Chapter 99: Little Gold’s Divine Might Burns the Heart with Jealousy

If Li Jing had known that Xu Yu was merely a proxy, that the Qi-Circulating Powder was actually refined by Qin Haoxuan, and that all the profits—including the spirit stones he had painstakingly borrowed—had ended up in Qin Haoxuan’s pocket, he might have coughed up blood from sheer rage.

Aside from the fields of the other special seeds, Li Jing calculated, Qin Haoxuan is getting a twenty-percent cut from all the new disciples’ land. And on top of that, he’s getting the same share from the fields of over a hundred disciples from the four great halls.

Those disciples weren’t growing low-grade crops; they were cultivating spirit herbs like gastrodia and angelica, or at the very least, high-grade grains like rice and wheat, all of which were far more valuable than corn.

When it came time to harvest the thousands of mu of land, his two-tenths share would be a terrifyingly large number. If Xu Yu were to get her hands on all those resources, with her alchemy skills, how many pills could she refine? Her cultivation would surely soar. She might not surpass Zhang Kuang, but she would certainly widen the gap between herself and him.

“No matter,” he muttered to himself. “The men I sent out should be back soon. Once they bring me a monkey like that and I raise my own team of Mighty Apes, we’ll see how good your business is then, Qin Haoxuan.”

The moment Little Gold had shown its extraordinary abilities, Li Jing had sent five menial disciples, all at the seventh or eighth leaf, to Hundred Beasts Mountain to find another one.

One of them had even beaten his chest and sworn a military oath that he had seen such monkeys before and that if he failed to bring one back, he would return with his head in his hands. With that assurance, Li Jing had been eagerly awaiting their return so he could crush Qin Haoxuan’s business.

“It’s been a month. They should be back by now,” he mused. Just then, there was a knock on the door. It was three of the five disciples he had sent. They were in rags, covered in injuries, and their faces were long and sorrowful.

“Junior Brother Li,” the leader of the group said, “we’re sorry. We couldn’t find a monkey like that in the mountains.”

Li Jing had guessed the result the moment he saw them. His gaze swept over the three of them, his voice cold. “Who was it that swore an oath to me?”

The disciple’s face was filled with terror. “We searched the outer mountain for twenty days,” he stammered. “We saw plenty of Mighty Apes, but not a single one like that little monkey. So we decided to go deeper. But… we ran into a wild, adult spirit beast. The junior brother who made the pledge… and one other… they were both killed.”

CRASH! An exquisite porcelain teacup shattered on the floor, thrown by a furious Li Jing. The three menial disciples, all at least at the Seventh-Leaf Realm, bowed their heads, not daring to breathe.

“Junior Brother Li,” one of them said timidly, “we could just catch some Mighty Apes…”

SLAP! SLAP! Li Jing struck him twice across the face. “And who would tame them?” he roared. “Who would command them? You may be willing to suffer that humiliation, but I, Li Jing, am not!”

Even the ordinary disciples of the four great halls disdained using beasts; it was an act that was beneath them. If he had a super-intelligent monkey like Little Gold to do the commanding, it would be one thing.

But to have humans do it? With the taming skills of these menial disciples, one person could command ten apes at most. To command a workforce of two hundred, he’d have to hire and support twenty such disciples, which would be a massive expense and would only make him look weak.

The disciple who had been slapped didn’t dare to make a sound, simply apologizing over and over.

“Get out! All of you, get out!”

With the three of them gone, Li Jing’s last hope was extinguished. He could no longer sit still. His plan to turn the tables was in ruins. He was now falling behind Xu Yu in every aspect, from alchemy skills to cultivation level to resources.

How could he remain calm? He had to do something to stop her from getting that twenty-percent share. If the gap between them grew any wider, his path to the Sect Master’s throne would become even more difficult.

An idea began to form in his mind. He couldn’t compete with Zhang Kuang’s fortuitous encounter, so why not join him? With Zhang Kuang’s burning hatred for Qin Haoxuan, he would surely agree to an alliance to deal with them both. A vicious plot began to take shape in his heart.

After his breakthrough, Zhang Kuang had become even more of a recluse than Qin Haoxuan, spending all his time cultivating in secret. Finding him was not easy. After three days of failed attempts, Li Jing decided to simply wait outside his door. He finally caught him returning late one night.

The spring night was unusually clear, the crescent moon casting a silver glow upon the land. Zhang Kuang appeared as if draped in starlight, his expression cold, his eyes as deep as an abyss, betraying no emotion.

“Senior Brother Zhang, long time no see,” Li Jing said with a warm smile, his tone as friendly as it had been when they had first learned Zhang Kuang was a Purple Seed. The change in address from “Junior Brother” to “Senior Brother” was a clear admission that the balance of power had shifted.

Zhang Kuang glanced at him, his gaze as placid as a still lake, then looked away without breaking his stride. He seemed completely unsurprised to find Li Jing waiting for him.

“Senior Brother Zhang, please wait,” Li Jing said, swallowing his annoyance. He needed his help, and besides, the other boy’s cultivation was three leaves higher than his. In the world of cultivation, that gave him the right to be arrogant.

Zhang Kuang stopped but didn’t turn around. A single, cold word escaped his lips. “Speak.”

Li Jing, though irritated, was more curious than ever about what kind of fortuitous encounter could not only boost one’s cultivation so dramatically but also completely change one’s personality. “Can we talk inside?” he asked. “The walls have ears.”

Zhang Kuang grunted his assent and pushed open his door. Inside, Li Jing got straight to the point. “Senior Brother Zhang, do you know about the Qi-Circulating Powder Xu Yu has been refining? And about Qin Haoxuan’s little monkey that commands two hundred Mighty Apes?”

Zhang Kuang just nodded, his face a blank mask. Li Jing was surprised. He had mentioned his rival’s name, yet there was not a flicker of emotion. Had he truly moved on, or was he just better at hiding it?

“Xu Yu wasn’t as lucky as you,” he continued, trying to stoke the fires of jealousy. “But she has already reached the Fifth-Leaf Realm and is on the verge of the sixth. Don’t you find her progress a little strange? I believe someone is supporting her, and I think that someone is Qin Haoxuan.

When his monkeys harvest all those fields, he’ll get a twenty-percent share. If that wealth falls into Xu Yu’s hands, with her alchemy skills, her cultivation speed might even surpass yours.”

At last, Zhang Kuang spoke, his voice low and filled with an icy confidence. “Xu Yu can’t catch up to me. I’m not worried about her. As for Qin Haoxuan, I’ve already said I want him to live until we enter the Aqueous Manor. Are you trying to deal with him?”

This was the opening he had been waiting for. Li Jing smiled and nodded. “That boy is insufferable. I’m sure you want him dead as well. But he’s always with his guide, Pu Hanzhong, who is at the Tenth-Leaf…”

(End of Chapter)