Jing left Li Li inside to rest as she headed out to the Exchange Hall for her monthly stones. Even if she didn't need the stones personally, it would certainly cause suspicion if anyone decided to investigate her later on. If she was sending someone out to find information about someone, the first thing she would tell her men to do is to take notice of any abnormalities or uncommon actions they do. Why would anyone not take their monthly spirit stones? Having an excess amount of spirit stones is never a bad thing unless you are too weak to keep hold of it. The only reason why someone would not go and get their spirit stones is if they had something to hide of course!
Jing did have something to hide and didn't need anyone finding out till she had a stable foundation and the strength necessary to protect her secrets. And speaking of strength... Jing was currently watching someone without sufficient strength right in front of her show one of the outcomes of lacking power. Jing was a bit annoyed since they were having this show right in front of the Exchange Hall but decided to wait and watch till they got out of the way.
"Hurry up and give up the stones you blind fool." One of the youths demanded.
"An old withered fossil like yourself has no need for these anyway. Do you really believe you can still breakthrough at your age?"
"Hahaha! You've already missed your time for greatness. You'd be better off turning into dust already."
"Here you go, but may I be selfish enough to keep just a single stone for myself young lords?" The uncle asked in a polite tone with his eyes closed.
"Hey look at this! His eyes are already useless and body withdrawn of all potential and yet he still believes that he can fly into the heavens as a cultivator!" The main leader of the four youths cackled as if he just heard the greatest joke of the century as he walked closer to the uncle.
A resounding sharp slap echoed throughout the area as the blind uncle was now on the ground gripping his cheek. A surprised look appeared on his face before slowly transitioning into a sullen and hopeless one. He held out all his spirit stones and the slappy youth snatched them from his palm with an arrogant smile on his face. He then walked away happily with his little group.
Jing stared into the eyes of the hunched over old man. She didn't see a single look of hatred, anger, or any type of negative emotion inside him. Either the old man is one of the most forgiving people on the planet or exceptional at hiding his emotions. But for what reason would he have to do that?
Jing looked around to see that no one else was paying special attention to this little situation. They glanced over before going back to doing whatever they were doing as if this event wasn't anything special or worth causing a fuss over. Jing was confused to say the least. Isn't a sect like an educational institution? Is this place really so lawless to where such harsh bullying can go without a care in the world?
Jing did something that was quite unlike her and thought optimistically for once. Maybe that was just a rare situation where none of the elders or disciplinary members were around to punish those people because none of them saw it. Jing didn't care about this because she felt sympathetic towards the uncle or the humiliating experience he just went through, but the fact that the sect possibly allowed things like this to happen. There's no way this could be a normal affair.
Jing walked on pass the uncle and secretly dropped a spirit stone behind her before vanishing inside the Exchange Hall. She heard a loud voice callout from outside the building and promptly sped up her pace into the line of cultivators waiting to get their monthly stones. It didn't take long for the uncle to come inside and frantically look around with a distinctive red mark on his cheek. Jing didn't even need to try and hide.
Jing did have to give the uncle credit though. He didn't give up on looking for the owner of the spirit stone for a while. He was so dedicated that he even received a few hits for bothering people.
The reason why she gave him the spirit stone wasn't because she pitied him. It was actually because she was interested in him. For a man his age to be treated like that without a single ripple of anger or hatred is something special. If Jing didn't just see it for herself, she would have actually believed that it was impossible. That's if he isn't acting, but Jing was almost certain he wasn't hiding his emotions.
She might revisit the old man at a later date. He could be useful to her. But for now, she's got her monthly stones, it's time to go. She left the Exchange Hall while the uncle was still asking people who dropped their stone. She was now on her way to the Martial Pavilion to borrow some martial techniques or at least look as if she was going to. She still needed to get an auxiliary, body, and movement martial arts but with her current strength didn't see the need for them quite yet. If she was to rank herself right now, she'd say she's strong enough to contest with Gong Jun from the first portion of the recruitment test. But that was just an estimate, she wouldn't truly know unless she battled him.
Jing soon arrived at the entrance to the Martial Pavilion. She walked up the stairs and inside the building to meet with the elder behind the counter.
"May I take out a few martial arts?" She asked
"You have 5 minutes. You can only explore the first floor. You have to return the books within a week or you will face disciplinary punishment." He told her.
"O...Okay.." She responded with fright in her voice at his strict tone and look of disgust at her.
Jing walked away and started to look through martial skills.
'Eight Tigers Maneuvering, Splitting Water Palm, Iron Body, Floating Fairy Steps... Quite a diverse choice of options I got here.'
All of these martial arts sounded pretty much the same to her. Their names sounded big, impressive, and showy but Jing thought this sounded kind of fake. Well, it doesn't really matter to her. It's not like she's going to actually learn these mortal ranked skills in the first place. She just needs to take some out. And if anyone questions why she isn't using them in battles, she'll just say she hasn't comprehended them yet.
After getting what she needed, she started to head back to the librarian to check out these 3 books: Silent Breath, an auxiliary martial art, Jade Skin, a body technique, and Floating Fairy Steps. But on her way to the counter, she heard the whispering of two senior disciples on the upper floors.
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"Have you heard about that arrogant outer disciple that's all the talk inside the inner court?"
"You don't mean Hu Tao do you?"
"Yeah him! I heard that he's even managed to defeat and embarrass some of the disciples from the inner court! Even though he has yet to reach the Qi Consolidation realm!"
"He's surely a genius. Only those blessed by the heavens can skip levels and realms to defeat other cultivators."
"You know what he just said yesterday?"
"No, what!?"
"Hu Tao claimed that if anyone managed to best him in one on one combat, he will be willing to serve as their slave for the rest of his life!"
"Such arrogance! What about the outer court disciples who are within the top ten on the rankings?"
"They aren't powerful enough to best Hu Tao. Even though he's only ranked 10 in the outer court rankings, not even the #1 ranker can defeat him without serious injuries. He's also not willing to fight seriously with Hu Tao because he's known as a fighting maniac."
"Fighting maniac?"
"He fights every battle as if his life is on the life and doesn't hold back no matter who he is fighting. Instead of fighting like a human, he fights more like a wild beast!"
"How scary! Let's make sure we avoid him!"
"We don't have anything to worry about. I heard a rumor that he's interested in the same side..."
"No way!"
Jing has heard enough gossip and checked out the martial arts. On her way home, Jing was suddenly another witness to rampant bullying on sect grounds! Although this time she got to appear in the middle of it, instead of seeing it from the beginning. The incident was happening in front of someone's front yard.
An orange haired attractive beauty was knocked to the ground by one of the 5 girls surrounding her. Blood was leaking from her lip and her face was twisted in rage and defiance as she gripped the spirit stone with all of strength.
"Don't think you'll get away with this...!" She groaned.
"Know your place trash! The Yue family is nothing anymore, you are just a lowly bug that is meant to grovel beneath our feet."
The Yue girl could only grit her teeth and glare at the group of girls.
"Still got that annoying look in your eyes! Girls get her!"
The girls began kicking and stomping the orange haired girl on the ground. Jing watched as the girl didn't stop fighting back even when it would invite more trouble and pain to her. She bit, clawed, and pinched any piece of skin she could get a hold of until she was beaten to the point where she couldn't move anymore.
"Crazy freak!" The head bandit screamed as she and her group of bandits left with more injuries than they probably expected.
Once again, Jing saw no one raising any fuss of such a situation happening in broad day light. If anything, such behavior seemed to be encouraged. Anyone she saw passing by who saw the scene either looked on in entertainment or quickly walked by without a care in the world. This... could be used to her advantage...
A discreet smile appeared on her face as she walked over to the barely conscious girl. She looked around to make sure no one noticed her before dragging the girl into her home. Jing heard some mumbling coming from her but ignored it as she dragged her on her rug. She then crouched down and lifted up the girl's chin. She stared into her scorching bright orange eyes.
"Eat this."
Jing slipped a refined recovery pill inside that would completely restore the girl's body back to normal. The effect was basically instant as the girl's wounds healed up in seconds. Her eyes widened in shock but Jing kept her hold on the girl's chin to refocus her attention back to her.
"What's your name?" Jing asked.
"Ying Yue... And get your hands off of me!"
She attempted to slap Jing's face to release her but only managed to swipe at the air as Jing grasped the side of her face.
"How would you like to gain the strength necessary to restore your fallen family and pay back the debts of those that embarrassed you?" Jing asked with an even wider smile.
Jing could see the slight waver in her soul from the question.
"Don't mock me... You're nothing more than just a 1st ranked Qi Gatherer. How could you possibly give me enough strength to do such a thing?" She tried to spit in Jing's face.
Jing let go of her face and let her drop to the ground, only managing to spit onto her own rug. She then got up and stared down at the orange haired feisty mess of a girl.
"I will only ask you once. Join me and you will gain all the power you need and more... but the only catch is you must serve me loyally for the rest of your life..." She held out her hand.
It looked as if a dark purple aura was being emitted from Jing's figure. Her terrifying qi was being subtly released from her body, unnerving Ying Yue even more. It must be known that Ying Yue is a Qi Gatherer at the fourth level you know! While Jing is only at the first level! Gone was the plain and unassuming look that she always had. What took its place was something more ominous, frightening, and enticing...
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Yue didn't want to believe it. She couldn't believe it. But for some reason, her instincts were telling her to grab onto that hand. That hand that's promising everything she's always wanted to hear ever since she's joined the Golden Serpent Sect. Nothing about this situation made sense to her! Who is this mysterious girl?! What kind of dreadful cultivation technique is she practicing that would scare me!? Even my grandfather's sky-ranked cultivation skill doesn't give me the same feeling as this girl's!
'Everything about this is confusing and wrong... but... if I say no... Will I even manage to escape with my life?' Yue wondered.
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Jing felt Yue place her hand into hers.
[New Ally Gained!]
[Name: Ying Yue]
[Rank: Qi Gathering 4]
[Occupation: Martial Artist]
[Techniques: Green Crystal Blade (Intermediate Realm), Blazing Steps of Mystery (Intermediate Realm), Physique of the Inferno (Initial Realm), etc]
[Cultivation Method: Burning Eruption (Initial Realm)]
[Loyalty: 70% (Doesn't entirely trusts you but trusts her instincts that trust you. Is curious about your background.)]
"You've made a smart choice Ying. If you refused, I don't know what I would've done with you." Jing said nonchalantly.
Ying couldn't respond.
"I'll give you a few things tomorrow. Make sure you're free. For now, I will return home. What I saw today has really opened my eyes, I have a lot to think about."
Jing walked outside the home and returned home. As she walked in the door, she almost expected Li Li to charge into her. But the little rascal was just doing a happy little shake on the bed once he saw her. What was she expecting...? He isn't a dog.
She did play with him in the meantime though. He's still just a baby after all. Babies need attention no matter how super smart they are. And she is his mother. What kind of mother would neglect caring and playing with her child? A terrible one that's who.
So, as Jing played with Li Li, she began to think of what exactly she wanted to do in this sect. After her meeting with Ying, she's got a general idea of what she wants to accomplish inside the sect. She's going to take over the Golden Serpent Sect from the bottom and fix this lackluster and pathetic excuse for an organization. Her inner feelings didn't feel comfortable in a group with such terrible management and rules.
[Mission available for host!]
[Take over the Outer Court either by number of supporters, strength, or influence.]
[Rewards: 3 epic tickets, Soul Lantern, Restriction on Qi Consolidation Realm will be unlocked.]
A small smile appeared on Jing's face. It's nice that the system is on board with her plan and is actively encouraging her with rewards. She may not know what goal the system has, but as long as it doesn't directly go against her, its fine. But she will need a few things if she plans on taking over the Outer Court. First is information, second is a disguise, third is manpower, and fourth is strength.
'Luckily I know a person who might know a lot about the sect... So let's start with him first...'