"In the north, in a country called Water Nation, there's a lake. At the bottom of the lake, there's a ring. This ring has the ability to enhance lightning techniques and conjure true lightning," Yan Yu said.
Yan Yu then closed her eyes again, as if she had just said a trivial thing. Liu Xing's entire fighting style revolves around lightning, and even though he already has his overpowered gun, information about another treasure that helps him become stronger is valuable.
"Is this how you thank me?"
Because if it is, it feels too good to be true. Liu Xing just carved a hole and brought her here. A feat he accomplished in less than five minutes. Is it a trap? Is his action to help her so meaningful to her?
"Yes." Yan Yu said simply.
Upon hearing this, Liu Xing smiled. "Is that so?"
Liu Xing started to change his mind about Yan Yu. Maybe she is not a bully, maybe she is not as bad as he thinks. She might still be a ruthless cultivator to her enemies, but if she is good to her friends, then Liu Xing would not mind being her friend.
Liu Xing jumped out of the caves and ran towards his sect at full speed. He doesn't know where the hell Water Nation is, so he needs to check his sect's library again.
***
Inside the cave, lying on the cold ground, Yan Yu murmured. "If he survived, I might befriend him. He is stronger than I thought and would be a powerful ally when the time comes."
If Yan Yu is not mistaken, the Palace of the Unbroken Tournament will be held in a few years. If Yan Yu wants to take revenge and change the world, she needs to start preparing from now.
One of the preparations she has in mind is to gather powerful allies and strengthen them, and Liu Xing is perhaps one of the strongest of her generation. She wondered what happened to Liu Xing in her past life, but soon she dismissed the thought and focused on recovery.
***
"Finally, back to the sect." Liu Xing said as he arrived at the base of the white stairs. Tilting his head, he can see the white staircase snaking around several mountains.
Liu Xing takes one step, then another and another. He can easily run to the gate, but he chose to climb these stairs slowly, after all, he ran at full speed from the Dragon Skull Forest, and while his body is still full of energy, his mind needs rest. The mountains rising to the sky, the green that covered them, as well as the blue sky, the white cloud, and the breeze would refresh his mind.
As he walked, he observed his surroundings and breathed deeply, feeling his mind become calmer. He walked with his hands at the back of his head and began to whistle with a random melody. Sometimes a bird would answer him, and Liu Xing would try hard to answer back, creating a random bird song.
After about half an hour, Liu Xing found something new in his vision. In front of him is a boy carrying a sack of rice. He is walking slowly, his back is bent, and although Liu Xing cannot see his face, the skin on his neck and arm is red.
Liu Xing raised his eyebrows. He did not feel any qi from this boy, which means he is a mortal.
Looking back, Liu Xing can't see the bottom of the stairs, so this boy has probably already walked for hours, and since there is no sight of the stairs ending, this boy would walk for dozens more hours. Hell, it would probably take him a whole day to get to the gate.
Liu Xing approached the child.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Liu Xing asked.
Hearing his voice, the boy jumped. The sack on his back fell onto the stairs.
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When the boy realized that the sack he was carrying had fallen, his eyes widened. He tried to reach for the sack, but then he stopped as if he had realized something important, and then bowed deeply to Liu Xing.
"Greetings, esteemed cultivator. My name is Chu Zen. I'm here to deliver this sack of rice!"
"You don't have to bow to me," Liu Xing said.
From the perspective of mortals, a cultivator is a living legend. They can fly, have unfathomable strength, and perform feats that no mortal can accomplish. It's normal for mortals to be extremely polite to cultivators. After all, a cultivator can kill a mortal with a simple flick of his finger. But Liu Xing was also an ordinary human once in the past, and although he can do crazy things now, Liu Xing did not think that he needed to be respected just because he was a cultivator. As long as people were polite to him, he would repay that politeness.
"My name is Liu Xing, and I would not eat you or kill your entire family if you offend me. So you don't need to be as polite as if you were talking to an emperor."
Beads of sweat fall from Chu Zen's forehead, glistening in the sun. His red face looks like a cooked lobster, and he glances at Liu Xing as if wondering if Liu Xing is telling the truth or just making a sarcastic remark.
To prove his point, Liu Xing grabbed the sack on the stairs and hoisted the sack of rice onto his shoulders.
Seeing this, Chu Zen's eyes widened.
"Esteemed cultivator, you do not need to help me!"
"Why not? You are a mortal, aren't you? And since we are climbing the same stairs, our destination is the same."
Chu Zent thought for a moment, then nodded. "Then thank you for your help."
"You're welcome." Liu Xing started to walk and Chu Zen followed. Seeing this, Liu Xing asked Chu Zen to walk beside him, and he complied.
As they walked, Liu Xing observed Chu Zen. Chu Zen's clothes are gray, and white powder has stained his clothes. From his appearance, Liu Xing can deduce that he is not wealthy, but not poor either, since his gray clothes have no tears or permanent stains.
"So, Chu Zen, why are you delivering this rice?"
This boy is about ten or eleven years old. His red cheek still has a hint of chubbiness, and this sack of rice is considered large for a child to carry.
"Esteemed Cultivator--"
"You can call me Liu Xing, or if you want to be polite, add senior before my name."
He nodded. "Senior Liu Xing, the reason I am carrying this sack of rice is because a cultivator from your sect ordered it."
Liu Xing's eyebrow rose, "Really?"
"Yes." Chu Zen nodded.
Liu Xing can't feel qi from the sack he's carrying, so it's not spiritual rice, it's just ordinary rice. Why would someone, possibly a cultivator, want ordinary rice?
"Who ordered it?"
"A cultivator named Shen Ye comes to my father's shop and orders a sack of rice. After paying for it, he leaves."
Liu Xing remembers this name. When he eats in the Eating Hall, a certain group gossips about extraordinary new disciples. One of them is Shen Ye.
This Shen Ye is a prince of an empire, has a high level of cultivation, and would probably become an inner sect disciple soon. He did not understand why Shen Ye needed a sack of rice, but people have their own secrets, and Liu Xing would not pry too much.
"So? Why are you the one to deliver this rice?"
The town near the Purple Moon Sect must know that this white staircase is long. Surely, a father would not want his young son to go up those long stairs.
"Are you hated by your father?"
"No!" Chu Zen replied immediately. "My father loves me. He cherishes me and is the greatest father in the world! The reason I am the one who delivered the rice is because we have no employees and my father is not well."
"Is that so? Is your father sick?"
"Yes. My father's health has been declining for several years. His hair has turned white even though he is only forty years old. So the one who takes care of the shop is me. It's not a big deal because our customers are usually just people in our town, but... I never expected a cultivator to come to our shop one day."
"I see." Liu Xing nodded. "I take it this is the first time you have climbed these stairs?"
Chu Zen nodded. "I have heard about this staircase. People say it reaches to the sky! That's obviously an exaggeration, right?" He asked with anxious eyes.
Liu Xing smiled. "Well, it is indeed an exaggeration, but for a mortal like you, I think even if you walk seven nights and six days, you wouldn't reach the top of the stairs."
Hearing this, Chu Zen's eyes widened. "Are you serious, senior?"
"I'm joking, of course," Liu Xing said.
Chu Zen sighed in relief. "Don't joke like that! While the pay is really good that I can close the shop, walking for a week is hell for a little kid like me!"
"Good thing you met me then, because I will help you carry this sack."