Cultivation: From Poor Peasant to Celestial Lord

As they descended the stairs from the second floor of the dining hall, the wooden steps let out a faint creak, as if narrating the divide between the heavens and the mortal realm.

Jiang Kuo walked at the very front, clearly in high spirits. He fanned himself lightly with a folding fan, his steps brisk and full of energy.

"Brother Chu, I’m not just bragging, but the ’Cyan Shadow Deer Flesh’ on the second floor of this dining hall is truly something else. It cost me three Daoist Merits, but that feeling of Spiritual Power sliding down your throat... tsk tsk, it’s way better than chugging those bitter medicinal powders, isn’t it?"

Jiang Kuo glanced back with a sly grin, winking at Zhou Tong and Chen Shi. "You two better step it up. If you can make it into the top hundred in the semi-annual competition, your families will surely be able to send you a little extra."

While picking his teeth, Zhou Tong lamented, "Brother Jiang is right. After that meal, I can feel the Magical Power in my body has become much more active. It’s just too expensive, way too expensive..."

Chu Bai trailed half a step behind, silently observing the operation of the [Nourishing and Exquisite] Fate Chart within him. The energy from the Spiritual Cuisine barely lingered in his body, instead converting into pure Spiritual Power with astonishing efficiency.

He was about to speak when his casual glance fell upon a long bench near the door, and his eyes froze.

In a corner not far away, a familiar figure was sitting alone.

The young man wore the standard bluish-gray uniform issued by the Daoist School. Though it was washed clean, it couldn’t hide his desolate air.

It was Li Han from Class Two.

Just then, Li Han also noticed the commotion at the entrance. He looked up, his gaze meeting that of Chu Bai’s group of four as they came down from the second floor.

In that instant, Chu Bai clearly saw a flash of flustered shame in Li Han’s eyes, along with a jealousy that was hidden deep within.

Li Han quickly lowered his head, his bamboo chopsticks poking aimlessly at the food in his bowl, but he didn’t take another bite.

Jiang Kuo saw Li Han too. He snorted coldly and said in a low voice, "Isn’t that the guy who sold out our Brother Chu just to suck up to Dong Feng? What, Dong Feng didn’t invite him upstairs for a nice meal?"

Chu Bai’s expression was indifferent, as if he had merely seen a common pebble on the side of the road. He didn’t break his stride, heading straight for the exit.

Since he had already seen the man’s true character, he had no intention of wasting any more emotion.

For him, there were too many passersby on the path of cultivation; there was no need to dwell on someone who was already out of the picture.

However, just as Chu Bai was about to step over the threshold,

"Brother Chu! Brother Chu, please wait!"

In the end, Li Han couldn’t hold back. He shot to his feet, chased after them, and blocked Chu Bai’s path in full view of everyone.

Chu Bai stopped, his expression still calm, his gaze as cold and still as a pool of stagnant water. "Is there something you need, Brother Li?"

Li Han’s face flushed bright red, and fine beads of sweat even appeared on his forehead. He looked at Chu Bai’s impassive face, opened his mouth, and said in a somewhat hoarse voice, "Brother Chu, about what happened before... I’ve owed you an explanation."

"Go on," Chu Bai said indifferently.

Li Han took a deep breath, his tone growing urgent, even tinged with a self-pitying sense of grievance. "Brother Chu, you don’t understand. Life hasn’t been easy for me after joining Class Two. Dong Feng and his group not only have prominent family backgrounds, but they also ranked high in the Prefecture City Daoist School’s entrance exams.

They look down on commoner students like us from the County, right down to their very bones."

"In that class, if I didn’t try to get ahead, I would just be trampled under their feet.

At the time... at the time, I just wanted to get closer to them. I thought that if I brought up your title as the ’Top Scholar of Anping,’ Brother Chu, they would at least think more highly of me for the sake of us being from the same hometown.

I truly never expected that it would instead provoke Dong Feng’s arrogant competitiveness and end up causing trouble for you, Brother Chu."

His words were earnest, and as he reached the emotional part of his speech, he even cupped his hands in a salute. "Brother Chu, I only did it to survive in Class Two, and so that I could one day give back to our fellow students from Anping. I had no choice but to resort to such a measure. I hope you won’t hold it against me, for old times’ sake."

As he finished speaking, many of the surrounding students who were eating cast curious glances their way.

"Hah."

A cold sneer shattered the pitiful atmosphere Li Han had tried to create.

Jiang Kuo took half a step forward, pointed at Li Han’s nose, and sneered, "Fellow student, that’s quite a spectacular story you’ve spun. I, Jiang Kuo, have been in the Prefecture City for many years and have seen all sorts of shameless scoundrels, but you truly rank among the best of them."

Li Han’s expression changed. "What do you mean by that?"

"What do I mean?" Jiang Kuo’s lips curled into a sneer. "You say you used Brother Chu as a shield just to get a foothold in Class Two?

To put it nicely, you could call it ’taking pride’ in a fellow townsman. To put it bluntly, it’s called shifting the blame! Do you think Dong Feng is an idiot? You sold out all the details on Brother Chu simply to offer a pledge of allegiance in exchange for a ticket into their circle."

"Besides, if you hadn’t been stirring up trouble, would the mere title of Top Scholar have been enough to provoke him?"

"What a pity. It seems Dong Feng didn’t appreciate your ’sincerity.’"

Jiang Kuo gestured at Li Han. "Is this the ’respect’ you’ve earned? What, is your so-called competitiveness all about selling out your own townsman, then turning around and claiming you did it for everyone’s sake?"

"You!" Li Han’s sore spot had been hit. His face paled and flushed, and the facade of feigned grievance he had put up instantly crumbled.

He turned his head and stared intently at Chu Bai, asking with a final shred of hope, "Chu Bai, is that what you think of me too?"

Chu Bai watched him quietly.

In that moment, Li Han had become completely insignificant in Chu Bai’s eyes.

During this time, Chu Bai had barely given the previous incident any thought; he didn’t much care.

The two of them had never been particularly close. Their paths had crossed for the sake of their studies, but unfortunately, they were not destined to be true companions on the Way.

A person like Li Han was too clever—so clever he thought everyone else in the world was a fool. He wanted to hedge his bets, trying to curry favor with the Noble Family Descendants while also maintaining his reputation among his fellow townsmen. Unfortunately, he had underestimated Dong Feng’s arrogance, and he had also underestimated Chu Bai’s rationality.

"Brother Li, things have already come to this. Saying more is pointless."

Chu Bai finally spoke, his voice soft but carrying a chill that kept others at a distance. "You have your way of surviving. As for what happened before, I don’t intend to hold a grudge, because from that moment on, you and I have had nothing to do with each other."

"From now on in the Daoist School, if we should meet, let’s just treat each other as strangers. There’s no need for any more of these superfluous explanations."

After speaking, Chu Bai gave Li Han no further chance to talk. He turned and strode out into the cold late-autumn wind.

Jiang Kuo made a face at Li Han, spat quietly on the ground, and followed after him.

Li Han stood frozen at the dining hall entrance, watching their four figures recede into the distance. He could feel the pointing and judging stares of the people around him like steel needles stabbing into his back.