Chapter 46: Whatever Shizun Wants to Do with It, He Can Use It…

The sensation in his palm made Feng Xixing freeze. He could feel the fine, soft fluff on the little black cat’s head brushing past his palm, and… the cat ears being pressed against his hand, flicking with displeasure and unhappiness at being forced to flatten.

A hint of a smile surfaced in Feng Xixing’s eyes. He released the trapped little ears and gently rubbed them a couple of times. The little black cat seemed very satisfied with his little disciple’s technique. After a moment, it lay back down, and a purring sound quickly started up.

If Lin Chuyun weren’t still mindful of maintaining his image as Shizun, he would have long since rolled around on the bed to let his little disciple give him a proper full-body petting.

“Shizun, Xixing has something he wants to ask you.” Feng Xixing gently stroked the fluff under the little black cat’s chin, smoothing out any slightly messy patches.

The little black cat lazily lifted its head to glance at him, its tail lightly patting Feng Xixing’s palm, meaning: Ask away, then.

Feng Xixing smiled, curled the tip of the tail around his finger, and then finally asked the question that had been on his mind.

“Shizun… are you thinking of taking on other disciples?” Feng Xixing asked softly.

Lin Chuyun had almost forgotten he’d ever said that. Only when Feng Xixing reminded him did he remember his offhand remark from earlier. He had absolutely no intention of taking on more disciples; he could barely afford to support just this one little disciple.

“Meow…” The little black cat shook its head with a long, drawn-out sound.

Seeing this, the heavy stone weighing on Feng Xixing’s heart finally loosened slightly.

For some reason, whenever he thought that Lin Chuyun might take someone else as a disciple, a crushing weight pressed down on Feng Xixing’s heart. He absolutely could not imagine himself standing to the side, watching Lin Chuyun smile at or encourage another youth. Just the thought of that scene was enough to make him unable to suppress the violent, baleful energy surging up from the depths of his heart.

The little black cat had caught up on its sleep and was much more spirited than before. He stood up, paced two circles, and then prepared to continue cultivating. He’d previously felt somewhat daunted by his slow cultivation progress, but after being guided by the white fox at Spirit Beast Peak, his cultivation speed had instantly increased dramatically.

At this rate, in half a month at most, he would be able to form his Demon Core.

Seeing the little black cat begin its cultivation, Feng Xixing no longer disturbed him. He said goodbye to the little tail, then got up and went outside the house to practice his sword.

The news of Bai Linghan defeating Yan Sha had spread throughout the entire Star Point Sect within a single day. Most people’s impression of Bai Linghan was a mix of fragility, pity, and gossip involving Immortal Lord Lin, but no one expected Bai Linghan to have become so formidable now.

Because of this incident, some busybodies couldn’t help but start wondering if Immortal Lord Lin might have a change of heart. After all, Bai Linghan’s current talent was nearly on par with Feng Xixing’s.

Feng Xixing never told Lin Chuyun a single word of the discussions happening outside. As a result, Lin Chuyun was completely unaware that he had once again become the center of gossip within the sect.

Feng Xixing wasn’t surprised that Bai Linghan’s cultivation had increased so rapidly. After all, the very reason Devil Cultivators could attract so many cultivators with wicked intentions was that their cultivation speed was several times faster than normal cultivation.

He just truly hadn’t expected that this Junior Brother Bai would be so utterly brainless. Knowing perfectly well that his cultivation gains came from an improper source, instead of keeping a low profile, he was openly displaying them for everyone to see.

Feng Xixing felt a sense of anticipation. How wonderfully brilliant would the expression on Bai Linghan’s face be on the day he fully Entered the Devil Path?

The following days, the Disciple Grand Competition proceeded on schedule. Aside from going along on the first day, Lin Chuyun spent the next few days sleeping in lazily in the bamboo hut. And indeed, Feng Xixing’s opponents in the first few matches weren’t particularly formidable. With his current strength, unless he ran into Xu Quanfeng, others posed no threat to him at all.

Bai Linghan also advanced smoothly. Compared to Feng Xixing, however, Bai Linghan’s opponents were much more spectacular. Besides Yan Sha, in his fourth match, Bai Linghan once again defeated another disciple with outstanding talent.

No one doubted anymore that Bai Linghan’s defeat of Yan Sha was just a fluke.

As a result, Bai Linghan had been living quite well these past few days. He could clearly sense the change in the attitude of those around him. Before, although these people would give way to him, it was only because it didn’t harm their own interests.

But now, these people looked at him with a trace of fear. Even if he demanded something of them, they wouldn’t dare refuse lightly.

Bai Linghan grew increasingly attached to this feeling of possessing real power. His trust in the black stone deepened, to the point that he even placed the black stone under his pillow when sleeping.

As the Grand Tournament progressed, the strength of the remaining disciples grew stronger and stronger. Lin Chuyun hesitated between sleeping in and watching his disciple’s matches, but ultimately decided to go and watch.

After all, he could sleep in anytime, but the Grand Tournament only came once every three years. This was the last time his disciple could participate.

Feng Xixing had no objections to this. However, the spectating disciples inexplicably felt that Junior Brother Feng’s performance in these two matches seemed somewhat… flashy and elaborate. In the previous matches, Junior Brother Feng had quickly thrown his opponents off the stone platform, but his latest match had lasted an entire hour.

And while the Grand Competition was underway, the thunderclouds in the Forbidden Area also began to stir. Amidst the flickering lightning, one could even faintly see the shadow of tribulation lightning transforming into a dragon—a clear precursor that it was about to begin.

At some point, the entrance to the Forbidden Area had closed, and Gu Jingshan could no longer enter.

Fortunately, he had entrusted all sect affairs to Dan Li, preventing any major chaos from arising. However, he had forgotten that he’d ordered the Steward to investigate Bai Linghan. The Steward had uncovered issues, but with no way to report to Gu Jingshan, the matter was simply shelved.

In the blink of an eye, it was the tenth day of the Disciple Grand Competition.

After the previous matches, only eight disciples remained. Today’s matches would determine the top four from these eight. The opponents would only be revealed the moment before the match. Lin Chuyun, uncharacteristically, felt a bit nervous and woke up even earlier than Feng Xixing.

“I have checked. Among the remaining disciples, only two or three are at the Golden Core Late Stage, and four are at the Golden Core Middle Stage. With your strength, disciple, you’ll definitely be fine!” Lin Chuyun rambled on, trying to encourage Feng Xixing.

Feng Xixing didn’t feel the slightest bit of nervousness, but seeing Lin Chuyun worry about him like this made him inexplicably happy. He raised his lips in a smile, but deliberately asked, “Then… Shizun, what if Xixing loses?”

Lin Chuyun looked at his little disciple, whose eyes held a hint of timidity, and his heart softened. “If you lose, you lose. At worst, whatever Spirit Tool you want, Shizun will buy it for you!” After thinking for a moment, he gritted his teeth and added, “If you really lose, I’ll turn into a cat, and you can pet my head, touch my ears, play with my tail… until you feel happy again.”

For a fleeting moment, Feng Xixing seriously considered the possibility of deliberately losing.

But then, looking at the obviously nervous Lin Chuyun, he couldn’t bear to disappoint his Shizun. He smiled in agreement, then reached out and touched the ends of Lin Chuyun’s hair. “Shizun, rest assured. Xixing will definitely win first place for you.”

At the arena, the original eight stone platforms had been merged into pairs, and the formations beneath the platforms had been greatly strengthened. Countless disciples surrounded the platforms, choosing which match they wanted to watch. And right under the noses of the Peak Masters, some disciples had even secretly opened betting pools.

Lin Chuyun secretly listened in on a few conversations and discovered the betting options were quite numerous, covering the candidates for the top three, the first-place winner, and more.

In the pool for who would take first place, the person with the most bets was Shan Tian of Spirit Stone Peak. Shan Tian had been at the Golden Core Late Stage for years, and there were recent rumors he was about to break through to the Nascent Soul stage. Furthermore, as the Third Senior Brother of Spirit Stone Peak, he possessed countless Spirit Tools, so many people naturally thought he would win first place.

After Shan Tian, the person with the second-highest bets was surprisingly Bai Linghan. Bai Linghan had been on a hot streak lately, and many disciples believed his strength hadn’t been fully revealed yet, and that he might become the dark horse of this Grand Tournament.

Lin Chuyun listened for a long time before he finally heard someone mention his own little disciple’s name. And what infuriated him most was that no one had bet on his little disciple!

It wasn’t really the disciples’ fault. Although Feng Xixing had great talent, he had been held back for so many years. The number of Spirit Tools he owned could be counted on one hand, and his cultivation level lagged behind the others somewhat.

In the previous matches, Feng Xixing hadn’t met any particularly strong opponents, so the disciples couldn’t gauge his true strength. Xu Quanfeng and Yan Sha, who often sparred with Feng Xixing, knew something of his ability, but these two weren’t the kind to gossip everywhere.

Thus, in the eyes of these disciples, Junior Brother Feng was merely a junior brother with decent talent.

The more Lin Chuyun listened, the angrier he got. Unable to contain himself, he tugged on his little disciple’s sleeve. “Ahem… Disciple, do you… do you still have Spirit Stones? Can you lend your teacher a few?”

Feng Xixing was taken aback, then took out a Storage Bag and handed it to Lin Chuyun. “What does Shizun want to do?”

Lin Chuyun took it and answered with righteous fury, “To make some money!”

Although the opening of betting pools during the Grand Tournament was a tacitly accepted custom, the disciples didn’t dare to be too overt about it. The betting location was set up in a very secluded corner.

Just as the disciple recorded the information for the previous bet, another shadow fell over the desk before him. The disciple handling bets spoke with practiced ease, “I wonder what this Senior Brother wishes to bet—I-I-I-Immortal Lord Lin?!”

The disciple thought Immortal Lord Lin had come to arrest him, and his face paled with fright. Trembling, he tried to plead, “I-Immortal Lord Lin, this disciple…”

Lin Chuyun gave a cold snort, tossed the bag of Spirit Stones his little disciple had given him onto the table, and said coldly, “This Lord wants to place a bet!”

The disciple was stunned. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, not daring to be the least bit negligent, and quickly asked, “May I ask what Immortal Lord wishes to bet on?”

Lin Chuyun pointed at one of the pools. “This Lord wants to bet that the first-place winner of this Disciple Grand Competition will be Feng Xixing of Spirit Cloud Peak.”

“This Lord bets…” At this point, Lin Chuyun paused. In his anger earlier, he hadn’t checked how many Spirit Stones were in the Storage Bag his disciple gave him. He cleared his throat, opened the Storage Bag, and scanned its contents. “400 High-Grade Spirit Stones…”

By the end, Lin Chuyun’s voice had gone airy. He had never imagined that the Storage Bag his little disciple handed over would contain so many Spirit Stones!

The disciple was also startled by this huge wager and couldn’t help but glance at the Storage Bag.

It had always been rumored that Immortal Lord Lin had given all his Spirit Stones to Junior Brother Bai. Now, it seemed that rumor was likely false. Otherwise, how could Immortal Lord Lin possibly produce this many Spirit Stones?

But then again, Immortal Lord Lin was an Immortal Lord after all. Even if he really liked a disciple, he wouldn’t have actually given away his entire fortune. And now, it seemed that the disciple Feng, his actual apprentice, was even more favored by Immortal Lord Lin.

The disciple was hesitant. At the current odds, if Junior Brother Feng really did win first place, even if they pooled all their Spirit Stones together, they wouldn’t be able to cover the payout. If the gambler were anyone else, he would have flatly refused. But the person standing before him was Immortal Lord Lin.

Faced with the choice between possibly having to pay out Spirit Stones and definitely offending Immortal Lord Lin, the disciple decisively chose the former. After all, whether they had to pay out depended on the subsequent matches. But if he dared refuse, Immortal Lord Lin could throw him into the Discipline Hall right now.

“Ahem, yes, yes. Immortal Lord Lin, rest assured, this disciple has recorded everything.” The disciple quickly recorded the bet information. Two streaks of light flashed; one entered Lin Chuyun’s body, and the other landed on the betting pool nearby.

When the pool was settled later, these lights would serve as proof.

Lin Chuyun could only watch helplessly as those 400 Spirit Stones were put away by the disciple. The very air around him seemed to droop with despondency. He silently turned and drifted back to Feng Xixing’s side, his gaze upon his little disciple filled with accusation.

Feng Xixing hadn’t expected that his Shizun, after just one trip out, would return looking like a drenched little kitten. He quickly asked, “Shizun, what’s wrong?”

“How could you, how could you…” Lin Chuyun couldn’t find a reason to be angry at the moment. After all, his little disciple had handed the Storage Bag directly to him out of trust. “Sigh.”

Feng Xixing pressed for a long time before Lin Chuyun told him what happened, his tone tinged with guilt and regret. Feng Xixing shook his head helplessly and said to Lin Chuyun, “Does Shizun not trust his disciple?”

Lin Chuyun paused. It wasn’t a matter of trust, it was mainly…

“Also,” Feng Xixing took out another Storage Bag and placed it in Lin Chuyun’s hand. “Everything your disciple has belongs to Shizun, let alone a mere few Spirit Stones. Even if Shizun threw them into the water just to hear the splash, no one could blame you.”

Lin Chuyun silently opened the Storage Bag and, facing nearly 900 High-Grade Spirit Stones inside, fell silent.

…Since when did his little disciple become so rich?