail inwardly.

"Dammit! Why didn't you tell me you had such connections? If you had, I would never have provoked you!"

Eventually they found the corpses of the three disciples who were in the eighth level of Qi Condensation, and they could only imagine what that bitter, intense battle must have been like. It left them reeling.

Soon everyone came to the conclusion that Bai Xiaochun… had most likely been killed in that nameless mountain range. That was a place rife with perilous beasts, and numerous other dangers that could kill a person and leave no corpse behind.

Eventually, they captured the two Luochen Clan disciples that Chen Heng had dispatched after Hou Yunfei and Du Lingfei different directions. When they learned that one of the people chasing Bai Xiaochun had been none other than the Luochen Clan's Crown Prince, who was in the ninth level of Qi Condensation, they all resigned themselves to the fact… that Bai Xiaochun really must be dead.

After the month of searching ended, everyone returned to the sect. Hou Yunfei had been found relatively early on, seriously injured, but alive. With the full power of the sect focused on healing him, he ended up being just fine.

Both he and Du Lingfei had performed significant meritorious service for the sect, but that left them with no feeling of excitement. Instead, they felt sadness, and couldn't stop thinking about the events which had occurred.

Both of them wanted to go back to join the search efforts when they were underway, but their injuries were too serious. The only person who refused to give up on searching for Bai Xiaochun was Li Qinghou. He journeyed alone into the nameless mountain range, where he searched for two full months. Other than a few places that even he couldn't enter, he searched the length and breadth of the mountains. Strangely, even though it seemed clear that Bai Xiaochun had to be in these very mountains, he couldn't find a single trace of him. It was almost as if Bai Xiaochun were currently in some other world.

During the process of the search, he ended up fighting quite a few powerful beasts, and was even injured by some of them. Two months later, it was with great bitterness that he stood in front of a certain tree with a blood-stained scrap of cloth stuck to it.

"If I hadn't brought you to the sect…." Li Qinghou thought. When he closed his eyes, he recalled the image of Bai Xiaochun there on Mount Hood, looking scared to death of the lightning and thunder. He thought about how frightened he had looked at 10,000 Snakes Valley, about what had happened during the sect competition, and about how he had taken first place in all the stone steles.

He sighed silently, seemingly growing older as he reached out and picked up the bloodstained cloth. He had already picked up seven or eight similar pieces of cloth just like this during his search.

In the end, he left the jungle, transforming into a beam of light that shot off into the distance.

Thus ended the rebellion of the Luochen Clan. The Spirit Stream Sect struck like lightning, completely wiping out the traitors. The matter caused quite a stir in the Eastwood Lower Reaches of the Heavenspan River. In the cultivation world of the Eastwood Continent, which was one of the four great continents, countless cultivator clans and sects learned of the matter. As a result, the awe felt toward the Spirit Stream Sect grew, a sect that was one of the Four Great Sects in the Eastwood Lower Reaches.

After an investigation by the Spirit Stream Sect, they found some clues as to why the Luochen Clan had turned traitor. The bloodline seal was one reason, but there was an even more profound motivation. After piecing together various clues, the vast ramifications left the Spirit Stream Sect shocked.

If they hadn't stopped the matter when they did, the resulting chain reaction would have led to numerous other cultivator clans hearing about the matter and then following along in the rebellion. It would have been almost the same as a powerful enemy invading Spirit Stream Sect territory, and would have led to grave repercussions, potentially even the destabilization of the sect.

The news about the deeds accomplished by Du Lingfei and Hou Yunfei quickly spread, as did the stories of Bai Xiaochun nobly sacrificing himself.

The fact that he had refused to abandon his fellow disciples, and had even used himself as bait to lead the enemy away, left many people moved. The cultivation world was full of selfish people; individuals like Bai Xiaochun were not common. The loss of such a disciple left many people, even the Sect Leader and Elders, feeling very aggrieved.

There were other implications that came along with the whole event. However, as more clues came to light, the Spirit Stream Sect only grew more silent. For some unknown reason, they eventually stopped investigating. However, all of the Foundation Establishment cultivators in the sect increased their level of vigilance to a point far beyond normal.

Apparently… a storm was coming.

The south and north banks together had seven Peak Lords. In addition to that were the Sect Leader and other Elders. After much discussion and research, they came to a unanimous decision.

Du Lingfei, Hou Yunfei, as well as the perished Feng Yan, had all performed meritorious service. As for Bai Xiaochun… he had accomplished a tremendous service beyond the ordinary!

The final decision was explained by the Spirit Stream Sect's Sect Leader Zheng Yuandong. "A storm is coming. The most important thing… is to lift everyone's spirits. For ten thousand years, the morale of our sect has remained high. Considering the tremendous service Bai Xiaochun has performed, at the cost of his very life, we can only repay his kindness by having a grand funeral. Those who contribute to the sect shall never be forgotten."

In the following days, although the Spirit Stream Sect didn't investigate any further into the reasons for the betrayal of the Luochen Clan, they took every opportunity to spread the story of how Bai Xiaochun had sacrificed himself for his fellow disciples, and how he had nobly fought for the sect.

As the story was propagated, more and more disciples from the various mountain peaks on both the south and north banks learned of the name Bai Xiaochun, and what he had done to save his fellow disciples.

Of course, the sect itself wasn't ambivalent to such a devoted and loyal disciple. Li Qinghou had eradicated an entire clan, and two thousand Inner Sect disciples had been mobilized. Sending such a powerful force to handle the situation was like killing a chicken with a battle-axe.

Not only did all the disciples in the sect remember Bai Xiaochun's name, they were moved by how the sect reacted to the situation. Even though the sect had obviously reacted in such a way intentionally… that reaction was exactly what the disciples expected.

For ten thousand years, that was the unchanging tradition of the Spirit Stream Sect.

Touch one of our disciples, and you will die, no matter how far you run!

When a Spirit Stream Sect disciple went outside of the sect, they were never alone: they were backed by the entire Spirit Stream Sect. The sect was like a shield, eternally there for their protection.

Because of that, the disciples were devoted to their sect, and would expend any and all effort, even give up their lives, to defend it, their home.

That was the mighty Spirit Stream Sect, which had started out ten thousand years ago as a tiny sect with only a few dozen people in it.

In order to determine whether or not Bai Xiaochun was really dead, the Sect Leader asked for help from one of the sect's Prime Elders, who was adept at divining information from the Heavens. Unfortunately, his divination magic did not reveal any hint that Bai Xiaochun was still alive in the world. The only thing he discovered was an aura of death, which seemed to prove that Bai Xiaochun… had died in battle, fighting for the sect.

On a rainy morning a few days later, the mournful tolling of bells could be heard throughout the Spirit Stream Sect. Countless disciples wearing black robes emerged silently from their residences, expressions grief on their faces as they gathered midway up Fragrant Cloud Peak.

There, a gravestone had been erected, with a portrait of Bai Xiaochun on it, smiling happily.

Big Fatty Zhang stood there in the crowd. He glanced at everyone around him, and then looked at the gravestone, and Bai Xiaochun's name. As the rain fell and soaked his clothing, he wept, recalling all of his memories of the past. He thought about how they had eaten the various pilfered spirit treasures, about how they had laughed and joked together, about how they had sold spots in the Outer Sect, and about stealing chickens….

"Ninth Fatty…." Big Fatty Zhang murmured, looking very sad. His heart felt empty, and the pain made the entire world seem dark.

The other fatties from the Ovens, Bai Xiaochun's Elder Brothers, were all filled with grief, and couldn't stop crying, including Third Fatty Hei.

Xu Baocai, Chen Zi'ang, Zhao Yiduo and Elders Xu and Zhou, as well as everyone else Bai Xiaochun had come to know since joining the sect, all stood in the crowd, faces filled with grief.

Zhou Xinqi came and stared silently at the gravestone. After hearing the story of what Bai Xiaochun had done, she couldn't help but think of how zealously he had searched for the chicken thief.

Hou Yunfei came, propped up on the shoulder of Hou Xiaomei. He stood there, fists clenched, shaking in grief.

"Junior Brother Bai…." A bitter smile twisted his face. After returning to the sect, he begun spending his days drinking. He just couldn't forget that moment in which Bai Xiaochun had led all the enemies away, using himself as bait.

More and more people showed up, until the middle section of Fragrant Cloud Peak was densely packed with countless disciples, all silently looking at the gravestone.

At the front of the crowd was Du Lingfei. Her face was pale, and it was impossible to tell the difference between the tears that streaked down her cheeks, and the rainwater. She seemed to be in a daze, and while her face was as beautiful as it had always been, that beauty was now sad and poignant.

"You could have stayed alive… but here I am, and you're gone…." Du Lingfei's days had been spent in sorrow and misery recently. She had lost weight, and often dreamed about that moment in which Bai Xiaochun had returned, unshakeable and determined. And then he had left, a scene which left her weeping and wracked with pain.

As the mourning bells tolled, echoing about in all directions, beams of light shot toward the gravestone from all directions. Within them were the seven Peak Lords, all of the Spirit Stream Sect Elders, and even the Sect Leader. They wore black robes, and as they gathered near the gravestone, their expressions were those of sorrow.

As for Li Qinghou, bitterness and self-reproach filled his heart.

A moment later, the Sect Leader began to speak, his voice calm and slow.

"Bai Xiaochun was an Outer Sect disciple of Fragrant Cloud Peak in the Spirit Stream Sect. He was a blazing sun in the Dao of medicine, a Chosen among disciples. In his battle against the Luochen Clan, he killed numerous Luochen traitors, and sacrificed himself to save his fellow disciples. He was loyal to his sect, and gave his life in the most tremendous display of meritorious service. Disciples of the Spirit Stream Sect will remember his name for all eternity!"

His voice was filled with grief, and as his voice echoed out, Du Lingfei's tears flowed even harder. Hou Yunfei, Big Fatty Zhang, and countless other people were all weeping.

"On this day, I confer upon Bai Xiaochun the title of the Spirit Stream Sect Prestige disciple!" In response to the Sect Leader's words, countless disciples were shaken. To hear the term Prestige disciple left everyone moved.

That position was a matchless honor within the Spirit Stream Sect, and there could only be one Prestige disciple within the sect within any generation. It was a position higher than the Inner Sect, and on equal standing with Successor disciples. There was no greater honor for the dead.

Throughout the ten-thousand-year history of the Spirit Stream Sect, there had only ever been nine disciples with such a title, each and every one of whom had been conferred with it after dying in battle for the sect. As of this moment, there were now ten such disciples in the history of the sect.

Not a single person present felt the honor was inappropriate. Bai Xiaochun had earned it with his life.

"From the time he joined the sect until he sacrificed his life," continued the Sect Leader, "Bai Xiaochun never had a Master. Having given his life for the sect, I refuse to allow him to wander alone in the underworld. Therefore, I shall represent my dead teacher, Daoist Master Spiritsieve, to accept Bai Xiaochun as his apprentice. Henceforth, he can continue to pursue the great Dao in the underworld." In response to the Sect Leader's words, Li Qinghou nodded, pain flickering in his eyes as he looked at the gravestone.

"And now everyone… shall observe a moment of silence!" With that, the Sect Leader closed his eyes. Looking at the gravestone, he bowed his head, as did all of the other disciples present.

After a few breaths of time passed, the moment of silence ended. Du Lingfei couldn't hold her feelings in any longer, and began to wail.

In the same moment that everyone was observing the moment of silence, back in the nameless mountain range, Bai Xiaochun slowly opened his eyes and sneezed.

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Chapter 65: Shou Lingren

The moment of the sneeze was the same moment that Bai Xiaochun woke up. His mind was still in the same state it had been when he was seriously injured and fallen into a coma, so as soon as he woke up, he subconsciously cradled his left arm and let out a miserable cry. However, as soon as that cry left his lips, he looked down in surprise at his arm, and then at the rest of his body. He began to poke and prod himself, and even opened his garments and looked at his soft, white belly.

"Eee? No injuries?" Suddenly, his eyes flickered with fear as he recalled something that the old folks back in the village used to say. Supposedly, when someone died, their soul would enter the shadows of the underworld. At the moment, he obviously had no injuries, which meant that he must only be a soul…. Shivering, he looked around and realized that everything around him was dead. Even all the plants and grass were withered up. Chen Heng's corpse was nowhere to be seen.

As he looked around, he also noticed fog everywhere. He couldn't see much at all, and everything past a certain distance was a complete blur. A faint aura of death pulsed in the area, causing a cold sensation to wash through his body.

"That's it. It's over…. I was so careful for most of my poor little life, only to end up losing it…." Bai Xiaochun was now even more certain that he was now a lost soul. His face twisted bitterly, and he let out an anguished moan.

"I never even got to give Du Lingfei a chance to pay me back with all her heart…. Elder Brother Hou still has his promise to keep…. People still don't know that I'm Lord Turtle, and there are still lots of Spirit Tail Chickens to eat in the world. I… I haven't lived forever yet…." The more he thought about it, the more it hurt inside. Tears began to well up in his eyes.

However, even as he began to wail loudly… someone cleared their throat behind him.

The sound came so suddenly that it startled Bai Xiaochun.

"Who's there?!" he shrieked, scrambling forward across the ground and then spinning around, a wooden sword appearing in his hand.

He saw an old man standing over by where he had just been laying. He wore a long black robe and looked almost like a corpse as he stared at Bai Xiaochun in a very ghastly manner.

His body radiated a strong aura of death. Coupled with the copious amounts of wrinkles which covered his pale face, he seemed like he had just climbed up out of the grave. He perfectly matched his surroundings, and looked utterly horrifying.

As soon as Bai Xiaochun laid eyes on him, all the hair on his body stood on end, and he suddenly recalled countless scary stories about murderous ghosts. But then he realized that if he himself was dead, then he didn't have anything to worry about. Sticking his jaw out, he gave a cold harrumph and then slowly rose to his feet.

"Alright then. You're a ghost. I'm a ghost. Since we're both dead and both ghosts, then who's afraid of who, huh?" He walked up to the old man, then circled around him with a low-pitched, quizzical whistle.

"You must be a ghost who lives in these nameless mountains. No need to be nervous. I was just passing through and happened to die. I'll be on my way in a moment. Ai. I wonder if I can continue to live forever and practice cultivation now that I've become a ghost. Maybe I can become a ghost that lives forever." Suddenly, grief rose up once again in Bai Xiaochun's heart, and he sighed.

The black-robed old man looked at Bai Xiaochun and frowned. Then, he spoke in a raspy voice: "How come you're not dead?"

Bai Xiaochun started in surprise, then suddenly seemed to think of something. He bit down hard on his tongue, and when the pain coursed through him, he almost couldn't believe it. He bit down again, this time until tears poured down his cheeks. His expression lit with delight, and he literally began dancing up and down. He even threw his head back and laughed loudly.

"I'm not dead!! Hahaha! I, Bai Xiaochun, have a matchless cultivation base! I am invincible in Heaven and Earth. How could I possibly die!?" He was so excited that he reached out to grab the old man's arm, except that his hand passed right through the man, and grabbed nothing but air. At the same time, his hand suddenly felt extremely cold.

"Uh…." Bai Xiaochun suddenly went stiff all over. He stared blankly at the old man, eyes wide, before screaming and leaping backward. "A ghost!!"

Back when he thought he was dead, he didn't think much of seeing a ghost. But at the moment, he was terrified, as the stories of murderous ghosts once again began to flash through his mind.

Soon, he reached the area where the fog grew thick, where he encountered some sort of invisible barrier that he could not pass through. Backing up to the barrier, he gripped his little wooden sword and stared at the old man, countless thoughts fluttering through his mind. Finally, a miserable expression filled his face.

"Sir, do you have some unfinished business in life that I could help you take care of…?"

The black-robed old man had a strange expression on his face as he studied Bai Xiaochun. He couldn't help but muse that the young man standing in front of him seemed a lot different from the steel-veined fighter from before. They almost seemed like two different people. Eventually, a thoughtful expression appeared in his eyes.

"Perhaps only people with personalities like this can truly cultivate the Undying Live Forever Technique…." he murmured. Feeling much more at ease, he shook his head and smiled. Then he turned and began to float off into the distance.

"The Undying Live Forever Technique is divided into the Undying Codex and the Live Forever Codex. Each Codex has five volumes… what you are cultivating is the most commonly circulated first volume of the Undying Codex, the Undying Skin. You've mastered the Iron Skin, and have made headway with the Bronze Skin!" As the old man floated off, his voice echoed behind him into Bai Xiaochun's ears.

"The Undying Codex breaks through the Five Shackles of mortality. The Live Forever Codex unravels the Five Seals of eternity!

"Work hard at your cultivation. If you can reach the level of Undying Gold Skin, you will encounter the first Shackle of mortality. Whether or not you can break through that Shackle will depend on your own good fortune.

"Since we were brought together by fate, I will give you a medicinal pill. Furthermore, to help you make a breakthrough with your Undying Skin, and achieve mastery of the Bronze Skin, I will give you this jade slip. It contains… the second volume of the Undying Codex, the Undying Heavenly King! 1

If you succeed with the Undying Live Forever Technique, you can… form a Core!" By this point, the old man was so far away he couldn't be seen. However, as his voice echoed out, two beams of light shot through the air and came to hover in front of Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun watched in shock as the old man left. At this point, he realized that the reason he hadn't died, and had in fact completely recovered, was because the old man had saved him.

And the reason for that… was because Bai Xiaochun cultivated the Undying Live Forever Technique.

Although Bai Xiaochun feared death, he took matters of favors and debts seriously. He knew that he had been injured so badly in the fight that he most likely should have died. A tremor ran through him, and, taking a deep breath, he clasped hands and bowed deeply in the direction the old man had disappeared.

"Senior," he called out, "many thanks for the kindness you showed in saving my life. May I respectfully ask your name…?"

"I am… Shou Lingren," the old man replied, his voice faint and ancient, almost as if it were floating through countless years of time. 2

It was in that exact same moment that cracking sounds could be heard from the fog as it suddenly vanished. The area which had been separated from the rest of the world was now unsealed, and returned to its place. The wind blew, lifting Bai Xiaochun's long hair as he looked off into the distance.

After a moment passed, he murmured, "The Undying Live Forever Technique…. Five Shackles of mortality and Five Seals of eternity?" This was his first time hearing of such things.

Finally, he took a deep breath and looked over at the medicinal pill and jade slip. He first took the jade slip, scanning it with divine sense. Inside was the second volume of the Undying Codex.

He put the jade slip away and then looked over at the medicinal pill. Although he was already a journeyman apothecary, he was unable to determine the pill's quality. He took it in hand and began to examine it. He was a cautious person by nature, and he knew that if the old man in the black robe had wished to harm him, he could have done so in a variety of ways. As such, the medicinal pill would most likely bring only benefits, and would not harm him.

Muttering to himself, he looked around, then put the medicinal pill away and began to walk. As he proceeded along, he looked around at the jungle, and sighed emotionally. When he thought about the whole chase and battle with the Luochen Clan cultivators, and the danger that had been involved, he couldn't shake the feeling of fear that remained in his heart.

"I wonder how Elder Sister Du and Elder Brother Hou are doing…. Did they make their escape…?" At the moment, he didn't dare to use his jade slip to try to make contact with the sect. He was worried that the Luochen Clan cultivators might still be around, and would detect the fluctuations of an attempted transmission. That could lead to a big problem. Patting his bag of holding, he produced Feng Yan's Windskiff, and after a quick test, confirmed that it was now functional.

His eyes flashed with joy. Although he had his speculations about the current situation, he wasn't anxious to leave the area, so he found a mountain cave where he could rest for a bit. There, he produced his turtle-wok, as well as the medicinal pill given to him by the black-robed old man.

Soon, silver light flashed on the medicinal pill, and three spirit designs could be seen on its surface. Bai Xiaochun picked up the pill, and his eyes gleamed with determination as he popped it into his mouth and swallowed it. Immediately, his body began to thrum, as though a burning fire were giving birth to an indescribable vital energy, which then coursed through him.

He began to shake, and he gritted his teeth, unleashing the Undying Live Forever Technique. Then, he slapped himself, revealing that his skin was no longer pitch black, but instead, now contained a bit of bronze. That bronze color was reaching the point where he almost looked like a statue made of the stuff.

The power inside of him grew more and more intense, and he felt stronger than ever.

However, the energy of the medicine had not been exhausted. After performing the threefold spirit enhancement, the medicinal pill had reached an incredible level of quality. Even in the moment in which his skin was completely bronze, cracking sounds rang out from within him, as if something were breaking.

Lines spread out rapidly across the surface of his skin, constantly increasing in number until they covered his entire body. An intense pain wracked him, but he endured, and soon, those lines began to turn silver!

The Undying Skin was broken up into the levels of Iron, Bronze, Silver, and Gold!

Even the black-robed old man could never have anticipated that the medicinal pill he gave to Bai Xiaochun would receive a spirit enhancement, and would thus enable him to break through not just into the Bronze Skin level, but past it.

Rumbling sounds echoed out from inside Bai Xiaochun for several days. More and more cracks appeared on his skin, and soon, pieces of skin began to fall off, almost as if he were molting. Furthermore, every falling piece revealed shining silver beneath it.

After ten days, the last bit of skin had fallen off. He was now completely silver, and although it was a dull silver color, when he opened his eyes, they shone with a bright silver glow.

He suddenly burst into motion, causing a shocking boom to ring out. He was now at least twice as fast as he had been before!

His eyes shone with joy as his right hand clenched into a fist and slammed into a nearby boulder. The boulder instantly shattered, not into large chunks, but into dust!

This level of power exceeded his previous level by several times!

Bai Xiaochun was panting excitedly. As of this moment, he was confident that if he fought Chen Heng again, the battle definitely wouldn't be as bitter.

After some more tests, something even more shocking was revealed. His defensive levels with the Undying Silver Skin were such that even his wooden sword with the threefold spirit enhancement was incapable of even scratching it.

Bai Xiaochun's eyes shone with excitement. After ceasing the operation of the Undying Live Forever Technique, his body returned to its normal pure and fair state. He changed his clothes, then began to speed off into the distance, looking very pleased with himself.

1. The word here "Heavenly King" is one of those Chinese words that can be translated many different ways. One slightly more accurate rendition might be Lokapala, but I'm not a huge fan of complicated religious terms like that, especially not in the context of how it's being used here, so I'm going with Heavenly King

2. Shou Lingren works as a name, but it could also literally be translated as "tomb keeper/protector"

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Chapter 66: Going Through Hell or High Water for the Sect

After traveling through the jungle for a bit, Bai Xiaochun started noticing clues that told the story of what had occurred. He quickly became convinced that his suppositions were correct. After emerging from the nameless mountains, he pushed on at top speed for several days until he was back in the Fallenstar Mountains, where he discovered the ruins of the Luochen Clan. "It seems Du Lingfei and Hou Yunfei really did get word back to the sect." When he thought back to the bitter events he had lived through, he sighed, then turned and leaped back up onto the Windskiff. Sitting down cross-legged, he set it whooshing off into the distance.

"Back to the sect!" he declared, eyes shining with anticipation. Then he realized that he most certainly had performed meritorious service for the sect, and would surely be handsomely rewarded when he got back.

That got him even more excited. As he traveled along, he turned his attention to his bag of holding. As he sifted through and organized all of the other bags of holding he had collected from the Luochen Clan cultivators, he found quite a few random items inside, as well as spirit stones.

In one bag of holding, although he had forgotten who it had originally belonged to, he found the most valuable of all the items. It was a seed, roughly the size of a human fist. It pulsed, almost like a beating heart, as though it contained something alive. However, the beating was growing weaker and weaker.

After a bit of thought, Bai Xiaochun's skill with plants and vegetation led him to a shocking conclusion. This was a valuable and legendary Spirit Seed, which had supposedly become extinct long ago. It was known as a Beastbirth Seed!

According to the legends, if it absorbed another spirit creature's quintessence, it would be able to naturally reproduce that very same spirit creature. To those powerful beasts which had difficulty reproducing, Beastbirth Seeds like this were virtually priceless.

It was the same for cultivators who had powerful spirit creature pets. Cultivators like that all thirsted to possess successive generations of their powerful spirit creatures. Unfortunately, they were usually limited to a single pet, which meant that Beastbirth Seeds were incredibly valuable to them.

It was impossible to say how the enemy Luochen Clan cultivator had come to possess such a valuable item. Presumably, it was some type of good fortune that person had come across. After all, the Luochen Clan had been located in the Fallenstar Mountains, a place… of boundless mysteries.

After some more thought, Bai Xiaochun came to the conclusion that whichever Luochen Clan cultivator discovered the Beastbirth Seed likely didn't know what it was, which would explain why it hadn't been maintained properly.

Along the way, Bai Xiaochun picked up some wood which was infused with spiritual energy. After carving it into a little box, he carefully placed the Beastbirth Seed into it, where upon the seed's life force fluctuations gradually stabilized.

Bai Xiaochun put the wooden box away and took a deep breath. Then, he sent the Windskiff speeding over the horizon, following the same path they had originally taken, to make his way closer and closer to the Spirit Stream Sect.

A month passed by quickly enough. On the original trip, they hadn't possessed very many spirit stones, and thus had only used the Windskiff at night. But now, Bai Xiaochun's bag of holding was bulging with spirit stones, and he wasn't worried at all about wasting them. Therefore, it only took a month before the Spirit Stream Sect's south bank gate came into view.

"It's been more than half a year since I left. Finally, I'm back." Bai Xiaochun stood atop the Windskiff, hair whipping in the wind, looking every bit like a powerful master. However, he suddenly decided that it was the wrong image, and quickly changed back into the dilapidated, blood-stained Outer Sect disciple's robe that he had worn during his desperate battle with the Luochen Clan.

Now he looked like someone who had been willing to fight to the death for the sect. Upon his return, the bloodstains on his garments, and the various places where the cloth had been ripped and punctured, would bear clear witness to the dangerous crises he had faced.

Feeling very pleased, he sent the Windskiff even closer to the sect. However, just when he was about to cross the border, an invisible barrier appeared, sending the Windskiff bouncing backward.

"Huh?" he thought. The force of the rebound almost knocked him off the Windskiff.

It was at this point that a beam of light suddenly shot toward him from the main gate. A young man appeared, expression placid as he looked at Bai Xiaochun.

"Unknown Fellow Daoist, what brings you to the Spirit Stream Sect?" Even as the words left his mouth, he looked at the Windskiff, and then at Bai Xiaochun's clothes, and his brow furrowed. "You have a Spirit Stream Sect Windskiff, and you're wearing the robes of an Outer Sect disciple? Plus the main gate of the spirit Stream Sect prevented you from entering?! Who are you?!"

The young man's eyes glittered coldly as he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand. Instantly, his cultivation base surged with the fluctuations of the eighth level of Qi Condensation.

Bai Xiaochun backed up, looking at the shield in confusion.

"Elder Brother," he said, "what's going on? Why can't I enter the sect? I'm Outer Sect disciple Bai Xiaochun from Fragrant Cloud Peak!"

The young man frowned, and just when he was about to say something, he started in surprise.

"Wait, you're Bai Xiaochun?" The more he studied Bai Xiaochun, the more familiar he looked. He had attended Bai Xiaochun's funeral service, in which his portrait had been on display above his gravestone. At tremor ran through the young man, and when he realized that Bai Xiaochun's garments were stained with blood, he gasped. "You're… you're not dead?!?!"

"I'm not dead at all!" Even as Bai Xiaochun stared in surprise, the young man excitedly pulled out a jade slip and sent a message back to the sect.

As the news about Bai Xiaochun was being sent back, Li Qinghou was in secluded meditation on Fragrant Cloud Peak. Suddenly, his eyes opened, and a tremor ran through him.

At the same time, the news was passed to the Sect Leader, whose jaw dropped. He immediately sent a stream of divine sense out to the main gate of the south bank, and when he saw Bai Xiaochun, he was first shocked, then delighted. He immediately began to send notifications out into the sect.

It only took a few breaths of time for gasps of disbelief to begin to rise up. The collective sound was so loud that it was even faintly audible outside of the main gate. Furthermore, bells began to toll.

"Bai Xiaochun? Didn't he die? How could he be alive?!?!"

Countless people began to fly out from within the sect. Somewhat surprisingly, the very first in line was Hou Yunfei. When he emerged from the main gate and saw Bai Xiaochun, an expression of disbelief appeared on his face. After the deadly chase they had both participated in, he never wanted to believe that Bai Xiaochun was actually dead. However, deep in his heart, he was sure that no disciple could have been made it out of such a bitter situation.

Now, he was so excited he began to cry.

"Junior Brother Bai!!" he cried. Laughing, he rushed forward and embraced Bai Xiaochun.

"Elder Brother Hou…." Bai Xiaochun replied, blinking. By this point, he realized that the sect had thought him to be dead. He looked at Hou Yunfei, eyes brimming with happiness.

"Come on, let's get back to the sect!" Hou Yunfei said excitedly. He grabbed Bai Xiaochun and immediately headed back through the main gate. With Hou Yunfei there, Bai Xiaochun could now enter the sect. As for the young man from earlier, he followed along, clearly shaken. He had personally participated in the extermination of the Luochen Clan, and had seen the evidence of the battle fought by Bai Xiaochun, including the mangled corpses of the Luochen Clan cultivators. To see that Bai Xiaochun had returned alive left him deeply astonished.

Almost as soon as Bai Xiaochun walked through the front gate, more people began to rush toward him from all directions.

"Ninth Fatty?!" Big Fatty Zhang, Third Fatty Hei, and the other Fatty Elder Brothers from the servants district were so happy they were shaking. That was especially true of Big Fatty Zhang, who gave Bai Xiaochun a big bear hug, tears streaming down his face.

Bai Xiaochun was moved. Seeing how many people were crowding around him, he suddenly felt as if everything he'd done really had been worth it.

Then, a beam of light flew over, which was Li Qinghou, who had an incredulous look on his face as he looked at Bai Xiaochun. In his hands was a bag, within which were all the bloodstained scraps of clothing he had gathered up when searching for Bai Xiaochun.

He more than anyone understood the grave and deadly peril Bai Xiaochun had faced.

Bai Xiaochun hurried forward, clasping hands and bowing to Li Qinghou. "Greetings, Peak Lord!"

Li Qinghou was normally a very calm person, but right now he couldn't stop himself from trembling. Reaching out, he placed his hand on Bai Xiaochun's head and said, "I'm just glad you're alive," Li Qinghou said. "Just glad you're alive."

"This is my home!" Bai Xiaochun said, puffing his chest out. "I'm willing to go through hell or high water for the sect!" Then he waved his sleeve, deliberately revealing the numerous blood-stained holes in it.

People continued to stream over from all three of the south bank's mountain peaks. Everyone wanted to see Bai Xiaochun, and when they saw his dilapidated, blood-stained clothing, they were shocked.

That was especially true when people began to spread the words he had just spoken. Everyone was shaken, and when they looked at Bai Xiaochun, in their hearts they felt… that he was a true sect Chosen.

As the crowd built, the weeping voice of a young woman could be heard. It was none other than Du Lingfei. She had spent the recent days awash with tears, to the point where she had even lost weight. When she heard people saying that Bai Xiaochun had returned, her mind began to thrum, and she instantly dropped everything and raced over.

When she actually laid eyes on Bai Xiaochun, even more tears began to flow. She hurried over and wrapped her arms around him, crying and laughing and the same time. She almost didn't seem to dare to believe that what she was seeing was true. In response, Bai Xiaochun felt a warm sensation in his heart.

His hands almost began to move in the direction of certain bulging areas of her clothing, but then he remembered that there were lots of people watching, and he held back.

"It's like I said, Elder Sister Du," he said coolly, lifting his chin, "if I, Bai Xiaochun, have only one breath of air left, I would never let anyone harm you." As the sappy words left his mouth, he seemed like he was looking down on the entire world.

However, Du Lingfei went a bit limp, and deep within her eyes, the hidden emotions therein turned even sweeter than before.

People from the Hall of Justice were also there, led by Ouyang Jie. When he saw Bai Xiaochun, he looked shocked for a moment, but then profoundly pleased. That was especially true when he saw Bai Xiaochun's tattered state, and then heard the words he had just spoken to Li Qinghou, upon which he nodded his head.

"Bai Xiaochun, I am Ouyang Jie from the Hall of Justice."

When Bai Xiaochun heard the words 'Hall of Justice', his heart thumped, but then he thought back to the incredible service he had performed. Chest puffed out just like before, he clasped hands respectfully to Ouyang Jie.

Ouyang Jie rarely smiled, but he was smiling now as he said, "Why don't you come back with me to see the Sect Leader and talk about what happened with the Luochen Clan?"

He waved his finger in Bai Xiaochun's direction, causing a spirit fog to appear beneath his feet, which sent him flying off into the distance with Ouyang Jie.

Li Qinghou looked profoundly glad as he transformed into a beam of light that also shot away with them.

As for all the other disciples, they watched Bai Xiaochun leave, and most heaved surprised sighs, and began to discuss the matter amongst themselves as they dispersed. Of course, the news about Bai Xiaochun being alive spread rapidly.

Eventually, virtually everyone in the Spirit Stream Sect came to know of the matter. Most people were very happy, but back in his Immortal's cave, Qian Dajin was shaking, and a look of terror could be seen on his face.

"Dammit, I can't believe he's not dead!! How could he have escaped from such deadly pursuit!?

"He probably doesn't know that I'm the one who arranged for him to go on that mission though…. Right? There's no way he could know…." Various expressions flashed across Qian Dajin's face. Finally, he sighed, thinking about all the possible bad things that could happen.

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Chapter 67: Elder Brother, Where's our Master?

The Spirit Stream Sect had eight mountain peaks. Four were on the north bank, three were on the south bank, and one was in the middle…. That was Mount Daoseed, which was the public seat of the sect's power. Normally, Spirit Stream Sect Leader Zheng Yuandong would handle sect affairs from that very location.

Currently, bells were tolling as the Lords of the various mountain peaks of the north and south bank sat tall and straight in the main temple hall. The Sect Leader was also there, sitting in the center position.

Soon, Li Qinghou and Ouyang Jie arrived with Bai Xiaochun. They left Bai Xiaochun outside of the temple hall, telling him to wait there as they went in.

There were four disciples stationed as guards outside the temple, who cast curious glances Bai Xiaochun's way.

Bai Xiaochun smiled back at them. This was his first time coming to this place; the spiritual energy was abundant, and the fragrant aroma of plants and flowers filled the air. There were no extraneous sounds in the air; everything was calm and quiet, much different than Fragrant Cloud Peak.

This was a very important place in the sect, and normally, any disciple who came here would act very cautious and discreet. However, Bai Xiaochun didn't seem to feel any pressure at all, and stood there looking very much at ease.

The four disciples couldn't help but sigh at this, and muse that Bai Xiaochun really did deserve to be known as a big shot in the sect, someone who had performed an incredible service. After all, ordinary people could never act so casually in a place like this.

The truth was that although Bai Xiaochun feared death, after considering the meritorious service he had performed, he knew that he wouldn't be dying here. Therefore, it was only natural that he wouldn't be afraid. He stuck out his chest, heart filled with anticipation over what his reward might be.

"Considering the level of service I provided for the sect, they'll have to give me a medicinal pill to increase my longevity by a hundred years. They'll most likely give me 1,000,000 merit points too, and probably an incredible Immortal's cave. I'm sure to be promoted to the Inner Sect as well. Hahaha." The more he thought about it, the more excited he got. After a long moment passed, however, no word came calling him into the temple.

Bai Xiaochun was a bit taken aback. He continued to wait until he was yawning before, finally, a voice spoke in a somewhat begrudging tone.

"Bai Xiaochun, come in."

His spirits instantly lifted. Taking a deep breath, he tried to look like the picture of a disciple who would go through hell or high water for his sect. Striding into the main temple, he clasped hands and bowed.

"Disciple Bai Xiaochun from Fragrant Cloud Peak, at your service. Greetings, Sect Leader. Greetings, other Senior members of the sect."

After offering formal greetings, Bai Xiaochun looked up. He immediately caught sight of an old man sitting in the middle of the group. He looked threatening without being angry, and wore a long white robe. His cultivation base was completely unreadable.

He was surrounded by eight others, a group of six men and two women. Li Qinghou and Ouyang Jie were among them, and all of them seemed to be measuring up this Bai Xiaochun who had somehow returned alive.

Their eyes lingered on his garments. Considering the power of their eyesight, it was instantly obvious to them that Bai Xiaochun's clothing had not been intentionally torn, but that he had truly experienced a deadly battle.

They also noticed how pure and fair he seemed. He spoke courteously, and was neither haughty nor overly humble. From the expression on his face, he seemed completely at ease.

Although none of them reacted at all to what they were seeing, inwardly, their impressions of Bai Xiaochun improved even more. However, a few were still somewhat suspicious of exactly what had occurred.

Li Qinghou looked at Bai Xiaochun and then slowly said, "Bai Xiaochun, please explain in detail everything involved with the mission to the Luochen Clan, from start to finish."

Looking very serious, Bai Xiaochun calmly recounted everything that had occurred, from beginning to end. He left out the incident with the black-robed old man; that was his secret to keep.

He wove Feng Yan sacrificing himself into the story, as well as the various difficulties they had faced. He was an intelligent person, so he didn't mention anything at all of what he had done that was worthy of merit, but instead continued to praise Feng Yan, Du Lingfei and Hou Yunfei.

"It's all my fault for being useless," he said. "Elder Brother Feng died trying to save me. It's all my fault…."

The more he went on in this way, the more the Sect Leader and the others' eyes shone with approval. Of course, these people had practiced cultivation for many years, and were as crafty as devils. From the moment Bai Xiaochun came back wearing that one particular set of clothing, they could tell what type of person he was. Even so, their praise only continued to grow.

"After he lost consciousness, he just woke up all healed?" the Sect Leader thought, smiling. He didn't mind this version of Bai Xiaochun's explanation. After all, disciples always had secrets to maintain. It was best for them to feel like they belonged in the sect, and exercising absolute control of every aspect of their lives would only serve to have the opposite effect.

After the story was finished, the Sect Leader said, "Bai Xiaochun, your reward was already announced several months ago. Back then, you became the Spirit Stream Sect's… Prestige disciple!"

When the Sect Leader actually spoke the words 'Prestige disciple', a strange feeling rose up in his heart. After all, this was the first time there had ever been a living Prestige disciple.

That was one of the reasons why the discussion had been so difficult earlier. The position of Prestige disciple was extremely important, and had previously only been conferred upon people who had died in battle, never living disciples. And yet, here Bai Xiaochun was right in front of them, healthy and no worse for wear….

That was one reason why all of them had been so shocked to hear the news that he was alive.

Furthermore, it was a status that could not just be stripped away. The funeral service had been carried out, and the meritorious service performed. The group had been somewhat perplexed about what to do, and thus had left Bai Xiaochun waiting outside for some time.

After much discussion, they decided that there was no way to change what had already been announced. In accordance with the sect rules, they would allow Bai Xiaochun to keep that position.

"Prestige disciple?" Bai Xiaochun asked, looking shocked. He had never heard of any such title before, so he simply stood there, looking blankly at the Sect Leader and the other Senior sect members. Although all of them had strange expressions on their faces, they didn't say anything else regarding a reward.

Bai Xiaochun couldn't hold back from asking, "Uh… that's it?"

"That's it," replied the Sect Leader, smiling.

Bai Xiaochun instantly started to get nervous, and then prepared to start explaining how difficult the journey had been, how many times he had almost died. Before he could start, Li Qinghou, who knew Bai Xiaochun better than anyone, cleared his throat and said, "Hurry up and thank the Sect Leader. The title of Prestige disciple has only been given out ten times throughout the history of the Spirit Stream Sect. You are the only person to get it within the past thousand years.

"As the Prestige disciple, you rank higher than the Inner Sect, and have the most prestigious glory in the entire Spirit Stream Sect. Your descendants will all have special access to sect resources, and will be Inner Sect disciples from birth. The Spirit Stream Sect will protect your bloodline for all eternity!

"Currently, there are nine great clans who are part of the Spirit Stream Sect, and all of them are Prestige clans. It's a truly glorious and honorable position."

When Bai Xiaochun heard the explanation, a somewhat sad expression appeared on his face. His spirits suddenly sank, and he looked miserably at Li Qinghou, then back at the Sect Leader.

He wasn't sure what to say. Although the position of Prestige disciple seemed incredible, the truth was that it had been created for the descendants of people who had died. But he was still alive…. Sadly, Bai Xiaochun was now in the unfortunate position of being jealous of his own progeny.

"Thanks… Sect Leader…." he said sadly, lacking the energy to even speak.

Sect Leader Zheng Yuandong cleared his throat awkwardly. "From this day on, you may address me as Elder Brother Sect Leader."

The matter of having Bai Xiaochun become the apprentice of his own master had been made because he assumed Bai Xiaochun had sacrificed his life. But now that he was alive, it led to a very awkward situation. The Sect Leader, despite having many years of life under his belt, would now have a twenty-year-old kid calling him Elder Brother. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

"Really?" Bai Xiaochun asked, his eyes widening. All of a sudden, he felt much, much better. He had entered the temple hall with high expectations, only to have them cruelly crushed. That led to him being in a horrible mood. But now, things had changed.

"Based on the meritorious service you performed, and considering that you had no formal Master, I took the responsibility to accept you as an apprentice of my own Master. Therefore, from now on you can call me Elder Brother." The Sect Leader couldn't feel more awkward.

Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath, and his eyes filled with excitement. He suddenly was filled with the sensation that the sect truly had treated him well. The Sect Leader's Master would most definitely be ranked as a Prime Elder in the sect, which caused Bai Xiaochun's eyes to radiate with excitement.

"From now on," he thought, "nobody will dare to bully me, not with an awesome Master like that! Hahaha!!" Heart leaping with joy, he clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Many thanks, Elder Brother Sect Leader," he said, sounding elated. "Elder Brother Sect Leader, where exactly is our Master? I would love to go pay my respects."

A strange expression could be seen on the Sect Leader's face as he slowly said, "There's no hurry in that. There was a portrait made of him before he passed away in meditation, which was enshrined on the back side of the mountain. I've already made arrangements for some people to escort you over there shortly."

Bai Xiaochun felt as if he were being struck by lighting. "Passed away in meditation…. Enshrined on the back side of the mountain…."

His jaw dropped as the words he had just spoken echoed in his mind. After a long moment, he pulled himself together…. The Master he had become apprenticed to… had already passed away.

"I…." Bai Xiaochun was now starting to seethe with anger, and his mind was buzzing. Once again his heart sank, and he wanted to cry, although no tears would come. It was in a virtual daze that he allowed himself to be led to the rear of the mountain, where he paid formal respects to the portrait of his Master. Afterward, he left Mount Daoseed and returned to Fragrant Cloud Peak.

On Fragrant Cloud Peak, numerous disciples hurried over to offer greetings. Curious expressions could be seen in their eyes, and someone even kindly took him over to look at his own gravestone.

When Bai Xiaochun saw the gravestone, everything seemed to go black.

Eventually, he found himself back in his courtyard, sitting blankly in his log cabin, rage building up within him. "I… I became the apprentice of a painting…."

Several days later, he was still there, looking miserable. Half a month passed before he managed to collect himself.

Sighing miserably, he left his residence to look for Big Fatty Zhang, to reminisce about the past. However, as soon as he walked out, he ran into an Outer Sect disciple who instantly clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Greetings, Sect Uncle Bai."

Bai Xiaochun took a few more steps, then stopped and turned around, eyes shining as he grabbed the Outer Sect disciple and pulled him forward.

"What did you just call me?"

"Sect Uncle Bai!" the Outer Sect disciple instantly replied. "Sir, you're the Junior Brother of the Sect Leader. D-disciple would naturally call you Elder Uncle Bai!"

Bai Xiaochun's fists loosened, and his eyes began to shine even more brightly. His heart also started pounding. This new status of his wasn't all that bad after all. He had a terrifying level of seniority….

Licking his lips, he began to laugh, which frightened the Outer Sect disciple so much that he started to edge backward, unsure of what madness had struck Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun suddenly stopped laughing. Clearing his throat, he put on the air of a Senior sect member and nodded slightly at the Outer Sect disciple. Instead of going to look for Big Fatty Zhang, it was with keen anticipation that he headed toward the Missions Office.

Because… that was where the most people would be.

Meanwhile, Li Qinghou had returned to Fragrant Cloud Peak, and was in secluded meditation. After seating himself cross-legged, he thought for a bit, and then waved his sleeve. Expression serious, he began to concoct pills.

"Xiaochun is stubborn and mischievous. I need to prepare a life-saving magical item for him. Unfortunately, I'm not very good at equipment forging, but I can make a batch of Nine Ultimates Pills to trade with the Pill Stream Sect…. When they find out I'm preparing a magical item for a Qi Condensation disciple, and a younger relative at that, they'll definitely rip me off." Li Qinghou shook his head, but didn't mind. In order to concoct Nine Ultimates Pills, he would have to use some of his own heart-blood, but when the thought about how close Bai Xiaochun had come to dying, he settled his qi, cleared his mind, and began preparations to start concocting.

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Chapter 68: Sect Nephew, Don't Rush Off!

Bai Xiaochun was the type of person who liked to find the fun in anything…. Now that he had discovered the joy in being the Junior Brother of the Sect Leader, he couldn't be more happy. He strutted along the mountain paths of the sect until he saw the Missions Office off in the distance.

Clearing his throat, he straightened his garments and assumed the air of a Senior member of the sect. Sticking his chin out, he clasped his hands behind his back and sauntered forward.

The Missions Office was one of the busiest places in the sect, and today it was as packed as usual. The clamor of Outer Sect disciples coming and going could be heard from quite a distance away.

When Bai Xiaochun arrived, he stood there with a benevolent smile on his face, looking around at all the Outer Sect disciples.

Almost as soon as he appeared, people noticed, and the disciples nearest to him, who were in the middle of discussing various mission-related topics, suddenly gaped.

"That's… that's Sect Uncle Bai! Greetings, Sect Uncle Bai!"

Clasping hands in his direction, they called out, "Greetings, Sect Uncle Bai!"

After hearing them, more people looked over, and soon, virtually all of the Outer Sect disciples in the area were clasping hands in greeting.

Bursting with joy at hearing everyone call him Sect Uncle Bai, he strode forward, smiling, hands clasped behind his back as he said, "Keep up the good work, everyone."

The surrounding disciples looked at him enviously and began to murmur among themselves.

"Wow, Sect Uncle Bai is the Sect Leader's Junior Brother…."

There were a few Honor Guards stationed at the Missions Office, and when they saw Bai Xiaochun walking up, they hastily rose to their feet and clasped hands in greeting. Virtually the entire Missions Office lurched to a halt as everyone turned to look. Bai Xiaochun was only getting more exciting.

"Carry on, everyone," he said. "There's no need to worry about me. I'm just here on behalf of Elder Brother Sect Leader to inspect the Outer Sect disciples of the Spirit Stream Sect." Happiness blossomed in the depths of his heart. In response to his words, the surrounding disciples once again clasped hands, and even the Elders from the Missions Office came out and nodded politely to him.

However… although Bai Xiaochun had clearly told them not to pay him any heed, he didn't leave. He strolled through the crowd, nodding to those he recognized and reveling in their calls of 'Sect Uncle Bai.' Some of the disciples even said it ten times….

Soon, strange looks appeared on their faces as they realized that apparently, Bai Xiaochun had actually come to hear them call him Sect Uncle Bai…. In the end, he decided not to push things too far. Waving at everyone, he swaggered away, and soon the Missions Office returned to its normal state of affairs.

"What an awesome status," he thought, his eyes shining. Not only did he feel incredibly happy, most importantly, he could tell that his status was vastly removed from everyone else.

"Prestige disciple. Junior Brother of the Sect Leader. Might as well just say that nobody in the sect will ever dare to provoke me, right?" Having reached this point in his train of thoughts, Bai Xiaochun laughed heartily and hurried off in the direction of the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion.

The 10,000 Medicines Pavilion… was also packed.

It didn't take long for him to get there, and when he did, he looked up at the ten stone steles and listened to everyone call him Sect Uncle Bai. He stood there for quite a while, sighing, until strange expressions began to appear on the faces of the disciples. Reluctantly, he left. By that time, evening was falling, but he didn't feel tired at all, and went over to one of the locations where a lot of Outer Sect disciples resided.

Xu Baocai had just stepped out, and when he saw Bai Xiaochun, he immediately clasped hands.

Bai Xiaochun thumped Xu Baocai on the shoulder and then spoke in a wise, reprimanding tone. "Ah, it's you, Little Treasure! After all the time I've been gone, you haven't made much progress with your cultivation base! We can't have that! You need to work hard at your cultivation!"

Xu Baocai's jaw dropped, and he blinked. His heart trembled a bit after hearing Bai Xiaochun call him 'Little Treasure'. At this age, only his father would call him something like that, and even then, only in private. Despite feeling a bit odd, he didn't dare to say anything, and merely nodded in assent. 1

"I… um, I mean, as an important person like myself…." Bai Xiaochun suddenly realized that with a position like his, it would be improper to simply refer to himself as "I", and so he decided to try to make himself sound like an important person, like Li Qinghou. He cleared his throat. Clasping his hands behind his back, he stuck his jaw out and said, "As an important person like myself, I'm not very familiar with this area. Could you show me around a bit?"

Xu Baocai had no choice but to immediately begin to show Bai Xiaochun around.

More and more disciples were returning home, and when they caught sight Bai Xiaochun, they looked a bit surprised. Many of them had already seen him earlier at the Missions Office and the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion. Seeing him here caused them to exchange quizzical glances. However, they had no other option than to clasp hands and offer greetings.

Bai Xiaochun once again revelled in the glory of this status. Joy surged in his heart at the sight of one Outer Sect disciple after another offering greetings. It was late at night before he finally left, feeling very pleased with himself.

As he walked along, he saw the Spirit Tail Chicken farm, and decided to stop by. Before long, calls of 'Sect Uncle Bai' could be heard. When he left, he held two Spirit Tail Chickens in his hands.

"Ah, the perks of having status. When I wanted to eat chickens before, I had to steal them. Now I can just take them openly. Who would dare to provoke me now, huh? My Elder Brother is the Sect Leader!" Bai Xiaochun hummed a little tune as he strolled back to his residence, emanating an air of pride and complacency.

Early the next morning, when the sun had just risen, Bai Xiaochun crawled out of bed, feeling in very high spirits. Straightening his clothes, he looked at himself in his copper mirror and selected the best pose he could come up with, then stepped out.

Then he went about doing things in a very serious way, as if it were… his job….

He didn't go to the Missions Office, but instead, visited many other locations on Fragrant Cloud Peak. He even went to watch the fighting competition….

Throughout the day, he heard countless people call him Sect Uncle Bai. To him, it was almost as if he had become an Immortal. His spirits were so high he nearly burst. And then… the third day arrived. Then the fourth, and the fifth….

He strolled around the sect for more than ten days in a row. By that point, virtually all of the Outer Sect disciples on Fragrant Cloud Peak had called him Sect Uncle Bai, and were on the verge of going crazy. To call a kid like him Sect Uncle might be fine if it only happened once. But the more they had to call it out, the worse they felt.

Bai Xiaochun's days were long and fulfilling, and he especially liked it when he ran into people he knew. He would quickly hurry over and call out a greeting….

One day he saw Zhao Yiduo. Eyes shining, he hurried over and grabbed his arm and said, "Sect Nephew Yiduo, long time no see! Don't rush off!"

When Zhao Yiduo heard the term 'Sect Nephew', his face twitched. "Sect Uncle Bai, we've… we've run into each other several times in the past few days…."

Bai Xiaochun blinked, then cleared his throat. It was at that point that he saw someone else nearby, someone who had noticed him and was just turning to leave.

"Eee?" he said. "Sect Nephew Zi'ang, long time no see!" He quickly released Zhao Yiduo and hurried over to stand in front of Chen Zi'ang, face beaming.

Chen Zi'ang seemed to be on the verge of going mad. He had run into Bai Xiaochun every day recently, usually at least three times…. From what he had heard, it was the same with everyone who personally knew Bai Xiaochun. The person who had it worst of all was an unlucky fellow who called himself Lord Wolf, who supposedly was visited by Bai Xiaochun dozens of times per day….

"Sect Uncle Bai, uh… I have something to take care of, I have to run." Chen Zi'ang promptly fled as though his life depended on it.

Ten days later, the Outer Sect disciples on Fragrant Cloud Peak had begun to pretend not to notice Bai Xiaochun. That of course left him less than pleased, and forced him to take the initiative more often.

Bai Xiaochun grabbed one of Zhou Xinqi's former fans and said, "Aiya! You seem so familiar! Come, come, as an important person like myself, I sometimes forget things. Have we met already?"

The disciple looked downright wretched as Bai Xiaochun began to chat with him. After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, and after the disciple had called him Sect Uncle Bai more than thirty times, Bai Xiaochun finally seemed pleased, and allowed the miserable-looking disciple to leave.

However, such a strategy wasn't really viable long-term. After realizing that everyone was avoiding him, he decided that he needed to take more initiative. In the following days, he would frequently clear his throat to alert people to his presence.

The results were only average, leaving Bai Xiaochun feeling quite down. Thankfully, there was another girl besides Du Lingfei whom Bai Xiaochun found quite charming.

It was Hou Xiaomei, who would take the initiative to come find him every day. There was no need for him to clear his throat; she was so enthusiastic she could hardly stand still in front of him, and would follow him around fawningly and call him Sect Uncle.

The other Outer Sect disciples felt a bit sick when they saw that, but Bai Xiaochun was delighted. Some time ago, Bai Xiaochun had provided her with some education regarding the mysterious little turtle of Fragrant Cloud Peak. She still adored the little turtle, and on one occasion when she was walking around with Bai Xiaochun, she asked him what he thought of the little turtle.

"The little turtle? He's mysterious and unfathomable. He is naturally talented, and in the 10,000 year history of the Spirit Stream Sect, he is a rarely-seen, grandiose figure. He's like a white cloud in a clear sky, someone that everyone can look up to!" In the end, he coughed dryly. After uttering such grandiose words, Bai Xiaochun had to work hard not to just blurt out to Hou Xiaomei that he was the little turtle. However, he was still determined to find a time when he was the focus of all attention to tell Hou Xiaomei about his grand identity.

"I feel the same way," Hou Xiaomei responded, eyes glittering brightly. "I've told a lot of people that the little turtle is oblivious to material rewards. He pursues the Dao of medicine, and does not worry himself with worldly matters. He's definitely like a white cloud in a clear sky."

For a while, there had been a lot of rumors that Bai Xiaochun was the little turtle. However, those rumors had eventually been refuted. Everyone had an idea of what they thought the little turtle looked like, and it definitely wasn't Bai Xiaochun.

The fact that Hou Xiaomei responded in such a way didn't really register to Bai Xiaochun. He was currently thinking about one of the top five beauties of the south bank, Zhou Xinqi.

"I wonder what it would be like to hear a proud Chosen like Zhou Xinqi call me Sect Uncle?" he thought. The mere idea got him excited, and from that day on, he began to search relentlessly for Zhou Xinqi.

As the saying goes, everything comes to him who waits. One day, he looked up and happened to see Zhou Xinqi soaring through the air on her blue flying silk.

"Sect Niece Xinqi!!" he shouted.

Zhou Xinqi's face twisted into an unsightly expression. She had heard about what Bai Xiaochun had been doing during the past month, and knew that all of the Outer Sect disciples had been talking about the matter in fearful tones. When the words "Sect Niece Xinqi" entered her ears, goosebumps sprang up all over her body. She immediately pretended as if she hadn't heard him and proceeded along her way. However, how could she have imagined… that Bai Xiaochun would stubbornly run along beneath her, crying out at the top of his lungs.

"Sect Niece Xinqi, come on, have a chat with your Sect Uncle about life!" He was actually bursting with excitement; he had been looking for Zhou Xinqi for quite some time, and having finally run into her, there was no way he would simply give up.

Zhou Xinqi gritted her teeth and picked up speed. It was only by leaving Fragrant Cloud Peak that she was finally able to shake him.

Bai Xiaochun watched as she flew away, and sighed with regret.

"Ah it doesn't matter. You can fly, but I'll be able to fly eventually too. One of these days, I'll get you to call me Sect Uncle Bai." Feeling a bit depressed, he looked up at the darkening sky and then went to look for Du Lingfei.

As soon as she saw him coming, she covered her mouth with her hand as she laughed. "Sect Uncle Bai, Sect Uncle Bai, Sect Uncle Bai…."

Bai Xiaochun's spirits instantly soared because of Du Lingfei's charmingness. A few days before, one of the sect Elders had taken her as an apprentice because of the services she had rendered. Then she had been assigned to Eastwood City to serve as the Spirit Stream Sect's Honor Guard there. It was a great opportunity for Du Lingfei; after spending a few years in Eastwood City, considering her past experience and meritorious service, she would be directly promoted into the Inner Sect.

Furthermore, she would have lot of authority in Eastwood City, and access to even more abundant cultivation resources than were available in the main sect.

Bai Xiaochun sighed with regret as he saw her off. Then he continued to wander around Fragrant Cloud Peak looking for interesting things to do.

Time passed. A month later, the words 'Sect Uncle Bai' had become somewhat taboo. Whenever anyone thought of them, they would laugh bitterly.

By that point, Bai Xiaochun finally came to the conclusion that it was time to call an end to the matter.

"I, Bai Xiaochun, am the Junior Brother of the Spirit Stream Sect's Sect Leader. I am the Sect Uncle to all disciples, not just the disciples on Fragrant Cloud Peak. I can't discriminate against the other mountain peaks. I need to go visit them too." After a bit of thought, he decided that it truly was the right thing to do. Thus, he headed toward Violet Cauldron Peak.

Important note: As of this chapter I am officially going on a short hiatus for A Will Eternal to focus fully on my other project, I Shall Seal the Heavens. As most of you probably know, the translation of ISSTH will be completed on July 1, slightly more than a month from when this chapter is being posted. Some time after that, I will be translating A Will Eternal as my main project, and the number of chapters posted per week will increase dramatically. Unfortunately, that won't be happening on July 2. As I mentioned in other announcements and videos, after ISSTH is finished, I'll be taking my first break from translating in over two years. One of the things I plan to do during that time is read AWE in Chinese in its entirety, or at least get several hundred chapters ahead. Up to now I've been translating as I go along, which not only makes things go slower, it can lead to mistakes in the translation because of misunderstanding certain passages that don't get explained for dozens or hundreds of chapters. There are already a few things I've come across that I needed to look as far as 300-400 chapters ahead to get an explanation. And those were things I went looking for; who knows what other things might be lurking in future chapters that I didn't think to check into. As of the posting of this chapter, AWE is still being written by Er Gen, and hasn't quite reached 800 chapters. Given the standard length of Er Gen novels, that means the story is probably only about half done, with something like a year left before it's finished. During my hiatus from AWE, you can contact me on Twitter or Facebook if you have any questions.

1. The "Bao" in Xu Baocai's name means "treasure," and "Little Treasure" sounds like the nickname of a child

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Chapter 69: Bai Xiaochun, Come Offer Greetings to the Young Lord

One month later, the Outer Sect disciples on Violet Cauldron Peak were about to go crazy. Bai Xiaochun had virtually made a career out of being a Sect Uncle, and everyone there knew it.

They quickly came to find that it didn't matter where they went, they were likely to run into a very pure and fair young man, slender, with a certain proud look on his face that he tried to cover up, but was unable to. As he swaggered along, he would loudly clear his throat whenever he encountered another disciple, and if they pretended they didn't recognize him, he would immediately introduce himself.

Their throats began to go hoarse from speaking the words 'Sect Uncle Bai', and yet… they had no choice but to continue doing so. After all, Bai Xiaochun was the Junior Brother of the sect leader, and in terms of seniority, he outranked everyone. Any disciple who dared to offend him was essentially violating sect rules.

Eventually, people went to Big Fatty Zhang to ask for help. In turn, he made a huge fanfare about seeing Bai Xiaochun off… to visit Green Crest Peak.

Another month passed, and the disciples of Green Crest Peak… were also driven crazy.

That was especially true of Chen Fei and his two friends, who were soon frightened out of their minds. Once Bai Xiaochun began to do the rounds at Green Crest Peak, he would frequently look for them. Despite the fact that they would instantly begin to blabber greetings to 'Sect Uncle Bai', that didn't end things.

Bai Xiaochun was quick to nitpick, and if they showed even an iota of disrespect, he would imply that he would report them to the Hall of Justice. Chen Fei and his friends began to shake with fear, and were soon treading on thin ice no matter where they went. In the end, they finally ratted out Qian Dajin. After giving them another good thrashing, Bai Xiaochun finally let them off the hook. Sighing, he left Green Crest Peak, all the while blaming himself for what was going on.

"The Outer Sect disciples all know me, but I haven't had a chance to meet any of the Inner Sect disciples. And then there's Qian Dajin. Does he really think I've forgotten about him?" After a long moment of thought, Bai Xiaochun nodded deeply at the prospect of the immense pleasure he was about to experience. With that, he hurried off to find some Inner Sect disciples.

In the following days, Bai Xiaochun made appearances on all three of the mountain peaks, most of the time in the areas occupied by the Inner Sect disciples. Considering his status, he could go almost anywhere in the Spirit Stream Sect.

However, he quickly lost interest. The Inner Sect disciples all happened to be in secluded meditation, and he hardly saw a single one even after a few months passed. That was especially true of Qian Dajin, whose immortal's cave was constantly under the protection of several spell formations.

"I refuse to believe this just a coincidence!" Bai Xiaochun thought as he stood there in front of Qian Dajin's door. He tried to break through the spell formations, but considering they were there to protect the immortal's cave of an Inner Sect disciple, they were simply too powerful. Seeing that it was impossible for him to succeed on his own, he decided that it would be best to go get some help in breaking them open.

However, it was at this point that two people appeared off in the distance, racing in his direction. They were Inner Sect disciples, one tall, one short, and as they closed in, they didn't even make a show of clasping their hands in greeting.

The first one to speak was the tall one. Voice cool, he said, "Sect Uncle Bai, how about you give my clan's Young Lord a bit of face and forget about what happened with Qian Dajin? Oh, by the way, that Young Lord is none other than Shangguan Tianyou."

From the young man's tone of voice, he made it clear what he expected Bai Xiaochun to do.

Shangguan Tianyou was the most respected among the three great Chosen of the three mountain peaks of the south bank!

Latent talent such as his had been rare for at least a thousand years on the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect, and although he was only an Outer Sect disciple, there was no question that he would soon reach Foundation Establishment. Because of that, many of the elders in the sect viewed Shangguan Tianyou as being a bit different from everyone else. Many people even hoped that he would eventually be able to outdo the disciples of the north bank, and as such, a lot of resources were being put into his training.

That in turn caused Shangguan Tianyou to have a lot of fans, especially on Green Crest Peak.

Bai Xiaochun's expression was the same as ever. In the past, he might have started to get scared. However, his general fear of death did not indicate that he lacked courage. In fact, as long as a situation didn't carry the threat of death, he was actually quite dauntless.

Because of his current status, there was virtually nothing and no one in the sect who could threaten his life, and therefore, he simply turned his nose up and stared at the two newcomers with a slight smile.

"When you meet an important person like me, but fail to offer formal greetings, it shows what great gall the two of you have, doesn't it?" He flicked his sleeve. "Who might it be that egged you on into such impertinent disrespect? Might it have been Shangguan Tianyou?"

The two Inner Sect disciples' expressions flickered, and the tall one's gaze turned sharp as he stared at Bai Xiaochun.

"Sect Uncle Bai," he said, "you'd do best to pick your words a bit more carefully."

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, and before he could continue speaking, Bai Xiaochun suddenly vanished. A blast of wind swept across the Inner Sect disciple, who stared in shock as Bai Xiaochun appeared directly in front of him.

His speed was so incredible that the two Inner Sect disciples hadn't even seen him move. Before they could react, Bai Xiaochun stretched his palm back and swept it toward the tall disciple's face, causing a sound like thunder to rumble out.

Almost instantly, a protective shield sprang up from within the young man's robe, the result of a magical device given to all Inner Sect disciples. However, in almost the same instant that the shield appeared, Bai Xiaochun's palm landed, and it shattered into a thousand pieces. It was completely incapable of standing up to the incredible power of Bai Xiaochun's palm.

A massive slap rang out, and the tall disciple instantly saw stars. His mind thrummed, and he almost felt like he had been crushed by a mountain. Blood sprayed out of his mouth as he slammed into the ground, tumbling backward like a kite with its string cut. After rolling along for several dozen meters, shrieking the entire way, he finally lapsed into unconsciousness.

Everything happened so quickly that the short disciple could do nothing more than stand there, mouth agape, mind spinning. After a moment, he began to edge backward, glancing first at his unconscious comrade and then back at Bai Xiaochun. Then he took a deep breath, and swallowed hard.

"Y-you… you…." he stammered, pointing shakily at Bai Xiaochun. Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined that Bai Xiaochun's fleshly body power would be so shocking.

It seemed on par with the eighth level of Qi Condensation….

Bai Xiaochun turned slowly to look at the short disciple, and then said, "Can an Inner Sect disciple really gesture so rudely to someone of the elder generation?"

Then he began to walk forward.

Shrieking, the short disciple turned tail and fled. However, before he could get very far, the sound of a screaming wind filled the air as Bai Xiaochun bore down on him and once again unleashed a mighty slap.

It was at that very moment that a stern, sinister voice rang out from down below.

"Stay your hand!" Suddenly, a newcomer appeared on the scene.

However, Bai Xiaochun paid him no heed. His palm moved too quickly, and the short Inner Sect disciple was sent flying. Teeth spun through the air, and blood spattered. The disciple's neck seemed to be on the verge of breaking as he flew off to the side, unconscious.

With that, Bai Xiaochun shook out his hand and looked at the person racing up from further down the mountain. It was a middle-aged man with a cultivation base in the ninth level of Qi Condensation, a level of power similar to Chen Heng.

The man glared furiously at Bai Xiaochun and said, "Didn't you hear what I just said, Bai Xiaochun? Dammit! You're–"

Bai Xiaochun lifted his chin, smiled, and interrupted, "Sect Nephew, are you looking to get slapped as well?"

From the actions of the two disciples moments ago, as well as this man's words, it was clear that they didn't have the least bit of respect for him, and furthermore, even disdained him to some degree, as though they felt that they completely outranked him. Inner Sect disciples like that were completely contemptible as far as he was concerned.

Bai Xiaochun's words caused various expressions to flash across the man's face, and he bit back his next words. Bai Xiaochun's impressive display of fleshly body strength left him breathless and in complete shock. Now that the man thought about it, he realized that, considering Bai Xiaochun's status, it didn't matter what he did here, the Hall of Justice wouldn't care a bit.

The middle-aged man stared at Bai Xiaochun for a long moment, suppressed his fury, and then explained his purpose in coming. "Bai Xiaochun, my clan's Young Lord wishes for you to go offer him formal greetings."

He had actually been sent by Shangguan Tianyou to order Bai Xiaochun go offer formal greetings.

In his opinion, his clan's Young Lord was making a mountain out of a molehill. Bai Xiaochun had lucked his way into being an important person, and was more of a clown than anything else. He had killed a few weak members of some cultivator clan, and it was only by chance that the sect ended up making a big deal about him. That certainly didn't earn him the right to be given face by a Young Lord who was already making his meteoric rise, and would certainly reach the Gold Core stage and forge a legend in the future.

In fact, this man actually felt that being sent to fetch Bai Xiaochun to come offer greetings was a bit below his status.

Bai Xiaochun could already see how arrogant of a person Shangguan Tianyou was. Considering his own status, if he didn't come in person, or if he chose to just send a message, it might be acceptable. But instead, he actually wanted Bai Xiaochun to go visit him! "Even if he's a Chosen, do you really think an Outer Sect disciple can order me to offer him greetings? He should be the one coming to greet me!"

The middle-aged man flicked his sleeve, sending out a blast of wind. "Bai Xiaochun," he grated furiously, "for my clan's Young Lord to ask you to go visit him is a huge show of face. Do you know how many people wish they could go offer formal greetings? You–"

Before he could finish speaking, his face flickered, and he leaped backward. However, he was just a bit too slow. Bai Xiaochun appeared directly in front of him and reached back his palm.

"How dare you!!" The man's cultivation base was in the ninth level of Qi Condensation, and he unleashed all of its power, simultaneously performing an incantation gesture that summoned numerous wind blades. However, even as the wind blades appeared in front of him, Bai Xiaochun's palm smashed into them, crushing them like twigs. They couldn't provide even the slightest bit of protection.

The palm proceeded onward almost as if nothing had attempted to block its way, landing almost instantly on the man's face.

A slapping sound echoed out, followed by a scream. The middle-aged man staggered backward thirty meters or more before finally lurching to a stop.

With that, Bai Xiaochun swished his sleeve and snorted arrogantly. "You're not even as powerful as Chen Heng. No wonder you're such a lackey! Screw off!"

The man looked back at Bai Xiaochun in astonishment. He was shaking visibly, and his cheek was already swelling up. Blood oozing from between his teeth, he quickly fled.

After the man left, Bai Xiaochun looked back toward Qian Dajin's immortal's cave with narrowed eyes. He was the type of person who feared death, and as such, if someone tried to kill him, he would seek revenge upon them no matter what.

It didn't matter if Qian Dajin asked for help from Shangguan Tianyou, there was no possible way Bai Xiaochun would let him off the hook. Although Bai Xiaochun's actions in the sect recently had seemed somewhat casual, he had actually long since carried out a thorough investigation about Qian Dajin.

"You think you can hide away in there?" he thought. "You think I have no way of making you show your face?" With a cold snort, he turned to leave.

Based on his current status, what happened next was no surprise. A jade slip from the Hall of Justice appeared, a mission. It took only a moment for it to pass into Qian Dajin's immortal's cave, and hover in the air in front of him.

It was just like what had happened with Bai Xiaochun. Qian Dajin was being forced to accept a very dangerous mission outside the sect. A bitter smile appeared on his face, as he realized that he had no choice but to emerge from hiding to carry out the mission…. However, he still clung to the hope that being outside of the sect might help him avoid catastrophe.

Unfortunately, he had underestimated the lengths to which Bai Xiaochun would go to exact his revenge. He had already arranged for several such missions to be assigned to Qian Dajin. Furthermore, he'd asked for some help from Hou Yunfei. The Hou Clan had a Foundation Establishment patriarch, and access to other deep reserves. Considering how important Bai Xiaochun was to them, and coupled with the urgings of Hou Yunfei and Hou Xiaomei, they had become a powerful ally.

With the help of the Hou Clan, it was a foreordained certainty that Qian Dajin would be struck with misfortune during the course of trying to carry out the missions.

It wasn't that the Hall of Justice was unaware of what had occurred with Qian Dajin, and how it led to Bai Xiaochun's fall in combat. However, despite the fact that the news was never spread publically, internal records had been maintained.

Now that Bai Xiaochun was back and wanted to settle accounts, there was little they could do to stop him. In fact, it was almost as if they owed him, and were simply allowing him to do what he wanted. To top it off, there were even some people who had already come to view Qian Dajin as dead.

Translator: Deathblade. Chinese language consultant: ASI a.k.a. Beerblade. Editor: GNE. Memes: Logan. Meme Archives: JerryDaBaws

Hi everyone, I'm back! Sorry for the long absence, starting from here on out, I will be focusing full time on translating A Will Eternal! I'm still in the middle of jet lag recovery after my vacation in California, so there will be no set schedule at first. However, I will quickly settle into a rhythm, and plan to be doing 12-14 chapters per week initially. As time progresses, that number will slowly increase. In the past, I posted chapters seven days a week no matter what. For the next few weeks, I might take a day off here and there during the week. We'll see!

In the process of working on the final edited version of ISSTH, I've made quite a few changes to term conventions for the Er Gen multiverse, including capitalizations. Starting with this chapter, AWE will also conform to those same conventions. As time permits, I will go back to change the previous AWE chapters to conform.

If you notice typos or mistakes, please click the link to the right that says "report typos, mistakes" and let me know.

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Chapter 70: Hey, Elder Brother Li

In a certain location near the summit of Green Crest Peak was a solitary little path. At the end of that path was a pool of water, within which swam several golden-colored fish.

Next to the pond was an immortal's cave. It was a somewhat remote and isolated place, very quiet, with abundant spiritual energy that clearly exceeded anything else nearby.

On the bank of the pond sat a young man. He wore the long robe of an Outer Sect disciple, and was exceedingly good-looking, with long black hair, fair skin, and a refined, intelligent air.

He was the type of young man that female disciples would sigh over constantly, whose phoenix-like eyes were delicate, and yet glistened with flickering light. Overall, he seemed completely unique.

He currently held a fishing rod, which he would occasionally cast out into the pond, whereupon the fish would voraciously compete to gobble up the food attached to the end of the line.

The middle-aged man who Bai Xiaochun had just slapped was hurrying up the path, face ashen. When he reached the end, he slowed down and respectfully clasped hands and bowed to the young man.

"Greetings, Young Lord," he said through gritted teeth. "Young Lord, Bai Xiaochun doesn't know how to appreciate favors. I carefully relayed your message, but instead of coming to offer greetings, he acted bossy and domineering. He thinks he can simply throw his weight around with impunity!"

The young man looked over, his expression seemingly ambivalent. "Well," he said coolly, "forget about it then. He's a nobody. It was mostly just on a whim that I thought to have him come offer greetings."

The man nodded. "I think I understand what you mean, Young Lord. The reason he's a nobody is that the position of Prestige disciple is only given to dead people, right? Plus, being the Junior Brother of the Sect Leader is a complete joke. In fact, his Master is actually a corpse." The man chuckled coldly for a moment, but then shivered as he realized that the young man was staring at him with an icy expression. All of a sudden, the middle-aged man was struck with fear. "Young… Young Lord…."

"It's true that he's a nobody," the young man said, "not even worth paying attention to. However, the Sect Leader's Master is a former patriarch of our sect. Do you really think you qualify to even mention him? Go to the Frigid Abyss and slap yourself for three months straight as punishment." With that, the young man looked away and continued to feed his golden fish.

Trembling, the middle-aged man nodded in assent and quickly took his leave.

Having settled the issue of Qian Dajin, Bai Xiaochun returned to Fragrant Cloud Peak. He wasn't worried at all about Shangguan Tianyou. Considering the meritorious service he had performed for the sect, unless he turned traitor, his life wouldn't be in danger at all.

As time passed, he lost some of his excitement over being called Sect Uncle, especially considering that most people avoided him at all costs. In fact, he actually came to feel a bit melancholy. However, one day he happened to wander into the scripture pavilion, whereupon his spirits were lifted almost instantly.

He found that as soon as he arrived, he was immediately granted a reading space alongside the lecturing elders, where he could look down upon the countless disciples in attendance.

He fell in love with the experience almost immediately, after which he came to frequent the mountaintop sermon pavilion.

There he would sit, occasionally giving a smile and a nod to disciples down below, eyes sparkling with satisfaction. He looked very much like the Foundation Establishment elders whom he sat next to.

The Foundation Establishment elders didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and as for the disciples from the various mountain peaks, their spirits couldn't be lower, but they had no choice but to simply stare up angrily at Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun had found a new way to flaunt his status as the Junior Brother of the sect leader.

When he came into the presence of the Foundation Establishment cultivators, he would immediately call them Elder Brother and Elder Sister. Although they didn't say anything in response, strange expressions could be seen on their faces, and any nearby disciples would eventually be forced to utter the words 'Sect Uncle Bai'.

Things went on like that for some time until one day, Bai Xiaochun happened to run into Li Qinghou. Unable to restrain himself, Bai Xiaochun immediately cried out in an amiable tone, "Hey, Elder Brother Li."

Li Qinghou looked a bit haggard. He had been working this entire time on concocting the Nine Ultimates Pill, and was currently on his way out of the sect. As soon as the words entered his ears, his jaw dropped, and he looked around until his gaze came to fall on Bai Xiaochun. Then, his cheek twitched. Although he had been spending all his time on pill-concocting lately, he had heard about Bai Xiaochun's antics, which had turned into quite a headache. To hear Bai Xiaochun addressing him in such a fashion left Li Qinghou glaring in shock.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Bai Xiaochun regretted speaking them. Seeing Li Qinghou's reaction then caused him to suck in a breath. After all, Li Qinghou was the person he feared most in the entire sect.

Grimacing, he shivered and quickly said, "Uncle Li… er… my mistake."

However, there was really nothing Li Qinghou could do, and he knew it. Glaring even harder at Bai Xiaochun, he decided to rebuke him a bit for his recent behavior.

"I'm leaving the sect for a bit," he said. "At the soonest, I'll be back in a few months; at the most, a year. Don't even think of fooling around while I'm gone. Work hard at your cultivation." After a few more words of exhortation, he turned and left.

Bai Xiaochun let out a long sigh of relief as Li Qinghou made his way off into the distance. A glimmer of fear could be seen in his eyes, but at the same time, a bit of warmth and respect for one of his elders could also be seen. He couldn't help but remember what Du Lingfei said about the time he had gone missing, and how Li Qinghou had spent two months searching for him on his own. Upon his return, Li Qinghou had been in quite a sorry state, and seemed to blame himself for what had happened.

After Bai Xiaochun's father and mother fell sick and died, he hadn't shown such warmth and respect to anyone. At some point, though, he had come to view Li Qinghou as one of his own relatives.

Because of Li Qinghou's admonition, Bai Xiaochun changed his ways for about half a month. During that time, he ceased clearing his throat to attract attention, and instead focused his attention on Zhou Xinqi's immortal's cave. In all of the sect, she was the only person who knew him personally but refused to call him Sect Uncle Bai.

After a few months passed, he started to get a bit depressed. After all, he could only catch sight of Zhou Xinqi whizzing around on her blue flying silk. Considering that he was incapable of flight, it didn't matter how much he chased after her, he could only watch in dismay as she flew away.

"There are probably only a few magical devices in the whole sect that Qi Condensation disciples can use to fly. Without a special technique like the one that Chen Heng used, the only way to fly is to get one of those magical devices.

"It's so unfair! My Master should have gifted me with such an item. My… my Master…." Sighing, he walked along for a bit more before suddenly stopping in his tracks. Looking up in thought for a moment, he suddenly turned and headed toward Mount Daoseed.

As the Junior Brother of the Sect Leader, he had unrestricted access to Mount Daoseed, and before long, there he was at the top of the mountain, where Sect Leader Zheng Yuandong's grand hall was located.

Swaggering in, Bai Xiaochun called out, "Elder Brother Sect Leader, oh dear Elder Brother Sect Leader!! I want to go offer incense to my Master!"

Zheng Yuandong sat there in the hall cross-legged in meditation. As soon as he heard Bai Xiaochun's voice, he sighed.

In recent days, so many people had come to visit him that he had lost count. He had heard all about Bai Xiaochun's doings, and had long since come to regret the situation. Unfortunately, as the old saying went, the timber had already been crafted into a boat, and there was little to be done. After all, despite Bai Xiaochun's peculiar preoccupations, he wasn't doing anything to hurt anyone.

Hearing Bai Xiaochun continue to call out to him, Zheng Yuandong slowly rose to his feet, cleared his throat, and looked over solemnly.

"Calm down, I heard you."

Looking very charming, Bai Xiaochun hurried over and clasped hands in greeting. "Junior Brother offers greetings, Elder Brother Sect Leader."

Zheng Yuandong sighed inwardly. Although he knew what was going on, he couldn't help but shake his head and smile wryly as he led Bai Xiaochun into the restricted area behind the mountain.

In the immortal's cave in that area, a portrait was hung on the wall depicting a middle-aged man. The man smiled faintly as he looked off into the distance, emanating a unique aura that made his image look quite lifelike.

Beneath the portrait was a small tribute altar, upon which could be seen some spirit fruits and spirit candles. The immortal's cave was simple but elegant, and filled one with a sense of incredible dignity.

As soon as Bai Xiaochun entered, he hurried over to the portrait and plopped down into a kneeling position. Then he began to kowtow deeply, touching the floor with his forehead nine times, his expression very solemn.

Finally, he looked up at the portrait, his eyes radiating pious sincerity. "Master, apprentice has come to pay respects."

Zheng Yuandong stood off to the side looking on. Although he new Bai Xiaochun was stubborn and mischievous, he also could tell that he had a filial heart. Considering Zheng Yuandong's experience in life, he was able to tell from Bai Xiaochun's expression that the pious sincerity was real, and not an act.

But then… Bai Xiaochun continued to speak.

"Master, your apprentice has been going through some tough times. I can't even fly…. Other disciples' Masters have all given them magical items to help them fly, as well as life-protecting treasures. Sadly, I don't have anything….

"But that's fine, Master. Your apprentice doesn't care about material things anyway. As long as I can burn some incense for you, sir, then I'm happy. Who knows, maybe your spirit in heaven will hear me and somehow manage to bequeath me with something…."

When Zheng Yuandong heard this, his eyes went wide.

"Master, it wasn't very long ago that your apprentice gave everything to protect the sect, to ensure that its 10,000-year legacy continued on. To protect the honor of the sect, I was chased down relentlessly, and during that time, all of my magical items were lost or ruined. I came back to the sect without anything to call my own. My bags are empty. I'm more impoverished than a servant….

"I don't want you to feel any pressure, though, Master. It's fine. Your apprentice isn't afraid of lacking defensive magical items. Even if I don't have a magical flight device, I'll still go through hell or high water for the sect. It's my duty! However, if enough time goes by and I haven't come to burn incense for you, Master, then that will just go to show that my lack of life-protecting magical items and magical flight devices has caused me to lose my poor little life…. At least then I will be able to personally go to reunite with you, sir." Even as he spoke, Bai Xiaochun looked out at his dear Elder Brother Sect Leader out of the corner of his eye.

Zheng Yuandong's face twitched. He was truly stupefied. In all the years he had practiced cultivation, this was the first time he had ever encountered a disciple as outlandish as Bai Xiaochun.

Chuckling bitterly in his heart, he looked up at the portrait of his Master, and then thought for a long moment. It was true that when he had first been apprenticed to his Master, he had been bequeathed with a protective magical device.

Having reached this point in his train of thought, Zheng Yuandong looked over at Bai Xiaochun, his gaze softening.

Before long, Bai Xiaochun and Zheng Yuandong left the immortal's cave. The entire time, Bai Xiaochun was looking at Zheng Yuandong out of the corner of his eye. Eventually, they reached the grand hall on Mount Daoseed, whereupon Zheng Yuandong stopped walking. Turning to look at Bai Xiaochun, he waved his hand, causing two streams of light to fly out, one of them gold, the other white.

The golden light contained a palm-sized flying sword. However, its mere appearance caused the air around it to distort as it radiated waves of heat. It seemed completely extraordinary, and was covered with countless complicated magical symbols which glittered radiantly, and caused fluctuations to spill out in all directions.

The white light contained a small shield, also palm-sized. It was made of white jade, and carved with extremely life-like immortal cranes. It also radiated an intense warmth.

Bai Xiaochun could instantly tell that they were extraordinary items. Eyes shining, he began to pant as he realized that there was something even more outstanding to the two items; both of them were decorated with three unique flowing sets of lines.

Zheng Yuandong looked gently at Bai Xiaochun, his eyes gleaming with encouragement.

"Within the Golden Crow Sword is sealed a golden crow," he said. "It contains the power of blazing fire, and can summon an illusory golden crow of the same cultivation base as the person summoning it. It can be used to fly, and can be used until the early Foundation Establishment stage. If it is destroyed, it will unleash incredible power.

"The Divine Crane Shield is a defensive magical device created from the soul of an immortal crane. It can protect you from any deadly crisis less powerful than Foundation Establishment.

"My Master performed threefold spirit enhancements on both of these items, but didn't dare to proceed beyond that. Back when I joined the sect, my Master gave them to me, and I hereby represent him to bequeath them to you."

Bai Xiaochun excitedly accepted the items and began to fondle them admiringly. "Thank you, Master. Thank you, dear Elder Brother Sect Leader!"

Translator: Deathblade. Chinese language consultant: ASI a.k.a. Beerblade. Editor: GNE. Memes: Logan. Meme Archives: JerryDaBaws

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

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Chapter 71: Living Prestige Scion

Because of the turtle-wok, Bai Xiaochun understood quite a bit about spirit enhancement. He also was well aware that there was a Foundation Establishment elder from Violet Cauldron Peak who was a skilled spirit enhancer.

For a few merit points, that elder would help disciples perform spirit enhancements, usually no more than a one or twofold enhancement. Any higher than that, and the chances of failure mounted.

The fact that these two magical items had both received threefold enhancements meant that Bai Xiaochun wouldn't have to waste any fuel on his own three-colored flame, and would also be able to freely use them in the public eye.

After returning to Fragrant Cloud Peak, he immediately set to work familiarizing himself with the Golden Crow Sword and the Divine Crane Shield. As soon as he sent some spiritual power into them, they began to radiate intense heat.

"Now these are some treasures!" he exclaimed. Taking a deep breath, he performed an incantation gesture and pointed out. A thrumming sound filled the air as the Golden Crow Sword transformed into a golden beam of light that shot off, leaving behind a wake of burning heat that caused everything around it to ripple and distort.

With another incantation gesture, he sent more spiritual power pouring into the sword, whereupon the bright glow surrounding it expanded until the vague shape of a golden crow became visible.

It was little more than an outline, but the instant it appeared, incredible pressure began to weigh down, and the temperature in the area increased rapidly. All of that caused Bai Xiaochun's heart to thump excitedly.

Panting, he stared at the Golden Crow Sword, eyes shining more and more brightly. Soon, he began to laugh in excitement.

"This sword is way better than my little wooden sword! Wow, my Master is awesome!" With that, he dashed into motion, leaping up into the air and landing onto the back of the illusory golden crow.

Although the golden crow was blurry and vague, its back was as flat and sturdy as a board, and when Bai Xiaochun sent some spiritual power into it, he felt almost as if he had become a part of it.

After stepping onto the golden crow, he performed an incantation gesture and pointed out, which caused him to fly up into the air. Then he soared in a big circle around Fragrant Cloud Peak, whizzing through the air above the crowds. When people looked up in surprise, he would slow down, hold his head high, and puff his chest out. When cries of astonishment began to ring out, he would finally increase his speed again.

"I, Bai Xiaochun, can finally fly!" Spirits soaring, he laughed inwardly as his tour took him over the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion. However, it was only moments later, just as he was about to head toward one of the other mountain peaks, that the golden crow suddenly faded away, and the sword fell out of the sky. Bai Xiaochun screamed as he tumbled down along with it.

Thankfully, what lay below wasn't a bottomless pit, but rather, one of the small paths that ran through the sect. He landed at a run, and only managed to gain control after several steps. Then he looked over and realized how high up this path was, and that if he had fallen off, even his Undying Skin wouldn't have saved him….

His face went pale.

"That was way too dangerous!!" he thought, shivering. With that, he picked up the Golden Crow Sword. Probing his inner spiritual power, he realized that he had been almost completely drained, which was why he had ended up falling.

For a Qi Condensation cultivator, flying on a sword took a huge amount of energy. Most who were in the seventh level of Qi Condensation would only be able to last for a few breaths of time before they had to stop. Even Bai Xiaochun, with his unusually refined spiritual power, couldn't even last a hundred breaths.

Fearful of falling to his death, he didn't dare to test the sword out anymore. Looking around furtively for a moment to see if anyone had seen what just occurred, he caught sight of a burly man off in the distance, who was staring at him, his jaw hanging open.

When Bai Xiaochun saw him, his eyes widened and he hurried over. "Whoah, aren't you Sect Nephew Wolf?"

When the burly man heard the words 'Sect Nephew Wolf', he immediately shivered. Grimacing, he clasped hands and said, "I'm disciple Liu Ergou. Greetings, Sect Uncle Bai… I, um, I didn't see anything happen just now."

Bai Xiaochun had encountered Liu Ergou when he was selling spots in the Inner Sect. Back then, the man had called himself Lord Wolf.

Bai Xiaochun humphed a few times, then proceeded to frighten Liu Ergou a bit more to ensure that he wouldn't spread news of what had happened. Then he patted him on the shoulder, gave some promises to help him out in the future, and finally left.

Liu Ergo wiped the sweat from his brow before hurrying off.

As he walked along, Bai Xiaochun rejoiced that it was only Liu Ergou who had seen his slight mishap. If it had happened when he was flying around by the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion, his name would have been ruined forever….

"Ai. People. You really can't become too famous. Then things just become difficult." Sighing to himself, he clasped his hands behind his back and strolled back to his courtyard residence.

After a bit of hesitation about what to do, his eyes flickered with determination. "No, I have to focus on cultivation. Only being able to fly a little bit isn't inherently bad, but what would happen if I was fleeing for my life? What if I escaped my enemies only to fall to my death? That would be really pointless."

With that, he once again began to study the Golden Crow Sword and the Divine Crane Shield.

"Just to be safe, I should paint these two magical items as well. That way, people will think it's just a hobby of mine. Then if I pull out other spirit enhanced magical items in the future, they won't think too much of it." After some more thought, he prepared some dye from brightly colored plants and proceeded to paint the Golden Crow Sword and the Divine Crane Shield.

After covering up the faint spirit designs, he tested out the two items one more time. Finally, he looked pleased.

"One of these days when my skill in the Dao of medicine is high enough, I'll enhance some plant-based dyeing materials, and then I can be completely confident." Bai Xiaochun was an inherently cautious person. Although he had run amuck to some extent because of becoming the Junior Brother of the sect leader, he had a bottom line that he wouldn't cross.

"What a pity my cultivation base still isn't high enough. The last time I was following Zhou Xinqi around, it seemed that she was already in the eighth level of Qi Condensation. The only way to be able to use a flying sword for any length of time is to have a higher cultivation base." Determination filled his heart. After the incident with the Luochen Clan, he had come to fully understand how brutal the cultivation world could be. He had also realized that the ability to flee at top speed was crucial when one's life was on the line.

If he had been able to fly on a sword back then, he would have been able to escape with Du Lingfei and Hou Yunfei no matter what the Luochen Clan tried to do.

"I need to concoct pills!" he thought, eyes gleaming. Considering his current status, although he couldn't get free ingredients from the sect, there were certain pill formulas that he could get for only a few merit points. In the following days, Fragrant Cloud Peak became a quiet place, and Bai Xiaochun was rarely seen.

He acquired large amounts of medicine formulas, and also used the spirit stones and other items he had acquired from the Luochen Clan members to go to the market and purchase a variety of medicinal plants. Then he made his way to the Medicine Concocting Pavilion, where he went into seclusion to concoct medicine.

Time flew by. A few months later, it had been nearly half a year since Bai Xiaochun returned to the sect. At first, the sect had been thrown into an uproar because of him, but then things had suddenly gone very quiet. Many people found it hard to adapt.

At the same time, the fact that Bai Xiaochun had become a Prestige disciple gradually spread outside of the sect. Soon, people all over the Eastwood Continent came to hear of the matter.

Of course, there were countless cultivator clans in the Eastwood Continent, many of which were connected to the Spirit Stream Sect in various ways. The Luochen Clan had been only one among many such clans.

To the disciples of the Spirit Stream Sect, although the title of Prestige disciple was to be looked up to, being the Junior Brother of the sect leader was even more impressive.

However, to the cultivator clans at large, it was exactly the opposite. They would respect a Prestige disciple far more than they would the Junior Brother of the sect leader. In fact, they almost didn't care at all about the sect leader's Junior Brother. In contrast, they would be driven to near madness by a Prestige disciple.

After hearing the news that Bai Xiaochun had become a Prestige disciple, many patriarchs of the various cultivator clans got very excited. In their eyes, he was a virtual gold mine. A living Prestige scion!

If they could bring Bai Xiaochun into their clan, then his descendants would have almost limitless possibilities for the future. As the number of such descendants grew, and considering that the clan would have the support of the Spirit Stream Sect, glory was guaranteed.

To vassal clans in the cultivation world, it would ensure a meteoric rise, like the fish who jumped the dragon gate.

After all, the Spirit Stream Sect had only ever had nine Prestige clans. Those nine clans could often influence the decision-making process of the sect as a whole. Although such influence wasn't necessarily very vast, it was still worthy of consideration.

Such a clan would form a part of an enormously powerful entity, and would be the subject of intense envy from other cultivator clans. In the past, most clans couldn't influence anything. They could only offer allegiance to the Spirit Stream Sect and then perform various services with the hope of gaining Prestige status.

But now… Bai Xiaochun had appeared.

Most wonderful of all was that he wasn't a member of any cultivator clan. He came from the mortal world, and… he had no Daoist partner. He was a free ticket to becoming the tenth Prestige clan, and as such, all of the cultivator clans in the Eastwood Continent were thrown into a frenzy.

"Find the prettiest maiden in the entire Zhou Clan. She'll be coming with me to offer greetings to Fellow Daoist Bai!"

"Fei'er, you're the pearl of the Zhao Clan. You have to get on Bai Xiaochun's good side. If he takes a liking to you, all of the problems of our clan will disappear!"

"Although the daughters of the Sun Clan aren't particularly outstanding, we still qualify to compete. Prepare an amazing gift for me to give when I go offer greetings to Fellow Daoist Bai!"

Countless cultivator clans sprang into action, using all sorts of methods, including calling upon their clan members who were already within the sect to try to get in touch with Bai Xiaochun. Even the north bank was affected. Soon, the name of Bai Xiaochun could be heard in all parts of the Eastwood Continent.

The Hou Clan was no exception.

The middle-aged patriarch of the Hou Clan summoned Hou Yunfei and Hou Xiaomei, whereupon he expressed his sincere wishes: "Yunfei, you have an unusually close relationship with Bai Xiaochun. You… have to help out the clan in this matter. I can tell that your sister has taken a liking to Bai Xiaochun. Find a good chance to act as a matchmaker between them."

Hou Xiaomei's face reddened. Pouting coquettishly, she hurried off.

Hou Yunfei was a bit worried, but he put on a bold face and nodded in agreement.

A few days later, people from numerous cultivator clans began to show up, gathering on Fragrant Cloud Peak around Bai Xiaochun's residence. As news spread, some people even began to head toward the Medicine Concocting Pavilion, waiting anxiously for him to come out of seclusion.

Translator: Deathblade. Chinese language consultant: ASI a.k.a. Beerblade. Editor: GNE. Memes: Logan. Meme Archives: JerryDaBaws

Hey everyone, I finally re-translated the official "synopsis" which was not originally translated by me. Now it should make a lot more sense when you compare it to the title. You can see it in on the AWE table of contents page, my twitter feed to the left, or by clicking here.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

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Chapter 72: The Sect Has Rules

A few days later, a boom echoed out from Bai Xiaochun's pill-concocting workstation. Moments later, he appeared, frowning and looking anxious.

"Although I'm pretty familiar with tier-1 medicinal pills now," he lamented, " tier-2 pills are a lot harder…." Other than cultivation, his time recently had mostly been spent on concocting medicines. In his attempt to produce some tier-2 spirit medicines, he'd already used up most of the plants and vegetation in his bag. Unfortunately, the degree of difficulty he was working with was vastly greater than before, and despite being meticulously careful, he had failed consistently.

Each time he found that he had used too many materials, he would make adjustments. And yet even then, new problems would arise.

Sighing in despair, he walked out of the Medicine Concocting Pavilion and looked up to find a large host of people sitting there cross-legged. Most of them sat in groups of three to five, with a few groups of ten in sight. The majority were pretty young women, none of whom were familiar to Bai Xiaochun.

They were all different shapes and sizes, but each one was beautiful in her own way. The lot of them were clearly vying with each other to be the most glamorous, and as soon as they saw Bai Xiaochun emerge, their eyes shone brightly.

Most had older folks sitting next to them, who also seemed delighted to see Bai Xiaochun. In fact, they all rose to their feet and rushed over in a hubbub.

Taken aback, and a bit unsure of what was going on, Bai Xiaochun subconsciously stepped back a few paces. "Hey, hold on! What… what are you people doing?"

"Fellow Daoist Bai, I'm Zhao Tianhai. Zhao Yiduo is my nephew! Hahaha! Fellow Daoist Bai, you truly are a young hero, a man of striking appearance and talent!"

"Fellow Daoist Bai! What a dragon among men, heroic and extraordinary! A single glance reveals that he's like a roc soaring among the clouds, someone with unlimited potential. Ahem. I am Sun Yunshan, and these young women are all beauties from my clan. Fellow Daoist, if I'm not mistaken, you're lacking in terms of maidservants, correct?"

"Fellow Daoist Bai, I am Zhou Tian. A single glance at you, Fellow Daoist Bai, and I can clearly sense your heroic spirit. You are obviously the future overlord of the eastern reaches of the cultivation world. We were destined to be friends at first sight. Look at these young women standing next to me. Every single one is a precious pearl of the Zhou Clan…."

A clamor of voices rang out, each one trying to speak first and loudest. Bai Xiaochun's eyes went wide, and he retreated a few more steps. However, it only took a moment for him to realize that these people had come to offer their clan daughters to him….

He wasn't sure exactly why it was happening, but upon looking the young women over, he could see that all of them were exceptionally beautiful. In fact, many of them could be counted as being his type. The way they were being offered up seemed to indicate that if he didn't accept, he would be refusing to give them face. Instantly, Bai Xiaochun was on guard.

Of course, he was adept at dealing with people, so he didn't let any hint of that show on his face. A broad smile appeared, and after exchanging some meaningless pleasantries with the spokesmen from the various cultivator clans, he managed to extricate himself.

However, before he could reach his residence, he ran into others who had stationed themselves along the way. All of them had similar words to speak with him, and offered him their clan daughters as well as other gifts and promises.

"Something big must have happened, but what?" he thought. "Could it be that they found out one of my ancestors was an immortal? Maybe I'm not from the mortal world after all. I'm… I'm actually descended from some exalted, powerful individual? Heavens! How could I not have been aware?!" Mind spinning, he hurried along until his residence came in view. However, it was surrounded by a crowd of individuals from various cultivator clans, all of whose eyes glistened with hope. It was as if the mere nod of Bai Xiaochun's head would cause them to do anything he wished!

That was especially true of the young women. They all clustered around Bai Xiaochun, glaring antagonistically at each other, pushing and shoving each other back and forth.

The sight of it all caused Bai Xiaochun's scalp to go numb. He was completely surrounded, and no matter which way he tried to move, he ran into something soft and warm. They even began to tug at his clothing, causing his heart to pound. Finally, a cold snort rang out, and Hou Xiaomei appeared. Glaring angrily, cheeks puffed, she stormed up to him, shoving the other young women aside.

"Get out of my way! What do you people think you're doing!? This is Fragrant Cloud Peak of the Spirit Stream Sect. Don't you bunch of old coots know how to keep your cool? Get out of my way, all of you. Hey you! Look at you! You're skinnier than a greenbean! What are you shoving people around for? And you! You're fatter than a dairy cow! Get the hell out of my way!!" Hou Xiaomei sounded genuinely furious as she pushed aside all of the young women crowding around Bai Xiaochun.

She was small and delicate, but she was fuming, and seemed to be filled with boundless strength. Facing such opposition, the other young women immediately surrendered and opened a path, crying out in confusion. Hou Xiaomei stormed forward with her hands on her hips, looking like a chili pepper, the words she uttered incisive and damaging.

Bai Xiaochun took advantage of the moment to hurry into the courtyard. Once inside, he looked down to find that his garments had been tugged at so much that they were about to fall off.

"Absolutely terrifying!" he thought, gasping. Heart pounding with residual fear, he looked back out through the main gate and saw Hou Xiaomei standing there verbally sparring with the other young women, standing alone against a crowd of dozens.

Eventually, the responsible members of the cultivator clans couldn't stand idly by. They finally intervened and suggested to the young women that they leave. Clasping hands respectfully in Bai Xiaochun's direction, they promised to come back to visit at a later date.

Soon, it was evening. It was quiet outside of Bai Xiaochun's gate, but off in the distance, people from various cultivator clans were sitting cross-legged in meditation, seemingly guarding the area.

All of these people had used various means and methods to come from afar, and also had ways to keep themselves from being driven away.

Bai Xiaochun was sure that something momentous had occurred. Looking at the quiet scene outside, he eventually dragged Hou Xiaomei into the courtyard.

To outsiders, Hou Xiaomei was as fiery as a hot pepper, but as soon as Bai Xiaochun's hand made contact with her, her face turned bright red, and she felt dizzy. Her tiny frame almost went limp as Bai Xiaochun dragged her inside.

When she spoke, her voice was as soft as the drone of a mosquito. "Big… big bro Xiaochun, there are so many people around, what are you planning to do to me…?"

"Huh?" Bai Xiaochun said, staring in shock. Seeing Hou Xiaomei's odd countenance, he could tell that something was wrong with her, and quickly slapped her cheek. When she didn't seem to recover, he slapped her again. Hou Xiaomei immediately regained her senses.

"What's wrong with you!?" she snapped, stamping her foot. However, realizing she had been the one in the wrong, she tossed a jade slip to him, and then turned heel and fled.

As he watched Hou Xiaomei flee into the distance, Bai Xiaochun stood there wondering what was going on. Finally, he looked down at the jade slip and scanned it with spiritual power. As he did, his eyes went wide. After scanning it again, he stood there in the courtyard, breathing heavily.

"Prestige clan…."

The jade slip had been sent to Bai Xiaochun by Hou Yunfei, with Hou Xiaomei being the messenger. The words contained within were the type that almost couldn't be uttered aloud. They explained why all of the cultivator clans were so interested in Bai Xiaochun's status as a Prestige disciple, and what had occurred as a result. They also explained that the Hou Clan held an intense hope that Bai Xiaochun's descendants… would also have the blood of the Hou Clan running in their veins.

Then Bai Xiaochun thought about how Hou Xiaomei had been acting just now, and he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Eyes sparkling, he thought, not about Hou Xiaomei, but about his own words from moments ago. Something momentous had occurred!

"How could I have imagined…? And here I thought the reward for my meritorious service was basically useless. I thought that being the Junior Brother of the sect leader would make me a big hero in the sect, but I never thought that being a Prestige disciple would make me so important on the outside!" He licked his lips, and soon, his heart began to beat faster.

"I could pick any Daoist partner I wanted! All of their clan resources would be at my disposal…. Finally, I have some real hope to live forever!" Chuckling mischievously, his eyes began to shine. Previously, he had been worried about how to keep up his efforts to concoct tier-2 spirit medicine. But now, people were essentially fighting over the chance to give him gifts.

"What a pity I can't accept them all…." he murmured. But then, he was struck with inspiration.

"Wait a second! Why can't I accept them all?!" Clearing his throat, he entered his cabin to rest for the evening, thinking the whole time about what to do next. The following morning at dawn, he leapt out of bed, trembling with excitement. After pushing open the gate of the courtyard, he found a whole host of people from various cultivator clans waiting for him.

"Fellow Daoist Bai…."

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Bai. Your humble servant has come upon the request of our clan patriarch to offer formal greetings…."

Everyone started talking at once, filling the air with a cacophony of sound. Bai Xiaochun stuck out his chin and flicked his sleeve.

"Alright, enough is enough," he said, smiling so widely that his eyes became slits. "Everyone come close. Whatever requests you have, we can talk them all out." With that, he randomly nodded in the direction of one of the clans. The responsible member of the clan rushed forward in delight, dragging a few young women with him.

The women approached, looking a bit nervous. As for all of the other observing clans, they also seemed nervous, although for different reasons; they quickly began to transmit messages back home.

Things went on like that for the next clan, and then the next. One by one, all day. Bai Xiaochun met with dozens of them.

He didn't choose any of the clan daughters, and yet, neither did he refuse anyone. He merely told them that he needed some time to think, and that the matter was too weighty to decide on a whim. As for all of the 'introductory gifts,' he didn't refuse a single one.

"I, Bai Xiaochun, always handle all matters in a just and fair manner. Considering that I haven't yet chosen which honorable clan to ally with in marriage, I truly am unable to accept your gifts." Those were the words he would speak to each and every clan.

Of course, the more he spoke in such a way, the more the cultivator clans insisted that he accept their gifts. In fact, they grew even more polite. Many of them went on to say that even if no marriage resulted, they still wished to be good friends. Only then did Bai Xiaochun reluctantly accept the gifts.

Although they might be fools, the people from these cultivator clans weren't stupid. They knew that when Bai Xiaochun said he needed to think about the matter, he was most likely just waiting to see which clan would make the best offer.

That, of course, was within the purvey of expectation. Furthermore, all of them feared that if they didn't offer their gifts, Bai Xiaochun wouldn't even consider their clan daughter to be his Daoist partner. The result was that the next day, the crowds hadn't thinned at all, and in fact, had grown more numerous. Furthermore, some of the cultivator clans even went so far as to say that even if their clan daughter couldn't become Bai Xiaochun's Daoist partner, they were still willing for her to be a maidservant to warm his bed at night. As long as she could pass on his bloodline, and he acknowledged them formally, that would be sufficient.

All of the visiting clans continued to offer more and more gifts. In fact, it got to the point where Bai Xiaochun was getting a bit nervous. Eventually, he truly wanted to refuse, and yet wasn't able to.

"Fine, I guess I'll accept…. Not accepting isn't really an option, huh?" For seven or eight days in a row, he continued to receive the clans and accept their gifts. Every morning at dawn, he would walk out to find a whole host of people waiting for him.

Three more days passed. When dawn broke, Bai Xiaochun pushed open the main gate, whereupon his jaw dropped. Shockingly… not a single person could be seen. Everything was peaceful and quiet; as far as the eye could see, the area was empty.

The only things he could see were some five-colored phoenixes, flying gracefully high above. The phoenixes were the beloved pets of Elder Zhou, and often soared above Fragrant Cloud Peak around dawn. They would usually fly together in a flock, and were especially beautiful. Many disciples were jealous of them.

Bai Xiaochun rubbed his eyes and looked around. Thinking that perhaps he had opened the gate incorrectly, he went back in, closed it, and then tried again. However, the result was the same.

"What's going on?" he thought, shocked. He quickly went off to find Hou Yunfei to ask for an explanation.

Hou Yunfei sighed and looked at Bai Xiaochun. "Last night, the sect leader issued a Dharmic decree. As your Elder Brother, he notified the cultivator clans… that according to sect rules, you can't accept a Daoist partner within the next hundred years. Therefore… everyone had no choice but to leave."

Bai Xiaochun's jaw dropped. Feeling very wronged, he said, "No more income…. No more marriage…."

Hou Yunfei wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. A moment later, though, he thought of something, and said, "Xiaochun, a friend of mine from Green Crest Peak told me that you and Shangguan Tianyou have a beef with each other. Is that right? Well, just be aware that Qian Dajin isn't important at all. However you choose to deal with him, the sect will tacitly agree. But things aren't so simple when it comes to Shangguan Tianyou!"

"What do you mean 'not so simple?'" Bai Xiaochun asked. "Is he more important than me or something?" Having been a member of the Spirit Stream Sect for so many years, Bai Xiaochun was well aware of how the sect tried to train its disciples. They pushed them toward greatness, prohibited deadly conflicts, and encouraged both cooperation and competition. Sect rules governed basic behavior. The elders of the various mountain peaks, as well as the Peak Lords themselves, provided assistance and training. And the Hall of Justice was a looming threat to deter bad behavior. The sect essentially had all aspects under control.

Of course, considering that between the north and south banks the Spirit Stream Sect had several hundred thousand disciples, it was obviously impossible to micromanage everything. Disciples would have conflicts and fights, and certain improper attitudes were impossible to control. However, the rewards and punishments in place were clear, and anyone who violated them would be strictly dealt with!

Bai Xiaochun had performed an incredible service for the sect, possessed profound skill with plants and vegetation, and could unleash extraordinary battle prowess. The sect was naturally aware of that, and valued him greatly. Of course, they didn't cater to his every whim like a servant. If people insulted or provoked him, they wouldn't leap out to protect him…. No disciple enjoyed such treatment, neither Shangguan Tianyou nor Bai Xiaochun.

Because of that, Bai Xiaochun was of the belief that Shangguan Tianyou, an arrogant, famous Chosen who other Outer Sect disciple went so far as to call Young Lord, was still not worthy of his own attention.

After a moment of thought, Hou Yunfei responded, eyes shining as he told Bai Xiaochun everything he knew: "Shangguan Tianyou has great ambitions. He hopes that one day he will be able to enter the legendary Legacy Echelon. As such, he has continuously kept his cultivation base suppressed, keeping him between the Outer and Inner Sects. When the next trial by fire for Chosen from the north and south banks comes, he wants to take first place, and enter the Inner Sect at the top. That will earn him the chance to enter the Legacy Echelon. Were it not for that, he would have long since applied for an ordinary trial by fire to enter the Inner Sect. After all, anyone who reaches the eighth level of Qi Condensation may do so."

Shocked, Bai Xiaochun asked, "How come everyone wants to get into the Legacy Echelon? Xu Baocai told me that Zhou Xinqi, Lu Tianlei, and everyone else wants to."

"Members of the Legacy Echelon have a similar status to Prestige disciples. However, it's a different branch within the Spirit Stream Sect. You see, the Spirit Stream Sect is different from other sects. We have two branches, one of which focuses on protecting the sect, and one of which focuses on increasing its glory and power!

"Everyone from the servants to the disciples in the third level of Qi Condensation are lumped together in one lower group. Those from the fourth to the eighth level of Qi Condensation constitute the Outer Sect. At the eighth level, you can apply for a trial by fire to enter the Inner Sect.

"If you can reach Foundation Establishment… then you can become a Foundation Establishment elder, and maybe even a Peak Lord. After two sixty-year-cycles pass, if you break through to the Gold Core level, then you can become a Prime Elder, responsible for protecting and managing the sect. That is the first branch.

"The second branch is the Legacy Echelon!

"There is only one way to get in, and that is… to break through to the Gold Core level before two sixty-year-cycles pass. From then on, you will become a tool to ensure that our sect earns an even greater position in the cultivation world, that it acquires… even more powerful resources and wealth! Anyone who takes first place in the Chosen battles will be in line to enter the Legacy Echelon. I'm not really sure about the exact details, but I do know that there are rules about the whole thing!

"The only thing is, reaching the Gold Core level before two sixty-year-cycles pass is very, very difficult…. Of the members of the previous generation, the only person who has even come close is Peak Lord Li Qinghou. That's why the sect favors him so much!"

Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath. This was his first time hearing an explanation of the Legacy Echelon, which also gave him a much clearer understanding of the sect itself. Soon, he left, and as he made his way off, he continued to ponder the matter.

"Legacy Echelon…?"

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Chapter 73: Who Did This!?

Sighing, Bai Xiaochun left Hou Yunfei's residence and returned to his own courtyard. He looked up at the sky, then around at the surrounding scenery, and thought about the cultivator clans. In his opinion, his Elder Brother Sect Leader had acted a bit domineering, and yet… even though it was now impossible to collect any more gifts, at least there was no need to return the ones he had already taken.

"Yeah! It's not my fault! It's the fault of Elder Brother Sect Leader's Dharmic decree!" Having reached this point in his train of thought, Bai Xiaochun felt a bit better. After organizing all of the gifts, he went down to the market to buy a large quantity of medicinal plant ingredients for tier-2 spirit medicines. Then, he returned to the Medicine Concocting Pavilion to continue his cultivation and concocting work.

The truth was that originally, Zheng Yuandong didn't want to get involved in the matter with Bai Xiaochun and the cultivator clans. However, the events had unfolded in shocking fashion. The previous nine Prestige disciples had all been conferred their titles posthumously, after being killed in battle. Furthermore, all of them had been members of various other cultivator clans. Although none of them had ever had any direct descendants, they all had relatives among their various clans. Because of that, no problems had ever arisen, and their clans had smoothly transitioned into being Prestige clans.

Of course, the sect highly valued and also protected such clans.

But now, Bai Xiaochun was a living Prestige disciple, a terrifying status to say the least. At first, it hadn't been obvious, and time had simply passed by. Zheng Yuandong and many others never thought much about what it meant to have a living Prestige scion in their midst, and how enticing such a person would be to the cultivator clans.

But then, the cultivator clans began to show up in great numbers. At first, Zheng Yuandong had merely observed the goings-on. As far as he was concerned, it didn't really matter which clan Bai Xiaochun picked. How could he have ever imagined that with all the competition, the clans would have gone to the lengths of offering their clan daughters as handmaidens, just to acquire someone with Bai Xiaochun's bloodline?

Zhao Yuandong could only imagine what would happen if Bai Xiaochun's gave in to the temptation. If that happened… it wouldn't be long before he could sire hundreds of descendants. According to the clan rules, all first generation descendants of a Prestige disciple were automatically allowed to enter the Inner Sect, and would receive special treatment and training. Furthermore…. after those descendants began to propagate, there would be hundreds of branches of the Prestige clan. Within a few hundred years, the entire Spirit Stream Sect would be filled with the Bai Clan…. The final results would be grave indeed.

In addition to all that… as long as Bai Xiaochun remained alive, all he had to do was continue to sire offspring, and the matter would never end. He would become a living nightmare for the sect.

Because of such considerations, Zheng Yuandong held an emergency meeting with the sect elders, including the prime elders. Their joint decision was that Bai Xiaochun could not accept a Daoist partner for a hundred years. Although it was a bit overbearing, Zheng Yuandong felt that there was no other option. He didn't want to bet everything on Bai Xiaochun's ability to resist temptation. He could only hope that after a hundred years, Bai Xiaochun would grow up and be a bit more mature.

Time passed. Soon, a year had gone by.

During that time, it was almost as if Bai Xiaochun had gone missing from the south bank. Few people ever saw him. He spent all of his time concocting medicine and practicing cultivation. He rarely left the Medicine Concocting Pavilion, where he worked hard at producing tier-2 spirit medicine.

His cultivation base had also slowly made progress. Soon, he was in the middle of the seventh level of Qi Condensation. Furthermore, he resolved one problem after another when it came to concocting tier-2 spirit medicine.

The truth was that most other journeyman apothecaries at his level would have long since concocted tier-2 medicines. But Bai Xiaochun was stubborn, and refused to start concocting another batch without first resolving each and every problem he found in the previous batch.

Eventually, after an entire year, he was finally convinced that he had resolved all of the issues regarding the concoction of tier-2 spirit medicine. With all the problems gone, he began yet another batch.

"Violet Qi Spirit Ascension Pills!" he exclaimed, eyes bloodshot. They were a tier-2 medicinal pill suitable for the eighth level of Qi Condensation and under. Following the recipe precisely, he selected numerous types of plants and vegetation, organized them carefully, and then began to feed them into the pill furnace.

After carefully adjusting the Earthflame, he kept a close eye on the pill furnace, occasionally adjusting the spiritual energy he fed inside. After six hours passed, the pill furnace suddenly began to shake. A strong medicinal aroma wafted out, and Bai Xiaochun's eyes began to shine brightly. Leaning toward the pill furnace, he slapped it on the side, whereupon three red medicinal pills flew out.

"It worked!" he exclaimed excitedly. Grabbing the three pills, he looked them over. But then, his eyes went wide. "Eee? Hold on a second. Something's not right. According to the description, Violet Qi Spirit Ascension Pills are supposed to be violet. How come these ones are red?"

After scratching his head for a moment, he lifted the pills up to his nose and inhaled deeply. The medicinal aroma was strong, and contained plenty of spiritual energy. However, the smell was somewhat odd, and considering that they were the incorrect color, he didn't dare to consume them.

Sitting there thoughtfully, he thought back to all of the various steps he had taken during the concocting process. Two hours later, his eyes snapped open, and he laughed bitterly.

"I put in a bit too much Superagate Flower pollen. That tainted the rest of the medicinal plant ingredients, producing this strange side-effect." With that, he placed the three red medicinal pills off to the side, and once again began to concoct.

This time, when the pill furnace began to shake, and the medicinal aroma spread out, a single violet medicinal pill flew out. After examining it closely, an expression of deep satisfaction appeared on Bai Xiaochun's face.

He quickly began another batch. In the following days, he continued to produce more batches, until he had a few dozen Violet Qi Spirit Ascension Pills. That having been accomplished, he sat down off to the side, exhausted. After some rest, he produced the red pills and looked at them with some hesitation. As far as he was concerned, each and every one of the pills he had just concocted was very valuable, and furthermore, when it came to ingredients, he was already starting to run short.

"According to the concocting instructions, as long as the pill is formed, it counts as a success. These red Violet Qi Spirit Ascension Pills have a bit too much Superagate Flower pollen, which caused their color to change. However, all that means is that they will have lost some effectiveness." After a moment of hesitation, he slapped his bag of holding to produce a green bamboo needle.

It was an item he had acquired from the sect for use in medicine concocting, which could be used to make a general assessment of whether any given medicinal pill was toxic or not. After carefully inserting the needle into one of the red medicinal pills, he waited for a moment, then pulled it back out. The bamboo needle looked exactly the same as before, as opposed to being black.

"Not toxic!" he said with a sigh of relief. However, out of caution, he still chose not to consume any of the red pills. Instead, he held them in hand as he left the Medicine Concocting Pavilion. Outside in the dawn air, he began to walk down one of the small paths that wound through the sect.

Up above, he could see a flock of five-colored phoenixes gliding elegantly through the air, occasionally making piercing cries that echoed out. Ignoring the phoenixes, he headed toward one of the local Spirit Tail Chicken farms, where he acquired a spirit tail chicken. After returning to his courtyard, he put the chicken down and then tossed one of the red medicinal pills out in front of it.

The spirit tail chicken had originally been sitting there looking a bit tired. But then it caught sight of the red medicinal pill. A tremor ran through it, and it suddenly leapt to its feet, rushed forward and pecked down toward the pill.

However, it was at this exact moment that an intensely powerful cry rang out from up above. Then, a powerful wind gusted by, and before the spirit tail chicken could reach the pill, it was blown off of its feet.

A bit frightened, Bai Xiaochun leaped backward. At the same time, the five-colored phoenixes closed in from up above, eyes wide, fighting amongst themselves the entire way. Finally, one of the strongest among the group, a male, succeeded in shoving aside his companions, whereupon he snapped up the medicinal pill and swallowed it down.

Looking with contempt at the spirit tail chicken that had been blown off to the side, the phoenix then flew up gracefully into the air. Bai Xiaochun wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. Eyes wide, he could do nothing but watch as the phoenix ascended upward.

However, after flying only a short way, the elegant phoenix began to shake, and then let out a protracted wail. His eyes turned bright red as they filled with veins of blood. All of his feathers suddenly stood on end, making him look like a fireball that was about to explode.

Even more shocking was that the powerful male phoenix's muscles began to swell and ripple. Cracking sounds emanated out as the entire phoenix grew larger. Most notable of all was how the feathered area between his two legs suddenly bulged with something hard and rod-like….

A very peculiar expression could be seen on the face of the male phoenix as he looked around at the other phoenixes.

The other phoenixes trembled, and were about to scatter, when the male phoenix charged madly toward them. Next, miserable shrieks began to ring out.

Bai Xiaochun stood there in his courtyard, looking on aghast as the bulging male phoenix… violated all of the other phoenixes. Moments later, unsated, the phoenix turned in his direction, his eyes burning just as red as before, his entire body seemingly bursting with flames.

Terrified, Bai Xiaochun fled, barely able to hold back from screaming.

Thankfully, the phoenix was actually targeting, not him, but the spirit tail chicken….

Soon after, he watched as the male phoenix flew back toward the top of the mountain, clamoring loudly the entire way. Only after that did Bai Xiaochun wipe the sweat off of his brow.

"Simply terrifying…." he thought, looking down at the remaining two medicinal pills he held in hand. "Just what kind of medicinal pills are these!?!?" His heart began to pound as he realized that they must be some type of aphrodisiac. Clearly… they were also very effective.

That day was a day that would never be forgotten by the disciples of Fragrant Cloud Peak….

All birds on the mountain, regardless of what type they were, were ravaged by Elder Zhou's maddened phoenix…. Countless disciples watched as one bird after another let out miserable shrieks. Although the birds tried as best they could to escape, none of them were a match for Elder Zhou's phoenix. None managed to flee….

The villainous phoenix didn't even spare the spirit tail chickens, much less the other birds that Elder Zhou had raised. Anything on the mountain with wings… experienced a living nightmare that day.

All of the disciples were talking about the matter, and their hearts trembled. Soon, word spread to Violet Cauldron Peak and Green Crest Peak. Some people even came over to see the miraculous events which were unfolding for themselves.

"Did you hear that over on Fragrant Cloud Peak, one of Elder Zhou's phoenixes went mad? It started pouncing on any bird it saw…."

"I saw it with my own eyes. What a savage phoenix! It didn't even spare the passing magpies…."

"Just what was Elder Zhou doing, huh? How could he let his phoenix act like that…?"

"It was really infuriating, you know? That phoenix seemed really turned on! It pounced on some of those birds over and over again. It was brutal!"

When Bai Xiaochun heard the talk going around the sect, he began to tremble, and even felt a bit guilty.

"It isn't my fault…." he said to himself. "It's really not my fault…. I was trying to give that pill to the spirit tail chicken…. That phoenix stole it!" Feeling wronged, he hurried back to the Medicine Concocting Pavilion. After some thought, he came to the conclusion that there was no way anyone would figure out what had happened.

There he sat in the Medicine Concocting Pavilion, sighing as he pulled out the remaining two red medicinal pills, which he then looked at thoughtfully.

"These medicinal pills are actually really powerful. Maybe I could use them as trump cards in a fight…. If I ever run into some wild beasts in the future, I'll have nothing to fear.

"Well, if I want to use them as trump cards, then I better create another pill which can incite intense desire in females. The two can complement each other." Bai Xiaochun could well imagine how two such pills could work together. If he encountered some dangerous beast in the future, he would merely throw a pill in one direction and then run off in the other.

It was an exciting prospect, but the downside was that he had no medicinal formula to work with. After pondering the matter for a while, and considering all of the various types of plants and vegetation that he knew about, he mentally prepared his own medicine formula.

About the time that Bai Xiaochun was considering how to create his own medicine formula, Elder Zhou returned to his residence at the top of Fragrant Cloud Peak. There, he stared at the ravaged and listless phoenixes, and then turned his head to see the male phoenix off in the distance, pouncing on a spirit tail chicken. Miserable shrieks then began to ring out.

Elder Zhou's mind almost exploded. Trembling violently, he stood there feeling as if the entire world were spinning around him. Enraged, he cried out, "Who did this!?!?"

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Chapter 74: So, It Was Bai Xiaochun!

Elder Zhou's voice filled the entirety of Fragrant Cloud Peak, echoing out in all directions. Strange expressions could be seen on the faces of countless disciples as they heard his words. After all, the events of that day had shaken everyone….

The other elders on Fragrant Cloud Peak were also shocked by the ghastly events. The male phoenix was one of Elder Zhou's beloved pets, and therefore, no one was willing to even get near it. If the maddened beast were to accidentally be harmed, Elder Zhou would certainly be incensed.

Most importantly… Elder Zhou was the only person on Fragrant Cloud Peak who enjoyed raising fine birds, and considering it was his personal affair, no one was willing to interfere.

As for the spirit tail chickens… Li Qinghou was away, and his apprentice Zhou Xinqi had little power to do anything. Besides, the male phoenix was especially powerful, leaving Zhou Xinqi with no other option than to observe from afar, her face flushed, not daring to even step forward.

When Elder Zhou saw what was happening, he couldn't stop shaking. His heart twinged as he watched the clamoring phoenix, and when he looked around at the rest of the dispirited and listless birds, he wished to cry, and yet could find no tears.

Considering Elder Zhou's skill in the Dao of medicine, he could tell at a glance that someone had given the phoenix some sort of medicine.

"I'll definitely find out who was responsible for this!!"

Meanwhile, Bai Xiaochun was in his workstation in the Medicine Concocting Pavilion. Although he was mostly cut off from the sounds outside, Elder Zhou's enraged roar reached his ears, and his heart trembled. Then an outraged expression appeared on his face as he contemplated how he was truly being unfairly accused….

He could only hope that it would be impossible to connect the matter to him, and that Elder Zhou wouldn't come after him…. Scowling, he began to recall the exact steps he had gone through to create the aphrodisiac pill, and began to contemplate how to make it even more effective.

After several days of study and contemplation, he went out a few times to purchase medicinal plants, and even spent some merit points to acquire a few other rare ingredients. Finally, he returned to the Medicine Concocting Pavilion to attempt to concoct the pill.

Soon, explosions began to ring out. In some ways, it was true that Bai Xiaochun had already created his own medicine formula back in the trial by fire to become a journeyman apothecary. However, that was more a situation of enlightenment and adjustments to an existing formula.

It was different from the current situation, in which was truly inventing something new. The levels of difficulty couldn't even be compared. In fact, based on Bai Xiaochun's skill in the Dao of medicine at the time of his promotion to journeyman apothecary, he would never have been able to do something like this. But now, after a year of experience and further research into the Dao of medicine, he was more than ready to make such an attempt.

Although he wasn't fully proficient, he had already begun to walk a path that other journeyman apothecaries couldn't even imagine. It was a path that only master apothecaries could attempt to understand.

Time passed. Half a month later, Bai Xiaochun was still in the Medicine Concocting Pavilion, immersed in his attempt to create a medicine formula. After numerous attempts, he was beginning to shape his ideas into one concise concept.

Even as he excitedly began to concoct another batch, Elder Zhou stood atop Fragrant Cloud Peak, a pained expression on his face as he fed a medicinal pill to a weak, listless phoenix.

"Relax and recover," he said. "All those things you did weren't in accord with your true desires. None of it was your fault. Just wait until you've recovered, and I'll take you to find the person who fed that pill to you. I don't care who it is, I will see to it that he pays the price!!" A brutal gleam appeared in Elder Zhou's eyes. During the past half month, he had conducted a thorough investigation of Fragrant Cloud Peak, and had even made inquiries in the other mountain peaks of the south bank.

Unfortunately, he hadn't turned up a single clue. The only option he had next was to wait until the phoenix recovered, and then take it to search for the culprit.

During the course of his investigation, he had come to find that Fragrant Cloud Peak… had become a place that winged birds avoided like the plague….

Because of the tragic events which had occurred half a month before, it was as if the air above the mountain had been filled with a shocking aroma. Any bird who smelled it wouldn't dare to draw near. Even the spirit tail chickens spent their days trembling and scared out of their minds. The disciples who cared for the chickens could only scowl miserably, not daring to give voice to their anger.

As the matter festered, a whole series of rumors began to spread….

"Do you remember what happened with the birds a few weeks ago? I heard that the bird in question ate some of Elder Zhou's medicine. That's why it changed so suddenly…. The only thing I don't understand is that Elder Zhou is still pretty young. Why would he be concocting medicine like that…?"

"Shhh… keep your voice down! Do you know why Elder Zhou likes to raise birds…? There's a very tragic secret involved. The truth is that for his entire life, Elder Zhou has never had a Daoist partner! Ahem… you know what I mean, right?"

"Heavens! How deranged! Could it be that because that bird couldn't take any more of Elder Zhou's torment, it finally went mad?!?!"

The more the rumors spread, the more exaggerated they became. Eventually, all of the disciples on Fragrant Cloud Peak were spreading them. When each person passed the news along, they couldn't help but add details from their own imagination, until countless versions of the story could be heard.

When Elder Zhou caught wind of it, he got so mad he very nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood. He was of a mind to put an end to the rumors, but no matter how he tried to explain things to people, they would just look at him oddly. Although they quickly put respectful expressions on their faces, his explanations did no good, and the rumors continued to fly….

Another half month passed. One day, Elder Zhou appeared, bristling with a murderous aura, his expression unprecedentedly ferocious. The wave of his hand sent the recovered male phoenix flying out. Surprisingly, it was just as large as it had been before, and was actually a bit stronger. Clearly, it had actually profited from its previous disaster….

When Elder Zhou saw that, he felt a bit better. However, the anger in his heart still needed an outlet. He had seen the fear in the eyes of countless disciples in the sect over the last month; even members of his own generation cleared their throats in his presence, and wore odd expressions on their faces. And then there were the rumors, which left him seething in fury. At long last, he was able to bring his phoenix out into the open.

"Find me the person who gave you that medicine!!" he said through gritted teeth.

The phoenix let out a piercing cry as it flew up into the air. Elder Zhou followed along, his murderous aura growing more and more intense. Quite a few disciples on Fragrant Cloud Peak were paying attention to the goings-on, and some of them even began to follow from a distance.

Soon, it was obvious that the male phoenix was flying toward Bai Xiaochun's residence. When it arrived, it began to fly in circles up above. Then it turned and glanced at Elder Zhou, looking very maligned as it let out whimpering calls. Apparently, it was telling Elder Zhou that this was the place where it had consumed the medicinal pill.

When the disciples who had followed along saw what was happening, their eyes went wide. But then they realized who the residence belonged to, and they blinked oddly.

"That looks like… Sect Uncle Bai's residence."

"Yeah, it's definitely Sect Uncle Bai's…."

"Hmm. If the matter were blamed on anyone else, I might not believe it. But considering we're talking about Sect Uncle Bai… it actually makes sense!"

Elder Zhou hovered there in midair, trembling, eyes crimson. Gnashing his teeth, he growled, "Bai Xiaochun!!"

Now that he had found the culprit of the disaster, he scanned the area with divine sense. Having found that the residence was empty, he waved his right hand, producing a jade slip that, based on his authority in the sect, could track Bai Xiaochun down wherever he was.

Soon, he found that Bai Xiaochun was in the Medicine Concocting Pavilion.

Normally, Elder Zhou was a calm person, but right now his face twisted with ferocious anger as he led his phoenix toward the Medicine Concocting Pavilion. The surrounding disciples of Fragrant Cloud Peak were starting to get excited. They began to send messages to their friends, and soon word was spreading throughout the mountain.

"Hurry up! The culprit who drove that bird crazy has been found out!"

"Sect Uncle Bai did it!!"

Countless disciples, even some from the Inner Sect, all heard the news. Trembling with excitement, they hurried out to see what they could see.

The feelings of torment they had experienced because of Bai Xiaochun now turned into anticipation. In fact, the more torment they had experienced, the more excited they were now. Chen Zi'ang rushed out, looking thrilled. Zhao Yiduo raced out at about the same time. The two of them exchanged pleased glances, and then raced in Bai Xiaochun's direction as quickly as possible.

Among the crowd was one particularly burly man, whose cheeks were wet with tears. It was none other than than the self-proclaimed Lord Wolf, Liu Ergou. Throwing his head back, he roared, "Judgement comes!"

Even as all of Fragrant Cloud Peak was thrown into a commotion, Bai Xiaochun was there in the Medicine Concocting Pavilion, looking excitedly at the pill furnace in front of him. It was trembling, and a strong medicinal aroma wafted out from it as several white medicinal pills appeared.

These pills currently had no names, and were not meant to be consumed by humans. In fact, if you pushed down on them too hard, they would collapse into dust. They had only one use… to make male animals incredibly attractive to whoever consumed the pill.

Bai Xiaochun had filled them with several powerful stimulants, and had even gone to the trouble of procuring some spirit creature ingredients from the north bank. The cost was high, but he had succeeded.

The pills were not weak by any means. Although Bai Xiaochun wasn't sure exactly how powerful they were, he could well guess, and was sure that they weren't inferior at all. Actually, to ensure that they were as powerful as possible, he had even performed spirit enhancements on all of the ingredients before using them.

Face bright with anticipation, he looked down at the white medicinal pills, trying to imagine the results of using the pills in concert with the aphrodisiac pills. He couldn't hold back from laughing.

"This will be the Pheromone Pill. That sounds good. And the red one from before will be the Aphrodisiac Pill!" After a bit more thought, he performed threefold spirit enhancements on all of them.

In the briefest of moments, the medicinal pills completely changed. No longer were they low-grade, but instead, superior-grade!!

As for their medicinal efficacy… Bai Xiaochun's eyes shone at the mere thought of it.

"Hmph! Now it doesn't matter what kind of beast I face, from now on, when I say jump, they'll jump!" Coughing dryly, he put the medicinal pills away. Feeling very proud of himself, he was just about to go outside and take a walk when…

He heard an enraged roar echoing down from the sky.

"Bai Xiaochun!!"

Chapter 74: So, It Was Bai Xiaochun!

Translator: Deathblade. Chinese language consultant: ASI a.k.a. Beerblade. Editor: GNE. Memes: Logan. Meme Archives: JerryDaBaws

After my recent trip back to the U.S. I confirmed that I don't have a big problem with the mosquitoes there. On the other hand, I seem to be allergic to Chinese mosquitoes. When they bite me, the bite swells up to the size of a small fruit. Currently, there seems to be a mosquito lurking hidden in my room somewhere that comes out in the dark of night to feast on my feet and legs. Oh the humanity!!!!

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Chapter 75: I've Been Wrongly Accused!!

The shocking roar of fury caused even the trees in the area to tremble. Leaves fell, to be picked up by the raging wind, which swept them to and fro.

When Bai Xiaochun heard the enraged cry, he was so scared he almost jumped straight up into the air. He looked up, and saw the white-haired Elder Zhou hovering up above, veins bulging out all over his neck and face.

Elder Zhou seemed like a wild beast, and in fact, actually looked quite similar to the way the phoenix had a month ago….

"Bai Xiaochun, it was you that harmed my phoenix. On this day, even if Li Qinghou tries to interfere, I will teach you a harsh and bitter lesson!" With another thunderous roar, he extended his right hand and made a vicious grasping gesture in Bai Xiaochun's direction.

That gesture caused the air around Bai Xiaochun to begin to solidify. Bai Xiaochun trembled inwardly and let out a miserable shriek. A silver glow sprang out from his skin, and at the same time, a white light appeared further out as he activated the Divine Crane Shield. From a distance, it almost looked like an eggshell.

"He's trying to kill me! He's trying to kill me!!" As soon as the light enveloped him, he ignored the pressure crushing down from Elder Zhou and unhesitatingly shot off at the highest speed possible.

"Eee?" murmured Elder Zhou. Although he hadn't used his full strength, considering he was in the early Foundation Establishment stage, even a fraction of his power should have been enough to prevent any Qi Condensation cultivator from breaking free.

Looking at the light-wreathed Bai Xiaochun fleeing off into the distance, he roared, "Bai Xiaochun, do you really think I don't know that you were out to harm me even when you were back in the Ovens? I know that the ginseng root that was meant for my soup was eaten by you, all the way down to the spirit rootlets! I also know that it was your idea to make the bowls shallower. And now you went and fed some medicine to my phoenix! On this very day, I will ensure that you come to understand the severe consequences of stirring up trouble in our sect!"

With that he gave chase.

The truth was that all of the elders in the sect knew about the things that went on in the Ovens.

"You can't blame me!" Bai Xiaochun shrieked miserably. "That bird of yours stole my medicinal pill! I really had nothing to do with it!" Looking back over his shoulder, he saw the overly aggressive Elder Zhou, his cultivation base unfathomable. Bai Xiaochun immediately pushed forward with as much speed as possible, as if his life depended on it, rapidly transforming into nothing more than a set of afterimages.

Up in midair, the male phoenix heard Bai Xiaochun's words, and his feathers immediately stood on end. Letting out a miserable squawk, he pointed his wings at Bai Xiaochun, and if he could talk, he would obviously be crying hysterically to everyone present that it was Bai Xiaochun who had given him the medicine. He most certainly hadn't stolen it!!

"Y-you…!" Seeing the phoenix falsely accuse him made Bai Xiaochun feel worse than before. How could he ever have imagined that, given how smart he was, he would one day be framed by a bird?

Hatred filled his heart. Looking at the bird, he decided firmly in his heart that once this matter was resolved, he would ensure that bird felt what it was like to be humiliated. The bird might be a male, but Bai Xiaochun would find an even manlier bird to teach it a lesson.

"How dare you quibble over meaningless details!" Elder Zhou said, picking up speed. As he shot toward Bai Xiaochun, he waved his sleeve, causing a massive power to shoot through the air. When it landed on Bai Xiaochun, however, he merely staggered a bit, and then picked up speed as if nothing had happened.

The scene caused Elder Zhou's eyes to widen. He had used enough power to send any other Outer Sect disciple tumbling to the ground, and yet Bai Xiaochun treated it as if it were nothing.

Bai Xiaochun was also shocked. The blow just now had shaken him down to his teeth, and left him trembling. Looking back at Elder Zhou, he quickly produced the Golden Crow Sword and poured some spiritual power into it. The golden crow materialized, and Bai Xiaochun transformed into a golden beam of light that shot up into the air.

Elder Zhou snorted coldly, and also flew up, joined by his phoenix.

All of the observing disciples in the area felt quite pleased at the ability to revel in Bai Xiaochun's misfortune. Seeing him flee madly for his life enabled them all to release a bit of the anger which had been festering inside of them.

Wide smiles blossomed on the faces of Chen Zi'ang and Zhao Yiduo, and Liu Ergou, the so-called Lord Wolf, was so happy that tears streamed down his face.

"The heavens do have eyes!!" he murmured.

Flying through the air over Fragrant Cloud Peak, Bai Xiaochun let out a miserable cry. Anyone who wasn't watching what was happening but heard that scream would be completely shocked.

"Elder Zhou, your bird's lying! I'm telling the truth, and he's making stuff up!" Bai Xiaochun wanted to cry, but no tears would come. He stood atop the golden crow, pushing forward with everything he could muster.

"Shut up!" Elder Zhou roared. It was bad enough that Bai Xiaochun was constantly saying all kinds of things about his bird, but even worse, there were plenty of people who could hear it, and all of them had odd expressions on their faces. Elder Zhou's right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, causing a blast of air to shoot toward Bai Xiaochun.

"But it's true! Your bird is falsely accusing me!" Bai Xiaochun just wanted to resolve the situation, and yet, the blast of air continued to close in, leaving him trembling in fear. Somehow pushing forward with even more speed, he managed to avoid the blast, and it smashed a sizeable hole into a nearby boulder.

Bai Xiaochun looked over his shoulder at the hole, and his scalp went numb. Finally, he decided to call upon his most powerful backer, "I'm the Junior Brother of the Sect Leader! I'm the apprentice of Daoist Master Spiritsieve!"

"Nobody can help you now!" Elder Zhou said, glaring. The truth was that he was actually losing a bit of face by personally chasing after Bai Xiaochun. What was even worse was that he hadn't even touched Bai Xiaochun, who was fleeing like a rabbit whose tail had been stepped on. It was truly a miserable sight.

Somewhere on Fragrant Cloud Peak, Xu Baocai looked up at what was happening, mixed emotions on his face. Of course, he wasn't worried about Bai Xiaochun. Rather, he felt bad for Elder Zhou, and couldn't help but think back to his own past.

"Stop running, Bai Xiaochun!!" Elder Zhou cried, closing in like a powerful roc. Next to him, his phoenix continued to let out piercing cries, and occasionally pointed at Bai Xiaochun with his wings.

"I'm a Prestige disciple!" Bai Xiaochun screamed. "I've shed blood for the sect! I've performed incredible service!!" As he fled for his life, his words echoed out even to Violet Cauldron Peak. Many people there looked up and saw Bai Xiaochun in full flight, and strange expressions quickly filled their faces. When they realized what was happening, they couldn't hold back from laughing.

"That title is given to the dead," Elder Zhou growled. "I'm going to make you into a true Prestige disciple!" The truth was that he didn't really plan to kill Bai Xiaochun. He just wanted to teach him a very hard lesson. Hoping to scare him, he waved his hand again, sending out another blast of wind, which caused a vortex to spring up around Bai Xiaochun.

When Bai Xiaochun heard Elder Zhou's words, and then saw the wind vortex appear, he screamed even harder than before. He poured all of the spiritual power he could muster into the Golden Crow Sword. Bai Xiaochun burst out from within the vortex, surrounded by golden light, shooting all the way to the midway point between Fragrant Cloud Peak and Mount Daoseed. It was only then that the light began to fade.

Silver light glittered around him as he charged onward, screaming. He was well aware that Li Qinghou wasn't in the sect at the moment, and that the only person who could save him was his Elder Brother Sect Leader, which was why he was now heading toward Mount Daoseed.

Elder Zhou was inwardly shocked that Bai Xiaochun had been able to dodge his attacks so many times, and was now sure that this was one of the reasons he'd been able to make it out alive when being pursued by the Luochen Clan.

However, considering that there were so many people watching, it left Elder Zhou with little face, and only served to fuel his anger. Unleashing all of his cultivation base, he shot after Bai Xiaochun once again.

"Elder Brother Sect Leader, save me!" Bai Xiaochun wailed at the top of his lungs. Whistling through the air at top speed, he continued to evade Elder Zhou as he headed toward Mount Daoseed. His incredible agility made him very slippery.

Of course, if Elder Zhou truly unleashed all of his Foundation Establishment divine abilities and techniques, he would probably have been able to pin Bai Xiaochun down. However, all he wanted to do was teach him a lesson. If he started using magical techniques, and didn't reign in their power perfectly, he could very well deliver a fatal blow.

However, at the moment, he couldn't even hit Bai Xiaochun at all, and yet, Bai Xiaochun was screaming miserably, which caused Elder Zhou to get even more angry. He quickly performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, causing dark clouds to form in the sky above. Thunder crashed as lightning suddenly shot down toward Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun's eyes were as round as saucers. The terrifying power he sensed within the lightning left his mind somewhat blank. Eyes bloodshot, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture and then pointed out. Instantly, violet qi appeared above his head, which shot toward the lightning.

Elder Zhou was astonished. He'd set out to simply scare Bai Xiaochun, and although the lightning seemed like an attack, he'd aimed it to land next to Bai Xiaochun, not on him. But now, Bai Xiaochun was actually fighting back against it, causing Elder Zhou to suddenly try to reign the lightning in. Unfortunately, he couldn't stop all of it.

Violet qi swirled up from Bai Xiaochun to meet the lightning, and as it did, the image of a cauldron appeared. When it slammed into the lightning, massive rumbling sounds echoed out, shaking everything in the area. The violet qi scattered, and as for the lightning, it dimmed by about half before slamming into the ground.

Bai Xiaochun's face went pale, and he let out another plaintive scream.

"Save me, Elder Brother! Save me, Master! Oh that the spirit of my Master in the heavens would save me!!"

Elder Zhou stopped in place in midair, looking at Bai Xiaochun in surprise. Just now, he had managed to reduce the power of the lightning by about half, but even the remaining bit should have been enough to seriously injure any Qi Condensation cultivator. And yet, other than causing Bai Xiaochun's face to go pale, and sending his qi and blood into chaos, it had done little else.

"That was… Violet Qi Cauldron Summoning," Elder Zhou murmured to himself. "Du Lingfei and Hou Yunfei both said that Bai Xiaochun had gained enlightenment of Violet Qi Cauldron Summoning, but that level of power exceeds the seventh level of Qi Condensation. The battle prowess this kid can unleash with that technique is incredible!"

A strange light gleamed in Elder Zhou's eyes. Now that he realized Bai Xiaochun was a Chosen of this caliber, some of his anger was mitigated. Furthermore, Bai Xiaochun's ear-splitting screaming left him unsure of whether to laugh or cry. With a cold snort, he once again gave chase.

"I don't care if the phoenix was at fault, Bai Xiaochun was the main cause. This kid is stubborn and mischievous; I need to take the chance to scare him into restraint."

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Chapter 76: Eighth Level of Qi Condensation!

Moments ago, the Foundation Establishment cultivators of the three mountain peaks had been looking on, smiling with the realization that Elder Zhou was simply trying to frighten Bai Xiaochun. But then Bai Xiaochun suddenly fought back against the lightning, and their expressions flickered. Many were about to intervene, but then they realized that the lightning didn't harm him at all.

Strange gleams appeared in their eyes.

"This kid is extraordinary!"

"No wonder the Luochen Clan couldn't chase him down and kill him! He has some very unique abilities!"

"This young scion of ours might just be on the same level as Shangguan Tianyou. He's clearly surpassed Lu Tianlei and Zhou Xinqi already!"

As they looked on, nodding inwardly, Sect Leader Zheng Yuandong stood atop Mount Daoseed, watching the situation unfold with a strange look in his eyes. Even as Bai Xiaochun cried out at the top of his lungs, Zheng Yuandong was using divine sense to watch everything.

He was shocked by what he saw Bai Xiaochun doing. Instead of immediately interfering, he waited, hoping to see Bai Xiaochun show off his full potential. Eventually, he began to nod with admiration. Finally, he flickered into motion, appearing directly in front of the madly-fleeing Bai Xiaochun.

As soon as Bai Xiaochun saw Zheng Yuandong, he cried out, "Dear Elder Brother Sect Leader, Elder Zhou is trying to kill me! My poor little life is on the line!!" Even as the words left his mouth, he dove behind Zheng Yuandong to hide.

Zheng Yuandong coughed dryly at Bai Xiaochun's woeful appearance. Smiling wryly, he looked up at the incoming Elder Zhou, who was glaring fiercely at Bai Xiaochun. A moment later, Elder Zhou came to a stop in front of him, where he clasped hands in greeting.

These two men were wily old foxes, and as soon as their eyes met, they both knew what the other was thinking. Both of them were well aware that Bai Xiaochun's presence meant that the sect had another fearfully talented person in its ranks. That was something far more important than the trifling incident with the phoenix.

If Li Qinghou were in the sect, things would have been easier to keep under control. But with him gone, no one in the sect could really control Bai Xiaochun. That was especially true considering his recent achievements, coupled with the fact that he was a Prestige disciple and the Junior Brother of the sect leader.

Zheng Yuandong was fairly certain that if he tried to punish Bai Xiaochun, Bai Xiaochun would simply go to the portrait of his Master to weep and complain.

"Sect Leader," said Elder Zhou, "please pay no heed to this affair and hand Bai Xiaochun over to me immediately!" With that, Elder Zhou glared at Bai Xiaochun, chuckling cruelly.

Bai Xiaochun's scalp immediately went numb, and he began to explain, "Your bird–"

As soon as Elder Zhou heard the word 'bird', his face began to turn green. Bai Xiaochun immediately bit his tongue and turned his pleading gaze to Zheng Yuandong.

"Elder Brother," he said, "I've shed my own blood for the sect, I've performed great services…."

Zheng Yuandong's face twitched, and he coughed dryly.

"Elder Zhou," he said, "let's drop this matter. Xiaochun might be a bit naughty and mischievous, but he's a good person. How about this. If anything like this happens again in the future, I won't intervene at all, and you can handle the matter any way you see fit."

Elder Zhou looked very torn, but eventually he nodded begrudgingly. Then he took his leave, casting one more glare at Bai Xiaochun as he did.

Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath and slowly rose to his feet. He looked a bit suspicious; he was an intelligent person, and the way things had turned out seemed very sudden. Something seemed off…. However, he wasn't completely sure of what it all meant, so he looked over at the sect leader.

Zheng Yuandong looked back at him. "Those phoenixes were raised by Elder Zhou's former Daoist partner," he said coolly. "There was a battle once outside the sect in which that Daoist partner died in the process of saving Elder Zhou's life. Elder Zhou himself barely survived. The pain of losing his Daoist partner harmed his mind, and he nearly went insane.

"Most people think he's merely obsessed with plants and vegetation. What they don't know is that without that obsession, he wouldn't be able to suppress the insanity within. He uses that obsession to stave off the madness.

"In the future, don't provoke him. If he really goes mad, I might not be able to save you in time."

Hearing this, Bai Xiaochun's spine tingled in fear, and yet, he couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for Elder Zhou. Nodding vigorously, he said, "I really didn't give it the medicine. His thing… er, his bird really did steal it from me."

Zheng Yuandong patted Bai Xiaochun's shoulder. "Karma exists everywhere. In this case, the Karma was sown by you, so there's no need to think too much about the details." With that, Zheng Yuandong turned and left.

Bai Xiaochun sighed at how unlucky he was, and began to contemplate ways to avoid Elder Zhou in the future. Then he cautiously returned to Fragrant Cloud Peak, where he went into seclusion in his residence.

As for the thieving bird, Bai Xiaochun decided that considering how he needed to avoid provoking Elder Zhou, it would be best to cast aside any thoughts of revenge.

"True men don't fight with birds!" he told himself to make the decision easier to stomach. Sitting there in his log cabin, he produced several of the Violet Qi Spirit Ascension Pills he had concocted. Thinking back to how Elder Zhou had attacked him during the chase, his eyes gleamed with envy.

"Foundation Establishment cultivators are pretty incredible," he thought, sighing. "He almost made me cough up some blood. Thankfully I have my Undying Skin." With another glance at the Violet Qi Spirit Ascension Pills, he looked around furtively to make sure he was alone, and then produced the turtle-wok to perform some spirit enhancements.

Soon, all of the pills had received threefold enhancements, and contained faint silver designs on their surfaces. Bai Xiaochun sighed again.

"If only I had some fuel to make four-colored flame." Based on some discreet inquiries he'd made earlier, he knew that the sect did have fuel to make four-colored flame. However, it wasn't very plentiful, and required an incredible amount of merit points to acquire. With the exception of certain unique medicines, or certain cultivation practices related to fire, it was rare to ever need four-colored flame.

It was generally impossible to procure such fuel from the market at the bottom of the mountain; the only place it usually appeared was at auction, and even then, it wasn't commonly seen.

"I'm running low on spirit tails too," he thought. After some more thought, he finally popped one of the Violet Qi Spirit Ascension Pills into his mouth and began to cultivate.

Days passed. Bai Xiaochun practiced cultivation the entire time, occasionally consuming Violet Qi Spirit Ascension Pills as he did. His cultivation rapidly progressed until eventually, he ran out of pills.

It happened late at night, when the clouds filled the sky obscuring the moon. Inside, rumbling could be heard, not within the cabin itself, but inside Bai Xiaochun's body.

He began to shake as spiritual power built up inside of him, becoming a vast, dragon-like river that raged through all of his qi vessels.

After completing a full cycle within him, his overall spiritual power expanded, surpassing his previous limit significantly. Filth oozed out from the pores all over his body, and an invigorating sense of buoyancy filled him. Enlivened, his eyes snapped open, and they shone like beacons in the dark of night.

"The eighth level of Qi Condensation!" Laughing heartily, he rushed out of his courtyard to wash off.

He had been in the Spirit Stream Sect for years now, and although he was a lot tougher, he hadn't grown much physically, which left him feeling a bit depressed. In terms of his overall appearance, he was still just as pure and fair, and just as skinny.

"Now that I'm in the eighth level of Qi Condensation, my controlling arts should be much more powerful." He waved his finger at a nearby boulder, which subsequently flew up into the air. In accord with Bai Xiaochun's will, it sped up, then slowed down as he experimented with both Lightness-in-Heaviness and Heaviness-in-Lightness.

"What I'm most interested in, however, is what I accidentally unleashed when fighting Chen Heng… the Human Controlling Grand Magic!" Eyes shining with a bright light, Bai Xiaochun experimented a bit more, but made little progress. After all, controlling inanimate objects and controlling people were two different things. Finally, he decided to abandon the idea for the time being.

Later, back in his courtyard, he stood there contemplating the matter.

"In the description of the Violet Qi Cauldron Summoning art, it says that once you cultivate all the way to the eighth level, you can utilize a mid-grade version of Violet Qi Cauldron Summoning."

With that, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture and waved his finger. Violet qi swirled about, and after two breaths of time passed, a large violet cauldron appeared in front of him.

This time, it went much faster than before, at least twice as fast!

Furthermore, it was larger than before, and it was much more corporeal. It was so clear that various magical symbols could be seen engraved on the surface of the cauldron.

From the terrifying pressure that radiated from the large cauldron, Bai Xiaochun could tell that it was anything but ordinary.

"That pressure is far more powerful than before!"

He quickly probed his cultivation base; when he used Violet Qi Cauldron Summoning in the past, it drew significantly on his spiritual power, and would require a lot of cultivation to recover from afterward.

But now, he still retained about seventy percent of his internal spiritual energy.

"I can use it three times in a row!" Elated, he dispersed the violet cauldron and pulled out the Golden Crow Sword. As the golden light spread, he stepped onto the golden crow, and then flew out of the sect.

Soon he was in the jungle outside of the sect. Up above, the sky rumbled with thunder, as though a storm were brewing. Sensing the impending danger of the storm, Bai Xiaochun quickly stopped in place and performed an incantation gesture, once again summoning the violet cauldron. Waving his finger, he sent it smashing into a nearby boulder.

A boom echoed out, and the ground trembled, startling countless birds and animals. A crater appeared, with crevices snaking out from it for thirty meters in all directions.

"So powerful!!" he said with a gasp. After measuring himself up, he was sure that with his Undying Silver Skin and Violet Qi Cauldron Summoning, if he had to fight Chen Heng again, it wouldn't take much effort on his part to wipe him out.

"Or maybe not…." he thought after a bit of hesitation. After all, fighting Chen Heng would still be quite dangerous, and would be best avoided. He could still lose his poor little life. The best thing would be to fight only enemies in the seventh level of Qi Condensation.

"With the snap of a finger, I, Bai Xiaochun, could easily turn anyone from the first to the seventh level of Qi Condensation into ash!" He flicked his sleeve proudly, but unfortunately, there was no nearby fence to stand on. He was forced to remain on the Golden Crow Sword, sticking his chin out, looking up at the clouds like a lonely hero. Finally, he turned the Golden Crow Sword around and headed back toward the sect.

However, it was at this point that… countless lightning bolts formed overhead. Attracted by the Golden Crow Sword, they began to descend toward Bai Xiaochun like silver snakes….

Bai Xiaochun's eyes went wide, and moments later, agonized screams could be heard amidst the crash of thunder.

Chapter 76: Eighth Level of Qi Condensation!

Translator: Deathblade. Chinese language consultant: ASI a.k.a. Beerblade. Editor: GNE. Memes: Logan. Meme Archives: JerryDaBaws

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Chapter 77: Auction

Soon after, Bai Xiaochun hobbled back to Fragrant Cloud Peak, hair standing on end, face smudged with ash. Heart pounding with residual fear, he crawled back into his courtyard and thought back to the rain of lightning he had just passed through, and shivered. Then he swore an oath to never again fly on a sword through a thunderstorm.

That wasn't flying, that was risking one's life!

Back in his log cabin, he grimaced in pain for quite some time before composing himself. Sitting down cross-legged on his bed, he looked at the rain falling outside, and then slowly rotated his cultivation base.

"Tier-2 spirit medicines are appropriate for the eighth level of Qi Condensation and lower. If I want to raise my cultivation base any further, I really need to concoct some tier-3 spirit medicine." Resting his chin on his hand, he pondered the matter.

"Tier-3 spirit medicines are even harder to concoct. The only way to do it with confidence is to first be very familiar with numerous tier-2 spirit medicines. Without a stable foundation, the chances of success are small." With that, he opened his bag of holding and examined his current accumulation of resources. The result was a long sigh. Although he had collected quite a few gifts due to his status as a Prestige disciple, he had consumed a terrifying amount of ingredients in his pill-concocting efforts recently. The result was that his stores were running low.

"I can't keep going on this way," he said, bowing his head thoughtfully. "I'll definitely run out! I'm already a pretty incredible journeyman apothecary. Maybe I should try to sell some medicine."

That thought started to get him excited. By the next morning, the rain had stopped, and he left his residence to go to the market and ask some questions. After getting a clearer idea of the prices of various medicinal pills, he bought a huge batch of medicinal plants, and then went to the sect to buy more with merit points.

Finally, he took another trip to the Medicine Concocting Pavilion to begin working.

Although tier-2 medicinal pills would fetch a high price, they consumed a lot of ingredients. Furthermore, considering the way he concocted, they wouldn't be the best use of his time.

Therefore, he chose to concoct some tier-1 medicines that he was more familiar with. Over the course of the following days, he produced three different types of spirit medicines, each batch of which produced eight or nine pills. He also made two sticks of spirit incense. With that accomplished, he headed back to the market.

The south bank market wasn't very large. Other than a few shops set up by Inner Sect disciples and other senior members of the sect, most of the establishments were run by various cultivator clans from other parts of the Eastwood Continent.

It was like a little town, bustling mostly with Outer Sect disciples from the three mountain peaks. Having been there on numerous occasions, Bai Xiaochun was quite familiar with the place. After finding the shop he was looking for, he entered and cleared his throat, whereupon a salesperson approached.

"Call the shop owner out," Bai Xiaochun said. "In addition to buying some ingredients, this time I want to sell some medicinal pills!" With that, he sat down in a chair, smiling so broadly that his eyes turned into slits.

A short time later, a middle-aged man wearing a long violet robe walked up. When he saw that it was Bai Xiaochun, he smiled.

"Fellow Daoist Bai, I am your humble servant Sun Chen," he said, clasping hands. "I've heard many stories about you, Fellow Daoist Bai, but was always worried about disturbing your peace, so I never went to offer formal greetings. I truly regret that now." Beaming, Sun Chen sat down across from Bai Xiaochun. Well aware of Bai Xiaochun's high position in the sect, he had no desire to offend him. Furthermore, the fact that he was a Prestige disciple meant that the Sun Clan still wanted to get on Bai Xiaochun's good side, despite the hundred-year-prohibition set in place by the sect leader.

Bai Xiaochun laughed heartily and then exchanged some pleasantries. Next, he pulled out three bottles of medicinal pills and two sticks of incense, which he placed on the table between them.

Sticking his chin out, he asked, "Fellow Daoist Sun, how much do you think these are worth?"

Sun Chen picked up the medicinal pills, and after examining them, seemed pleasantly surprised. Although they were low-grade tier-1 medicinal pills, they had an impurity level of only about eighty-one or eighty-two percent, placing them very close to the mid-grade level. The pills usually acquired by the shop tended to be low-grade pills with impurity levels of eighty-four or eighty-five percent.

Looking up at Bai Xiaochun with shining eyes, he said, "Brother Bai, your Dao of medicine is quite refined. We would love to purchase all of your spirit medicines. How about we offer you 120 spirit stones? What do you say?"

Bai Xiaochun was instantly delighted. That price was almost four spirit stones per medicinal pill, which was just about the highest price possible for low-grade tier-1 medicinal pills.

Actually, the production cost for such a pill was, on average, only about half a spirit stone.

Thrilled, the two of them completed the transaction and then continued to chat a bit. Eventually they came to an agreement; as long as Bai Xiaochun continued to supply the shop with medicinal pills, he could acquire ingredients without handing over any spirit stones. In the end, Bai Xiaochun left feeling very pleased.

More time passed. Months went by in a flash, during which time Bai Xiaochun continuously concocted tier-1 spirit medicines to sell in exchange for ingredients. He also spent time familiarizing himself with tier-2 spirit medicines.

Gradually, he grew more and more adept.

At the same time, his relationship with the Sun Clan's medicine shop grew more stable. The Sun Clan bought virtually all of his medicinal pills. One day during the course of doing business, Sun Chen took a few bottles of medicinal pills and handed some plant ingredients over to Bai Xiaochun. As they chatted, Sun Clan sighed and said, "Brother Bai, considering your skill in medicine concocting, why don't you concoct some tier-2 spirit medicine? Every few years a hundred clans auction is held, and as of today, it's only about three months away. If you concocted some tier-2 spirit medicine, I could help you put some of it up for auction. I'm sure you'd get a great price."

After their months of doing business together, Sun Chen had come to find that Bai Xiaochun was cheerful and charismatic, and quite the joy to interact with, which was why he was being so helpful.

Bai Xiaochun had also heard of the hundred clans auction, which was arranged by roughly a hundred of the cultivator clans from the Eastwood Continent. There were three locations where the auctions would be held. One was in the north bank market, the second was the south bank market, and the third was in the largest city of cultivators on the continent, Eastwood City.

Bai Xiaochun had been in the Spirit Stream Sect for several years already, and the last auction had been held around the time he had first joined the Outer Sect. Back then, he had been mostly focused on stealing spirit tail chickens, and hadn't been interested in auctions.

His interest having been piqued, he asked a few questions about when exactly the south bank auction would be held, and then finally took his leave. After returning to the Medicine Concocting Pavilion, he sat down cross-legged to think for a while before finally making a decision.

"What Sun Chen said makes sense. Instead of selling a little bit here and there, I might as well take advantage of the situation to sell something really expensive. Afterward, I can purchase a whole bunch of ingredients." After considering things, he thought of some various tier-2 spirit medicines, and finally decided… to concoct the one he was most familiar with, the Violet Qi Spirit Ascension Pill.

Having made his decision, he went into seclusion at the Medicine Concocting Pavilion and began to work on concocting Violet Qi Spirit Ascension Pills. Two months went by. After exchanging all of the medicinal pills he could for ingredients, he was able to concoct three bottles of Violet Qi Spirit Ascension Pills, each one containing ten pills.

He also ended up with one pill whose color was different from the other light violet pills. This pill was dark violet, and didn't have a very strong medicinal aroma, as if it refused to let such an aroma waft out from within it.

When that particular medicinal pill had emerged, the pill furnace had shaken in a way that was clearly different than the previous times. It was even been accompanied by a burst of Earthflame.

Upon closer examination of the pill, Bai Xiaochun's eyes gleamed with excitement.

"Mid-grade! I, Bai Xiaochun, have finally concocted a mid-grade spirit medicine!

"There probably won't be very many mid-grade spirit medicines at the auction. However, if I really want to cause a stir, I'll have to do better than this. After all… this auction only happens once every few years. There will surely be plenty of rare items up for sale." After some thought, he gritted his teeth and then took out the turtle-wok to perform a spirit enhancement.

After the threefold enhancement was completed, silver light glittered, and the spirit medicine was no longer mid-grade. It had broken all the way past superior-grade to be… premium-grade!

This type of premium-grade pill was quite shocking, with an impurity level of only ten percent or so.

Bai Xiaochun was very pleased. The Violet Qi Spirit Ascension Pill resting in his hand was now so dark it was almost black. It had three spirit designs on its surface, which were faint but clearly visible; anyone who laid eyes on the pill would be able to tell that it was something extraordinary.

Bai Xiaochun suddenly had the feeling that this pill was another tool he could use to become famous. Laughing proudly, he pulled out a little knife and carved a picture onto it… a lovely little turtle.

"Lord Turtle will once again make an appearance!" Bai Xiaochun rose to his feet in excitement and anticipation.

He took his medicinal pills out of the sect, and returned two hours later in high spirits, looking very pleased with himself. He could still picture the shock on Sun Chen's face the moment he saw the three bottles of Violet Qi Spirit Ascension Pills. The moment he noticed that there was also a premium-grade spirit medicine which had received a threefold spirit enhancement, his jaw had nearly dropped to the floor in astonishment.

"Only one more month to go until the auction," Bai Xiaochun thought, looking at the jade slip he held, which was his ticket to the auction itself.

Throughout the following days, everyone was talking about the auction. Soon, the disciples of the three mountain peaks on the southern bank began to make various preparations, hoping to strike it lucky at the auction. The market also thrummed with activity.

"One of my clanmates from the north bank said that in the last auction, a Yellow Springs Flame went up for sale, a legendary item! It was only a spark, but could still be considered a unique treasure. One of the disciples from the north bank bought it at an exorbitant price."

"There should be tons of unique treasures up for sale at this hundred clans auction, including a lot of shocking medicinal pills. That's because the Outer Sect Chosen battles will be coming up. They only happen once every thirty years!"

"You're probably right. The joint north and south bank Outer Sect Chosen battles are a grand occasion for the entire Spirit Stream Sect. It's too bad that the top ten from the south bank haven't been able to match up to the north bank for years now! I wonder if one of the south bank's top ten will be able to get revenge this year!?"

Over the following month, talk of the auction grew more and more common throughout the sect. Bai Xiaochun heard much of the talk, and noticed a lot of people discussing the joint north and south bank Outer Sect Chosen battles. However, he didn't pay much attention to such talk.

Soon, the month had passed. One morning at dawn when Bai Xiaochun was meditating, his eyes suddenly opened, and he pulled a glowing jade slip out of his bag of holding.

"The auction is going to start," he thought, eyes shining with anticipation. He quickly hurried out of his courtyard and raced down the mountain. Along the way, he passed quite a few Outer Sect disciples, until he noticed a few beams of light speeding by over head.

He smacked his own forehead at the realization that he'd forgotten about being able to fly. Quickly performing an incantation gesture, he summoned the Golden Crow Sword. Stepping onto the golden crow, he transformed into a beam of golden light that shot off into the distance.

He soon reached the market. Head high and chest out, he entered the auction pavilion.

It was a huge structure, with several thousand seats set up on the auction floor, as well as an open area behind the seats where a crowd of people stood, packed together tightly. As for Bai Xiaochun, he was whisked away by Sun Chen, who took him to a private room on the second floor, and then left.

The room was relatively small, with a narrow balcony, beneath which was the main auction floor. The auction stage was also clearly visible.

This was not Bai Xiaochun's first time being present for such a lively affair. Instead of behaving like the Foundation Establishment cultivators in the other private rooms, who stayed out of sight, Bai Xiaochun made sure to lean out of the balcony. Worried that people might not notice him, he began to clear his throat as loudly as possible.

Soon, some people down below saw him, casting odd glances at him before turning away.

Unfortunately, there were simply too many people present, so no matter how loudly he cleared his throat, the sound would only go so far. Off in the distance, he caught sight of Hou Xiaomei, as well as Zhou Xinqi and some of the other people he knew. However, they were too far away to notice him.

Even after yelling at the top of his lungs, they didn't turn his way, and he started to get a bit depressed. Finally, he lost interest. In any case, sticking himself out of the balcony was a bit tiring…. Furthermore, there was always the danger of accidentally falling…. If that happened, then it would only take a day for everyone on the entire south bank to hear about it.

Time passed, and more people showed up. After about an hour, the sound of a cauldron being struck rung out, and everything went quiet. Countless eyes were all fixed on the auction stage.

Soon, a middle-aged man in a green garment appeared. Smiling, he stood there and greeted everyone with clasped hands.

"I am your humble servant Qian Song. I presume many of you Fellow Daoists are already familiar with me. I will be presiding over the auction today. The rules are the same as ever, all lots go to the highest bidder." Without any further ado, he waved his right hand, and a glowing door rose up on the auction stage.

A young woman emerged, holding a platter, atop which was an oddly shaped rock formed of various metals.

The rock glowed with garish, multicolored light that reflected within the excited, shocked eyes of the thousands of auction attendees.

Bai Xiaochun looked closely at the rock but couldn't quite tell what it was. However, other people in the crowd seemed to know exactly what it was, and were already getting excited.

When Qian Song spoke, his voice was soft, but he boosted it with his Foundation Establishment cultivation base, ensuring that it spread out for all to hear. "Lot one is a piece of Auric Ore. Minimum bid, 300 spirit stones. Bid increment is a minimum of 50 spirit stones!"

"350 spirit stones!" someone cried out.

"400!" Almost as soon as the first bid came out, another topped it. Before long, the price reached 700 spirit stones, and the item was sold to a disciple from Violet Cauldron Peak.

Bai Xiaochun looked at the piece of ore with wide eyes, trying to figure out why it could possibly be worth 700 spirit stones. Another thing he'd noticed was that after the auction had begun, a spell formation had been activated which amplified the voices of anyone calling out bids.

"It's just a piece of metal," he thought a bit sourly as he sat there watching.

More items appeared and were sold. One of them was a green horn from a juvenile dragon, which had apparently been struck by lightning, leaving sparks of electricity coursing along its surface. It fetched a price of 8,000 spirit stones, which left Bai Xiaochun completely shaken.

After the auction had been going for about an hour, Qian Song's voice rang out with the following words: "The next lot is a bottle of tier-2 spirit medicine. Violet Qi Spirit Ascension Pills, a total of ten. They are close to mid-grade, with an impurity level of eighty-one percent. Minimum price, 100 spirit stones. Bid increment is a minimum of 10 spirit stones."

Bai Xiaochun instantly perked up, and stared out at the auction floor in anticipation. Thinking nervously about how much he might make, he waited for someone to call out a bid.

However, for some reason, the only thing that met his ears was silence. Even as his heart began to pound, someone called out an opening bid.

"110 spirit stones." The bidder was an Outer Sect disciple, and the amount bid was apparently all of his savings. After calling out the bid he stared around nervously.

However, Bai Xiaochun was even more nervous than he was. That bottle of Violet Qi Spirit Ascension Pills had cost him about 50 spirit stones to manufacture, and if he sold it at the market, would fetch a price of 150 or 160.

At the moment, all he could do was scowl at the audience in astonishment.

Just when Qian Song was about to strike down with the auction hammer, someone else called out another price. Then, more people jumped in. In the end, the price jumped all the way to 180 spirit stones.

"180 spirit stones isn't bad. That's about 20 higher than at the market." Sighing in relief, he wiped the sweat from his brow. The truth was, the price the bottle had fetched earned him a tidy profit, although it didn't come close to the value of some of the other precious items which had gone up for bid so far.

Soon, his second bottle went up, and ended up selling for a slightly higher price, 200 spirit stones. Bai Xiaochun was very pleased.

By the time the third bottle went up, the Qi Condensation disciples were getting very excited, and more people jumped in on the bidding. In the end, Bai Xiaochun was ecstatic; the final price reached 230 spirit stones.

"More than 700 spirit stones! Now this is what I call an auction! I already have enough spirit stones to concoct a tier-3 spirit medicine." Bai Xiaochun was an easy person to please. His sour mood from before was completely gone, and he sat there happily waiting for the premium-grade spirit medicine to appear.

"Considering the price the other bottles fetched, I think the premium-grade might get… 300 spirit stones?" After a bit of hesitation, he changed his mind.

"200 would be fine!" He nodded confidently.

Time passed. Bai Xiaochun sat there waiting until it was afternoon. There on the auction stage, Qian Song's expression suddenly turned a bit strange. Looking around at the audience, he cleared his throat.

"The next lot is something a bit interesting…. It's a tier-2 spirit medicine, also a Violet Qi Spirit Ascension Pill. However… there's something different about it."

Bai Xiaochun sat there anxiously on the balcony, mind buzzing with nervousness.

Chapter 77: Auction

Translator: Deathblade. Chinese language consultant: ASI a.k.a. Beerblade. Editor: GNE. Memes: Logan. Meme Archives: JerryDaBaws

By the way, this chapter was quite long, about 3,000 words instead of the usual 2,000….

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Chapter 78: What Are They Talking About?

People on the auction floor immediately got excited upon hearing Qian Song's announcement.

The only ones who didn't care were the Inner Sect disciples whose cultivation bases were above the eighth level of Qi Condensation, who began to chat among themselves about other topics, or simply closed their eyes to rest.

"Please take a moment to examine the pill first," Qian Song said with a dry cough. "Afterward, I will reveal the price." It was at this point that a pretty young woman emerged from the glowing door, holding a wooden box in her hands.

Excitement built as everyone craned their necks to try to get a look at exactly what type of Violet Qi Spirit Ascension Pill this was that would cause such a strange expression to appear on Qian Song's face.

Bai Xiaochun was getting more and more nervous, and began to breathe heavily as he looked over at the auction stage. A moment later, the pretty young woman lifted the lid off the box and pulled out a dark violet pill.

The medicinal pill was especially conspicuous considering the fairness of her skin. It glowed with a soft light, and the three designs on its surface were especially noticeable. Also visible… was the little turtle etched next to the spirit designs.

At first, silence prevailed. But then, a huge commotion broke out.

"A threefold spirit enhancement! Heavens! Are my eyes deceiving me?!"

"That's insane! It's actually a tier-2 spirit medicine with a threefold spirit enhancement! I can't believe somebody succeeded in doing such a thing!!"

"This is crazy! A spirit enhanced Violet Qi Spirit Ascension Pill!!"

The voices of the flabbergasted Outer Sect disciples rose up into a cacophony that filled the entire auction floor.

"Dammit! Who actually did something like that? What a waste!"

"A threefold spirit enhancement like that? What psycho had the inclination to do such a thing!?!?"

Even the Inner Sect disciples who had been ignoring things up to this point looked over in surprise. When they saw the spirit designs running across the surface of the medicinal pill, their eyes went wide, and they gasped. Many of them even shot to their feet.

It must be stated that the success rate of spirit enhancement was not very high. A onefold enhancement was difficult enough, and a twofold enhancement was even harder. As for a threefold enhancement… it all depended on luck. Even grandmasters wouldn't dare to claim the ability to succeed at a threefold enhancement.

In the Spirit Stream Sect, far too many people had destroyed magical items in the process of attempting threefold spirit enhancements, much to their heartache. Because of that, most people had a love-hate relationship with spirit enhancement; whenever people did manage to succeed, they would arouse the envy of their contemporaries.

For a magical item to successfully receive a threefold spirit enhancement would make it more powerful to a shocking degree, and would make many people desire to acquire it. But now… everyone was astonished to find themselves looking at a medicinal pill which had received a threefold spirit enhancement!

Furthermore, it was a tier-2 medicinal pill!

If a gorgeous pattern were to develop on the wings of a butterfly, everyone would marvel at the spectacular beauty. But if such a design were to appear on the back of a pig… it could only be described as a huge waste!!

Mixed emotions could be seen on the faces of the onlookers as numerous thoughts ran through their minds. Many of them even clenched their fists into balls, causing veins to bulge out on their hands and faces. The Inner Sect disciples from Violet Cauldron Peak were especially pained, considering that they studied spirit enhancement as part of their cultivation.

"What luck! Somebody actually managed to perform a spirit enhancement on a medicinal pill, and then brought it here to sell. Dammit! If I were that lucky, I would definitely have a spirit enhanced treasure!!"

Even the Foundation Establishment cultivators on the second floor were looking at the medicinal pill in front of them in shock.

Bai Xiaochun sat on the balcony watching all of this happening, somewhat surprised. He looked blankly at the enraged crowd below, some of whom were turning red in the face. He suddenly had the feeling… that he might have gone too far…. He immediately put a look of righteous indignation onto his face and then pointed at the medicinal pill angrily.

"Loser!" he shouted furiously. "What loser made that pill?!"

Off in the distance, Sun Chen was smiling wryly. When he first saw the medicinal pill, he had experienced the same feeling most people in the audience were feeling right now. But then he saw the way Bai Xiaochun was acting off in the distance, and his jaw dropped. A little bit of sweat even dripped down the side of his face.

However, it was at this point that someone in the crowd with sharp eyes happened to notice the little turtle etched into the side of the pill.

"Eee? Why does that little turtle seem so familiar…?" Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, others in the crowd began to look more closely at the pill. At first, they had all been so surprised by the three spirit designs that they didn't look at anything else. But now they all noticed the turtle etching.

"That little turtle…. Hey, I remember! Back on Fragrant Cloud Peak, the first place spot on all of the stone steles at the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion is occupied by a little turtle!!"

"This turtle looks just like that one. The style is exactly the same. That… was etched by a person!"

"The person who concocted that pill, and then went to the insane length of performing a threefold spirit enhancement, was none other than the mysterious and unfathomable Chosen of Fragrant Cloud Peak, the little turtle!"

Cries of excitement rang up. After all, many disciples in the audience were from Fragrant Cloud Peak, and once they saw the little turtle, they were struck with astonishment.

More and more people caught sight of the turtle, and gasps rang out. People even began to rise to their feet. Although not much news about Fragrant Cloud Peak's little turtle had spread lately, he was incredibly famous. Everyone in the sect knew about him, and many people continued to speculate all the time about who exactly he was.

However, no one had been able to solve the mystery. The little turtle was simply too mysterious, so mysterious that apparently no one knew his true identity. He liked to keep an extremely low profile, and was indifferent to the outside world, paying virtually no attention to it at all.

But all of a sudden… he had made another appearance!

Furthermore, he had chosen to completely shake the entire auction, and shock everyone who attended.

Zhou Xinqi was there in the crowd, her eyes shining brightly as she looked at the medicinal pill. Her chest heaved, and various emotions coursed through her.

"So, you finally show your face," she murmured to herself. "A Chosen like you cannot remain hidden forever within the sea of people. You may want to remain out of sight, but your incredible talents have doomed you to be revealed, no matter how much you try to hide. I will find out who you are, one day!" Zhou Xinqi had spent a lot of time secretly investigating the little turtle. For a time, she had suspected Bai Xiaochun, but soon decided that it couldn't be him, and made up her own version of who the little turtle was. He was a cold, proud man who would never taint his own name because of a desire to be famous.

Zhou Xinqi actually wasn't the only one who had come to such a conclusion. Most people felt the same, even Hou Xiaomei. Of course, much of that was because of how much Bai Xiaochun himself had propagated stories about the little turtle.

Many people had even analyzed why he used a turtle as his mark. The explanation was that he had a reserved personality, but also maintained lofty aspirations. Like turtles, his medicinal pills would survive for thousands of years into the future.

Hou Xiaomei stood not too far off in the distance, her eyes wide with adoration. Because of Bai Xiaochun's urgings, she worshiped the little turtle more than anyone else in the sect. In fact, she'd even found other disciples like herself, and had formed something of a club, which they called the Little Turtle League.

"What?! The little turtle!" Hou Xiaomei nearly jumped up into the air in excitement as she pointed at the auction stage.

The entire auction floor had devolved into chaos. Now, people no longer said even a single comment in anger or skepticism. Instead, profound expressions appeared on their faces.

"He definitely pursues excellence to the extreme!"

"A proud Chosen such as the little turtle would never perform a spirit enhancement on a medicinal pill just to sell it at auction. He seeks the quintessence of the Dao of medicine. He did it as a means of research, because of his incredible focus!"

Even the Inner Sect disciples who had been in such pain earlier were now heaving sighs and looking at each other in dismay. All of them had to admit they they were incapable of pulling off a threefold spirit enhancement.

"Now I understand what type of Chosen he is. He's not insane, nor is he showing off. He has grand aspirations. He's completely focused! He wants his medicinal pills to reach the ultimate pinnacle!"

"Incredible! Shocking! This level of focus, this level of willpower, this type of perfect pill… we can all strive to imitate him!"

"A threefold spirit enhancement can raise an object's quality by three grades. That means… that this medicinal pill was originally mid-grade. The little turtle's skill in medicine concocting has already far surpassed my own. He definitely deserves his reputation!"

"That medicinal pill should be kept as souvenir! I must have it!" The Inner Sect disciples' eyes shone with a bright light. Although the pill wasn't suitable for them to consume, it could fill them with inspiration.

Looking at a pill like that made them feel as if they were looking at a Chosen who cared not for fame or fortune, who was completely focused, who strove only after the Dao of medicine.

Seeing how quickly the conversation had changed, Bai Xiaochun, who had been joining along in the public outrage, suddenly stared around with wide eyes. After hearing what people were saying, his face began to turn red.

"What… what are they talking about…?" he thought, trembling. He had never before realized how superior he was. Now that he suddenly saw the light, he had the urge to yell at the top of his lungs, to tell everyone around him that he was the famous Lord Turtle!

However, it was at this point that Qian Song cleared his throat and smiled.

"As all of you can see, this pill has great symbolic meaning. Minimum bid, 500 spirit stones. Bid increment is a minimum of 50 spirit stones!"

Bai Xiaochun gasped when he heard the astronomical price. Most Outer Sect disciples couldn't even afford that many spirit stones.

"600 spirit stones!"

"700 spirit stones! That pill contains the essence of the Dao of medicine! I must acquire it!"

"800! Who dares to top me!?" The Inner Sect disciples immediately began to call out prices, and soon everyone was in an uproar.

Bids continued to be called out, and soon the price reached 1,500 spirit stones. Bai Xiaochun's throat was dry, and he was panting in disbelief.

"Crazy!" he mouthed in excitement. "They're all crazy…. Wait, let's get a bit more crazy, people…. Come on!! Everybody join in!"

"1,800 spirit stones." That bid came from Zhou Xinqi, causing numerous people to look over in her direction. Bai Xiaochun even began to cheer her on.

The price had already reached the limit of what was possible for Inner Sect disciples to afford. Although none of them wished to let the pill go, they had no choice but to sigh. After all, Zhou Xinqi was already a Chosen in the Dao of medicine. Since she wanted the pill, none of the other disciples were willing to compete with her.

Bai Xiaochun was very pleased with the price, and had to hold himself back from running over to Qian Song, grabbing the auction hammer, and banging it down to end the bidding. However, it was at this point that the stubborn and determined voice of young woman rang out, fiery as a pepper.

"I am Hou Xiaomei of the Hou Clan. I bid 3,000 spirit stones!"

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Chapter 79: Xiaochun, We Believe You

Bai Xiaochun's eyes went wide as his mind filled with the thought of 3,000 spirit stones…. He looked over at Hou Xiaomei, eyes shining, and suddenly felt the desire to run over, hug her, give her three thousand thumbs up and tell her… "Great job!"

When the rest of the disciples on the auction floor heard that huge price coming out of Hou Xiaomei's mouth, the commotion instantly ceased, and jaws dropped. They looked over to find Hou Xiaomei standing there, hands on her hips, chest heaving, looking very fair and delicate. She was pretty, but had a proud look on her face, and looked like a blazing hot pepper.

Sticking her chin out, she looked over at Zhou Xinqi with a look that said, I'm from the Hou Clan, and I'm not scared of anyone! Plus, I'm rich!

The overall effect wasn't off-putting, but rather, made her seem quite cute.

Quite a few people broke out into smiles at the sight, whereas others were even more shocked than before.

"3,100 spirit stones!" Zhou Xinqi said coolly, her expression growing a bit colder.

"The little turtle is very important to me!" Hou Xiaomei said. "I don't care how expensive it is, any pill made by him must belong to me. Hmph! 4,000 spirit stones! I'm from the Hou Clan, and I have plenty of money to go around!" She especially emphasized the last sentence. Next to her, Hou Yunfei bowed his head in nervous embarrassment. He wasn't sure why his little sister worshipped the little turtle with such frenzied devotion….

Zhou Xinqi's fans couldn't watch this go on, and many of them began to cry out that only a loser would spend so much money on a tier-2 spirit medicine.

Hou Xiaomei wasn't too happy to hear such things. Sticking her chest out and planting her hands on her hips, she barked, "I've got a lot of spirit stones, so you can just bite me!"

As Bai Xiaochun watched the events unfold, he couldn't help but muse that he had made the right decision to pull Hou Xiaomei off the crooked path and onto the way of righteousness.

Zhou Xinqi frowned. Unfortunately, she didn't have that many spirit stones, and so finally, she had no choice but to give up.

Hou Xiaomei was delighted that Zhou Xinqi didn't make any more bids. The truth was that she didn't have as many spirit stones as she had implied. She had only said so in front of so many people in the hopes that it would force her clan's patriarch to accommodate her.

In the end, Hou Xiaomei was very pleased to have won the threefold spirit enhanced medicinal pill.

Bai Xiaochun was also very pleased. Looking admiringly at Hou Xiaomei, he cleared his throat. In his opinion, considering how much she admired him, it would be improper not to tell her about his true identity.

Having reached this conclusion, and seeing that the first day of the auction was coming to an end, he decided that now was the time to go out and proclaim his identity to the public.

Meanwhile, backstage, various patriarchs from the cultivator clans were gathered, having been tasked with standing guard over the auction. One of them was a middle-aged man, who was currently coughing dryly as he looked around wryly at his fellow patriarchs.

"Well… my granddaughter sure is stubborn. I'm afraid she's made a bit of a fool of herself in front of all of you." With that, he bitterly produced a large sum of spirit stones which he put off to the side.

"What an innocent girl!" The other patriarchs all laughed good-naturedly.

The first day of the auction was over, and although there were more days to come, Bai Xiaochun had already sold his medicinal pills, so he didn't plan to return. He walked over to the entrance of the auction and stood there watching everyone filing out of the auction house.

Virtually all of them were excitedly discussing the matter of the Violet Qi Spirit Ascension Pill.

Eventually, Bai Xiaochun caught sight of Zhou Xinqi. He wanted to go encourage her not to feel disheartened, but as soon as he took a step forward to head in her direction, she looked over and saw him coming. Without another word, she transformed into a beam of light that shot off into the distance.

Bai Xiaochun stopped in place, feeling a bit depressed. But then he heard a voice coming from behind him.

"Big bro Xiaochun!" It was Hou Xiaomei, who came bouncing over happily through the crowd, followed by Hou Yunfei, who was also smiling.

Bai Xiaochun looked away from Zhou Xinqi and gave Hou Xiaomei a smile of praise. Looking very much like a member of the senior generation, he patted her on the head.

"Hey there, chaste little sister. I have to say, you did a great job. The way you won that final item in the auction was very domineering!"

Hou Xiaomei's face turned bright red. Seeming to recall something all of a sudden, she pulled out the Violet Qi Spirit Ascension Pill.

"Big bro Xiaochun, look! This medicinal pill was concocted by the little turtle. Would you like it? Here, take it. Didn't you say before that you also adore the little turtle? I bought this pill just for you!" Anyone who saw the expression on her face would be moved. Holding out the pill to Bai Xiaochun, she looked at him with keen anticipation, as if he were the only thing that existed in the world.

When Hou Yunfei saw this, his gaze softened, and he smiled, but didn't say anything.

Bai Xiaochun's jaw dropped. Never could he have imagined that Hou Xiaomei's goal in winning the medicinal pill was to give it to him. It was very moving. Seeing that they were surrounded by quite a few people, he took a deep breath and put a solemn expression on his face.

Eyes filling with determination, he clasped his hands behind his back like a powerful hero, a posture he had long since become very familiar with adopting.

"Xiaomei," he said, "I need to reveal a very big secret!"

Hou Xiaomei looked shocked, as did Hou Yunfei.

"What secret?" Hou Xiaomei asked curiously.

Bai Xiaochun cleared his throat loudly, stuck out his chin, and swished his sleeve.

"I, Bai Xiaochun, am he who shocks ghosts and gods, the preeminently famous, mysterious and unfathomable… the great and mighty… Lord Turtle!!" He then threw his head back and laughed uproariously. The words he had just uttered had been kept locked inside of him for far too long, and it felt wonderful to speak them out in the open, especially considering he was speaking them to the person who adored him the most, Hou Xiaomei, and in front of such a large audience of onlookers.

Most importantly, it wasn't proper to allow the person who worshipped him the most fervently to be kept in the dark, especially when her idol was standing directly in front of her! Bai Xiaochun stared up at the clouds above, looking very lonely. However, his ears twitched a bit as he waited to hear the shocked reactions of Hou Xiaomei and the rest of the crowd.

He was already formulating the words he would use in response to the impending commotion.

However, after a very long moment passed, not a sound could be heard. Everything was completely silent. Surprised, Bai Xiaochun couldn't help but look back from the clouds toward Hou Xiaomei and Hou Yunfei.

Hou Xiaomei stood there with wide eyes, and Hou Yunfei was similarly shocked. As they stared mutely at Bai Xiaochun, the surrounding disciples looked on with strange expressions on their faces.

"The little turtle is indifferent to worldly affairs," someone said, "like a cloud floating in the sky. Now Sect Uncle Bai is calling himself the little turtle? Yeah right…. Come on, let's go."

An unsightly expression could be seen on Bai Xiaochun's face, and he took a deep breath in preparation to make an explanation.

"Xiaochun, are you alright?" Hou Yunfei asked. Worried, he patted Bai Xiaochun on the head.

"I really am the little turtle!" Bai Xiaochun said anxiously.

"Oh?" Hou Yunfei replied, a strange expression on his face. He quickly nodded. "Sure, sure. You're the little turtle…."

At this point, Hou Xiaomei gazed at Big bro Xiaochun and softly said, "Big bro Xiaochun, you told me before that the little turtle is like a cloud in the sky, someone who doesn't care at all about worldly matters…. Actually, in my heart, you're just as important as he is. You don't need to pretend to be him…."

"But I really am the–"

Before he could finish speaking, Hou Yunfei looked at him somberly and clasped his arm. "Xiaochun, we believe you!"

Bai Xiaochun's eyes went wide. "I really–"

Before he could finish, Hou Yunfei's expression turned more serious. "Xiaochun. We really believe you!"

"I–" Bai Xiaochun's eyes began to glaze over as a feeling of disheartenment filled him. No matter how he tried to explain the situation, it wouldn't do any good. Things were going completely different than he'd imagined. Dejected, he turned slowly and trudged away, somehow returning to the sect.

Back in his courtyard, he stared blankly up into the sky, an expression of grief on his face.

"But I really am Lord Turtle…." he murmured, feeling very maligned. He had long dreamed about proclaiming his identity publicly, but now that dream was in tatters.

After a while, he came to the conclusion that the problem lay in the fact that he had worked so hard over the years to inflate the image of the little turtle in the minds of the people…. To them, the little turtle was a completely proud and extraordinary individual.

More precisely, thanks to the tireless efforts of Hou Xiaomei, the little turtle had already been turned into something of a deity….

After a while, Bai Xiaochun begrudgingly went to find Xu Baocai to explain the truth. Afterward, Xu Baocai stared at him blankly for a moment… and then nodded repeatedly and said that he believed him.

Bai Xiaochun scowled miserably all the way back to his courtyard, where he once again stood there feeling empty.

A few days later, Sun Chen came to visit. Bai Xiaochun immediately perked up. Suddenly, he had hope, hope that Sun Chen would remember who it was that had delivered the medicinal pill up to be auctioned off.

However, before he could even say anything, Sun Chen handed over the spirit stones, then clasped hands and bowed deeply. Expression solemn, he said, "Brother Bai, I'm not sure which honored Chosen concocted that pill. The Sun Clan patriarch was quite shocked by the matter. We know that the only way to contact that Chosen is via you, Brother Bai. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been the one to deliver his medicinal pill.

"Brother Bai, could you please pass word to him that the Sun Clan hopes to have a longstanding friendship with him? If he needs any help selling medicinal pills in the future, we will use all our power to help him!

"Another thing, Brother Bai. Could you please pass word to the Chosen that I understand he doesn't seek fame and fortune, and purposely avoids big commotions? He is like a cloud in the sky, seeking perfection in the Dao of medicine. A person like him will surely reach incredible heights in the future. Therefore, our Sun Clan would be happy to handle all matters relating to the outside world for him." Sun Chen clasped hands and bowed deeply once again. When he looked up, he noticed that Bai Xiaochun's expression was completely blank. When that expression didn't change, Sun Chen once again clasped hands, bowed, and then took his leave.

Inwardly, he sighed as he thought about how high Bai Xiaochun's position was in the Spirit Stream Sect, and how the mysterious, unfathomable figure that no one else knew, actually had dealings with him.

From the very beginning, he had never even considered that Bai Xiaochun might actually be the little turtle. Their personalities were too different. After all, it wasn't just Spirit Stream Sect disciples who knew about the little turtle. The cultivator clans on the outside were also aware of him. All of them had performed their own investigations, and had come to similar conclusions as Zhou Xinqi.

By the time Bai Xiaochun regained his composure, the moon hung high in the sky. Sighing deeply, he leapt up onto the bamboo fence that surrounded his courtyard. Clasping his hands behind his back, he looked up at the starry sky, his long black hair swaying in the wind and his robes rustling.

"I never imagined that deep within me was the desire to shun worldly matters. I am like a cloud which floats in the sky. Ai. I shouldn't have kept things hidden so well. Sometimes, being superior really is truly lonely." As he stood there in the moonlight, he flicked his sleeve, and truly looked like a lonely hero.

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Chapter 80: The Talents of Big Fatty Zhang

Now that he had plenty of spirit stones, Bai Xiaochun didn't want to worry about the issue of the little turtle any more. His heart had already been pierced a thousand times over by what had occurred. Now, the only thing left to do was go to the Medicine Concocting Pavilion and heal by immersing himself in pill concocting.

By this point, Bai Xiaochun's ability to concoct tier-2 spirit medicine had been refined to perfection. His success rate was shockingly high, and he was already beginning to work on tier-3 medicine.

Rumbling sounds filled his workstation as he went about his work. On one occasion, something completely unexpected occurred when the pill furnace rocketed into the air and slammed into the wall before exploding, leaving a small crater behind.

However, that was almost nothing compared to the time when an exploding pill furnace sent out smoke that not even the workshop's protective spell formation could stop. It filled nearly half of the Medicine Concocting Pavilion, causing everyone inside to run out, coughing and cursing the entire time.

Shocked, Bai Xiaochun also ran out in similar fashion, and in the end, no one was completely sure who had caused the entire disaster.

Feeling quite frustrated, Bai Xiaochun carefully returned to his workstation and began to work on another batch of tier-3 spirit medicine. Gradually, a strange expression appeared on his face as he realized he often tended to produce bizarre spirit medicines. For example, there was the time he created the medicine which had attracted hordes of ants. And then there was his Aphrodisiac Pill….

The truth was, all of the strange pills he concocted were all terrifying.

"Could it be because I refuse to use a set medicine formula in my concocting? Every time I do my work, I follow my instincts, and that's what leads to the strange transformations? Or maybe I'm just so naturally talented that God is jealous and intentionally causes problems for me?" Currently, a few dozen brightly colored medicinal pills were laid out in front of Bai Xiaochun, which he looked down at, frowning.

None of them were spherical. Some were cube-shaped, and others looked like malformed lumps of clay. Clearly, they were not ordinary spirit medicines, and yet, each and every one let off a strong medicinal aroma….

Even if Bai Xiaochun were a hundred times braver than he was, he wouldn't dare to personally consume any of them. It was impossible to say what unimaginable effects they might produce.

"I want to achieve the ultimate pinnacle in the Dao of medicine. I am like a cloud in the sky, floating about effortlessly, ignoring the material world. The Dao of medicine is a path strewn with obstacles, so I must not fear. I just have to endure. That is the new me, a new Bai Xiaochun." With that, determination appeared on his face. Looking as if he were searching for the deeper truths in life, he put the pills away and once again began his concocting work.

He spent nearly half a day on the next batch. Unfortunately, he had reached the point where there were few types of medicine that he could continue to work on. It was simply too dangerous. His pill furnace would explode every time, leaving significant damage in its wake. Scowling, he paid some spirit stones in compensation, at which time he was politely asked to leave the Medicine Concocting Pavilion.

He was just about to call upon his status as the Junior Brother of the sect leader and demand to be allowed to stay, when he realized that Big Fatty Zhang had messaged him via jade slip. Apparently he'd come to Bai Xiaochun's residence looking for him, and was wondering where he'd gone off to.

Seeing that Big Fatty Zhang had come to visit, Bai Xiaochun left the Medicine Concocting Pavilion. Sighing, he began to walk down one of the narrow mountain paths.

"If I want to pursue the Dao of medicine to the pinnacle, then I will surely face obstacles along the way. I, Bai Xiaochun, am like a floating cloud. I will not surrender!" Sticking his chest out and raising his head, he walked forward for a bit until he realized that something seemed off. At this time of day, the sect was usually a busy place. But right now, Fragrant Cloud Peak was very quiet. Looking around, he noticed that not a single disciple of the sixth level of Qi Condensation or higher could be seen. Everyone present was of the fifth level or lower.

Shocked, he hurried back to his residence. Even as he approached from a distance, he saw a tall, skinny young man pacing back and forth excitedly in front of the main gate.

That young man was none other than Big Fatty Zhang, who had lost a significant amount of weight.

"Eldest Brother," Bai Xiaochun exclaimed in greeting, hurrying forward.

"Ninth Junior Brother!" Big Fatty Zhang replied, turning to look at Bai Xiaochun and laughing loudly. Big Fatty Zhang didn't care at all that Bai Xiaochun was now the Junior Brother of the sect leader. To Big Fatty Zhang, he was still his little Junior Brother.

Bai Xiaochun dragged him into the courtyard, where they sat down to chat. Curious, Bai Xiaochun said, "Eldest Brother, you hardly ever come to visit. What brought you over? Is there something you need my help with? Just say the word!"

Bai Xiaochun had long since come to view Big Fatty Zhang as a true older brother. Whenever he thought back to their days together in the Ovens, he was always left with a warm feeling.

Big Fatty Zhang cleared his throat, but was unable to prevent the excitement and pride from showing on his face. Looking over, he slapped himself proudly on the chest. Back in the Ovens, it would have resulted in the sound of jiggling flesh, but now, only the creaking of bones could be heard. Even still, Big Fatty Zhang seemed enlivened.

"Ninth Junior Brother, I have a huge secret to tell you!"

As soon as Bai Xiaochun heard that a huge secret was involved, his eyes went wide, and he began to pay rapt attention.

Sounding very lofty, Big Fatty Zhang went on to say, "From now on, I, Big Fatty Zhang, am definitely going to be famous in the Spirit Stream Sect. Everyone will know my name. Tons of disciples will be trying to get on my good side. In fact, even the Foundation Establishment seniors will probably treat me with the utmost respect."

"Oh?" Bai Xiaochun said, looking surprised. "What's going on? Are you also the little turtle?"

Glowing with exuberation, Big Fatty Zhang took a deep breath and lowered his voice. "Little turtle? Pshh. Ninth Junior Brother, you know that my Master is the Peak Lord of Violet Cauldron Peak, Xu Meixiang, right?"

Bai Xiaochun nodded. He had known who Big Fatty Zhang's master was for some time, and also knew that she was the reason he had lost so much weight. She didn't like fat people, although that had also led Bai Xiaochun to consider some other strange possibilities regarding the situation.

"Do you know what my Master is best at?" Big Fatty Zhang continued. "Spirit enhancement! And do you know what I'm studying from my Master? Spirit enhancement!

"Hahaha! I, Big Fatty Zhang, happen to be blessed with incredible natural talent when it comes to spirit enhancement. My talent is so extraordinary that even my Master was completely shocked, and praised me to no end! Today, she actually said that it would only be a few more years before I'm the number one grandmaster of spirit enhancement in the entire Spirit Stream Sect!" Big Fatty Zhang rose to his feet, looking excitedly up into the sky, boiling with excitement. It was as if he were the most important being in existence.

Bai Xiaochun blinked. Seeing Big Fatty Zhang's mighty pose, he quickly plastered an adoring expression on his face and exclaimed, "Spirit enhancement?!"

Bai Xiaochun's reaction made Big Fatty Zhang even happier. Slapping his shoulder, he said, "Ninth Junior Brother, from here on out, lots of people are going to be asking me to do spirit enhancements. If I don't like them, I'll refuse no matter what. If I do like them, then I'll charge them an arm and a leg! But you and Third Fatty are both from the Ovens. For the rest of my life, I won't charge you a single spirit stone. We're family, so as long as you provide the ingredients, I'll perform spirit enhancements for you for free!"

Big Fatty Zhang seemed high-spirited and full of mettle. From the moment he arrived at Violet Cauldron Peak, he had felt suppressed, but now that he knew he had a talent for spirit enhancement, he was elated. This was actually the first time he had ever come to visit Bai Xiaochun.

"Elder Brother, you're incredible!!" Bai Xiaochun exclaimed, looking ecstatic.

"Come, come," said Big Fatty Zhang. "Give me something, anything. I'll do a onefold enhancement right here. With one of my weapons, you'll definitely get into the south bank's top ten during the qualifying rounds a few months from now. Then you can represent the south bank to fight the north bank in the Chosen battles!"

"Uh…." Bai Xiaochun blinked a few times. Seeing how excited Big Fatty Zhang was, he fished around in his bag of holding for a bit, and then pulled out one of the Spirit Stream Sect's ordinary flying swords, of which he had a few. He quickly handed it over to Big Fatty Zhang.

Big Fatty Zhang took a deep breath and then slapped his bag of holding, causing a few pieces of ore to fly out, which then floated around the sword.

Then he closed his eyes, and unleashed the explosive power of his cultivation base. Although his cultivation base couldn't quite match up to Bai Xiaochun's, he was already in the great circle of the sixth level of Qi Condensation. His hair whipped about as he waved his left hand, causing silver light to shine out.

As soon as the light appeared, a wind sprang up, and the entire area seemed to fill with fluctuations of spiritual energy. The energy streamed toward the pieces of ore, which filtered the energy before it passed on toward Big Fatty Zhang's left hand. At the same time, the pieces of ore began to melt. In a short time, they were already half gone.

Bai Xiaochun's eyes flickered. This was his first time ever watching as someone performed a spirit enhancement, and the process was very different than when he used the turtle-wok. Apparently, the spirit enhancer would communicate directly with heaven and earth, and then filter its explosive power through the ore to soften it.

Soon, Big Fatty Zhang began to shake. After enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, he took a deep breath, and his eyes snapped open. Then, blinding silver light shot out from his hand to sweep over the sword.

"Spirit Actuation!"

The air seemed to vibrate as the silver light shooting out from Big Fatty Zhang's hand bored into the flying sword. In the blink of an eye, the entire sword had turned silver.

The sight was shocking to say the least, and Bai Xiaochun couldn't help but gasp.

Panting, Big Fatty Zhang handed the flying sword over to Bai Xiaochun.

"Take it," he said, his voice brimming with confidence. "The sword's spirit has already been actuated. If you pour some more spiritual power into it to do a spirit test, the silver designs should appear!" With that, he mopped the sweat off of his forehead.

Bai Xiaochun took the flying sword and then excitedly poured some spiritual power into it. Instantly, cracking sounds could be heard as silver lines appeared on the surface of the sword. Moments later though, they faded away, and then cracks began to spread out, as if the sword couldn't contain the energy of heaven and earth which had been imbued into it. A moment later, it had transformed into nothing but a lump of slag.

"Huh?" Bai Xiaochun said, looking surprised. Big Fatty Zhang's jaw dropped, and the two of them exchanged glances.

Bai Xiaochun cleared his throat, and was just about to say that it had been a low quality sword to begin with, when Big Fatty Zhang grabbed it and looked it over with wide eyes. After a moment, he stamped his foot angrily.

"I made a mistake. I didn't control the fusion with the spirit iron. The energy of heaven and earth was a bit too volatile. Ah, it doesn't matter. Alright Ninth Junior Brother, give me another flying sword, I'll try again." Big Fatty Zhang stared at Bai Xiaochun with bloodshot eyes.

Bai Xiaochun produced another flying sword, whereupon Big Fatty Zhang took a deep breath. Expression very serious, he went through the process again, until the sword glowed with silver light. Then he handed it back to Bai Xiaochun.

"Why don't… why don't you do the test, Eldest Brother?" Bai Xiaochun said hesitantly.

Voice solemn, Big Fatty Zhang said, "The first major rule of spirit enhancement is that unless the object belongs to the spirit enhancer, then he must not do the spirit test himself! It's a set rule that I can't violate. If I break the taboo, it will lead to endless troubles."

Seeing how determined Big Fatty Zhang was, Bai Xiaochun nervously took the sword. He truly wanted it to work this time, otherwise it would be a significant blow to Big Fatty Zhang.

After a moment of thought, he said, "Hm… Eldest Brother, why don't you wait here for a moment. I'll go to into my room to do the test. I think I put too much thought into it before and got too nervous."

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Chapter 81: Will-Spirit Grand Magic

Big Fatty Zhang was already starting to get nervous. However, after hearing Bai Xiaochun's suggestions, he realized that it made sense, and nodded in agreement.

Clearing his throat, he tried to pretend that he wasn't nervous at all. "Of course. As my Master said, I shouldn't be there to see whether the enhancement succeeds or not. Ninth Junior Brother, hurry inside and try out the spirit test."

Bai Xiaochun turned and hurried inside. Frowning, he looked down at the flying sword. Worried about Big Fatty Zhang getting disappointed, he didn't attempt any test, but instead, performed an incantation gesture and pointed out, causing the turtle-wok to appear.

"Ai. Eldest Brother has been under too much pressure from the very beginning. He's finally got some confidence back, so I can't let him leave disappointed. I wonder if using the turtle-wok will make the enhancement of this flying sword a success." Muttering to himself, he started a one-colored flame and then threw the untested flying sword into the wok.

Silver light glittered brightly, after which he put the turtle-wok away. Gritting his teeth, he poured some of his spiritual energy into the sword, whereupon the silver light condensed into a single silver design.

"It worked!" he thought, although he wasn't sure whether it was because of what Big Fatty Zhang had done, or whether it was because of his own work. He quickly pushed the door open and rushed out. "Eldest Brother! It worked. It worked! You're so awesome, Eldest Brother!"

Big Fatty Zhang had been standing there nervously in the courtyard, wondering what the result would be. As soon as he saw Bai Xiaochun, a tremor ran through him. Then he saw the silver design on the flying sword. Slapping his thigh, he threw his head back and laughed loudly.

"Well, how did it turn out? It's just like I said. I didn't control the power last time. Back on Violet Cauldron Peak, I successfully enhanced three weapons already. Even my Master couldn't help but praise my talent. And here I did it again, Ninth Junior Brother!" Big Fatty Zhang excitedly grabbed the sword from Bai Xiaochun to look at it.

Bai Xiaochun stood off to the side, looking admiringly at Big Fatty Zhang. Seeing Big Fatty Zhang look so excited, he sighed in contentment.

"Alright, your Elder Brother is in a good mood now. I'm going to enhance it once more. This sword is going to have a twofold spirit enhancement!"

Bai Xiaochun had the feeling that such an attempt wasn't a very good idea. If he recalled correctly, there were a lot of sect rules and taboos regarding spirit enhancement. "Eldest Brother, why don't we try that some other time…."

"No, it's fine!" Big Fatty Zhang said decisively. Holding the sword in hand, he began to concentrate and build up energy.

This second attempt at spirit enhancement was clearly much more difficult, and he had to use all of the ores he possessed. He began to tremble, and even consumed some medicinal pills before finally managing to draw upon enough of the energy of heaven and earth to begin the process. When he poured the energy into the sword, dazzling silver light shone out, after which Big Fatty Zhang sat down heavily onto the ground, panting.

However, his eyes shone with excitement as he handed the sword to Bai Xiaochun.

"Go ahead and test it!"

Bai Xiaochun frowned as he took the sword. However, before he could test it, Big Fatty Zhang reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Don't test it here," he said solemnly. "Remember, Ninth Junior Brother, the most important part of the spirit testing process is the feeling you have. When the moment feels right, it's like having the assistance of the gods. Since you succeeded in your room last time, that's where you should test it this time!"

Bai Xiaochun blinked a few times at how much Big Fatty Zhang seemed to know about spirit enhancement. Nodding, he trotted back to his room thoughtfully.

"Eldest Brother might actually be really good at spirit enhancement. It's hard to say. Just now, he seemed to have succeeded, even without any help from my turtle-wok." Having reached this point in his train of thought, he decided not to put the flying sword into the turtle-wok. Instead, he simply poured some spiritual power directly into the sword.

In the blink of an eye, silver light flashed. But then, it rapidly dimmed. Cracking sounds rang out, and the sword was reduced to useless slag.

Even as Bai Xiaochun frowned anxiously, he could hear Big Fatty Zhang talking outside.

"Ninth Junior Brother, I just saw some silver light. What happened. Did it succeed?"

"Um… I didn't test it yet," Bai Xiaochun replied quickly. "Let me do it now…."

Big Fatty Zhang stood there quietly outside, bitter nervousness written across his face. He was no idiot, and was quite certain that he'd seen silver light shining out of the window of Bai Xiaochun's log cabin moments before.

Sighing, he assumed that Bai Xiaochun simply didn't want to admit that it had been a failure. Taking a deep breath, he called out, "I know that you performed the test, Ninth Junior Brother. It's fine. I'll… I'll just take my leave now."

Upon arriving, Big Fatty Zhang had been bursting with excitement, but the blow he had just received left him sinking into despondency.

He was aware that he had acted rashly. According to his Master, spirit enhancement was a very mysterious magical technique, and to achieve a perfect success rate with it was impossible. Furthermore, in the cultivation world, there was a strange phenomenon. Apparently… people who succeeded once would find it easier to succeed in the future, whereas people who failed would have the opposite experience.

It sounded strange, but the truth was that it came down to the power of will. It was a mysterious thing, and the more confidence one possessed, the more likely one was to succeed.

When it came to the world of spirit enhancement, there were two main techniques that could be cultivated. One was the orthodox method, in which the spirit enhancer was responsible for only the initial spirit enhancement. He would not personally perform the spirit test. Instead, the object would be given to the owner, who would perform the spirit test out of the spirit enhancer's presence.

That way, success or failure wouldn't affect the mental state of the spirit enhancer. Without having been corrupted by the sight of the result, the spirit enhancer would be able to forget about the matter, and maintain a calm heart.

However, there was another, more extreme method that was cultivated. It was called the Will-Spirit Grand Magic. It focused on the profound and mysterious power of will. In that method, the spirit enhancer would take great care to watch the outcome of the spirit enhancement. That way, the more successes they experienced, the more shocking their spirit enhancement abilities would become. It was an extreme method, and failure could have a very extreme negative impact on the spirit enhancer, even to the point of ruining their talents altogether.

Even still, quite a few people attempted to use that method. Even Big Fatty Zhang's Master Xu Meixiang had to admit that if someone cultivated such an extreme method of spirit enhancement, they could achieve heaven-defying results. Their power of will, and their self-confidence, would achieve monumentally spectacular results.

The Spirit Stream Sect's sect-protecting treasure, the Heavenhorn Sword, which had received a tenfold spirit enhancement, had been produced by just such an eccentric spirit enhancer, thousands of years in the past.

Big Fatty Zhang smiled bitterly. He well understood that on Violet Cauldron Peak, the orthodox method of cultivation was preferred. By allowing himself to be overcome by excitement, he had made a huge mistake. The calmness in his heart had been disturbed, and it would take quite some time to recover.

Bai Xiaochun could see Big Fatty Zhang's dejected posture through the window. Unwilling to allow him to be so disappointed, he gritted his teeth and produced an identical flying sword from within his bag of holding. Then he pulled out the turtle-wok and quickly performed a twofold spirit enhancement.

By that point, the bitter Big Fatty Zhang had placed his hand onto the gate of the courtyard and was about to leave. All of a sudden, Bai Xiaochun's elated voice rang out.

"Eldest Brother, it worked!!" The door of the log cabin slammed open as Bai Xiaochun rushed out, overjoyed, holding a flying sword with two silver designs visible on its surface.

"Really?!" A tremor ran through Big Fatty Zhang as he spun to look at the flying sword. Then he began to shake, a look of both excitement and disbelief growing in his eyes.

"Hahaha! I really am a Chosen among spirit enhancers. A twofold spirit enhancement! I can't believe it! I succeeded!!'

He wrapped Bai Xiaochun up into a bear hug, tears of joy streaming down his face. The truth was that his latent talent was only average; if it weren't for the deep connections between his family and his Master, he would never have been admitted into the Spirit Stream Sect.

It was only because of the precious materials back in the Ovens that he'd been able to cultivate to the great circle of the third level of Qi Condensation. After joining the Outer Sect, he had no such precious materials, and thus found cultivation to be very difficult. He could only watch as Third Fatty Hei and Bai Xiaochun both surpassed him, and although he was happy for them, he was very disappointed in himself.

Now that he turned out to be talented in spirit enhancement, the joy he felt was unimaginable. He suddenly felt useful. Filled with excitement, he threw his head back and laughed loudly, feeling the confidence wash through him. As it did, a strange power seemed to build up… which was none other than the intangible power of will.

Spirit enhancement was an extreme path to follow; the more you succeeded, the more confidence you had. The stronger your power of will, the more you would succeed!

Perhaps the mere belief that success was possible would help one to climb the steps of success, and breed that most mysterious power of will.

Big Fatty Zhang left excitedly, holding his head proudly. Bai Xiaochun watched him go, then stood there in his courtyard wondering if he'd done the right thing. In the end, he decided that as long as Big Fatty Zhang was happy, then he couldn't be in the wrong.

A few days after Big Fatty Zhang left, Bai Xiaochun got some new information from Xu Baocai. Apparently, the reason why fewer people could be seen on Fragrant Cloud Peak was that all of the disciples from the sixth level of Qi Condensation and higher had gone into secluded meditation, hoping to break through to the eighth level in preparation for the Chosen battles, which happened only once every thirty years!

The joint north and south bank Chosen battles were only about three months away, and would be the focus of attention of the entire Spirit Stream Sect. Throughout the Eastwood Continent, the cultivator clans and other small sects would also be paying close attention to the results.

During the Chosen battles, Outer Sect Chosen from both the north and south banks would fight each other in an attempt to claim the top ten spots. All of the top male and female disciples would rise up like dragons and phoenixes, hoping to be promoted into the Inner Sect. Whether in terms of personal fame or the approval of the sect, disciples who ascended to the Inner Sect in this fashion were viewed completely differently than other disciples.

Every thirty years, the top ten Chosen of the generation would always move on to greater glory. They were the outstanding talents, famous and revered far and near. Even other sects with status similar to the Spirit Stream Sect would acknowledge them.

Anyone who could be ranked in the top ten in the Chosen battles would also receive handsome compensation from the sect. Word had it that the prize in merit points reached into the tens of thousands, not to mention the other precious materials that would be given out. Furthermore, there was also the chance to enter the sect's arcane pocket realm.

Everyone was moved by the possibilities at hand.

Beyond all that, the best of the best would have the chance to pursue a spot in the legendary Legacy Echelon. One requirement was to be in the top ten of the Chosen battles, which was in turn another motivating factor to all disciples.

Before the Chosen battles, of course, were the qualifying rounds. Both the north and south banks would have their own qualifying rounds, during which they would select the ten best disciples to move on to the final Chosen battles.

The cultivation base requirement was set at the eighth level of Qi Condensation. Only disciples of that level could participate. There were two main requirements to enter the Inner Sect: first, to be in the eighth level of Qi Condensation, and second, to pass a trial by fire. Normally speaking, there were a variety of trials by fire which could be attempted to get into the Inner Sect. However, the Chosen battles which occurred every thirty years were the most difficult of them all, and also the most watched in all the sect!

Of the numerous Outer Sect disciples who made the attempt, most would not be promoted. Only those who made it into the top hundred in the qualifying round would get into the Inner Sect. As for the top ten, they qualified to participate in the Chosen battles for the entire Spirit Stream Sect.

Shangguan Tianyou, Lu Tianlei, and Zhou Xinqi were all people who wanted to get into the south bank's top ten, and then fight with the Chosen from the north bank. If they could become Inner Sect disciples in such a way, then they would have a shot at eventually reaching the Legacy Echelon.

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Chapter 82: South Bank Chosen

During the past thousand years, the south bank had always been outdone by the north bank. In all of the Outer Sect Chosen battles which had been held, the majority of the final top ten were north bank disciples. The south bank had never been able to achieve dominance, much less take the first place spot, which went to the north bank each and every time.

One reason was that the north bank had four mountain peaks, while the south bank only had three. More than a thousand years ago, things had been different. Whether it was in terms of spirit enhancement or medicine concocting, the disciples of the south bank had been the pillars of the sect, and no one had ever dared to tangle with them. As for the sword cultivators of Green Crest Peak, they gave their mountain peak the reputation of being the strongest in the entire Spirit Stream Sect.

But now, for various reasons, everything had changed, and the north bank was the most dominant. They continuously secured victory in the Chosen battles, and as such, earned vast cultivation resources, which ensured that their battle prowess only continued to grow. Furthermore, their practice of cultivation differed somewhat from the south bank, so different that many of the outside cultivator clans had come to view the north bank as the dominant force within the Spirit Stream Sect, and its effective leader.

In the Spirit Stream Sect, the south bank used magic to control inanimate objects, while the north bank controlled living beasts!

For example, upon joining the sect, Bai Xiaochun had learned the Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art. In contrast, the introductory art for north bank disciples was the Heavenspan Elephant Control Art!

During the Chosen battles held over the past thousand years, the south bank had suffered defeat over and over again. That was especially true of the battles fought thirty years before, in which only one disciple from the south bank had ended up in the top ten. That, of course, infuriated the elders and peak lords of the three mountain peaks of the south bank. Afterward, they personally went out to look for new talented disciples, which was how Shangguan Tianyou and the other top Chosen came to join the sect.

Shangguan Tianyou, Lu Tianlei, and Zhou Xinqi were the trump cards of the south bank. They were the apprentices of the peak lords, and had been meticulously trained until their cultivation bases reached the pinnacle of the eighth level of Qi Condensation. In terms of battle prowess, they were already in a position to be able to defeat many disciples of the Inner Sect.

Shangguan Tianyou was the most impressive of them all, adept with void magic, and generally accepted as the number one Chosen of the south bank.

Lu Tianlei was skilled with the Dao of lightning, and was extraordinary in his own right. His lightning magic was shocking, and even his Master Xu Meixiang praised him ceaselessly, virtually guaranteeing him a spot in the top ten.

Then there was Zhou Xinqi, who showed incredible skill in the Dao of medicine. Of course, as Li Qinghou's personal apprentice, she also had astonishing magical techniques at her disposal.

When Bai Xiaochun learned about the overall situation from Xu Baocai, he couldn't help but feel indignant at the despotic way the north bank acted.

Filled with emotion, he swore to himself: "Just wait until I reach Foundation Establishment. I'll definitely cut those north bank Outer Sect disciples down a notch or two!"

As far as the south bank qualifying matches, and the subsequent Chosen battles, he wasn't the least bit interested in them.

As far as Bai Xiaochun was concerned, fighting and killing weren't his style. He was a Prestige disciple, and the Junior Brother of the sect leader. He existed on a higher plane of seniority, and didn't feel that it was appropriate for him to be competing with members of the junior generation.

"Besides, what would happen if I didn't win?" he thought with a dry cough. "Wouldn't that lose a lot of face for elder Brother Sect Leader? Forget about it. I'm definitely not participating." When he thought about how much he was sacrificing just for his Elder Brother Sect Leader, he decided that he should probably go burn some incense to his Master and complain a bit about the situation.

Life was great. Bai Xiaochun didn't think much about the Chosen battles. Instead, he visited Big Fatty Zhang as often as he could. Every time Big Fatty Zhang would try a spirit enhancement, Bai Xiaochun would use his turtle-wok to turn it into a success, which led Big Fatty Zhang into new realms of excitement.

At a certain point, Big Fatty Zhang began to suspect that something was going on, but was so happy that he simply reveled in the feeling of success. Eventually, he got used to the situation, and came to be convinced that he really was a genius spirit enhancer.

Considering the incredible level of self-confidence that he was building, his spirit enhancement magic and power of will also began to grow much stronger.

Time passed. A month later, it was only three days until the qualifying round began. It was at that point that Bai Xiaochun got a notice from the sect informing him that attendance in the qualifying round was mandatory for all disciples in the eighth level of Qi Condensation. There were to be no exceptions.

After scanning the jade slip, Bai Xiaochun yawned. Assuming there must be some mistake with the message, he continued his pill concocting.

Three days later at dawn, bells filled the south bank, and Bai Xiaochun strolled out into the sect to see countless Outer Sect disciples hurrying along with very serious expressions. Spirits rising, he joined the crowd of moving people.

Soon, he reached a certain valley behind the three mountain peaks. It was a huge place, paved with white jade, in the middle of which was a huge, open square, with four awe-inspiring columns in the corners carved with coiling dragons.

Between each column was another statue depicting a fierce beast, extremely lifelike in appearance. The ferocious nature of it all made the entire valley seethe with a bleak and violent aura.

On one of the valley walls was a balcony, upon which numerous notable members of the sect could be seen. Li Qinghou was there, along with Xu Meixiang and the peak lord from the third mountain. Even Sect Leader Zheng Yuandong was present.

The qualifying matches for the north and south banks were not held concurrently. The south bank went first, followed by the north bank. That was to ensure that the sect leader didn't show partiality to one bank or the other. After observing the south bank's qualifying matches, he would go to the north bank to watch theirs.

Li Qinghou and the other peak lords sat near Zheng Yuandong, chatting amiably.

Behind them were the elders from the three mountain peaks, including Elder Zhou. Some sat quietly with their eyes closed, others conversed in low tones. A few were observing the disciples pouring into the valley.

Bai Xiaochun walked along lazily until he was in the valley itself. Looking around, he realized that he had never been here before. Curious about the statues, he walked over to examine one more closely.

As he neared the statue, he noticed that there was even fur on its surface, which rippled in the wind. "These creatures almost look alive. So interesting."

It was at this point that the sound of voices suddenly rose up from within the audience.

"Elder Sister Zhou is on the way!"

"Elder Sister Zhou has been in the eighth level of Qi Condensation for a while now. She's definitely going to get into the top ten. In fact, considering her status, she'll most likely get into the top three!"

A blue swath of flying silk appeared off in the distance, upon which could be seen Zhou Xinqi. She first clasped hands and bowed to the balcony, then landed off to the side, where she closed her eyes and sat down quietly. The truth was that she was inwardly nervous; after all her years of cultivation, the qualifying round had finally arrived, and she had to perform well.

Up on the balcony, Li Qinghou gave her a faint smile of approval.

Smiling, Zheng Yuandong said, "Qinghou, not only is Zhou Xinqi extraordinary with plants and vegetation, she also has some shocking magical techniques. I have the feeling she'll bring glory to the south bank."

"There's no need for such praise, sect leader," Li Qinghou replied modestly. "My apprentice still needs some more tempering. However, her personality is of a type rarely seen among her contemporaries. She really has incredible potential."

Most of the crowd looked over enviously at Zhou Xinqi, but as for Bai Xiaochun, he cleared his throat and looked at her with an expression similar to Li Qinghou's. Clasping his hands behind his back, he gazed at her with praise and approval.

Before people could finish talking about Zhou Xinqi, another small uproar occurred in the crowd. People turned their heads up as the rumble of thunder echoed out. A bolt of lightning snaked out overhead, perched atop which was a young man wearing a long green robe and a haughty expression.

Countless lightning bolts spread out in his wake, and thunder boomed around him. He seemed even more impressive than Zhou Xinqi, and when he landed in the square, the area for thirty meters around him turned into a lake of dancing lightning.

Sparks of electricity even arced back and forth on his skin.

"It's Lu Tianlei from Violet Cauldron Peak! Elder Brother Lu has a rare lightning meridian. He's been in secluded meditation almost the entire time since joining the sect. Now he finally makes his extraordinary debut!"

"Lu Tianlei is incredible. He cultivates some sort of technique that gives him control of lightning!" As the conversations continued, Lu Tianlei proudly clasped hands in greeting toward the balcony. Then his gaze swept across the crowd. Among all the Outer Sect disciples gathered there, only Zhou Xinqi was someone he considered a worthy opponent. The others weren't even worth looking at.

Up on the balcony, Xu Meixiang smiled, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction. "Sect leader, what do you think of the Extreme Dao Lightning Control Magic that my disciple cultivates?"

Zheng Yuandong smiled and looked a bit more closely at Lu Tianlei. "He already controls two types of lightning, and he's only in the eighth level of Qi Condensation. With skill like that, he's definitely a top Chosen among the disciples under Foundation Establishment."

The peak lord of Green Crest Peak, the emaciated old man who seemed as sharp as a sword, suddenly looked up with a smile.

Zheng Yuandong's face flickered, and he also turned to look in the same direction. The other elders did the same.

A beam of sword light… split through the clouds, rumbling along with incredible momentum. The clouds seethed as an ancient green sword appeared, a beam that cut through everything in its path, piercing through the air as it shot toward the ground.

The sword seemed primeval, forged from bronze, weathered with age and completely extraordinary.

An extremely handsome young man stood atop the sword, wearing the robes of an Outer Sect disciple. His black hair whipped about in the wind, and he held his hands clasped behind his back. A faint layer of golden light flickered around him, and behind him could be seen the images of numerous green lotuses.

In addition to the lotuses was a nine-meter-long fish with the head of a dragon, which swirled about, sending rainwater falling down everywhere around it.

Even before the young man arrived, the rain water was splashing down onto the square. Countless disciples looked up in awe, gasping at the incredible sight.

"It's Eldest Brother Shangguan!"

"The number one Chosen in the Outer Sect on the south bank. Shangguan Tianyou!"

"According to the rumors, he has a powerful sword spirit body, and is the reincarnation of some almighty sword cultivator. For some reason, the heavens are guilty, and showered him with countless blessings. When he was three, he was walking down the road and happened to find an ancient sword; when he was seven, a baby Crimson Cloudbeast fell out of the sky and instantly accepted him as its master; when he was thirteen, he acquired a golden light shield. That is why his name is Tianyou!" 1

Zhou Xinqi looked over with a grave expression.

As for Lu Tianlei, he looked up, lightning dancing in his eyes, sparks surging around him. From the look in his eyes, he was itching to fight.

As the green beam of light closed in, Shanguan Tianyou clasped hands toward the balcony and called out, "I, Shangguan Tianyou, offer greetings to the sect leader, my Master, the two peak lords, and all of the various elders."

As he floated down toward the square, he looked around at all the disciples and nodded.

His amiable gaze and friendly nod caused countless disciples to clasp hands in greeting. Many of the female disciples batted their eyes bashfully.

Sect Leader Zheng Yuandong gave a hearty laugh and looked over at the peak lord of Green Crest Peak. "Wonderful. Simply wonderful!" he said. "At only the eighth level of Qi Condensation, he can already transform sword qi into lotuses. Regardless of whether this Shangguan Tianyou really is the reincarnation of an almighty cultivator, he definitely has a sword spirit body. To accomplish what he has before Foundation Establishment is truly a rarity!

"I have to say that I'm shocked by the south bank's performance so far!"

Li Qinghou and the other peak lords smiled, and the other elders chuckled. All of them clearly wished to have their revenge on the north bank.

Zheng Yuandong was about to continue speaking when suddenly he looked down at the square and saw Bai Xiaochun standing there next to the statue, hands clasped behind his back, looking like a member of the senior generation.

Chuckling dryly, he said, "This Bai Xiaochun… really loves to indulge in his histrionics."

1. Quick reminder that "Tianyou" literally means "the heavens assist"

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Chapter 83: Elder Zhou, You're Up

Zheng Yuandong wasn't the only one who noticed Bai Xiaochun. Everyone else was in a huge commotion, but Bai Xiaochun was simply standing there like a member of the senior generation. He couldn't have stuck out more from everyone else.

One of the elders on the balcony smiled and said, "Young Bai Xiaochun is already in the eighth level of Qi Condensation, and fought his way out of certain death at the hands of the Luochen Clan. He'll definitely make it into the top ten. In fact, he probably has a shot at the top five."

"That's right," said another elder. "Not only does he have extraordinary skill with plants and vegetation, he also cultivates a shocking type of body refinement. I'd say he's a definite dark horse in the qualifying round today."

Hearing these comments caused the faces of Li Qinghou and Zheng Yuandong to beam. Exchanging a glance, they laughed heartily.

"He's different from the rest of them," Li Qinghou said. "He has much stronger convictions than his contemporaries. When I brought him here to the sect all those years ago, I asked him why he wanted to practice cultivation, and he said it's because he wants to live forever." He looked over at Bai Xiaochun with a warm gaze. He'd finally finished preparing a defensive magical item that he planned to give Bai Xiaochun after the qualifying matches were over.

"Alright, enough with the praise," Zheng Yuandong said. "Although he's my Junior Brother, as Qinghou is well aware, he's stubborn and mischievous. He still needs much tempering. However, he's a pure and genuine person who doesn't seek the limelight, which is laudable." Despite the words he uttered, everyone could tell that Zheng Yuandong's eyes gleamed with anticipation.

As the group on the balcony continued to exchange words, Bai Xiaochun stood there next to the statue, proud and aloof as he looked over at Lu Tianlei, and the crowd favorite that was Shangguan Tianyou. Inwardly, Bai Xiaochun was a bit apprehensive.

Lu Tianlei had electricity writhing around him, which left Bai Xiaochun's scalp numb as he thought back to what it had been like to ride his sword through the thunderstorm. And then there was Shangguan Tianyou, with his incredible good fortune and a sword from ancient times. He also had a shocking energy which left Bai Xiaochun breathless.

As far as he could tell, both of them were incredibly strong.

But then he thought about his own status, and coughed dryly before once again plastering an approving smile onto his face.

"There are plenty of Chosen to go around," he thought, "which simply goes to show how powerful the Spirit Stream Sect is. But I'm a Prestige disciple, and the Junior Brother of the sect leader. I shouldn't be comparing myself to my juniors. They are the future of the sect, and bullying them would be wrong. Yeah. Any comparisons should wait until after they're part of the Inner Sect!" Having made his decision, he continued to stand there looking around approvingly.

More and more people crowded into the valley. All of the disciples who were in the eighth level of Qi Condensation were cracking their knuckles in preparation for the fighting. As for those whose cultivation bases were lower, they were naturally coming to act as the audience.

Among the three mountain peaks of the south bank, there were roughly a thousand disciples in the eighth level of Qi Condensation, and all of them were present in the valley. Bai Xiaochun was familiar with some of them. However, not all were the type of people who liked crowds and excitement. Many prefered to practice their cultivation in secret, waiting for just such an occasion as this to finally show off.

The countless other Outer Sect disciples who didn't qualify to participate were waiting eagerly to see how the qualifying round would turn out. Everyone was itching to find out who would make it into the top hundred, and of course, the top ten.

As for who would be the top three, there didn't seem to be much suspense about that. Presumably, those spots would go to Shangguan Tianyou, Lu Tianlei, and Zhou Xinqi.

Gradually, the thousand or so eighth level disciples quieted down, as did the other surrounding disciples. A sense of pressure began to fill the air, and gradually, a foreboding sense of impending violence.

A stifling, suffocating feeling weighed down on everyone, and people started to get nervous.

Bai Xiaochun was shocked to find that he was also getting nervous, although he wasn't sure why. Reminding himself that he wouldn't be participating, he looked around and forced himself to relax.

It was at this time that Li Qinghou's voice rang out from the balcony above. "The grand competition between the south and north banks is about to begin!

"Some among you have practiced your cultivation in secret, leaving your true level of power unknown to the public. Now is your chance to shine. You should not harbor any fear that your rapid progress or unique good fortune will be the subject of avarice among members of the senior generation. Cultivation is a personal matter, and everyone has a right to their secrets. The Spirit Stream Sect has a ten thousand year history. It is no accident that we grew from a small sect all the way to our current level of glory. All of that is because of the good fortune of our disciples. Whatever good fortune you have acquired is your personal destiny!

"Some of you have come to be called Chosen by others. However, that is only because of your natural talents. Talented people can be found everywhere among the defeated. Today is the day to prove yourselves. Today is the day to show whether or not you truly deserve the title which has been bestowed upon you by others. Today you can prove whether or not you truly deserve to be… Chosen!" Li Qinghou's voice was deep and filled with pride, and seemed to form a resonance with the somber pressure that filled the area. Those who listened began to pant nervously.

The disciples who had various secrets to keep all looked on with shining eyes.

As for Lu Tianlei and the other famous disciples, from the expressions on their faces, they clearly were itching to fight.

"The top one hundred competitors in the qualifying round will be promoted to the Inner Sect. The top ten will go on to represent the south bank in the grand finale competition, which is only held once every thirty years. This time, we have a chance to make sure that our compatriots on the north bank remember who we are!" With that, Li Qinghou flicked his sleeve, causing rumbling sounds to fill the air as columns of light shot up from all three of the south banks' mountain peaks.

Everything shook violently; it was as if a pair of invisible hands were ripping apart the air above the valley, causing a huge bridge to appear!

It was an ancient, primitive bridge, like something which had been pulled out of primeval times. It was constructed of stone, and was covered with ancient magical symbols that shone with flickering light.

The bridge was fully 300 meters wide, and so long that it couldn't be taken in with a single glance. It was so grand and majestic that compared to it, the valley they were in seemed like nothing more than a stepping stone.

The next person to speak was not Li Qinghou, but rather, Xu Meixiang. "This is the Spirit Stream Bridge, a precious treasure of our sect. It has been summoned to act as your path in this trial by fire. After the ninth bell toll, all disciples in the eighth level of Qi Condensation will step onto the bridge!" Xu Meixiang stood there, beautiful and somber, her gown fluttering in the wind, her hair floating around her. She looked less like a woman and more like an immortal.

"Whoever reaches the end of the bridge first will take first place. The same method will be used to determine who is in the top hundred, and the top ten!" As Xu Meixiang's voice continued to echo out in the valley, the disciples looked eagerly at the bridge up above.

This format of competition was a comprehensive way to test the disciples. The rules didn't prohibit fighting; as long as no lethal attacks were made, anything was permitted. Whoever reached the end first would be the winner!

Of course, there would be obstacles along the way, and even luck would play a part.

The audience panted as they waited, eyes glittering, cultivation bases stirring. Bai Xiaochun stood there yawning as the bells began to toll.

Once, twice, thrice…. Four tolls, five tolls, six….

The sound of the bells struck the minds of the disciples, causing their hearts to pound. They began to rotate their cultivation bases faster and faster as they gathered together the energy they had built up.

Soon the bells had rung seven times, and then eight…. Finally, when the ninth tolling of the bell could be heard, rumbling sounds filled the air as the cultivation bases of all of the eighth level disciples exploded out with full force. Like arrows loosed from a bow, all of the disciples shot into action!

Over a thousand people flew into motion toward the ancient bridge. In the blink of an eye, everyone was on its surface, speeding along. Shangguan Tianyou was the fastest, standing on his flying sword, a green beam of light that instantly took the lead!

Right behind him was Lu Tianlei, surrounded by crackling lightning. His energy only seemed to grow, and his speed was incredible as he attempted to close the gap between himself and Shangguan Tianyou, eyes bloodshot, howling.

In third place was Zhou Xinqi, her blue flying silk rippling as she advanced at top speed.

There were a few people directly behind them, none of them very well-known. Just as Li Qinghou had said, there were disciples who had concealed their true cultivation bases, waiting just for this opportunity to explode out with full force. That group almost immediately pulled out ahead of the pack, and from the look of it, they still had energy to go faster.

The surrounding audience of disciples looked on with wide eyes, hearts pounding at the scene which was unfolding in front of them.

However, as wind blasted out from the sudden acceleration of the eighth level disciples, Bai Xiaochun was left standing alone in the square.

After the ninth bell toll, the wind buffeted his face, and he blinked. He stood there alone, looking up at the thousand disciples racing along, sighing in admiration.

"Keep it up guys!" he shouted. A moment later, he leaped into motion, landing on the bridge and running along. In the end, he decided that he might as well participate in the qualifying match, but that he wouldn't even try to get into the top ten or hundred.

"I heard the north bank is full of fiends. I'd be an idiot to try to fight with them." He moved along lazily, clearly having no desire or intention of being promoted to the Inner Sect. In his view, he was already a Prestige disciple and the Junior Brother of the sect leader, and therefore had no need to become an Inner Sect disciple.

Therefore, he simply enjoyed the scenery, cheering the other disciples on. He made quite a contrast with the other competitors.

The audience members looked on with wide eyes and strange expressions.

Meanwhile, on the balcony, veins bulged out on Li Qinghou's face as he glared at Bai Xiaochun, feeling like his head was about to explode.

Xu Meixiang and the peak lord from Green Crest Peak exchanged an incredulous glance and then smiled wryly. The other elders' eyes went wide. Never could they possibly have imagined that something like this would take place in the qualifying matches.

Were it any other disciple, they would quickly go teach him a lesson. But Bai Xiaochun had a special status, so all the elders could do was look over at Li Qinghou and Zheng Yuandong.

Zheng Yuandong felt a headache coming on from the embarrassing loss of face…. Clearing his throat, he glanced over at Elder Zhou.

"Elder Zhou, whatever happens next, I'll pretend I didn't see. You know, that phoenix of yours really suffered a lot."

Elder Zhou instantly understood. Face darkening, he flew up into the air toward Bai Xiaochun.

"Bai Xiaochun," he roared, "nobody can save you today! Once I get my hands on you, I'll make sure you understand exactly how my phoenix suffered!!" With that, he shot toward the bridge like a bird of prey.

Translator: Deathblade. Chinese language consultant: ASI a.k.a. Beerblade. Editor: GNE. Memes: Logan. Meme Archives: JerryDaBaws

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

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Chapter 84: Unbelievable Acceleration

Bai Xiaochun was so startled by the sudden enraged roar that he leapt up into the air. When he turned to look over his shoulder and saw Elder Zhou charging aggressively toward him, his eyes went wide, and he almost fainted from fright.

Elder Zhou looked like a fiendish, murderous monster, and although he wasn't shouting that he intended to take Bai Xiaochun's life, only that he was going to make him experience the same suffering the phoenix had, Bai Xiaochun thought about what the phoenix had looked like after a full day of pouncing on the other birds of Fragrant Cloud Peak. The mere idea left his hair standing on end.

He couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to be in the place of that phoenix, and his eyes went wide. Shaking, he looked forward again and began to pick up speed.

He didn't lack courage; he simply feared death. However… what was happening now had occurred too suddenly. Furthermore, there were things in this world to be feared more than death, such as, being transformed into a phoenix….

When he thought about that, Bai Xiaochun couldn't help but scream: "Elder Brother, save me! I don't want to get transformed into a bird!"

Up on the balcony, Zheng Yuandong cleared his throat and pretended not to hear.

Because of the sudden and intense provocation, Bai Xiaochun let out one blood-curdling scream after another. At the same time, he increased his speed explosively. In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a series of afterimages as he shot toward the disciples who were running along in last place. Those disciples felt something like a wind bearing down on them from behind, then stared in shock as Bai Xiaochun shot past them at high speed.

"How… how fast is he going?!?!" Everyone was shocked enough as it was, but then Elder Zhou came racing by in hot pursuit of Bai Xiaochun. That caused countless disciples to all gasp.

The Outer Sect disciples in the audience all stared at what was happening, eyes wide with shock.

"I can't believe Bai Xiaochun is going so fast!"

"It seems that being chased makes him go a lot faster than usual…."

The audience was in an uproar, and Bai Xiaochun wanted to cry, although no tears came. He felt completely maligned as he fled for his life, passing one disciple after another, all of whom gasped in shock. There was one of them who wasn't willing to be overtaken. Gritting his teeth, he pushed forward with all the speed he could muster, and yet in the end, he could only watch as Bai Xiaochun sped past him into the distance ahead.

"Dammit, he's running faster than a mouse whose tail got stepped on!"

By now, disciples both on and off the bridge were completely shaken by the terrifying display of speed put on by Bai Xiaochun. Even the sect leader and the others on the balcony could only look on with jaws wide open, totally shocked by the speed they were witnessing.

Smiling wryly, Li Qinghou looked over at Zheng Yuandong and said, "Well… you really know how to handle things, sect leader!"

Xu Meixiang and the old man from Green Crest Peak had strange expressions on their faces, and the other surrounding elders couldn't hold back from chuckling.

Zheng Yuandong cleared his throat. "For a stubborn, mischievous kid like him… there really isn't any other option."

At the same time, Bai Xiaochun was picking up more speed, throwing the audience into even further commotion.

"He's already passed up half of the other disciples! At this rate, he'll definitely make it into the top hundred!"

Some of the audience instantly devolved into cheering.

"Go, Sect Uncle Bai, go…!"

However, it was at this point that the stones on the bridge suddenly trembled, and began to transform into numerous puppets. Eyes glittering, the puppets roared and lunged toward the charging disciples.

In the lead position was Shangguan Tianyou, whose expression was the same as ever as he waved a sword through the air, causing several puppets to explode. He didn't even slow down by a bit, maintaining his first place position.

Close behind were Lu Tianlei and Zhou Xinqi, as well as the handful of other disciples who had kept their cultivation and identities secret. The entire group easily dispatched the puppets and continued onward at full speed.

Puppets appeared around Bai Xiaochun as well. He watched anxiously as they closed in on him, and was just about to attack when suddenly, a screaming wind could be heard behind him as Elder Zhou approached.

"I've changed my mind, Bai Xiaochun! After I catch you, I won't make you experience what my phoenix did. I'll make you feel the pain that the other birds felt!" With that, he cackled cruelly. By this point, he was pulling out all the stops in his attempt to incite Bai Xiaochun….

When Bai Xiaochun heard Elder Zhou's words, all of the blood in his body rushed to his brain, and his vision began to fade. He thought about the miserable fates of the birds, the anguished calls of the spirit tail chickens, and the powerful body of the phoenix. Then… he let out the most piercing, agonized scream of his entire life.

"Help me! I don't want to be pounced on…."

He was now even more scared than he had been when being chased down by the Luochen Clan. Never before in his life had he been incited in such a matter. As he screamed and trembled, silver light began to shine from his skin, covering him to the point where he almost seemed to be made from silver.

At that point, he broke through to another level of speed. Even as Elder Zhou bore down on him, he bolted off like a startled wild boar.

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

He was now moving so fast that any puppets who got near him were instantly bashed away and sent flying through the air. He was like a streak of light that shot forward at blinding speed.

From a distance, it wasn't even possible to see Bai Xiaochun, only the countless puppets being tossed up into the air after being hit.

He was now moving far, far faster than he had been before, and quickly passed up the top four hundred to reach the top three hundred. Then two hundred. Until finally… he was in the top hundred!

He was moving too fast!

Rumbling sounds echoed out as he passed countless disciples, who were left staring in shock at the maddened Bai Xiaochun. He screamed as he flew along, eyes wide and bloodshot, swearing to himself that he must never, ever allow himself to be caught by Elder Zhou.

He'd already forgotten about the trial by fire, or about the rankings. All he was thinking was that he needed to run, run, run… off of the bridge!

The other disciples in his path became obstacles that he would grab and send flying off to the side.

The audience simply watched in amazement.

"Is he… even human!?!?"

"No way! He's like a mix between a wild boar and a dragon!!"

Elder Zhou stared in amazement as Bai Xiaochun proceeded along without avoiding anything in his path, and instead just slammed everything out of his way. Elder Zhou could help but wonder… if he had pushed Bai Xiaochun a bit too far.

Nothing seemed capable of holding him back. His speed defied description, and yet, he continued to accelerate. Then, rumbling sounds echoed out as a new obstacle appeared. Instead of puppets, numerous webs popped up, stretching out in front of the disciples to impede their progress.

However, the instant a web appeared in front of Bai Xiaochun, he blasted right through it, leaving behind nothing more than a hole. Popping sounds rang out as the nets didn't hinder him for even a moment.

It was as if his incredible speed had transformed him into a razor-sharp blade!

Next, the ground began to ripple as it transformed into a quagmire, complete with occasional whirlpools. The sudden change slowed many people down, but not Bai Xiaochun…. He didn't even notice what had happened. A whooshing sound could be heard as he shot forward. Not even the spinning whirlpools could slow him down.

Soon, he was in the top eighty. Then the top fifty, thirty, and finally, the top ten….

Upon seeing this, Elder Zhou gasped. Considering his reaction, there was almost no need to mention the disciples in the audience. All eyes were fixed on Bai Xiaochun; not a single person was even looking at Shangguan Tianyou and the other front runners.

A bald young man with cold, sinister eyes appeared up in front of Bai Xiaochun. He had been concealing his true battle prowess for years, and rarely had any contact with anyone. His entire purpose on this day was to make sure the so-called top three Chosen knew that there were always more powerful people out there in the world.

His entire person radiated flickering light, and three pearls swirled around him, allowing him to slash through all obstacles like a sharp knife through bamboo. As he sped forward, a dozen or so vortexes sprang up around him. However, he knew that as long as he kept his momentum going through the current area, they would soon disappear.

"The stronger you are, the more vortexes appear. I wonder how many vortexes appeared for the people who passed through this area head of me. It must have been a shocking scene." Even as the bald-headed disciple murmured to himself, he heard something whooshing through the air behind him. Surprised, he assumed that he must be hearing things. After all, there was nothing that could possibly speed through the air like that, not here….

However, before he could even turn his head, a blast of wind overtook him, and a figure blurred past him at top speed. Surrounding that person were over a hundred vortexes!

The bald disciple's eyes went wide as the figure sped past him without slowing down at all. The disciple rubbed his eyes, thinking he must have been seeing things. By that point, he could just barely make out the person speeding away in the distance.

"Impossible!!" he mouthed.

Trembling, Bai Xiaochun screamed, shooting forward with over a hundred vortexes surrounding him. However, after passing through the current region, they vanished. Picking up speed, he passed more disciples. All of these people were in the top ten, and for years had been concealing their good fortune and strength, hoping to reveal it in shocking fashion now. But then Bai Xiaochun showed up, and all they could do was stare in astonishment at his freakish performance.

Zhou Xinqi gritted her teeth as she entered a new area. Intense pressure weighed down as if to lock her in place, forcing her to slow down.

However, even as she struggled forward, she heard cracking sounds from behind her. Jaw dropping, she looked around, whereupon her pupils constricted in disbelief.

A boom rang out as Bai Xiaochun shot past her. He was moving so fast that the pressure which attempted to slow him down did nothing. Cracking sounds could be heard, and fissures opened up in the air… which then shattered!

"Bai Xiaochun? Impossible!" She could only watch as Bai Xiaochun shattered the solidifying pressure and then shot onward like a bolt of lightning.

Translator: Deathblade. Chinese language consultant: ASI a.k.a. Beerblade. Editor: GNE. Memes: Logan. Meme Archives: JerryDaBaws

Slightly later on this chapter thanks to my father-in-law and the bottle of baijiu he convinced me to drink with him for dinner last night. T_T

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

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Chapter 85: He… Took First?

Even as Zhou Xinqi reeled in shock, another blast of wind swept over her, and Elder Zhou appeared. As he passed, he looked over and smiled, and she nodded in return.

Despite the faint smile on his face, when he spoke, the voice of a fiendish monster echoed out from his mouth.

"I've changed my mind again, Bai Xiaochun. After I catch you, I'm going to starve you for a month, then put you in with a flock of phoenixes and a horde of wild beasts!"

Zhou Xinqi's eyes went wide, and at the same time, a miserable scream could be heard coming from Bai Xiaochun.

"Help me, Uncle Li! Save me, dear Elder Brother Sect Leader! I don't want to starve! I don't want to get locked up with phoenixes and wild beasts…." Bai Xiaochun was trembling in fear as he conjured mental images of the scenes described by Elder Zhou. Screaming, he shot forward with incredible speed, transforming into nothing more than a shadow.

Up ahead, Lu Tianlei sped along in lightning form. Although the early stages of the path had been easy for him, things had slowly grown more and more difficult. The area he currently faced was filled with razor-sharp wind blades, and if he proceeded too quickly, it would cause them to fly toward him.

He had summoned a puppet moments before, and sent it ahead as a test, but because it moved too quickly, it was instantly slashed to pieces by the wind blades. Because of that, Lu Tianlei knew that he had no other option than to slow down. Only after finding the proper equilibrium would he be able to continue moving forward.

Shangguan Tianyou was so far ahead he wasn't even visible. Given his consummate level of talent, he had been able to transform into emptiness and then pass through the area effortlessly. The wind blades didn't so much as touch him. Lu Tianlei, who had previously believed himself to be on an equal level with Shangguan Tianyou, was left with hatred seething in his heart.

"So what if you possess void magic?" Lu Tianlei thought. "What's so amazing about that? Just wait till I get past this area… I'll definitely catch up and take first place!" By this point, Lu Tianlei didn't even think of Zhou Xinqi as being worthy of note. The only thing he cared about was overtaking Shangguan Tianyou and winning first place.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped out into the wind blade zone and prepared to pick up speed. But then, a blast of wind could be heard behind him.

The deafening sound caused all of the flying wind blades to tremble. When Lu Tianlei saw that, he smiled in delight.

"Hah! It's definitely Zhou Xinqi. What a moron. If she enters this area going that fast, all the wind blades will head in her direction. I should take advantage of that moment to charge forward!" Looking back, he saw someone skinny racing toward him as fast as lightning. As soon as the person entered the area with the wind blades, he was already a third of the way through, placing him only about 3,000 meters away from Lu Tianlei.

Because of his incredible speed, it only took the blink of an eye for countless wind blades to swirl together into an enormous cyclone.

At first, he gasped, shocked by Bai Xiaochun's speed. But then, he began to chuckle inwardly. "It's not Zhou Xinqi? Well, it doesn't matter. He's moving way too fast. Is he looking to get killed?! When practicing cultivation, one should rely on one's wits!"

Laughing, Lu Tianlei watched as the wind blades grouped together. At the same time, he gathered the lightning which surrounded him, preparing to make a break for the exit.

Before he could pick up any speed, the screaming Bai Xiaochun continued onward without slowing down at all. Rumbling sounds echoed out as he actually picked up speed.

There were so many wind blades it was impossible to tell how many there were. And yet, when they slammed into Bai Xiaochun, silver light flashed, and to Lu Tianlei's shock, they all shattered.

Countless wind blades fell to pieces, and by the time they reformed, Bai Xiaochun had flown past Lu Tianlei.

Of course, the wind blades wouldn't let him by so easily, and began to race to catch up.

Lu Tianlei's jaw dropped and his eyes went wide. Then, his scalp went numb and his mind began to spin.

"Impossible!!" he said in a hoarse voice. Before the countless wind blades could catch up to Bai Xiaochun… he was gone.

The wind blades shuddered to a stop angrily, then slowly turned toward Lu Tianlei….

Heart pounding, Lu Tianlei immediately slowed down. However, having been completely frustrated by Bai Xiaochun, the wind blades didn't hesitate for a moment to pounce on him.

"No… NO!!"

Moments later, miserable shrieks began to ring out.

As he ran on up ahead, Bai Xiaochun was a bit surprised to hear the bloodcurdling screams behind him. However, there was no time for him to look back. Elder Zhou seemed to be right behind him, bellowing in rage, leaving Bai Xiaochun with no choice but to charge onward, jaw clenched, expression pained.

Thankfully, Elder Zhou was able to rescue Lu Tianlei from the countless swirling wind blades. If he had come a moment later, Lu Tianlei, whose clothing was now ripped to shreds, would most likely have been left with no other choice than to forfeit.

Eyes bloodshot, Lu Tianlei finally realized who Bai Xiaochun was. Voice filled with rage, he bellowed, "Bai Xiaochun!!"

Unaware that he had unwittingly caused yet another person to hate him, Bai Xiaochun moved on at top speed, passing through numerous empty areas. After enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, he caught sight of the end of the bridge up ahead.

"I'm finally near the end!" he thought excitedly. What he didn't notice was that there was someone else near the end, trodding forward one step at a time.

Shangguan Tianyou was panting. Most the path had been very easy for him, with the difficulty rising only at the very end.

"I can't believe this place suppresses spiritual power and also has such crushing pressure!" A brutal gleam appeared in his eyes as he proceeded forward. The spiritual power in the area was locked down tight, and there was also huge pressure. He felt like there was a mountain resting on his shoulders, and even more shocking was that with every step he took, it felt like an entire additional mountain was added. Although there were only a total of a hundred steps to take, the difficulty was intense, and he was left tremblingly physically. He was already quickly approaching his limit.

The closer he got to the end, the greater the pressure grew, and the more mountains he felt building up on him. Eventually, he reached the point where he had only ten more steps to take. However, those ten steps seemed almost insurmountable.

Shangguan Tianyou took a deep breath, and determination flickered in his eyes.

"The first place spot in the qualifying round belongs to me. I'm going to get into the Chosen battles, and I'm going to take first place there, too! After I get into the Inner Sect, then my future will be in the Spirit Stream Sect's Legacy Echelon!" Gritting his teeth, he was just about to take another step when he sensed something behind him, and turned to see Bai Xiaochun.

"It's him…." There were few people on the south bank who didn't know Bai Xiaochun. Although Shangguan Tianyou had never met him personally, he had attended his funeral and seen his portrait. The fact that Bai Xiaochun was directly behind him was somewhat of a surprise; he had assumed it would be Lu Tianlei.

"It seems I thought a bit too much of Lu Tianlei. What a useless fool." Looking away, Shangguan Tianyou completely ignored Bai Xiaochun. As far as he was concerned, he was on a completely different level than Bai Xiaochun. Lifting his foot and stepping forward, he heard creaking sounds emanating from his bones.

However, even as he took that single step. Bai Xiaochun also took a step forward. When he felt nothing, he took a second step, and then a third and a fourth….

Soon he had taken fifty steps, whereupon he stopped and looked up into the air.

"What's going on? Why do I feel heavier?"

It was at this point that Shangguan Tianyou trembled and put his foot down, having completed one single step. Having taken over ninety steps, he felt like he was on the verge of collapse. He was out of breath, but his expression was one of satisfaction. Then he looked back and saw Bai Xiaochun standing there, having taken fifty steps.

His eyes went wide.

"How… how is he moving so fast!?" Looking shocked, he quickly gritted his teeth. "He must be a body refinement cultivator. That will help him move more quickly at the beginning. But toward the end, things will get more difficult for him. He–" Before Shangguan Tianyou could finish his train of thought, a tremor ran through him, and he looked on in shock as Bai Xiaochun suddenly began to run.

"Run… he's… he's running?" Shangguan Tianyou watched wide-eyed as Bai Xiaochun trotted up to him.

"Hey, why are you going so slow?" Bai Xiaochun asked. Looking over his shoulder, he saw no sign of Elder Zhou, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"You… don't feel like there are mountains on your back?" Shangguan Tianyou asked without even thinking about it, his eyelids twitching.

"Mountains?" Bai Xiaochun jumped up and down a few times. "Eee? Hm, yeah a few, but I can hardly feel them." Shangguan Tianyou gasped in disbelief.

Bai Xiaochun continued to jump up and down a few times, but then suddenly, he saw Elder Zhou off in the distance. With a shriek, he suddenly shot forward through the final nine steps, taking him off of the bridge…. Then his speed increased dramatically, and he was gone from sight.

When that happened, Elder Zhou finally slowed down and then began to chuckle wryly.

"Bai Xiaochun… actually took first place?"

Simultaneously, back on the balcony, Zheng Yuandong, Li Qinghou, and everyone else shot to their feet, strange expressions on their faces. The elders almost couldn't believe their eyes. Although they had been prepared for a surprising outcome when they saw Bai Xiaochun overtake Zhou Xinqi and Li Qinghou, the ease with which Bai Xiaochun passed the final section was flabbergasting.

"He… took first?" Li Qinghou murmured.

A moment later, a huge uproar could be heard coming from the disciples who had gathered to watch the qualifying round.

"Bai Xiaochun… passed up Zhou Xinqi, Lu Tianlei and Shangguan Tianyou! He took first!"

"Heavens! Bai Xiaochun actually took first!"

"The only reason he took first was because of Elder Zhou. Anyone would have fled for their life with him chasing them!"

Shangguan Tianyou's face was pale white, and his mind was spinning. His vision began to go dark, as though lightning were crashing in his mind.

He could only watch as Bai Xiaochun simply walked off of the bridge ahead of him. He began to tremble violently.

"Bai Xiaochun!!" Shangguan Tianyou's eyes were completely bloodshot. His pride, his self-respect, everything about him had just been trampled by Bai Xiaochun. Worst of all was how Bai Xiaochun had actually asked him why he was going so slow.

All of the blood in his body began to rush toward his head, and the sword qi inside of him boiled on the verge of exploding. Eyes crimson, he threw caution to the wind and lurched forward nine steps, after which he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"Bai Xiaochun, I, Shangguan Tianyou, did not lose this day. I… refuse to admit defeat. In the Chosen battles, I'll make sure you realize well and good that among the Outer Sect disciples… nobody can beat me!" Grinding his teeth, he looked off in the direction Bai Xiaochun had disappeared in, eyes bursting with the desire to do battle.

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Chapter 86: That Again….

Terrified out of his mind, Bai Xiaochun flew off of the mountain and out of the sect. It wasn't until he reached the market that he actually stopped and looked behind him.

"What do I do now?" Scowling miserably, heart aching from how much he was being wronged, he couldn't stop thinking about the fact that the bird really had stolen the medicinal pill from him. How was he supposed to explain it? Elder Zhou was so unreasonable….

Even as he began to descend into despondency, he suddenly thought of something. "Wait a second, did I just… get first place?

"Aiya. As the Junior Brother of the sect leader, I didn't want to compete with all of my juniors." Coughing dryly, he couldn't help but feel a bit pleased with himself. But then he remembered that, having taken first place, he now had no choice but to participate in the Chosen battles with the north bank, and his heart sank.

He moped around the market until night fell. Worried that it still wasn't safe to go back, he finally pulled out a transmission jade slip and sent a message to Xu Baocai, asking him to go check if Elder Zhou was lurking about his courtyard.

After getting word back that the coast was clear, he cautiously returned to the sect. From a distance, he could see Xu Baocai waiting outside of his courtyard, so after looking around carefully one more time, he hurried over.

Xu Baocai looked excitedly at him, and was about to say something when Bai Xiaochun dragged him into the courtyard.

After the door closed, Xu Baocai said, "Sect Uncle Bai, don't worry. Elder Zhou was sent away by the sect earlier…."

His eyes burned with zeal as he stared at Bai Xiaochun. "Back in the Ovens he stayed completely hidden," he thought. "He even sold spots into the Outer Sect. Afterward, he took place in that minor competition, which caused a bit of a stir. After that came the incident with the Luochen Clan. After he came back alive, he became a Prestige disciple, and even the Junior Brother of the sect leader. Now he took first place in the qualifying match. Bai Xiaochun… is definitely going to be super famous in the future!"

The fact that Bai Xiaochun had exceeded everyone to become the number one disciple had long since shaken Xu Baocai. By now, he viewed him as a breathtaking figure of legend. Thinking back to everything he had done, Xu Baocai couldn't hold back from clasping hands and bowing very deeply.

"Sect Uncle Bai," he said, "congratulations on taking first place in the qualifying round!"

Bai Xiaochun looked around the courtyard for a moment before heaving a sigh of relief. Peering in the direction of Elder Zhou's immortal's cave for a moment, he swore an oath that once he reached Foundation Establishment, he would feast on phoenix stew!

In response to Xu Baocai's words, he cleared his throat. Looking very much like a member of the senior generation, he said, "I'm really not that amazing. I'm more like a cloud in the sky. Originally, I didn't want to compete with all of those junior disciples, but then Elder Zhou came along. What else was I supposed to do?"

Before, Xu Baocai wouldn't have been able to prevent a look of scorn from appearing on his face in response to Bai Xiaochun's words. But now, Bai Xiaochun was a Chosen among Chosen.

"You always kept a low profile, Sect Uncle Bai," he responded quickly. "However, a Chosen can only stay hidden for so long. Even without intending to, you would have made a big scene one way or another!"

Xu Baocai's words filled Bai Xiaochun with elation. However, he maintained an aloof expression, although his eyes sparkled with approval.

Xu Baocai could sense that Bai Xiaochun was encouraging him, so he continued on excitedly: "Sect Uncle Bai, when it comes time for the Chosen battles with the north bank, the south bank will no longer have the reputation of being weak. All thanks to you! You're going to rock the north bank!

"Supposedly, the five great Chosen of the north bank are the strongest disciples under Foundation Establishment. They're all fiendish monsters! Thankfully, you're going to show them that the top Chosen of the sect is here on the south bank, on Fragrant Cloud Peak!"

"Five great Chosen?" Bai Xiaochun said. His expression was the same as ever, but his heart was beginning to pound.

"Yeah! The north bank has five great Chosen. There's Beihan Lie from Sunset Peak. He's cold and arrogant, and cultivates one of the Spirit Stream Sect's ten great secret magics, the Sunset Incantation. He also has a Nighstalker Beast, a horrifying and powerful creature that rips people to shreds. Together, they've slaughtered their way to becoming the most powerful fighters under the ninth level of Qi Condensation! In fact, he's known as the number one disciple on Sunset Peak!"

"Rips people to shreds?" Bai Xiaochun said, eyes widening.

"That's nothing. There's also Xu Song from Archway Peak, who was born with a Godchanneling body. The peak lord of Archway Peak paid a huge price to get him to join as a disciple. He's a complete expert in controlling wild beasts. According to the rumors, he can actually control five beasts at the same time. One time when a rogue Qi Condensation cultivator pissed him off, he chased the guy down for three months and then fed him to his battle beasts. The only thing left behind was the guy's skeleton!"

"Only the skeleton?" Bai Xiaochun said, mind reeling.

"Even more ferocious than him are the third and fourth Chosen, a brother and sister team from Irispetal Peak. The sister's name is Gongsun Wan'er. She's spectacularly beautiful and an expert with birds of prey. One time she had a fight with Zhou Xinqi, and nobody could tell who came out on top!

"The brother is Gongsun Yun, who excels in the Dao of bugs. He always wears a black robe, which is filled with all sorts of bugs. People even say that his body is filled with bug eggs. What a freak! He usually covers his enemies with bugs, and then has them bore into their bodies and drink their blood. The pain is so horrible that people usually just want to die. If you don't escape quickly enough, you'll be completely eaten up, with only your bones left behind!"

"Only your bones?!" Bai Xiaochun said, gasping. Visualizing the scene, his scalp began to tingle.

"The last of the the five great Chosen of the north bank… is a mysterious and legendary figure who has no known name. Twenty years ago, the peak lord of Ghostfang Peak brought him back to the sect from some unknown location. People just call him Ghostfang, and he's an expert in magics relating to the Dao of ghosts. He also practices one of the legendary ten secret magics of the Spirit Stream Sect, a magic equally as difficult to cultivate as the Waterswamp Kingdom… Ghosts Haunt the Night! Rumor has it that he can already summon a hundred ghosts! People say that he's the number one Chosen on the north bank…." Having heard the complete explanation of what Xu Baocai knew, Bai Xiaochun was left trembling in fear.

Terrifyingly, the Chosen from the north bank were far more ferocious than the Chosen from the south bank. Although the north bank focused on controlling animals, and it made sense that they would be slightly more violent, the actual disparity with the south bank was enormous.

"We've been outdone by the north bank for years now," Xu Baocai went on to say. "Every time the Chosen battles come around, we always lose. In fact, last time, nine of the top ten were all from the north bank. What a humiliation. We–" At this point, Xu Baocai noticed that Bai Xiaochun had a very odd expression on his face.

"Sect Uncle Bai, are you okay?"

Bai Xiaochun quickly stuck his chin out and sternly said, "As a member of the south bank, hearing things like this makes me very angry!"

"Sect Uncle Bai, you don't need to get angry. With you fighting, the north bank will finally be able to see how awesome the south bank is!" Xu Baocai clenched his fists in excitement.

Now that Bai Xiaochun had been thrust onto the stage, he found it hard to get off. Standing straight, he lifted his chin, flicked his sleeve, and said, "What does the north bank count for? With the wave of a hand, I can turn them all into ashes!"

Xu Baocai chatted excitedly for a few more minutes before taking his leave.

By that time, it was late into the night. Bai Xiaochun stood there alone in his courtyard, thinking about the five people Xu Baocai had just told him about. Then, the wind began to blow, and he felt a chill creeping up his back.

"What kind of people are they over on the north bank? They raise beasts and bugs and ghosts… It's spine-chilling…." Walking back to his log cabin, the things Xu Baocai had told him continued to rattle around in his mind.

The more he thought about the situation, the more fishy it seemed. Finally, he came to a conclusion. "Elder Zhou must have done this on purpose!

"The thing I hate most in life is all the fighting and killing!" After more thought, he decided that nothing in the world would be able to get him to participate in the Chosen battles.

The next morning at dawn, before he could even come up with a plan of how to avoid the Chosen Battles, a command jade slip flew down from the top of Fragrant Cloud Peak in a black beam of light. After it arrived, Li Qinghou's voice could be heard.

"Bai Xiaochun, you took first place in the qualifying round on the south bank. In half a month, you will join nine others to participate in the joint south and north bank Chosen battles! If you don't participate, you will be thrown into 10,000 Snakes Valley!"

"That again…." Bai Xiaochun said with a scowl. He suddenly had the feeling that he had been completely conned by Elder Zhou….

As Li Qinghou's voice faded away, the jade slip vanished, whereupon a bracelet became visible, which floated down in front of Bai Xiaochun.

Surprised, he looked at the bracelet, and then poured some spiritual power into it. The bracelet immediately melted into a black liquid, which then circled around Bai Xiaochun's wrist and then covered his entire body.

Moments later, Bai Xiaochun heard Li Qinghou's voice again, explaining how to use the magic of the item. Apparently, this bracelet could defend against the full-power attack of an early Foundation Establishment cultivator!

Bai Xiaochun shivered. He was no newcomer to the sect, so he knew exactly how much an item like this was worth. It was no less valuable than the Divine Crane Shield given to him by the sect leader. Bai Xiaochun couldn't help but look up toward the top of Fragrant Cloud Peak.

Although Li Qinghou hadn't said much about the item other than give a brief introduction, Bai Xiaochun couldn't help but feel a warm feeling when he looked at it. Then he thought back to when he had participated in the smaller competition years before, and the look of anticipation he'd seen on Li Qinghou's face.

After a while, he gritted his teeth and made his decision.

"Fine. I'm going to fight in the Chosen battles!"

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Chapter 87: Outer Sect Chosen Battles

Days passed. Bai Xiaochun spent his time in secluded meditation, not taking even a single step outdoors. Ten days later, the sound of bells filled the sect, and Bai Xiaochun's jade slip began to vibrate.

The Chosen battles between the south and north banks were about to begin!

Like they did every thirty years, the matches would be held on Mount Daoseed. As the sound of bells rang out to fill the sect, countless Outer Sect disciples flooded toward that very mountain.

Normally, the north and south banks had few dealings with each other. Only Inner Sect disciples qualified to travel back and forth between them. Now that Mount Daoseed had been opened up, Outer Sect disciples from both banks excitedly rushed over to watch the Chosen battles.

"This time our south bank is definitely going to wash away the disgrace of past times!"

"We're going to make sure the north bank knows that we've risen to new heights of glory!"

The south bank Outer Sect disciples were all very excited. At the same time, the Outer Sect disciples from the north bank were also rushing toward Mount Daoseed, boasting amongst themselves the entire way.

"The south bank is so weak! They've lost to us for a thousand years, and this time will be no different!"

"The south bank is destined to lose. In the Spirit Stream Sect, the north bank rules and the south bank drools!!"

The buzz of conversation filled the air as countless Outer Sect disciples streamed toward Mount Daoseed. On Green Crest Peak, Shangguan Tianyou stood there with a cold expression on his face, his gaze as sharp as daggers as he suddenly flew out into the air.

Meanwhile, on Violet Cauldron Peak, Lu Tianlei threw his head back and bellowed. Electricity danced around him as he burst into motion, accompanied by the cheers of numerous disciples.

Zhou Xinqi also flew out into the air. The three great Chosen of the south bank all had very serious looks on their faces.

As for Bai Xiaochun, he was still in his residence, his eyes bloodshot as he took a deep breath. Looking very serious, he said, "The time has come…. When the warrior goes to battle, he must don his combat uniform!" Rising slowly to his feet, he slapped his bag of holding, producing eight leather jackets. The jackets he'd worn during his fight with the Luochen Clan had all been destroyed. These were new jackets, of higher quality and much more durable.

After somberly donning all of the leather clothing, he waved his arm.

"When the warrior goes to battle, he must have his armor!" With that, a large wok flew out of his bag of holding. Big Fatty Zhang's wok had also been destroyed in the fighting with the Luochen Clan. This was a new wok that he'd acquired after his return. Looking very serious, he strapped the black wok to his back.

"When the warrior goes to battle, he must have a magical weapon!" Even as the words left his mouth, he waved his hand, causing a little wooden sword to fly out, which he strapped to his left side. Next came the Golden Crow Sword, which he placed on his other side. After that came three more flying swords, which he strapped to his back. Finally was the Divine Crane Shield, which he attached to his forearm.

However, he still didn't feel at ease. After putting on the bracelet from Li Qinghou, he stuck his chin out and began to walk forward solemnly. Clanging and clattering, he walked out of his log cabin.

Outside, he could hear the sound of bells ringing. After taking a few steps, he suddenly remembered something, and quickly slapped his bag of holding to produce a long spear, which he held in hand.

The wind blowing his hair up, he left his courtyard.

From a distance, he almost looked like a ball. He had a huge wok on his back, a long spear in his hand, and had flying swords strapped here and there. It was quite a sight.

As he walked along, countless Outer Sect disciples of Fragrant Cloud Peak saw him and were shocked.

The ringing of bells grew more intense, causing the hearts of countless Outer Sect disciples to begin to pound. There were even some Inner Sect disciples who made their way to Mount Daoseed to watch the proceedings.

As Bai Xiaochun made his way along, more and more Outer Sect disciples joined him. Xu Baocai was among their number, and he took the lead in the cheering.

"Sect Uncle Bai is beyond amazing! He's a hero of the ages!"

"He's definitely gonna win! Definitely!" Quite a large group of Outer Sect disciples crowded around him, fans who took it upon themselves to escort him along his way. One of the most prominent was Hou Xiaomei, whose voice rose up above the others as she cheered.

Bai Xiaochun was quite moved, and nodded magnanimously to the surrounding disciples. Considering how much everyone was cheering him on, he figured he really did need to do something to be worthy of it all….

Chin jutting out, he strutted proudly all the way to Mount Daoseed. The first thing he saw when he got there was the huge battle arena which had been set up, which glittered with the light of an enormous spell formation.

Further off in the distance were the various peaks of Mount Daoseed. From within the buildings that dotted their surfaces, quite a few sect elders were emerging and flying over toward the arena.

On either side of the arena floor were the stands, which were being filled with numerous Outer Sect disciples. From the look of things, there were tens of thousand of them.

On the north side of the arena were the disciples from the north bank, who, generally speaking, seemed a lot more impressive than the south bank disciples. Almost every single one of them had some sort of fierce beast accompanying them.

The beasts were all different, but each one had a brutal gleam in its eyes, and none seemed like the type it would be wise to provoke. At the very front of all the north bank disciples was a smaller group consisting of both young men and women. Their expressions were cold, and all seemed to burst with energy.

Most conspicuous of the group was a beautiful young woman wearing a long violet gown. Standing next to her was a seven-colored phoenix that seemed even more elegant than Elder Zhou's phoenixes. It had lightning-like eyes that seemed to look down upon all creation.

Next to the young woman was a young man in a long blue robe. He was extremely handsome, and shockingly, had the mark of a red sun on his forehead.

Lounging at his feet was an enormous dog, with thick black fur and razor-sharp claws. It even seemed to emanate a golden light.

Its long, sharp teeth looked particularly ferocious, and it was large enough to ride as a mount. If it rose to its feet, it would probably be as tall as two people, and seemed shockingly powerful. Clearly, its fleshly body strength was unimaginable.

The young man with the mark of the red star was none other than one of the north bank's five great Chosen, Beihan Lie. The huge dog laying at his feet was the famous… Nightstalker Beast!

Near the young man and young woman was another disciple who wore a black robe that covered his face. Only his coldly glittering eyes could be seen, and if one looked closely enough, it was possible to see venomous insects squirming around inside of them!

The mere sight of these Chosen caused the disciples of the south bank to tremble in fear.

As for all the north bank disciples… they looked across the battle arena scornfully at the south bank disciples!

"The south bank always loses. The only people worth paying attention to are Shangguan Tianyou, Lu Tianlei, and Zhou Xinqi."

"I heard someone else has become famous on the south bank recently. He took first place in the qualifying round. Supposedly he's a Prestige disciple, and the Junior Brother of the sect leader?"

"It doesn't matter who he is. He'll be useless against the north bank. We're the most powerful by far!"

The Outer Sect disciples from the south bank were mostly assembled, and their numbers were clearly fewer than the disciples from the north bank.

"They're nothing but a bunch of animal trainers and bug lovers. The south bank is going to get revenge this time around for sure!"

"We're definitely going to make them lose some face!"

Standing in front of all the south bank disciples were nine disciples, with Shangguan Tianyou, Lu Tianlei, and Zhou Xinqi being the most prominent among them. There were six others with somber expressions, who seemed to seethe with violence. This group was made up of the Chosen from the south bank, and they were currently staring fiercely at the people from the north bank.

It was in the middle of this fierce staring contest that Bai Xiaochun showed up.

Shangguan Tianyou instantly looked over at him, as did all of the south bank disciples in the audience. Thoughtful expressions appeared in their eyes, and the conversations immediately died down.

Mixed emotions could be seen in Shangguan Tianyou's icy eyes as looked at Bai Xiaochun, and his heart filled with begrudging defiance.

Lu Tianlei looked equally defiant as he glared hatefully at Bai Xiaochun, electricity dancing around him.

Zhou Xinqi stood there silently, eyes shining with a strange light, as if she were measuring Bai Xiaochun carefully, trying to determine exactly how much power was contained within his slight frame.

People from the north bank also couldn't help but look over at him. However, he was a stranger to them, and the way he was dressed provoked instant scorn.

The north bank Chosen didn't even deign to pay him any attention.

Finding himself to be the center of so much attention made Bai Xiaochun feel a bit embarrassed. Clearing his throat, he stuck his chest out, hefted his spear, and strutted over to stand next to Zhou Xinqi.

When he realized that both sides were staring threateningly at each other, his spirits instantly rose.

"A staring contest! I'm great at those!" He immediately looked over at the north bank disciples, a very serious expression on his face.

In that moment, a breeze picked up, lifting his long hair off of his back. Coupled with the fact that he held a long spear in his hand, he cut quite an impressive figure.

As time passed, more people began to fill the stands on either side. A huge sea of people was growing, separated only by the arena floor.

Soon, all of the north bank Chosen had arrived. The last one to show up was a young man in a long black robe. He was handsome, but his face was so pale that it seemed to be completely devoid of blood. He came to stand in front of all the other Chosen, where he closed his eyes, an expression of seeming complete disinterest on his face. In the same moment that he closed his eyes, the air around him seemed to twist and distort, as if he were surrounded by countless fierce ghosts, arisen from the shadows of hell.

About this time, beams of light flew toward the battle arena from both the north and south banks. Among them were the seven peak lords from the seven mountain peaks.

Elder Zhou was also there, accompanied by an arrogant phoenix which flew around him. When the phoenix saw Bai Xiaochun, it looked at him with a very supercilious glare.

Sect Leader Zheng Yuandong was also in the group. After everyone had gathered, he looked at the disciples from the north and south banks, then said, "The joint south and north bank Outer Sect Chosen battles were last won by the north bank. As such, they may send twelve disciples into battle.

"As the previous loser, the south bank may only send ten people into battle.

"There will be a total of twenty-two competitors. Opponents will be chosen by drawing lots. The goal of the competition is to select the top ten disciples, as well as… the number one disciple!

"We are here to help each other learn and grow, so killing is not permitted. After every round, you will be given three incense sticks' worth of time to recover. If your opponent concedes, you must immediately cease fighting. The competition will be presided over by Ouyang Jie from the Hall of Justice.

"Perform well. Four prime elders will be observing the battle with divine sense…. And now, let the Outer Sect Chosen battles… begin!"

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Chapter 88: The North Bank's Strongest

In response to Zheng Yuandong's words, the disciples from the north and south banks felt their hearts starting to pound, and subconsciously looked up at a terrace on the snow-capped top of Mount Daoseed.

At the same time, four streams of shockingly powerful divine sense flowed out and swept over everyone present.

The streams of divine sense covered all of the disciples, including Bai Xiaochun, causing them to feel as if incredible pressure were weighing down on them. These people seemed powerful enough to kill everyone present in body and soul with little more than a glance. Everyone felt that way, including Bai Xiaochun, Shangguan Tianyou, and even the Chosen from the north bank. All of them trembled under the pressure, and yet at the same time, their eye shone with excitement.

The fact that there would be prime elders observing the battle with divine sense caused all of the competitors' eyes to shine brightly.

"If I can attract the attention of a prime elder, maybe I could be accepted as an apprentice…."

"I definitely need to put everything on the line in this battle!" Almost immediately, murderous auras sprang up from the disciples on both sides.

Bai Xiaochun was the only one who simply stood there blinking.

"Prime elders. That's the same rank as my Master, right? So they're my Sect Uncles…." Bai Xiaochun couldn't help but feel proud of himself. His ranking in the sect really was a bit too high. After a moment of thought, he resolved to go visit his Sect Uncles after the Chosen battles were over.

It was at this point that Sect Leader Zheng Yuandong swished his sleeve, causing a sphere of light to fly out into the middle of the battle arena. It quickly split up into twenty-two pearls, which then flew out to Bai Xiaochun and all of the other competitors.

Bai Xiaochun looked down at the pearl in his hand. "Eleven?"

He peered out of the corner of his eye to see if he could spot what number Shangguan Tianyou and the others had gotten, only to find that they were keeping them hidden.

At this point, a cold voice suddenly rang out from the balcony above. It was not Zheng Yuandong, but rather, Ouyang Jie from the Hall of Justice. "The first battle will take place between the disciples holding pearls number one and two. Please step forward!"

In immediate response, a gaunt young man flew out from among the north bank disciples. His expression was cold and arrogant, and his appearance provoked a cheer from the north bank disciples. Although he wasn't one of the five great Chosen, he was still quite famous.

As soon as he stepped onto the battle arena, he called out, "Liu Yun of the north bank!"

In response, Shangguan Tianyou suddenly flew out. "Shangguan Tianyou of the south bank!"

He stood there, expression icy, looking like an unsheathed sword. Even the words he spoke seemed to make everything colder.

Of course, as soon as Shangguan Tianyou stepped forth, the Outer Sect disciples from the south bank exploded into loud cheering.

The gaunt young man's face flickered; he had never imagined that the first person he would face would be the most famous Chosen from the south bank. Expression unsightly, he took a deep breath and then waved his hand, causing the air around him to distort. At the same time, a huge python appeared, accompanied by an acrid blast of wind. After the python coiled up, it rose nearly three meters into the air.

However, in almost the exact same moment that the young man's wild beast appeared, and before he had time to do anything else, Shangguan Tianyou took a single step forward, his face completely expressionless. Suddenly, he vanished, and when he reappeared, he was right next to the gaunt young man, a sword in his hand, which he placed against the young man's throat.

"You lose," he said.

A cold feeling washed over the gaunt young man, and an expression of shocked disbelief filled his face as he turned slowly to look at Shangguan Tianyou. He knew instantly that he was no match for this opponent. How could he ever have imagined that he would lose so quickly? Head bowed, he collected his giant python and left the arena.

"We already won the first battle! Hahaha! The south bank is definitely going to win this time around!"

"Elder Brother Shangguan can definitely contend for first place!"

The south bank side of the arena was in an excited uproar. As for Bai Xiaochun, he stood there blinking. He hadn't been able to see exactly what Shangguan Tianyou had done, but he could see that he was definitely beyond ordinary when it came to power.

Furthermore, two of the streams of divine sense from the prime elders began to pay closer attention to Shangguan Tianyou.

The north bank disciples were dumbfounded.

"Was that a minor teleportation? Impossible!! What cultivation base does he have? That couldn't possibly have been teleportation!"

"It was void magic. This guy… definitely deserves to be known as the south bank's number one Chosen. Even with a Qi Condensation cultivation base, he can actually use void magic!"

The other competitors from the north bank looked on with flickering expressions. Beihan Lie's eyes flickered somberly. The Gongsun siblings and Xu Song all had thoughtful expressions.

Only the black-robed Ghostfang simply remained in place, his eyes closed.

Before the crowd could calm down, Ouyang Jie's cold voice once again cut through the noise. "Second battle!"

From among the north bank Chosen, a rather pudgy young man stepped out. Smiling broadly, he seemed completely innocent and harmless.

"Xu Song of the north bank," he said to the disciple emerging from the ranks of the south bank.

His opponent was not Lu Tianlei or one of the other famous Chosen. He was from the group of secretive disciples who had only unleashed his power in the qualifying round. He had a long face, and wasn't very good-looking, but he was aware that the person he was facing was one of the north banks' five great Chosen.

"Zhou Feng of the south bank," he said. Taking a deep breath, he began to rotate his cultivation base. Performing an incantation gesture, he summoned a flying sword. However, before he could send it flying out, a derisive gleam appeared in Xu Song's eye, and he pushed his hand out in front of him.

Rumbling could be heard as a rift opened up directly above Zhou Feng. Then, cracking sounds could be heard as a gigantic crocodilian beast lunged out with lightning speed and gobbled him up in a single bite.

His flying sword lost its connection to spiritual power, and clattered down onto the ground.

"Fighting against Archway Peak disciples and ignoring the air above your head? How very disappointing." Chuckling, Xu Song turned and walked out of the arena. When he waved his hand behind him, his beast opened its mouth and spat the unconscious Zhou Feng out in front of the stunned disciples of the south bank.

Unsightly expressions could be seen, and a few gasps rang out. As for Lu Tianlei and the other Chosen, their hearts trembled.

In sharp contrast, the north bank disciples were cheering loudly.

Bai Xiaochun was shaken at how terrifying the north bank people were. Their control over beasts was horrifyingly advanced.

Soon, the third battle began. The competitor from the north bank was one of their five great Chosen, Gongsun Wan'er. When she saw that her opponent from the south bank wasn't Zhou Xinqi, but rather one of the other random disciples, she looked a bit disappointed. Waving her hand, she had her seven-colored phoenix spit out a seven-colored mist.

When the seven-colored mist enveloped the south bank disciple, he suddenly seemed to go insane. Howling in rage, he began to strike wildly around him, as if fighting an invisible opponent. A moment later, he simply passed out.

From beginning to end, all Gongsun Wan'er did was wave her delicate hand. Afterward, she floated off out of the arena. The crowds from the south bank looked fearfully over at the north bank disciples, clearly shaken.

"The only people who can fight Chosen are other true Chosen." The south bank disciples looked over at Shangguan Tianyou, hope shining in their eyes. Quite a few also looked at Bai Xiaochun the same way.

Bai Xiaochun immediately lifted his head high and stuck his chest out. Inwardly, though, he was terrified by what Gongsun Wan'er had just done.

"That wench is even more incredible than Zhou Xinqi," he thought, his mouth going dry.

Next, the fourth battle began. Lu Tianlei flew out into the arena, surrounded by flickering lightning. His opponent from the north bank was the young man in the black robe who hadn't opened his eyes the entire time. At long last, his eyes opened, and he walked calmly out into the arena.

Strangely, no one from the north bank cheered for him at all. Strange expressions could be seen on the disciples' faces, and as for the other Chosen, they simply took in deep breaths.

The crowd from the south bank was a bit shocked by this. As for Lu Tianlei, he kept his eyes glued on the young man.

The young man stood there quietly, face absolutely expressionless. When he spoke, his voice didn't seem to contain even a hint of emotion. "Ghostfang of the north bank."

"Lu Tianlei of the south bank!" Lu Tianlei took a deep breath. Well aware that he was facing the number one Chosen from the north bank, his eyes began to shine with the desire to do battle. "I'm not going to hold anything back. Even if I tire myself out so much I can't keep fighting, it will be worth it!"

Eyes burning with fighting spirit, he let out a powerful shout, causing the sparks around him to explode into a lake of lightning that expanded thirty meters in all directions.

At the same time, Ghostfang calmly pointed up into the sky. Instantly, black clouds began to seethe overhead. When the disciples from the north bank saw that, their expressions flickered, some with fear.

Howling, Lu Tianlei charged toward Ghostfang, surrounded by lightning.

Ghostfang, however, didn't even respond. He simply stood there, and even went so far as to close his eyes.

"Are you looking to die?!" Lu Tianlei roared, feeling somewhat humiliated. After all, self-respect was critical to Chosen. With another roar, he caused the lake of lightning to redouble in size, and burst with even more power than before.

However, before he could even get close to Ghostfang, the black clouds up above were seemingly ripped apart, and a claw-like ghost hand reached out. It was enormous, like a huge column stretching down from the clouds, rushing toward Lu Tianlei with incredible speed and shocking pressure.

Even before it reached him, Lu Tianlei began to tremble, and then coughed up a mouthful of blood. The lightning around him shattered, and his feet sank into the ground, sending cracks ripping out in all directions.

Blood spurted out as wounds opened up all over him, and blood also oozed out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. He tried to struggle, but it seemed useless. Soon, his vision began to fade.

"No!!"

The terrifying ghost claw caused the disciples of both the north and south bank to be filled with terror. Their internal spiritual energy seemed to have been removed from their control, and their souls felt like they would be ripped out from their bodies.

Up on the balcony, the sect leader and the others looked on with flickering expressions.

"For thousand of years, no one has been able to successfully cultivate Ghosts Haunt the Night. I can't believe this kid's cultivation has reached this level!"

Xu Meixiang's face suddenly fell. "Not good!"

Without another word, she flew down toward the arena floor at top speed. She arrived in the blink of an eye, whereupon she waved her hand at the ghost claw. Massive rumbling sounds echoed out as the ghost claw was pushed back. However, it didn't collapse.

Blood sprayed out of Lu Tianlei's mouth, and he collapsed into unconsciousness. Had Xu Meixiang been any slower, he would have been crushed into a bloody pulp, killed in body and soul.

Face darkening, Xu Meixiang looked over at Ghostfang.

"You little delinquent. You might have outstanding talent, but you're far too ruthless. Trying to kill a fellow sect member right in front of us? Are you looking to die or something?!"

Ghostfang stood there silently for a moment, an odd expression developing on his face, almost as if he weren't sure exactly how he should react.

"I just didn't realize he would be so weak," he said, sounding very sincere. With that, he turned to leave the arena floor.

Xu Meixiang frowned and looked back up at the balcony above, seemingly a bit apprehensive. Finally, she gave a cold snort, picked up Lu Tianlei, and left. Lu Tianlei would not be able to continue fighting, and in fact, his injuries would take quite some time to recover from.

The north bank looked on silently, just as the south bank did.

Ghostfang walked back to the same spot he had been standing in, looking very lonely as he closed his eyes again.

After a long moment, the disciples of the north bank recovered their composure and began to cheer a bit.

"Nobody from the south bank is a match for us at all. We're definitely going to win!"

"They lost three battles already. The first one was just a fluke. I bet they'll lose all the rest of the battles too."

In response to the taunting of the north bank, the south bank disciples could only stare furiously. The north bank… was simply too strong.

The south bank had won the first battle, but lost the following three. The top Chosen Lu Tianlei had almost been killed, and by now, the south bank disciples no longer harbored any thoughts of securing their revenge.

Shangguan Tianyou glared angrily at Ghostfang. Inwardly, he was trembling, and even felt profound terror rising up in his heart.

He wasn't the only one. The other Chosen from the south bank, even Zhou Xinqi, were deeply shaken. Even if the only person the north bank had on their team was Ghostfang… they would still wipe the south bank away.

"That was beyond the power of Qi Condensation…. Not even a peak lord could wipe out that ghost hand. Wasn't that… one of the ten secret magics of the Spirit Stream Sect, one of only two that can be considered rare to the extreme… Ghosts Haunt the Night?"

"The only thing that can compare to Ghosts Haunt the Night is… the Waterswamp Kingdom!"

Bai Xiaochun had a very serious expression on his face, and his heart was pounding. Ghostfang's power left him jumpy to the extreme.

Eventually, the fifth battle began. The competitor from the north bank left the south bank disciples feeling as bitter as ever. He was one of the five great Chosen, a person who struck most others cold in the heart… Gongsun Yun.

Within his black robe, only his yellow eyes were visible, with insects crawling in and out of them. As he walked out, one of the south bank disciples steeled himself and prepared to fight. Before he could even introduce himself, though, Gongsun Yun's yes flickered coldly, and he waved his sleeve. Instantly, a buzzing sound could be heard as innumerable black bugs flew out toward the south bank disciple.

No matter how the south bank disciple fought, it was useless. He was soon covered with insects; none of his defenses could protect him at all. Soon, they began to bite into him as if to bore into his flesh. It was a shocking sight that not even the crowds from the north bank were used to seeing.

"I concede!!' cried the south bank disciple. He had the feeling that a single thought on the part of his opponent would cause the insects to devour him.

Gongsun Yun's eyes flickered scornfully as he turned to leave. The black bugs receded like tidewaters, landing on Gongsun Yun and crawling up into his sleeves.

When Bai Xiaochun saw all of that, his scalp went numb. Even Zhou Xinqi and Shangguan Tianyou felt their hearts sinking.

The rest of the south bank disciples couldn't help but ponder that the north bank seemed too powerful to even contend with. In their minds, the Chosen battles were already over.

"We're really going to lose…?"

"The north bank… is so strong!"

At the same time, the north bank disciples were elated.

"It's like I said before. They won the first battle, but will lose the rest!"

"South bank? What a joke. They'll always be beneath the north bank."

"Thirty years ago the south bank only got one disciple into the top ten, and it looks… like it'll be the same this time!"

When the south bank disciples heard such talk, they wanted to offer retorts, but couldn't think of anything to say. The humiliation they felt was overwhelming.

After Gongsun Yun left the arena, Ouyang Jie's voice could once again be heard. "Sixth battle. Would the disciples with marbles eleven and twelve please step into the arena!"

Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath as he looked down at the number eleven marble he held in his hand.

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Chapter 89: Just Concede

As Bai Xiaochun looked up, one of the north bank's five great Chosen, Beihan Lie, suddenly smiled. He was handsome to begin with, but his smile made him even more attractive to the countless female disciples who adored him.

Patting the ferocious Nightstalker Beast which lounged next to him, he took a step forward. The Nightstalker Beast slowly rose to its feet, eyes shining with mysterious light.

Almost as soon as the huge dog began to move, numerous north bank disciples began to cheer.

The Nightstalker Beast was roughly three meters tall, heavily muscled, and brimming with seemingly endless power. Its head was huge, and the enormous fangs which protruded from its mouth dripped with saliva. Its long black fur made it seem even more fierce.

Its legs were about as thick as an entire person, and had bone spurs sticking out all over them. It crouched down for a moment, then leaped out into the arena, where it threw its head back and roared.

The roar became a sound wave that rolled out in all directions. Many beasts belonging to other north bank disciples began to tremble and bow their heads, as if they were in the presence of royalty.

All smiles, Beihan Lie walked out and scanned the crowd from the south bank.

"Beihan Lie of the north bank. I wonder which fellow disciple I'll be fighting today?"

At the same time, the huge dog's saliva splashed down onto the ground, and it looked around with cold, brutal eyes. Its fangs even seemed to grow longer all of a sudden. Anyone who faced such a dog would surely lose their fighting spirit instantly, especially when it licked its lips, which made it look even more ferocious than before.

The crowd from the south bank was completely silent as they looked at the group up front, waiting for someone to step out and fight. Bai Xiaochun glanced at Beihan Lie and then the huge dog. After looking up thoughtfully for a moment, an odd expression appeared on his face. Clearing his throat, he proudly took a step forward.

Almost immediately, the eyes of numerous south bank disciples came to be fixed on him, and they shone with anticipation. The huge Nightstalker Beast's shining green eyes also locked onto him.

Looking like a powerful hero, Bai Xiaochun stuck his chin out and strode out into the arena. Up above, Elder Zhou's bird looked down attentively.

"Bai Xiaochun of the south bank!" As soon as Bai Xiaochun announced himself, the Nightstalker Beast threw its head back and howled, the brutal gleam in its eyes transforming into a murderous aura directed solely at Bai Xiaochun.

Beihan Lie took one look at Bai Xiaochun's getup, and did nothing to conceal the derision in his eyes. "Bai Xiaochun? I heard you took first place in the south bank qualifying round, is that right?"

Although Bai Xiaochun's heart trembled under the murderous gaze of the huge dog, he continued to hold himself like a powerful master, as lofty as a cloud floating in the sky. "You're Beihan Lie, right? I'll give you one chance to concede!"

Beihan Lie's jaw dropped. "Concede?"

He threw his head back and laughed uproariously, as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world. However, a murderous gleam could be seen in his eyes.

"Very funny. In all the years, you're the first Outer Sect disciple who has ever dared to utter such words to me." Next, he extended his right hand and performed an incantation gesture, taking control of his Nightstalker Beast.

Bai Xiaochun sighed. Looking like a lonely hero, he gazed sadly at Beihan Lie and said, "Beihan Lie, this is your last chance to concede. When I attack, I frighten even myself. I'm telling you… the best thing would be to not force my hand."

The crowd from the south bank was struck mute. They stared, first at Bai Xiaochun, then at Beihan Lie, and then at the huge, ferocious dog. No matter which way they looked at the situation, Beihan Lie seemed to be far more powerful.

However, Bai Xiaochun's words at least put a seed of hope into the hearts of the south bank disciples. And yet, they couldn't help but remember the unsavory record of his past dealings, which filled their hearts with consternation.

As for the north bank audience, they roared with laughter and made all sorts of taunting statements.

"Is this guy a moron or what? Elder Brother Beihan is one of the five great Chosen. Although he might not be on the same level as Ghostfang, even Elder Brother Ghostfang has to admit that he's strong. Who does this Bai Xiaochun think he is? How arrogant!"

"Not only is Elder Brother Beihan strong, his Nightstalker Beast has been praised by the elders. It's the king of beasts, with a powerful fleshly body and boundless energy. Even its howl is enough to shock most people into a daze. Look at this Bai Xiaochun… he's so dainty the Nightstalker Beast will probably bite his leg off with a single bite!"

"Elder Brother Beihan will definitely win this one!"

Beihan Lie appeared to be highly amused by Bai Xiaochun. Eyes flashing coldly, he decided that he would teach him a hard, painful lesson. If he didn't kill him, he would shred his skin off. With that, he performed an incantation gesture to begin the fight.

"I'm serious, my attacks frighten even me," Bai Xiaochun said. Sighing, he slapped his bag of holding to produce two medicinal pills.

As that happened, Beihan Lie smiled viciously and finished his incantation gesture. Instantly, the eager Nightstalker Beast howled and began to charge toward Bai Xiaochun.

Beihan Lie also burst into motion, flying along, the sun mark on his forehead radiating bright light as he flew toward Bai Xiaochun.

However, even as the man and the dog flew toward him, Bai Xiaochun jumped up into the air and sent one of the medicinal pills flying toward the Nightstalker Beast.

The Nightstalker Beast's eyes gleamed as it roared through the air. It obviously could have avoided the medicinal pill, but instead, its expression flickered, and it grabbed the pill and swallowed it down.

Instantly, a tremor ran through the huge dog, and its eyes went bloodshot. Rumbling sounds echoed out as it began to grow larger and more muscular.

Shockingly, its bone spurs and fangs also grew longer!

It began to salivate, and also, something rod-like… bulged out between its legs!

Overall, it looked so ferocious and terrifying that it was difficult to put into words.

Its eyes became violet, and it began to pant. Mind muddled, it dug its claws into the ground, threw its head back, and let out a shocking howl, the sound of which caused the south bank disciples in the audience to gasp.

"What… what kind of medicinal pill was that!?!?"

"Hold on, why does that dog's posture seem so familiar…?"

The disciples on the north bank were looking on with wide eyes. The changes in the Nightstalker Beast were obvious, and somehow, it now seemed even more terrifying than before. Not only was it stronger in terms of its fleshly body, it also seemed even more maddened than before. The north bank disciples were greatly shocked.

"That medicinal pill is so effective!"

"It can actually make wild beasts even more wild!!"

The audience was astonished, and so was Beihan Lie, who was unsure of exactly what was happening. Although the Nightstalker Beast was obviously a lot more powerful than before, he had the sinking feeling that something was wrong.

"I'll warn you one more time," Bai Xiaochun said coolly, sticking his jaw out. "Concede."

Beihan Lie's eyes shone with murderous light. "I'd only planned to break one of your arms, but since you're trying to act so mysterious, I think I'll break all of your limbs instead!"

Although taking lives was prohibited in the Chosen battles, serious injuries were often unavoidable. Even as the words left his mouth, he continued his charge toward Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun sighed and waved his right hand, sending one of his Pheromone Pills out toward Beihan Lie.

Afterward, he fell back at top speed until he was at the edge of the arena, where he stood nervously, looking at Beihan Lie.

Beihan Lie's pupils constricted, and just when he was about to dodge out of the way, the pill detonated, transforming into a powder that filled the area. Even though he tried to avoid it, some of it happened to get on him.

His expression flickered. Assuming it was a poison pill, he fell back and quickly examined himself. However, he found nothing out of the ordinary except for a somewhat pleasant aroma.

A frown appeared on his face. The situation only seemed to be getting stranger and stranger. Just when he was going to attempt to end the battle once and for all, a howl split the air.

It was none other than the Nightstalker Beast, which turned toward Beihan Lie, panting, its eyes shining bright red.

Beihan Lie's heart began to pound, and just when he was about to try to exert control over the dog, a terrifying roar shook everything, and the Nightstalker Beast began to charge in his direction. Its speed was incredible, giving Beihan Lie absolutely no time to dodge. Instantly, the Nightstalker Beast pounced on him.

"Dammit, are you crazy!?!? What are you doing?!" Beihan Lie's face darkened, and he roared in fury, but the huge dog had him pinned tight. Because of the maddened Nightstalker Beast, Beihan Lie couldn't move a muscle. Furthermore, he suddenly had a very terrifying premonition, and his face went pale.

At the same time, the Outer Sect disciples in the audience couldn't help but crane their necks to see what was happening. Even the peak lords and elders were watching closely, and the divine sense belonging to the prime elders was focused intently on the scene.

Next, everyone gasped as… Beihan Lie began to let out miserable shrieks!

"No… NO… YOU!! AIIIEEE!!!" Beihan Lie's bloodcurdling screams could shake heaven and earth. His expression was that of pain and confusion, as though he couldn't believe what was happening. Trembling, he could do nothing but scream.

The north bank disciples were in an uproar, and could hardly believe what they were seeing. Panting, their eyes filled with unprecedented fear and terror.

"Heavens!! What medicinal pill is that? It isn't turning the dog crazy, it's turning the dog… on!"

"Th-this… this…."

"Elder Brother Beihan is… being done by his battle beast?!"

Beihan Lie struggled frantically, and let out constant, desperate screams. What was happening now would become a legend the likes of which had never existed in the Spirit Stream Sect.

Even Ghostfang was watching with wide eyes, trembling in utter disbelief.

As for the south bank disciples, their minds were spinning, and they could hardly think straight. Shangguan Tianyou stared blankly, suddenly feeling as if the world were a much darker place than before. Zhou Xinqi, on the other hand, was blushing fiercely.

Bai Xiaochun stood off to the side, just as shaken as everyone else. This was his first time using his Aphrodisiac Pill in battle, and he had never imagined that the results would be so astonishing…. As he watched the screaming Beihan Lie, he couldn't hold back from sighing.

Sounding very innocent, he said, "Like I said, even I am frightened by my attacks. I told you several times, but you… just insisted on doing things your way."

It was at this point that an enraged roar filled the air as Beihan Lie's Master finally intervened. "Bai Xiaochun!!"

Murderous aura raging, he leaped forward, flicking his sleeve to send the Nightstalker Beast spinning away off into the distance. Then he picked up Beihan Lie, who by this point had absolutely no face left. The Master almost felt as if what had just occurred wasn't even real. Too embarrassed to stay, he glared angrily at Bai Xiaochun and then departed.

As for Beihan Lie, the mental and physical injuries he had sustained caused him to close his eyes and lapse into a coma. It was impossible to say when he would have the face to appear in public again. The pain he was in was like a living nightmare.

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Chapter 90: Archenemy of the North Bank

As Beihan Lie and his Master left, the disciples of both the south and north bank looked on with wide eyes, their minds spinning, completely speechless. The only thing they could think about was what had just occurred with Beihan Lie and his huge dog….

They weren't the only flabbergasted ones; the sect leader, peak lords, and other elders were all struck mute. All they could do was stare down into the arena at the innocent-looking Bai Xiaochun.

Elder Zhou sat there trembling, his eyes bulging, mixed emotions written on his face…. As for the phoenix soaring in the air above, it let out a few piercing cries, as if to remind everyone that it had been tainted by Bai Xiaochun long ago.

Eventually, the sound of breathing could be heard, and the south bank Outer Sect disciples began to turn and look at Bai Xiaochun with strange expressions on their faces.

The female disciples were all blushing, and some even spat in contempt at him.

However, the male disciples were even more profoundly affected. Without exception, they all edged away from Bai Xiaochun, sweat popping out on their foreheads as sympathy for Beihan Lie rose up in their hearts.

Eventually, the crowd devolved into a hubbub.

"Sect… Sect Uncle Bai… is a god!! That Beihan Lie… will probably never recover from this injury…."

"Never, EVER provoke Sect Uncle Bai. He's… he's a complete menace!"

"Isn't that the same medicinal pill he fed to Elder Zhou's phoenix? It's basically an aphrodisiac for beasts…. I can't think of any possible reason why Sect Uncle Bai… would concoct something like that!"

Regardless of the methods used, Bai Xiaochun had won a victory for the south bank, only the second one so far. Although the south bank disciples weren't really sure how to feel at the moment, they began to cheer for Bai Xiaochun.

Shangguan Tianyou wiped the sweat off his brow. He might have looked down on Bai Xiaochun with contempt before, but now he couldn't help but gasp. When he thought back to Beihan Lie's cruel fate, he couldn't help but imagine what it would have been like if he had been in the same position…. After a moment, he cast such thoughts aside.

Zhou Xinqi was tongue-tied, her mind spinning.

Moments later, though, an even greater commotion could be heard, something like the rumble of thunder. The north bank disciples erupted in unprecedented fashion; it didn't matter that they had won so many battles in the competition so far, and in such amazing fashion. Now, everything had changed.

All of the north bank disciples, even the Inner Sect disciples who had come to observe the battles, were all incensed. Eyes bloodshot, they shouted out at the tops of their lungs.

"Demented!! What medicinal pill is that? Dammit! How can a pill like that even exist in the world? I'm gonna exterminate Bai Xiaochun and destroy that pill!!"

"Heavens! Elder Brother Beihan's own beast pounced on him! This… this…."

"Take Bai Xiaochun down! Nobody has insulted the north bank like this in countless years!! That medicinal pill should be banned! Any of them that exist should be completely destroyed!!"

It was impossible for them not to be enraged. Even the male disciples from the south bank sympathized with Beihan Lie, much less those from the north bank, who felt his pain even more…. After all, every north bank disciple had a battle beast of some sort. Even as they shouted out in range, they subconsciously glanced down at their various respective battle beasts, and thought of Beihan Lie. They couldn't help but feel uneasy as a result.

Soon, their maddened shouts grew even more extreme.

"Bai Xiaochun is the archenemy of the north bank!!"

"Down with Bai Xiaochun! The north bank will endure eternal humiliation as long as he lives!!"

"Dammit! I'm gonna kill him! I'm gonna exterminate him! He's stained the north bank for all eternity!!" It was easy to imagine how in the future, every time the north bank disciples looked at their own battle beasts, they would think about the tragedy of Beihan Lie.

The Gongsun siblings' breath came in ragged pants as they looked at Bai Xiaochun, their eyes shining with unprecedented fear, as well as rage. Although Beihan Lie had been the one to receive the injury, the entire north bank was hurt.

As for Xu Song, all the fat on his body trembled, and his expression was one of fury. Although he never got along with Beihan Lie, he couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Deep inside, he felt sympathy, and even more so, terror.

"Beihan Lie could only control one battle beast…. I… I have five…." When he thought about that, Xu Song almost cried. Gnashing his teeth, he glared at Bai Xiaochun with furious, bloodshot eyes.

Even the black-robed Ghostfang trembled, a look of intense seriousness in his eyes as he stared at Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun looked around innocently at the hornet's nest he had stirred up. When he saw how mad the north bank disciples were getting, he quickly tried to offer an explanation.

"Hey, don't blame me. Before the fighting even started, I told Beihan Lie to concede. He didn't listen. I made it clear… that even I'm afraid of my own attacks!" Bai Xiaochun really felt that he was being given the short end of the stick. However, his explanations did nothing except pour fuel onto the fire.

"Bai Xiaochun!? I can't believe you have a name like that! Dammit! You're not pure at all!!" 1

"Completely shameless! Despicable! How dare you continue to humiliate us!!"

"Take Bai Xiaochun down!!"

The enraged north bank disciples began to edge forward, eyes bloodshot. From the look of it, tens of thousands of disciples were all about to charge onto the arena floor to take Bai Xiaochun out.

Bai Xiaochun's heart began to thump, and he quickly retreated a few steps closer to the south bank audience. Sighing, he stuck his chin out, waved his sleeve, and stood there like a lonely hero.

"I am pure and good, no matter how anybody tries to smear me," he said. Sighing, he finally left the arena floor. Behind him, countless north bank disciples were shouting in fury and staring daggers. If looks could kill, Bai Xiaochun would be dead many, many times over already.

He coughed dryly as he returned to the south bank side. Strange expressions could be seen on the faces of the disciples there; by this point, they could sense the intense anger the north bank felt toward him, and it was terrifying.

As of this moment, the true enemy of the north bank wasn't the south bank, it was a single person. Bai Xiaochun!

It was easy to imagine how, even if the north bank won the competition, because of Beihan Lie, they would consider it a loss….

The sect leader sat awkwardly up on the balcony, glaring down at Bai Xiaochun, his heart pounding with helplessness. He couldn't help but muse that whenever Bai Xiaochun showed up, it didn't matter how solemn the occasion was, the atmosphere would quickly devolve…. As for the three peak lords from the south bank, none of them were quite sure what expression was appropriate. They had never encountered a situation like this in their entire lives….

Li Qinghou's complexion flickered between green and red, and his eyes were blank. He had been completely shaken by what just occurred. Even the four prime elders on the peak of Mount Daoseed felt their divine sense shaking, and they weren't sure exactly what to think or feel.

Seeing that the anger of the north bank disciples was almost beyond control, Ouyang Jie suddenly spoke out in a voice which swept out and physically pushed the north bank disciples back.

"Let the seventh battle begin!" Instantly, a burly man flew out from among the north bank forces. His eyes were bright red as he landed on the arena floor, where he let out a roar of rage.

"Bai Xiaochun, I challenge you to fight!"

"Let's wait and see if you can get into the top ten," Bai Xiaochun replied, sticking his chin out like a lonely hero. "Then maybe you'll qualify to fight me." The burly man howled in fury, his eyes completely bloodshot. At the same time, the disciple standing next to Shangguan Tianyou braced himself and walked out onto the arena floor.

Booms echoed out. The north bank disciples had gone mad… and this burly man, the first to fight after Bai Xiaochun's performance, was clearly venting his anger by fighting. The south bank disciple was pushed backward over and over again until he finally conceded.

Next were the eighth and ninth battles…. The north bank disciples might as well have been slaughtering chickens. They fought with enraged madness, their hearts bursting with anger. All of them wanted to get into the top ten to have a chance to fight Bai Xiaochun and cleanse the stain of humiliation!

"I have to win! Once I'm in the top ten, I'll take Bai Xiaochun down. Then we'll see how he likes to get pounced on by a wild beast!"

"Fudge! Even if I have to break the damn sect rules, I'm going to cripple him!"

"Even if I kill him, my Master won't punish me too badly. Anybody that kills Bai Xiaochun will be a hero to the north bank!" The north bank disciples used every means at their disposal in the fighting.

Because the north bank had two more people on their team than the south bank, the tenth battle was fought between two north bank disciples. However, they didn't go easy on each other.

Soon, the final battle of the first round had arrived. Zhou Xinqi took a deep breath and walked out onto the arena floor, violet light flickering around her feet. Moments later, she began to fight the final north bank disciple.

The battle was not shocking or amazing. Zhou Xinqi was a Chosen, and although the north bank disciple she fought was extraordinary, he couldn't compare to her at all. After only ten breaths of time passed, the north bank disciple coughed up a mouthful of blood and begrudgingly conceded.

As Zhou Xinqi walked back to the team, the south bank disciples erupted into cheering. When Bai Xiaochun heard it, he felt a bit sour inwardly. The cheering for Zhou Xinqi was clearly much louder than the cheering had been for him.

As of this moment, the first round of the Chosen battles was over. Eleven disciples remained; eight from the north bank, and three from the south bank!

Translator: Deathblade. Chinese language consultant: ASI a.k.a. Beerblade. Editor: GNE. Memes: Logan.

This chapter comes in a bit shorter than usually, hitting only around 1,700 words instead of the usual 2,000

1. As a quick reminder, one of the characters in Bai Xiaochun's name means "pure"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

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Chapter 91: The Enraged North Bank

Now that the first round was over, a rest period began that would last for three incense sticks worth of time. As everyone sat there, the north bank disciples bristled, glaring angrily… at Bai Xiaochun!

The contestants were all itching to begin the second round, in which they would do anything possible to take Bai Xiaochun out. By now, none of them cared whether or not the north bank won in the end; they merely wanted to shed his blood to wash away their humiliation!

"Bai Xiaochun, in the second round, I'm going to make you pay a horrifying price for humiliating the north bank!"

"He should be given to an entire pack of beasts to ease our hatred. This second round will be the most painful experience of his life!"

"Take Bai Xiaochun down! Take this shameless bastard down!"

The north bank cared about nothing but taking out Bai Xiaochun, and that responsibility was given to the eight people who had made it through the first round. Although Ghostfang simply sat there with his eyes closed, the other seven glared angrily at Bai Xiaochun with clenched fists.

They represented all of the other disciples of the north bank, and were now analyzing what they had learned about him from his previous performance. All of them were coming up with their own ways of dealing with him.

"All Bai Xiaochun has are some medicinal pills. As long as he doesn't have a chance to use them, he can be dealt with easily!"

"He only won because of those medicinal pills. Without them, exterminating him will be as easy as turning over your hand. He'll definitely be defeated in the second round. Defeated, and defeated ruthlessly!"

As far as Bai Xiaochun was concerned, the north bank disciples were acting like bullies. He'd won, hadn't he? As for the brutality of that victory… he wanted to say something in his defense, but was worried that if he said the wrong thing, it would only make things worse. Much worse.

"This is ridiculous!" he thought.

As the north bank stewed in their anger, the south bank disciples didn't say much either. They simply sat there bristling until Ouyang Jie finally spoke.

"Three incense sticks have burned. The second round of the Chosen battles will now begin, and the top six will be selected!

"Of the eleven of you, one will sit out of the fighting and directly enter the top six. The other ten will draw lots and fight each other in twos to proceed!" Accompanying Ouyang Jie's words, a beam of light shot out over the arena floor, which transformed into a glowing sphere, roughly three meters in diameter. In turn, the pearls in the hands of Bai Xiaochun and the other remaining contestants were tugged toward it. Upon releasing the pearls, they flew directly toward the glowing sphere.

Once inside, new numbers appeared on their surfaces, from one to ten, with one of the pearls being blank.

The eleven pearls began to rotate inside the sphere, moving faster and faster until they were nothing more than a blur.

"A secret magic is at work here to ensure complete and utter fairness," explained Ouyang Jie. "Not even I can interfere with the pearls. Rest at ease as you take the marbles back to decide the order of fighting."

Xu Song glared at Bai Xiaochun and then chuckled coldly. "Bai Xiaochun, you'd better pray that you don't fight me. I'll crush you like a twig!"

With that, he waved his hand, causing a pearl to fly out into his hand.

One of the other north bank Chosen gritted his teeth and coldly said, "It doesn't matter who you face, you're definitely going to lose painfully in the second round!"

With that, he and everyone else, Bai Xiaochun included, made grasping motions to secure their pearls.

Instantly, ten pearls flew out toward the group of contestants.

"I have number three!"

"I'm number seven!"

"I got number one!" When the north bank disciples got their pearls, they announced the numbers. Soon, the order of fighting was becoming clear. After they announced their numbers, they looked ferociously toward Bai Xiaochun.

Eventually, Ghostfang got his pearl and coolly said, "Number nine!"

The north bank disciples soon found that not a single one of their number had acquired the blank pearl. As of this moment, the only pearls left were numbers four and ten, as well as the blank pearl. The north bank disciples began to look nervously over at the south bank.

"I'm number four!" Shangguan Tianyou announced coolly.

"Number ten!" Zhou Xinqi said, her face somewhat unsightly. As soon as the words left her mouth, she looked over at Ghostfang.

By now, everyone's fighting spot had been determined, with the exception of Bai Xiaochun. Strange expressions appeared on the faces of the south bank audience, especially the Fragrant Cloud Peak disciples, who had been there to watch Bai Xiaochun fight in the smaller competition. Their eyes went as wide as saucers.

"No way…." they thought incredulously.

Even more incredulous than them were the north bank disciples, who so badly wanted to teach him a lesson. Fists clenched, the entire group stared blankly at Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun couldn't keep from looking a bit proud. The pearl in his hand had no number on it whatsoever. At first, he'd thought that he might have seen incorrectly. However, after closer examination, he confirmed that it was indeed blank. Then he looked around and realized that everyone was staring at him, and suddenly, he realized how lonely life could be sometimes…. Flicking his sleeve, he assumed the manner of a lonely hero, staring up into the clouds. Voice cool, he said, "My apologies. I'll be sitting this round out. If you want to fight me, you'll have to work hard to get to the next round."

His words were met with a moment of silence. A few breaths' worth of time passed, and then the north bank audience erupted into enraged shouting.

"Impossible! Dammit, he's sitting the round out!? Why did it have to be him, the shameless Bai Xiaochun. Why?!?!"

"How could he be so lucky!? Out of eleven people, I can't believe that he gets to sit the round out!! How could someone like him have luck like this!? It's preposterous!"

"I can't take this. What an absolute show-off! I HAVE to take him down!!"

The north bank disciples had intended to wash their humiliation clean with violence, but now that Bai Xiaochun was sitting the round out, they very nearly coughed up mouthfuls of blood. It was almost like they had just tried to punch Bai Xiaochun in the face, but ended up striking nothing but air. Frustration fermenting inside of them, Xu Song and the others stared at Bai Xiaochun as if they wished they could rip him to pieces right then and there.

Even the south bank disciples looked on with odd expressions, unsure of what to say. It was already obvious that the north bank disciples wanted to fight Bai Xiaochun more than anything else, so it wasn't even necessary to ponder how they felt regarding this sudden development.

"That's nothing!" blurted out a random Fragrant Cloud Peak disciple. "Back in the minor competition, Sect Uncle Bai… sat out for two rounds in a row!" When the people sitting around him heard that, their eyes went wide with disbelief.

"This happened to him before? Sect Uncle Bai's luck… is unbelievable!"

Bai Xiaochun cleared his throat, and yet again assumed the posture of a lonely hero. Looking over at the north bank side, he slowly shook his head. That, of course, made the north bank even angrier.

However, getting angrier didn't change the situation at all. They had no option but to stifle their feelings as the second round of the Chosen battles began.

Unfortunately, without Bai Xiaochun fighting, the entire affair was a lot less interesting. Furthermore, the south bank only had two disciples in the mix, which meant that three of the battles would involve disciples from the north bank fighting each other.

The first battle was just such a situation. Gongsun Wan'er fought one of the other north bank disciples, and defeated him effortlessly. The defeated disciple trudged off of the arena floor, looking over his shoulder at the south bank side, mixed emotions playing across his face.

The second battle saw Shangguan Tianyou take the field. Luckily for him, he didn't face one of the top Chosen, but another random disciple, whom he defeated as easily as blowing some dust off of his shoulder. The south bank audience breathed sighs of relief. At least… they had secured victory in one fight.

Next, the north bank again fought itself in the third and fourth battles. Although the fighting was intense, the fact that the south bank wasn't involved at all ensured that the disciples that were from there simply looked on silently.

In the final battle, Zhou Xinqi walked out with a serious expression on her face. Although the south bank disciples cheered, they weren't too optimistic about the outcome of the battle.

After all, Zhou Xinqi's opponent… was the terrifying Ghostfang, who had almost killed Lu Tianlei with the single wave of a finger.

After stepping out onto the arena floor, Ghostfang curiously asked, "Between you and that lightning guy, who's stronger?"

Sensing that his intention was not to humiliate her, Zhou Xinqi answered honestly: "Elder Brother Lu is a bit stronger."

"How about this…." Ghost replied quietly. "I used seventy percent power last time. This time, I'll only use forty percent. You probably won't get killed by that." Those who could hear him looked on with bitter smiles, convinced that Ghostfang was being honest.

Zhou Xinqi took a deep breath and then performed a double-handed incantation gesture. Instantly, countless blue sparks appeared around her, forming numerous blue flying silks. The flying silks then merged together into something that resembled a huge flower, that pulsed with a powerful gravitational force!

"Plant Transformation Incantation!" When the crowd from the south bank saw the Plant Transformation Incantation being used, their eyes glittered. Although it wasn't quite on the same level as Ghosts Haunt the Night or the Waterswamp Kingdom, it was one of the ten secret magics of the sect.

It was a unique magic that used plants against the enemy, with numerous variations that made it enigmatic and unpredictable. When Li Qinghou used it, he could create a world of plants and vegetation 50 kilometers wide. The final upgraded version of the secret magic had another name… Magic Plant Soldiers!

Using the magic was such a drain on Zhou Xinqi's energy that her face went pale. She knew that she wasn't a match for this opponent, but in her world, it wasn't an option to just concede without trying.

The wave of her hand caused the blue flower to tremble, and then grow larger at a rapid rate, simultaneously shooting toward Ghostfang. It almost looked like the flower was opening wide to consume him.

It was a spectacular sight that instantly attracted the attention of Bai Xiaochun, who found the magical technique particularly interesting. However, it was at this point that Ghostfang looked up calmly and then waved his finger.

This time, he didn't wave his finger at the sky, but at Zhou Xinqi. The air next to him began to vibrate, and a huge black ghost claw appeared, which quickly clenched into a fist!

The huge fist filled half of the arena floor, and was so big people couldn't see anything else. It smashed into the blue flower, which trembled and then collapsed into ashes. The ghost claw, however, didn't stop. It continued on as if nothing had happened, smashing directly into Zhou Xinqi.

A massive boom echoed out, and blood sprayed out of Zhou Xinqi's mouth as she tumbled backward. She was knocked out of the arena floor, and when she finally ground to a halt, she coughed up eight mouthfuls of blood. Face pale, she looked up with a stubborn gleam in her eyes to see Ghostfang turning and walking away.

Everything was silent except for the gasps that echoed out….

Translator: Deathblade. Chinese language consultant: ASI a.k.a. Beerblade. Editor: GNE. Memes: Logan.

The Deathblade Clan and the Beerblade Clan had dinner tonight, and afterward, Madam Deathblade and Madam Beerblade went to the supermarket while Beerblade and I watched Baby Deathblade. At a certain point, Baby Deathblade became the center of attention in the mall. Eventually, one of the people said (in Chinese), "He's so cute. His mother is probably Chinese, right?" At that point, everyone looked over at Beerblade, assuming that because he's Chinese, he would provide an answer. Do you want to guess how he responded?

A) "Of course she is"

B) "Mind your own business!"

C) "I'm the other father…"

D) "…"

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Chapter 92: The Despair of Gongsun Wan'er

After a protracted moment of silence, both the south and north bank audiences broke out into hushed discussions.

"S-so… so strong!"

"Ghostfang could probably crush Inner Sect disciples with ease! He must be the strongest disciple under Foundation Establishment!"

"That's the ultimate battle prowess of the Qi Condensation stage! He's definitely reached the realm of will. Only by possessing a mysterious and unfathomable will can someone produce such terrifying power!"

It was almost as if no one dared to speak in a loud voice. The north bank Chosen looked on with mixed emotions. After all, no one would be happy to have someone so powerful appear among their generation. On the south bank side, Shangguan Tianyou stood there silently, his heart anything but calm. Watching Ghostfang defeat the other Chosen was just like watching a Chosen defeat ordinary disciples.

It was more than clear that Ghostfang existed on a totally different plane than even the other Chosen.

Bai Xiaochun was left trembling. He had only seen Ghostfang make two attacks, and yet each one had been completely astonishing.

By this point, the top six had been selected. The north bank had four, and the south bank had two. They were Shangguan Tianyou, Bai Xiaochun, Ghostfang, the Gongsun siblings, and Xu Song.

Those disciples who were familiar with the Chosen battles knew that the next round, round three, would be the final round. The matches to follow, and the resulting victories and defeats, would determine the final ranking of the top six disciples!

Anyone who could secure five victories would naturally take first place!

During the past thousand years, the north bank had always swept the south bank and taken the top spots. Furthermore, the south bank disciples all knew that Ghostfang… was exactly the type of person who could defeat everyone else. He was simply too powerful.

The south bank audience sat there quietly. If Ghostfang weren't in the picture, they might hold hope that Shangguan Tianyou could take first place.

"Second place isn't bad though…." That was what many of the south bank disciples were thinking as they sat there sighing. Some of them looked over at Bai Xiaochun. Many had a hard time determining exactly what they thought of him, but regardless of the specifics, he hadn't given any of them the impression that he was a fighter. In fact, he hadn't fought anyone since joining the sect.

The only thing they did know for certain was that he had come back alive after the Luochen Clan tried to chase him down and kill him….

Many of the south bank disciples had already resigned themselves to the fact that the south bank had lost, both in terms of the number of disciples who made it into the top ten, and also the first place spot.

In contrast, the north bank disciples were getting excited. Their eyes shone with anticipation and ferocity as they glared at Bai Xiaochun.

"The rules for the top six probably haven't changed. This time, Bai Xiaochun is definitely going to be hurting!"

"That's right. According to the rules, everyone will fight once with all the other disciples. That means… that four blazing suns from the north bank will all have a chance to pummel him. Finally, the humiliation our north bank has endured will be avenged!"

It wasn't just the ordinary north bank disciples who were musing in such a way. Xu Song and the Gongsun siblings were all chuckling coldly as they stared at Bai Xiaochun, determined to come out victorious.

Bai Xiaochun shrunk back a bit. Looking over at the furious north bank disciples, he shook his head a bit helplessly. "Immortal cultivation is supposed to be about living forever. What's the point of all the fighting and killing…?"

It was at this point that Ouyang Jie's voice finally rang out. "The third round of the Chosen battles will follow the same rules as before. Victory will be given to whoever takes the most wins. The first set of matches will be Shangguan Tianyou versus Xu Song, Ghostfang versus Gongsun Yun, and Bai Xiaochun versus Gongsun Wan'er. These fights will be carried out simultaneously!"

With that, a beam of light descended from the balcony onto the arena floor, dividing it into three areas. Sealing barriers immediately sprang up to separate them.

Shangguan Tianyou's eyes flickered brightly as he dashed out into the first battle zone. At the same time, Xu Song also flew out. The two of them locked eyes, both of their expressions grave.

They wasted no time on words. Xu Song waved his hand, and three fierce beasts materialized around him. Each one was unique, but they were all incredibly ferocious in appearance. Even as they began to charge Shangguan Tianyou, a huge crocodilian mouth appeared above him, which closed in to consume him.

In addition to all that, the ground beneath his feet cracked as numerous tentacles burst out.

Meanwhile, Ghostfang strode forward into the second battle zone. Off to the side, Gongsun Yun stood there quietly. Although the bugs which writhed in his eyes were powerful, he knew that he was no match for Ghostfang. Despite that, he wasn't willing to simply concede.

"Even if you were more powerful than you already are, I'd still want to fight you!" Taking a deep breath, he joined Ghostfang in the second battle zone.

Gongsun Wan'er snorted coldly as she stepped forward, glaring at Bai Xiaochun.

Of all the disciples present, Bai Xiaochun feared her the least, so he tromped forward to the third battle zone, meeting her gaze with his own glare.

As Bai Xiaochun walked out, the north bank disciples heckled him furiously. Completely ignoring the other two battle zones, their attention and fury was directed solely upon Bai Xiaochun.

"Elder Sister Gongsun, eradicate that damned Bai Xiaochun!"

"Kill him!"

Gongsun Wan'er's eyes flickered with cold light. Instead of summoning her seven-colored phoenix, she performed an incantation gesture and then tapped down on her forehead. Seven-colored light immediately sprang out from within her, accompanied by a frigid blast of cold air which covered the ground in frost.

"Why don't you concede?" Bai Xiaochun said, blinking. "When I attack, I frighten even myself."

Almost immediately, an image popped up in Gongsun Wan'er's mind of Beihan Lie's tragic fate, and her face flushed. At the same time, a murderous aura rose up within her.

"Shut up, you perv. I'm gonna make you pay a heavy price for what you've done!" With the wave of a hand, she summoned an ice blade which then shot toward Bai Xiaochun.

Bai Xiaochun shrugged helplessly. He had merely been telling the truth, and wasn't sure why he'd been called a perv. Sighing, he slapped his bag of holding, causing countless talismans to appear, which he began to slap down all over his body.

Rumbling sounds could then be heard as numerous shields sprang up. Soon, they were nearly three meters thick, glittering with multicolored light. It was a shocking sight, and yet, Bai Xiaochun wasn't finished yet. Next, he produced the Divine Crane Shield, which glittered brightly as it produced yet another shield layer.

Then there was the bracelet Li Qinghou had given him. As soon as he activated it, it spread out to cover his entire body, turning him pitch black.

Considering he was also wearing a big black wok on his back, Bai Xiaochun looked… completely eye-catching.

Furthermore, the speed and ease with which he activated all of his defenses made it obvious that he was very familiar with doing so….

The north bank disciples' eyes widened, and they watched blankly as the ice blades slammed into Bai Xiaochun's shields, breaking some of them, but eventually shattering.

Bai Xiaochun remained inside, completely unharmed.

If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal, but what was most infuriating was that Bai Xiaochun merely stood there, hands clasped behind his back, chin sticking out, looking up at the clouds like a hero.

"Too weak," he said, flicking his sleeve and then placing his hands behind his back again. "But then again, I've never met anyone who could break through all of my shields."

Gongsun Wan'er's eyes seemed to be on the verge of popping out of her skull. She had fought many people in her life, but had never met anyone so adept in using defensive shields. Bai Xiaochun was the first.

She could see that he had dozens of ordinary shields protecting him, plus the Divine Crane Shield, the black substance covering his skin, the huge wok on his back, and numerous leather jackets. She was left feeling annoyed, uneasy, and even a bit taken aback.

The north bank audience wasn't happy either.

"Completely shameless!! I can't believe he has so many defensive talismans and magical items. Dammit! These are the Chosen battles, not the resource battles!"

"Elder Sister Gongsun has to wipe him out. I'm about to explode! Just looking at him makes me want to walk over and beat the crap out of him!"

The north bank audience was incensed, and the south bank audience simply looked on in a daze. Of course, there were some disciples from Fragrant Cloud Peak who sighed inwardly. That was especially true of one burly man. When he saw what was happening, tears welled up in his eyes. He knew exactly how the north bank disciples felt. Back in the minor competition years before, Bai Xiaochun had tormented him in exactly this same way.

Up on the balcony, the sect leader and the others almost couldn't believe their eyes, and quickly began to exchange wry grins.

Gongsun Wan'er gritted her teeth and performed a double-handed incantation gesture. Immediately, a vast quantity of ice blades appeared, transforming into a vortex that shot toward Bai Xiaochun. Booms echoed out over and over again as the razor-sharp blades sliced into Bai Xiaochun's shields. Although many of the shields were destroyed, the flickering Divine Crane Shield eventually made short work of the ice blades.

"Still too weak," Bai Xiaochun said loftily. Inwardly, happiness blossomed in his heart like a flower as he realized what it felt like to be a powerful expert.

The north bank disciples were in a frenzy. If it weren't for the fact that they didn't dare to break sect rules, they would surely have charged over en masse to slaughter Bai Xiaochun.

Gongsun Wan'er's eyes were bloodshot. Gritting her teeth, she continued to unleash attacks, using even more ice blades than before. The sheer number involved was shocking, to the point where even Bai Xiaochun's heart began to tremble in fear. After some time passed, his shields finally gave out completely, whereupon he drew upon the full power of the Divine Crane Shield. In the blink of an eye, his defenses were shored up, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He stuck his chin out, and just when he was about say something, the bedraggled Gongsun Wan'er let out a piercing scream. Rumbling sounds echoed out, and blood oozed out of the corners of her mouth. Astonishingly, a blood-colored ice flower appeared on her forehead, which caused the energy of heaven and earth to flow toward her in shocking fashion.

As this happened, the north bank disciples began to cheer at the top of their lungs.

"It's Elder Sister Gongsun's Bloodfrost Orchid!"

"The Bloodfrost Orchid is Elder Sister Gongsun's trump card. Not even someone in the ninth level of Qi Condensation could block it. Bai Xiaochun's defenses are definitely going to be broken through this time!"

As the freezing flower flew out, radiating a terrifying aura, it caused the surrounding temperature to drop rapidly. It shot toward Bai Xiaochun at top speed, cutting through his defenses like a hot knife through butter. His shields shattered, and just when he was about to use the Divine Crane Shield, the Bloodfrost Orchid split into two parts. One part was successfully blocked, but the other twisted past to slam violently into Bai Xiaochun's chest.

A banging sound could be heard, and Bai Xiaochun looked down in surprise. To him, it felt like getting hit with a fluffy snowball. Shivering slightly, he looked up at Gongsun Wan'er, whose hair was by now completely disheveled.

"Take your time," he said. "I'm going to watch some of the other matches." With that, he turned in the direction of the first and second battle zones, which he began to casually watch, even occasionally cheering for one side or the other. No matter your perspective, he looked like he was asking for a beating.

Translator: Deathblade. Chinese language consultant: ASI a.k.a. Beerblade. Editor: GNE. Memes: Logan.

Hey everyone, I hate to the bearer of bad news, but in the poll from yesterday, option C was what Beerblade said… in his mind. Unfortunately he didn't say it out loud, although later he regretted not having done so. I would love to have seen the faces of the people present if he had. LOL. His true answer was the witty and clever option D. If you haven't already, make sure to check out his translation LOAR, which I help out with as an editor.

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