"Spirit stones? Well, you can use spirit stones to settle the debt, but unfortunately, I'm currently short on funds and don't even have any silver, let alone spirit stones," Liu Rusi said helplessly.
"I have spirit stones," Ling Feng said as he took out a fist-sized high-grade spirit stone from his storage ring.
Liu Rusi was stunned. "High-grade spirit stone? Storage ring? Good disciple, where did you get all this?"
"I found it when I was in the village. I often helped people collect firewood in the mountains, and I picked up this ring and the spirit stones inside it," Ling Feng said casually, spinning a little tale.
"Wow! Good disciple, you're really lucky!" Liu Rusi exclaimed as she took the high-grade spirit stone and tossed it to the manager. "This one high-grade spirit stone is enough to buy you ten tables of top-quality delicacies! And give me a hundred jars of fruit wine!"
"Right away!" The manager's face lit up with joy.
A high-grade spirit stone was worth ten thousand taels of silver.
Doing the math, he had made a killing.
Ling Feng was a bit surprised. He hadn't expected a high-grade spirit stone to have such purchasing power. Unknowingly, he had become quite wealthy.
[Ding! The host helped his master out of a predicament while avoiding washing dishes himself, and has been rewarded with one hundred high-grade spirit stones.]
Ling Feng blinked in disbelief.
"Is this really how it works?"
This system reward seemed a bit too casual.
He shook his head, feeling like his life had entered an easy mode.
Everything he did felt effortless.
So, he decided to enjoy every single day!
Before long, the manager prepared a hundred jars of fruit wine, and with a wave of her hand, Liu Rusi stored them all in her ring.
Then, she took Ling Feng and left. On the way back to Baiyun Sect, Liu Rusi paused in front of a gambling house and glanced inside.
Curious, Ling Feng asked, "Master, are you thinking of gambling?"
"Cough, cough, I'm feeling a bit itchy," she replied sheepishly.
"You can't gamble without money, right?"
"I can borrow money; gambling houses love lending to people," she said, dismissing his concerns.
"Oh, then I'll wait for you here, Master." Ling Feng walked to a nearby tea house and sat down obediently.
Liu Rusi shot him a glance before taking a few steps toward the gambling house but then suddenly turned back and grabbed Ling Feng's hand to leave.
"Master, aren't you going to gamble?"
"Gamble? No way! This lousy gambling house has cheated me out of so much money; they're definitely rigging the games. From today onward, I'm quitting gambling!" Liu Rusi declared seriously.
She glanced at Ling Feng, thinking to herself, "I can't keep sinking like this. Ling Feng will definitely need various resources for his training in the future. If I keep losing money, how can I afford to buy resources for him?"
"I can't let my good disciple go hungry!"
"Liu Rusi, you need to get your act together!"
With that thought, Liu Rusi became more resolute. She pumped her fist and declared, "Starting today, I will turn over a new leaf and become a better person!"
Hearing this, Ling Feng smiled with relief.
Though he didn't know how the top sword cultivator of the Great Zhou had fallen so low, he didn't want to see her continue down this path.
"Yeah, I believe you can do it, Master!"
The next day.
As the sun rose, Ling Feng looked at Liu Rusi, who was lying on the ground, drunk and half-dressed. He couldn't help but twitch his lips.
What happened to turning over a new leaf?
What happened to becoming a better person?
"I can't believe this!"
Ling Feng sighed helplessly, picking up the empty wine jars scattered around. He stepped outside, grabbed a branch, and began his daily training.
He practiced the simplest of techniques, the Two-Element Sword Technique, followed by the more advanced Six Harmony Sword Technique…
In these days, all the sword techniques Liu Rusi had taught him flowed easily from his hands, like clouds drifting in the wind, seamless and effortless.
After an hour of practice, suddenly—
Boom!
It felt like some barrier inside him had shattered.
His true energy surged!
"I've reached the second layer of innate!"
Ling Feng felt satisfied. With the high-grade spirit stones he possessed, he figured it wouldn't be long before he could break through to the Martial Master realm.
That was the same realm as Elder Li.
Before long, the sun rose higher.
Ling Feng decided it was time to cook.
Meanwhile, Liu Rusi had sobered up, freshened up, and after eating, said, "Good disciple, you don't need to cook for me tonight. I plan to go out for a few days. During this time, stay at Miaomiao Peak and don't wander off. Just focus on your training while I buy you a gift."
Ling Feng was taken aback. "Master, what are you going to do?"
"It's a secret for now."
"Master, you aren't planning to gamble again, are you?" Ling Feng asked suspiciously.
"How could that be? I said I was turning over a new leaf!"
"But you were drunk again first thing this morning."
"Cough, that was an exception! I brought back so much wine from Tianquan Mountain Villa, it would be a waste not to drink it. Besides, drinking and gambling are two different things. I can quit gambling, but I can't give up drinking," Liu Rusi said defensively.
Master, why do you have to drink?"
"If I don't drink… I can't sleep," Liu Rusi replied, a hint of sadness glimmering in her eyes.
Ling Feng sensed something deeper but chose not to pry. He believed that if Liu Rusi wanted to share, she would do so in her own time. Since they hadn't spent much time together yet, there was no need to rush into understanding everything.
"Oh, then please be careful while you're out. Come back early; I'll take care of Miaomiao Peak," Ling Feng said.
"Good disciple, you're so obedient! Come here, let me give you a kiss!" Liu Rusi leaned in with her glistening lips toward Ling Feng's cheek.
Ling Feng quickly blocked her. "Whoa, no! It smells like garlic!"
"That's because you made such delicious garlic shrimp!" Liu Rusi pouted.
Not long after, Liu Rusi prepared to leave. She didn't pack much, just took her sword with her.
"Good disciple, I'm off!"
It was as if she had opened a pair of invisible wings. With a strong flap, she created a gust of wind and soared into the sky, vanishing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.
Ling Feng watched enviously. "True Qi transforming into wings, flying through the air. I wonder when I'll reach that level."
After Liu Rusi left, Miaomiao Peak felt much quieter, with Ling Feng left alone. However, he didn't waste time.
He trained in sword techniques during the day and refined high-grade spirit stones at night.
His days were incredibly fulfilling, and his true energy grew stronger each day.
[Ding! Detected that the host has practiced for over eight hours today. You're working too hard! Rewarding the host with one lottery draw!]
A spinning wheel appeared before Ling Feng once again.
Unlike the talent lottery filled with various bizarre skills, this time, the wheel was filled with odd items.
[Suspenders]
[Basketball]
[Ultraman Figurine]
[Green Bamboo Sword]
[Swimming Dragon Knife]
[One Hundred Purple Bamboo Seedlings]
[A Bag of Delicious Rice]
"Let's draw!" Ling Feng said, glancing at the odd items before him.
He started the draw, and the pointer on the wheel spun quickly, finally slowing down to land on One Hundred Purple Bamboo Seedlings.
Looking at the barren Miaomiao Peak, he thought, "Planting these bamboo seedlings here would spruce the place up a bit."
Since he lived here now, it needed to look presentable.
So, in between training, he began planting the purple bamboo seedlings around Miaomiao Peak.
The seedlings grew remarkably fast. By the next day, they had shot up significantly, leaving Ling Feng in awe.
The system responded nonchalantly, [A product of the system is guaranteed to be of high quality!]
Ling Feng raised an eyebrow at the system's arrogance.