After Immortal Zhou Qing had stayed on Servant Peak for a week, occasional fragments of conversation began drifting out from the stone hut.
While cleaning a corner of the shack, Chen Ping overheard the two chosen servants whispering together in awed tones.
“Did you hear? Exalted Immortal Zhou said it’s not just here. Apparently the Qi is growing thinner all over the sect…”
“Really? No wonder the Exalted Immortal investigated for so long without finding any clues. So the problem lies with the bigger picture?”
“Exactly! I caught a few words when the Exalted Immortal was speaking with Manager Wang. Something about ‘the Sect Protection Formation running sluggishly’ and ‘the higher-ups’ cultivation being obstructed.’ That’s why they sent people out to inspect the nodes… Ah, but what do we know of Immortal affairs?”
Chen Ping’s hand on the broom paused for a heartbeat, then he nonchalantly swept the dust aside once more.
The Qi concentration was falling throughout the sect? Within these two months since he had found the Jade Pendant?
A chill shot up his spine without warning. This… was too much of a coincidence.
He did not dare think further and immediately forced down the stormy waves surging in his chest.
Whether or not there was any connection, the secret of this Jade Pendant had to be guarded even more tightly!
Subconsciously, he pressed at the warm, hard object against his chest through his coarse cloth shirt.
In the days that followed, he became even more cautious. Aside from necessary labor and training…
He kept himself tucked away in the corners of the crowd, avoiding anything that might draw attention-especially the direction of that stone hut.
He even reduced the number of times he practiced in secluded places during the day, preferring to endure a little longer…
A month slipped by quietly amid Chen Ping’s relentless training and taut nerves.
The door of the stone hut finally opened once more.
Zhou Qing emerged in the same spotless azure robe, with a faint trace of weariness and impatience on his face.
He spoke briefly to the bowing Manager Wang. There was no obvious fault at this node; the changes in Qi might be linked to the Sect Protection Formation as a whole. He needed to return to the Hall of Affairs and report.
Azure light flared, and Zhou Qing rose into the sky, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
The Immortal had left.
The invisible Pressure hanging over Servant Peak suddenly dissipated. After a brief silence came Manager Wang’s thunderous roar.
“What are you all staring at?! Get back to work! You really think you’re somebody? Some bullshit Immortal fate! A bunch of lowborn trash!”
His face was livid. A month’s worth of pent-up frustration, along with the disappointment of failing to curry favor with the Immortal, had now erupted into surging fury.
Like an enraged Wild Boar, he glared over the cowed, silent servants, then fixed his eyes on the figure quietly cleaning tools in a distant corner.
Chen Ping.
It was all because of this unlucky piece of trash!
If not for him… if he hadn’t kept thinking about how to deal with him and gotten distracted, maybe he could have performed better in front of the Immortal! Maybe… Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
“Chen Ping! Are you fucking deaf?”
Manager Wang strode over and jabbed a finger at Chen Ping’s nose.
“The Immortal is gone, so you trash are useless now! Get yourself to the Back Mountain! That patch of brambles-clear it out within three days! If you don’t finish, I’ll skin you alive!”
He intended to dump all the rage he had built up over the past month onto this eyesore of a punching bag.
The Scarred Foreman immediately caught on. With a vicious grin, he drew his whip and approached with several lackeys in tow.
“Did you hear that, trash? Get moving!”
Chen Ping slowly straightened up and set down the tools in his hands.
He dusted off his palms, raised his head, and calmly regarded the furious Manager Wang and the menacing Scarred Foreman.
There was no fear in his eyes. No anger. Only an almost indifferent calm.
“Manager Wang.”
Chen Ping’s voice was not loud, yet it cut clearly through Manager Wang’s roar.
“Find someone else for the bramble-clearing.”
“What did you say?!”
Manager Wang could hardly believe his own ears. His eyes nearly bulged from their sockets.
The Scarred Foreman raised his whip higher.
“Courting death!”
Chen Ping ignored the descending whip. He merely looked at Manager Wang and spoke, one word at a time.
“My work is done. Now, I’m going down the mountain.”
“Down the mountain? Are you fucking trying to run away?”
Manager Wang laughed from sheer rage.
“No.”
Chen Ping shook his head, met Manager Wang’s stunned gaze, and said clearly,
“I’m going to the Manager at the foot of the mountain to take the assessment for the rank of Regular Disciple.”
The air seemed to freeze for an instant.
The rage on Manager Wang’s face stiffened, then was replaced by disbelief and contempt.
“Assessment? You? A cripple with a ruined hand? You want to become a Regular Disciple? I think you’ve gone mad!”
The Scarred Foreman’s whip also stopped in midair as he stared at Chen Ping like he was a fool.
Chen Ping said nothing more. He turned and walked straight toward the path down the mountain. Find the original chapter at novelping.com.
His steps were steady. His back was straight.
“Stop him! Break his legs!”
Manager Wang finally reacted and let out a shrill howl.
The Scarred Foreman and several lackeys lunged at him viciously, whips and fists whistling toward Chen Ping’s back.
As if he had eyes behind his head, Chen Ping’s body shifted sharply to the side at the very instant the whip tip was about to strike. With a crack, the whip lashed the ground, sending up dust.
At the same instant, he swung his left arm back. It was not quick, but there was a heavy force behind it, enough to block the fist of a lunging lackey.
“Hm?”
That lackey felt his arm go numb as a powerful force traveled through it, actually shaking him so hard that he staggered back two steps, his face full of astonishment.
The Scarred Foreman also sensed something was wrong. With a snap of his wrist, he lashed the whip out again viciously.
This time, Chen Ping did not fully dodge. His right hand shot out like lightning, five fingers hooked like claws, and he seized the incoming whip tip in one precise grip!
“What?!”
The Scarred Foreman was greatly alarmed and yanked hard to pull it back, but the whip seemed welded into Chen Ping’s hand-it did not budge in the slightest!
Chen Ping’s gaze turned cold. The arm gripping the whip suddenly exerted force and gave a fierce tug!
The Scarred Foreman felt a tremendous force pull through the whip. He was dragged forward and fell flat on his face.
Everyone froze.
The lackeys who had been about to attack froze as though under an immobilizing spell, staring in disbelief at Chen Ping standing firm before them.
Manager Wang’s eyes nearly fell from their sockets. His mouth hung open, but he could not utter a single word.
Chen Ping released his grip, and the whip dropped limply to the ground.
Without even glancing at the Scarred Foreman sprawled in the dirt or the frightened lackeys, he looked toward Manager Wang once more. That gaze was calm to a terrifying degree.
“Manager Wang, I haven’t much time to get to the assessment. I’ll be going.”
With that, he did not linger. He turned and strode down the mountain path.
His steps were resolute, no longer carrying even the slightest trace of the timidity and stumbling of the past.
Manager Wang stared at that receding back. His face went from red to green, then from green to white, and finally turned ashen.
His lips trembled as if he wanted to curse, but his throat seemed blocked.
A chill rose inexplicably from the bottom of his heart.
Chen Ping did not look back.
He had only one goal: the servants’ administration office at the foot of the mountain and the stone lock used to test five hundred jin of strength.