Chapter 52: Better You Than Me

After some hard bargaining, Sun Daofu wrote down a full page of "compensations," signed it, and pressed his fingerprint upon it.

"Starting from today, all elixirs required by the disciples under my senior brother's sect—whether they are direct disciples, true legacy disciples, or registered disciples—will be entirely supplied by my Pill Peak lineage."

"Furthermore, elixirs will be provided free of charge up to the fifth rank, the Dan-Congealing Realm."

"Beyond the fifth-rank cultivation level, the required elixirs can be exchanged at half the usual cost, all the way up to the fourth rank, the Spirit Aperture Realm."

With a bitter expression, Sun Daofu added, "Senior Brother knows that advancing from the fourth rank to the third rank, the Heaven-Union Realm, can no longer be resolved merely by medicinal herbs."

Gu Tiangang looked at the long list in his hand and nodded with satisfaction.

"Junior Brother Sun is quite thoughtful; these elixirs are more than enough."

"Do you think this kind of compensation is sufficient to make you give up those two disciples who possess innate talent in the Dao of Alchemy?"

"Two?" Gu Tiangang looked at him suspiciously. "What we discussed earlier was only that female child named Hua Xianzi."

"Pfft,哈哈哈..."

Pang Kuan could not hold back his laughter.

While laughing, he pointed at the stunned Sun Daofu and shouted, "Old Sun Bastard, you're getting a taste of your own medicine today!"

"I told you long ago that acting the way you did earlier would eventually bring you misfortune."

"Do you know the consequences now? Serve you right!"

"..."

Ignoring the noisy physical cultivation sect leader, Sun Daofu looked at Gu Tiangang, whose face wore an expression that clearly spelled "rogue," and asked through gritted teeth:

"Then, Senior Brother, what else do you want?"

"Give me all the elixirs you have on hand that are suitable for cultivators in the ninth rank, the Worldly Realm, and the eighth rank, the Qi-Gathering Realm."

Gu Tiangang put away the "Pillar Peak Contract" and smiled as he reminded him, "This old Daoist means all of them. Don't blame this old Daoist for turning hostile and reneging on the deal if you're too stingy."

"Take them! I'll give them all to you!"

Sun Daofu flicked his sleeve and threw the hundred-odd porcelain bottles he was carrying onto the table.

Since he had already signed such an unequal "contract," why would he still care about these lower-grade elixirs?

As long as those two young girls with alchemical talent could be admitted to Pill Peak, everything he had done was worth it.

"Consider you knowing what's good for you."

Only then did Gu Tiangang contentedly gather the medicine bottles, thinking of presenting all these elixirs to Chen Yi and the others later.

Such a lavish gesture from this old Daoist should surely be described as "magnanimous and generous," right?

At that moment, Pang Kuan, who had been watching the spectacle for a long time, glanced outside the Taihe Hall, a look of delight crossing his features.

"Damn it, this old man has finally waited for it!"

Hearing this, Gu Tiangang and Sun Daofu shifted their attention outward as well.

"A barbarian possessing ancient barbarian bloodlines? Old Pang, you've really struck gold."

"Indeed, practicing the Physical Peak's techniques with a physique like that is bound to let him shine brilliantly in the sect's minor competition."

"Not necessarily, is it?"

Gu Tiangang curled his lip and said, "Among this batch of disciples, not to mention Chen Yi, who possesses supreme swordsmanship talent, Lin Xueju alone, with her phoenix blood, is enough to match him."

Pang Kuan's expression stiffened, and he glared at him irritably. "You'll only know whether he's formidable after they compete."

"Oh?" Gu Tiangang slanted a glance at him. "Sun Bastard, are you disagreeing with this old Daoist's words?"

"The facts speak for themselves!" Pang Kuan lifted his massive head and replied stubbornly.

Hearing this, Sun Daofu knew that someone else was about to meet with misfortune.

Sure enough, he saw Gu Tiangang leisurely remark, "Earlier, this old Daoist felt something was missing, and now I realize what it was."

"So it's your Physical Peak's exclusive body-tempering medicine."

"What do you mean?" Pang Kuan paused, asking suspiciously, "Why bring this up out of the blue?"

Sun Daofu chimed in at the appropriate moment, "Senior Brother Gu means that since he has just returned to the sect, his lineage still lacks a suitable disciple."

For some reason, as he said these words, he felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

Could this be the true essence of "may your fellow Daoist die rather than this poor Daoist"?

"And then?"

"And then," Gu Tiangang flicked the newly acquired "contract" and said leisurely, "This old Daoist finds this disciple with ancient barbarian blood extremely suitable to inherit my mantle."

Pang Kuan blinked, looked back and forth between Gu Tiangang and Sun Daofu, and finally understood.

"Old Gu Bastard, you damn well are going too far!"

"I'll go your..."

...

Half a day passed, and the first trial finally concluded.

The result was unexpected yet within reason.

Especially for the disciples of the Taixu Dao Sect in charge of this trial.

Looking at the twenty tender youths who had passed the trial, recalling the entire process felt like traversing rolling mountains and ridges.

First, out of more than thirty children, only two passed the trial.

Then ten passed in succession, among whom appeared three of special-class talent, making even those youths with superior talent pale in comparison.

One must know that in past years of opening the mountain gates, the appearance of just a few superior disciples was enough to make the sect rejoice.

Never had they expected that this time, before the recruitment deadline had even passed, several special-class talents would have already emerged.

While rejoicing, this naturally made them look forward to the subsequent rewards from the sect.

As for the subsequent fifty-odd youths where only seven passed, that was well within expectations.

Aside from the superior-talented barbarian youth with ancient barbarian blood, the other six all possessed medium-level talent.

As those who failed the trial departed, the entire bluestone terrace became much more spacious.

Xiao Xuanzhen stood with his hands behind his back, his small figure resembling the sect leaders and elders of the Taixu Dao Sect as he spoke in an indifferent tone:

"Since the founding of our Taixu Dao Sect, the founder left behind the ancestral teaching that 'a cultivator's talent is secondary, while disposition is paramount.'"

"Therefore, the second trial tests disposition!"

"However, unlike previous years, this time we are testing neither loyalty and kindness nor determination, but rather martial courage."

Xiao Xuanzhen had followed Xiao Huang in his cultivation since childhood, and vaguely understood that kindness and determination would change with the environment and state of mind.

Yet martial courage, or rather the heart striving toward martial arts, was a necessary prerequisite for a cultivator to walk far down this path.

Chen Yi and the others looked at each other, secretly wondering if this was the kind of trial they suspected.

Ordinary households might not know, but aristocratic scions like them originating from the Capital Prefecture certainly did.

After all, inside every family's martial arts arena, there was the corpse of a demon beast used to temper their courage.

Could this trial be the same?

Seeing that these tender youths all wore puzzled expressions, Xiao Xuanzhen offered no explanation, instead clapping his hands and saying, "Bring it up."

It?

Chen Yi felt a faint sense of foreboding and hurriedly signaled to Lin Xueju and the others with his eyes.

Be careful; I'm afraid the Taixu Dao Sect is bringing out a big one!

Before the others could respond, a deafening boom exploded across the bluestone terrace, kicking up a wave of wind that forced them to instinctively narrow their eyes.

When they clearly saw the object before them, even Chen Yi could not help frowning.

The source of the loud noise was a massive, bronze-colored cage. Behind bars as thick as a human arm, an ugly demon beast was curled up.

It crouched inside the cage, its fleshy wings folded to wrap around its body. Vaguely, one could see a pair of scarlet eyes filled with tyrannical killing intent on its furry head, coldly gazing at Chen Yi and the others.

The next instant, the roar of the monster echoed in everyone's ears: "Roar! Meat... delicious meat..."

Hiss!

Looking at the dense, sharp fangs bared within the wide-open mouth as it roared, all the youths except for a few were scared out of their wits.

And Hua Yourong, who was already timid, shrank behind Hua Xianzi, trembling all over.

"This, this is a joke, right? A living demon beast..."

"Judging by the texture of the baby hair around its neck, its strength is actually comparable to the fifth-rank Dan-Congealing Realm?"

Listening to the murmurs around him, Chen Yi carefully observed the demon beast.

When he had attained small-success mastery in swordsmanship, he had fought against demon beasts of this kind.

Its weaknesses were located respectively at the baby hair on its neck, an inch below its chest, and the temples on both sides of its head covered by a mane.

Regardless of whether the other parts appeared to be mere flesh and blood, inflicting even the severest damage there would not cause it to instantly perish.

While the demon beast appeared, Xiao Xuanzhen was also observing everyone's expressions, forming a judgment on the few youths who showed no fear.

"Next, you will step forward one by one to take the trial."

"The content of the trial is very simple: you only need to touch its body to pass."

"You can rest assured of one thing: it cannot leave the cage, nor can it even reach its arms out."

With that, a smile actually surfaced on Xiao Xuanzhen's face.

"Now then, who goes first?"