The third bell rang in the morning, and Chu Xuan slipped into the training ground by stepping on his tail. Three hundred of the outer disciples formed a crooked "one", like leeks blown apart by the wind. On the high platform, Elder Li held a cup of tea, with dark eyes, clearly not having slept well last night - Zhao Tianlei stood with his hands hanging down beside him, with a smile on his lips, a smile like a sharpened sickle, waiting to cut Chu Xuan, this "wild grass".
"Today's logistics assessment, transporting spirit ore." Elder Li's voice was not loud, but it was enough to make the scene quiet for an instant. "Chu Xuan, disciple of the Bingzi Academy, step forward."
Chu Xuan yawned, moved slowly to the front row and bowed: "Disciple here."
Elder Li lifted his eyelids as if sizing up a grasshopper who had mistakenly entered the immortal gate: "You are from the mortal world and should have good physical strength. Then go to Mine No. C and carry a load of 'green-patterned iron' for a time stick of incense. "Beyond the time limit - expulsion from the sect."
As the words fell, the crowd buzzed. Bluish-patterned iron, the first grade of spiritual ore, a piece as big as a thumb weighs ten jin, and a load starts at two hundred jin! A stick of incense? An ordinary outer disciple might not be able to finish it in two hours. Zhao Tianlei is putting the "difficulty" on his face and stamping the official seal of Elder Li.
Chu Xuan scratched his hair and laughed with his teeth pointed: "The elder is kind, the disciple accepts the order."
Zhao Tianlei chimed in at the right moment, his voice as gentle as honey: "Chu junior brother, don't panic. A new batch of 'special grade' blue-patterned iron has arrived in the mine. The texture is denser and the weight is greater. The elder has reserved it for you."
"Special?" Kept? Chu Xuan sneered in his heart but bowed his hands on the face: "Well, that would save me from being overwhelmed with choices."
...
In Mine No. C, the cold wind blew. The walls of the cave were set with dim talismans, which illuminated the dark ore on the ground, each fist-sized, with sharp edges like a crouching beast. Chu Xuan bent down, touched the tip of his finger, and immediately a pale blue pattern appeared on the surface of the ore - special grade? Clearly, Zhao Tianlei had tampered with it in advance. The lines were filled with lead and mercury, and one piece was heavier than two!
"Really tough." Chu Xuan made a TSK sound, but there was no panic. He unfastened the carrying pole, and the two baskets clanged to the ground, the sound reverberating in the mine, like a drum. In the next moment, the silver thread in his dantian poked its head out lazily and swam along the meridians to the palm like a snake that smelled fishy.
Chu Xuan bent down, wrapped his arms around the first piece of blue-patterned iron, and the silver thread slipped quietly into the crevices of the ore. In the blink of an eye, the lead and mercury inside the ore were stripped away and turned into a wisp of black gas, which flowed back to the dantian along the silver thread. The ore, which originally weighed twenty pounds, suddenly became a third lighter. The silver wire belched, gained a bit of weight, and then excitedly threw herself on the next piece.
"One piece, two pieces..." Chu Xuan counted, moving unhurriedly but moving faster and faster. In his hands, the ore was like a beast with its bones removed, one piece after another "slimming". Outside the cave, the incense had burned more than half, but the invigilator was nowhere to be found - he had been sent by Zhao Tianlei to buy wine.
In the shadows of the cave walls, more hidden dangers crept in. A very fine spiritual force, like a venomous snake, swam close to the ground and headed straight for Chu Xuan's ankle - Zhao Tianlei's hidden "binding spiritual thread", once entangled, the meridians were instantly paralyzed, not to mention carrying a load, he could not even stand.
Chu Xuan seemed to sense it, with the tip of his foot slightly turned, a strand of the silver thread split out and charged towards the binding thread. The two threads met without a sound, and the binding threads, like snow in boiling water, were swallowed clean. The silver thread, still not satisfied, swam back along the way it came, devouring and growing stronger all the way.
Outside the mine, Zhao Tianlei leaned against a tree with a smile on his lips, but suddenly his face turned pale, his feet felt as if stung by a scorpion, and a tingling sensation climbed up his calves. He lowered his head, but saw nothing, but felt that the spiritual energy in his dantian had been strangely reduced by half!
"Damn it?" He gritted his teeth, pulled out the musical note and growled, "Uncle Li, add more!"
Deep in the mine, Chu Xuan had already filled two baskets. The surface of the baskets was smooth, the bluestone was shiny, but they were ridiculously light. He stretched his body over his shoulder, straightened his back, and the two baskets of ore lifted off the ground as if he were carrying two balls of cotton. The silver thread wove a fine web at the bottom of the basket, constantly devouring the remaining lead and mercury, "losing weight" along the way.
Outside the hole, the fragrance was just as long as a thumb. The deacon, carrying the jug, came back drunk and narrowed his eyes to see that the mine was empty. He broke out in a cold sweat at once: "The mortal boy, will he run away?"
Just as the thought arose, the shadow of the cave entrance flickered, and Chu Xuan, carrying a load, walked out leisurely. At both ends of the carrying pole, the baskets stood out, the bluestone shone with a bluish light, but it was as light as foam. He walked steadily, even whistling - a tune from the mortal world, a mountain tune, with an earthy flavor, but strangely cheerful.
The fragrance burned out at the moment, and the last wisp of smoke rose into the air.
Chu Xuan put down the carrying pole and clasped his hands: "Senior deacon brother, the task is completed, please check."
The deacon rubbed his drunkard eyes and subconsciously carried the basket - light? He froze and moved another basket, even lighter! It's like carrying two baskets of cotton. He looked at Chu Xuan suspiciously, but saw the young man laughing with white teeth: "Senior brother, I move quickly, the ore is light, will it hold up?"
The deacon opened his mouth, unable to speak. Zhao Tianlei rushed out from behind the tree, his face ashen. He lifted the lid of the basket, the bluish stone shining, but the weight was clearly not right. He glared at Chu Xuan: "You're cheating!"
Chu Xuan spread his hands, looking innocent: "Senior brother, the mine is monitored by an array. The array knows best whether I cheated or not. How about we go and ask the Law enforcement elder?
Zhao Tianlei was speechless. Formation? He turned it off for "convenience" long ago! At this moment, he could only grit his teeth and swallow his hatred, but there was an even colder glint in his eyes.
Chu Xuan seemed not to see, turned and walked towards the outside, his back stretched long by the sunlight, like a knife that had just drunk blood, its sharpness could not be concealed. In his heart, he whispered, "Elder Li, Senior Brother Zhao, the game has just begun."
On the high platform of the arena, Elder Li held the tea cup, the lid tapping the rim of the cup with a "ding" sound, but the sound silenced the entire venue.
"The time has come, Chu Xuan --" he deliberately drew out the end of his voice, his gaze over the two baskets of light bluestone, and a barely perceptible gloom flashed in his eyes. "The task is accomplished, but the weight is insufficient, it is considered a failure."
There was a commotion. The basket was right there, glowing green, and anyone could see that it was not worth the weight, but with Elder Li's words, "not enough," he nailed the man to the pillar of shame.
Chu Xuan raised his eyebrows, his voice neither too high nor too low: "May I ask, elder, which rule says' insufficient weight 'counts as failure?"
Elder Li sneered and placed the tea cup on the table with a crisp "pop" : "What I say is the rule!"
Zhao Tianlei stepped forward at the right moment, gently swaying his fan and smiling gracefully, "Junior Brother Chu, don't talk back to the elder." If you don't agree, you can ask the Law Enforcement Hall for a re-examination - but the re-examination requires fifty spirit stones, you... Can you produce it?"
Fifty spirit stones, for hunters in the mortal world, is a harvest of ten years. The disciples around chuckled, waiting to see the poor boy make a fool of himself. Chu Xuan touched his sleeve - there was only five or three coins of silver inside, not even the edge of the spirit stone. He grinned, revealing eight teeth: "I can't take it out, but I have something else."
He turned and walked towards the two baskets of bluestone, and with a flip of his palm, the silver thread slipped into the bottom of the baskets. In the next moment, the basket buzzed, and the blue light swelled up like a lit wick. The lead and mercury residues are sucked up by the silver wire in an instant, revealing the true appearance of the blue-patterned iron - dense patterns, vigorous spirit, and weight "soars" upwards!
The deacon glared and subconsciously lifted - heavy! I almost strained my old back!
"This, this..." He stammered. Elder Li's face changed slightly, and the lid of his teacup dropped "clump" to the ground. Zhao Tianlei stopped his fan and his smile froze at the corner of his mouth.
Chu Xuan patted the rim of the basket, his voice clear: "Elder, is it weighty now?"
Elder Li's eyes twitched and he was about to speak when Zhao Tianlei stepped in first, lowering his voice very low: "Uncle Li, don't fall into the trap! That kid has a ghost --"
"Ghost?" Chu Xuan laughed his teeth whiter. "Is the senior brother talking about ghosts or feeling guilty?" He turned and bowed to the high platform, "Disciple ask the elder to publicly re-examine according to the rules of the sect. If it is still insufficient, voluntarily accept the punishment; If it is enough -- "he glanced over Zhao Tianlei," please give me justice, elder."
The voice was not loud, but each word was clear, like a pebble thrown into the lake, creating ripples. The disciples whispered to each other, their eyes all fixed on Elder Li - public re-examination meant full transparency, and it would be difficult to tamper again.
The elder Li was in a dilemma, his face pale and blue. After a while, he forced a word through his teeth: "Test!"
The law enforcement disciple was summoned, with the spirit scale, the spirit measuring plate, and the photo stone all in place. Re-examination begins - the basket is lifted onto the spirit scale, the blue light and the scale star shine simultaneously, and the pointer "clicks" to stop at the mark: two hundred and thirty jin, over standard!
The crowd was in an uproar. The shadow stone glows and records the entire process, impossible to tamper with. Elder Li's lips quivered and Zhao Tianlei's nails pinched into his palm, almost dripping blood.
Chu Xuan clasped his hands and said in a soft voice, "Elder, the result is out. Can the disciple count as passing?"
Elder Li took a deep breath, his eyes 阴鸷 flashed, but he had to nod: "Pass, pass."
"That's good." Chu Xuan laughed lightly and turned to leave, but Elder Li spoke again, his voice cold: "Wait! Though you have passed, but you have delayed the task and will be punished according to the law - from now on, go to the forbidden area in the back mountain to cut firewood for a month without error!
In the forbidden area of the back mountain, the outer disciples are terrified at the mention of it. There are rumors of ferocious beasts, and more importantly - it is the place where Ling Qingxue is in seclusion, and ordinary disciples will be sent flying by sword qi if they approach half a step. Elder Li is punishing Chu Xuan in an open but hidden way, making him suffer and bring him bad luck.
Zhao Tianlei's eyes once again lit up with a smile. He waved his fan lightly and said, "Junior Brother Chu, the forbidden area is rich in spiritual energy, which is just right for your 'miscellaneous spirit' cultivation. Don't waste this opportunity."
A glimmer of light flashed in Chu Xuan's eyes, but he bowed his hands on the face: "Disciple accepts punishment." But in his heart he chuckled: Forbidden land? I can't get it!
...
That night, Chu Xuan, with a machete on his back, walked through the back mountain in the moonlight. The mountain wind howled, making the hem of his robe flutter. The silver thread moved excitedly through the meridians like a Wolf that smelled blood - it remembered that the remnant of the cave was even deeper in the forbidden area.
At the end of the mountain path, an invisible sword intent quietly rippled, like the first crack of an ice lake, bone-chilling. Chu Xuan did not stop his steps, with fire in his eyes: "Elder Ling, I'm here - by the way, I'll borrow your territory to raise my snake."
In the moonlight, the young man's back was drawn long, like an unsheathed sword, slowly approaching the edge of the scabbard. The wind blew and the leaves rustled as if responding --
"Dao Qi has awakened, and the blue clouds are restless."