Chapter 12

Chapter 12: What Does That Have to Do with a Mere Ordinary Disciple?

Rong Shu greeted her: “Good morning, Senior Sister Yu.”

Rong Shu seemed not to notice the resentment in Yu Ruan Ruan’s eyes and chatted casually, her expression unchanged as she rambled: “I figured that Senior Sister is exceptionally gifted and bears an ice-attribute Heavenly Spiritual Root, so you must be cultivating day and night; I didn’t dare disturb you, Senior Sister.”

Yu Ruan Ruan remembered her purpose, quickly smoothed her mood, and smiled sweetly again; the look she cast at Rong Shu held a glint of mischief as she said: “Junior Sister, Third Senior Brother is coming back.”

Rong Shu paused: “Third Senior Brother?”

Yu Ruan Ruan answered in a light, considerate tone: “Oh, you may not know yet; we have three Senior Brothers.”

She explained cheerfully: “First Senior Brother is still in seclusion, Second Senior Brother has gone home to visit his family, and Third Senior Brother is a Beast Tamer. He recently broke through to mid-stage Foundation Establishment, which lets him contract one more spirit beast, so he went out to find a suitable one to contract. He should be back soon.”

Rong Shu searched her memory for information on this Third Senior Brother. As personal disciples of Immortal Venerable Ze Yu, they were celebrities in the Heaven’s Evolution Sect; back when she took the sect assessment, she had already heard plenty about Yu Ruan Ruan and the others.

Third Senior Brother’s name was Qin Yuan. His current cultivation was mid-stage Foundation Establishment. He had joined the sect six years ago and was a Beast Tamer who had contracted two formidable spirit beasts: a seventh-rank Blood Patterned Black Panther and a fifth-rank Azure Sky Falcon.

A seventh-rank mature spirit beast had combat strength comparable to late-stage Foundation Establishment.

A fifth-rank mature spirit beast had combat strength comparable to early-stage Foundation Establishment.

Back when Qin Yuan was still at the Qi Refining Stage, he had already been able to contract those two spirit beasts and command them, a testament to his talent.

Yu Ruan Ruan went on, feigning vexation while secretly watching for the change in Rong Shu’s expression: “As soon as Third Senior Brother found a suitable spirit beast, he sent word to me, saying that once he returned, he’d find me a spirit beast as a pet. I was obviously just joking with him, yet Third Senior Brother actually kept it in mind the whole time…”

The very next moment, however, she heard Rong Shu murmur an “Oh,” then, with a calm face, end the topic: “Senior Sister Yu, I’m hurrying to Spirit Gathering Peak for a lecture, so I’ll go first.”

Yu Ruan Ruan’s eyes widened; she wondered if she had misheard.

But in truth, Rong Shu simply left.

Utterly puzzled, Yu Ruan Ruan asked the System: “Why is it like this? Rong Shu doesn’t seem to care at all about Third Senior Brother’s situation. Will she really be jealous of me? Jealous that Third Senior Brother dotes on me more?”

[Impossible.]

The System denied it at once and asserted with confidence: [Rong Shu grew up neglected in her clan—parents unloving, sisters distant—so deep down she greatly longs for family and friendship.]

“Then what’s going on now?” Yu Ruan Ruan’s tone was full of doubt and confusion.

[… She probably hasn’t met Qin Yuan yet, so she doesn’t feel anything for the moment.]

Yu Ruan Ruan half believed, half doubted, but thinking of the System’s past decisions—every one of which had worked to her advantage—she relaxed.

Since the System said so, it likely wasn’t wrong.

Maybe Rong Shu was only pretending on the surface not to care, while in her heart she was already seething with envy and resentment!

At this time, Rong Shu—whom Yu Ruan Ruan had decided was “green-eyed with envy”—went, as usual, to Spirit Gathering Peak for a lecture.

Sitting in the main hall, Rong Shu listened to the sect elder’s lesson while secretly rejoicing: [Good thing I wasn’t late.]

The elder lecturing today was famously strict and loathed tardy disciples.

As for that Third Senior Brother Qin Yuan Yu Ruan Ruan had mentioned, Rong Shu felt little of anything. [I haven’t even met him; just a stranger.]

When the lecture ended, Rong Shu followed the flow of Outer Sect disciples out of the hall.

A large batch of Outer Sect disciples filed out at once, and the open space beyond the doors suddenly felt crowded.

Many Outer Sect disciples gathered in twos and threes, chatting about their own affairs.

All at once, a voice tinged with jealousy drifted over: “…That Rong Shu, two months in and only at the first layer of Qi Refining; what a waste of a personal disciple’s position.”

Rong Shu halted mid-step. [Huh?]

She thought she had heard someone mention her.

She turned and scanned the area twice; her gaze finally settled on a group of five Outer Sect disciples to the right, not far away.

One person retorted: “That’s going too far. She’s merely a dual middle-grade spiritual roots cultivator; working day and night, she only just managed to reach the first layer of Qi Refining. It’s not that she doesn’t work hard; it’s just her talent.”

Another sniffed: “If your talent is poor, you should read the situation and act accordingly. Yet she still thick-skinnedly clings to Limitless Peak—shameless.”

A third asked, lowering his voice: “Are we still going to keep lying in wait for her? That little girl probably caught wind of something and doesn’t even dare step out of Limitless Peak…”

“…”

[Blocking someone?] Rong Shu blinked curiously.

[Did I do something so heinous it enraged gods and men?]

Oh—then she remembered.

She was now Immortal Venerable Ze Yu’s personal disciple.

And she had been accepted as a personal disciple by Immortal Venerable Ze Yu with nothing more than a merely passable, dual middle-grade spiritual roots qualification~

Having sorted it out, Rong Shu did not linger. She quietly headed off in the opposite direction from that group.

They were blocking the path for “Personal Disciple Rong Shu.” What did that have to do with her, a mere ordinary disciple wearing an Outer Sect robe? [Off I go, off I go~]

Rong Shu did not return directly to Limitless Peak as usual, but instead made a trip to the Task Pavilion.

Although she could currently claim fifty Spirit Stones and one hundred contribution points each month, that new-entrant benefit would end in four months; she couldn’t live off her stores forever.

The Task Pavilion issued assignments to sect disciples, and rewards varied according to the difficulty.

Task rewards were primarily Spirit Stones or contribution points, which were also the main source of income for most sect disciples.

The simple tasks included watering the medicine gardens, delivering letters and luggage, and feeding the sect’s spirit beasts. Such tasks paid little but were safe.

The high-paying tasks were either long-term and difficult or carried certain risks—sometimes even danger to one’s life.

For now, Rong Shu’s focus was on cultivation; she took tasks only to earn some Spirit Stones to cover the cost of daily pills.

Honing the knife does not delay chopping wood: once her cultivation was higher and she had more ways to save her life, she would consider taking on better-paying tasks.

Because Rong Shu wanted to become an alchemist, she would need both a Pill Furnace and spiritual herbs for alchemy; besides that, there were higher-tier arts to learn, a handy weapon to wield, and the cultivation method for the Foundation Establishment Stage in the future… everywhere she looked, there were expenses.