Translator: Anubis Translations
Along the way, Gu Feng furrowed his brows, pondering his future path. He knew Elder Liu's words were for his own good, but deep down, he felt a strong sense of unwillingness.
He firmly believed that every physique had its value and mission; there was no such thing as an unsolvable path.
Moreover, compared to previous possessors of the Myriad Tribulations Physique, he had an unparalleled advantage—the Three-Mouth Incense Burner in his mind. This undoubtedly gave him a bit more confidence.
After walking for a while, Gu Feng arrived at the small courtyard arranged for him by Elder Liu.
The courtyard wasn't large, with only three rooms, and the yard was barely sufficient for practicing martial arts. Overall, it was quite decent.
Entering the central room and closing the door, he immediately began his cultivation.
Drop by drop, the milky-white Divine Fluid merged into his body, and the strength of his flesh visibly increased. This time, Gu Feng focused entirely on the sensations during his cultivation, only to discover, as Elder Liu had said, that there was no noticeable feeling when the Myriad Tribulations Physique made progress.
It didn't matter. After all, the Postnatal Realm was still far away. He believed that when the boat reached the bridge, it would naturally straighten out. Difficulties would come, but he would overcome them one by one. He needed to have confidence in himself!!
Time passed unnoticed during cultivation. By the time the milky-white Divine Fluid in the Incense Burner was completely consumed, two days and nights had already passed.
He had missed the end of the Entrance Examination and wondered if Yan Xixi had passed. Had she been bullied by those prodigies he had robbed because of him?
"It shouldn't be that bad. After all, her sister is quite famous in the inner sect."
With this thought, Gu Feng turned his attention back to his physique. The Myriad Tribulations Physique truly lived up to its reputation. Even after consuming resources equivalent to over four million Low-grade Spirit Stones, he still couldn't break through the Body Tempering Realm.
This made him click his tongue in astonishment. With so many resources, even a pig could probably break through to the Qi Refining Realm.
Yet, he couldn't even match a pig. No wonder Elder Liu said no faction was willing to cultivate the Myriad Tribulations Physique.
After gathering his thoughts, Gu Feng left the courtyard. As he walked, he asked for directions, and after the time it took to burn an incense stick, he arrived at the Outer Sect Exchange—a place for buying and selling items.
The Exchange was large, divided into three areas: buying, selling, and temporary. The buying and selling areas were self-explanatory, while the temporary area was a place for disciples to set up stalls.
The entire Outer Sect was like a small world, with everything from food and drink to entertainment, and even opportunities to make money. After all, in the path of cultivation, wealth, companions, and methods were crucial, with wealth taking the top spot. Only with sufficient Spirit Stones could one purchase high-grade cultivation resources and ensure they didn't fall behind in the competition.
Arriving at the selling area, Gu Feng approached a deacon who looked easy to talk to and placed over a dozen Storage Pouches on the counter.
"Esteemed Senior, could you appraise these items?"
The slightly plump deacon, seeing Gu Feng's unfamiliar face but his ability to produce so many Storage Pouches, gave him a curious glance.
That was all. Without saying much, he began to sort through the items, accurately quoting the price of each with just a glance.
Gu Feng watched carefully, afraid that the deacon might miss even the slightest detail. His fingers danced, and the sound of an abacus clicking echoed.
The slightly plump deacon was taken aback. In all his years working here, he had never seen someone like this.
A hint of anger appeared on his face: This kid is doubting my professional ability. You can say my cultivation is low, but you can't insult my professional integrity.
"Esteemed Senior, please don't be angry. These items are being sold on behalf of Elder Liu. I'm afraid if there's any mistake, I'll be punished by him," Gu Feng said with an apologetic smile.
He took out the Outer Sect token given by Elder Liu and pretended to casually wave it in front of the deacon.
"Oh, so you're Elder Liu's esteemed disciple! He is the Chief Elder of the Sunset Glow Sect's Outer Sect. To be noticed by him, you must have extraordinary talent."
The slightly plump deacon instantly changed his expression, his wrinkles forming a blooming chrysanthemum on his face.
"Not at all, not at all. I'm just fortunate to have caught Elder Liu's attention."
"Understood, understood!" The slightly plump deacon gave him a deep look. Then, he deliberately held up a Three-Leaf Clear Orchid in front of Gu Feng and raised his voice, "One Four-Leaf Clear Orchid!"
Afterward, he subtly nodded at Gu Feng, who nodded back in response.
It was worth noting that for Spirit Herbs like the Clear Orchid, each additional leaf increased the price by about tenfold. The slightly plump deacon was secretly showing goodwill toward Gu Feng!
Gu Feng smiled inwardly. Where there are people, there is politics. Having Elder Liu as a backer certainly made things easier.
Of course, he had to strike the right balance and not abuse his authority.
In the end, after pricing all the items, the slightly plump deacon even raised the total price by half a percent for Gu Feng.
"Esteemed Senior, how should I address you?" Gu Feng asked with interest.
"This old man's surname is Mo. Just call me Deacon Mo!"
"Deacon Mo, thank you for today."
After Gu Feng left, Deacon Mo smiled slightly. The Outer Sect's buying and selling of items were strictly regulated, and any excess had to be covered personally. Spending a little money to get acquainted with the Chief Elder's disciple was quite a good deal.
Deacon Mo had no idea that apart from being introduced by Elder Liu, Gu Feng had no further connection to him. The assumption of him being Elder Liu's disciple was purely speculative.
Gu Feng's neither confirming nor denying only deepened this misunderstanding.
Returning to the courtyard, Gu Feng resumed his cultivation. The Myriad Tribulations Physique was like a bottomless pit. Even after throwing in over five hundred thousand Spirit Stones converted into Divine Fluid, there wasn't even a bubble. He still hadn't broken through the Body Tempering Realm.
"Spirit Stones are far from enough!"
With a thought, he took out a stack of IOUs. Unless absolutely necessary, he really didn't want to collect these debts—not because he was afraid they wouldn't pay, but because these IOUs carried interest.
The longer the time dragged on, the more profit he would make.
But now, it seemed he had no choice but to collect. He would start with Chao Yuan and the others. Qu Yanran's debt could wait until he was stronger.
Leaving the courtyard, he headed to the area where the newly promoted Outer Sect disciples lived. Just as he was about to ask for Chao Yuan's address, he ran into Wu Qi.
Wu Qi looked like he was in poor spirits. Gu Feng thought it was due to the exhaustion from the Outer Sect Examination. After all, they were now penniless, without any Spirit Pills, and recovery was slow.
Wu Qi also saw Gu Feng. At first, he was startled, then delighted, and he quickly walked over, though his steps seemed a bit unsteady.
"Senior Brother Gu, what brings you here? Have you heard about what happened?"
"What happened?" Gu Feng asked, puzzled.
"It's about us being beaten and robbed by the senior Outer Sect disciples!"
Hearing this, Gu Feng's expression turned strange. Wu Qi and the others were truly unlucky—robbed by him on their way here, and now, after finally making it to the Outer Sect, they were robbed again.
Could it be that these people were born to be unlucky, with a fate of perpetual misfortune?
Seeing Gu Feng's questioning look, Wu Qi pulled him inside and began recounting their ordeal after the examination.
Two days ago, right after they passed the examination, before they could even celebrate, they were intercepted by the senior Outer Sect disciples.
Without a word, the seniors beat them up and robbed them. Every Outer Sect disciple was a victim.
"Does the sect allow robbery?" Gu Feng was taken aback, his eyes lighting up.
"Yes, but there are some restrictions," Wu Qi nodded and continued, "The Sunset Glow Sect encourages Outer Sect disciples to work hard in their cultivation by allowing them to rob each other. However, there are limits: you can only rob the same disciple once every six months, and you can only take what they have on them at the time. Forcing them to write IOUs is not allowed. The same goes for beatings!"
"This is great!" Gu Feng's heart stirred. He hadn't known about such a rule. What a missed opportunity! Then, he glanced at Wu Qi beside him, "Was everyone robbed?"
"Yes, everyone was robbed. Even Yan Xixi was cleaned out," Wu Qi nodded.
"Bastards! Those senior Outer Sect disciples are really something. I didn't even dare to rob Xixi, and they had the audacity to do so."
Wu Qi: ????
(End of the Chapter)
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