Chapter 83 - Making a Living from Boats (3)
Chapter 83: Making a Living from Boats (3)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
As for the disciples who didn’t have a boat, they could only do odd jobs on the shore. They struggled to cultivate and had to work hard to accumulate contribution points every day.
It was also because the other summits and even the entire Nanhuang Continent had to travel through this place when they went out to sea. Hence, there were many times when they had to rent a boat from the Seventh Peak’s disciples. This was also a way to earn contribution points.
In the entire Seventh Peak, the vast majority of disciples were like this. Everyone was working hard to survive, wanting to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm and obtain the right to distribute the benefits of the Seven Blood Eyes.
“Therefore, the magic boat and cultivation base are the keys to whether one can survive on the seventh peak before reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm.”
“I have to exchange for a magic boat as soon as possible!” Xu Qing’s eyes gleamed as he felt an intense sense of urgency.
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Just like that, under the introduction of the round-faced cultivator, Xu Qing and the others followed him to the middle of the mountain. This was the place where all the functions of the identity token were unlocked for new disciples. At the same time, there were also cultivation arts and Daoist robes.
There was only one type of Daoist robe and that was the gray one.
The gray-colored Daoist robe was the basic clothing of all Seven Blood Eyes’s peak disciples. As long as a disciple unlocked their identity token, they would be given it for free.
However, opening the token required 1,000 contribution points. After opening it, the token recorded everyone’s basic information and contribution points. It could also be used for communication.
As everyone obtained their cultivation arts and activated their identity tokens one after another, they obtained a gray Daoist robe. Xu Qing held it in his hand and sensed the weak spirit energy fluctuations emitted from it. He knew that the material of this Daoist robe was extraordinary.
It felt very soft and wouldn’t easily crease. If it was placed in the outside world, the value of this Daoist robe would probably be quite high.
Li Xiaomei, who was at the side, was similar to Xu Qing. She was also stroking her Daoist robe and her eyes revealed determination. Beside her, Xu Xiaohui looked at Zhou Qingpeng.
Zhou Qingpeng blinked. After his gaze swept past the round-faced cultivator and the sect senior who was distributing the supplies, he suddenly spoke softly.
“Senior, I want to buy a magic boat.”
The round-faced cultivator smiled when he heard this. The person distributing the supplies was a skinny old man. He rolled his eyes and glanced at Zhou Qingpeng as he calmly spoke.
“100,000 contribution points, or 100 spirit stones.” As soon as the skinny old man spoke, both Li Xiaomei and Xu Xiaohui sucked in a breath. To them, 100 spirit stones was an unimaginable sum of money.
At that moment, Zhou Qingpeng hurriedly stepped forward and took out a golden note, respectfully handing it over.
“The second peak’s spirit ticket? Sure.” The old man took it and looked at it. After that, he took out a purple brocade box and pushed it over. After that, he raised his head and looked at the others.
“Do any of you still want to exchange?”
Li Xiaomei and Xu Xiaohui lowered their heads. After some thought, Xu Qing endured the pain and stepped forward to take out 100 spirit stones from his leather pouch, placing them in front of the skinny old man.
The old man didn’t say a word. Under the envy of Li Zimei and Xu Xiaohui and the sidelong glance of Zhou Qingpeng, he also gave him a brocade box.
Xu Qing took it and opened it. There were only two items in the brocade box: a jade slip and a small transparent bottle.
The small bottle was very strange. It was only the size of a palm and half of it was filled with a liquid that looked like seawater. Above the seawater, there was a small boat with a black canopy!
This small boat was completely black and looked simple. However, upon closer inspection, one would discover that every plank on the boat was filled with a large number of runes. Even though the entire boat was separated by a bottle, it still emitted waves of extraordinary pressure.
It could be said that whether it was the bottle itself or the small boat, their value far exceeded 100 spirit stones. As for the jade slip, it recorded information about the small boat.
“Alright, you guys can leave the mountain now. Remember not to spread the cultivation arts and magic boats to outsiders. Otherwise… you’ll end up in a very miserable state.” The round-faced middle-aged man’s voice interrupted Xu Qing’s observation.
“Xu Xiaohui and Li Zimei, the two of you should work harder. Take care of yourselves and strive to obtain the magic boat as soon as possible. As for Zhou Qingpeng and Xu Qing, your identity tokens contain information about your roles. You can go on your own.”
The four of them immediately cupped their fists toward the round-faced cultivator. Just as Xu Qing was about to leave, he was stopped by the round-faced cultivator.
“Xu Qing.”
Xu Qing turned his head and looked respectfully at the round-faced cultivator.
“Among low-level cultivators, you’re very strong. You’re clearly at the seventh level of Body Refinement but you managed to form the qi and blood shadow that only those at the great circle of Body Refinement have. It can be seen that your talent isn’t bad. It can be said that among low-level cultivators, you’re already an expert. Killing some miscellaneous cultivators, as well as those at the ninth or tenth level of Qi Condensation, is also an easy feat.”
“However, body refinement is relatively simple. It’s just the accumulation of speed, strength, and recovery. This isn’t the Great Dao.”
“The Great Dao of us cultivators is to cultivate laws! I advise you to re-cultivate laws in the future. The spirit energy in your body is too weak. It’s fine when you face miscellaneous cultivators but if you face a large sect’s disciple, you’ll be at a disadvantage!”
When Xu Qing heard this, his heart trembled.
“Also, I don’t know where you lived before but I believe that danger lurked in every corner, so you developed some instinctive habits of yours.
“Habits?” Xu Qing was stunned.
“Seeing that this is a test I performed for you, let me remind you. For example, when you walk, your right hand hardly moves and your index and middle fingers are always on guard. I’m guessing that in the leather pouch on your right, there’s a needle-shaped or throwing-knife-type weapon that can be clamped between two fingers. It’ll be convenient for you to take it out at any time.”
Xu Qing’s expression froze. This was the first time someone had seen through him so clearly.
“However, I advise you not to treat habits as nature. If that’s the case, it’ll be very easy for others to see through you and you’ll be at a disadvantage. You have to know that there are no traces. Hiding a needle in cotton is the way of our generation.”
The round-faced middle-aged man smiled as he spoke. He didn’t look sharp at all. This time, he reminded this disciple in front of him. To him, it was just a small investment.
However, Xu Qing felt a chill down his spine. He stood there and took a deep breath before bowing deeply to the other party.
Even when he was far away, Xu Qing’s heart was still echoing with the other party’s words. He lowered his head and looked at his right hand, trying his best to control it and make it more natural.
Under this attempt at control, his right hand slowly changed. It was no longer stiff but a little more natural. However, if one took a closer look, they would be able to see that there seemed to be sharpness hidden in every shake of this nature.
On his way down the mountain, he kept trying. In the wilderness far away from the Seven Blood Eyes, in an unfamiliar scavenger campsite, Old Master Seventh was squatting on a rooftop. He looked with interest at a youth not far away who was fighting a wild dog. The youth’s mouth was stained with the flesh and blood of the dog and his expression seemed to be bloodthirsty.
Seeing this scene, admiration appeared in Old Master Seventh’s eyes.
Beside him, the servant was also squatting there. At that moment, he took out the jade slip and checked it before speaking in a low voice.
“Old Master Seventh, the kid has reached the Seven Blood Eyes.”
“What kid?” Old Master Seventh looked at the youth in front of him and casually asked.
The servant smiled bitterly and explained in a low voice.
“It’s that youth who couldn’t bear to wear his new clothes before he killed. You even helped him speak to Grandmaster Bai to teach him the way of plants and vegetation. After that, you gave him a white token.”
Old Master Seventh had a dazed look on his face as he nodded. When he recalled Xu Qing, his eyes once again revealed admiration.
“I remember now. That was a good and loyal kid.”
“Do you need to give him special care?” the servant asked.
Old Master Seventh waved his hand.
“There’s no need. In this chaotic world, if you want to survive, you have to rely on yourself to work hard. If he can finally rely on himself and reach me, I’ll give him a piece of good fortune.” As he spoke, Old Master Seventh pointed at the youth fighting with the wild dogs not far away.
“Do you think this youth or that kid is more like a wolf cub?”
The servant looked at the youth Old Master Seventh was referring to and smiled bitterly. He had answered similar questions several times. This was the ninth child Old Master Seventh had taken a liking to since he was a child.
“They’re all about the same.”
When Old Master Seventh heard this, he turned his head to glance at the servant and suddenly laughed.
“I helped the kid speak to Grandmaster Bai and gave him the white token. This was originally a favor from me but this doesn’t mean that I have to accept him as my disciple. I don’t owe him anything. I’m just giving him a chance.”
“While it’s true that I wanted to take in a fourth disciple, when I took in my third back then, I only managed to get him after giving out over 50 white tokens. You haven’t spent much time with me, so you don’t know my
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