Chapter 2

"Hey! Even a good-for-nothing can get angry? What, you want to hit me? Do you dare? Haha..." Wang Yuanzhi, the leader, glanced at Gu Fei, who was clenching his fists, and walked up to him with a sneer, puffing out his chest in a provocative manner.

His provocative and arrogant words made the other disciples passing by on the path frown.

Wang Yuanzhi, at the Fifth Level of the Enlightenment Realm, was a member of the Wang family, a cultivation family in the State of Qi. When he entered the sect, he spent a lot of time making connections with his fellow disciples, and with the support of his family, he gradually became arrogant among the lower-ranking disciples of Tai Xuan Sect.

Most disciples from noble families had a common flaw: they were young and reckless. Wang Yuanzhi was one of these noble family disciples.

Gu Fei stared intently at Wang Yuanzhi, his face filled with anger. However, soon, his anger subsided, and he loosened his fists.

He wished he could punch this despicable guy in the face, making him bleed from the nose, but Gu Fei knew that if he fought Wang Yuanzhi now, he had no chance of winning.

Fifth Level of the Enlightenment Realm against Third Level of the Enlightenment Realm, the outcome was predictable. Gu Fei forcibly suppressed his anger and chose to endure.

He gave Wang Yuanzhi a contemptuous glance and turned to leave, completely ignoring Wang Yuanzhi, whose face had turned ashen.

"He... He actually looked at me like that! You little punk, you have guts!" Wang Yuanzhi was thoroughly enraged by Gu Fei's disdainful glance.

"Senior Brother Wang, why bother with such a good-for-nothing? Let's hurry to Hu Lin Pavilion to receive today's task!" A young man beside Wang Yuanzhi said.

Every sect had many affairs to handle, and Tai Xuan Sect was no exception. Disciples who had been in the sect for less than ten years had to take on miscellaneous tasks, while only the elite disciples could focus on cultivation on the mountain without doing any chores.

Tai Xuan Sect only opened its gates to the secular world once every ten years to recruit new disciples. Before new disciples entered, all the miscellaneous tasks in Tai Xuan Sect were handled by the disciples at the foot of the mountain.

"Fine! I'll definitely deal with him properly in the future. He's so arrogant despite having no skills, he's asking for it!" Wang Yuanzhi looked at Gu Fei, who had disappeared into the pine forest path ahead, with a fierce expression in his eyes.

This guy was not a good person, and he was the type who would seek revenge for the slightest provocation.

Gu Fei turned around a rock, and the view ahead suddenly opened up. At the end of the path, a graceful pavilion was hidden among the trees.

This was Hu Lin Pavilion. Hu Lin Pavilion was where Tai Xuan Sect managed the miscellaneous tasks of the sect, and it was responsible for the young disciples who had been in the sect for less than ten years.

When Gu Fei arrived at Hu Lin Pavilion, many white-robed young men were already entering and exiting the main gate, each holding a jade token in their hands.

Walking into Hu Lin Pavilion, Gu Fei looked up and saw a girl with eyes like autumn water and a face like white jade walking towards him.

"Senior Brother Gu!" The beautiful girl saw Gu Fei and immediately smiled, greeting him. Her voice was as clear and pleasant as the chirping of birds.

This girl was also dressed in a white robe, with a slender and graceful figure, small and delicate, long black hair cascading over her shoulders, and a face like a painting, a classical beauty.

"Junior Sister Zhao!" Gu Fei nodded at the girl and continued walking forward.

They passed each other. Gu Fei caught a faint, elegant, and intoxicating fragrance from her, which made his mind feel dazed.

The girl named Zhao suddenly turned to look at the lonely figure behind her, her lively eyes showing a hint of sympathy, and then she turned and left Hu Lin Pavilion.

"Hey, isn't that Junior Sister Zhao..." Gu Fei faintly heard Wang Yuanzhi's annoying voice from behind.

Gu Fei glanced around the hall and saw that several young disciples were in front of a jade wall, taking down palm-sized jade tokens hanging on it. The jade tokens were crystal clear, faintly emitting a milky white glow, clearly not ordinary objects.

Next to the jade wall was a table, behind which sat a middle-aged man in a green Daoist robe. His eyes seemed to be always half-closed, and he was dozing off, propping his cheek with one hand.

He had no hairpin on his head, and his long hair was casually draped behind him, somewhat messy. His Daoist robe looked as if it had been thrown on haphazardly.

This middle-aged Daoist gave the impression of always being half-asleep, lazy, and unkempt.

The hall of Hu Lin Pavilion was simply furnished, not luxurious but not shabby. One by one, white-robed young men entered and took down jade tokens from the jade wall.

Those who took the jade tokens used their divine sense to scan them, their faces showing either joy or worry.

Gu Fei came to the jade wall and saw that there were still twenty to thirty jade tokens left. He seemed to be one of the early arrivals among the disciples who had been in the sect for less than ten years, all of whom were the fourth-generation disciples of Tai Xuan Sect.

One of the three major Daoist sects on the Tenglong Continent, Tai Xuan Sect, had only four generations of disciples. The generation of the sect leader, of course, was the first generation, and regardless of how many sect leaders there had been, the sect leader was always the first generation, followed by the second, third, and fourth generations.

This was the hierarchical system of Tai Xuan Sect.

"What are today's miscellaneous tasks?" Gu Fei's face remained calm, and it was difficult to discern any expression on it.

As he reached out, his hand seemed to pass through a thin film before touching the jade token, causing a few barely noticeable ripples in the air.

This was a barrier that blocked divine sense, preventing the young disciples from using their divine sense to probe the content of the jade tokens. This was fair, like drawing lots, and no one could complain about the outcome, whether good or bad.

Each jade token contained a corresponding piece of information, which could only be accessed by the disciples after they took the token from the jade wall.

Gu Fei took down a jade token and scanned it with his divine sense. A line of text appeared in his mind.

"Hmm! Today's task is quite easy!" Gu Fei's face remained indifferent, and the jade token showed that he had to go to the Immortal Herb Valley, fifty miles away, to pick ten hundred-year-old Spirit Pearl Grass plants.

"The ten-year period is almost over, and the sect is going to start refining the Condensing Essence Pill again, I see!" Gu Fei held the jade token in his hand and turned to leave the pavilion.

Just as he reached the door, he encountered Wang Yuanzhi and two other young men. Gu Fei completely ignored Wang Yuanzhi's killing gaze and walked past him without even a glance.

"That guy!" Wang Yuanzhi was furious, but he glanced at the dozing green-robed Daoist inside and suppressed the anger that was rising to his head.

Hu Lin Pavilion was not a place for him to act recklessly. Even if Wang Yuanzhi was bold, he dared not be disrespectful in front of this unkempt senior uncle.

Leaving Hu Lin Pavilion and walking through the pine forest path, Gu Fei turned onto another gravel path. At the end of this path was a large area of houses.

This was where the fourth-generation disciples of Tai Xuan Sect lived. There were a few such living areas on the mountain. Of course, the living area for female disciples was on the other side of the mountain.

The houses were arranged in a crescent shape, with a courtyard in the middle. In the courtyard stood a large tree that several people could barely encircle. The tree's branches and leaves were lush, almost covering half of the courtyard.

Gu Fei entered the courtyard, returned to his residence, ate some fruits he had picked from the mountains, changed into a clean set of clothes, and then left the house.

"Gu Fei, the good-for-nothing, where are you in such a hurry to go?" A low, deep voice came as soon as Gu Fei took his first step out of the house.

The voice was filled with hostility, making Gu Fei frown. He looked in the direction of the voice and saw a young man with clear features but a fierce expression leaning against the large tree in the courtyard, looking at him with ill intent.

Beside this young man stood two other white-robed young men. Who else could they be but Wang Yuanzhi and his group?

"What do you want, Wang Yuanzhi!" Gu Fei's expression turned cold, and he said in a deep voice.

"Hmph! I don't want anything, just your jade token!" Wang Yuanzhi said slowly as he walked towards Gu Fei.

The three young men formed a loose encirclement around Gu Fei, blocking him in front of his house. Their contemptuous looks and sneers greatly irritated Gu Fei.

Gu Fei's mind was filled with one word—anger!