Chapter 296 - 205: Bountiful Harvest

Chapter 296: Chapter 205: Bountiful Harvest

However, while he might have wanted to find Xie Yuan, Xie Yuan had already vanished without a trace. How could he possibly find the Sword Sect Outer Sect disciple, Zhang Mountain, who had already slipped away back to Cloud Mountain?

Though it was winter, streams still wound through the Cloud Mountain Outer Sect, their waters murmuring. The air was moist and the grass like a green carpet—a world away from the bitter cold and harsh sandstorms of the northern frontiers.

Finally back in the Sect, the young disciples let out a collective sigh of relief, and only then did the exhaustion flood their senses.

Though their recent string of adventures hadn’t lasted very long, it had felt like a prolonged, arduous ordeal. At last, it was over.

Li Xingtuo and Lu Pei were sympathetic. This was, after all, supposed to be their first trial as Outer Sect disciples. Yet, the trouble had escalated to the point where Li Xingtuo himself had to intervene and pull them out of an ancient ruin. Among the many ancient ruins, the Slaughter Tower was rare for its mystique and significance, though fortunately, it wasn’t one of the most dangerous.

Their first mission away from the mountain had turned into such a fiasco; they must be mentally exhausted. Li Xingtuo told them to go rest, and that they would talk later. Besides, he had already learned the gist of what happened during their journey back.

As if a great weight had been lifted, they all exchanged simple goodbyes. Huang Zifeng still wanted to say a few more words to Lin Zhen, but the junior sister walked off without a single backward glance. He was left with his hand outstretched behind her, the words "Rest well, Junior Sister" caught in his throat. He dejectedly lowered his arm and departed in solitude.

Everyone returned to their own quarters. Although Lin Cheng was tired, he was also unusually excited:

"Junior Brother Zhang, I really never expected this trial to turn out like this!"

"Indeed. And we have that vile fiend, Lu the Third, to thank for it," Xie Yuan said with a chuckle.

A glint flashed in Lin Cheng’s eyes as he clapped his hands and said:

"Talk about suffering a double loss! Not only did his plan to take the ruins for himself go up in smoke, but he gained nothing and even lost his son and many of his best bandits! HAHAHA, so satisfying, so satisfying! The wicked always get their comeuppance! No! The wicked get their comeuppance from Master Xie!"

Xie Yuan nodded.

"Making enemies’ plans fail, seeing their schemes come to nothing, and leaving them to pound their chests in frustration... yes, that Xie Yuan is an expert at that sort of thing."

"Well said! Ah, it’s just a shame Master Xie is so elusive, appearing and disappearing like a phantom. I have no idea where he’s gone. Otherwise, I would insist on treating him to a feast and raising a proper toast to him—I’d down a huge cup!"

Lin Cheng clapped his hands with a sigh. This one trip had added a touch of heroic swagger to his scholarly demeanor. Looking at him, Xie Yuan could already see a resemblance to his father.

Xie Yuan smiled.

"If you can’t treat Master Xie, why not treat me instead? It’s the same thing."

"Hahaha, alright! I’ll go ask the kitchen to add a couple of dishes for us. Let’s celebrate!"

Lin Cheng laughed heartily and rushed out to the Outer Sect dining hall. When the chef heard that they had just returned from their trial, been through a great battle, and were even personally escorted back by the Sect Leader, he gave them some face and whipped up a few stir-fries for Lin Cheng to carry back.

The two of them had been subsisting on dry rations for who knows how long. Finally getting to eat a hot meal, they dug in with relish.

Lin Cheng wolfed down his food, talking with his mouth full, completely disregarding his image as a scholar:

"Junior Brother Zhang, your performance on this trip was truly impressive!"

"You flatter me, Senior Brother Lin. It was your performance that was truly admirable," Xie Yuan replied casually.

Lin Cheng put down his chopsticks and said seriously:

"I’m being serious. Junior Brother Zhang, your Swordsmanship seemed to evolve with every fight. They say combat is the best way to break through, but the speed at which you’re doing it is just too fast! Right now, your mastery of the Cloud Mountain Sword Form is probably on par with most of our peers in the Outer Sect.

"And your decisive judgment in the face of trouble was nothing like the usual honest and simple-minded Junior Brother Zhang! After a few battles, it’s like you’ve become a completely different person. Do you think..."

Lin Cheng paused, making Xie Yuan look up at him as he continued:

"Are you one of those people with a natural-born constitution for combat, the kind that’s most suited for fighting and improves the fastest!"

Xie Yuan chuckled.

"How would I know? But aren’t you the same, Senior Brother Lin? You had an epiphany while fighting those bandits, and you seem to get stronger when faced with a tougher opponent. You’re probably about to break through to the Fourth Training even without using any of our rewards... and speaking of rewards, our haul was incredibly bountiful."

At the mention of their haul, Lin Cheng’s eyes lit up:

"You’re right. My gains this time, besides broadening my horizons by leaving the sect—especially getting to experience an ancient ruin, which I doubt many of our senior brothers and sisters have ever done;

"On top of that, there’s the combat and killing. I feel I can handle that now. I’ve gained a lot of insight into my own reactions and explosive power when facing an enemy. I’m no longer that useless scholar who didn’t even have the strength to truss a chicken;

"And second, there are all these rewards! We have so many Blood Dragon Pills alone, not to mention the Purifying Spirit Pills. I feel like I won’t be able to use them all before my Qi and Blood transforms! With so many treasures, we can’t use them all ourselves. We can turn them in to the Sect for a lot of contribution points, and our standing within the Sect will improve too. Hehe, I have a feeling that this time, we might even be able to enter the Inner Sect directly, right? After all, the Sect Leader himself said we performed well. And..."

Lin Cheng lowered his voice, his eyes gleaming:

"Do you think we might get a chance to visit Sword Peak? After all, from what Senior Brother Qin was saying, it sounded like our contributions were enough to earn us a trip."

A glint flashed in Xie Yuan’s eyes as he replied:

"Who knows? It would be for the best if we could."

Whether he entered the Inner Sect or not, he wasn’t particularly eager. However, if he could go to Sword Peak to meditate and gain insights, Xie Yuan would be more than willing—he was, in fact, greatly looking forward to it.

’My Black Celestial Book needs a full 500 points for its next advancement. Given how troublesome it is to go back and forth to the sword grotto, and how slowly the book’s progress bar fills, I have no idea how long it’ll take to break through.’