In the Matriarch's hall in the Black Paradise sect, the Matriarch was sitting across a much older woman drinking tea while playing a game of Go (Chinese chess).
If Xiao Kong was here, he'd recognize her as the woman that threatened him in the royal court (Chapter 78), but to the Matriarch of the Black Paradise sect she was Quan LiuXian, the Elected Head of the Province.
Although she was elected, it almost always came down to strength. This woman was actually the most powerful cultivator in the entire province. Much older and far stronger than even the Matriarch of the Black Paradise sect.
Even Though Xiao Kong had completely suppressed her with a single glance in the royal court, that didn't make her look weak in the eyes of the crowd because they knew how terrifyingly strong she was. The only thing they learned from that exchange was that the rumors were true, Xiao Kong was a monster, a God amongst men, and he was in a realm no one could even fathom.
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"Quan Luixian, it's always a pleasure to have you here, but I have a feeling you came here for more than a chat."
Quan Luixian flipped her wrist, her spatial ring lightly glowed, then a mysterious scroll appeared on her hand.
"This! But how did you get your hands on another one!?" the Matriarch said in shock as she stared at it.
"It was given to me. I'd rather not say who I got it from."
Back when she confronted Xiao Kong in the royal court, he tossed her a spatial potch with this scroll inside. She didn't understand why he would give her something so valuable, but she accepted it nonetheless.
Xiao Kong was known for being a ruthless and evil character, so telling the Matriarch that she got it from him might give her the impression that she made some sort of shady deal to get her hands on it.
"Shi Lan, has the Heavenly Fire spirit attribute accepted anyone yet?"
The Matriarch had a depressed and apologetic expression on her face as she shook her head.
"Not yet. There doesn't seem to be anyone that meets it's standards… I don't understand, why not use the spirit attributes yourself?" The Matriarch asked.
"For the sake of the province its essential that we invest on our younger generation," she answered righteously.
"I see. That's very generous of you."
"Perhaps… as for this spirit attribute, the power within its scroll is far stronger than anything I've ever seen before. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want it for myself. Unfortunately, it rejected me," she laughed helplessly.
"What! Are you serious?!" The Matriarch's eyes widened in shock.
"I am."
"But if you can't cultivate it, then wouldn't that mean it's impossible for anyone else in this province to cultivate it?"
"Spirit attributes don't choose cultivators based on talent alone. Whatever this spirit attribute seeks, it's made it clear that I didn't have it."
She sighed then continued, "Every few years our standings have been going down. Now we've been branded as the weakest province in the country because of how poorly the disciples in this sect have been performing. At this pace, I fear we won't even be considered a province for much longer."
"How can that be? No matter how poorly we do, it shouldn't affect our status as a province."
"You don't understand how the politics work. Once we're ignored by the royal court, major neighbouring sects like the Divine Sword sect will come sweeping in…" Quan Luixian paused when she realized something.
'Xiao Kong, you damn bastard! That day, you made me bow my head in front of all those people like some kind of obedient dog. Dammit!'
The cup in Quan Luixian's hand broke and her brows became knitted.
When Quan Luixian remembered the condescending look on Xiao Kong's face it made her want to vomit blood.
Quan Luixian slammed the desk, destroying the table before she got up.
She tossed the Matriarch a spatial pouch full of valuable spirit cultivation pills, then gave her a stern look.
"This is the best sect in the entire province. If we don't do better next year, then accept more men into the sect."
"Again? But we already-"
"Yes, again, whatever it takes!!"
"I-I understand."
'Dammit, Xiao Kong. I hope you die in the worst way possible.'
Quan Luixian's hair and robes fluttered wildly as her eyes shined. Suddenly her robes began to spin into a vortex, warping the space around her.
"Shi Lan, do something about these useless disciples. Do not fail me!" Her voice echoed.
In the next moment she was gone.
After she left, the Matriarch let out a long sigh. She never saw Quan Luixian so mad before. It seems things were really making a turn for the worse, and the Divine Sword sect had something to do with it.
The Matriarch looked down at the scroll in her hands, but she also couldn't feel anything from it.
'So it's rejecting me too.'
Although Quan Luixian never blamed her for it, this was her sect, so naturally the disciple's failure was also her own.
With a deep frown on her face, the Matriarch immediately wanted to make some changes to improve the sect, but before she could even get up, Elder Yao Wu requested an audience.
"Come in," the Matriarch said.
Yao Wu walked in then respectfully bowed while cupping her hands.
"Quickly, speak," the Matriarch urged her to get on with it.
"It's Da Long… I believe he's-"
"Forget about Da Long, we have much more pressing matters to get to," the Matriarch said while getting up from her seat.
Yao Wu noticed that she was holding something, but it only took her a moment to realize what it was.
"Is that!-"
The Matriarch tossed the scroll to her then Yao Wu caught it.
Seeing that there was no reaction, the Matriarch sighed.
"Looks like it rejected you too. Put it in the sect's archives with the Heavenly Fire spirit attribute scroll. When you're done with that come meet me in the inner court's training ground."
Yao Wu was glad that the Matriarch was finally taking her responsibilities seriously, so she smiled lightly.
"I'll do it right away," Yao Wu bowed then left.
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Meanwhile at Li Lian's house. Xiao Fang had just finished practicing his new technique. It didn't take him long to learn, since he had already comprehended a lot of it by dual cultivating with Xiao Hei.
He laid on the grass while looking up at the spatial pouch in his hand. He had so many merit points he didn't know what to do with them. He had already given Li Lian and Xun Wei a few thousand merit points to buy whatever they wanted.
Xiao Fang imagined that Li Lian was using the merit points to buy cultivation resources while Xun Wei was spending it on spirit herbs to practice concocting pills.
Xiao Fang sighed as he saw that he still had more than 100,000 merit points to spare.
"What do you think I should do with this."
Xiao Hei was resting next to Xiao Fang in her feline form.
{"I don't know. Maybe you can buy a new technique or some spirit cultivation pills."}
"The spirit cultivation pills they sell in the outer court are worthless to me, and the last time I went to the Sect's Archives for a new technique I couldn't find anything I liked."
"That's because your expectations were too high. Just find something basic."
Xiao Fang sat up.
"Alright, it's better than doing nothing with it."
Xiao Hei raised her head to watch him leave.
