Chapter 28: Why a Brother Rushes to Harm His Kin

After swallowing the Myriad Spirit Pill, Zhang Yang felt a powerful surge of spiritual energy emanate from his dantian. The efficiency of his Spirit Induction Art increased manifold. He didn’t know it, but as he cultivated, the spiritual energy around him began to churn and boil, just as it did for the three Purple Seed disciples.

Master Guyun’s eyes gleamed. He secretly praised Master Xiayunzi’s unparalleled alchemy skills. The price he had paid for this pill had been well worth it.

Zhang Yang continuously drew in spiritual energy, pouring it into the small crack in his Immortal Seed. The roots of the seedling within grew at a visible rate, extending out from the seed. After a while, feeling that he had absorbed enough, he stopped the art and poured all the spiritual energy in his body into the seed in one go.

Under the massive infusion of energy, the immortal root grew a little longer, and finally, guided by the spiritual energy, it anchored itself firmly in his dantian.

A faint ripple of spiritual energy pulsed outwards, and Zhang Yang’s aura rose slightly. Master Guyun’s already small eyes narrowed into joyful slits.

“Master, I did it! I’ve completed the Rooting Stage! I succeeded even before Li Jing and Xu Yu!”

Master Guyun was so excited he wanted to laugh out loud, but he had to maintain his image as a master in front of his disciple. He suppressed his joy and nodded. “A Gray Seed is not weak to begin with. As long as you get a head start, a Gray Seed is not necessarily fated to lose to a Purple Seed!”

These words thrilled Zhang Yang, and a plan began to form in his mind.

Zhang Kuang may be a Purple Seed, but he’s been repeatedly thwarted by that weak seed, Qin Haoxuan. His prestige among his followers has plummeted. If I can cultivate diligently, sprout my seedling before them, and then suppress Qin Haoxuan, those fair-weather followers of Zhang Kuang will surely flock to my side. As long as I can show the elders potential that is not inferior to a Purple Seed, I will surely gain more attention in the future. Perhaps I can even create a legend of a Gray Seed surpassing a Purple Seed!

Having completed the Rooting Stage before Li Jing and Xu Yu, Zhang Yang’s confidence swelled. He now believed that nothing was impossible.

Having cultivated in the thicket for a whole night, Qin Haoxuan had frantically absorbed spiritual energy to neutralize the medicinal power of the One-Leaf Golden Lotus and infuse it into his Immortal Seed. He could feel that the roots of the small seedling inside had grown a little longer.

As the sky began to lighten, he crawled out of the bushes, shook out his frost-stiffened clothes, and headed towards the lecture hall.

As he passed Li Jing’s house, he felt a slight ripple of spiritual energy. A beaming Li Jing emerged from his room. From the fatigue in his eyes, it was clear that he had spent the entire night pushing for a breakthrough and had finally succeeded at dawn.

He was the second Purple Seed disciple to complete the Rooting Stage. The other disciples who felt the spiritual fluctuation quickly rushed out of their dormitories to congratulate him.

Surrounded by a crowd of sycophants, Li Jing saw Qin Haoxuan passing by and greeted him with a smug smile. “Good morning, Junior Brother Qin.”

Qin Haoxuan returned a polite smile and clasped his hands. “Congratulations, Senior Brother Li, on your success.”

This simple congratulation slightly irked Li Jing, but thinking that he still needed Qin Haoxuan to get closer to Xu Yu, and buoyed by his own success, he strode over. “I have just succeeded. Junior Sister Xu has not yet, right? Come, let’s go to her room together. I want to share my experience with her!”

Li Jing’s “generosity” made the disciples with weak seeds incredibly envious. But Qin Haoxuan just gave a faint, noncommittal smile. Showing such uncalled-for kindness is either a sign of ill intent or thievery. He knew Li Jing was only doing this because he saw Xu Yu as no threat to his ambitions. This was just a way to show off his own ability and pull her onto his side at the same time. Would he be so kind otherwise?

The spiritual fluctuation from Li Jing’s breakthrough had naturally alerted Zhang Kuang. He came out of his room and stood at the door, watching the smug Li Jing with a disdainful smile.

Seeing the triumphant looks on the faces of Li Jing and his followers, Zhang Kuang’s own followers became displeased. It’s just the Rooting Stage. You’re a full day later than Senior Brother Zhang. What’s there to be so proud of? And so, a new round of taunts and verbal sparring began.

“Both are Purple Seeds, starting at the same point. Being a day slower means you’re a tier weaker. I don’t know what they’re so happy about. Don’t they understand such a simple principle?”

“It’s a good thing our boss was first. Otherwise, with that attitude, some people would really think they’re number one in the world.”

Li Jing’s followers couldn’t stand it and fought back.

“Have you ever heard the saying, ‘great in childhood, not necessarily great in adulthood’?”

“Talk again after you’re the first to sprout your seedling. The Rooting Stage is nothing.”

This bickering was getting noisy. Li Jing raised his hand to silence his followers. “Enough. As Junior Brother Qin said, we should not squabble over a single day’s gain. The real test will be at the Sprouting Stage.”

He deliberately used Qin Haoxuan’s words and gave him a slight smile, his intention to win him over perfectly clear. Seeing this, Qin Haoxuan just smiled politely, inwardly impressed by Li Jing’s political skill.

Li Jing’s followers, however, were not so subtle. They cheered and showered him with praise like “Our leader is wise and magnanimous! It is the sect’s fortune to have you!”

Looking at the silent Qin Haoxuan, the beaming Li Jing once again said, “Let’s go. We should go to Junior Sister Xu’s place. I want to share my experience with her to help her succeed sooner.”

Since Li Jing had offered, Qin Haoxuan couldn’t very well refuse on Xu Yu’s behalf. Since it would benefit her, he let him be.

Just as they approached the female disciples’ dormitory, they felt another familiar spiritual fluctuation coming from Xu Yu’s room. She had also succeeded.

Feeling this, Li Jing, who had been about to offer his guidance, turned pale. He sighed to himself. How could she succeed just before I got here to offer my help? He had missed another great opportunity to win her over.

But when Xu Yu walked out of her room, Li Jing put on an affable smile and congratulated her. “Congratulations, Junior Sister Xu!”

Xu Yu just smiled faintly and said thank you, ignoring the flattery from Li Jing’s followers. She walked straight to Qin Haoxuan. “Brother Haoxuan, let’s go get breakfast and then head to class.”

“Let’s go together,” Li Jing interjected with a laugh, trying to make it seem as if the three of them were close. Without waiting for their consent, he began walking alongside them toward the dining hall.

The dining hall was behind the male disciples’ dormitory. As they passed by Zhang Kuang’s residence, they heard another series of gasps.

“Zhang Yang… Zhang Yang has also completed the Rooting Stage!”

“Heavens, a Gray Seed and a Purple Seed succeeding at the same time!”

…

Even Qin Haoxuan couldn’t help but stop and look. He saw Zhang Yang, who was in the middle of recruiting his own followers.

He no longer looked like Zhang Kuang’s lackey. He stood with an arrogant air, a confident smile on his face, openly displaying his new status.

His behavior infuriated Zhang Kuang. This guy had just returned and was already trying to poach his followers. And what was worse, a few of them had actually gathered around him, acknowledging him as their new leader.

So what if you succeeded in eight days? You’re still just a Gray Seed. How dare you try to climb over my head and steal my followers? This was a huge slap in the face.

Seeing Zhang Kuang’s furious expression, Zhang Yang just smiled, clasped his hands, and said, “Brother Kuang, from this day on, this little brother will be starting his own faction. I won’t be following you around and annoying you anymore. As for the position of Taichu Sect Master, I’d like to compete for it as well.”

Zhang Kuang nearly ground his teeth to dust, but his cousin wasn’t finished. “Brother Kuang, even though I’m striking out on my own, I have to give you some advice. You and Li Jing are fighting for the top position, but neither of you dares to make it an open conflict. In that, you’re not even as bold as me. What’s the point of being a Purple Seed? How can the future of our sect be entrusted to someone with no ambition or courage? What’s more, as a Purple Seed, you can’t even handle a weak seed like Qin Haoxuan. Yesterday, he walked all over you. A coward like you, with no methods and no magnanimity… I think you should just give up on being the Sect Master.”

If not for the talk he had with the Sect Master the night before, which had greatly matured his mindset, Zhang Kuang would have exploded with rage. Now, although he was still angry, he quickly calmed down and replied with a calm arrogance, “Heh, Junior Brother Yang, you are merely a Gray Seed. How could you possibly understand the realm of a Purple Seed? I don’t care what opportunities you’ve had, but you are not even qualified to compete for the position of Sect Master. I advise you to give up this notion, kneel down, and apologize to me at once. For the sake of our family ties, I will overlook this. Otherwise, your future days may not be so easy.”

As he spoke, he glanced at Li Jing, who stood beside Qin Haoxuan. Li Jing hadn’t said a word, but a mocking smile was on his face. When Zhang Yang had accused him of lacking courage, he hadn’t refuted it, but his eyes glinted, and he stood there with a calm, profound air, a stark contrast to Zhang Yang’s boorish, nouveau-riche image. The difference between them was obvious.

On the surface, it looked as if Li Jing disdained to argue with him. But his posture sent a clear message: I look down on you. You are not worthy of competing with me, not even worthy of my words.

Watching this farce, Qin Haoxuan just shook his head. The two cousins who had once teamed up to bully others were now at each other’s throats. Zhang Kuang had indeed calmed down a lot. But for Zhang Yang to be so high-profile, he was essentially challenging all three Purple Seeds at once. With such a mindset… he was bound to suffer a great loss in the future.

They’ve only been in the sect for eight days, just completed the Rooting Stage, and they’re already fighting over a position that’s still a world away. What’s the point? To see who is stronger? That can’t be determined in just eight days. So what if you’re a step ahead? The path of cultivation is long and full of variables. Even with the best talent, different opportunities will lead to different achievements.

Before the supreme Great Dao, everyone is but an ant. Even a Purple Seed is just a speck of dust in the universe. Cultivators should be striving against the heavens for immortality, not fighting over the position of Sect Master. Their priorities are completely backward.

Qin Haoxuan turned to the silent Xu Yu and said, “The purpose of cultivation is to attain the Dao and become an immortal. What’s the use of fighting to be the Sect Master? In my eyes, that position will only fill your heart with worldly concerns, bind you with tedious affairs, and rob you of the time and peace of mind needed for cultivation. It will make you miss out on countless opportunities. Their fight is a case of putting the cart before the horse. Little sister, no matter how powerful you become in the future, do not get involved in their struggles.”