"Don't cry, martial brother. You're a man. Think about your dignity..."

"Fuck dignity!"

"Ahh, I'm sure we can work something out. Maybe you can talk it out with the sect's elders. They'll understand, right?"

"Oh, I'm quite sure they'll understand. But I'm also certain that that won't change a thing..."

Han Xuhan was walking back toward the Black Sheep Mountain peak with tears streaming down his cheeks, his hands clutching the pouches full of spirit stones which felt heavier than anything he had ever carried.

Xiao Wu was trying to console him half-heartedly, knowing full well that those consolations meant nothing and this unfortunate martial brother of his was about to face a miserable fate.

Racking his brain, he finally came up with a reasonable response to Xuhan's woe.

"Look, this is also a good thing. If instead of living extravagantly, you save up a bit and manage to cultivate the first few layers of physique transformation realm, you'll definitely receive a warmer response from the sect. They won't enslave a talented, hardworking disciple for a few spirit stones!

This can also fuel your drive and perseverance. So I suggest you use the spirit stone well and try your best to learn everything the elders teach you.

I already talked with some people and from what they said, you can't take a loan for a certain tier of the curriculum but choose another after receiving the money. So you can't exploit this loophole to save your skin for the next few months. From those 2000 spirit stones, only 560 can be spent freely or saved up for the first few instalments. Therefore, I suggest you hurry the hell up with your cultivation."

Han Xuhan, who had just thought about that particular loophole had his hopes dashed again.

Cultivate fast? How do I do that? I don't have a cheat, I don't have the protagonist halo that saves my skin from every disaster. I don't have godly talent or some rare bloodline.

Exactly how the heck do the common people like me cultivate? How do I make it faster?

"Hey, we're back already. So why don't we get to know our fellow peers, eh?"

Xiao Wu's proposal pulled Xuhan out of the stifling gloom of his inner world.

The two martial brothers ventured to various parts of the mountain peak and met three more of their peers, two female and one male. All three of them were quite odd, to say the least.

The male disciple, named Mu Ran, was busy cultivating. While it seemed like he was a very diligent person, when they asked about his cultivation level, the answer turned out to be...zero.

Yes, he claimed to be at the zeroth layer of the Physique Transformation realm!

"Are you sure there is a zeroth layer, and you're not just making things up to hide the fact that you have no cultivation base ?"

Xiao Wu had asked that question dubiously upon this revelation and became rather alarmed as an expression of utter disdain and disgust passed through Mu Ran's face.

"Hmph! Mere mortals like you are NOT worthy of knowing the secrets of heaven and earth. How dare you question my intellect? Are you seeking death? I can grant it to you if that is so!"

Such familiar wording! Such familiar sentences!

Standing at a side, Han Xuhan's eyes widened as information about countless cultivation novels revolved around his thoughts.

Such arrogant attitude, such claims of secrecy and ambiguous knowledge, such a style of speaking...

In this sort of novels, there were only two sorts of people who held those qualities.

One: A mid-level villainous young master of an influential family!

Two: the protagonist himself! Specifically, the ruthless, slightly retarded, edgy, antihero archetype.

Xuhan gave this guy a look of appraisal and felt his heart shaking. Obviously, his heart wasn't shaking because of love at first sight, it was shaking because he was scared shitless. If this retard somehow ended up being the main character, what would be Xuhan's position in his story? A low-level villain? A random lackey? The comedic relief? A stepping stone?

None of these positions sounds very good...

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Xuhan gulped and quickly left Mu Ran's hut with a confused Xiao Wu in tow after managing to exchange some pleasantries while the guy snorted every five seconds and maintained his haughty attitude.

"What's wrong with that guy?"

Xiao Wu finally asked after they had left the vicinity of his hut. "Does he have sinus problems?"

"Martial brother, seeing how good-natured you are, please heed my advice and never, ever mess with that guy. If possible, bootlick him whenever possible and stay away from him as much as possible while maintaining a friendly relationship. Also, as a safety measure, do a favour or two to him if it's within your capability. But you should definitely not get too close to him if you value your life."

Han Xuhan mustered some courage and sincerely gave his martial brother the most precious advice possible at the moment, which in turn, confused the big guy even more.

Why was Xuhan suddenly so wary of Mu Ran? Did they know each other prior to coming here?

But seeing Han Xuhan was unwilling to divulge anything more, Xiao Wu felt that he shouldn't be too nosy and take Xuhan's advice to heart since he seemed to be genuinely scared of Mu Ran.

Indeed, it seems that my martial brother Xuhan has some secrets of his own!

Then the two new friends visited their female peers. They were once again stunned when they reached their joined huts.

The two girls were playing chess instead of tending to their daily tasks or cultivating.

"Hello, martial sisters! I'm Xiao Wu and this is Han Xuhan. We are visiting all of our fellow martial brothers and sisters in this mountain peak."

The two girls completely ignored them.

"Erm...hello? Martial sisters? Should we not get acquainted?"

Total silence.

The two girls didn't seem aware that someone was talking to them. They were completely absorbed in the chessboard, not even blinking once the whole time.

Just when Han Xuhan was about to drag an enraged Xiao Wu back outside before he did something regrettable, one of the girls finally spoke.

"I will defeat you in five moves. Defend with everything you have if you can, take this!"

Then she moved one of the knights forward and waited for the other girl to counter her move.

Xiao Wu was pissed beyond belief. First, his martial brother got scammed by the sect, then his other martial brother pretty much flattened them with his humongous ego, and now this pair of martial sisters were treating him like a dead log...

On top of all that, he had been judged as the type with the lowest potential among the disciples who were selected by the sect, placed in this trashy mountain peak...

"Martial brother, let's just return to our own huts. It's not as if we'll have any problems if we don't get acquainted with this bunch." Xuhan was alarmed by Xiao Wu's thunderous expression and dragged him back.

The whole time, their martial sisters hadn't even spared them a single glance.

"Those little pricks-"

"Martial brother, as cultivators, our paths are bound to be lonely most of the time- this is a belief that's ingrained among all the younger generations. So it isn't strange that most of them would prefer being left alone. We should also learn not to interfere with others' business when we're not welcome there," Xuhan consoled him.

"Aren't you a mortal? How come you became so knowledgeable about the cultivation world so suddenly?"

"Hah...I'm not that ignorant. Anyways, let's finish up the rest of the procedures and make a routine for the near future, shall we?"

"Fine, let's go to master's palace."

Xiao Wu was still discontent, but he agreed in the end and the two friends paid a visit to their master's "palace".

"Which curriculum are you two choosing?"

The older disciple in charge of their lessons management asked them upon meeting him.

"...the three-star tier," Xiao Wu muttered hesitantly. His family was quite influential. So he knew he could manage the cost somehow.

The older disciple finished his paperwork and collected fifty spirit stones as the fee for the next month before turning to Xuhan.

"Well...?"

Han Xuhan looked pained as he handed over a very large pouch that was almost about to burst.

"One-star tier."

The surroundings suddenly became very silent.

The servants working not far away had stopped working and were staring at him, mouth agape.

The older disciple slowly looked for Han Xuhan's name in the register in his hands and stared at it for a good while before sighing ruefully.

"Did you get scammed?"

"...yes."

"My condolences, junior brother."

Han Xuhan teared up again before he managed to control himself.

The older disciple didn't waste any more time and completed their paperwork and handed them two small brochures each.

"One of these lists your daily tasks for the next month while the other is your lesson timetable. Make sure not to miss any. Do your best and don't ruin the reputation of our black sheep mountain peak. "

"Our mountain peak has a reputation?"

Xiao Wu, who was still pissed, asked in irritation.

The older disciple gave him an amused glance.

"You might feel discouraged that you were placed here, but there's one maxim you must always remember in the word of cultivation. The peak may be lonely, but there is always-"

"A higher peak?" Xiao Wu cut in.

"No, a lower peak."

"What?"

"Look at your martial brother Xuhan here. You have it thousands of times better than the poor sod. So what's with the frustration and anger? You're already in a good position compared to him. Be satisfied and adapt to your current circumstances." The senior smiled serenely.

"...Senior, I'm still here," Xuhan said in a choked voice.

"Not for long if you can't pay the instalments in time."

" . . ."

Han Xuhan gritted his teeth and returned back to his hut after parting with Xiao Wu. As an official disciple, he had some duties to attend to. He took out the leaflet given by the senior disciple and scanned it cautiously.

"Let's see, what's my task for today?

"Help in carrying the blackvein boulders from the plains to the Starfire mountain peak. To reach the limit of the daily quota, at least one thousand kilograms must be carried by each disciple and any more than that shall be paid for accordingly."

Reading out the task in a loud voice, Xuhan felt an abnormal pressure on his chest.