Chapter 192: Chapter 166: Grandmaster Dies Three Years Later

Chu Huaixu’s idea was this simple:

Blah blah blah, whatever! I’ll just go and crush that so-called Origin Spirit Realm—problem solved!

Actually, he had a pretty good impression of Xiang Yan and this batch of Daoist Sect higher-ups.

Earlier, when he took the protagonist script from Xu Ziqing, they probably mistook him for the chosen Sword Attendant candidate.

After Chu Huaixu climbed the mountain, he didn’t remove that sword, even carved that line on the Gentleman Stele—yet Xiang Yan and the rest put zero pressure on him, not even an extra word.

“Rescue Profound Yellow, save all sentient beings—none of that ever got mentioned by the Sect Leader or any of the elders.”

“See, told you! All kinds of people, each with their own quirks, but everyone talks it out? Really?”

“Guess the stress monster hasn’t returned to the sect yet!” he thought to himself.

Chu Huaixu could tell, his Junior Martial Uncle really didn’t seem to like him.

As for him, he’s always simple—if you don’t like me, then I absolutely won’t like you either.

Besides, he couldn’t shake the feeling the other guy had that ’dad vibes, old fossil’ aura.

Which just made things even harder to get along.

Of course, Chu Huaixu also understood, in a major sect, obviously someone has to be the bad cop, someone the good cop—totally makes sense.

It’s just, he knew his Little Housekeeper and his Xiaoxu really well.

“Big Ice Cube is super competitive, and among competitive folks, there’s usually plenty of internal friction.”

“Don’t even get me started on Xiaoxu—sincere to a fault, seriously got the heart of a child.”

“With a normal ’Borrowed Sword’ script, it’s the stress monster who’d be pressing these two.”

“These two are extremely easy to put pressure on, honestly…”

Just picturing that made Chu Huaixu, as the family head, uncomfortable.

And after he finished talking, the main hall fell into a brief dead silence.

Even Xiang Yan and the others seemed swept up by the spirit radiating off this young man.

——Whatever cause, I’ll shoulder it all!

Even Jiang Zhi looking at Chu Huaixu found himself at a rare loss for words.

In the end, he just said coldly, “Then you’d better really settle this matter.”

Chu Huaixu didn’t make any grand pledges, though; instead, he curiously asked, “May I ask, if I defeat the Heir of Prince Rui, when should I set off to the Secret Realm?”

When Xiang Yan heard that, his look toward him grew more and more approving.

“He knows to ask about prep time—shows he’s not just all talk. He’s got the guts, vision, and reliability!” the Sect Leader thought.

He answered as the representative, “After the East and West Continent Leader Competition ends, you’ll have exactly thirty days.”

“Plenty,” Chu Huaixu said.

His attitude couldn’t be clearer.

You said I’m only at like seventy, eighty percent of Bronze Sword level?

Well, in these thirty days, I’ll boost my strength up myself!

If it were any normal First Realm Ninth Heaven guy saying stuff like this, nobody here would believe a word.

But Chu Huaixu is odd—he can keep squeezing out upgrades even in bottleneck stages.

He stalls at his current realm, refuses to break into the Second Realm, yet still finds ways to grow stronger.

“What’s there to be scared of? Is my cheat not broken enough yet?” Chu Huaixu wasn’t fazed.

The Great Elder Lu Pan, who’d been silent all this time, finally stepped in to smooth things over.

As the Law Enforcement Elder, he already looked intimidatingly severe.

“Very well. But for now, your number one priority is prepping for the final match.”

“Junior Sister Nangong and I will get to work re-refining that Jade Pendant, then hand it to you.”

“Yes, thank you both, Elders,” Chu Huaixu replied.

Sitting beside Lu Pan was the Daoist Sect’s Second Elder, named Tai Tingbai.

His looks and vibe were totally like some farmhand, though his name didn’t fit at all.

The Second Elder, following the Great Elder’s topic, asked aloud, “Chu Huaixu, after becoming Leader of the East Continent, you could claim a Seventh Grade Spirit Pill from the Treasure Pavilion—why didn’t you cash it in?”

“Is it because the Treasure Pavilion’s pills don’t suit your needs?”

“If so, I can make the Spirit Pill you want myself.” said the Alchemy Grandmaster.

Clearly, facing the [Origin Spirit Realm], the Daoist Sect folks were doing everything they could to help.

Since Chu Huaixu is still in the First Realm, honestly, support he can accept is pretty limited.

Only within what’s allowed, do their best for him.

On hearing this, Chu Huaixu said, “Actually, I haven’t decided which kind of Spirit Pill to redeem.”

“True enough, you are only First Realm, and most pills are useless, while something like the Profound Celestial Fetal Breath Pill, which alters root bone and fate itself, is most ideal.”

“Too bad that even those pills, most First Realm cultivators can’t take safely.”

“If you want my advice, I think the [Meridian Opening and Spirit Connecting Pill] is worth considering.”

“It’ll help boost your future cultivation, letting you absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi faster and train more efficiently. Also, when you run dry on spiritual power, you’ll recover much faster,” Tai Tingbai said.

They wanted Chu Huaixu to use all the resources given as soon as possible.

Though he can’t break through yet, the [Meridian Opening and Spirit Connecting Pill]’s main power won’t show, but one day he will break through anyway.

Plus, just the spiritual power recovery speed alone will help at least a bit in real combat.

Little did they know, for Chu Huaixu, this pill’s cost-effectiveness was way too low.

“I don’t rely on sitting in meditation to break through—I only ’AFK’ grind that way when I’m bored. I just level up through my system.”

“So the main effect does nothing for me—only the mana recovery is mildly useful,” he thought.

Now he’d just gotten 2 points in [Gathering Spirit], and his mana recovery stat at First Realm was already maxed out, almost secret-tech level.

He’d rather save the ultra-precious Seventh Grade Spirit Pill for later.

Once all the business was taken care of, the Daoist Sect’s higher-ups let Chu Huaixu go back and immerse himself in cultivation.

Chu Yinyin escorted him.

The Dead Fox looked at the old girl and asked, “Second Master, does Head Master know I won the East Continent Leader title?”

“Probably? I’m not sure, though; we’ve all been busy these days, and no one’s had time to visit the Purple Bamboo Forest,” Chu Yinyin replied.

“How about you swing by there on the way—let me report the good news?” Chu Huaixu said seriously.

“After all, it was thanks to Second and Head Master that I nabbed the leader’s title so smoothly!”

Sure enough, Chu Yinyin instantly turned into a little embryo, mouth tugging up so far it was nearly at her ears.

“Aiya, I already told you, you’ll only get accepted as a True Disciple once your realm rises high enough to enter the Inner Sect—so both Masters can formally take you in,” she tried to hide her smile, but failed, turning into a living meme.

“But you’re right, some good news is in order.”

Soon she took Chu Huaixu flying to the Purple Bamboo Forest.

That slender-backed Daoist Nun still sat high atop the giant stone.

By now Chu Huaixu knew: that woman who pounded him a million times in the Sword Domain was, in fact, a stutterer.

He respectfully said, “Master, your disciple has claimed the East Continent Leader title, and comes to share the joy!”

The Daoist Nun atop the stone nodded ever so slightly in reply.

The Dead Fox saw the stutterer wasn’t talking, so pretended she hadn’t heard—repeated himself, still perfectly respectful.

“K-kn-know… got it,” Shen Man replied.

Chu Huaixu: Satisfaction.

For some reason, just thinking that the slender, otherworldly, outrageously strong woman was a stutterer—he just couldn’t help wanting to tease her, found it hilariously delightful.

But the Dead Fox knew how to keep it within bounds.

Seeing the Daoist Nun silent again, he bowed, “Then this disciple will take his leave for now.”

Chu Huaixu’s idea was simple—even if Jiang Zhi actually became his Grandmaster someday, so what?

I’m sticking with my stutterer Master, not with him; being close to the Daoist Nun is all I need.

Anyway, that old fossil loves to go down the mountain to slay demons, obsessed with it—hardly ever around.

Why wouldn’t I want to cling to Shen Man’s thigh?

But on the way back, Chu Huaixu suddenly remembered something.

“Shen Man overcame her bottleneck in the year 1992 of the Xuan Calendar, then died in 1993.”

“Three years later, her light was snuffed out—what was the reason?”

“Could that be related to the Heaven and Earth Cataclysm too?” Chu Huaixu wondered.

Actually, he still hadn’t figured out what the so-called Heaven and Earth Cataclysm really was.

But most likely once he enters the [Origin Spirit Realm], he’ll get the answer.

….

….

Back at the bamboo hut, Chu Huaixu said goodbye to Chu Yinyin.

The old girl, before leaving, still remembered to cheer him on.

“Chu Huaixu, when you’re on Daoist Sect turf, you’d better give that Heir of Prince Rui a good lesson, make sure he knows East Continent’s got bite—I believe in you!”

“Got it!” he promised instantly.

When he got back to his room, he sat cross-legged on the mat.

Then pulled up his quest interface to check his main mission, [Origin Spirit Realm], for specifics.

Turned out, all it said was “To Be Unlocked,” didn’t spill a single detail.

“So, I gotta wrap up the prerequisite quest [East and West Continent Competition] before I get any access, huh?” Chu Huaixu was speechless.

Basically, they’re forcing me to thrash that Heir of Prince Rui, aren’t they?

This [organization] mole placed in Daoist Sect literally hadn’t made a move for West Continent or Moon Country at all.

From his perspective, [organization] can’t even trigger [Faction Quests], so it’s totally useless.

In the otherworld, making a living meant Chu Huaixu needed to go full cheat mode.

With that thought, his gaze fell back on his main quest, [East and West Continent Competition].

Now, only the final tier of reward remained locked.

And its riches were exactly what gave Chu Huaixu confidence for [Origin Spirit Realm]!

“100,000 Experience Points, 1 Random Special Attribute Point, 1 Free Special Attribute Point, and 1 Spiritual Embryo Attribute!”

…

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