Chapter 230: Sect of Bone Circle [I]
Under normal circumstances, sects would not accept just any passerby simply because their disciple vouched for their reliability.
However, the Sect of Bone Circle turned out to be much simpler than it initially appeared. After paying a certain sum, Xie Qing was able to obtain a disciple’s uniform and a token without any issues.
‘…’
Sitting in his room, in a small house in the outer court… Xie Qing looked as if his face was carved from stone. It turned out that one could enter here simply through bribery… this… was absurd!
“What nonsense. How could a sect become so strong with such shockingly ugly control methods?” Xie Qing wondered, and then suddenly remembered Zhang Xin’s face: “Hmm, wait. That guy was also surprised and even tried to explain something to me, but I was too shocked and missed his words. Could it be… hehe…”
It wasn’t difficult to put two and two together and realize that the problem was due to the sect leader, Ma Lu, being absent because of his injuries! And considering that there was no strict supervision in the outer court, no one was particularly concerned about maintaining even the appearance of order.
On the way to this house provided by the sect, Xie Qing noticed battles between five disciples who looked like they wouldn’t stop until one of them was down.
The absurdity of this process was something unfamiliar to Xie Qing. Although he understood that devilish cultivators had no sense of belonging, who would have thought the situation was so intricate?
“But, one way or another, this works to my advantage… at the very least, now I need to think about how to make the elders cover for me if something happens…”
On the way, Zhang Xin had mentioned that even before Ma Lu’s injury, the elders often engaged in bribery. Therefore, if Xie Qing wanted a peaceful life in the sect and for no one to bother him, he first needed to pay tribute.
“How greedy and unprincipled. Although, what else can you expect from devilish cultivators?” Xie Qing sighed, shaking his head.
He rested for a bit and then left his house. Suddenly, a glow appeared in the distance, and the youth tilted his head with an expressionless face, indifferently gazing into the distance.
Behind the building, the indistinct silhouettes of three disciples could be seen. They were looking straight at Xie Qing.
Moreover…
Behind him, a short dagger with something green on its tip was stuck in the door. The youth didn’t need to think hard to realize that the blade was poisoned, and he had become a target.
“Pfft.”
Xie Qing let out a disdainful snort, looking towards the surprised disciples who began to emerge from their hiding place.
As soon as they were within ten meters, Xie Qing shook his head, looking disappointed.
“Just a few brats at the Core Formation stage. Ehh… I thought it was someone strong.”
His disappointed expression was not hidden, so the disciples who had attempted the assassination were enraged!
“Bastard! Brothers, let’s teach this newcomer a lesson!”
“Hahaha! You brought this on yourself by getting in the way of the three Jia brothers! Hehehe…!”
“Hahaha, let’s kill him and take his stuff!”
Xie Qing snorted, then raised his hand. When the trio was within arm’s reach, the youth swung his hand.
P-pwoosh!
A sharp gust of wind sounded. The brothers froze for a second and… fell to the ground! But that wasn’t the end.
Their bodies… Heavens! They were sliced into neat pieces, resembling sliced ham.
Xie Qing didn’t even bother to burn their remains, simply stepping on them indifferently and continuing on his way.
The disciples who witnessed this spectacle were shocked. What was that? Just one swing of the hand and – whoosh, all gone! Those annoying guys who terrorized the weak newcomers in the outer court were as if they had never existed!
Now they were in such a pitiful state… that even the Heavens couldn’t save them!
***
Xie Qing’s reputation, although not widespread, still instilled some fear in his neighbors.
The youth casually strolled and, without realizing it, found himself at the hall of the elders in the outer court.
In front of the pavilion doors was a long line. The number of people wishing to meet with the elders was enormous. Among them was none other than Zhang Xin.
“Oh! Brother Zhang!”
Xie Qing called out with a smile to the man who turned with an annoyed expression on his face, but seeing that it was Xie Qing, his face smoothed out.
“Oh, Brother Cheng, what a coincidence! Are you also here to meet with the elders?” Zhang Xin asked with a smile, though in his thoughts he cursed: “Damn, now everyone knows I’m associating with this guy. If he causes trouble, it’ll all come back to me!”
“Ah, yes…”
Xie Qing nodded. He looked at the long line and raised an eyebrow.
“Is it always like this?”
“Hmm?” Zhang Xin was distracted from his thoughts and nodded, looking ahead: “Yes. After all, the elders of the outer court are… ‘very respected’ individuals, you know, hah…”
The man’s voice was clearly filled with a hint of annoyance, and this alone made it clear that the elders of the outer court were far from pleasant people. Xie Qing smiled, catching the hint in Zhang Xin’s words.
They didn’t engage in further conversation, just stood silently. Zhang Xin didn’t even try to start a dialogue, acting as if he didn’t know Xie Qing.
This reaction seemed very amusing to the youth. He shook his head and began to look around.
There were forty people in the line, and with Zhang Xin and him, there were forty-two people wishing to meet with the elders. This was because in half a year, all the disciples of the outer court would face a crucial moment.
The inner court examination. Zhang Xin had briefly mentioned this, but in short, it was extremely important to gain the favor of one of the elders. Preferably – more than three.
For some reason, in the sect, Devil’s Blood Flower had become popular among the ingredients. Although this flower was difficult to obtain and therefore considered rare, it couldn’t be said to be the ambrosia of the gods.
Xie Qing had his own perspective on this situation, although for now, he could only call it a hypothesis.
“It’s quite likely that this is for Ma Lu. After all, he suffered severe injuries that will be difficult to heal even after two years. And these flowers are good at gathering devilish qi and concentrating it in one place. In large quantities, this could speed up his recovery.” Xie Qing nodded to himself, as if with each word he was convincing himself of his own correctness: “And these elders want to use the disciples to obtain these flowers to please the sect leader. They might even be able to raise their own status.”
Xie Qing smiled and shifted his gaze to the semi-transparent panel of the shop. His eyes gleamed.
***
Finally, after six hours, the line reached Xie Qing. He was quite tired of waiting.
He was escorted to the second floor by a beautiful girl in revealing clothing, but on her attire was the token of an outer court disciple. Xie Qing immediately understood.
“Well, this is one of the easiest ways to raise your status…” he thought, sighing to himself.
Of course… this was somewhat repulsive to him. But not that he blamed them for it. After all, status in the sect determines how far you will go.
So, he took it more than calmly.
On the second floor, behind a round table, sat five men. Their age was difficult to determine, but they appeared to be not far from their thirties.
Looking at Xie Qing, they expressed surprise.
“Hmm. Strange. I don’t recall you. Your cultivation level is at the sixth stage of the Soul Nascent… are you a newcomer?”
The man with long chestnut hair and blue eyes spoke to Xie Qing. His voice was rough, as if coming from the depths.
“Elders,” Xie Qing bowed politely, then answered the question: “Elder Zhang Hong is wise. I indeed joined today.”
“Oh? You know my name? Hahaha, it seems this old man’s fame has spread far and wide!” the man laughed loudly, looking pleased. Then he narrowed his eyes at Xie Qing and continued his questioning: “So? What is your purpose? I warn you, if this is just an attempt to get acquainted, you’d better get out of here. Otherwise…”
Zhang Hong’s eyes flashed with malice. A moment ago, he had been acting like a kind person, but now he was directly threatening Xie Qing.
“Hypocritical old dog…” Xie Qing thought with irritation, but he didn’t show it.
Taking a deep breath, the youth responded.
“Sir, this disciple has brought a gift for the elders… to express my respect.”
Xie Qing bowed again, then took out from his spatial ring five flowers with leaves resembling frozen drops of blood.
“This… Devil’s Blood Flowers! And of such high quality…!”
