The Aftermath and a New Revelation

Early on the morning three days later, Lin Tian returned to Mount Mufu. Taking advantage of the sparse crowd, he jogged back to his lodging.

The storage pouch felt unsafe no matter where he kept it. Remembering that Wu Yuan had buried something behind his house, Lin Tian decided to follow suit.

He buried the pouch behind his own dwelling, covering it with a layer of yellow earth until no traces remained before he felt reassured enough to leave.

He pulled out a pile of inner disciple identity tokens, still stained with blood. He could almost envision the elders, their faces grim, interrogating him relentlessly.

“Alas… this is truly troublesome. I suppose I should report it first…”

The Affairs Building, the largest structure on Mount Mufu, was where tasks were assigned, missions posted, and bounties claimed.

Along the way, many disciples eyed him curiously. The building’s entrance was thronged with outer disciples, who typically collected missions and performed miscellaneous chores daily.

Upon seeing Lin Tian, clad in his white robe, approach, they respectfully made way. Inner disciples always held priority.

“Hey! Why are you cutting in line?!”

A familiar voice drifted over. Lin Tian turned to see Zhang Yu, dressed in a gray robe. His face bore several new scars, clear evidence of the bullying he had endured recently.

He had not intended to meddle, but then someone nearby shoved Zhang Yu. His short, scrawny frame tumbled to the ground, landing at Lin Tian’s feet.

“Ouch, ouch, ouch…”

The onlookers revelled in his misfortune, expecting him to be summarily kicked away for falling before an inner disciple.

“Are you alright?” Lin Tian lifted him with a single motion, leaving the surrounding outer disciples dumbfounded.

“Damn it! That kid got lucky! I want to fall too!”

To be shown concern by such a lovely inner disciple—it would be worth dying for!

Indeed, several people then deliberately plopped themselves down in front of him, crying out in pain. Three or four collapsed in quick succession.

“Uh… what exactly are you doing?” Lin Tian’s eyelid twitched.

“Hey! What are you few doing?! Get up now!” The managing elder roared, his temper frayed. They dared not remain prone any longer, quickly forming a neat line. The scene instantly grew much quieter.

Zhang Yu had not recognized him. His gaze remained fixed, utterly stunned. He had never imagined such a gentle inner disciple existed. He was usually bullied everywhere he went; only Luo Tian had ever helped him. In that moment, Lin Tian became his goddess.

“Greetings, Elder.” Lin Tian approached the window designated for inner disciples.

“Oh? Little girl, why have I never seen you before?” The elder scrutinized him.

“This disciple has only just joined the sect. This is my first visit.”

The outer disciples around them quieted, secretly listening. Was there truly such an adorable girl among the newly initiated disciples?

“Are you here to accept a mission?” the elder inquired.

“No, a few days ago, my senior brothers and I journeyed to Mount Qingyun. The bandit stronghold has been cleared.”

“Mount Qingyun? I recall that was a mission taken by Jiang Yu and his group. They must be the ones to claim the reward. The merit points involved are substantial, and I cannot disburse them to you.”

“Elder, Jiang Yu and the others—all twenty-three inner disciples—perished in battle. Only this one managed to escape by sheer luck.”

The elder’s eyes widened. After a moment, he said, “Nonsense! Those disciples were all elites; they’ve eliminated many bandits before. How could they all have perished?

I suspect you’re not even a disciple of this sect! Guards, seize this girl!”

“Indeed, we’ve never seen this disciple before…”

“Is he an infiltrator?”

Mutterings rose and fell amongst the crowd.

“Clang!”

Lin Tian, too weary to explain further, simply tossed the inner disciple tokens onto the table. Traces of blood still clung to them.

“This…” The elder hastily snatched up the tokens to examine them. They were, without a doubt, inner disciple tokens.

“And this is mine,” Lin Tian added, handing over his own token for verification.

****

“Young man, come with me.”

The elder, flustered, grabbed the tokens and rushed out. This direction… led to the main hall.

Upon reaching the pavilion, the elder loudly called for the sect master.

“Elder Xu, why are you in such a panic?” The sect master emerged from a small room.

After hearing the detailed account, the sect master’s expression turned grim, and he began to question Lin Tian.

Lin Tian recounted the events truthfully, though he prudently omitted any mention of the storage pouch or the Qi Gathering Art.

“To think you encountered a cultivator!”

Upon hearing the full story, neither of them expressed blame. Confronting a cultivator left one with no choice but to accept their fate.

“Alright, you may both withdraw. Issue the merit points to this disciple. As for the others, tidy up their residences and prepare an explanation for their families…” The sect master’s eyes were dim, and he slumped into his chair, listless.

Three thousand merit points—originally a reward for an entire group—were now claimed solely by Lin Tian. Coupled with the ingots from the cave, he could now be considered incredibly wealthy.

Emerging from the Affairs Building, he did not rush to retrieve Wu Yuan’s belongings. The deceased’s possessions would be reclaimed, and it would be problematic if a dug-up pit was discovered behind his house.

“Eh?! Yingkong!”

He encountered Luo Tao and the stout young man on the way to the dormitories.

“You, are you Luo Tian?” the stout young man stammered, his face flushing as he recalled their past training sessions together.

“How was the mission? Were you hurt anywhere?” Luo Tao meticulously examined him.

He would undoubtedly grumble for a long time if he told him he was the sole survivor.

“I’m fine. I’m just a little tired from traveling all night.”

“Oh, oh, then hurry back and rest…”

****

“Stout young man, why are you spacing out?! Let’s go.”

“Luo Tian is a girl! Why didn’t you tell me sooner? I was so strict with them during training; they won’t hold a grudge against me, will they?”

“Probably. So violent; what kind of girl would like that?”

“Brother Luo Tao, I’ll pay for the drinks this month. How about introducing me to your sister?”

“Get lost…”

****

Returning to his lodging, Lin Tian collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep.

The sect master had suppressed the incident on Mount Qingyun, so not many people knew the full story.

Lin Tian slept until midnight. By then, all the other disciples were resting, and he went alone to the hot springs for a bath.

On his way, he saw a figure hurrying down with a wooden basin. The person also noticed Lin Tian and quickly walked around him.

“Zhang Yu?”

He froze, surprised. “Senior Brother knows me?”

“I am Luo Tian.”

“You, you’re Brother Luo Tian?” Though he knew he was a girl, he hadn’t expected him to be so lovely. No wonder he had reached out to help him that morning…

“Why are you carrying a basin of water in the middle of the night?”

“Uh… I, I’m taking it back to wash my feet… I’ll be going now…” Zhang Yu left in a hurry, leaving Lin Tian with a question mark above his head. He wondered why he would carry water back to wash his feet when he was already at the hot springs.

****

“Hoo~”

The hot springs could dispel fatigue and even heal minor injuries. He somewhat regretted not having experienced them in his previous life.

Soaking in the water, he circulated a minor cycle of Qi. He found that the speed of Qi gathering here was much faster, and the acupoints in his abdomen throbbed erratically.

This was undoubtedly a good thing, likely due to the abundant spiritual energy on the mountaintop, making Qi gathering twice as effective with half the effort.

He lost track of time while soaking, only getting up to dress when the sky began to lighten. He had almost over-soaked to the point of exhaustion.

The cool morning air enveloped him, but having just emerged from the springs, he felt no chill. As he inhaled a breath of fresh air, the minor cycle of Qi began to circulate automatically.

Lin Tian’s heart swelled with joy. He could now circulate Qi simply by breathing—this meant the major cycle was complete! In other words, he was gathering Qi constantly, every moment!

The spiritual energy in his Dantian accumulated more and more. Although some was still dissipating, it was far outpaced by the rate of increase.

He did not rush back, but continued to climb towards the mountaintop. It was somewhat cold at higher altitudes, with dew and mist everywhere, yet the spiritual energy concentration was several times greater than below!

If he were to detonate a grenade here, its power might be even greater!

At the summit, there was a dilapidated small pavilion, its origins unknown. Finding no one else around, he walked into the pavilion, sat cross-legged, and devoted himself to practicing the Qi Gathering Art.