After choosing his Augment, Xiao Chen rode the afterglow of his breakthrough and began cultivating again to consolidate his cultivation.
After reaching the seventh level of Qi Refining, his Dantian's capacity had finally expanded to hold 15 strands of Magical Power.
With this amount of Magical Power as a foundation, he could finally participate in real Magical Combat and represent the Sect on missions.
At the same time, this meant he no longer needed to tend to the Spirit Fields and could receive a higher monthly stipend than an Outer Disciple.
The Sect would give every Inner Sect Disciple a monthly cultivation subsidy of five Spirit Stones.
If he had time, he could go to the Merit Hall to accept missions and earn Spirit Stones and Sect Contribution Points.
If he didn't lack resources, he could remain in the Sect and cultivate in seclusion until he was sent on an external assignment after the age of thirty.
If Xiao Chen could break through to Foundation Establishment before he turned thirty—in other words, within eight and a half years—he could advance even further, joining the Sect's management and becoming a mid-level core member.
Of course, all that was still a long way off.
After completing three Grand Circulations, Xiao Chen got up and went back to his room to catch up on sleep, planning to report his breakthrough to Steward Chen after he woke up.
He had just gotten back to his room and lain down for less than ten breaths.
Li Sibao, who had been forced to stand for a full day and night as punishment, arrived outside his house, a bottle of Spirit Wine in hand.
It was currently 9:45 AM, and Xiao Chen's few neighbors were all busy tending to their Spirit Fields or mining ore. There was no one around.
So, Li Sibao swaggered up to his house, thinking he'd case the joint first.
He also wanted to see if Xiao Chen had any Spiritual Objects lying around in his room.
To his pleasant surprise, he discovered that Xiao Chen was actually still asleep.
"Ha! So much for cultivating twelve hours a day. More like sleeping twelve hours a day."
Li Sibao's face was full of contempt. "It's already late morning and he's still in bed. How does he have the nerve to call himself diligent? And that bastard surnamed Liu, lying for you. Neither of you is any good."
He raised the wine bottle, took a huge swig, and his face instantly flushed. He let out a loud burp.
Then, he drew the Flying Sword from his waist, easily flicked the latch open, and strode inside, slashing toward Xiao Chen.
When Xiao Chen heard the footsteps stop right at his door, some of his drowsiness dissipated.
But he was just a little slow in sitting up, and he saw a burly figure burst in, a gleaming Flying Sword in hand, slashing right at him.
All sleepiness vanished in an instant. He pushed off with his legs, shattering the bed planks, and executed a kip-up that landed him by the window.
Immediately after, he instinctively formed the hand seals for the Golden Light Technique, summoning the Golden Light Body Protection.
Only then did he have a moment to look up. "Li Sibao? What are you doing?!"
"Huh? You weren't asleep?" Li Sibao was stunned for a moment, then sneered, "You're pretty fast."
As he spoke, he began forming hand seals, about to attack.
Seeing this, Xiao Chen frowned. 'Although I could end this fight with a single fireball, that would only treat the symptom, not the root cause.'
'Li Sibao's behavior is too strange. It would be best to get some information out of him first.'
So, as he cast the Earth Shield Technique, he demanded, "We have no past grievances or recent grudges. Who sent you to cause trouble for me?"
Several sharp-edged snowflakes had already gathered in front of Li Sibao. He grinned. "You wanna know? Call me 'daddy,' and I'll tell you!"
With that, he thrust his hand forward, and all the snowflakes instantly turned into sharp arrows, shooting toward Xiao Chen.
"CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!"
A series of sparks flew, followed by several bursts of cold energy, but they were all blocked by an earthy-yellow Square Shield.
Xiao Chen held the shield in his right hand and threw a fireball with his left. "Go!"
The fireball shot straight toward Li Sibao, even faster than the snowflakes.
Seeing this, Li Sibao held his Flying Sword horizontally to block while simultaneously starting to use Magic Formulas to connect with the cold energy, just as the mysterious person had instructed.
'Those snowflakes aren't as simple as they look. All I have to do is...'
The next instant, however, he felt as if he'd been kicked viciously in the stomach. The powerful impact sent him flying backward into the wall.
He looked down. Through the hole in his Flying Sword, he saw a missing piece of his own intestine, as well as the purple sandalwood wardrobe in the next room.
There was a hole in that wardrobe, too, the same size as the one in his stomach.
"Aaargh! My Dantian!"
After being stunned for a full three breaths, fear finally, belatedly, washed over Li Sibao.
But immediately after, several barbed Wood Vines shot out and bound him tightly in mid-air.
Xiao Chen tossed aside the Earth Shield. Another fireball appeared in his palm, and he thrust it right in front of Li Sibao's face.
The flames, being so close, easily ignited Li Sibao's eyebrows and hair.
Xiao Chen ignored it and demanded in a harsh voice, "I'm giving you one last chance. Tell me honestly, who sent you to cause trouble for me?"
But Li Sibao jutted out his neck. "You gutless coward! If you've got the balls, then kill me!"
"Who are you trying to scare with that stupid fireball? I dare you to touch me!"
The Li Huo Sect strictly forbade disciples from killing each other. Li Sibao wasn't afraid at all and even continued to shout, "Xiao Chen, this isn't over."
"You injured me for no reason and are now torturing me! I'm going to report you to Elder Jiang of the Law Enforcement Hall! You just wait!"
"Wh-what are you doing?"
A stream of pure water flowed into Li Sibao's stomach, and a "TSSSSSS" sound immediately came from inside, like water splashing into a pan of hot oil.
Xiao Chen controlled the Water Therapy Skill, letting it flow through Li Sibao's organs and wash out pitch-black blood.
Just moments ago, he had noticed black blood starting to ooze from Li Sibao's ruptured stomach and had immediately used the Water Therapy Skill to suppress it, simultaneously releasing the vines that bound him.
Although the Water Therapy Skill's effect on poison was actually quite limited, he had discovered it early and had the boost from his Augment, allowing him to temporarily save Li Sibao's life.
"Black blood? It's poison!"
Li Sibao stared at the puddle of poisoned blood on the floor and panicked. "How could this be?"
He tried to circulate his Magical Power for healing, but suffered a backlash on the spot and spat out another mouthful of black blood.
Xiao Chen examined him closely, then shook his head slightly. "What a potent poison. It has already seeped into your Meridians. It looks like it's reached the marrow; you're almost beyond saving."
Hearing this, the color drained from Li Sibao's face.
He struggled to pull out an Elixir and swallow it, then shakily took out a Water Therapy Talisman and activated it.
However, an ordinary Water Therapy Skill had no effect whatsoever.
"It's useless... What's going on? Why isn't it working?"
His legs gave out, and Li Sibao collapsed onto the ground.
His eyes widened. "But that stream of water just now washed out the poison... That's right! Xiao, you have a way! Xiao, you have to save me! Please, save me!"
Xiao Chen retorted, "Weren't you acting all tough just now? I thought you weren't afraid to die. Besides, why should I save you?"
Li Sibao grew anxious. "Because... because someone is out to get you..."
Seeing that Xiao Chen was unmoved, he immediately embellished, "No, that's not it! Xiao, someone wants to harm you! Someone told me to kill you!"
"I'm still useful! I've seen his face! I can't die! If I die, you'll have no more clues."
"Xiao, I'm begging you, please save me!"
'Li Sibao really can't die here.'
'It's not just about protecting the lead. The crucial thing is that there are no witnesses here. If he dies in my room, I'll be the first one they suspect.'
So, Xiao Chen acted again, using the Water Therapy Skill to suppress the poison in Li Sibao's body.
At the same time, he reached out and launched a fireball at the roof of the tallest house in the distance, setting it ablaze.
'Hopefully, someone will see the fire and come quickly.'
PS: I'm a new author. Please, for the sake of the decent content so far, or for the 'Premium' badge it has, give this book a chance.
As of this morning, September 30th, three esteemed readers have left comments saying that the plot in chapters 31-35 isn't good.
If future readers feel the same way, please try skipping to chapter 36.
I'm panicking a little, but I think I can still salvage this. [Manually inserting image: Doctor_can_I_still_be_saved.JPG]
Lastly, a kowtow to everyone—Orz