Chapter 60: Deception
“The handwriting is exactly the same?” The refined young man was greatly shocked.
He had initially thought that the text on the third page was left by some senior, but he didn’t expect it to be written by his senior brother.
Based on his blind admiration for Chu Huaixu, he became even more convinced that this was an peerless divine ability!
—Would Senior Brother lie to me?
Xu Ziqing had his own logic for his deductions:
“Senior Brother is clearly not an ordinary registered disciple.”
“Even the Sixth Elder comes to the bamboo hut for private talks with him.”
“How could the Cultivation Technique he cultivates not have a master oversee it?”
The refined young man understood, realizing that effort yields reward.
The greater the difficulty, the more it highlights its power.
“How can a divine ability be mastered easily and quickly?” Xu Ziqing felt there was no such thing as a free lunch.
—To practice this technique, one must first endure pain!
“This is the price I must pay! But it is insignificant compared to the deep-seated hatred I hold.” The refined young man clenched his fists tightly.
Keep practicing! Keep practicing! Keep practicing!
If you’re bad, practice more!
Xu Ziqing, appearing possessed, began circulating his energy repeatedly. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged towards him, relentlessly pounding and refining his physical body.
Later on, he wasn’t even sleeping; rather, the accumulated pain and fatigue caused his vision to go black.
The east turned white, and the sun began to rise.
Chu Huaixu woke up early.
Back on Earth, due to his profession, he often worked until late at night.
His life was almost reversed, often suffering from lack of sleep because he had to adhere to his bosses’ schedules.
Fortunately, he was always optimistic, comforting himself: “The lifespan lost from consistently staying up late, I’ve made up for by gaining time through staying up late. Staying up late increases time in youth and decreases time in old age, it’s incredibly cost-effective!”
After transmigrating, he had started to sleep and wake up early.
To his surprise, Han Shuangjiang had already prepared a delicious breakfast, but Xu Ziqing had not yet woken up.
Chu Huaixu, with a displeased expression, went to knock on his door: “Get up!”
The refined young man jolted awake, realizing he was late.
He opened the door and heard Chu Huaixu say, “This is your first day not being a menial laborer, and you’re already oversleeping?”
“Senior Brother, I was wrong.” Xu Ziqing lowered his head in shame, his attitude sincere, not trying to argue.
Chu Huaixu sized him up, then glanced at his neatly made bed. He had some suspicions.
He didn’t say much more than to tell him to wash up and come out to eat.
At the dining table, Chu Huaixu said to Han Shuangjiang, “I successfully opened another Meridian last night.”
—Big Ice Block, don’t you like to compete? I’ll out-compete you to death.
Han Shuangjiang took a sip of hot porridge, raised her eyes, and calmly said, “I also successfully opened a Meridian.”
—That was close, thankfully I opened a Meridian, otherwise I would have fallen behind that sly fox again.
Xu Ziqing listened to his senior brother and sister’s conversation, and judging by their tone, opening Meridians seemed as casual as chatting over a meal.
He began to bury his head in his porridge, his head sinking lower and lower, feeling the gap between people.
Chu Huaixu turned to look at him and said irritably, “What are you doing, burying your head so low? Planning to wash your face with porridge?”
The refined young man immediately straightened up upon hearing this.
“You were practicing until very late last night, weren’t you?” Chu Huaixu asked.
“Yes.” Xu Ziqing dared not lie to him.
“You endured it all and didn’t cry out?” He was somewhat surprised.
“I was afraid of disturbing your rest.” The young man was honest, not trying to curry favor.
“You fainted from the pain in the end?” Chu Huaixu guessed, he understood the Sword Refining Art far too well.
Hearing this, Xu Ziqing nodded somewhat sheepishly, feeling utterly embarrassed.
“It’s okay, this is very normal,” Chu Huaixu said.
Han Shuangjiang sat beside them, and the usually aloof her actually let out an “Mm” at this moment, which could be considered encouragement for her junior brother.
She clearly remembered the heart-wrenching screams that echoed from the adjacent bamboo hut on her first night of entering the Daoist Sect. Didn’t this sly fox also faint from the pain?
However, the cold-faced girl did not expose his past, nor did she say any more.
She merely thought to herself, “Why would he still pass on this wicked Cultivation Technique to Junior Brother Xu?”
She always felt that this sly fox had a rather dark heart.
However, after that intimate moment in the water during the third trial of the Secret Realm, she had personally witnessed the power of the Sword Refining Art.
Therefore, it was somewhat justifiable.
After the three of them finished breakfast, the former menial laborer was still responsible for clearing the dishes.
After finishing all the chores, he returned to his room to continue cultivating, enduring the pain.
Whether it was due to the immense hatred in his heart or because he was a person of great perseverance, the refined young man was truly harsh on himself.
He forcibly circulated his energy once, then curled up on the futon in pain. After his body adapted, he continued to practice, repeating this process.
Today, Xu Ziqing once again realized his own mediocrity.
“Senior Brother and Senior Sister Han can open a single Meridian in a day.”
“And judging by this pace, it might take me ten days to half a month?”
“Perhaps even longer.”
For a False Spiritual Embryo that must rely on Body Refining methods to stimulate the absorption of Meridian-Opening Pill’s efficacy, long-term cultivation was indeed an ordeal.
The morning passed quickly. After lunch, Xu Ziqing washed the dishes and returned to his room to practice again.
As he practiced, he could no longer bear the strain. His vision suddenly went black, accompanied by a ringing in his ears, followed by dizziness, and he fainted again.
The refined young man lay on the ground, unconscious, his face deathly pale, his body twitching uncontrollably.
When he slowly woke up, more than an hour had passed.
Xu Ziqing supported himself, got up from the ground, and sat cross-legged on the futon again.
Tears suddenly streamed down his face, unstoppable.
After all, he was still a young man. Although he had diligently practiced martial arts since childhood, he had never endured such torment.
This was not practicing cultivation; it was clearly being abused.
What’s more, because he was so refined in his features, his crying had a strong sense of fragility.
After crying for a long time, the young man wiped away his tears, sniffled, calmed his emotions, and began to actively circulate his energy again.
But his Meridians remained blocked, showing no change.
This feeling was the most despairing.
Xu Ziqing was too dejected, his eyes still a little red.
He suddenly remembered the brocade pouch his senior brother had given him, and the words his senior brother had said.
—”When you feel like you’re making no progress, open the second one.”
The refined young man’s left hand trembled slightly as he took out the second brocade pouch from his怀, hoping that his senior brother’s message would help him.
The first brocade pouch said: “If you’re bad, practice more.”
As a junior brother, he obediently followed, practicing day and night.
After opening the second brocade pouch, Xu Ziqing’s hands trembled even more as he read the words on it.
It read:
“I lied to you, practicing more won’t make you any better!”
Xu Ziqing gradually began to tremble all over, even feeling a chill.
His spine grew cold!
After all, he was still a youth. No matter how much he revered Chu Huaixu, seeing this message after putting in so much effort would still stir anger within him.
He was a person, a person with emotions!
But deep down, he had pride.
Weren’t most people in the world like this in their youth? Everyone thought they were extraordinary as children.
—Know that the ambition to reach for the clouds in youth once promised to be the best in the human world!
Moreover, when Xu Ziqing was at home, he was a martial arts prodigy, so how could he not be proud?
Father had said, I am the most talented Sword Dao prodigy in the history of the Xu family!
A sense of defiance was completely ignited within him.
He suddenly had endless fighting spirit!
“I may not be a cultivation prodigy, but I also cannot be a good-for-nothing! I cannot disgrace my Xu family name!” The refined young man clenched his fists tightly, his fingernails digging into his flesh.
Xu Ziqing began to cultivate again.
He circulated his energy for two cycles, and then forcefully persisted.
Just as he was preparing to continue cultivating, the sound of knocking came from outside the door.
Chu Huaixu, who seemed to have a lack of humanity, stood outside waiting for him to open the door.
When the door opened, Xu Ziqing still respectfully called out, “Senior Brother.”
He gave me the opportunity to cultivate. Even if he’s playing games with me, I will respect him for a lifetime, remembering this kindness.
The tall Chu Huaixu stepped over the shorter figure, his gaze falling on the table, seeing that he had already opened the second brocade pouch.
Xu Ziqing also noticed his gaze. Although his senior brother was being a nuisance, he inexplicably felt a little embarrassed at this moment.
“I thought you would open the second brocade pouch tomorrow at the earliest,” Chu Huaixu said nonchalantly.
But his words seemed to carry a hint of mockery.
It was as if he was saying: You can’t take it anymore so soon?
The refined young man lowered his head, gritting his teeth, feeling humiliated, his entire face flushing red.
But what he said was the truth.
“Oh dear, your face is red, and your eyes are red too,” Chu Huaixu even chuckled.
“Don’t play these games with me,” Chu Huaixu said coldly, but he tossed something over: “Catch.”
Xu Ziqing almost failed to catch it, and looked down at his palm.
It was a fragment of a jade token, a fragment of the Pill King’s Token.
“Let’s go, I’ll take you somewhere,” Chu Huaixu said.
