Chapter 496: Named Disciple

Lin Chao took the "Taiyi Heavenly Venerable's Beat Thy Mother Method" and returned to his room.

As an official disciple, although he could receive resource provisions from the Qingxu Sect, he still had to spend silver if he wanted to obtain more.

As for silver, Lin Chao was currently a pauper; it would be no exaggeration to say he didn't have a single cent to his name.

"I must find a way to make money." Lin Chao knew the importance of making money.

After all, his body was too weak right now and needed to be nourished.

Lin Chao opened the martial art he had obtained and began to study it earnestly.

The more Lin Chao looked, the more solemn his expression became.

"It looks like ordinary cultivation, but it seems... to lead directly to the Dao."

This martial art appeared to be merely simple Body Refining, yet Lin Chao still perceived the profound mystery within it.

"Is this about refining a person into a weapon?" Lin Chao speculated.

This technique was somewhat similar to the technique he had given to the Five Saint Lords.

He had created the Five Saint Lords.

And in Lin Chao's view, if this technique were cultivated to Great Success, it could refine a person into a peerless weapon of destruction.

However, considering that even Nascent Soul masters could pull a muscle, in this world, this kind of martial art was likely just an ordinary one.

Lin Chao did not dwell on the past any further.

Since it was a new life, he would strive hard.

Lin Chao began to cultivate the martial art.

This martial art was completely different from the Literary Arts Qi Refining Technique, but the method of cultivation was the same.

After cultivating for less than a quarter of an hour, Lin Chao's body felt unbearable pain.

He knew he could not continue cultivating.

This body could not withstand it.

"No wonder Deacon Wang Yun said that even the top geniuses cannot cultivate Literary Arts and martial arts at the same time."

After all, at this rate, Lin Chao felt it would take more than a year just to reach the lowest Ninth Rank martial artist level.

And that was while neglecting the cultivation of Literary Arts.

"Fortunately, I have the talent to add points.

After entering the Qi Refining Realm, the points added each day have become 1."

This was much faster than before.

One must know that previously, it took Lin Chao ten days to gather 1 attribute point.

Now he had one every day.

Since he had them, Lin Chao did not waste them.

He thought for a moment and used the attribute point on his martial art.

Accelerating his martial art progress in this way would be of great help for self-preservation.

Once the 1 attribute point was used up, Lin Chao felt a warm current surge through his body.

"With one more attribute point, I can step into the Ninth Rank." Lin Chao felt very relaxed.

If he were in another world, cultivating an ordinary martial art, he could enter the Ninth Rank in a single breath.

Those attribute points would not have been of much use to him there.

But now, due to the unique nature of this world, his cultivation speed was mediocre; he was just an ordinary "genius."

The effect of the attribute points was infinitely magnified.

After becoming an official disciple, Lin Chao told Hua Popo about this; Hua Popo was overjoyed, her senile face filled with smiles.

Lin Chao was grateful to Hua Popo from the bottom of his heart.

Today, Lin Chao did not go to chop wood or fetch Water again.

Official disciples no longer had to do chores like chopping wood, fetching Water, sweeping floors, or dumping night soil.

But that did not mean there was nothing to do.

Lin Chao received a new job, which was to receive pilgrims at the Front Mountain.

This was somewhat similar to being a tour guide and commentator in his previous life.

Quite a few children from wealthy families in Luo Ma County would come to the Qingxu Sect to burn incense.

The Qingxu Sect was divided into the Front Mountain and the Back Mountain.

The Taoist temple on the Front Mountain was available for believers to come and burn incense.

The Back Mountain, however, was forbidden to unauthorized persons.

The task Lin Chao currently had to do was to receive pilgrims and encourage them to spend money on incense.

Such work was naturally much easier than chopping wood and fetching Water.

"Finally reached the Ninth Rank." At night, Lin Chao sighed.

A Ninth Rank martial artist, just like the Qi Refining Realm, was very easy to step into.

It could be achieved with almost 2 attribute points.

"However, this Ninth Rank martial artist, it seems..."

Lin Chao carefully felt his body and discovered that the difference from before was not very large.

If judged solely by physical strength, Lin Chao was not even as good as Zhao Ting.

Of course, his combat techniques far surpassed Zhao Ting's, which was also his advantage.

"Is the Ninth Rank weak, or is my Ninth Rank weak?" Lin Chao pondered.

He decided to continue hiding and secretly use attribute points to improve his strength.

In the blink of an eye, two months passed.

Lin Chao went from the Back Mountain toward the Front Mountain to do his usual work of receiving pilgrims.

Just then, on the road ahead, Lin Chao saw an acquaintance.

There were three Handymen surrounding a person, looking fierce and coercing them into something.

The person being surrounded was none other than Zhao Ting, whom Lin Chao knew well.

"What are you doing?" Lin Chao walked over and shouted softly.

Seeing Lin Chao, the three Handymen revealed looks of awe in their eyes: "Greetings, Senior Brother."

Lin Chao was a formal disciple, and his status and position were noble.

Among them, a shifty-eyed Handyman said: "Senior Brother, this Zhao Ting owes our Senior Brother Hua Wuxing silver and keeps refusing to pay it back; we are here to collect the debt."

"Zhao Ting, do you owe money?" Lin Chao asked.

"No, Senior Brother Xia Yang, I do not owe any money; they are robbing me!" Zhao Ting said hurriedly, "That Hua Wuxing took a fancy to an antique, didn't have enough money, and so thought to extort the servants."

Hearing this, the three Handymen's expressions changed slightly.

"Senior Brother Xia Yang, do not listen to his nonsense," the shifty-eyed Handyman said.

Lin Chao looked at the three of them coldly: "The Qingxu Sect is a sacred place for cultivating the Dao and calming the mind; what kind of behavior is this, fighting and coercing others here?"

The shifty-eyed Handyman looked at Lin Chao: "Senior Brother Xia Yang, we are doing things for Senior Brother Hua Wuxing.

Senior Brother Hua Wuxing is a disciple recorded in the Dao register; Senior Brother Xia Yang, I ask you to think twice."

Formal disciples in the Qingxu Sect are divided into two types.

One type is like Lin Chao, who has no master.

The other type is like Hua Wuxing, who has a master, so his name is recorded in the Dao register.

Formal disciples with high-ranking masters naturally have a status and position far higher than ordinary disciples.

Lin Chao did not speak, but continued to look coldly at the shifty-eyed Handyman.

This Handyman finally lowered his head: "Let's go."

Hua Wuxing might not fear Lin Chao, but that did not mean they dared to provoke a formal disciple on their own.

"Senior Brother Xia Yang, thank you for your help." Zhao Ting looked at Lin Chao, his tone lacking its previous casualness and gaining a trace of respect.

Lin Chao did not say much either, turned around, and left.

Zhao Ting had once taken care of him, and out of consideration for their past friendship, he would help if he could.

On the other side, as they left, the four Handymen all had looks of dissatisfaction in their eyes.

"Just an ordinary formal disciple, what is he acting so high and mighty for?"

"How about we find an opportunity to finish him off?"

The shifty-eyed Handyman was tempted, but he immediately shook his head: "Senior Brother Hua Wuxing is plotting a major event; killing a formal disciple at this time would ruin Senior Brother Hua Wuxing's plans, and that would be bad."

The few people present then gave up the idea.

Although the four of them were Handymen, their previous identities were mountain bandits who burned, killed, and looted, stopping at nothing.

It was Hua Wuxing who had recruited them, and as his subordinates, they were naturally arrogant.

"Wait until Senior Brother Hua Wuxing's major event is over, then we'll find trouble for him," the shifty-eyed Handyman said.

……

Lin Chao welcomed the female pilgrim into the main hall and then entered the backyard.

At this time, a man of similar age to Lin Chao walked over.

This man was a formal disciple who had become quite close to Lin Chao over the past two months.

"Xia Yang, I heard you offended Senior Brother Hua Wuxing?" Zhao Tai's eyes held a look of worry.

Lin Chao paused slightly.

He had not expected that what happened this morning would have already reached Zhao Tai's ears.

However, he also understood that this was Hua Wuxing expressing his dissatisfaction toward him.

By releasing the news that Lin Chao had offended Hua Wuxing, those who wanted to curry favor with Hua Wuxing would inevitably go and cause trouble for Lin Chao.

"Small problem." Lin Chao did not care.

"Sigh, Hua Wuxing has extremely good aptitude among us newly promoted disciples.

Some time ago, he already stepped into the Foundation Establishment realm.

An Elder asserted that Hua Wuxing will definitely be able to step into the Golden Core realm before the age of thirty, and his future is bright.

Most importantly, the Fifth Elder's only daughter, Zhuge Qingxia, has always been infatuated with Hua Wuxing; you must be careful not to be targeted by Zhuge Qingxia."

There was no lack of worry in Zhao Tai's eyes.

Zhuge Qingxia was arrogant, domineering, and willful.

"I understand." Lin Chao's gaze carried a trace of gravity.

The Qingxu Sect has a total of nine Great Elders.

Among them, three Elders are experts in Martial Arts.

The Fifth Elder is one of them, a Sixth Grade Martial Arts powerhouse.

Lin Chao also wanted to know just how strong a Sixth Grade Martial Arts expert was.

At night, Lin Chao obtained a bit of attribute value.

He used it and immediately broke through, stepping into the Eighth Grade.

A look of curiosity appeared in Lin Chao's eyes.

"Sure enough, only when Literary Arts and Martial Arts break through together will the daily increase in attribute points rise."

Now, Lin Chao had already stepped into the Foundation Establishment realm.

Originally, he thought he could increase his attribute points by 2 every day.

After all, when he was an ordinary person, he increased by 0.1 attribute points a day.

The Qi Refining Realm increases by 1 attribute point.

Foundation Establishment should be 2.

As it turned out, he didn't expect that it would only become 2 when his martial arts and literary arts reached a balance.

"So, it is still better to prioritize adding points to martial arts," Lin Chao thought to himself.

Only martial arts provide the ability to protect oneself.

As for literary arts, Lin Chao still hasn't figured out their purpose to this day.

It seems as if literary arts are only for self-cultivation.

However, Lin Chao knows this is because his status is too low and he knows too little information.

Lin Chao went to "work" and practiced as usual every day.

At noon, Lin Chao sat with Zhao Tai to eat.

At this moment, a formal disciple wearing a green robe walked over with an arrogant look on his face.

"Are you Xia Yang?"

The visitor was not well-intentioned.

"Greetings, Senior Brother," Lin Chao said in a calm voice.

"The Fifth Elder is preparing to take in some Registered Disciples.

You are quite lucky; the Fifth Elder is taking you under his wing, so why don't you hurry up and thank him?"

Lin Chao was slightly stunned when he heard this.

Among formal disciples, there are two types.

One type has a master, and the other does not.

Those without a master are inherently a rank lower than those with one.

And for the Fifth Elder to suddenly want to take him as a Registered Disciple, he certainly isn't being that kind.

However, as a disciple of the Qingxu Sect, he cannot refuse unless he defects from the Qingxu Sect.

"Many thanks to the Fifth Elder for his regard," Lin Chao could only agree.

This is the reason for having too low a status.

Beside him, Zhao Tai's eyes also carried a look of worry.

A Registered Disciple can be important, or it can be unimportant.

This mainly depends on the master's character.

In the eyes of many disciples, the Fifth Elder's character is not that good.

Especially since the Fifth Elder's daughter, Zhuge Qingxia, is also notoriously arrogant and domineering in the Qingxu Sect.

Led by that arrogant disciple, Lin Chao went to the Fifth Elder's small courtyard in the Back Mountain.

The Fifth Elder is named Zhuge Liu, a burly middle-aged man.

When Lin Chao appeared, he discovered that there were not only him in the courtyard, but also more than ten other formal disciples.

These disciples were all those without a master.

Lin Chao immediately sensed the strangeness in this.

Zhuge Liu looked at everyone, his eyes revealing a sharp glint: "Some time ago, the Flower Bandit Zhu Xiang made wild claims that he would capture my daughter within a month to use for dual cultivation.

Therefore, I need your help to help me protect my daughter.

Whoever performs a great service, I will personally recommend to the Sect Master to ensure you obtain a steward position in the Qingxu Sect."

Zhuge Liu was not polite, or rather, he was simply too lazy to be polite to these formal disciples before him.

He directly stated his purpose for recruiting Registered Disciples.

The Qingxu Sect disciples present all showed joy on their faces upon hearing this.

The Flower Bandit Zhu Xiang is a lecherous thief and also a Seventh Rank Martial Artist.

However, in this world, a Seventh Rank Martial Artist is nothing; several Qingxu Sect disciples working together and using weapons are enough to subdue him.

Even an ordinary person has the possibility of slaying a Seventh Rank Martial Artist.

What the Flower Bandit is good at is light-body techniques and using some stupefying incense.

"For this month, I will give each of you one tael of silver shards as a reward.

Whoever captures the Flower Bandit Zhu Xiang, I will personally present one hundred taels of silver."

Zhuge Liu's voice was powerful, and the formal disciples present all showed excited expressions, eager to try.

Lin Chao's expression was calm; to be honest, he was also quite tempted by the one hundred taels of silver.

After all, he is currently lacking everything.

"By the way, among you twelve, I will also take in two Beginner disciples; it will depend on your performance from here on out," Zhuge Liu said with a kind expression, painting one big picture after another.

Steward positions, Beginner disciples, and one hundred taels of silver were all just big pictures.

"Many thanks, Master," the twelve people present bowed to Zhuge Liu one after another.

As for giving them the status of Registered Disciple, it was so the Fifth Elder could better order them around.

After all, even though Zhuge Liu is the Fifth Elder, he does not have the authority to order around any disciple of the Qingxu Sect.

But becoming a Registered Disciple makes things different.

Zhuge Liu divided the twelve people into three teams, four people per team, responsible for taking turns protecting Zhuge Qingxia.

After these things were done, Zhuge Liu left.

Not long after, a woman with a decent appearance had a look of dissatisfaction on her face: "Father, I don't want those stinky men to protect me."

"It will be fine if I have Junior Brother Hua Wuxing to protect me."

The woman was none other than Zhuge Liu's daughter, Zhuge Qingxia.

A helpless expression appeared on Zhuge Liu's face: "Qingxia, the Flower Bandit Zhu Xiang has many tricks up his sleeve; Hua Wuxing alone will find it very difficult to protect you."

Hua Wuxing has quite good talent, but it is limited to Literary Arts.

And the dozen or so Registered Disciples he is looking for now are all those who practice martial arts.

Generally, disciples who choose to practice martial arts may have no future in Literary Arts, which is why they choose martial arts.

These disciples with no future also want to climb higher, so they will work even harder to protect Zhuge Qingxia's safety.

"But I really don't want to be followed by this group of stinking men." Zhuge Qingxia looked dissatisfied.

"Qingxia, I have wronged you; once we catch the Flower Bandit Zhu Xiang, it won't be like this anymore," Zhuge Liu comforted her.

He only had this one daughter, so he doted on her exceptionally.

(End of chapter)