The orange robed youth that had planned to trick Shin Sumi was left speechless.
"Did this red robed trash just disappear like that? How does she have the ability to go even faster than me?!"
Hon Zi had been in the sect for quite some time, about two years now, having entered when he was fourteen, but that was the first time he had seen something like that.
He was about to open his passageways, putting him directly in the right track for breaking through to the Liquid Realm. Although he couldn't be compared to the likes of other orange robed disciples like Xiao Yue or even Chu Erlong, how could he be left in the dirt by a red robed piece of trash?!
Not wanting to lose face in front of the group of older red robed disciples that still looked at him, he spoke loudly before leaping towards the jungle.
"Go ahead Junior Sister!! I will cover you from behind!"
Thankfully for him, from where the group was standing, next to the stone building that made the side of the gates, they weren't able to see more than the first jump of Shin Sumi.
He was leaping through the outskirt of the woods, meters with each step. No matter where he looked at though, no trace of the young girl could be seen.
A few dozen meters behind him, Liu Qing had arrived. She too had been looking at the focused Shin Sumi moments before.
But when even an orange talented disciple like Hong Zi had lost her track, the weak Liu Qing had no chance of finding Shin Sumi.
Hong Zi saw Liu Qing, pondering for a moment why the girl had followed them. He didn't go near her though, he even waited for her to leave. First of all because he couldn't go back now, as the group of red robed disciples were still in the vicinity of the gates.
Secondly because his shame of having lost Shin Sumi had cut all the lust that usually filled his body.
Thirdly because just like many disciples, he was terribly scared of Chu Erlong and knew that Liu Qing was her close follower.
Unaware that two people were trying to track her, Shin Sumi was advancing swiftly through the forest.
She still hadn't reached the limit for red robed disciples and thus still dared to not be too careful.
Thinking about it, Shin Sumi realized how much she had been relying on the nut since her arrival in the sect. For every step of the way, the nut had always warned her about potential danger, to the point where Shin Sumi knew perfectly what every kind of bite meant.
"That is my problem for now. I have to get experience for myself! Or else the sword may never recognize me."
Without even knowing when, she had become completely certain that it was what she needed to do in order to get the sword to cut.
Thinking back to her interaction with the mysterious 'Elder Xi', it all made sense.
She kept jumping for half an hour, advancing rapidly through the dense woods. She only stopped when she was certain she had reached at least the orange border.
Now she had to be more careful. From experience she knew that soon she would enter the zone of the training grounds that made up the swamp.
After opening her passageways and with her body that had been unknowingly refined through the use of countless high grade spirit stones, Shin Sumi was only moderately out of breath after almost an hour of leaping around.
For the first time she was testing her limits and she felt proud about it.
She was smiling to herself, her mind swirling with thoughts and possibilities when a loud noise erupted in the distance.
It sounded like an explosion, followed by shouts.
"Disciples!"
Although Shin Sumi was confident enough to go against the first part of the jungle, she didn't know how she would compare to other disciples.
The sad reality of the training grounds was that although they were part of the sect, they didn't qualify as sect grounds. Hence the high rate of mugging and sometimes even killing that occurred when disciples fought each other.
Shin Sumi wanted to get away quickly in order to not be discovered. She even thought about popping a Confusion Pill il her mouth, taking the appearance of Yan Yan.
Nobody disliked Yan Yan, compared to a nameless disciple like herself. Yan Yan had a better chance of getting out of an altercation freely.
She didn't take out a pill though. She was running low on her stock as the disciple that usually sold them ran out recently. She had even wondered why that could have been.
The image of 'Elder Xi' coupled with Lan Hui telling her that no such Elder existed in the sect quickly formed in her head before she dissipated the thought quickly.
"Maybe somebody was impersonating an Elder by using a Confusion Pill. But now is not the time to think about it. I have to leave quickly!"
She ran in what she believed to be the opposite direction of the loud bang and the shouts. Her rush and her theory about the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword both altering her mind, she didn't even pay attention to the nut's warnings.
The dense forest was tricky and the sound had bounced off the trees in many directions before getting to her ears. She was going directly towards the true origin of the noise.
A blast of light inundated her as she stumbled onto a clearing, right after a wall of leaves.
In front of her stood three disciples, holding another one that seemed to be in bad shape. Further away, a dried up corpse was peeking out of the surface of the swamp.
A tree trunk fallen to the side was still burning from small white flames producing a strangely intense heat.
Shin Sumi stumbled upon the scene just as the fallen disciple was rendered unconscious by a vicious kick.
Silence.
The three disciples that were in their twenties turned to look at Shin Sumi simultaneously.
In the short lapse of time that the four conscious people looked at each other, Shin Sumi recognized the insignia on the left chest of the three people.
"The Affairs Pavilion insignia" she thought. "Lan Hui has the same. They must be working for Elder Zhu."
She didn't have time to think further about what had turned the clearing into a battle scene as one of the three guys acted.
He was the oldest of the bunch and clearly the leader. Waving his arm dramatically at her, he shouted "CATCH HER!"
Shin Sumi should have leapt backwards and ran to safety, but the strangeness of the scene and her confusion allowed the two other disciples to quickly surround her, cutting off the possibility of retreat.
"Sister, you shouldn't have been here to day. It has nothing to do with you but you've seen too much" said the leader.
"Yeah, the boss doesn't want any witnesses" said another, behind Shin Sumi to the left.
"We don't want Elder Zhu to be mad, trust me it's not a good sight!" completed the third one, at Shin Sumi's right hand side.
"Chao Ru, you dumb piece of sh*t !!!" erupted the leader. "Why don't you say everything while you're at it?! Just say what we came here to do!"
Chao Ru, oblivious to the tone of his furious leader, started: "We are disposing of the co-"
"CHAO RUUUUU!!!" The leader was enraged. "That was a figure of speech!! If you and I weren't blood brothers, I would ..."
Shin Sumi couldn't believe her ears. How thick were these guys?! She wanted to point out how she had already figured who they were working for earlier. Really, they shouldn't wear the insignia that clearly stated "we are directly under the command of Elder Zhu of the Affairs Pavilion".
Of course the thought didn't get through her lips. Although the guys were arguing and Chao Ru was sure to get a good beating after that, they were still closing in on her.
The three guys were older than Shin Sumi, with frames like a bear's. They were still Honorary Disciples at their age but they clearly had experience to compensate for their lack of talent.
Elder Zhu wouldn't have chosen them for this kind of job if he didn't trust their results.
Shin Sumi's heart was beating fast. So fast that the 'boom boom' reverberated in her ears so loudly that it seemed to eclipse everything.
She was trapped, unable to escape, unable to think.
Out of sheer instinct, her hand flashed across her bag of holding. The dull light disappearing, the now familiar shape of the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword became visible in her hand.
Its weight was uncomfortable, putting Shin Sumi off-balance.
All three of her opponents looked at the sword with a surprised expression that quickly went away. They all thought "what is that piece of junk" and regained their seriousness.
It wasn't the time to talk anymore, they had to silence Shin Sumi quickly, just like they had the other guy now burnt and unconscious. If they delayed too much, they were taking the risk of having even more disciples stumbling onto the scene.
One of the three, the one who didn't seem to share familiar bonds with the others, took out a few paper talismans from his bag of holding.
The leader of the group took out a short dagger that looked about a thousand times sharper than Shin Sumi's Gold Tyrant Flying Sword.
The last one simply rolled his shoulder muscles. He was the youngest of the three but the bulkiest, and gave the impression that he could crush Shin Sumi's skull with just one hand.
In a split second, they all attacked. It showed that they had been working together for quite a long time, their coordination being on point. Thankfully Shin Sumi had good reflexes and evaded the first salvo.
She jumped sideways towards the guy with the paper talismans. Her first instinct had been to get away from the sharp dagger and the bulging muscles.
Whiiiiish.
A paper talisman flew in a straight line past her shoulder. Pure luck was the reason why their trajectories hadn't intersected.
It was the first time Shin Sumi had witnessed let alone heard about the use of paper talismans in a fight. The only example she had was Jun Qian the yellow robed disciple and his speed talisman. Other than that she had no idea what they could be used for.
The talisman flew fast and reached a nearby tree. A deafening explosion of white flames occured. Anyone who had blinked would have missed the impact.
Shin Sumi didn't allow herself to be startled as she wasn't out of danger at all, and refused to think about what might have occured, had she not evaded the talisman.
The tree fell on to its side, water from the swamp splashing and half extinguishing the white flames.
The heart in Shin Sumi's chest was beating furiously fast. She was on the verge of losing it and relied only on instinct. She wanted to cry, to apologize, to run away, to abandon the Immortal world.
She never asked for all that! She had gone to the training grounds simply for that, training. A life or death situation was too much for her to handle.
For half an incense stick worth of time she continuously evaded the attacks of her three opponent. The boys were getting more furious by the second but she kept evading them.
Shin Sumi discovered at the same time as them how her body was unpredictably powerful and nimble. The second her feet were on the ground she was ready to leap again, evading another salvo.
But she knew she couldn't keep on doing that forever, besides every time she would try to get away from them, a paper talisman would fly out of nowhere and prevent her from leaving the area.
Shin Sumi had no idea what to do. She couldn't think straight and the only thing that went through her mind was "I am going to die here."
And then she snapped.
The change was so sudden that even she didn't realize it. At some point she simply stopped evading. Luckily the boys slowed down their attacks. When the prey had given up, what use would it be to keep on attacking?
After all she was cornered, surrounded, and even though she was fast, the three boys still believed she wasn't strong.
The fight was decided.
The first to get Shin Sumi into his reach was the youngest, Chao Ru. Mustering all his strength into one punch, he swiftly got closer to her.
As the first was about to reach her face, Shin Sumi lifted the Gold Tyran Flying Sword in front of her.
The impact made Shin Sumi jump backwards, but even more so it made Chao Ru's hand vibrate with a deep pain.
"AAAAAaaaaaah" cried the boy loudly. He held his right hand in his left. At least two of his fingers must have been broken by the impact.
The sword may have been only a dull piece of metal, but it was still stronger than any bone a Honorary Disciple had in their body.
Shin Sumi tumbled on her back. Either she didn't realize what she had done to Chao Ru, or due to the state she was in she didn't pay it any attention, but she immediately got up.
She had been projected towards the guy wielding the paper talismans.
Without a second of hesitation, Shin Sumi lifted the Gold Tyrant Flying Sword above her head and slammed it down on the poor disciple's.
All of this takes some time to describe, but since the moment Chao Ru attacked her, not one second had passed and the paper talisman disciple was floored, his ears buzzing and his consciousness on the verge of dissipating.
Shin Sumi battered him a few more times until her instinct reacted to a movement behind her.
She was like a lost animal, hungry and hurt. Instinct and survival were the only things that mattered.
Wielding the broken sword once again, she faced the third attacker.
"I'm gonna skin you alive you b*tch" said Chao Long. In his hands, the dagger turned and turned again, a proof of his dexterity.
But Shin Sumi was in no condition to analyse the movement of the blade to know from which angle he would attack. She was brandishing the bronze colored sword and swatting at the air in front of her.
It looked a bit ridiculous, this weak looking girl with a big piece of junk metal turning incoherently. The effect was working though. Due to her large movements with the heavy blade, Chao Long had no way to get close.
"WAAAAH!"
A sudden cry from deep inside Shin Sumi's throat swelled up as she jumped into offensive. It was so surprising that Chao Long couldn't even react to it.
Bonk!
His fall was maybe the most pitiful of the three. The middle of his forehead caved in as Shin Sumi bludgeonned him.
As if she wasn't aware of what she was doing, she kept hitting and crying until his head turned into a bloody pulp. Her terrified expression never left her face, distorting her mouth and eyes.
Only when all movement had stopped did she turn to the other two disciples.
The passed out paper talisman guy was jolted awake by the breaking of his leg under the massive sword, only to lose consciousness once again. He was on the verge of death when the crazed Shin Sumi turned to the third guy, Chao Ru.
Chao Ru was the first to suffer in the three-on-one fight, but also the one to suffer the less.
His hand had swelled up considerably and it would surely take weeks if not months to heal, even with Elder Zhu's medicinal assistance.
But of course that was only if he could escape his current predicament. Tears were falling down his cheeks, snot dripping from his nose and a foul smell seemed to come from under him as he tried to crawl away unnoticed.
Shin Sumi hit him square on the back of the head, her berserk attitude still not dissipating. She too was crying, although she didn't really know why. She didn't really know anything.
She was panting, one knee on the ground, propped up on the heavy sword when she regained a bit of clarity in her mind.
"What was going on?" she asked herself.
She felt incomparably exhausted, mentally and physically. Her hands were covered in blood and her arm muscles were sore.
She cried some more for an unknown period of time, curled into a ball without daring to look around her even once.
When she finally moved, it was to crawl towards the water of the swamp to wash away the blood on her hands. She still was in a state of big shock and couldn't believe what she had done.
It was only when one was at their lowest that they could find the strength to rebel like she did.
She had come out unscathed at the end, but with the price of two human lives, maybe three.
She eventually found the strength to turn around after a long time, only to vomit all the content of her stomach in the bloody mud of the swamp the next instant.
She wanted to leave, to get far away, to find the comfort of her small courtyard but her legs would not listen to her.
The little nut was releasing healing waves in the swamp water around her but with no effect. What she felt was not physical pain.
For a second she thought about Xiao Yue's words. Experience.
A dry and nervous laugh found its way through Shin Sumi's throat as she realized what experience she just acquired.
It was only a while after that a vibration in her bag of holding suddenly jolted her awake.
She took out the piece of jade with the word 'green' inscribed on it and poured some divine sense into it.
"Disciple Shin Sumi, you are requested by Elder Zhu for a private audience. Please come to the Affairs Pavilion before the end of the day."
I really enjoyed writing this chapter, I hope you enjoy reading it!
See you next week!
The message sent to her identification medallion via divine sense brought Shin Sumi back to her senses.
Suddenly her rational mind took over again, pushing the images of slaughter and her mental scars away.
"Elder Zhu wants to see me before the end of the day? Can it be that he knows I have killed his mercenaries? No, surely he wouldn't have any way of knowing that. It must be for something else."
A repulsive idea crept into her head. Shin Sumi really didn't want to resort to that, but for her own good she had to gather every piece of information she could get her hands on.
Thankfully her stomach was now completely empty, keeping her from vomiting once more when she bent over one of the corpses.
It was the leader of the group, the one she had bashed the head in so many times it now resembled nothing more than a red gory paste.
As fast as she could while looking away, Shin Sumi extracted his bag of holding from around his waist.
Without even thinking about it, she opened the not yet rigid fingers of the corpse and took the dagger he had menaced her with before.
She did the same with the other two red robed disciples with the Affairs Pavilion insignia. Her eyes distant and lost in a dark void, she discovered that the disciple adept of using paper talismans had died not long after she was done with him.
Shin Sumi hesitated whether she should hide the corpses in the muddy waters that formed the swamp or not when the other two disciples came to mind.
The three versus one battle that she had won despite all odds had lasted for about a stick of incense worth of time, and the constant movement had brought the four people across the clearing a few hundred meters away.
As she had been lost in reflections and sick to her stomach, Shin Sumi had forgotten all about what the three disciples were doing when she arrived.
First Shin Sumi went to check on the disciple that had been knocked unconscious the moment she had stumbled upon the scene.
"He is still alive" she said in a relieved breath. "Another dead body and I think I would not be able to sleep in peace for the rest of my life!"
The young man was still unconscious, having lost a lot of blood, but Shin Sumi could tell that he would wake up eventually. He was already in the Shinsoo Gathering Stage and his wounds had started recovering, although slowly.
It wasn't the time to think about performing shameful acts. Shin Sumi had already killed three people and taken their possessions, thus she ignored the voice in her head and still took the disciple's bag of holding.
"I am sorry, brother ... Jiu" she read the name on his identification medallion" but I'm sure you wouldn't mind considering this a small payment in exchange for saving your life!"
Shin Sumi was joking but with a bitter laugh.
She put the identification jade back in the folds of the disciple's robe. There was no use for it, as it was inscribed with personal information and nothing else.
Finally Shin Sumi turned her head towards the swamp waters. There was still one person to check on.
Since the beginning Shin Sumi had no delusion about the person's state. When she arrived, the corpse was already dried up and half immersed in water.
Gears slowly turning in her head she now understood what had been going on in this clearing, far from the sect's borders.
"Elder Zhu had commanded the group of three to hide the dried up corpse. Disciple Jiu walked in on them, apparently simply due to bad luck. The four of them fought until he was almost killed and about to be left to rot hidden away. I must have been alerted by the sound of their battle and I interrupted them. After that... well it's over now."
Shin Sumi didn't find any bag of holding nor identification medallion on the dried up corpse. The only thing she could tell was that the facial features were unrecognizable, the skin having been stretched across the skull as if by a vacuum inside.
A large cut was visible on the corpse's abdomen, going from the pelvis to the diaphragm. Inside the rotten skin and the frail bones, the flesh was black and some organs had been removed.
The dantian region especially had been badly damaged.
Shin Sumi had thought before that nothing could get worse but she was wrong. Upon inspecting the corpse she still found in her stomach enough bile to throw up and almost passed out from the shock of seeing a corpse in this state.
The corpse simply had a set of red disciple robes on it and nothing else. Shin Sumi understood why when she performed a closer inspection of the loot she acquired from the other disciples bags.
"Of course the Affairs Pavilion disciples have kept his stuff. His surname was Dang Chi. Quite a few status points, he wasn't too bad for a red robed disciple, as far as talent goes..."
These were only Shin Sumi's interpretations but she somehow knew there was something behind it.
When she was done around the clearing, Shin Sumi had taken every possession of every disciple, alive or dead. At this point she decided that she had nothing more to do around there.
Shin Sumi was silently thankful for Elder Zhu's request to go see him. It wasn't that she particularly wanted to, but at least she had found something to cling onto.
If there were no other pressing matters to attend to, nobody knew how long she would have stayed crying in the middle of the bloodbath she herself had created.
Taking a human life is a difficult thing to do and before that, Shin Sumi had no idea how much of a toll it could take on somebody's spirit and soul.
Storing all the different bags of holding into hers, she quietly left the scene never to return. Upon waking up, the red robed youth called Jiu would wonder what had happened but would have no way of knowing.
Hopefully he would simply be grateful for still being alive. If he was stupid enough to enquire why the three disciples he found hiding a corpse were wearing the Affairs Pavilion insignia, then all the trouble that would follow would be his to deal with.
Shin Sumi quickly made her way to the western gates of the lower valley. A lot was on her mind as she jumped through trees and bushes. The little nut swayed gently between her breasts as she moved, unneeded in this part of the woods, but still giving Shin Sumi a comforting feeling.
On her way she passed Hon Zi who was about to leave the training grounds as well. The teen with the orange robes had waited around for a full five hours and only now was about to head back to the lower valley.
He didn't see more than a red blur as Shin Sumi leapt a few meters away from him.
Liu Qing was nowhere to be seen, probably having returned to Chu Erlong to report the matters of Shin Sumi going to the Myriad Sword Pavilion before her escape through the woods.
Shin Sumi went back to her lone courtyard where she undressed quickly and washed herself in the pond. She stayed silent during the whole time, afraid to even think about what had happened. One thing was sure, she wanted to feel clean. To wash away her body and soul as much as possible.
She didn't stay idle for too long. After she had donned new red robes, she left the courtyard, locking the entrance with her identification medallion. The day was soon to be over and she had to go meet Elder Zhu at the Affairs Pavilion.
Instead of leaping meters with each step, Shin Sumi opted for a slow walk. She remembered the first time she had crossed the lower valley from the Affairs Pavilion to her courtyard.
She had been impressed by the speed of the red robed disciple that showed her the way. Now she realized that she was capable of much greater speed and efficiency.
For the first time, Shin Sumi discovered what cultivation was all about. Training to become more powerful.
As the Affairs Pavilion appeared in front of her, she imagined herself walking into the dragon's den. The only way to ensure that she would never experience that was to be stronger than anybody else.
The strong made the rules. The strong preyed on the weak. Only by becoming the strongest could she ever be free of worries.
"Disciple Shin Sumi was required for an audience with Elder Zhu" she announced to the clerk waiting inside the building.
The clerk was already well into the Shinsoo Gathering stage and was able to use a jade slip to check the information. After a nod of the head, he showed Shin Sumi the way into the building.
A few corridors further, Shin Sumi found herself in the small garden that occupied the center of the building. The aroma of medicinal plants and tea brewing wafted into her nostrils.
"Junior Shin! It is my pleasure to see you again after these long months!" a booming voice resounded from the tea drinking table.
Elder Zhu was sitting cross legged with a steaming cup in his hand. His long black beard moved as he spoke with a smile.
"Please take a seat" he ordered. His tone was gentle and warm but still contained some of the strictness that came with his position as law enforcer.
Shin Sumi sat down in front of him after a courtesy bow.
"Disciple Sumi was immersed in meditation, please don't take offence for my arriving late" she said.
"No no no, not at all. I am glad you have accommodated to the cultivation world. Tell me, Junior Shin, how far in the Shinsoo Gathering stages are you?"
As an Elder of the sect, it was normal for him to enquire about the progress of his disciples, especially the ones with incredible talent often never seen for hundreds of years on end like Shin Sumi.
If she didn't know better, she could have sworn the man only wished her progress.
"I am currently preparing for passageways opening. I want a stable foundation before trying to break through to the Liquid Realm."
"Good, good" Elder Zhu answered, "I am definitely happy to hear that. Your breakthrough will be a celebration for the Dark Sky Starry Sect. With talent such as yours, once you get to the Liquid Realm you are sure to find yourself a good master amongst the Core Development Elders. This old one simply hopes that you will not forget about him when you become one of the stars of the sect!"
His hearty laugh was sincere and for a second Shin Sumi started to doubt everything that happened in the last few months. Elder Zhu definitely didn't appear to be someone who could cold heartedly place deathly traps to steal a disciple's talent, or who would ask his servants to hide young bodies for him.
Shin Sumi remained careful though. Someone as experienced as him was bound to have acquired acting skills that defied common sense and interpretation.
"Disciple Shin, on behalf of the sect I have to ask you something."
Suddenly, his tone changed, and a look of concern appeared on his face.
"Tomorrow everything will be made public for all Honorary Disciples but since you have a special status here, I was put in charge to deliver the news. You definitely have to postpone your breakthrough by at least a month."
"???!" Shin Sumi was taken by surprise by this announcement. She waited for more information from Elder Zhu as the man seemed like he wasn't done.
"In a month's time, all Honorary Disciples that have started Shinsoo Gathering will get the opportunity to participate in the Rising Star Tournament. This is something that hasn't occurred for the last hundred years, it is a rare chance to train in a very special place of the sect."
"Normal disciples can't know but considering your unusual talent the higher ups of the sect don't want to take any risk with you. In a few years time a grand war will possibly erupt between the Dark Sky Starry Sect and our enemy, the Sky Earth Sect. The Rising Star Tournament goal is to buff our ranks with as many Liquid Realm Disciples as possible. Only then can we stand a chance in an open war."
Shin Sumi was flabbergasted. Suddenly everything made sense. It explained why Fen Wudao had given her his personal sword, and why the mysterious 'Elder Xi' had told her to focus on cultivation.
It all lead to this Rising Star Tournament.
"All the Honorary Disciples will be competing against each other, and only the strongest shall get to the top. As you can imagine, there are high hopes for you to place first. If you were to breakthrough during the first stages of the Tournament, the road to first place would be ensured and everything would turn out for the best."
"To aid in your breakthrough, I have personally designed a gift for you" Elder Zhu announced with shining eyes.
Shin Sumi's attention was brought to a small black wooden box that had a strange aura to it.
With a wave of Elder Zhu's hand, the box floated towards Shin Sumi.
She received it with caution, still waiting for an explanation.
"This box contains a Liquid Pellet. It is one of a kind. A pill that I refined myself. Using this Liquid Pellet at the moment of breaking through to the Liquid Realm will give you a sixty percent chance of success even in the worst conditions! With it you are almost assured of placing first in the Rising Star Tournament."
Of course, Shin Sumi had heard about the famous Liquid Pellet. Who hadn't heard of it? And who hadn't dreamt of possessing one?! Shin Sumi also knew that it was possible to buy one from the sect's reserve at the Cultivation Resources Pavilion for the exuberant price of eight hundred low grade spirit stones.
What was eight hundred spirit stones? In comparison with only the monthly allowance provided by the sect a red robed disciple could earn not more than two low grade spirit stones. That meant waiting four hundred months before being able to buy a single Liquid Pellet! That was ridiculous.
Thankfully disciples never depend solely on the sect. Working in the spirit plants fields, farms and stables of the sect could provide more spirit stones. An even more lucrative activity was the ones offered by the Quests Pavilion, where status points could be exchanged for almost anything. Finally the best option was the market area of the lower valley, but it wasn't a reliable source of income for most disciples except Shin Sumi.
Not every disciple could refine and sell at will hundreds of very high grade spirit resources. Shin Sumi could. But even with this taken into account, a Liquid Pellet was not something she could afford every day.
"A Liquid Pellet?!" she exclaimed out loud, "and with a sixty percent chance of success... Elder Zhu, this disciple knows that she definitely doesn't deserve such grand favor!"
"Don't say anything else" said a smiling Elder Zhu as he applied a bit more pressure on the box with his Shinsoo. "This is the intention of the sect as a whole. View it as a reward for your incredible talent. The matter is settled, please don't make things difficult for me by not accepting the pellet!"
Shin Sumi gave up on trying to refuse. Her hand stroked her bag of holding, transporting the black wooden box to the confines of her personal storage space.
"Remember Disciple Shin, in a months time, breakthrough to the Liquid Realm and place first in the Rising Star Tournament. Only if you do so can we have a chance in the upcoming war with the Sky Earth Sect."
Elder Zhu showed Shin Sumi the door personally. As they walked through the Affairs Pavilion exquisitely decorated corridors, he gave her plenty of advice about cultivation and the use of the Liquid Pellet.
"This particular Liquid Pellet is of Yin type, which means more adapted to female disciples like you. It was designed specifically for you after all. As soon as the pellet makes contact with your dantian, your rate of absorption of Shinsoo will be increased dramatically, allowing you to condense Shinsoo with much more strength."
The talk went on more more time than Shin Sumi would have wanted but still resulted in interesting information.
Shin Sumi bowed deeply to the Elder and thanked him for his guidance before taking her leave. She dropped the act almost immediately after the Affairs Pavilion was out of sight.
"Hffiou. I'm glad that is over!" she said to the nut, relieved. "I thought somehow Elder Zhu had found out about what happened in the forest. He simply wanted to bait me with his pill."
"And this Rising Star Tournament... That part should be completely true. His lies should have been mostly about the pill itself."
"What Elder Zhu said about how the Liquid Pellet works should be true. It coincides with what Xiao Yue said. So what is the catch here?"
Shin Sumi had reflected upon the whole interaction for a while when her eyes opened in full. That was it!
"The dried up corpse in the swamp! A pill that helps gather Shinsoo in a short period of time! How easy for an Elder that spent his live creating medecine would it be to alter a Liquid Pellet? If my suspicions are correct, this single pill sucks in the Shinsoo, not from the environment but from the cultivators themselves!"
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