Chapter 548: Guide to Initial Outer Sect Cultivation: Points

The night deepened, and the spirit mist in the courtyard was like gauze.

By the light of the bronze oil lamp on the stone table, Cheng Feng turned the *Guide to Initial Outer Sect Cultivation* to the second chapter.

This chapter did not discuss cultivation, but rather the most vital matter for an Outer Disciple—points.

The guide stated clearly that Outer Disciples could receive three bottles of Basic Grain-Excluding Pill every month, but all other resources required for cultivation—including the use of the Spirit Room, borrowing of cultivation methods, exchanging for pills, purchasing of spirit herbs, and even requesting guidance from a Deacon—all required the use of sect points.

In the Outer Sect, points were hard currency. Without points, one could not take a single step.

But where did these points come from?

The guide also listed several ways: completing sect missions, participating in Outer Sect trials, handing in spirit herbs or spirit minerals, making special contributions, and so on.

These avenues could all earn points, but none of them were easy.

Especially for newly initiated disciples, they were not permitted to take on missions outside the mountain for the first three months; they could only accumulate points by doing miscellaneous chores within the sect, such as patrolling the mountains, gathering herbs, tending to beasts, transcribing scriptures, or even running errands for Deacons.

The income was meager, amounting to no more than three or five points in a whole day.

Cheng Feng turned the page again and finally saw the content he cared about most.

"The top three received by the Flying Boat are granted an initial point reward. First place, three hundred. Second place, two hundred. Third place, one hundred."

He read this passage twice, then fished the milky-white Jade Tablet from his bosom and examined it under the lamp.

On the back of the Jade Tablet, there had originally been only the character "three," but now, a line of extremely tiny runes had appeared below it.

At first glance, they looked like a water ripple, but upon closer inspection, they were slowly flowing; they were exactly what the Deacon had carved during the spirit testing today.

When he focused his gaze on it, a faint light rose from the surface of the Jade Tablet, and a line of phantom text appeared in the air.

"Cheng Feng, Water Spirit Root low-grade, Root Bone medium-low. Points: one hundred."

Cheng Feng put down the Jade Tablet and let out a soft breath.

One hundred points. It was not much, but it was not little either.

The guide stated that if an Ordinary Outer Disciple had no backing, they had to struggle on their own for the first month, and being able to save thirty or fifty points was considered diligent.

Having an extra one hundred out of thin air at least spared him the most difficult start.

But what could these one hundred points be exchanged for?

He turned to the exchange catalog page, and after looking at only a small portion, his brows furrowed.

In the Outer Sect Pill Pavilion, a bottle of Ordinary Qi Gathering Powder cost twenty points, and a bottle of high-grade Qi Gathering Powder cost eighty points.

The Spirit Room was charged by the day; the lowest-grade Grade C Room was five points a day, the Grade B Room was fifteen points, and the Grade A Room was fifty points.

For borrowing cultivation methods, the Outer Sect Basic Cultivation Method was free, but anything slightly decent started at two hundred points.

As for requesting individual guidance from a Deacon, it cost eighty points per session, and they would only speak for the duration of one incense stick.

He calculated carefully; even if he didn't spend a single one of these one hundred points, they wouldn't last through many uses.

And he had a problem more troublesome than others—his Root Bone was medium-low, meaning his cultivation efforts would yield half the result for twice the work.

If he wanted to catch up, he had to consume more resources than others.

One hundred points, he feared, would not last a month.

Just as he was thinking this, the courtyard gate was knocked. Zhou Tieyi pushed the door open and walked in, clutching a copy of the *Guide to Initial Outer Sect Cultivation* that had become frayed at the edges, his expression looking rather unpleasant.

"Did you see the page about points?" He plopped down onto a stone stool and slapped his Jade Tablet onto the table.

"I only have ten points. Ten! That's what the eighth-place ranking gave."

"Having some is better than having none," Cheng Feng said. "Fourth to fifth place get fifty each, and sixth to tenth get ten. You're eighth, that's not bad."

"It's not bad, but it can't compare to you top three." Zhou Tieyi glanced at his Jade Tablet, his eyes lighting up. "How many do you have? One hundred?"

Cheng Feng nodded.

"Damn it, if I'd known, I would've pushed for the top three." Zhou Tieyi slapped his thigh, then deflated again.

"Forget it, let's not talk about that. What are your plans for next? I heard many people have already taken their points to exchange for things."

"Some went to the Pill Pavilion, some went to the Spirit Room,"

"And some even spent several dozen points to exchange for cultivation methods. What about you?"

Cheng Feng closed the guide, looked at him, and suddenly asked, "Have you noticed that in the *General Knowledge of Cultivation* for the Outer Sect, there is a chapter on Basic Breathing Technique,"

"But there is a separate list provided afterward, which contains several versions of the Qi Induction Formula."

"There is a version suitable for Gold Spirit Root, one suitable for Water Spirit Root,"

"And one suitable for those without attributes. Have you exchanged for one?"

Zhou Tieyi was stunned for a moment: "No. Isn't it free to learn?"

"The most basic breathing method is free to learn, but that is for everyone to use."

"If you want one that corresponds to your own Spirit Root, you have to spend points. Sixty for one."

Cheng Feng turned the guide to that page and pushed it in front of him.

"You have a Gold Spirit Root; you can practice with the non-attribute breathing technique, but the effect is thirty percent worse."

"If you exchange for the corresponding version, it will be much faster."

Zhou Tieyi leaned in to look, and his expression changed: "Sixty points? I only have ten!"

"So with your ten points, don't spend anything right now."

Cheng Feng said, "Save them first. Once you have enough for sixty, then exchange for the Qi Induction Formula that suits you. Everything else is secondary."

Zhou Tieyi was silent for a while, then asked: "What about you? You have one hundred, you can exchange for one that suits you."

"Your Water Spirit Root... why not exchange for the Water-Attribute Qi Induction Technique, and use what's left to subsidize the Spirit Room."

Cheng Feng did not answer immediately. He stood up, walked under the maple tree, and watched the thin mist rising from the Spirit Well in the courtyard.

"Water Spirit Root low-grade; relying solely on one Qi Induction Formula won't be enough to catch up to them."

He said, "I've checked; there is an item in the exchange catalog: Grade A Spirit Room, fifty points per day."

"But the Grade A Spirit Room mentioned here is the specification for Outer Disciples."

"I heard there is a place in the sect called the Marrow Cleansing Pool, which can improve one's Root Bone, but the price is extremely high."

Zhou Tieyi gasped: "You want to set your sights on the Marrow Cleansing Pool?

I heard a single cleansing costs at least two thousand points! And even if you wait for half a year, it won't be your turn!"

"So, not right now," Cheng Feng turned around and looked at him, "but I cannot wait until later either. What do you think, with my current Root Bone and Spirit Root, if I practice step-by-step, what will the situation be in a year?

What about in three years? Those people with middle or high-grade Spirit Roots will only pull further and further ahead.

If I want to stay in the lead, I can only change things from the root."

Zhou Tieyi opened his mouth, but could not say a word. After a long while, he whispered: "Then how will you use your one hundred points?"

"First, exchange for a Water-Attribute Qi Induction Technique, sixty," Cheng Feng said,

"As for the rest, I will find a way myself."

"Your Water Spirit Root is low-grade; is the sixty-point one enough?" Zhou Tieyi asked.

"It is not enough," Cheng Feng answered bluntly, "but it is the only one I can choose right now.

It is stronger than the Basic Breathing Technique and cheaper than high-grade cultivation methods.

I will establish the foundation first, then talk about what comes later."

Zhou Tieyi nodded, as if infected by his calmness, and slowly calmed down as well: "I will accompany you tomorrow. I'll also see if there are any jobs suitable for me to earn points."

Cheng Feng glanced at him and did not refuse. Zhou Tieyi was a person who was boisterous with his words, but his heart was not bad.

In this Outer Sect, having someone trustworthy to look out for each other was not a bad thing.

The night grew deep, and Zhou Tieyi said goodbye and returned to his courtyard. Cheng Feng put away his Jade Tablet, read the sections in the guide about the Qi Induction Formula for a while longer, and then got up to return to his room.

The room was simply furnished with a bed, a table, and a cabinet, and a sloppy painting of mountains and rivers hung on the wall.

Outside the window, the Spirit mist was silent, as if invisible streams were slowly flowing through the courtyard.

Cheng Feng lay on the bed, staring at the rafters above, thinking about the things that one hundred points could be exchanged for,

and thinking about those people with middle or high-grade Spirit Roots who were probably happily spending their points right now, calculating which cultivation method was the most cost-effective to learn.

He closed his eyes.

He only had one hundred, while others had three hundred, two hundred, and some were even born with a Spirit Body, able to absorb and exhale Spirit Qi on their own without spending any points.

But he had already seen these gaps back on the Flying Boat.

At that time, he was only ranked third, yet there were still people who were unconvinced, and still people who wanted to fight.

Now, it had merely changed from fists and kicks to points.

The principle remained the same.

He had always climbed his way up from having nothing at all.

One hundred points were enough for him to take the first step. As long as he took that step, no matter how narrow the road ahead was, he would trample his way across it.