Chapter 21

Late at night, in the courtyard of the Lian Clan's patriarch.

“Bang!”

The courtyard gate was pushed open, and a young man with a face as fair as jade walked out.

“Chengyu, why did you come out?”

The old patriarch stood up upon seeing the young man. Chengyu had previously said he would remain in seclusion until the start of the Great Selection of the Taiyi Divine Kingdom.

It had only been a little over a month, yet Chengyu had already emerged from seclusion.

“Encountered some problems in cultivation…”

Chengyu's expression was not good. Originally, he had planned to accumulate a solid foundation over two months, then take the Essence of the Wasteland Bone to break through to the Purple Blood Realm in one go!

By doing so, his foundation would be solid enough, and his accumulation sufficient. Once he broke through to the Purple Blood Realm, he could reach the peak of the early stage, dominating his peers at the same level, and it would also greatly benefit his future breakthroughs to higher realms!

The Great Selection of the Taiyi Divine Kingdom placed great emphasis on the foundation and accumulated strength of the warriors being evaluated. If Chengyu could achieve this, he might gain the favor of the officials of the Taiyi Divine Kingdom and achieve a remarkable result.

However, things did not go as planned. Despite using all the good medicines from the Lian Clan's medicinal mountain, Chengyu's cultivation progressed slowly!

Chengyu believed he had hit a bottleneck.

In fact, the mindset during seclusion was also very important. A good mindset, strong confidence, and sufficient perseverance could lead to a breakthrough like a bamboo shoot after a spring rain.

But if one believed there was a problem with cultivation and had hit a bottleneck, it was inevitable to lose sharpness, making the breakthrough much more difficult.

This psychological impact was not significant at first, but with the already insufficient resources for cultivation, the situation worsened, causing Chengyu's progress to slow down even more. In the end, he chose to end his seclusion early.

Change his mindset, take a break, then take the Essence of the Wasteland Bone and re-enter seclusion to break through the Purple Blood Realm in one go.

This was Chengyu's plan, and it made some sense. Sometimes, continuous cultivation without success could lead to a breakthrough if one paused and gained some profound insights, possibly breaking through the bottleneck unconsciously.

“How is the Wasteland Bone being refined?”

Chengyu asked the question he was most concerned about. This Wasteland Bone was crucial to his life and future!

“Hmm, it's going relatively smoothly, but… the poor people refining the Wasteland Bone have been poisoned. I planned to have them hold on for a few more days, but seeing they were about to die, I had to give them Blood Dissolving Pills. They have recovered and it won't affect the refinement of the Wasteland Bone.”

Chengyu frowned, “These useless people are really no good. They couldn't even withstand the toxicity of the Cold Python Wasteland Bone for a few days! After taking the Blood Dissolving Pills, they will exhaust their vitality. At this rate, they won't last until the Wasteland Bone is fully refined!”

Chengyu's words were cold and merciless. The old patriarch felt they were a bit excessive and said, “Chengyu… your standards are too high. These people usually don't have enough to eat or wear. How can they withstand the toxicity of the Cold Python? They are sacrificing for the Lian Clan. When you achieve greatness, you should take care of their families.”

“I understand.” Chengyu responded expressionlessly, “I'm just worried about the refinement of the Wasteland Bone. If these people die too soon, it will affect the refinement. Grandfather, issue an order to recruit more people from the clan. More people can share the toxicity of the Cold Python, extending the time they can endure. Although Blood Dissolving Pills are not expensive in large clans, we have already spent most of our money. We should save them if possible.”

Chengyu spoke casually, and the old patriarch sighed. He knew that each additional recruit meant one more life lost.

Poor those poor people, who were eager to refine the Wasteland Bone just for some salted meat.

“For the sake of the Lian Clan, we have no choice…” The old patriarch shook his head, “It's a pity. If we had a non-toxic Wasteland Bone, it wouldn't result in so many deaths.”

“A non-toxic Wasteland Bone?” Chengyu sneered, “With our clan's financial resources and the incomplete secret manual I obtained, how could we possibly get a non-toxic Wasteland Bone?”

“Moreover, the Cold Python Wasteland Bone is not toxic; it just contains a hard-to-dissolve cold energy. Once it enters the body, it can freeze the internal organs, gradually draining one's vitality. If we had a Wasteland Master, they could easily neutralize the cold energy of the Cold Python Wasteland Bone. But would a Wasteland Master even bother to detoxify such a low-level Wasteland Bone? They certainly wouldn't come to our Lian Clan!”

“That's why the young masters of the large clans are unwilling to use such Wasteland Bones. The Cold Python Wasteland Bone is the cheapest type of Wasteland Bone, which is why it fell to me to use it! Just like how the bones left over by the rich are fed to dogs, to the large clans, I am like a stray dog eating their discarded food!”

Chengyu said the last sentence with self-mockery. His lips twitched, and he clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into the flesh of his palms.

He hated it!

The young masters and misses of the large clans could pick and choose their Wasteland Bones, avoiding those with side effects or poor results!

But for him, even obtaining a discarded Cold Python Wasteland Bone required immense effort and the depletion of all his resources!

Pouring all his hopes into a Wasteland Bone with severe side effects, risking his life to consume it, was truly pitiful!

“Chengyu, you've suffered a lot these years. But you know, the talented young people of the large clans are few, and even within those clans, many have poor aptitudes and can't even get much Wasteland Beast meat…”

The old patriarch felt guilty. He knew Chengyu had great talent, but the Lian Clan was too poor to support him. Over the years, though Chengyu never said it, the old patriarch knew he harbored resentment towards the Lian Clan.

Chengyu found it hard to listen to the old patriarch's words and said, “Grandfather, you don't need to comfort me. Heaven is indifferent, treating all things as straw dogs. Since this world is unfair, I will use my own strength to win fairness! One day, I will control my own destiny and the destinies of others! In the future, I will trample the young masters of the large clans under my feet!!”

“I understand.” The old patriarch sighed, “Tomorrow, I will issue an announcement to recruit more people to refine the Wasteland Bone. We can't afford to worry about how many will die. More people will absorb more cold energy, reducing the danger when you take the Wasteland Bone.”

The old patriarch knew that for Chengyu, the deaths of some poor people meant nothing to him.

Chengyu's heart was filled with resentment towards the unfairness of the world, feeling he was extremely unfortunate. How could he care about the misfortunes of others?

In Chengyu's view, those poor people were mere ants, and he saw himself as a slightly larger ant.

The concept of the strong preying on the weak was deeply ingrained in Chengyu's heart. Only by consuming smaller ants could he continue to grow, until he became a supreme being who could control his own and others' destinies.