Chapter 17: Senior Sect Brother Can Give You an Iou

Chapter 17: Senior Sect Brother Can Give You an Iou

The Feihong Mountains stretched over a thousand li, with the Sect granting seven days to complete the trial.

In the first five days, Xiao Chen covered seven hundred li, mostly spent chasing down spirit beasts.

On the sixth day, he first encountered Su Wanning, then clashed with a ghost-faced spider, limiting him to just over a hundred li that day.

It wasn’t until noon on the seventh day that he finally reached the northern exit of the mountain range.

The exit was a narrow valley. Turning right and traveling twenty li beyond it led to the Sect’s predetermined assembly point.

Yet at the valley’s mouth, several familiar faces from the Second Sub-Academy had already taken position.

Thanks to his Cloak of Hidden Tracks, Xiao Chen wasn’t immediately recognized. As he passed, Junior Brother Li stepped forward to block him.

“What’s the problem?” Xiao Chen asked.

Before Li could open his mouth to rebuke him, Senior Sect Brother Wang behind him pulled him back. “Hold on—this Senior Sect Brother has been traveling hard. Please, share a cup of yellow wine to quench his thirst.”

So saying, he actually produced a gourd of wine, offering it forward with a smile.

Li hesitated but obediently stepped aside.

Xiao Chen declined with a shake of his head, then pulled out a handful of Jade Tokens. “No need for wine. How about a business deal instead? Junior Brothers interested?”

“So many Jade Tokens!”

Li blurted out in shock, then quickly clamped his hand over his mouth.

Senior Sect Brother Wang also looked startled but waved his hand hastily. “Senior Sect Brother jokes. We’re just waiting for someone here. We wouldn’t know anything about business.”

Xiao Chen jingled the tokens in his hand persuasively. “One token for three spirit stones. All these tokens could be yours. What do you say? A fair deal, wouldn’t you agree?”

He gestured toward the sweltering heat. “It’s no easy task waiting here all day. Think it over.”

These men had clearly been lying in wait with ill intent, and their desperation for points was obvious.

Xiao Chen had more than enough tokens to spare. Since he’d run into them, why not sell a few?

Moments later, each of the five Senior Sect Brothers handed over three spirit stones, pooling their resources to buy a five-point Jade Token from Xiao Chen.

The transaction felt less like trade and more like paying a toll to pass through.

Especially Senior Sect Brother Wang, who, after handing over the spirit stones, stood there awkwardly without taking the Jade Token.

Xiao Chen placed the five-point token in his palm. “Take it. I said it’s a trade—what are you so nervous about?”

After Xiao Chen left, Wang exhaled in relief. “Phew! That was close. Almost got us into trouble.”

Li asked hesitantly, “Senior Sect Brother, if that person has so many Jade Tokens, wouldn’t we have enough points if we just took them all?”

Wang sighed in frustration. “Are you an idiot? Use that wooden head of yours—someone who casually carries so many tokens, do you really think you could beat him?”

“Besides, the spirit beasts in these mountains were all slaughtered. Who knows what’s going on? That man wore a hood—whether he’s even an Outer Sect disciple is questionable.”

Li shuddered. “Thank goodness Senior Sect Brother stopped me. I nearly caused a disaster.”

After exiting the valley, Xiao Chen removed his cloak at a bend and headed directly to the open-air stall outside the camp, as agreed.

The stall was already crowded with Inner Sect Senior Sect Brothers and even some solitary cultivators from the Bazaar, all waiting to sell the spirit beast materials or medicinal herbs they’d gathered during the trial.

The disciples collected all sorts of oddities—hard to catalog, and the Sect itself didn’t bother with such trivial profits when spirit beasts were far more valuable.

Yet there were always those eager to earn a little extra.

Among them was Chen Guangyu, stationed at the southeast corner with ulterior motives.

Though he appeared to be selling goods, his stall only displayed a few overpriced talismans, with a “Materials Wanted” sign tossed in as an afterthought.

Xiao Chen separated seventy-two spare points into a small bundle and approached.

“Senior Sect Brother Chen, I’ve brought some materials. Care to take a look?”

“Oh, it’s Junior Brother Xiao,” Chen Guangyu replied, accepting the bundle. His arms nearly buckled under the weight, his brows furrowing instinctively.

This Xiao kid really doesn’t get it. I’m only pretending to buy materials—I don’t actually want this junk.

Still, he opened the bundle to count the Jade Tokens.

“Wtf! You! You… you?!”

Realizing his outburst had drawn attention, Chen Guangyu improvised. “Your fox pelt is great! Haha, very nice indeed.”

“So Senior Sect Brother, will you take the rest?”

“Ah, Junior Brother, let me check first. Wait a moment.”

Chen Guangyu discreetly counted the tokens—seventy-two points, worth two hundred and sixteen spirit stones.

He nearly gasped again but restrained himself, his eyes widening instead.

What rotten luck he’d had earlier!

After encountering a two-tailed scorpion at the start, he’d barely found two more spirit beasts in the final two hundred li.

The middle regions had been stripped bare of even the easiest prey.

As the heir of the Chen Family, he couldn’t very well risk his life in the deep mountains—too dangerous.

In the end, he’d scraped together a meager fourteen points. Even after buying forty more at dawn, he still fell far short.

Originally estimating seventy points for top ten rankings, or a hundred for the top three, he’d nearly given up hope.

But now—this lucky charm of a Junior Brother had brought seventy-two points straight to him!

Yet… this seemed excessive. Two hundred spirit stones wasn’t pocket change.

With the trial’s strange circumstances, he’d heard other competitors were also desperate for points.

He already had fifty-four points. Just fifty more, and he’d secure a top-three spot.

Chen Guangyu’s eyes flickered. “Junior Brother Xiao, your luck is incredible—so many spirit beasts!”

“But Senior Sect Brother didn’t bring that much spirit stone on me. How about this—I’ll take fifty points’ worth? Does that work?”

Xiao Chen had already reduced the amount, worried he might not have enough to buy. Now Chen was trying to short him?

“Senior Sect Brother, didn’t you say you’d buy as much as I have?”

“Of course I keep my word!” Wang protested. “But I’m truly short on cash right now. If you’re willing, I can write an Iou for the remaining spirit stones. How does that sound?”

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end