[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-notes-on-cultivation-at-wulong-mountain":3,"chapter-notes-on-cultivation-at-wulong-mountain-notes-on-cultivation-at-wulong-mountain-chapter-82":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Notes on Cultivation at Wulong Mountain",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2272987,4440,"Chapter 82: Taking Out Anger on Others","notes-on-cultivation-at-wulong-mountain-chapter-82",82,"\u003Cp>Due to his Yin-Yang Art, Liu Xiaolou was seated near the front row, watching the entire banquet with deep confusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The banquet itself had no real process—after three rounds of wine and five flavors of dishes, he finally realized the “process” had already been completed at the start. Only then did he understand that Hongluo Mountain Villa was not recruiting retainers, but seeking a son-in-law.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason he came here, the reason Zheng Laolao took notice of him, was solely because of his modest looks, nothing else. For the Zheng family, over centuries, the foremost criterion in choosing a son-in-law or daughter-in-law was appearance; thus, every Zheng, male or female, was strikingly handsome or beautiful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The daughter being chosen today was Zheng Laolao’s granddaughter, Zheng Gong’s second daughter, whose beauty was famed within three hundred li of Hongluo Mountain—hence the flood of young elites seeking her hand. The only flaw was rumors of a slight limp in her left foot, but this was utterly overshadowed by her illustrious lineage and her own cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this point, Liu Xiaolou gave up all hope—not because he didn’t wish to marry this Zheng daughter; of course he’d welcome such a high match—but he couldn’t compete with her family’s status or afford the bride price.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the Zheng family had truly chosen him, all he could offer was perhaps twenty or thirty taels of silver, not a single spirit stone or rare treasure. Even if he offered his Lin Yuan Xian Yu Xuan Shi Array Plate, the Zhengs wouldn’t even glance at it. As for the Li Di San Yuan Rope, that was murder evidence—he dared not show it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the banquet, he overheard the Baiyun Swordsman and the Green Robe Scholar discussing their bride prices. Baiyun Villa planned to offer ten magic artifacts, ten rare spiritual materials, a hundred stones of spirit rice, three spirit beasts, five thousand taels of silver, eight hundred bolts of silk, five hundred mu of prime paddy fields, and a hundred spirit stones as the final treasure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Green Robe Scholar’s family offered slightly less—no paddy fields or so much silver—but they provided three pairs of green-headed messenger pigeons, said to be worth nearly a hundred spirit stones per pair on the market, and even then, they were sold out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Liu Xiaolou thought of his own white goose. If he offered it as a bride price, how much would it be worth? By the way, he hadn’t seen Big White in a long time—when he returned home, who knew what surprise it would bring him this time? Last time it learned to make fire by rubbing wood—would it learn to cook and fry dishes now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His spiritual sense drifted, making him indifferent to the rest of the banquet. He didn’t remember drinking a few cups or eating a few plates of snail slices. No elite came to toast him—he either drank alone in gloom or raised his cup with the crowd to toast some name or event he’d never heard of.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only regret was not seeing the Zheng daughter’s true face—he wondered if she was hiding somewhere with a view of the banquet, carefully observing and comparing each suitor’s qualifications.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter what, even if the Zheng daughter ultimately chose him, could he take her back to Wulong Mountain? Remember last year, when his good brother Wei Hongqing’s romance ended in disaster—the Xia family would rather give their daughter to the Zhanglong Sect as a concubine than send her to Wulong Mountain as a bandit’s wife.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The banquet began at You hour and ended at Xu hour and forty-five minutes. The outcome was both unsurprising and slightly surprising: unsurprising was Liu Xiaolou’s rejection—Yin-Yang Art alone wasn’t enough; surprising was that the one chosen was the lowest-cultivation “elite,” a youth from Ding family of Shuanglong Town, the very man he had mocked mercilessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, Liu Xiaolou had no interest in learning the Ding family’s background or how much bride price they offered. He felt a faint disappointment—not because he wasn’t chosen as son-in-law—he never entertained such a fantasy—but because his plan to become a retainer at Hongluo Mountain had shattered, leaving him gloomy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that was all. To change one’s identity, to secure a better birth? How easy was that in this world? Too much disappointment had made him used to it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the banquet ended, Liu Xiaolou took his leave. The steward chased after him, handing him a small red silk pouch, expressing thanks, then went to thank other rejected suitors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Xiaolou touched the red pouch and immediately guessed it contained a spirit stone. He waited a moment longer, felt no further surprises were coming, then left Hongluo Mountain Villa. Outside, he opened it—sure enough, a spirit stone. All his disappointment vanished instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had eaten plenty of spirit snail meat, enjoyed a grand feast, and now received a gift—his mood lifted greatly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Next, should he continue investigating the source of the jade hairpin’s “kaka” sound, or find a way to earn spirit stones?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he walked along the mountain path under the night sky, Liu Xiaolou pondered his next move, when suddenly someone caught up behind him. He turned—cloaked in white, it was the Baiyun Swordsman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Baiyun Swordsman’s cultivation was far higher; his pace was much faster, and he swiftly glided past Liu Xiaolou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their eyes met. Liu Xiaolou bowed politely: “Brother, you’re also taking this path? Hehe…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Baiyun Swordsman spat: “Pah! Bad luck!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Xiaolou sighed: “Brother, why so bitter?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Baiyun Swordsman had been eager to press on, but hearing Liu Xiaolou dare to reply, a surge of rage rose—he blocked the path: “Why so bitter? It’s bad luck, that’s all!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Xiaolou frowned: “I haven’t provoked you. Why insult me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Baiyun Swordsman roared: “If I hadn’t shared a courtyard with you, how could the Zheng family have rejected me? Don’t tell me it’s not bad luck!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Xiaolou said: “I understand you’re upset about being rejected, but why take it out on others? Meeting is fate…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Baiyun Swordsman bellowed: “So what if I take it out on you?” A flash of cold light—his sword erupted with three-foot-long blade aura, slashing down at Liu Xiaolou’s head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Xiaolou had heard his cultivation level—his meridians were far beyond his own. The Li Di San Yuan Rope wouldn’t hold him. His San Xuan Sword hadn’t yet formed blade aura—it was no match. He could only hurl out his array plate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Yuan Xuan Shi Array—this was Liu Xiaolou’s greatest self-defense tool.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Baiyun Swordsman’s cultivation was indeed far higher, but trapped within the array, and utterly unfamiliar with it, he couldn’t escape for the moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, it was only an illusionary array, and Liu Xiaolou’s cultivation lagged three levels behind—he lacked the power to defeat him outright. The two were now locked in stalemate. But over time, Liu Xiaolou would surely collapse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Baiyun Swordsman had come with the highest hopes; his rejection left him furious, so he took it out on Liu Xiaolou. Once inside the array, his sword strikes had no technique—just wild, chaotic slashes, venting his frustration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He chopped down a large patch of banana trees and bamboo, then kicked open the ornate double doors of the pavilion by the pond, sword in hand, determined to smash the entire structure—when suddenly he froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind the silken curtains on the bed—the graceful, beautiful woman—wasn’t that the Zheng daughter he had longed for?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How… how… was she dancing?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Baiyun Swordsman stood stunned for a moment, then unconsciously kicked a embroidered stool over and sat down slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>ps: Earlier, my cousin’s math failed, causing misunderstandings among friends. I reiterate: cultivating the first three meridians counts as entering cultivation, known as Qi Refining Level One, also called “Martial Master”; cultivating the fourth meridian counts as Qi Refining Level Two; Xiao Lou is currently striving to open the fifth meridian, which is Qi Refining Level Three.\u003C\u002Fp>",1329,"2026-06-19T23:11:25.549Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","9b31def915ad4b99d39e3dbaebe5a2028b22dac2aceff9e2f6386c576a8a3ca7","notes-on-cultivation-at-wulong-mountain-chapter-83","notes-on-cultivation-at-wulong-mountain-chapter-81",638,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fnotes-on-cultivation-at-wulong-mountain-cover.jpg"]