Lying Low in the Martial World to Become a Saint

The scent of sandalwood wafted through the Wutai Sect’s Affairs Department.

Shen Xiuyong sat beside a desk, humming a little tune. His fingers clacked away on an abacus, a clear sign he was in a good mood.

Chen Qing pushed the door open and entered. "Elder Shen, this disciple has come to repay the debt for the Thunder Fire Bombs."

Shen Xiuyong put down his abacus and sized up Chen Qing with great interest. "Well, well. Struck it rich, have we, kid? You scraped it all together this quickly? Let me have a look..."

His eyes swept over Chen Qing, and his formerly languid gaze suddenly sharpened. "Tsk, tsk! Incredible! You kid... you’re at the Mid-stage of Embracing Pill Power?!"

Shen Xiuyong circled halfway around Chen Qing as if seeing him for the first time. "How long has it been? Just a little over two months since you got back from Nine Waves Island, right?"

Chen Qing bowed slightly. "It was just a lucky breakthrough. I’m embarrassed."

"Don’t you try to beat around the bush with me."

Shen Xiuyong waved his hand. "Thirty-three thousand, wasn’t it? Hand it over, hand it over! I happen to be a bit tight on cash lately."

Chen Qing cleared his throat. "Elder Shen, this disciple risked life and limb on Nine Waves Island just to scrape together these meager savings. The Thunder Fire Bombs are excellent, but I haven’t even touched them. Do you think... you could round down the thirty-three thousand taels to an even thirty thousand?"

"Round it down?!"

Shen Xiuyong’s eyes widened. "In your dreams, kid! Those Thunder Fire Bombs are a premium product from Crimson Flame Valley! The enhanced version! Eleven thousand taels each, an honest price for all! And you want to round it down? Do you have any idea what I went through to get these three back in Fengle Prefecture...?"

Seeing where this was going, Chen Qing quickly interjected, his tone sincere, "This disciple naturally knows how precious they are. It’s just that I’m a bit short on cash and will need to purchase Elixirs to consolidate my Realm. How about... thirty-one thousand five hundred taels? I’ll keep the remaining one thousand five hundred in mind and will be sure to make it up to you in the future."

Shen Xiuyong looked at Chen Qing’s earnest yet calculating expression and was both exasperated and amused.

He stroked his chin, his eyes darting around for a moment before he finally waved his hand dismissively. "Fine, fine! I’ll let it slide since we’ve worked together."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing took a stack of silver notes from his robes.

He snatched the thirty-one thousand five hundred taels in silver notes and deftly stuffed them into his robes.

Having paid off his debt, Chen Qing felt a weight lift from his shoulders.

After spending thirty-one thousand five hundred taels of silver, he still had seventy to eighty thousand left.

Shen Xiuyong tucked the silver notes into his robes and looked Chen Qing up and down. "Mid-stage Embracing Pill. Among that bunch in the Cyan Wood Institute, your Cultivation is now top-notch."

Chen Qing said humbly, "You flatter me, Elder. It was a lucky breakthrough. My foundation is still shallow, so I must continue to practice diligently."

"Shallow foundation?"

Shen Xiuyong scoffed. "If your foundation was shallow, how could you have broken through to the Middle Stage so quickly? Stop beating around the bush. I think you, kid, have a shot at competing for the position of Chief Disciple of the Cyan Wood Institute."

’Chief Disciple?’ The thought stirred in Chen Qing’s mind.

Luo Xinyi and Xu Qi were like fire and water in their fight for the position of Chief Disciple.

He knew, of course, that this position represented the highest honor and authority among the institute’s disciples, but he wasn’t familiar with the specific benefits.

Shen Xiuyong counted on his fingers. "The benefits of being Chief Disciple are huge! First of all, your status is different. Within the Sect, your standing is comparable to that of an ordinary Elder, so your words carry much more weight."

"Second, the preferential allocation of Sect resources is a tangible benefit. You get priority supply of Elixirs, Secret Manuals, and Treasure Artifacts, with a share far exceeding that of ordinary disciples."

He paused before continuing, "Most importantly, you gain the qualification to enter the Sect’s true core secret grounds! Like the Langya Pavilion! You know that new acting Chief of the Li Fire Institute, Li Wang, right? The moment that kid took the position, he was immediately approved to enter the Langya Pavilion to cultivate for half a month!"

"The Langya Pavilion?"

The name wasn’t unfamiliar to Chen Qing, but he didn’t know the details. He only knew it was an extremely important Cultivation Holy Land for the Sect, located in the core area of Lake Heart Island, which ordinary disciples had no chance of entering.

"A bit out of the loop, aren’t you?"

Shen Xiuyong said with a smile, "The Langya Pavilion is one of the Sect’s three great secret grounds! You’ve heard of the Fourth Layer of the Tingchao Armory, right? And you know about the Lake Heart Pool? The Langya Pavilion is just as famous as them! Inside its most central Quiet Chamber, there’s ’Earth Core Milk’ that gathers the essence of Heaven and Earth!"

"Earth Core Milk?" Chen Qing’s eyes lit up.

"That’s right!"

Shen Xiuyong licked his lips. "Ten-year Earth Core Milk vaporizes into a mist that fills the entire Quiet Chamber. If you’re inside, you absorb the purest Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi. The effect is several times stronger than your bitter training outside."

"Do you know how much a single drop of ten-year Earth Core Milk costs on the black market? One thousand taels of silver! And that’s with a price but no supply! If you cultivate for one day in a Quiet Chamber in the Langya Pavilion, how many drops is that equivalent to absorbing? The speed of that Cultivation..."

He continued, "And that’s just the ten-year version! I’ve heard that deep within the pavilion, there’s even more precious Centennial Earth Core Milk. That stuff contains a profound creative power. A single drop can perform Bone Marrow Cleansing, providing immense benefits to your Root Bone aptitude. But even a Chief Disciple can’t get access to that stuff easily."

Shen Xiuyong’s words deeply stirred Chen Qing’s heart.

The preferential resources, the elevated status, the right to enter secret grounds... especially the Langya Pavilion, which actually had an Earth Core Milk Mist that could accelerate one’s Cultivation several times over.

This was exactly what he needed most right now.

Not to mention the miraculous effects the legendary Centennial Earth Core Milk had on one’s Root Bone.

Chen Qing couldn’t help but ask, "So, ordinary disciples have no chance to cultivate in the Langya Pavilion?"

"They do, but they have to pay a fee."

Shen Xiuyong replied, "Including food and drink, one day costs at least one thousand taels of silver. That’s not something the average person can afford."

"You could go cultivate in there a few times to see the effect for yourself. I think you’ll get hooked."