Chapter 328: Nest Egg
Translated by Rachel of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
As You XiaoMo returned to the the inner chamber, he saw LingXiao sitting down by the table, sipping his water acting all cool and aloof. You XiaoMo ran over to him, eagerly refilling his cup.
LingXiao raised his head and spared him a glance. There seemed to be mirth in his eyes, but then again You XiaoMo could be mistaken. Calmly, he returned to finish his drink.
You XiaoMo quickly pulled a chair over and sat in front of him, then looked at him intently.
LingXiao put down his cup, looked at him and smirked, “Don’t look at me like that, I can’t control myself.” You XiaoMo blushed furiously as he remembered the debauchery in the forest.
Feeling that he had teased enough, Ling Xiao magnanimously decided to return to the point.
“If you want to return to the TianXin Sect to have a look, you need to figure out how to get out of here.”
Ward A had a rule that allowed the top one hundred strongest to leave, but only for two days which was hardly enough at all.
“Do you have any ideas?” You XiaoMo looked towards him hopefully.
“Currently, no. Even if I did, we can’t leave now.”
You XiaoMo was puzzled. “Why?”
“Six students from the Academy were murdered. If we leave now, how do you think the old guys will react? They’ll most likely send people to follow us. Unless someone sends us a message, we don’t have a reason to leave.”
“But who will send us messages?”
“No need to worry. If Ye Han really leaked our location, I’m sure it won’t be long till he sends people for us.” Ling Xiao replied.
“So all we can do is wait?” You XiaoMo was truly worried about his seniors’ safety.
“Or else what? The other person is already on the way here. This just means whatever has happened, happened. Even if you rush back, you won’t be of help. Speaking of which, can you even defeat them?” Compared You XiaoMo’s worry, Ling Xiao had an air of nonchalance instead.
You XiaoMo had to admit that what he said was not wrong.
Ling Xiao stood up.
“If you have time to think about such things, you might as well think about how to get stronger. You are levelling up fast, but the power of a level seven Mage is still not enough. You’ll be entering the stone chamber in three days and it’s your only chance. Miss it and you’ll never have such an opportunity again.”
You XiaoMo scratched his head frustratedly, “Ahhhh, never mind, I’ll stop thinking about it.”
Thinking about it was only adding to his frustration.
As LingXiao said, he should be focusing on getting stronger now.
The next day, You XiaoMo and LingXiao went to collect their reward together.
The choices of reward for first place were plentiful. Originally they were aiming for the Red Card, but after this period of time, they realised they didn’t need it anymore. Reason being You XiaoMo didn’t only cultivate at the Cultivation Center. Cultivating there was good and all, but if one levelled up too fast it would do some damage. Occasionally he also had to refine magic pills, leaving no time to go to the Cultivation Center. Hence, sharing the only Red Card they had was the most suitable.
The most precious reward for first place was a recipe for a level nine magic pill. Seeing there was only one recipe, You XiaoMo’s hopes of obtaining two recipes were dashed.
In the end, he picked a recipe for a magic pill and one of the ingredients stated on it, a level nine magic herb. He really wanted to ask the Academy for high level magic herb seeds, and knowing the Academy, they probably would have a lot of those stored somewhere. Yet, he ultimately wasn’t able to.
When You XiaoMo was collecting his reward, he met other people.
The one who got the most out of the Trials and put in the least effort was Feng ChiYun.
Not only did he level up during the competition, he got a Flaming Lion and a level seven magic pill recipe thanks to YinGe.
To You XiaoMo’s knowledge, with YinGe’s power, he hadn’t even needed help from Feng ChiYun.
There was also another person that made You XiaoMo particularly envious. That person would be Tang YuLin, who was pulled over by BaiLi TianYi.
BaiLi TianYi already handed over the Life crystal to Tang YuLin, who originally intended to sell it to You XiaoMo until BaiLi TianYi stopped him.
Under the envious looks of others, Tang YuLin kept the Crystal of Life.
Following that, BaiLi TianYi passed the rewards to him.
“Here are two level seven magic pills. You keep it, use it only when you are ready to reach level seven.”
TangYuLin stared at jade bottle pressed into his hands before suddenly asking, “Can I exchange them for a level eight magic herb?”
The corner of BaiLi TianYi’s lips twitched.
“No!” He didn’t even have to ask to know why Tang YuLin wanted to trade for a magic herb.
It was definitely related to You XiaoMo. Reaching that conclusion, he glared at You XiaoMo who was not far away.
It’s all because of you, leading my wife astray.
What did I do? You XiaoMo felt wronged. I didn’t even do anything!
Clearly there was something wrong with how Tang YuLin thought.
“What a pity,” seemed to be written all over Tang YuLin’s face. “What about you?” He asked randomly.
He finally cares about me! BaiLi TianYi thought excitedly.
“I have no use for the level seven magic pill already. Here are two for you, no need to stand on ceremony.”
Words started to fall out of Tang YuLin’s mouth slowly. “No… What I’m trying to say is, if it’s for me, is it alright if I sell it?”
“No!” He gritted out the word. BaiLi TianYi’s face darkened. Just when he was feeling his mood improve , he was pissed off again.
Tang YuLin made another face that said, “too bad.”
You XiaoMo laughed so hard till he was almost out of breath. He just knew Tang YuLin had this cute dumbness to him and didn’t think the way a normal person would. To put it bluntly, he was plain dumb. What people wouldn’t give to make speedy progress in cultivation and he just wanted to earn some points to live a stable life.
In the next two days, You XiaoMo trained at the Red Card Zone accompanied by Tang YuLin. Tang YuLin didn’t have a Red Card, but BaiLi TianYi did, which he got last year. BaiLi TianYi initially wanted to get one for Tang YuLin during the Trials but after considering his character, he gave up on the idea and chose the two magic pills instead.
You XiaoMo took a look at an unwilling Tang YuLin who was sent over by BaiLi TianYi. He sighed and asked, “What is your dream exactly, Tang YuLin?”
Speaking of dreams, Tang YuLin was not the least bit unclear of what he wanted. “I want to lead a stable and comfortable life.”
What a peasant way of thinking. Unsurprised, You XiaoMo expected it. He felt that for Tang YuLin to have such a thought, there must have been something that happened in the past. For him to be so caught up with living a “stable and comfortable life” that is.
You XiaoMo didn’t have to prod him further to find out. Tang YuLin told him everything about his past.
Five years ago, Tang YuLin was still a normal, average human being. He was born in a normal mountain village and his family lead poor but happy lives. Such happiness didn’t last long. When he was four, a catastrophe devastated the village. A huge flood inundated the entire village and his parents and sister perished.
Four year old Tang YuLin was rescued by an old beggar and became one too. The two depended on each other heavily and lived like that for six years. When Tang YuLin reached the age of ten, the old beggar passed in his sleep and he started living his life adrift as a vagabond, until he met his Shifu. His Shifu took him in as a disciple and taught him how to cultivate and write. Tang YuLin had a knack for cultivation and made speedy progress. What took others four to five years to reach, Tang YuLin only spent two years to reach the same level.
However, his life as a vagabond had left a deep impression on him. His only dream was to live a stable and carefree life, which resulted in him slacking off in cultivation later on. Always thinking about saving up for his nest egg, planning to retire once he saved enough…
His Shifu tried everything to get him to cultivate, but he paid no mind. A few years passed like this until his Shifu met his enemy, who wanted to kill everyone close to him. Unable to guarantee his disciple’s safety, he decided to send him to DaoXin Academy.
The reason behind doing so?
Firstly, he hoped that the drive that students have there could change his perception. Second being that the Academy could keep him safe.
So, five years just passed like that. To keep him safe, his Shifu would send messages to him every year. As for Tang YuLin, his thoughts remained as resolved as ever.
After hearing his story, You XiaoMo was at a loss for words. Save up enough for his nest egg then retire… Return to the little mountain village to rest?
Seeing how much he didn’t care, You XiaoMo couldn’t help but say, “Tang YuLin, have you ever thought that with your talent, if you cultivated hard enough you wouldn’t even have to save up for your nest egg! People will voluntarily send you money! That’s much better than saving up for your nest egg bit by bit. You need to know, a practitioner’s lifespan is very long. Saving up for a few decades may not even be enough.”
Tang YuLin stopped in his tracks and turned to face him slowly. “…Nope.”
You XiaoMo pressed on. “To tell you the truth, once you’ve reached a higher level, neither would you age nor die. You don’t have to eat or poop. Until you reach that point, you won’t even need a nest egg! People will fear your power, and you can lead your stable and comfortable life.”
Suddenly someone came up to him and disrupted his plans, telling him there was a better way. Tang YuLin’s mind temporarily short-circuited. However, his subconscious was telling him that You XiaoMo made sense. Why choose the difficult option when there’s a better one?
“You’re right.”
You XiaoMo grinned. “You see, you don’t have to push yourself so hard to earn points. But you can’t go back on your promise to help me with the magic herbs.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t go back on my promise.” Tang YuLin nodded.
And thus, You XiaoMo was able to easily accomplish what BaiLi TianYi and Tang YuLin’s Shifu couldn’t for years.
