Chapter 8

"Bring me your wooden token for inspection!"

A cold voice echoed, and it turned out to be a senior brother with a deadpan face, who had been waiting outside the pavilion all along. Fang Xing was about to hand over the wooden token, but the senior brother merely waved his hand, and an invisible force pulled the token out of Fang Xing's hand, making it fly toward him. The senior brother took the token and glanced at it, immediately revealing a look of disdain.

"Ding-level potential? Humph, another waste of space!"

He tossed the token back to Fang Xing, impatiently saying, "Go to the Greenwood Pavilion on your own. I have other matters to attend to, so I won't accompany you!"

He pointed in the direction of the Greenwood Pavilion and turned to leave.

Fang Xing was furious, cursing aloud, thinking to himself, "What kind of people are these cultivators?"

Clearly, the deadpan-faced senior brother had the duty to guide new disciples to the Greenwood Pavilion and help them with the necessary items. However, after seeing Fang Xing's cultivation potential rating, he simply didn't bother with him anymore and left without even pretending to care.

"I'll remember you, and I'll make you taste my power someday!"

Fang Xing angrily descended the mountain, but he didn't know the way to the Greenwood Pavilion. The strange peaks and valleys, the rows of palace eaves, made him dizzy. The deadpan-faced senior brother had only pointed in the general direction, so how was he supposed to know where the Greenwood Pavilion was?

"Uh... Junior Brother Fang..."

On the path ahead, a large, fat man hurried over and stopped when he saw Fang Xing.

This fat man was the plump Taoist who had promised to wait by the Clear Heart Bell yesterday to guide Fang Xing. However, he had drunk too much and forgotten about it until the Clear Heart Bell rang, which woke him up. He then hurriedly got up and came to the Greenwood Pavilion, where he coincidentally met Fang Xing, who was cursing as he walked by.

The two faced each other, and the plump Taoist felt a bit awkward. Although they had called each other brothers and enjoyed a drink together yesterday, that was when they were both drunk. Now, although he wanted to be friends with Fang Xing, he felt a bit embarrassed.

"Hey, my fat senior brother, I've been waiting for you for a long time. Why did you come so late?"

Fang Xing immediately understood the plump Taoist's thoughts and approached with a smile.

"Ah... cough, my surname is Yu, not Pig... I'm really sorry to have kept you waiting, Junior Brother..."

Seeing Fang Xing's enthusiasm, the plump Taoist's reservations vanished, and he approached with a smile.

"Why are you alone, Junior Brother Fang? Don't you have a senior brother to guide you?"

"There was a deadpan-faced senior brother, but he had diarrhea and ran to the toilet. I couldn't wait, so I decided to go on my own..."

"Uh... how can a cultivator have diarrhea?"

"Who knows, maybe his intestines are rotten..."

Fang Xing casually lied, cursing the deadpan-faced senior brother, and then hooked his arm around the plump Taoist's neck and walked off. Being short, he could barely reach the plump Taoist's shoulder, even when the plump Taoist leaned to one side.

"What level of potential was Junior Brother Fang rated?"

"Haha, what about you?"

"Senior Brother is ashamed, I'm rated Ding-level..."

"Haha, then we're about the same!"

The two, one tall and one short, one fat and one thin, chatted and walked toward the Greenwood Pavilion.

The plump Taoist didn't change his attitude because Fang Xing was Ding-level. First, he was also Ding-level, so he couldn't criticize Fang Xing. Second, Fang Xing learned from him that among the thousand outer disciples of the Qingyun Sect, more than half were Ding-level, and among the remaining, more than half were Bing-level, and among those, more than half were Yi-level.

The true Jia-level potential was extremely rare, with only a few in the entire sect, and they were treated like precious treasures.

Thinking about this, Fang Xing felt a bit more balanced, knowing he wasn't the worst.

They soon arrived at the Greenwood Pavilion, a three-story building made of a light green wood. At first glance, it seemed plain and unadorned, but upon closer inspection, it was finely crafted, with no visible seams or insect holes, and not even a speck of dust. Under the morning sun, it shimmered with a sacred light.

As they approached, a lean old Taoist walked over, and the plump Taoist quickly pulled Fang Xing to greet him, calling him Senior Brother Qiao. Fang Xing glanced at him and found he could see through his cultivation level, which was only at the fourth level of the Lingdong stage. Although he looked similar in age to the high elder, their cultivation levels were vastly different.

Senior Brother Qiao took Fang Xing's wooden token, glanced at it, and without further ado, assigned him a small house at the foot of Cloudy Peak as his cultivation place. He also gave him a small-sized Qingyun Sect robe, a thin book called the Qingyun Forging Qi Manual, and a small, red, crystal-like stone about the size of a pebble, which was said to be a spirit stone used for cultivation. Then he sent Fang Xing to the Dharma Artifact Pavilion.

"Junior Brother Fang, don't underestimate this spirit stone. Our future cultivation relies entirely on it. As outer disciples, we only receive one spirit stone every three months, and we treat it like a treasure. In the secular world, each one is worth a hundred gold pieces..."

The plump Taoist saw Fang Xing examining the spirit stone and said.

"Only one every three months? This sect is so stingy!"

Fang Xing was somewhat dissatisfied.

"Oh, this is a cultivation resource. Receiving one every three months is already quite good. Since our potential is low, although we are all outer disciples, Ding-level potential receives one every three months, Bing-level potential receives one every two months, Yi-level potential receives one every month, and Jia-level potential receives two every month. They are all rich people..."

"Hehe, if there are rich people, that's good. I'll rob them for two spirit stones someday..."

"Junior Brother, don't be reckless. Those Jia-level potential disciples are not easy to deal with. If there's a dispute, even if they provoked it, the elders will certainly punish us. If you want to earn extra, I can introduce you to a job in the Miscellaneous Affairs Office. By working hard, you can earn one spirit stone every three months, which is double the amount..."

"Haha, it's not suitable for me. Let me think about it!"

As they chatted, they arrived at the Dharma Artifact Pavilion. The plump Taoist suddenly remembered something and whispered, "Junior Brother Fang, when you get to the Dharma Artifact Pavilion, hand over the spirit stone to the senior brother in charge. Then, follow his guidance to choose a dharma artifact..."

Fang Xing was taken aback and rolled his eyes, "What kind of joke is this? I only get one spirit stone every three months. Why should I give it to them?"

The plump Taoist was at a loss, "This isn't the time to be stingy. In the Qingyun Sect's outer Dharma Artifact Pavilion, most of the items are old and damaged. If you show respect, the senior brothers will guide you to a good one. If you don't, they won't care, and you won't know which is good and which is bad. These black-hearted people often polish damaged flying swords to a shine and place them there to deceive others..."

He showed Fang Xing his own sword charm, "Look, I didn't show respect, so I was tricked into choosing this sword charm, which is supposed to release sword qi equivalent to a fourth-level Lingdong cultivator. I thought I had found a treasure and was overjoyed. Later, I found out it could only be used once and was useless after that. I can't throw it away or keep it, and I'm left with nothing but tears. Now, I just keep it as a memento..."

"It looks like you're useless too, no wonder you go around bullying the young disciples..."

Fang Xing silently criticized the plump Taoist in his heart but smiled and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother. I understand!"

The plump Taoist didn't follow Fang Xing into the Dharma Artifact Pavilion but waited outside. Fang Xing strode in confidently.

"Bold, the Dharma Artifact Pavilion of the Qingyun Sect is not a place for idle people to wander!"

Suddenly, a loud voice startled Fang Xing. Three people emerged from the side of the Dharma Artifact Pavilion. The leader was a man in his thirties with a thin mustache, small, beady eyes, and a rat-like appearance. His eyes sparkled, and Fang Xing understood why people said small eyes could focus well.

Fang Xing secretly observed the three men and saw their cultivation levels. The rat-like man was at the third level of the Lingdong stage, and the other two were at the second level. He realized they were trying to intimidate him, but he sneered inwardly and respectfully said, "I am the new outer disciple Fang Xing, here to receive a dharma artifact as per the rules. I have the token given by High Elder Gao as proof. Please, Senior Brothers, take a look..."

The rat-like man took the token, glanced at it, and sneered, "So, you're a new outer disciple. Since you don't know the rules, I'll let you off this time for entering the Dharma Artifact Pavilion without permission. But, are you just going to come here empty-handed to receive a dharma artifact?"

His small eyes twinkled, clearly hinting for a bribe.

"Uh, what do you mean, Senior Brother?"

Fang Xing smiled awkwardly, pretending to be clueless, but he didn't want to give up the spirit stone. After all, it was a valuable resource.

Others needed their guidance to avoid damaged dharma artifacts, but he wasn't afraid. Was the Yin-Yang Divine Demon Mirror just for show?

"Rubbish, stop pretending to be clueless. Hand over the spirit stone quickly, or get lost..."

The man beside the rat-like man suddenly lost his temper, openly demanding the spirit stone without any pretense.

Fang Xing's face changed. Although he was reluctant to give up the spirit stone, he had considered it and was willing to do so, as he was new to the sect and didn't want to stand out. However, he was a person who didn't back down from a challenge. The man's outburst immediately triggered his temper.

"I only get one spirit stone every three months. Why should I give it to you, you scoundrel?"

Fang Xing's shout was even louder than the man's, startling the three of them.

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