'It's good that I obtained the mysterious cultivation technique; otherwise, even with the help of the system, I might not have been able to cultivate.'
Li Yun felt fortunate for the timely arrival of his cultivation technique, though its origin remained mysterious. He understood it had something to do with his system, as both the memories of the technique and the system had appeared at the same time.
'Let's practice the Seven Tribulations of Earth Calamity before sleeping.'
Li Yun stood up and began practicing the technique. With his increased comprehension, he found it somewhat easier to understand, but the difficulty of practicing it remained the same.
He slowly moved his fists forward, then brought them back, repeating the motion in sync with the essence diagram of the technique.
He practiced like this for two hours before calling it a day.
'The mastery only increased by one layer, reaching the 4th layer. It seems the higher the layer, the more difficult it is to comprehend.'
Li Yun thought as he walked toward his bed and lay down, quickly falling asleep.
***
The next day, Li Yun freshened up and was about to leave for the Martial Library when he heard a knock on the door.
Curious as to who it could be so early in the morning, Li Yun opened the door to see a handsome young man smiling at him.
A look of extreme surprise appeared on Li Yun's face as he saw the young man. "Ah, Hua Fu, I had completely forgotten about you until I saw you," he said jokingly.
Hua Fu looked at him in disdain. "And here I thought you were my friend," he sighed, disappointed.
Li Yun sneered and asked, "So, what's up so early in the morning?"
"I'm going to the Martial Library to claim my reward for the assessment. I thought you might be doing the same, so here I am," Hua Fu said.
Li Yun nodded. "I'm heading there too." But suddenly, his expression became suspicious. "By the way, how did you know where I live?"
Hua Fu smiled. "That's a secret."
"Who wants to know your secret?" Li Yun said disdainfully. "Let's go."
Hua Fu nodded, and they left for the Martial Library. They hadn't gone far in the outer sect when Li Yun suddenly stopped.
He turned to Hua Fu with a serious expression. "I don't know where the Martial Library is. You lead the way."
Hua Fu's face twisted in disbelief. "Damn, you should've said that earlier! I thought you knew where we were going, so I followed you silently," Hua Fu shouted, annoyed.
"Hehe, I forgot," Li Yun said, smiling sheepishly.
"What do we have here?"
At that moment, some disciples blocked their path. There were six of them, all at the 4th level of Qi Training Realm, while the leader, who had slightly red hair and a bulky build, was at the 5th level.
They looked at Li Yun and Hua Fu with greedy expressions.
"Senior Brothers, how can we help you?" Li Yun asked with a smile.
"We want something you possess," the leading disciple sneered, his eyes full of greed as he looked at Li Yun and Hua Fu.
"Senior Brothers, we're not that type of disciples. Maybe you should look for someone else who can satisfy your peculiar needs," Li Yun said, disgusted by their greedy stares.
"What are you talking about? We're not that kind of disciples!" the leader shouted, feeling embarrassed by the misunderstanding.
"Oh, my mistake then," Li Yun smiled.
Hua Fu looked at Li Yun strangely, wondering how someone could be so dense.
The leading disciple's expression turned cold. "We want your Qi Gathering Pills," he said, his greed resurfacing. "You received them as rewards yesterday, right? Just hand them over, and we'll make sure no other disciple in the outer sect causes you any trouble."
Li Yun and Hua Fu exchanged glances, realizing they were being robbed in broad daylight. Many disciples were passing by, but none intervened, as if this situation was a normal occurrence in the outer sect.
"Those are our rewards. We can't just give them to you," Hua Fu flatly refused.
"Senior Brothers, if you wanted Qi Gathering Pills that badly, you should've participated in the assessment yourselves," Li Yun said pityingly. "But, alas, you didn't."
"Li Yun, was it?" The leading disciple sneered. "Cut the crap and hand over the pills, or things might get ugly." The disciples surrounded them, their expressions turning cruel.
"You're going to rob us in broad daylight?" Hua Fu said with a frown. "Many disciples are watching. You might want to reconsider before the elders hear about this."
"Robbing?" the leader laughed. "We're not robbing you. We're just giving you a lesson about the outer sect in exchange for the Qi Gathering Pills."
Hua Fu's face darkened.
Meanwhile, Li Yun smiled. Handing over the pills was out of the question, so he prepared to fight.
"We can't give you the pills," Li Yun said, drawing his sword. "But we can cause enough commotion to attract the elders." He sneered at the group.
"Hahaha, you're naive if you think the elders will intervene. Unless someone is dying, they won't bother," the leader mocked.
"They won't?" Li Yun was surprised. He had thought the outer sect was like the nominal disciple area, where conflicts were allowed but heavily monitored. It seemed he was wrong.
'So that's why they're so bold.'
Li Yun realized why these disciples dared to rob others in broad daylight.
No one would stop them.
"I guess we'll have to fight," Li Yun said solemnly.
"This is what you asked for!" the leader laughed, signaling the others to attack.
"Greetings, Elder Zhao!" Li Yun suddenly bowed respectfully, cupping his hands, looking behind the group.
The disciples paled and turned in panic, cursing their luck at the elder's interference.
But when they turned back, they saw no one. Seeing that, Li Yun quickly grabbed Hua Fu's hand and made a run for it.
"Bastard! There's no elder!" The leader shouted. By the time they turned back, Li Yun and Hua Fu were already running in the distance. "We were fooled! Chase after them!"