On his way back to Hundred Pine Peak where he dwelt, Ye Zhen carried a bundle and hurried along the mountain path, panting like a bull.
From time to time, some servant disciples, also clad in gray and returning from visiting relatives, overtook Ye Zhen from behind, moving swiftly and effortlessly, without a change of expression.
With faces unflushed and breath steady, they aroused a wave of envy and fervent desire in Ye Zhen's heart.
These servant disciples, who strode energetically along the mountain roads with long breaths and yet were faster than the sprinting Ye Zhen, had cultivation levels that were at least at the Second Stage of Blood Training, in the Qi Absorption Realm.
According to the traditions of Martial Arts Inheritance on the True Profound Continent, bloodlines are considered the foundation of a person.
One can live without bones, without flesh, sinews, or skin, but not without blood.
The bloodline is the fundamental basis of an individual's existence in the world, and the journey of martial arts also begins with Blood Training.
A Martial Artist's Blood Training is divided into five stages, the First Stage being Force Training to Strengthen Blood, the Second Stage Long Breath Qi Gathering, the Third Stage Blood Qi Condensing Bead, the Fourth Stage Blood Essence Body Tempering, and the Fifth Stage Essence Condensation and Qi Gathering.
Currently, Ye Zhen's cultivation was at the stage of Force Training to Strengthen Blood.
If he could break through to the Second Stage, Long Breath Qi Gathering, his breath would be steady and his blood and qi would never exhaust, allowing him to fly between the peaks of Qiyun Sect without changing his expression.
If so, Ye Zhen wouldn't have to sprint for over two hours from his dwelling at Hundred Pine Peak to the Mountain Gate.
Watching peer after peer pass by him, Ye Zhen felt envious but also harbored a sense of anticipation.
If his little secret continued to persist, perhaps his breakthrough to the Second Stage of Blood Training was just a matter of time.
This was also the reason why Ye Zhen insisted on staying in Qiyun Sect.
Thinking of his little secret quickened Ye Zhen's steps; it had been going on for a while now, and perhaps the days of harvest were approaching.
Ye Zhen sprinted along, crossing eleven peaks, and when he saw a mountain shrouded in the shadows of towering pines, some as high as ten or even nearly a hundred meters, he breathed a sigh of relief. He had arrived; that was Hundred Pine Peak.
Hundred Pine Peak was so named, and as a servant disciple, Ye Zhen's daily tasks included felling the unique iron-branch old pines on the peak.
When Ye Zhen set foot on Hundred Pine Peak, he did not follow the main path back to his dwelling. Instead, he directly entered the pine forest via a side trail.
He found a secluded spot rarely visited, selected several young pines, peeled back the thick layer of pine needles, dug a deep hole, and buried the two hundred silvers his parents had given him, then covered it up again.
After everything was neatly handled and he had made some marks, Ye Zhen left the place and set foot on the mountain path again, carrying only the bundle of clothes and food brought by his mother, heading towards his dwelling halfway up the mountain.
By the time Ye Zhen returned to his mid-mountain dwelling, it was already getting dark. The three hundred servant disciples living on Hundred Pine Peak had already finished their day's work and were gathering in groups of threes and fives in the yard chatting.
In the very center of the courtyard, a hearty young man lay leisurely in a rocking chair, swinging nonchalantly. Ye Zhen recognized him; this servant disciple was the big senior brother of Hundred Pine Peak, Ma Yuanwu.
At that moment, five or six servant disciples surrounded Ma Yuanwu while two slightly slender ones knelt on one side, massaging his shoulders and rubbing his legs.
In reality, within Qiyun Sect, there is no distinction between the size of either servant or Outer Disciples, nor is there an official term such as big senior brother.
The capable ones are the leaders.
Among the servant disciples on a single peak, the one with the strongest cultivation is informally named big senior brother by the other servants of the same peak.
However, the strongest among the servant disciples of a peak has an official title—seed candidate!
In the many Chores Peaks within Qiyun Sect, the servant disciple from each peak most likely to advance and become an Outer Disciple is called a seed candidate.
Simply put, the seed disciple of each peak is the top dog of their peak, and even the stewards of the various Chores Peaks must show them some respect.
"Ye Zhen, I see your family has come to visit!"
No one knew who shouted it, but the gaze of nearly three hundred servant disciples of the Hundred Pine Peak instantly focused on Ye Zhen, who had just stepped through the gate.
To be exact, their attention was fixed on the bundle Ye Zhen was carrying in his hands.
Especially a few servant disciples next to Ma Yuanwu, they stared at the bundle in Ye Zhen's hands like starving wolves.
"Oh, what a big bundle. Your parents must have brought you a lot of good stuff, right? Wuy Jian, bring it here and let me have a look," Ma Yuanwu, who lay lounging in a rocking chair, half-squinted his eyes and commanded.
"Yes, Senior Brother!"
Stood behind Ma Yuanwu, Wuy Jian replied with glee and immediately strode over, barking at Ye Zhen, "Hand it over!"
Ye Zhen's jaw clenched tightly, his hands gripping the bundle firmly.
Even though Ye Zhen had anticipated this moment on his way back to the mountain, hiding the silver of the greatest value at the mountain's top, the indescribable feeling of humiliation surged powerfully within him when actually confronted with the scenario.
"Give it here, what are you glaring at? A piece of trash who's about to get kicked out of the sect still dares to glare at me? Glare again, and I'll gouge out your eyes!"
Impatiently waiting, Wuy Jian cursed under his breath, snatched the tightly held bundle from Ye Zhen, gave a fierce shove to the glaring Ye Zhen, and strutted away.
"Senior Brother, Ye Zhen's bundle!"
Wuy Jian might act arrogantly in front of Ye Zhen, but when facing Ma Yuanwu, a seed candidate of Hundred Pine Peak, his arrogant demeanor instantly faded.
"Hmm?"
Ma Yuanwu sat up and untied Ye Zhen's bundle, beginning to search through it with some urgency.
Every June, which is also when many servant disciples' families come for visitation, is the most comfortable time for the seed candidates of the various Chores Peaks.
Regardless of their value, items brought by each servant disciple's family during the visitation must pass through their hands, and all the good things are claimed for themselves.
As for the reason why?
Strength!
Their overwhelming strength.
Don't agree?
Try comparing fists first!
As for the Qiyun Sect, they wouldn't meddle in such trifles among the servant disciples.
With the Qiyun Sect boasting about a hundred thousand servant disciples, with countless fights, broken arms and legs every day among them, who has the energy to care?
Initially elated while rummaging through Ye Zhen's bundle, Ma Yuanwu's expression gradually turned sour.
After searching thoroughly, he found only a few pieces of clothes and some food, not even half a liang of silver.
With narrowed eyes, Ma Yuanwu's triangular snake-like stare fixed on Ye Zhen, "I'm saying, Ye Zhen, your family isn't that poor. They see you once a year and only bring you a few pieces of tattered clothes, a few chunks of stinking meat? Where's the silver?"
Tattered clothes?
Stinking meat?
As these words entered his ears, Ye Zhen's fists clenched immediately, the veins on his hands bulging.
If it weren't for the last bit of rationality Ye Zhen still had, the tragic condition of a few fellow disciples with swollen faces and broken limbs in the distance kept reminding him, and he almost rushed forward in desperation.
Those things, they were all made by my mother, stitch by stitch.
"What a mood-killer!
The stuff that trash's family sends over is also trash!"
Not finding anything that could aid in cultivation, Ma Yuanwu's face was full of dissatisfaction, and out of spite, he threw the socks and clothing from Ye Zhen's bundle toward the surrounding servant disciples.
"I'll divide these old clothes among you guys."
A cheer erupted immediately from Wuy Jian and several servant disciples beside Ma Yuanwu.
In the meantime, Ma Yuanwu bit viciously into a sausage hand-made by Ye Zhen's mother, "Mmm, this rotten meat tastes not too bad. Here, you guys try some too."
In a moment, the roast chicken and sausages in Ye Zhen's package were devoured by Ma Yuanwu.
Thump!
A chicken leg that had been torn a few times was flung by Ma Yuanwu into the air and smashed onto Ye Zhen's chest.
"Hmm, since it's from your family, you have a taste too, and don't say I, Ma Yuanwu, hogged it all yourself."
Looking at the dirt-covered chicken leg at his feet and the clothes that were torn apart because they did not fit, Ye Zhen's forehead veins started to throb wildly, and his chest heaved as if working a bellows.
A surge of anger, an uncontrollable and indescribable fury, shot straight to Ye Zhen's forehead.
In an instant of blood rushing to his head, Ye Zhen almost wanted to rush forward and fight to the death with Ma Yuanwu!
Just as Ye Zhen was on the verge of exploding, Sha Fei, who was not far away, suddenly pounced over, grabbed Ye Zhen, and pulled him toward the house.
"Ye Zhen, you haven't eaten yet, have you? I fetched your dinner and some Blood Essence Soup for you today."
At Qiyun Sect, servant disciples shared rooms in pairs, and Sha Fei was Ye Zhen's roommate. He was also a friend who got along quite well with Ye Zhen among the servant disciples.
Sha Fei had entered the sect one year before Ye Zhen and took good care of him. It was thanks to Sha Fei's guidance that Ye Zhen had avoided not a few losses.
"Hmph! You two are clever!"
Seeing Ye Zhen dragged into the room by Sha Fei, Ma Yuanwu scornfully spat out a chicken bone, "Trash!"
"Ye Zhen, don't stoop to their level, just endure it for now. If you get into a fight with them and they break your legs, then you're done for! Have you forgotten about Cheng Agou who was left crippled by them half a year ago?"
After pulling Ye Zhen into the room and shutting the door, Sha Fei kept on persuading Ye Zhen relentlessly.
After a long while, Ye Zhen's violently heaving chest finally began to calm down, and he squeezed out a smile to Sha Fei that looked uglier than crying, "Thanks, it's a pity I didn't manage to bring anything for you."
"We're brothers, no thanks needed!"
"Don't be angry anymore. Cultivate well, and in the future, once your cultivation succeeds, beat Ma Yuanwu until he cries for his daddy and mommy, and take back all the frustrations we've suffered over the years." Sha Fei advised Ye Zhen, somewhat insincerely, for he knew that with their situations, there likely wouldn't ever be a chance for that.
In less than a year, perhaps in only half a year, Ma Yuanwu could advance to become an Outer Disciple. Outer Disciples had more cultivation resources and cultivated faster, Ma Yuanwu might forever be ahead of them.
Hearing Sha Fei's words, Ye Zhen suddenly perked up, his entire fury suppressed and transformed into motivation for cultivation.
"Good, endure it for now, Ye Zhen," he resolutely said. "The humiliation suffered today must be reclaimed from Ma Yuanwu, that bastard, in the future!"
As the moon rose in the east, the previously somewhat noisy Hundred Pine Peak instantly became extraordinarily quiet.
Everyone, including Ye Zhen, conscientiously returned to their own rooms, sat cross-legged on their beds, as the time for evening class had arrived.
After taking several gulps of the Blood Essence Soup distributed by the Qiyun Sect, they started their daily night practice by operating the Blood Qi Technique, which to the Qiyun Sect was extremely common, but was quite precious to outsiders.
The servant disciples of the Qiyun Sect had two practice sessions a day, morning practice for training punches and building strength, and evening practice for cultivating the Blood Qi Decision to strengthen blood and vitality.
Once the Blood Essence Soup entered his belly, it transformed into a surging heat. Under the operation of the Blood Qi Decision, the heat contained in the Blood Essence Soup spread throughout Ye Zhen's limbs and bones, following the circulation of the blood qi.
With every bit of heat that dissipated, Ye Zhen's blood qi grew stronger and more robust.
After 15 minutes, the medicinal power of the Blood Essence Soup was fully refined, and Ye Zhen opened his eyes feeling somewhat frustrated.
This serving of Blood Essence Soup, both in quantity and quality, was too little. The two hours of evening practice could only sustain 15 minutes with the medicinal effect.
If the quantity of Blood Essence Soup had been sufficient to last the full two hours, Ye Zhen estimated that his cultivation would have long broken through to the Qi Absorption Realm, reaching the Second Stage of Blood Training.
There was a kind of pill within the Sect called the Blood Essence Pill, the very kind Ye Zhen's father, Ye Tiancheng, had asked him to purchase. It was said that its medicinal power was dozens of times greater than a serving of Blood Essence Soup, earmarked for consumption by the Outer Disciples with extremely outstanding bloodline talent.
Unfortunately, disciples like Ye Zhen, who were servant disciples, could only consume Blood Essence Soup made from the leftover scraps that didn't make it into the Blood Essence Pills.
He closed his eyes again, and Ye Zhen continued to operate the Blood Qi Technique with considerable perseverance.
Without the support of the Blood Essence Soup, the rate at which his blood qi strengthened became excruciatingly slow.
Ye Zhen estimated that two hours of such strenuous practice would still not be as effective as practicing for 15 minutes after consuming the Blood Essence Soup.
However, the path of martial arts is all about persistence, a fact that Ye Zhen understood very well!
Two and half hours later, when Ye Zhen felt the blood qi within his body becoming somewhat unstable, he ceased his cultivation. This was also the reason why the Sect mandated two hours for the evening practice.
Upon opening his eyes, Ye Zhen saw Sha Fei, his roommate, had already completed his cultivation and was now sleeping soundly.
These servant disciples, having labored heavily during the day, could fall into a deep sleep almost as soon as their heads touched the pillow, not even waking for thunder.
Ye Zhen, however, did not immediately go to sleep but instead dressed quietly, gently closed the door, and slipped out of the house. Amidst the snoring sounds coming from all directions, Ye Zhen crouched and dashed towards a small hilltop on Hundred Pine Peak.
After nearly half an hour, Ye Zhen hurriedly arrived at the small hilltop, a place he had visited almost every night for the past half-month.
Upon reaching the hilltop, Ye Zhen immediately adjusted his breathing, pricked up his ears, and began listening intently to the sounds blanketing the hills.
At first, all Ye Zhen could hear was the sound of the wind through the pines and the buzzing of insects. But as Ye Zhen quietened his heart, the chirping of small animals soon entered his ears.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak..."
The sound of a mouse's squeak reached Ye Zhen's ears, but for him, it was an entirely different world.
What seemed like a random squeak to others, Ye Zhen could clearly discern as an articulate message, "Seventeenth Brother, hurry, it's about time, let's go."
This was Ye Zhen's secret.
**********
Old Pig's new book has been officially uploaded, currently releasing two chapters a day. For those brothers who think it's too little, you can check out Old Pig's previous book [bookid=2031341,bookname="Commanding Stars"]!