Time quickly passed and the day of the duel between Shi Long and Hai Tuo arrived.
It was a sunny day with nary a cloud visible in the sky. Even though the designated time for the duel was before noon, the Outer Court disciples that wanted to watch how Shi Long would humiliate himself already started piling in the vicinity of the Dueling Stage. Discussions rose one by one followed by a series of laughter.
Someone even turned into an analyst as though he was an expert when his cultivation level was still lower than Shi Long. However, it was still well-received by most disciples waiting there.
"This is probably the end for the Comatose Dragon. He's past the prime age to hope for a breakthrough with his nonexistent talent. He's already lucky to reach 3rd Stage Spirit Gathering Realm. Maybe he can reach the 4th Stage at best but that's it."
"That's right! And we're gonna surpass him sooner or later. The Comatose Dragon might find himself crippled today."
Apart from them, there were also disciples running a side-hustle of gambling as they hollered over their fellow disciples to place their bets for the outcome of the duel.
"Come and place your bets! It's Senior Brother Hai versus Senior Brother Shi! Come and multiply your Spirit Stones!"
Naturally, Shi Long had a higher payout because everyone was sure of his upcoming defeat.
As time continued to pass, the anticipation for the duel already built a huge crowd.
An hour before the duel, Hai Tuo showed up along with some of his followers. His head held high as he basked upon the praises of the Outer Court disciples.
"That's Senior Brother Hai! Look how young he is."
"Such awe-inspiring aura. Shi Long can't be compared."
Similar comments were being raised as he stepped onto the stage.
When he saw that Shi Long hadn't arrived yet, his expression twisted in disdain but only for an instant.
"If he ran away, that's fine too. The Hall of Punishment will not let him off. But to show my might to this crowd, I'm hoping for him to show up. He called me trash. How dare he?! He's but a nobody!"
His chest bubbled up with rage every time he could recall what Shi Long shouted the other day. He had been benevolent to forgive him for being too slow on the uptake but for Shi Long to shout that to his face, Hai Tuo would never forgive him even if he kowtowed and bashed his head on the ground.
"You humiliate me. See how I destroy you in front of everyone." Hai Tuo clenched his fist, his spiritual qi oozing out of his body which gave him a faint image of an executioner.
While all that was happening, Shi Long was still sitting cross-legged inside Zhan Jun's room. A while later, he popped a Low-grade Spirit Gathering Pill in his mouth, resulting in a sudden burst of spiritual qi inside him. Furthermore, as though influenced by it, the natural spiritual qi in the room swirled rather violently while slowly being absorbed by Shi Long.
However, if someone was watching him, he or she would notice that Shi Long's body was fully shrouded in purplish mist that slowly burned through his skin.
He was gritting his teeth as he endured the stinging pain caused by it.
'Guh! Even the cheapest Low-grade Spirit Gathering Pill was this painful… What the hell is wrong with my system? Why does everything produced by it have this kind of drawback?!' He agonized internally.
However, he couldn't just stop.
During the few days that he stayed close to Zhan Jun, he accumulated enough Leech Points to buy 10 Low-grade Spirit Gathering Pill. And using those pills, he spent half of his time pushing his Spirit and Body Cultivation to its peak.
Essentially, he's not hoping for a breakthrough right away. Having gotten a new cultivation technique, he had to cultivate them consecutively. To breakthrough into the 4th Stage Spirit Gathering Realm, he needed some kind of treasure or a pill that would aid him in Body Cultivation.
And since the next stage was the refinement of his blood to achieve Blood Impermanence, he needed something that relates to one's blood before attempting to breakthrough.
A few minutes later, the Low-grade Spirit Gathering Pill turned to ash, depleting the spiritual qi in it. The purplish mist disappeared and the room became tranquil once again.
Feeling the prickly sensation on his skin, he gulped down and circulated his spiritual qi to relieve himself from the pain.
And upon noticing the higher and more rampant surge of his spiritual qi, Shi Long was elated.
"Finally reached the peak. I burned through 7 out of 10 pills. Lucky Zhan Jun, he's going to receive my leftovers." He produced the pills in his hand and rolled them over a few times while contemplating what kind of excuse he would make if the guy complained to him about the painful mist upon consuming it.
As Shi Long's little Minor Protagonist, Zhan Jun could now be likened to a Spirit Spring that produced spirit stones. As long as he remains important to the world, he's an endless spring of Leech Points.
That's why Shi Long would help Zhan Jun develop alongside him. Giving him some of the benefits he's receiving on top of Zhan Jun's own lucky encounters.
He remembered. Just last night, when Zhan Jun returned from his gate-guarding duty with his grin reaching up to his ears. Apparently, an Inner Court disciple felt generous and gave him 10 Spirit Stones as well as a pill that boosts his resiliency.
Shi Long could only wryly smile at his buddy's luck. 10 Spirit Stones are equivalent to 3 months of an Outer Court disciple's allowance. 3 per month so he got an extra one.
If Contribution Points are a Sect Currency to exchange various items, weapons, or treasures, Spirit Stones are every cultivator's currency. It could also be used as a substitute for a Spirit Gathering Pill. It's a little inferior though so they were treated more like money than a cultivation resource.
"Lucky bastard. Let me meet a generous Inner Court disciple too!" Shi Long grumbled for a while but soon dropped it.
He stood up and dusted himself off. His mind then veered towards what was waiting for him.
"I managed to reach the peak. But I shouldn't show it right away. I better give Hai Tuo a lesson that he will never forget." Shi Long grinned.
He's neither nervous nor scared at their upcoming duel. He's already confident enough to beat the twerp to a pulp and re-establish his image as what the system mission indicated.
A while later, Zhan Jun showed up, looking haggard as though he went into a marathon.
"Shi Long!" He started, his eyes shaking, clearly hesitant to tell his buddy what he discovered. But a second later, he steeled himself and looked straight at Shi Long. "Hai Tuo… That kid is already making a scene there. He's saying you already ran away with your tail between your legs!"
Hearing that, Shi Long simply smiled, "Let the kid run his mouth. Oh right. How's the betting odds?"
"Huh? I think it's 1:25 on your name and 1:1.2 for Hai Tuo." Zhan Jun was a little confused but answered him nonetheless.
"Only 25? I guess that's big enough. Here, bet this all to my name." Shi Long pulled on the string of his pouch and handed the whole bag to Zhan Jun.
Although he failed to pay attention to it earlier due to his sudden regression, he remembered that he saved up 20 spirit stones from his allowance.
They opened up a betting platform, why not use it to get more benefits for himself?
Shi Long maliciously grinned as he imagined those disciples that would be crying from losing their hard-earned or saved-up spirit stones for betting on Hai Tuo.
"What the heck? Shi Long… What the hell happened to you? You've never been this confident before."
"Let's just say I also got my own stroke of luck. Oh right, you can also bet on me. That 10 spirit stones you receive, bet it on me. We'll strike it rich this time!"
Naturally, Zhan Jun still had his apprehensions but remembering the few days that he spent watching Shi Long, those apprehensions gradually left his mind.
"And here. I'm giving you this." While Zhan Jun was still lost in his thoughts about how absurd his actions were, Shi Long handed the three Low-grade Spirit Gathering Pills.
As soon as he recognized the pills, Zhan Jun was more than dumbstruck. He was speechless for a minute before his body shook in utter delight.
'Yeah, consider that another stroke of fortune for you. On the other hand, I'll continue leeching on your luck.' Shi Long nodded approvingly as he looked forward to what kind of destiny Zhan Jun would have in the future now that he started backing the guy up.