Chapter 58: Victory

Lin Congcong had never imagined that he would actually… lose.

And he had lost thoroughly. Despite being an entire minor realm ahead in cultivation, he had lost to someone with water and fire spiritual roots. That felt even worse than killing him!

He had never expected Bian Chunzhou to possess genuine ability, much less be so difficult to deal with. Could this man truly carve out an entirely new path for water and fire spiritual roots?

Lin Congcong was deeply dejected. He did not even watch the remaining matches and returned to his cave abode alone.

He cared about saving face more than almost anything else. Just moments before, he had confidently thumped his chest and told his fellow disciples that victory was guaranteed. Then he had immediately lost—and lost so disgracefully at that.

Lin Congcong wished he could enter a twenty-year death seclusion on the spot. By the time he emerged, no one would remember…

No. That fellow Bian Chunzhou would definitely remember.

“Lost again?”

Lin Congcong’s master was a late-stage Nascent Soul Realm True Lord. Like Lin Congcong, he possessed a single earth spiritual root. He was easygoing by nature and only a little over four hundred years old. Back in his day, he had also been a genius who dominated the Prodigy Ranking while still in the Nascent Soul Realm.

It could be said that his advancement into the Soul Transformation Realm was only a matter of time.

Lin Congcong was his first disciple, so naturally, he taught him with particular care. Originally, he had not intended to accept any disciples while still in the Nascent Soul Realm. However, disciples with a single earth spiritual root were extraordinarily rare. Since one had appeared during this opening of the mountain gates, he naturally had to seize the opportunity before anyone else did.

There was nothing to criticize about Lin Congcong’s talent. His temperament, however, had yet to settle. Likely because he was naturally gifted and came from a good family, he possessed more arrogance toward cultivation than reverence for it.

Now that he had suffered two consecutive defeats, he had clearly taken a real blow.

But being dealt two blows while still in the Qi Refining Realm was hardly a bad thing. On the contrary, it was an excellent thing for this particular disciple.

After all, he was bound to fall into this pit sooner or later. At least falling in early would hurt less.

It was simply an unavoidable part of the path of cultivation.

“I’m sorry, Master.”

“What are you apologizing for?”

“I’ve failed your teachings. I lost again.”

“Don’t you still have one more chance?”

Lin Congcong remained dejected. A loss was a loss. It was not as though he could go back on his word.

From now on, he would not even have the nerve to mock that Bian fellow. To think he had always said such things before…

Forget it. He never wanted to see Bian Chunzhou again.

“Do you know where you lost?”

Where had he lost?

Had his cultivation or spiritual power been insufficient? Of course not.

Were his offensive methods inferior? Of course not.

Then where exactly had he lost?

“Congcong, suppose you had won. How do you think your opponent would have reacted?”

They said no one understood a person better than their enemy. Lin Congcong answered almost without thinking.

“That man has always been utterly carefree. He probably wouldn’t take it to heart at all. Besides…”

“Then why did you embark upon the path of cultivation? Was it merely to compete with your fellow disciples? Or was it for reputation and status?”

“This disciple…”

“Do not rush to answer. Some matters only slow down when hurried, while patience brings peace. Disciple, it is time you reflected upon yourself.”

Stop fixing your gaze on other people. Cultivation was the cultivation of oneself. Once one became strong enough, there would be no enemy left to fear.

His master’s voice was like an evening drum sounding over the mountains, each beat striking Lin Congcong’s heart.

The anger and frustration that had filled him instantly settled. For the first time, he truly began to examine himself.

Where exactly… had he lost?

Meanwhile, on the other side, Bian Chunzhou had also… suffered the exact same misfortune a second time.

“How could this happen?!”

Chen Zui could not think of a single comforting thing to say.

“…Why don’t you find someone to divine your fortune?”

“…Look on the bright side. You still have one more chance.” Wen Xu’s consolation was remarkably brief.

“That’s right! You still get to fight another five matches!” Just thinking about it made Chen Zui feel energized. How wonderful.

Bian Chunzhou stared at his own hands.

“No! This isn’t about whether I have five matches left! The problem is, I finally managed to beat that Lin fellow, only to randomly draw the very last peak Qi Refining Realm senior brother who hadn’t yet advanced to the finals. Is there any hope left for my luck?!”

A person could not, at the very least should not…

“How is this a preliminary round? I’m clearly fighting every match like it’s the final!”

Chen Zui and Wen Xu: …They could not argue with that.

Bian Chunzhou spent some time sniffling miserably, but two days later, he revived at full strength. Miraculously, his luck finally turned around—though in reality, all the high-level Qi Refining Realm disciples had already advanced—and he won five matches in a single streak.

The moment he secured a place in the finals, Bian Chunzhou nearly burst into tears on the arena.

“My treat! I absolutely have to take you two out for a meal!”

The two who had originally intended to refuse: …All right, then.

As the saying went, benefits should never flow into an outsider’s field. Since Bian Chunzhou was treating them to a meal, his first choice was naturally his own establishment—the Shared Cup Tavern.

It was worth mentioning that business at the Shared Cup Tavern had recently been genuinely excellent. Now that operations were running smoothly, Boss Bian could finally be considered to have escaped poverty and begun marching toward prosperity.

His current profits were already enough to support his monthly extravagance on talisman crafting, with enough left over to save a considerable sum of spirit stones.

“Come on, come on! Cheers!”

Smiling, Wen Xu finished the fizzy fruit juice in his cup. The flavor was truly unique.

According to Chunzhou, he had worked with a senior brother from Artifact Refining Peak to make a low-grade first-rank artifact that infused fruit juice with bubbles. The spiritual power from a single low-grade spirit stone could keep the artifact running for seven days.

“Congratulations, Chunzhou.”

“Hehe. I wonder whether that Lin Congcong fellow managed to win. I heard that after he returned to the mountain that day, his master gave him a vicious scolding. Just thinking about it feels satisfying.”

Chen Zui: …He did not really understand. Better to eat.

The hotpot was as delicious as ever, and the restaurant now offered a much wider variety of ingredients. By the end of the meal, all three of them had eaten until their stomachs were round.

Ever since the fish-stealing incident, the shopkeeper had become somewhat paranoid. As a result, he had grown even stricter about checking the ingredients. This had unexpectedly improved the food quality at the Shared Cup Tavern and attracted many wealthy merchants to purchase membership cards.

With the novelty of having a cultivator as the owner, those people showed absolutely no hesitation when buying memberships.

Boss Bian had even begun considering opening a second branch. After some thought, however, he dismissed the idea. He did not have enough time at present, and the ingredient supply could not keep up.

Besides, rarity increased value. He had to ensure there was only one Shared Cup Tavern in each city.

He could wait until his cultivation was higher before opening another branch. At worst, once customer traffic increased, he could rent the two neighboring shops and expand the current restaurant.

“Why would you think that way?” Wen Xu did not understand. “If you merely want to expand the restaurant, I can help you.”

Bian Chunzhou: ???

“A spatial array. Like the inn we stayed at before the mountain examination.”

Realization dawned on Bian Chunzhou.

“That’s right! I… just haven’t adjusted my way of thinking yet. Hehe. But wouldn’t using an array be too expensive? No, I’ll make another project proposal when the time comes and discuss it with you properly.”

Wen Xuxu was a shareholder anyway. There was absolutely nothing wrong with making a shareholder contribute some effort.

“But you’re already about to learn spatial arrays? Didn’t they say techniques involving spatial structures require cultivation at or above the Foundation Establishment Realm?”

Wen Xu shook his head.

“I haven’t learned them yet, but I should… be able to, right?”

…As expected of Wen the Study Maniac.

Bian Chunzhou gave him a thumbs-up.

“According to the current schedule, the arena matches below the Foundation Establishment Realm will end in another three days. After that comes the division below the Golden Core Realm. Chen Zuizui, are you really going to participate?”

Chen Zui nodded.

“Of course. I never lie.”

“When the time comes, Wen Xuxu and I will cheer you on!”

When the two of them had registered, Wen Xu had still been in seclusion. Hearing this now, he looked up in surprise.

“You can register for both divisions at once?”

“Yes. I went with him to register that day, and it looked like all the peak Qi Refining Realm disciples had entered the competition below the Golden Core Realm too.”

As expected, Bian Chunzhou was extraordinarily well-informed.

“I heard that in previous tournaments, some peak Qi Refining Realm disciples encountered an opportunity during their matches and advanced into the Foundation Establishment Realm. Of course, that’s only something I heard from someone else.”

Wen Xu suddenly felt a little regretful. Had he known, he would have registered as well, even though he was only at the peak of the eighth level of Qi Refining.

“You aren’t thinking about entering too, are you?”

Bian Chunzhou leaned dramatically backward.

“No.”

Wen Xu denied it without hesitation.

Bian Chunzhou: …Really? I don’t believe you.

After eating hotpot, Boss Bian checked the accounts while he was there. Then he decided to visit Cultivation Street.

He had no choice. After fighting seven consecutive matches, he had used far more talismans than expected and needed to purchase materials to replenish his stock.

For a talisman cultivator, having less than two catties of talismans in one’s storage pouch simply did not provide any sense of security.

Bian Chunzhou purchased materials frequently and had long since become acquainted with several shopkeepers. He quickly finished buying what he needed, then wandered around casually and could not resist purchasing a few pretty but useless trinkets.

“Ah, I never expected Senior Sister Jiang to perish just like that. What a pity. Is Eldest Senior Brother still blaming himself?”

Senior Sister Jiang?

Bian Chunzhou stopped in his tracks.

He turned his head to look.

Oh. They were not disciples of Yonglu Mountain.

That had scared him half to death.

“Chen Zuizui, do you recognize which sect they belong to?”

Chen Zui shook his head.

“Probably a small sect somewhere within the Yonglu Mountain Range. I’ve never seen them before. Do you know them?”

“No. I’ll find someone and ask around.”

The clerk at the talisman shop was an excellent source of information. Sure enough, he knew the answer.

“Those immortals from just now? They’re disciples of Yunxia Sect. Their sect master is a Nascent Soul Realm True Lord who has purchased talisman paper from our shop before.”

If even their sect master was only in the Nascent Soul Realm, then it truly was a small sect.

Even Bian Chunzhou, as well-informed as he was, had never heard of Yunxia Sect. However, the words he had overheard—“Senior Sister Jiang perished”—continued to bother him.

Obtaining information about a small sect was not easy. Bian Chunzhou spent a few spirit stones and soon managed to uncover the situation.

“It really was Senior Sister Jiang Ying’s elder sister, Jiang Baozhu! She actually joined Yunxia Sect. Some time ago, she was severely injured, and even her spiritual root was damaged. But why did those disciples just say she had perished?”

Could it be that something had happened to the Jiang family’s eldest daughter, causing the Jiang parents to change their attitude toward Senior Sister Jiang Ying so quickly?

But that did not make sense.

If her biological elder sister had truly died, why had Senior Sister Jiang Ying not requested leave to descend the mountain and attend the funeral?

After listening to Bian Chunzhou’s entire analysis, Wen Xu focused on something else.

“Compared to everything you just mentioned, I’m more curious about the fact that both Jiang sisters possess spiritual roots. Don’t you think the probability of that is unusually high?”

Chen Zui: …What are the two of you analyzing? This is so boring. I want to go back to the mountain and practice my saber.

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