The competition venue for the Peifeng Sect was always in front of the Zhengyang Hall on Lingxiu Peak, which didn’t have enough space, so they usually held the matches in batches. Recently, the outer sect was holding competitions, and those who performed exceptionally would be promoted to the inner sect. 

However, Lin Ji noticed that the Peifeng Sect had a system of rewards without punishments. Back in the Yunshang Immortal Sect, regressing in cultivation was a serious taboo. The lightest punishment was a public reprimand, followed by being thrown into the hellish trials set by the sect; the heaviest punishment was having one’s cultivation abolished and being kicked out of the mountain gate—essentially, being told to get lost. 

He asked his master, Meng Wanqiu, who was taken aback: “Where are the rules so cruel? It’s like raising a gu!” 

Lin Ji replied, “…” 

Right, he had never thought about it in his previous life. If the rules of the Yunshang Immortal Sect were so reasonable and correct, why didn’t the sect officials ever let them speak about it outside? 

Meng Wanqiu looked at him with some concern, “A Ji, do you know what Peifeng means?” 

“The term ‘Peifeng’ is derived from Zhuangzi’s ‘Xiaoyao You,’ meaning to ride the wind and borrow strength. In other words, the Peifeng Sect is a place for you to cultivate by borrowing power.” 

“The sect should be a place that teaches you about spiritual cultivation and worldly matters, a refuge where you can seek protection when bullied. Everyone has their own limitations; those with extraordinary talents are just a minority. Should ordinary people just be left to die? In fact, the majority of people in the world are ordinary.” 

“However, on the flip side, those who can step into the cultivation world have already surpassed the average person. Punishing someone for regressing once is something I don’t agree with; it’s not the way of the Peifeng Sect.” 

Moreover, if the sect only taught the basics but still had disciples whose cultivation regressed, then there was likely a personal issue at play. As mentors, they would certainly do everything they could to correct the mistakes of that disciple and help them through their difficulties. 

Even if, hypothetically, the sect did its utmost and still couldn’t bring that disciple back, there was nothing they could do. After all, the only one responsible for oneself is oneself, but they wouldn’t give up on their disciples right from the start. 

“If the sect doesn’t take responsibility for joining, why should the master not do their best to teach their disciples?” Meng Wanqiu suddenly grabbed Lin Ji’s hand, “A Ji, is someone trying to dig a pit for you? A sect that says this is definitely not a place to go!” 

“…” 

Meng Wanqiu’s personality matched the tone of the Peifeng Sect; he spoke and acted calmly. It was the first time Lin Ji heard him speak with such urgency, as if he was afraid he would go astray. 

Lin Ji lowered his gaze to hide the astonishment and pain in his eyes, clasped his hands, and performed a more formal bow, “Thank you for your guidance, Master. I understand now.” 

As for the level of the Peifeng Sect, that was a matter for another time. The Yunshang Immortal Sect, well, it was better to have as little contact with it as possible in this lifetime. 

“One more thing,” Meng Wanqiu said, “The Peifeng Sect allows for free movement. If one day a disciple finds that their ideals don’t align with the sect, or if they feel they have mastered their cultivation and can leave, they are free to descend the mountain and travel. Our Peifeng Sect never binds its disciples. Now you can rest assured, right?” 

But if they encountered someone who cultivated at an astonishing pace and made a name for themselves, the sect leader would probably try to keep them, haha. 

Lin Ji replied, “I… have no intention of leaving.” No one was trying to dig a pit for him. 

Meng Wanqiu then broke into a smile, “That’s good!” 

After Lin Ji left, Meng Wanqiu pressed his hands against his head and sighed. 

Why did he feel overwhelmed after only taking in two disciples? 

No wonder Lu Xiaobai thought about cultivating to a certain level and then returning to the mortal realm to enjoy life. However, based on his current progress, if he didn’t know that Long Aotian would eventually have a boost, he might have to stay in the Peifeng Sect for a lifetime. 

Lin Ji returned to his cave dwelling to continue his cultivation. During his free time, he flipped through the sect rules and the history of the Peifeng Sect that the elders had distributed when he first joined. In the past, he had been too self-satisfied with his rebirth to bother understanding, thinking that there wasn’t much difference between sects. It seemed he had been narrow-minded after all. 

As for Lu Xiaobai… this guy had tried to help him with chores a few days ago but ended up cursing him as a “money hoarder” and hadn’t mentioned anything about working for money since. 

Now, he wouldn’t wash the dishes or sweep the floor, claiming he needed to focus on preparing for the competition and couldn’t be distracted. Lin Ji suspected he was doing it on purpose as revenge! 

The most terrifying thing was that Lu Xiaobai had even stopped cooking, saying, “I see A Ji has inherited my skills, so I’ll take a break.” 

Then he would leave early and return late every day, at most bringing back some ingredients. To honor his master, Lin Ji had no choice but to take up the knife and cook for Meng Wanqiu. 

“A Ji’s knife skills are better than Xiaobai’s; look how even these fish slices are! And the stove is very clean, it looks quite comfortable.” 

Of course, he was a sword cultivator. 

“However, this dish still seems to be missing something; maybe it lacks a bit of the flavor from the fire…” Meng Wanqiu tried to put it delicately. 

Lin Ji: “…” 

Fine, he actually knew it just wasn’t as tasty as Lu Xiaobai’s cooking. 

Lin Ji wasn’t a kitchen idiot; after watching Lu Xiaobai cook for so long, he had secretly memorized the steps and was sure he hadn’t made any mistakes. 

But he couldn’t figure out how much salt was the right amount, or what the standards were for low, medium, and high heat when stir-frying. The dishes he made tasted fine, but Lu Xiaobai’s skills could make every dish delicious. 

Lin Ji comforted himself that he had only been learning for a few months, and his results were already quite good. Lu Xiaobai had been cooking for two years, yet he still felt indignant. 

After the inner sect competition, he had to practice his cooking skills well; he absolutely couldn’t be inferior to Lu Xiaobai! 

Two days before the outer sect finals, Lu Xiaobai finally returned to Luoxia Peak after not going out for a while. 

Lin Ji happened to pass by and was called over by him: “Oh, isn’t this the money hoarder? Not breaking through in seclusion, but instead cleaning up the buildings everywhere?” 

Lin Ji scoffed inwardly: Better than you, an unknown creature that doesn’t even know where it came from, occupying the protagonist’s body! 

Although he wasn’t sure if his guess was correct, he had a feeling that the Lu Xiaobai he saw that day, when Wen Ling was panicking and wanted to investigate the unknown intruder, might not be the real one. 

Lin Ji looked over with a complicated mood, his gaze and actions pausing: “What are you doing setting up a table in front of your cave?” 

Lu Xiaobai replied, “You’ll know soon.” 

As soon as he finished speaking, quite a few people arrived at the usually quiet Luoxia Peak, both men and women. Judging by the badges on their waists, they were outer sect disciples. 

“Senior Brother Lu!” 

They first greeted Lin Ji, then rushed forward, clamoring, “Please guide me!” 

Lin Ji: “?” 

Lu Xiaobai leisurely propped his head up, “Guidance is fine, but we’re exchanging knowledge, so you brought what you owe, right?” 

“Yes, yes, yes!” 

One disciple took out two gold bars from his pocket, “Guide me first!” 

Lu Xiaobai’s eyes instantly lit up as he trembled while taking them, “Great!” 

A female disciple hesitated to hand over a silver ingot, but with the gold bars as a base, she felt a bit embarrassed: “Senior Brother Lu, what do you think…” 

She wasn’t in financial trouble; it was just that finding worldly money in the cultivation world was indeed not easy. She had gone down the mountain to a small town and exchanged jewelry for it, but the shopkeeper was too unappreciative and only offered such a small amount! 

Lu Xiaobai took it as well, “No problem, no problem.” 

After that, whether it was gold, silver, or copper coins, Lu Xiaobai didn’t care about the amount and accepted them all with a smile. 

Lin Ji listened for a long time and finally realized that Lu Xiaobai had been watching the outer sect competitions recently and had made quite a name for himself. 

He himself had a mixed spiritual root and couldn’t use spiritual power, but by relying on years of studying spiritual cultivation texts, he had actually taken advantage of the situation and used his words to guide the outer sect! 

“If only he hadn’t made any mistakes.” 

“This move was mistimed; if he had waited for the opponent to use that move, he could have broken the deadlock!” 

“I see this junior sister has probably hit a bottleneck in her cultivation recently and hasn’t been able to unleash her full strength.” 

“…” 

The internal competitions in the sect were meant to identify shortcomings, extract one’s deficiencies, and accumulate practical experience for improvement. Therefore, anyone could observe during the matches, and anyone could chime in with a few words. 

Lu Xiaobai happened to say the right things several times, making the matches more exciting, and the participating disciples gained insights. 

Although everyone in the Peifeng Sect knew that Lu Xiaobai was a cultivation waste, the outer sect still thought that he must have some exceptional qualities to be accepted as a direct disciple. Over time, some began to pursue him, wanting to perform better in the competitions. 

Lu Xiaobai welcomed everyone, or perhaps that was his goal: to exchange knowledge for money. 

“If you’re willing to believe in me, then come find me. If you don’t want to believe in me, I wish you all good results in the competition.” 

In fact, Lu Xiaobai had been doing business for several days, and Lin Ji was unaware of it while in seclusion. 

After sending off the satisfied outer sect disciples, Lu Xiaobai prepared to pack up. Suddenly, he saw Lin Ji walking quickly toward him and grabbed his wrist, which was gathering gold and silver. 

Lin Ji was furious, his face smiling terrifyingly: “Are you doing this on purpose to show me?” 

Lu Xiaobai was momentarily stunned, looking at their touching hands: “You never pass by my cave, I didn’t know you would come!” 

Saving money was his goal, and he had tried several times to squeeze a little from Lin Ji. Now that there was a great opportunity to make money, he had to find another way! 

Lu Xiaobai grinned, “If you want me to guide you for a bit now, you can still do business with me.” 

“…” Lin Ji took a few deep breaths and sneered, “No need. This year, I will definitely take first place; just wait and see!” 

With that, he turned to leave, and the table Lu Xiaobai had set up suddenly cracked and collapsed. 

“Hey, you owe me!” Lu Xiaobai looked at the money he hadn’t had time to collect, which had fallen to the ground, and hurriedly squatted down to pick it up carefully, blowing it clean before putting it in his pocket, “Why get angry?” 

He usually ignored him, but when he played with others, he wasn’t happy. 

A few days later, the outer sect competition ended, and the inner sect competition began. 

The competitions held by the Peifeng Sect were generally divided into two types: a draw-based ranking competition and a challenge match. 

The former emphasized rankings and was very serious; if one could take first place, the rewards were quite generous: thousands of spirit stones, commendations from above and below, and a magical artifact bestowed by the sect leader from the inventory. 

The latter was more about mutual sparring and communication, accumulating combat experience was more important than winning or losing. 

Some disciples, like Lin Ji, who had a strong desire to win, signed up for the first type, while others who didn’t want too much pressure and felt they weren’t qualified for ranking this year signed up for the second type. 

Lu Xiaobai naturally signed up for the second type and actively sought challenges, but he hadn’t won a single time. 

After finishing the competition, Su Qinghe always came to mock him: “Hahaha, you should be competing with the outer sect; no, you wouldn’t even win there!” 

Aside from Su Qinghe, the other onlookers felt a bit sorry for him, and even the inner sect disciples on stage didn’t want to hit too hard: “Senior Brother Lu, why don’t you just admit defeat?” 

Lu Xiaobai raised his hand, “No need. How about you withdraw your spiritual power and fight me?” 

The disciple on stage was taken aback: “Of course, that’s not possible!” 

In the cultivation world, without spiritual power, why not go to the mortal realm to be a hero? 

“Then you admit defeat.” 

“?” 

“Then let’s continue fighting!” 

… Fine. 

After this round, every match ended with Lu Xiaobai being knocked off the competition stage. His low spiritual power made it impossible for him to form a protective shield, and he was beaten as if he had undergone a full-body massage. 

Su Qinghe watched but didn’t dare to mock anymore, because after each match, Lu Xiaobai could summarize the highlights and shortcomings of the opponent’s moves. 

If he was lucky to guide the outer sect disciples, what about the inner sect? 

Slowly, more and more people began to watch his matches. Although he lost, the onlookers no longer dared to underestimate him. 

Including the elders, the observing disciples were both astonished and regretful. 

If Senior Brother Lu had high comprehension and was smarter than them, yet was constrained by his spiritual root, then he was truly pitiful. 

It was like a martial artist in the mortal realm who couldn’t use their internal power; clearly able to comprehend the manuals, yet their martial skills could only be considered mediocre… This was a sad situation no matter where it was placed. 

However, this also explained why Ling Yun Zunzhe took in disciples. 

Lu Xiaobai looked at Su Qinghe, who was showing a provocative expression, and was so angry he wanted to stomp his foot. 

A long time ago, Lu Xiaobai thought he had to hide his talents. Until he had the ability to step on others, he must never stand out. 

Later, he discovered that the more he endured, the more disdain he received from others, and the more they felt free to bully him. People like Su Qinghe were countless in the cultivation world. 

Now he realized that having some caution was better than being completely reckless. 

On the other hand, Lin Ji was winning more easily and steadily. 

He maintained a blank expression throughout, his gaze cold, making his opponents feel uneasy even before the fight began, unable to help but think: Did I offend him? 

In terms of momentum, he was already at a disadvantage, and once the fight started, it was a complete rout. 

Meng Wanqiu went out for a stroll, mainly to watch his disciples. 

He saw Lin Ji defeating all his peers effortlessly, but before he could smile, he saw Lu Xiaobai being beaten to the ground, and his smile froze on his face. 

“Senior Brother, seeing Lin Ji perform so excellently, you must feel quite relieved to have a successor, right?” 

Su Qinghe’s uncle, Elder Su Ling, flew over on his sword, stroking his beard and asking. 

The two stood in the air, and Meng Wanqiu covered his head, “I’m even more troubled.” 

Elder Su Ling thought Meng Wanqiu was being modest and didn’t take it seriously, casually asking, “Oh, why?” 

Meng Wanqiu sighed, “As the saying goes, every cow has its own way of tying; I’m just worried about how to teach these two completely different disciples.” 

“A cow?” Elder Su Ling was even more confused, “Aren’t they monkeys?” 

Meng Wanqiu smiled, “Xiaobai can be considered a monkey, but A Ji is a wolf in the dark night, and I don’t know how to treat him properly.” 

Neither of them is a cow… After Elder Su Ling grumbled inwardly, he stepped forward to support Meng Wanqiu, “Senior Brother, don’t be too anxious; it’s not good for your health. The sect leader has taken in so many disciples without issue; you shouldn’t worry too much. Just take it one step at a time.” 

Meng Wanqiu felt helpless; no one understood. The sect leader took in at least normal people! 

Elder Su Ling urged, “Is there anyone harder to teach than Su Qinghe? I think he’s the real cow!” 

Meng Wanqiu: “…” 

Su Qinghe and Lu Xiaobai were both disciples of the same generation, spoiled since childhood, and centered around themselves. Because Elder Su Ling didn’t take him as a disciple due to his poor talent, Lu Xiaobai was taken in by Meng Wanqiu and had been brooding over it. Now, he didn’t even call his uncle when he saw him! 

He had a water spiritual root, while his nephew had a fire spiritual root; water and fire were incompatible, so it was pointless to try! He couldn’t interfere with the standards of other elders for accepting disciples! He just wouldn’t listen! 

Moreover, he targeted others, and Elder Su Ling felt a bit guilty, so he would take extra care of Lu Xiaobai in private. 

Back on the stage, Lin Ji’s competition had already ended, and he was drawing lots for the next day’s matches. He casually grabbed one, feeling unenthusiastic. 

He turned around just in time to see Lu Xiaobai limping over, patting his shoulder: “Did you win? Junior Brother, you’re amazing!” 

Lin Ji didn’t want to pay him any mind, but seeing his appearance made him grit his teeth: “How did you get beaten up like this?” 

Lu Xiaobai’s face was the only part that looked somewhat intact; his wrists and visible skin were bruised and swollen, and he didn’t know how many bruises were hidden from view. 

Lu Xiaobai rubbed his wrist, “Everyone falls once; I’ve fallen over a dozen times, some wear and tear is normal.” 

Lin Ji’s lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but Meng Wanqiu came over, so he had to swallow his words. 

Meng Wanqiu stood in front, first looking at Lin Ji: “Very good, your usual practice is solid, and you performed beautifully in the match. Go back and rest well to replenish your energy; you’ll fight again tomorrow, but don’t push yourself.” 

After advising Lin Ji, he looked at Lu Xiaobai and couldn’t help but feel sorry: “Does it hurt? I should have known better than to let you compete.” 

Lu Xiaobai still smiled happily: “It doesn’t hurt. I wanted to compete myself; otherwise, who could persuade me?” 

The next day, Lin Ji won again, while Lu Xiaobai was still being beaten up. 

This continued for another two days, but Lu Xiaobai had indeed become more resilient; his dodging ability improved, and he had fewer injuries. 

Lin Ji, as expected, became the champion of the Qi Refining Stage. 

However, after participating in the inner sect draw-based competition, he also entered the challenge match. 

The first challenge was Su Qinghe. 

Su Qinghe looked wary and refused: “You have quite the ambition; being the champion isn’t enough, you want to be famous too? Aren’t you afraid of falling hard?” 

Although the competition didn’t limit the year of entry, it did restrict realms, which was quite reasonable. 

“Practicing Qi and competing in Qi, I’ve already established my foundation; isn’t it bullying to compete with you?” 

Lin Ji chuckled, “I heard you’ve been in the early stage of Foundation Establishment for two years, while I’m in the late stage of Qi Refining.” 

Su Qinghe exploded in anger: “What do you mean by that?” 

Lin Ji sheathed his sword: “It means nothing; I’ll come find you tomorrow.” 

With that, he turned to leave. 

The next day, news of Lin Ji breaking through to Foundation Establishment spread, and the Zhengyang Hall was filled with “Wow” sounds.