Chapter 27: Song Family Celebration Banquet

Chapter 27: Song Family Celebration Banquet

“Senior Sect Brother Xiao, I’ll be off first.”

As usual, Liu Benxin finished tending to his spirit field early, then nodded to Xiao Chen, who was meditating by the field, before heading to the sect’s cultivation chamber.

He could easily afford the fees for the premium chambers, so he always chose one built atop a spirit vein. The denser spiritual energy there made it easier to channel qi into his body.

Inspired—or perhaps spurred on—by Xiao Chen, Liu Benxin had extended his daily cultivation time, hoping to breakthrough to the Foundation-Building Sixth Layer soon.

He genuinely admired this neighbor. Since returning from the Feihong Mountains, Xiao Chen had spent a few days reading, seemingly brushing up on knowledge about spirit beasts. Then he’d resumed his grueling routine: besides tending his spirit field, he spent every spare moment in meditation.

At first, Liu Benxin had tried imitating Xiao Chen, curious about his methods. But he quickly grew frustrated. Refining spiritual energy was excruciatingly monotonous. Channeling qi into the body, converting it into mana via fixed techniques, cycling it through major and minor meridians—then repeating the process endlessly.

Ten repetitions? Manageable. A hundred? Irritating. A thousand? A torment. Ten thousand? Torture.

Liu Benxin couldn’t fathom how Xiao Chen maintained such discipline.

Truthfully, Xiao Chen wasn’t as extraordinary as Liu imagined. His self-control stemmed from tangible progress: each day, he felt himself advancing. After consuming the Purple Peach Blossom and Qi Gathering Pill, his cultivation speed had skyrocketed to fifteen times that of an ordinary disciple. His actual gains? Nearly thirtyfold!

A day’s practice equaled a month’s work for others. With such consistent, immediate feedback, motivation came naturally.

In this rhythm of steady progress, over half a month passed unnoticed.

Then one day, Steward Chen arrived: “Xiao Chen, there’s a celebration banquet today. Are you attending?”

Xiao Chen emerged from waist-high spirit rice, puzzled. “Whose banquet?”

“You don’t know?!” Steward Chen was stunned. “The Three Sects’ Joint Competition last week—surely you’ve heard whispers about it?”

“That explains why I didn’t see you in Blackstone County recently.”

“Huh?” Xiao Chen blinked. “No one told me.”

Steward Chen chuckled. “No worries. This was a beast-taming competition. I recall you don’t have a spirit beast, so missing it isn’t a loss.”

“You’re too reclusive, frankly. You should socialize more with fellow disciples. Otherwise, you’ll keep missing major events.”

Xiao Chen nodded. “Understood, Senior. I’ll be more active.”

Steward Chen continued: “The Three Sects’ competition happens every three years. This time, our Lihuo Sect’s Song Zhongwen claimed first place. His younger brother Song Zhongming placed tenth.

“The sect is hosting a banquet for them. Since Zhongming is from our Sub-Academy, I’m going to congratulate him. Are you free? Let’s go together.”

Xiao Chen had finished his spirit field work for the day. “I’m free, Manager.”

"Good. Gather at the Sub-Academy gate at the third watch of the You hour this afternoon. I'll inform Ye Fei first. If you see Liu Benxin, tell him too. No idea where that kid ran off to."

“I’ll inform Ye Fei first. If you see Liu Benxin, tell him too. No idea where that kid ran off to.”

“Understood, Senior.”

Later, Xiao Chen found Liu Benxin in his usual chamber and relayed the news.

Liu sighed: “No wonder the Songs dominate beast-taming. Their next generation’s still unmatched.”

“Wait—the Song family’s a beast-taming clan?” Xiao Chen asked. “I thought they specialized in merchant caravans?”

“You didn’t know? Their ancestor founded the family through spirit beasts,” Liu explained.

“Song Zhongwen’s ancestor had a powerful Foundation-Building beast and mastered a combined-attack technique with spirit beasts. That’s how they joined the merchant caravans—raising beasts while trading, amassing endless spirit stones.

“They’re now the wealthiest family in our Lihuo Sect.”

Xiao Chen nodded. “Thanks for enlightening me, Senior Brother Liu.”

The two walked together, discussing cultivation families. Liu eagerly shared insights, helping Xiao Chen better understand Lihuo’s Five Great Families:

The newly rising Jiang Family, masters of alchemy; the Plain Liu Family, experts in spirit fields; the veteran Chen Family, dual specialists in alchemy and artifacts; the Southern Lake Su Family, famed for their ‘carp-leaping-lotus’ technique; and the beast-taming Song Family, unfathomably wealthy.

These were merely their primary strengths. With hundreds of members, each family nurtured diverse talents. Some branch-lineage disciples even pursued obscure arts, hoping to innovate or find shortcuts.

Most failed, but those who succeeded—even modestly—often gained significant family support, rivaling main-lineage heirs. This competition bred diverse expertise, deepening the families’ legacies.

“Senior Brother Xiao actually came! I thought you’d be too busy cultivating to attend such minor events.”

It was Li Shidi—full name Li Sibao—deliberately radiating his Foundation-Building Sixth Layer aura, smugness in his eyes.

Xiao Chen vaguely remembered him: the one who’d blocked the northern valley exit in Feihong Mountains.

Only half a month had passed, yet Li had breakthrough to the Foundation-Building Sixth Layer—a surprising leap.

Xiao Chen wondered at Li’s veiled hostility. Had he offended him? Unlikely.

“Senior Brother Li, congratulations on your cultivation breakthrough,” Xiao Chen smiled.

Li Sibao couldn’t openly snub him, but replied curtly: “Thanks for the praise, Senior Brother.”

His disdain was obvious. Nearby disciples exchanged glances, sensing his animosity.

Li made no effort to hide it. He’d been sent here on purpose.

Half a month ago, a mysterious contact approached him at the Sub-Academy, offering a vial of rare pills. The deal? One pill would help him breakthrough to the Foundation-Building Sixth Layer immediately.

Tempted, Li took the offer. Ten days later, he’d ascended.

To claim the remaining pills, he met the contact again at the bazaar, receiving a strange, simple task:

“Reasonably” teach Xiao Chen a lesson.

Li wasn’t foolish—he sensed danger. But he reasoned: Let Xiao Chen bear the risk. Not my problem.

So he’d agreed.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end