Chapter 4: Four-Colored Immortal Spirit Flower, Suppressing the Mountain Sea Sect!
Editor: Atlas Studios
"Dammit!"
The smile on Chen Huiran's face vanished. He didn't have to look up to know who that cursed voice belonged to.
Su'en!
"Where did you get the guts to show your face here?"
Chen Huiran looked in the direction of the voice and saw a young man in a white robe flying over under the sunlight.
"Senior is still so handsome!"
The eyes of the female Dao Sect disciples were filled with anticipation. The key to Su'en's status as the most senior disciple of the Dao Sect, besides being the first of them to arrive and his hard work, was his good looks. Although he wasn't the most handsome man in the world, his appearance was still well above average.
Ye Lingyun relaxed a little when she saw Su'en appear, but she was still worried. After all, Chen Huiran had already broken through to the Crystallization Realm, whereas her senior, too, was still at the Foundation Establishment Realm.
"No wonder when I was cultivating today, I suddenly smelled this disgusting stench that caused me to lose my concentration. So it was you, Chen Huiran," Su'en announced, smiling broadly.
"Bastard!" Chen Huiran wanted to retort, but then he imagined engaging Su'en in a battle of wits, and promptly gave up.
"Su'en, I'm sure you understand why we came here today. There's no need for further words between us." Chen Huiran clasped his hands together. "Our requests are reasonable. Firstly, hand over that Four-Colored Immortal Spirit Flower. Secondly, you beat up many of our disciples from the Mountain Sea Sect yesterday. The Dao Sect must apologize, and compensate us with medication!" He pointed at the injured disciples beside him.
"Impossible. We picked that Four-Colored Immortal Spirit Flower first. The Mountain Sea Sect only chanced upon it later!" Heated protests rose from the Daoist disciples. "Plus, the Mountain Sea Sect attacked us first yesterday. It's not our fault we won!"
"That's right!"
"Shame on you!"
"How dare you talk back?"
Chen Huiran's voice resounded through the square, and his Crystallization aura surged out and filled the vicinity. Silence dawned abruptly as everyone was stunned into fear.
Except for Su'en.
An early-stage Crystallization aura had no effect on him.
"What is your choice, Su'en?" Chen Huiran looked at Su'en, his eyes full of contempt and mockery. He was deliberately showing off his cultivation level to inspire panic in the other disciple. But what puzzled him was that Su'en was still wearing that obnoxious smile of his.
What was going on? Why wasn't Su'en affected by his power? He was clearly only in the Foundation Establishment Realm–how was that possible?
Chen Huiran wondered if Su'en had also broken through to the Crystallization Realm, but he quickly gave up on the idea. Su'en's talent was even worse than his. He had only been able to break through because he had encountered a strange treasure on his way out. He didn't believe that Su'en had encountered it too. He sneered inwardly, certain that Su'en was just putting up a brave front.
"You can have the Four-Colored Immortal Spirit Flower, and an apology from us," Su'en said, as the air seemed to thicken.
The Daoist disciples stared at him, wide-eyed with disbelief. They did not expect the most senior of them to be so cowardly as to choose to submit. If they backed down today, it would mark the end of the Dao Sect in the Heavenly Domain. Ye Lingyun also frowned at Su'en.
"Look who's finally eating humble pie," Chen Huiran laughed, gratified. He had never forgotten his defeat at the hands of Su'en back then. Finally, he had gotten his revenge!
"On a few conditions," Su'en added, pulling Chen Huiran out of his celebration.
"What conditions?" Chen Huiran asked, confused.
"Get down on your knees, take what we give you, and apologize." Su'en's smile never wavered.
As soon as he said this, both the disciples of the Dao Sect and the Mountain Sea Sect widened their eyes. They hadn't expected Su'en to demand such a humiliating act from his rivals.
Chen Huiran was stunned. Then his face darkened and he demanded, "Is this a joke?"
"Weren't you the ones who tried to play the fool with us first?" Su'en's smile vanished, his expression turning cold.
"BOOM!"
A terrifying aura surged out of Su'en's body and descended upon the Mountain Sea Sect like a storm.
"You're only in the early stages of Crystallization, and you think you can throw your weight around the Dao Sect?"
A sound like thunder filled the square.
"I-impossible!"
Sensing his aura, Chen Huiran's face turned pale, and his eyes were filled with disbelief. Late-stage Crystallization! Su'en had broken through to the late-stages of Crystallization. How was that possible? Was he dreaming?
"You arrived so cockily today, let me send you crawling back out!" Su'en's voice was icy, and he said no more.
A tidal wave of True Qi emerged from his fingertips and condensed. A massive shadow in the shape of a golden sword shot towards Chen Huiran.
The Mountain Sea Realm had paid them such a huge insult–how could he show any mercy? He had to teach them a lesson, so they wouldn't dare trifle with the Dao Sect again.
Looking at the giant shadow sword, Chen Huiran was left with no room for doubt. Only True Qi in the late-stages of the Crystallization Realm could be of such a size.
"Mountain Rock Technique!"
The shadow sword closed in on him. Not daring to underestimate his opponent, Chen Huiran hurriedly resorted to the sect's cultivation technique. He was burly to begin with, but he became as indestructible as a rock after using this technique. If both parties were evenly matched in their respective realms, Su'en would have trouble breaking through his opponent's defenses. After all, the martial arts prowess of the two sects were similar. However, his Crystallization was currently far more advanced than Chen Huiran's.
A crack split the air as the shadow sword made contact with Chen Huiran.
The rocks shielding Chen Huiran's body shattered without any resistance.
Chen Huiran spat out blood as if he had suffered a heavy blow. His thickset body was sent flying and rolled several times on the ground before coming to a halt.
"Senior!"
The disciples of the Mountain Sea Sect were all shocked. They did not expect their senior to be defeated in one move–and so devastatingly at that!
"He's seriously wounded, but he'll live. Take this as a lesson to remember," Su'en declared coldly.
The disciples of the Mountain Sea Sect hurriedly picked up Chen Huiran's body from the ground and left in a sorry state. They were no longer as imposing as when they had first entered.
"Senior, you're amazing!"
The disciples of the Dao Sect had been shocked into silence at Chen Huiran's crushing defeat, and their senses finally returned to them. Their faces were flushed with excitement. They had thought that they would suffer humiliation at the hands of the Mountain Sea Sect. Little had they expected that their senior would give Chen Huiran such a beating that he vomited blood.
They had truly unleashed their anger today. Next time, the disciples of the Mountain Sea Sect wouldn't be half as cocky around them!
Chapter 5: New System Function: Opportunity Guidance!
Editor: Atlas Studios
"Senior!"
Ye Lingyun was stunned; the sudden turn of events had gotten her a little flustered. If she remembered correctly, two months ago, her senior had only been in the late stages of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Could it be that he had been hiding his strength?
"Is everything okay?"
Su'en's usual gentle smile returned–a stark contrast to his earlier icy demeanor–and his tone was full of concern.
"I'm fine." Ye Lingyun shook herself out of her daze. "Things didn't come to blows until after you arrived."
"Good to know." Su'en smiled and nodded.
"Senior, this is the Four-Colored Immortal Spirit Flower we found yesterday!"
While they were talking, a female disciple had approached them, holding a magical-looking flower of four different colors. Even though its spiritual properties were currently absent, its scent lingered, leaving a soothing effect.
As one of the main ingredients for refining fourth-grade or even fifth-grade medicinal pills, the Four-Colored Immortal Spirit Flower could also be used to feed magical beasts. Apart from increasing one's closeness to said beasts, the flower could also assist in cultivation. Nobles in the Heavenly Domain would fight to the death for possession of the Four-Colored Immortal Spirit Flower, let alone in the heavens themselves.
"Senior, if you hadn't been around today, we would have lost the flower to them. It's only right that we give it to you." Blushing, the girl put the flower in Su'en's hand and dashed off.
"Huh?" For a moment, Su'en was dumbstruck. He hadn't expected the other disciples to give him such a precious Immortal Spirit Flower. His gaze fell on the flower, his mind racing with the various opportunities it presented.
Although it had been gifted to him, this was a Four-Colored Immortal Spirit Flower. Coughing, Su'en walked up to the female disciple and returned the flower to her palm.
"I appreciate your kindness, but you don't have to give the flower to me. This Four-Colored Immortal Spirit Flower is useless to me, except for stabilizing my mind during cultivation. Keep it for yourselves. If you can't use it, you can go to a more prestigious sect to exchange it for cultivation resources. It's better to use it on yourselves than on me. Besides, you were the ones who discovered the flower and got into a fight over it. How can I just claim it for myself?"
The disciples appeared touched by Su'en's speech. Their senior was too kind–what had they done to deserve him?
Ye Lingyun was startled. This flower wasn't just any ordinary Immortal Spirit Flower; it was four-coloured. Even if Su'en couldn't use it, simply setting aside and inhaling its fragrance daily would work wonders on one's body and mind. It would be a great boon to one's cultivation. However, he had refused their offer outright.
It reminded her of what had happened two months ago in the Sect Master's hall, when Su'en had given her the Foundation Establishment Pill.
"So such selfless people really do exist."
Ye Lingyun looked at Su'en through new lenses. Bathed by the sun rays, he seemed even gentler and kinder.
[Ding!]
[The transfer has succeeded!]
[Tenfold Critical Compensation activated!]
[Seven-Colored Immortal Spirit Flower obtained!]
The system's voice sounded in Su'en's head, to his confusion.
The compensation was different from last time. He had thought that a tenfold Critical Compensation meant ten Four-Colored Immortal Spirit Flowers.
Understanding dawned on him as he glimpsed the instructions of the system: The quality of the spiritual flower had been increased, as a form of compensation.
So that was how it worked!
Put simply, the medicinal effect of more than ten Four-Colored Immortal Spirit Flowers was similar to that of a seven-colored one. And the system had chosen to provide him with the latter.
Of course, Su'en had the option to receive ten Four-Colored Immortal Spirit Flowers, which he could give to others. But he wouldn't gain any Critical Compensation that way. So why would he do such a thing? Not unless a worthy candidate presented themselves in the future, that is.
[Ding! New function successfully activated: Opportunity Guidance!]
The system's voice sounded again.
"Opportunity Guidance?"
Curious, Su'en checked the function.
How it worked was that if an opportunity existed within 30,000 feet of him, the system would prompt him towards it. This function would expand as the number of opportunities Su'en stumbled upon increased.
Su'en had calmed down; now he became excited again. To actively seek out and be nudged towards new opportunities? It was defying the limits of mortal power!
It was already considered amazing luck for the average person to chance upon an opportunity. Even Su'en himself–not counting the Foundation Establishment Pill his master had given him–had only ever encountered Immortal Spirit Grass. Before he had the system on his side, luck had never once bestowed an opportunity onto him. If he could really locate and search for opportunities, then the probability of him encountering them would increase substantially!
"What are you thinking of, Senior?"
The disciple's voice in his ear yanked Su'en back to reality.
"Nothing, just about what to do moving forward," he replied, smiling. He looked at the disciples gathered around the square and spoke. "The Mountain Sea Sect won't be bothering us anymore. Go back to your cultivation!"
"Of course." The disciples bowed and left one after another.
When most of them had gone, Su'en looked at Ye Lingyun and beamed. "If you encounter any difficulties in your cultivation in the future, feel free to come find me." Although Ye Lingyun was highly talented and a fast learner, he had joined the Dao Sect ten years before her, and had a far deeper understanding of some Daoist martial arts than her.
"Understood. Thank you, Senior!" Ye Lingyun nodded.
"You're welcome. This is my duty as a senior, nothing more. You've already reached the late stages of the Foundation Establishment Realm, right? You should strive to break through to the Crystallization Realm as soon as possible!" Su'en shook his head–Ye Lingyun's current realm was visible to him–and offered further encouragement.
"Thank you, Senior!" Ye Lingyun bowed and left.
Watching her retreating figure, Su'en couldn't help but feel a dash of envy at her natural talent. He had entered the sect ten years earlier, but Ye Lingyun had caught up to him in the Foundation Establishment Realm in just a few years.
"Unsurprisingly, cultivation talent wins once again."
Su'en sighed, but then he recalled that he had the system helping him, and that his rate of improvement in cultivation was no longer inferior to that of prodigies like his junior. It gave him some small comfort. He looked away and turned to leave too.
Right now, he was eager to test the system's new function to see if there were any opportunities left behind by others in the sect.
Afterwards, he could give these opportunities to others and obtain even greater ones in return.
-- Gift
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