Chapter 9: The Youth's Heart Holds High Ambitions, Once Promising to Be the Best in the World

Wang Rongyuan held Tang Nianqiu's hand, seemingly whispering something.

Eldest brother Yulou was chatting with the senior clerk, inquiring about the business at Zhiwei Fang.

Wang Yuan sat idly to the side, feeling a strange melancholy.

Sigh, Uncle Rongyuan's palm strikes were fierce, but treating us to meals twice out of his own pocket was still nice; he is a good uncle.

If he can return alive from the West Sea, when I become an immortal in the future, I will surely help him become an immortal too.

If he meets with misfortune in the West Sea, when I become an immortal in the future, I will surely revive him.

Thirteen-year-old Wang Yuan did not understand how difficult becoming an immortal was, nor did he grasp what it meant that the Wang Shi had not produced a Purple Mansion in twelve hundred years.

He possessed only boundless ambition—surpassing Yulou and becoming an immortal first!

Hmph, Yulou, I can cultivate for three and a half double-hours every day, but you can only cultivate for three.

In one month, I can cultivate five days more than you; in one year, I can cultivate fifty days more than you, no, sixty days!

Sixty days equals two months.

Foolish Yulou, do you know what this means?

It means you are finished!

Let you be arrogant for a while; when I become Foundation Establishment first in the future...

Hehe, I will walk in front of you every day, listening to you call me Senior~

"What are you giggling at? Come here!"

Wang Rongyuan's sharp rebuke made Wang Yuan tremble all over, snapping him out of his reverie.

Seeing that Yulou and Uncle Rongyuan were standing beside Tang Nianqiu, the three of them looking at him, he hurried over.

"The spirit stones each year will be distributed by Old Tang starting next month, one per month; you must not squander them!

Pills will be distributed according to your cultivation; you will only receive them when you reach Mid-Stage Qi Refining. Regardless of whether you have pills or not, you must not slack off in your daily cultivation; understood?"

Wang Rongyuan had some complaints about Wang Yuan's impulsiveness, but he did not intend to go for ten consecutive strikes again.

Anyway, Wang Yuan's biological father would soon follow the Clan Leader to Qing Xi Fang; he had already left a letter for Rongwen.

By then, this boy Wang Yuan would have his own father to deal with him.

"Nianqiu, trouble you; I am leaving tonight."

After instructing the two, Wang Rongyuan bid farewell to Tang Nianqiu.

"Brother Rongyuan, night roads are unsafe..." Tang Nianqiu expressed some concern.

"No matter; it is better to travel at night. You don't understand, hahaha."

Wang Rongyuan chuckled twice, glared at Wang Yuan once more, and walked out of Zhiwei Fang.

He did not look back, merely raising a hand to signal everyone not to see him off.

This was not a funeral procession; he was confident he would return alive from the West Sea.

After all, he still had to return to refine Yulou's Black Jade Oil Bead to the fifteenth layer!

You ask why not refine it beforehand?

Master Master Hongmei is no simple character; if the Wang Shi's secret Earth-Storage Method and formation were used to refine the Black Jade Oil Bead to the fifteenth layer, would Master Master Hongmei still teach Yulou the Fire Method and Jin Shi formations properly?

Once outside the main gate of Qing Xi Fang, the Wang Shi Breath-Condensing Art activated smoothly.

Quickly, to the eyes of fellow Qi Refining cultivators, Wang Rongyuan's aura dropped from Late-Stage Qi Refining to Mid-Stage Qi Refining.

Pulling a gray, leaf-shaped magical artifact with nineteen layers of formations from his storage bag, he used spiritual power to activate three layers of formations, then leaped onto it, pretending to be rushing on a journey.

Cast the line!

In the dead of night, a Mid-Stage Qi Refining rogue cultivator riding a broken leaf of Low-Grade Artifact quality flies through the sky, rushing on a journey.

Hmm, all set~

If a Robber Cultivator dares to cause trouble, they have truly had it for this lifetime.

A half-grown boy eats a father to death; Wang Rongyuan planned to cast a line for a bit while on the way to the West Sea.

"Brother Rongyuan is brave and determined, and his cultivation has reached the tenth layer of Qi Refining; you need not worry about him.

Come, follow me to see your living quarters. For many years to come, barring accidents, you will all practice in Qing Xi Fang—absolutely do not go out on your own."

Seeing Wang Rongyuan disappear around the street corner, Tang Nianqiu turned back to the two young men and said.

Following this Senior Shopkeeper, the group passed through the back door of Zhiwei Fang.

Behind the shops on the two streets lay a carriage-width path.

Directly opposite the back door of Zhiwei Fang was the back door of another shop owned by the Wang Shi in Qing Xi Fang, Fuyuan Ju.

Similar to a mortal inn, except that because Fuyuan Ju drew upon a well connected to the Qin Yun Qing Xi stream, it offered a value-added service of special-supply spiritual qi.

Many rogue cultivators would stay at Fuyuan Ju for a few days when breaking through bottlenecks, purchasing several mouthfuls of the spiritual qi from the Grade Seven Spiritual Object Qin Yun Qing Xi to add insurance to their breakthrough.

"Fuyuan Ju is also under my charge, but the rooms here must still accommodate guests; you will stay in the side rooms at the back. Come, come in and take a look."

Tang Nianqiu, smiling, led Yulou into the left side room behind Fuyuan Ju. Although the furnishings in the room were unremarkable, the dissipating spiritual qi was clearly denser than outside, reaching the level of the Wang Shi clan grounds.

The level of spiritual qi cannot directly change a cultivator's cultivation ceiling, but high-purity spiritual qi can help cultivators draw in and refine qi more effectively, thereby reducing the mental effort required for cultivation.

There is still a difference between absorbing spiritual qi from heaven and earth with great effort and absorbing it effortlessly.

"This spiritual qi... thank you, Uncle Nianqiu."

Not expecting the living environment to be so good, Yulou felt somewhat moved.

"Sigh, it is only right; you need not pay rent. The good thing about these side rooms is that they are smaller.

If I secretly reduce the spiritual qi supply to the main building a bit, I can make the spiritual qi here reach the level of the main building; rest assured and stay here."

Just as the group was conversing at the doorway, a young girl dressed in a clerk's uniform emerged from the main building and noticed them.

Seeing that Tang Nianqiu was present, she hurried over, looked at the three people with some timidity, and bowed her head, saying.

"Shopkeeper Tang, I haven't had time to change the quilts in this room yet; I will change them now."

Tang Nianqiu frowned, clasping his hands behind his back.

"Then change quickly. Wang Yuan, go in with her and see what's missing; have her arrange it for you."

Wang Yuan followed the female clerk into the room, while outside, Tang Nianqiu pulled Wang Yulou aside.

"Wang Yulou, what is your relationship with Brother Rongyuan?"

Asked this question, Wang Yulou did not understand its meaning but dared not be negligent; he weighed his words before answering.

"Uncle Rongyuan is one of the clan elders I admire most. Although he is strict, he has been very good to me and to Wang Yuan."

Tang Nianqiu sized Wang Yulou up twice, truly unable to figure it out, so he stopped thinking about it.

Glancing at the side room and seeing that Wang Yuan had indeed obediently gone inside, he spoke in a low voice.

"Brother Rongyuan left you a sum of spirit stones and asked me to arrange half a jin of spirit rice for you daily. Tell me, should Wang Yuan know about this?"

Uncle Rongyuan left me a sum of spirit stones.

Half a jin of spirit rice every day.

Two jin of spirit rice for one spirit stone—that's enough for two hours of cultivation!

Wang Yulou was not stupid; on the contrary, he was very clever, and he understood what this meant.

At that moment, goosebumps involuntarily rose on his back.

Having traversed into the Xianxia world for thirteen years, Wang Yulou felt for the first time that he had long been a member of the Wang family.

The past life is all in the past; the me of this life is Wang Yulou, Wang Shi's Wang Yulou!

"Uncle Nianqiu, I will speak with Wang Yuan about this matter; you need not worry too much."

Wang Yulou replied respectfully.

Tang Nianqiu knew how to handle things too well and considered everything thoroughly, but he did not understand the relationship between Wang Yulou and Wang Yuan.

Looking at Wang Yulou, who was both polite and had a heart as deep as a pool, Tang Nianqiu opened his mouth, but in the end, only patted Wang Yulou's shoulder.

"Go in and cultivate well."

In the dark room, Wang Yulou and Wang Yuan lay on their respective beds.

Tang Nianqiu was right; although the room was small, it had everything needed, and two beds had been prepared for the two of them.

"Wang Yuan, I have something to tell you."

"What is it? You haven't started writing it down already, have you?"

"Writing down what?"

"Writing down what family rules I broke, so you can report it to Uncle Rongyuan when he returns... Brother, Uncle Rongyuan has only been gone for two hours; isn't that a bit too fast?"

"Fool, it's not that!"

"Then what is it?"

"......."

"Hmm? You also like Lin Lin Lin Lin Shijie Ningyao? No! I mean, I mean, do you like Lin Lin Lin Lin Shijie Ningyao?"

"......."

"Brother, speak up; I'm a bit scared."

"Uncle Rongyuan knows I can reach the Qi-attraction limit for my dual spiritual roots in three hours daily, so he arranged half a jin of spirit rice for me each day to let me finish cultivating sooner and start learning the Alchemy Dao."

"What's the big deal? Your aptitude is worse than mine, and the Qi-attraction limit during the Qi-attraction stage cannot be increased by spirit rice anyway. In the end, you'll become an immortal later than me~"

"If he hadn't left any for you, would you be unhappy?"

"Brother, if I reach Foundation Establishment and need you to refine a handy spiritual artifact for me, would you refuse me?"

"No."

"Then there's no problem; even if you cultivate the Alchemy Dao better, you'll still become an immortal later than me, hahaha."

"A young man's heart holds lofty ambitions; once promising to be the finest in the world. Having the ambition to become an immortal is a good thing, but you must still be down-to-earth. Your Fire Control Technique today was not practiced well."

"Forget it; you have Water and Fire spiritual roots. Starting a fire in water is something even someone with a single Fire spiritual root might not practice faster than you!"

If you dare, let's compare our skills in refining gold and dissolving stone?"

"... Go to sleep."

"So, do you like Lin Lin Lin Lin Shijie Ningyao or not?"

"......."

"Brother?"

"......."

"Are you asleep?"

"If you don't sleep, I'll write it down!"

"Yeah..."