It took a few days before Lei Zhi could find someone to record all of his knowledge for Jing correctly. Runt couldn’t write, but he could read. Bing’s penmanship was not all that understandable. Ying didn’t want to. Jie was busy with her training. He could only rely on Xiucai. Lin Shu and He Wenqing came from mortal backgrounds. He was a farmer. Lin was nothing more than a stay-at-home daughter waiting to be married off.

  Xiucai came from a multi-generational assassin’s clan. He was taught many things growing up but how to help others was not one of them. Lei Zhi looked forward to trying to change this boy for the better. A boy who was probably surrounded by nothing but the rawness of the world since birth. It was probably the reason why he didn’t talk so much.

  After Xiucai wrote down all the information Lei gave to him, Lei wasted no time passing it over to Jing. Lei received the life-changing giant scroll and had to store it inside his storage ring because of its size. Now that he finally got his hands on this, maybe his future for the youths of the world will happen a bit sooner than he thought. But first, he needed to get himself a more prominent place.

  Finding a more prominent place to set up shop wasn’t that difficult. In the Golden Serpent Sect, strength is king. All he had to do was challenge a disciple with the type of building he was looking for. If he won, the place was his. If he lost, well, he might lose his life for trying to take someone else’s house.

  His disciples' eagerness to see him fight wasn’t lost on him. Both Xiucai and He Wenqing had a higher cultivation realm than himself. Lin Shu was at the 8th stage of the Qi Gathering Realm, only one stage below himself. Lei Zhi could’ve easily crossed over into the next realm by now, but he chose not to attain better rewards at the final portion of the Grand Tournament. He had a suspicion that those in different realms would be separated in different rounds. Qi Gatherers would fight Qi Gatherers and so on.

  Lei Zhi knocked on the door of the place he considered his future medical office. The place looked sizeable enough to house multiple patients, his three apprentices and himself, a large garden to grow herbs and for his spirit beasts to play around in, and a dignified appearance outwardly. His disciples mainly stayed quiet. They were chattering about seeing him fight and how he’d fight.

  The door slowly opened as a sharp-eyed young lady glared at him. A 5th stage Core Preparation Realm disciple who looked like she was just woken up from her sleep. Lei Zhi wasn’t aware that this was the home of a Great Prodigy, but he did recognize the small girl in front of him. Su Su, a cold beauty in the making. She rarely spoke to others and frequently ignored advances from men and women. Her only goal in life seemed to be reaching the pinnacle of power.

  Lei Zhi thought that she seemed quite lonely. A person needs friends growing up or they won’t grow up to be a well-functioning adult. Maybe she was unable to communicate with others because of her monstrous talent at such a young age. In a society like this, the strong don’t seek friends but followers. There are no equals unless you can match one in strength.

“...” She didn’t say a word but continued to give him a sleepy-eyed glare.

“Hello. My name is Lei Zhi and I apologize for waking you.” Lei Zhi gave a polite bow despite being the older of the two. “I know this might not be an appropriate time but I would like to make an exchange with you.”

“?” Su Su still didn’t say a word but her eyebrows rose slightly.

  Lei Zhi was rather glad that it was Su Su of all the Great Prodigies that he had to stumble upon. The girl wasn’t known for seeking battles but simply furthering her own strength. He could reason with someone like this. There wasn’t a need to fight if it could just come down to a simple transaction with both sides benefitting.

“I am something of a doctor and I would like to set up an office within the sect for the injured and sick within the sect. On looking for an office, I came across your humble abode. I felt that it would be the perfect medical office.”

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“...” Lei could tell from her face that she was thinking, ‘So he wants to challenge me for my house?’

“However, I know that you aren’t the type to enjoy meaningless battles so I thought of an equal exchange for your home.” Lei smiled. “Would you be willing to give up your home in exchange for unlocking your body’s hidden potential?”

“...!” Su Su’s half-opened eyes widened upon hearing this.

“Hidden potential?” He Wenqing whispered.

“Can he do that for us?!” Lin Shu excitedly wondered.

“...” Xiucai guessed they would get their body’s hidden potential unlocked later in the future.

“Proof.” Su Su quietly but firmly requested.

“No problem at all!” Lei was glad she was willing to listen so far. It’d be embarrassing if she decided to fight him or slammed the door in his face.

  Lei Zhi poked at his body seven times over with his fingers. His fingers landed in the middle of his forehead, center of his throat, heart, abdomen, the center of his chest, pelvis, and the top of his skull. It only took an instant for the shackles in his body to unlock and the qi to come pouring out. A surprising amount of qi was released from Lei’s body that shot him past the 9th stage of the Qi Gathering Realm straight into the 5th stage of the Qi Consolidation Realm.

“Come. Only you.” Su Su pointed to Lei Zhi, refusing entry to his disciples.

“Thank you for hearing me out.” Lei Zhi quickly tapped those same spots to lock them back up, dropping straight back to the 9th stage of the Qi Gathering Realm.

  Lei Zhi was brought into the young girl’s home as his disciples were still shocked by what they saw before.

“I knew I made the right choice in paying back my debt to this old man for saving my life!” He Wenqing balled his fists in joy.

“Amazing... So amazing!” Lin Shu couldn’t wait to learn that for herself! Just when her opponent thought she was down and out, she’d release her hidden potential and surprise everyone with her true strength!

  Xiucai didn’t show his emotions on his face but he was just as excited as his new brother and sister. His mask played a big part in hiding his facial expressions. Lin Shu and He Wenqing placed their ears against the door to try and hear what was going on inside. Both of them waved at Xiucai to tell him to come over but he had a little more sense than to try to hear what was going on inside.

“Ahn...” At least, that was until that noise came into his ear.

  Xiucai wasted no time in placing his ear against the door with Lin Shu and He Wenqing. There was no way their kind, polite, and taken master would do something so inappropriate! Sure, she was really beautiful and on the verge of adulthood but he wouldn’t! Would, he?

  Similar noises to the one from before came from beyond the door and the three disciples turned red. Their master really had a way with the ladies...

“You should be careful Lin.” He Wenqing warned with a snicker.

“There’s no way master would look at me in that kind of way! Shut up, idiot!” She shouted with a whisper.

“...” Xiucai took a better look at Lin. “She’s right. She’s ugly.” Compared to the girl inside.

“Ugly, huh...” Lin remembered Xiucai’s words for later. Once she has her potential unlocked, she’s going to beat him half to death for those words.

  It took over an hour before the operation was over. Lei Zhi opened up the door and wasn’t surprised to see two of his disciples falling inside. Xiucai managed to react in time and sped away from the door. They were embarrassed but their target right now wasn’t their master but the young girl their master spent an hour with alone behind doors! Inside, they could see a fully dressed Su Su looking away from them with her face fully flushed.

“Fools...” Su Su insulted. “If any false rumors between me and him spread, I will kill you.” She promised.

  Her newly awakened strength seeped into their very bones. Su Su could kill them without even taking a step as her qi gently hung around the three like an executioner’s blade hanging overhead.

“Yes!” All three disciples responded together with a bow.

“Miss Su will be working alongside us. She’ll take care of any unruly patients or any other sort that intend to hamper our business.” After unlocking her hidden potential, Su Su decided not only to give him her house but to also work with him.

  Lei didn’t have a reason to refuse but he was interested in why she decided to work with him. Perhaps she thought there was a way of getting stronger by hanging by his side. Whichever it was, it wasn’t like he could read minds. He looked forward to helping this young girl open up and live a life worth living. If she was suppressing herself in the first place. She could be one of those rare cultivators that truly enjoy cultivating and getting stronger without caring about much else. Only time will tell if she is that kind of person.