Chương 25: To Be a Master (IV)

Elder Qin mused silently at the barely hidden expression of panic that the man in front of him presented. Though Elder Lu had changed, he'd also remained the same; he could not be faulted for being a coward, though, as his talents truly were bottom of the bottom. He was the result of a karmic knot being unwoven, and the sect silently endured it for the sake of their Sect Master. However, Elder Qin was slightly surprised upon arriving.

The previously dilapidated house was standing much 'taller', the stench nonexistent, and the floorboards much smoother. He'd also spotted the nestled foundations of a building in the corner behind the house, as well as the pair of disciples who, though extremely low in cultivation, seemed to not be in want of anything. It was especially so for the young girl who had served the tea--with his discerning eyes, Elder Qin had noticed that she was poisoned, her Qi stagnant like the water in leaf-infested gutters.

And it was precisely the served tea that was the medicine to the ailment--Mildew Qi Tea had few uses outside of its mild taste, and one of them was its counteractive property to combat poisons. Though he didn't know precisely what poison ailed the girl, it was evident that the tea was the key to making her better. Did Elder Lu identify it too? And if so... how?

"Don't worry," Elder Qin broke the silence with a smile.

"You are not among the Elders tasked with this."

"Oh, thank--I mean, whatever the sect demands shall be so." Elder Qin held back a laugh. The man did change, and though nobody else in the sect probably noticed it, he did. Over the years, he'd often interact with the slightly pudgy Elder Lu as he'd seek more loans at the Administrative Hall. It was mostly well understood by everyone there that those weren't really 'loans' and were instead gifts, but nobody said anything.

Until recently, any time Elder Lu and he would interact, the former would never dare even look him in the eye, let alone converse; he'd stutter and plead, his voice a muted whisper. And he was extremely secretive, even if all desires were cleanly displayed. Whatever the reasons, Elder Qin would not probe. The heavens were vast and inscrutable, their designs unending. So long as the man did nothing to thwart the sect's progress, nobody would probe his changes.

He himself had gone from a scheming, flippant youth to someone who could not stand such injustices, and it was not merely due to growing up.

"I have heard that you'd made a bet with Daoist Mu," he changed the subject.

"I did."

"Are you confident?"

"I am." He really seemed to be; Elder Qin glanced at Long Tao, the last kid who took a Master in the latest batch. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Though the kid's countenance was admirable, the talent was... Even with deeper resources and nurturing, it was unlikely that the kid would even reach the first stage of Qi Condensation, let alone any further. It would be a miracle to even last ten breaths, let alone defeat any of the Daoist Mu's disciples.

However, Elder Qin did not step in; these bets were fine as they encouraged the Elders and Deacons to better nurture the kids. As for the fallout of the bet, he'd naturally mediate and disallow Elder Lu from being kicked out. With his and Sect Master's backing, there would be nothing they could say.

"... I'd be even more confident if a few more gifts came up the mountain..." Though the words were muffled, Elder Qin heard them, and heard them as he'd raised the teacup halfway to his lips. His fingers trembled and his eyelids twitched; glancing over, he saw the middle-aged man behave almost like a child, his eyes darting to and fro.

"Oh? You are lacking in gifts?"

"No, no! Not... lacking..."

"Haah," instead of laughing, Elder Qin decided to sigh. It truly was absurd, but he let it go. If there was one thing he didn't lack, it was resources. He was already at the peak of the Revolving Core Realm, and short of those heavenly treasures, nothing else would help him break through. He had hundreds of years' worth of reserves that were just rotting away; he might as well see if his 'investment' would yield more of a return.

"Fine. Here," he conjured a small satchel from his spatial ring, filled with around a thousand mid-grade Spirit Stones. It was quite a hefty amount--he suspected, in fact, that most other Elders barely had that in their deepest reserves. To him, however, it was a relatively harmless amount, and he truly wanted to see how much of a change it would make.

"Ah, thank you, Elder Qin, for your grace! Uhm..."

"... what is it now?" He wasn't going to ask for more, was he? There was no way there'd be such a shameless person in this world!

"A... a bet, would you like to make one?" ** I know, I know-- I am playing with fire! But that's okay because I had a firefighter's suit--Long Tao! The kid was already at the fifth--no, wait, he broke through earlier today, so now he was at the sixth stage--of the Qi Condensation Realm, already matching his seniors from two batches ago. The only way he wasn't winning that tournament was if he decided to either surrender or not participate.

However, I chose to believe the system--he'd already told me that he would participate, and there's no doubt in my bony body that an old monster like him would never consider surrendering against some children. I, I just have to make him limit his strength... So, knowing all that, I decided to play with the fire. Though I don't know precisely how many stones there were in the satchel, there were a lot of them. Like, a lot. Hundreds, possibly even a thousand! That's a freakin' insane number!

After all, Elder Qin had just mentioned that the entire sect sent over 5, 000 as a form of 'apology'. So, 1, 000 medium-grade Spirit Stones... that was enough to raise Long Tao to peak Foundation Establishment! Wait, probably not. Usually these monsters practice one of those slow-acting but super powerful methods that take a while to--okay, whatever, the point is that it's a lot of Spirit Stones. But. But. I can always have more.

"A bet?" he winced, visibly this time. The corners of his lips were twitching, and I saw his muscles briefly tense like he was about to snap and break my neck. Luckily, he held back.

"Not a big thing, not a big thing," I quickly said.

"If, if my disciple gets... khm, gets first place, you arrange for him to cultivate in the Antechamber for 6 hours."

"..." The room immediately chilled, and I found myself unable to breathe. I don't actually know what the heck Antechamber even is--I only have a vague recollection of it from a distant memory, framed within the 'a blessed place where the most talented in the sect go to cultivate'. There's a good chance I asked for something impossible, so I quickly prepared to beg for my life, but, luckily, the tense atmosphere relaxed as the Elder broke the silence.

"Very well. If your disciple reaches 1st place, I will arrange for him to cultivate in the Antechamber. Six hours, however? Elder Lu, I don't mean to be mean, but that is the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life. Even Spirit Sage can only endure for 2 minutes. Do you hate your disciple and wish him dead?"

"..." ah, okay. So, it's becoming more and more clear that I absolutely cannot rely on any of Lu Qi's memories! That guy was a freakin' moron!