Chapter 49: Giving a Gift

“The Sect Tournament? Registration is opening already?”

Of the three of them, Chen Zui was the most enthusiastic about fighting. It was rare for him to hear the news before even Bian Chunzhou did.

“It’s not registration. All inner disciples are required to participate. As the personal disciple of a Soul Transformation Realm Venerable, you’ll be laughed at if you don’t.”

Bian Chunzhou could not resist punching him. “Who said I wasn’t participating? But are there any prizes in this year’s Sect Tournament?”

“There are, but I didn’t listen closely. For the matches below the Foundation Establishment Realm, everyone in the top ten should receive a Foundation Establishment Pill.”

As for the additional prizes, Chen Zui did not care much. His cultivation did not rely on those flashy artifacts and pills anyway.

Bian Chunzhou was already growing impatient. “No, I have to go ask around.”

With that, he headed toward Kaiyuan Peak. After all, when it came to which peak on Yonglu Mountain had the best-informed disciples, it naturally had to be Kaiyuan Peak, which coordinated the sect’s missions.

Before long, Bian Chunzhou returned, thoroughly satisfied with the information he had gathered.

Yonglu Mountain’s Sect Tournament was usually held the year after the mountain gates opened to accept new disciples. It was divided into three cultivation brackets: below the Foundation Establishment Realm, below the Golden Core Realm, and below the Nascent Soul Realm.

At first, Bian Chunzhou had wondered why they did not simply call them the Qi Refining Realm, Foundation Establishment Realm, and Golden Core Realm brackets. But he quickly realized there was a trick hidden in the wording.

“Below the Golden Core Realm” included both Foundation Establishment Realm and Qi Refining Realm cultivators. If a Qi Refining Realm cultivator wanted some excitement or hoped to achieve a breakthrough by entering the second bracket, challenging someone above their realm was permitted in principle.

“So that’s how it is. Junior Brother Bian, you really did read the rules carefully,” Chen Zui said delightedly.

Bian Chunzhou turned to him in astonishment. “You can’t be serious. You want to challenge Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators?”

“Of course. I’m already close to reaching completion at the ninth level of the Qi Refining Realm. What would be the point of fighting only other Qi Refining Realm cultivators?” Chen Zui replied as though it were perfectly obvious.

…

Right. There was nothing strange about that.

Chen Zui really was exactly this kind of person. The tournament would not begin for another half a year, yet he was already itching to fight. Truly, that was Chen Zui for you.

“Just be careful. Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators really are… pretty strong.”

Chen Zui nodded. “Naturally, the stronger they are, the better.”

That was true too.

Bian Chunzhou sat down cross-legged. According to Senior Brother Huang of Kaiyuan Peak, battles between cultivators below the Foundation Establishment Realm were not especially impressive to watch, which was why this bracket would be held first.

Aside from the newly admitted disciples, most of those participating in this bracket would be outer disciples. It was also their most important path to becoming inner disciples.

“In that case, the three of us, Senior Sister Xia Ying, and that annoying Lin Congcong will probably all become popular targets for the outer disciples.”

For one thing, they had only recently entered the sect and their cultivation was still relatively low. For another, they were inner disciples. If an outer disciple managed to defeat an inner disciple, they would undoubtedly attract the attention of the elders.

Good grief. That actually sounded rather interesting.

“Is that so? I don’t mind either way.” Chen Zui had no fear whatsoever of Qi Refining Realm cultivators. “The two of you have already fought someone at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Surely you won’t lose to a Qi Refining Realm cultivator?”

“Well… Know yourself and know your enemy, and you can win every battle. I wonder how many outer disciples will be participating this time.”

Bian Chunzhou’s question happened to be the matter that Yonglu Mountain’s outer disciples were most concerned about as well.

Yonglu Mountain was one of the Five Great Sects, after all, with a deep and abundant heritage. Aside from the disciples admitted last year, nearly all inner disciples had reached at least the Foundation Establishment Realm. The rare exceptions were all at the peak of the Qi Refining Realm and had entered the sect two or three recruitment cycles ago.

Generally speaking, if an inner disciple failed to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm within twenty years, either their supposed talent had been exaggerated or they had not worked hard enough.

Thus far, Yonglu Mountain’s inner sect had produced Qi Refining Realm disciples who unfortunately perished midway through their cultivation, but it had never produced one who lazed around for twenty years without advancing.

The outer disciples were even more fiercely competitive.

News of the tournament had only begun circulating two days ago, yet some disciples had already started gathering the pills and talismans they would need during the competition.

Although the outer disciples were less talented than the inner disciples, they were not inferior in willpower. Some had even already reached the Foundation Establishment Realm. If they secured a good ranking in the tournament, they would be allowed to enter the inner sect to study.

In this environment of healthy competition, practically every disciple on Yonglu Mountain had begun pushing themselves harder.

Wen Xu, who had originally intended to balance work and rest, thought: No. I can’t lose!

Driven by that refusal to admit defeat, Wen Xu plunged into his busy cultivation routine as soon as his injuries healed.

As for rest and entertainment? There would be plenty of time after the tournament.

He had remained at the seventh level of the Qi Refining Realm for quite a while. He would set himself a small goal: strive to reach the eighth level before the tournament. Or, at the very least, aim for eight while striving for nine.

Despite his busy cultivation schedule, Wen Xu did not forget that he needed to apologize to Senior Brother Zheng Jin.

Although the artifact had been given to him, and he was free to use it however he wished, he understood how Zheng Jin felt when he put himself in the other man’s place. If a gift he had given someone were carelessly damaged, he would also be unhappy.

With that in mind, Wen Xu spent half a month making a birthday gift for Senior Brother Zheng Jin.

Coincidentally, the second day of the following month happened to be Zheng Jin’s birthday. Lu Nian had told him while he was fanning the furnace at Artifact Refining Peak.

And so, early on the morning of the second, Wen Xu went to Artifact Refining Peak after finishing his sword practice.

“Are you looking for me?”

Wen Xu was so startled that he took a step backward.

If a Nascent Soul Realm True Lord did not want Wen Xu to notice him, there was no possible way he ever would.

“Good morning, Senior Brother Zheng.”

Zheng Jin stroked his chin, looking unfathomably profound. “You haven’t come to Artifact Refining Peak for the past few days. I thought I’d angered you so badly that you ran away.”

“…You didn’t.”

His master had recently been giving him private instruction, and Wen Xu had been busy digesting and mastering the first level of the Ten Thousand Things Arise Art. Unfortunately, he was still a little short of success.

“Really?” Zheng Jin asked with a smile. “Did you come today to give me a birthday present?”

Wen Xu froze, then immediately understood.

This fellow had deliberately arranged for someone to tell him the date of his birthday.

He was… surprisingly awkward about these things.

“Come on, hurry up and take it out. Let me see—”

Wen Xu took the prepared robe from his storage ring.

It was a shade of lake blue, slightly darker than the disciples’ robes. He had personally inscribed the arrays upon it. Of course, given his cultivation, their defensive power was practically negligible to a Nascent Soul Realm True Lord like Zheng Jin.

Even Zheng Jin himself had not expected this reserved and restrained Junior Granduncle-Master to give him such a significant gift.

That was right. In Zheng Jin’s eyes, anything someone had specially made by hand was a significant gift, even if the array patterns on the robe were not particularly useful to him.

“You…”

Wen Xu spoke smoothly before Zheng Jin could continue.

“Senior Brother Zheng, happy birthday. The array patterns on this robe were specially designed to defend against the gusts produced by furnace flames. However, because my cultivation is low, the patterns will suffer considerable wear each time they are activated. Once they fail completely, I can repair them for you.”

This was the best way Wen Xu could think of to apologize.

He had used the Folding Wind Fan improperly and damaged the artifact, forcing Zheng Jin to repair it. By putting himself in Zheng Jin’s place, Wen Xu had decided to give Senior Brother Zheng Jin the same right to “use something willfully.”

That way, everything would be fair and reasonable.

Even though Senior Brother Zheng Jin might never actually wear the robe he had given him.

“You really are…” Zheng Jin suddenly realized that he might have misjudged Wen Xu.

He had originally thought Wen Xu was the same kind of person he himself had once been.

But now, it seemed they were completely different.

Of course they were. How could two people become exactly alike merely because they had suffered similar pain?

“Thank you. But today… isn’t actually my real birthday,” Zheng Jin suddenly admitted. “It’s the day I truly embarked upon the path of cultivation. Shamefully enough, I don’t know what day I was actually born.”

Wen Xu thought: What a coincidence. Neither do I.

“So I chose today instead. Thank you for the birthday gift, Junior Brother. It truly arrived just when I needed it. The robe I’m wearing was attacked by furnace flames again yesterday. There are barely any parts of it that haven’t been scorched…”

Zheng Jin swiftly stripped off the rags he was wearing. He even cast a cleaning spell on himself, instantly transforming into an elegant and handsome young gentleman.

“Oh, it fits perfectly. Junior Brother, you’re truly skilled at taking care of people.”

Wen Xu fell silent for a moment. “…Thank you. You don’t have to force yourself to compliment me when you don’t know how.”

“That won’t do. In my heart, I’m simply…”

He could not find the right word, but that was unimportant.

“As repayment, shall I answer one of Yonglu Mountain’s Ten Great Unsolved Mysteries for you?”

Good grief. Had the gossip about the Ten Great Unsolved Mysteries already reached the ears of the person involved?

“…Will you be angry if I say I don’t want to know?”

“I won’t be angry, but keeping it in will kill me!”

Zheng Jin grabbed his junior brother by the arm.

“It’s actually very simple. When my cultivation was still low, I couldn’t afford a decent robe. Someone mocked me, saying that a person who couldn’t even afford proper clothing could never forge a good artifact. Now, whenever that person sees me, he wishes he could crawl into a crack between the rocks and hide.”

Wen Xu wore an utterly calm expression.

How should he put it?

It was not especially surprising.

“Hey, why aren’t you surprised at all? When the Sect Master found out, his expression changed spectacularly!”

Wen Xu considered his words before ultimately giving an honest assessment.

“Because, Senior Brother… well, you really are someone who would do such a thing. But now that you mention it, why did the Sect Master ask you about something like that?”

Sect Master Gu appeared to be an extremely solemn and serious person. Why would he care about such gossip?

“Oh, that. Martial Uncle thought my ragged clothing was embarrassing Yonglu Mountain. I complained to him that I had my reasons, but he didn’t understand my suffering and ordered me to correct the problem immediately. I could only promise him that I would dress this way solely within Yonglu Mountain’s inner sect. Once I left the mountain gates, I’d make myself look somewhat presentable.”

Wen Xu thought: Some people are so ruthless that even their self-criticism cuts straight to the bone.

“But I’ve grown tired of wearing rags anyway. Since this robe was given to me by Junior Granduncle-Master, I’ll definitely take good care of it.”

Zheng Jin stroked his chin.

It seemed he would have to repair the Folding Wind Fan even more impressively now.

Wen Xu suddenly had an extremely ominous feeling.

This fellow wouldn’t start telling everyone he met that I made his robe, would he?

Why am I suddenly regretting this?!

Next Chapter >