Chapter 9

In Lin Haoming's memory, the last time he saw Xie Ruolan, she was still a delicate little girl. But now, five years have passed, and Xie Ruolan should be sixteen years old. As a cultivator, the girl standing before him was a stunningly beautiful young lady, tall and graceful.

Her eyebrows were as delicate as willow leaves, her eyes as bright as stars, and beneath her perfectly formed nose, her small, rosy lips were slightly upturned, forming a gentle smile that gave a sense of warmth.

Lin Haoming could say that not only in this life but even in his previous life, he had never seen such a beautiful woman. Although, due to cultivation, common blemishes and marks that women usually have did not exist, even so, in Lin Haoming's memory, no woman could compare to her.

"What are you staring at? Don't you fear I'll gouge out your dog eyes? Hurry up and scram!"

Just as Lin Haoming was staring blankly at the girl who would have become his wife if the old ancestor hadn't fallen, he didn't expect it to provoke the dissatisfaction of the man beside her.

As an inner disciple, and not just any inner disciple, Ling Shengjie had considered Xie Ruolan his exclusive possession ever since he met her a year ago. Anyone who dared to have designs on her would not end well.

"Ling Senior Brother, don't be like that!" Xie Ruolan called out, seemingly a bit angry.

Hearing this, Ling Shengjie's tone immediately softened, and he said gently, "Junior Sister, I'm just worried about you. Besides, I want everyone to know that your beauty isn't something just anyone can stare at!"

"You're so domineering. If you have the guts, say that to Senior Brother Kong too!" Xie Ruolan pouted, her tone tinged with a hint of coquettishness.

Hearing Junior Sister Xie's sweet voice, Ling Shengjie's eyes gleamed with passion, but he also felt a bit annoyed and said, "Junior Sister, don't worry. Kong Yuanliang is only a year older than me, with one more year of cultivation. If I had that extra year, he wouldn't be a match for me!"

When Ling Senior Brother mentioned Kong Yuanliang, Lin Haoming immediately remembered who the person in front of him was.

He remembered that when he was young, there were several descendants of the sect's elders, one of whom, a great-grandson of Elder Ling, was named Ling Shengjie, probably the person in front of him. As for Kong Yuanliang, he was the son of Kong Fang, a direct disciple of another elder. Lin Haoming had met him a few times, and he never expected that after five years, they would both have their eyes on Xie Ruolan.

Although Xie Ruolan was breathtakingly beautiful, like a celestial being descended to earth, Lin Haoming knew that even though she had spoken up for him just now, her eyes didn't show any respect for him at all.

Moreover, this woman had never paid attention to him in the past five years and had probably long forgotten him. He wouldn't seek her out and embarrass himself.

For him, the most important thing now was the duel with Guo Xin. Lin Haoming didn't linger and left directly.

Seeing Lin Haoming leave tactfully, Ling Shengjie immediately asked Wang Chen, "How did the business this month go?"

Wang Chen chuckled, took a storage bag from his waist, and handed it to Xie Ruolan, saying, "Here are exactly eight hundred spirit stones!"

"Eight hundred, Junior Brother Wang is really capable. You earned a few dozen more spirit stones than last month!" Xie Ruolan's mind was also delighted as she scanned the contents with her divine sense.

Hearing this, Ling Shengjie said proudly, "Junior Sister, what do you think? My judgment was right, wasn't it? If you had listened to Kong Yuanliang back then, you wouldn't have this monthly income of several hundred spirit stones now!"

"Thank you, Senior Brother Ling. When we return to the second level, Junior Sister will definitely buy a few jars of fine spirit wine to reward Senior Brother!" Xie Ruolan said with a smile.

Seeing Xie Ruolan smile at him, Ling Shengjie was overjoyed.

Xie Ruolan, however, glanced at him with a hint of disdain in her eyes, thinking to herself, "Such a low-ability young master, truly a waste of his status as Elder Ling's great-grandson. Compared to the Lin Haoming of the past, he's not much better. But it's fortunate that he's stupid; otherwise, how could I play both him and Kong Yuanliang against each other?"

After leaving Wang Chen, Lin Haoming didn't immediately return to his cave but went to several other caves to purchase Qi Gathering Pills.

He had brought a total of 350 spirit stones, and he exchanged the remaining 250 for Qi Gathering Pills before returning.

Originally, Lin Haoming had planned to buy a magical artifact, but he didn't even have a storage bag. If someone found out he had a magical artifact, he would likely be targeted. With his current low cultivation, that wouldn't be a good thing. It was more practical to exchange them for pills.

Back at his residence, he immediately activated the array and swallowed a Qi Gathering Pill, sitting down in the Five Elements Spirit Gathering Array to cultivate.

The Qi Gathering Pill was much more effective than the Qi Circulation Pill. Taking one pill and refining it was roughly equivalent to absorbing the spirit energy of one low-grade spirit stone.

However, it took him only three hours to refine one Qi Gathering Pill, while a low-grade spirit stone, due to its impurities and the time needed to expel them, took about four hours. Still, it was much faster than just absorbing spirit energy. Using the Five Elements Spirit Gathering Array, the combination of both methods could roughly double his cultivation speed.

If he had enough Qi Gathering Pills, he estimated that he could reach the eighth layer of the Qi Condensation stage in about three months. Taking three pills a day, he would need 270 pills in three months, and the pills he brought back were just about enough.

However, time didn't wait for anyone. In three days, it would be the time to collect the monthly stipend.

On that day, apart from the chief manager Ma Gaofeng, a total of twenty-four ordinary managers gathered outside Ma Gaofeng's cave, facing each other.

Lin Haoming was among one of the groups, and he also saw the legendary Zhou Zhiye for the first time.

Zhou Zhiye and Situ Ping were both at the peak of the Qi Condensation stage, and they were about the same age. However, compared to Situ Ping, Zhou Zhiye looked more like a pretty boy.

Situ Ping was just cold, but Zhou Zhiye's gaze always carried a hint of wickedness. Lin Haoming felt somewhat relieved, subconsciously thinking that following this guy might be worse than following Situ Ping.

At this moment, Zhou Zhiye indeed asked in a sarcastic tone, "Senior Brother Situ, I heard that one of your subordinates, a seventh-layer Qi Condensation cultivator, is betting on his worth. That's quite interesting. I haven't encountered such a thing in a long time. Since that kid has the nerve to say such things, he must be very confident in the duel. I wonder if Senior Brother has confidence in him?"

Situ Ping snorted and said, "Junior Brother Zhou, just say what you want. Your sarcastic tone is why Master said you don't act like a man!"

"Hmph! Senior Brother, you're right. I'll be straightforward. We haven't placed bets on these small managers' duels in a long time. Since there's such an interesting kid, I want to place a bet on my side. Will Senior Brother accept it?"

Situ Ping narrowed his eyes at Zhou Zhiye and then looked at Lin Haoming, asking, "How confident are you?"

Lin Haoming, feeling uncomfortable under Situ Ping's gaze, knew that his answer was important. After some thought, he replied, "At least seventy percent, if I don't consider the consequences."

Hearing this, Situ Ping smiled and said, "What do you think, Junior Brother?"

Zhou Zhiye also heard Lin Haoming's words and sneered, "That's simple. Just have them sign a life-and-death contract, and we'll be the witnesses!"

"Fine, let's do it!" Seeing that he had a method, Situ Ping didn't ask Lin Haoming's opinion and immediately agreed.

PS: Readers who have been following my work might wonder why I'm using the ordinary human mode. Indeed, this mode is a bit outdated, but it's the one I'm most familiar with. It allows me to focus more on character development. My goal is to create characters that readers will remember long after they finish the book! A small spoiler: Ruolan is the female lead! And this book won't turn into a harem novel. There will be more than one female lead, but no more than three. At least, that's what my outline predicts within two million words. So, with the female lead making her debut, please add this to your collection!