Chapter 830: The Road beneath Their Feet
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Wang Qian’s dream was to become a heroine that traveled and stood at the pinnacle of the ancient martial art practitioner world. She wished to travel the world and watch the clouds beneath her feet.
The Martial Arts Circle Convention was a symbol of the pinnacle of the martial art circle.
Although the Martial Arts Circle Convention was held once every five years, she had not seen it with her own eyes before. It was almost impossible for an ancient martial art practitioner like her to have the opportunity to come in contact with such a grand event. Even in the Five Tigers Sect, there were few who were qualified. Only a few members at the very top of the sect were qualified to attend.
In the huge Taihang Mountains, the few larger sects regularly spilled blood to get a spot.
“I also want to go. I wonder what the Martial Arts Circle Convention is like. Legend has it that it is the stage for the ancient martial art practitioners that are at the pinnacle. People from all around gather there, and there are strong practitioners everywhere. The scene must be very grand.” Wan’er supported her chin as she looked at the sky in a trance.
Every person in the martial art circle dreamt of adventure. They diligently practiced ancient martial arts day and night in the hope that one day their training would bear fruit. Then, they could stand at the highest and most dazzling position in the martial art circle. Wan’er also imagined herself one day becoming like the sect leader and being renowned, being able to sit on the throne that symbolized the highest honor.
However, she was looking forward to it, yet she could not imagine what it would be like. She was still a lowly figure. She had barely even seen the Five Tigers Sect sect leader more than a few times. How could she know how they lived? In her world, the sect leader was the most powerful person. But she knew that the actual world was very large, and her world was too small.
“It is the Martial Arts Circle Convention. Of course, the scene is grand! Did you not listen to the description of the storytellers? That scene is majestic,” Wang Qian said somewhat excitedly. The topic was full of appeal for her.
“Those storytellers have not been to Dragon City. How do you know that what they say is true? A person that has never seen the Martial Arts Circle Convention can only imagine what it would be like.”
Wan’er shook her head. She did not like the tales that the storytellers told. They were different from the world that she wanted to know. She did not seek to understand anything that was not real.
“Such a killjoy!. Can’t you act bewildered just for once?” Wang Qian rolled her eyes at Wan’er. The number of people in the Five Tigers Sect that could participate in the Martial Arts Circle Convention did not exceed five. These five people would certainly be those of the highest status. It was naturally impossible for them to describe the events of the Martial Arts Circle Convention to ordinary disciples.
The ordinary ancient martial art practitioners that were curious about the Martial Arts Circle Convention could only listen to rumors and imagine an unreal scene on their own.
“We had better continue searching for medicinal herbs. We can’t always be focused on what is in the distance. It’s just an illusion. We should look below our own two feet and advance step by step.”
Wan’er got up. She carried her bamboo basket and held her shovel in her hand. She had rested for long enough and was now prepared to continue on their journey. No matter how much she imagined what things would be like, it could not change the fact that she was a low-level figure. She could not spend too much of her time immersed in her dreams. After all, she had to work hard to survive. Surviving was her main focus in life.
Wang Qian also sighed softly. She carried her bamboo basket and continued the journey. They did not have too much time to fantasize about those illusory things. Too many real things were weighing them down.
Mo Wen had it the easiest. Before this, they had believed that he was injured and was just an ordinary person, so they had not asked him to carry a bamboo basket.
In the afternoon, they found quite a few medicinal herbs. Wan’er and Wang Qian’s bamboo baskets were completely filled to the brim. For Wan’er, this was an unprecedented huge harvest. She had never been this happy before.
But Mo Wen was somewhat helpless. He had not found a stalk of spiritual medicine during the entire afternoon. Spiritual medicine was incredibly rare within the Taihang Mountains. However, he realized that it came as no surprise. An environment such as the Taihang Mountains was not suitable for spiritual medicine to grow.
Mo Wen would not let Wan’er hand in so many medicinal herbs in one go. Instead, they kept a large portion at home and handed in only the required amount to complete the task every day. After all, if they handed in too many medicinal herbs at once, it would clearly be unusual and would draw the suspicion of others.
The next day, Mo Wen once again accompanied Wan’er to gather medicinal herbs. His goal was still spiritual medicine. This time, he did not let Wan’er lead the way. Instead, he used his deified soul’s sensory ability to head towards a place with dense spiritual energy. Places that were dense in spiritual energy might not necessary have spiritual medicine, but the probability of spiritual medicine growing there was definitely much higher than it was in other ordinary places.
After a morning of searching, Mo Wen finally found a stalk of Yunxi Grass, a low-grade spiritual level spiritual medicine, in a dangerous place. This spiritual medicine only grew under very specific conditions. Even Mo Wen had not expected that he would find a stalk of Yunxi Grass in the Taihang Mountains.
The Yunxi Grass only grew under very specific conditions, but it didn’t have many uses. Mo Wen directly passed it to Wan’er for her to hand over to the Five Tigers Sect. Now that she had the Yunxi Grass, Wan’er did not need to gather medicinal herbs every day anymore.
For the next few days, Mo Wen did not leave the house, hiding away and quietly treating his injuries. His medical skills were already extraordinary. The Celestial Scripture: Yin and Yang had a miraculous effect on his body. After the last few days of treatment, Mo Wen’s injuries were already much better. The Inner Qi in his body could slowly circulate at last.
However, the lightning power still sealed the meridians in his entire body. If Mo Wen wanted to completely recover his cultivation, he could only do so by slowly wearing away at the lightning power in his body. If he treated himself regularly, he would most likely still need a very long time to recover.
Wan’er still stayed in Wang Qian’s house. However, because she had picked a stalk of Yunxi Grass, she did not need to go gather medicinal herbs anymore. She could just sit at home and wait for the sect’s reward.
Two days later, in the great hall, a tall, slender elder sat at the head seat. There were many members of the Five Tigers Sect, men and women, on both sides. The people who could appear here were all people with a certain standing in the Five Tigers Sect.
The only person present who had no standing was Wan’er. She stood in the great hall and carefully adjusted her clothes as she looked at the senior figures of the sect with apprehension. Usually, it was somewhat difficult for her to meet even one of them; right now, she was seeing so many of them.
“You are Su Wan’er, the outer-sect disciple that managed to pluck a stalk of spiritual medicine?” The tall, slender elder that sat at the head seat said as he looked at Wan’er. There was a jade box on the table to his left. A stalk of medicinal herb was placed in the box. It was the stalk of Yunxi Grass that Mo Wen had plucked.
“Disciple Wan’er pays her respects to Sect Grand Elder,” Wan’er said as she respectfully curtsied.
She had been waiting for the sect to give her a reward for the past two days. After plucking a stalk of spiritual medicine and offering it to the sect, the sect would usually not be stingy and would be likely to reward her handsomely.
She had not expected that the Sect Grand Elder would make an appearance just for her. Usually, even if there were disciples that found spiritual medicine, the Sect Grand Elder would rarely appear in person. Most of the time, the elders would be given the task of rewarding the disciples on his behalf.
There were only four Sect Grand Elders in the Five Tigers Sect, so Wan’er was bound to recognize the person before her. This elder was the Five Tigers Sect’s Second Sect Grand Elder, Wang He. He handled the sect’s treasury and financial affairs.
“Let me ask you this. Did you find this spiritual medicine on your own? And where did you find it?” Wang He asked plainly.
“Reporting to Sect Grand Elder, I personally found this spiritual medicine in the nearby Yunyang Mountain,” Wan’er replied.
Wang He nodded his head. “Oh, how did you find this spiritual medicine?”
“Reporting to Sect Grand Elder, finding this Yunxi Grass was a coincidence. I did not originally know that the Yunyang Mountain cliffs had spiritual medicines beneath them. I was gathering a stalk of medicinal herb on the Yunyang Mountain when I accidentally lost my footing and fell down a cliff. I was lucky. Not only did I survive, but I also happened to stumble upon this Yunxi Grass.”
Wan’er had spent some time discussed how she would answer the sect’s questioning with Mo Wen. She was not really lying. She just told them about how Mo Wen had found the Yunxi Grass but with her as the person who had found it by having an accident. In her story of half-truths, there was nothing that anyone could call into question.
“Oh, you truly are lucky. Such a blessing in disguise.” Wang He nodded his head.
The people in the great hall all frantically looked at Wan’er in surprise and with looks of admiration. This little girl’s luck was very good. After falling down a cliff she had still been able to come across a spiritual medicine. Although such an incident was bizarre, it was not impossible for something like this to have happened. Instead, such incidents of stumbling across treasures frequently occurred. If something like this occurred, one could only say that the Heavens were smiling upon them.
“Su Wan’er, given that you have found a spiritual medicine for the sect, the sect has decided to reward you handsomely. However, before this, I need to ask you once more. Are you hiding anything other than what you have told us? If there is, and anything happens due to those circumstances in the future, not only will you not be able to enjoy your reward, but the consequences will be beyond redemption.”
“I have not hidden anything,” Wan’er declared adamantly.
She knew that the reason the Sect Grand Elder asked her this was because he was concerned about this spiritual medicine coming from a dubious background and bringing the sect trouble in the future.
However, the Yunxi Grass had indeed been found by her and the Yunyang Mountain was not under the jurisdiction of any sect. It would not involve the issue of ownership.
“That is good! Please don’t be angry at me for being too cautious. Recently, the Taihang Mountains have not been peaceful and many incidents have occurred. At this moment, the Five Tigers Sect does not wish to get involved with any trouble.”
Wang He nodded his head. The reason why he had appeared in person was that he was concerned that there was something fishy about the source of this spiritual medicine. Recently, because of the Martial Arts Circle Convention, the Taihang Mountains appeared calm and peaceful on the surface, but in reality it was turbulent. Some sects were willing to do anything for a spot to head to Dragon City.
He was afraid that someone was using Su Wan’er. The person might use the ownership of the spiritual medicine as an excuse to falsely incriminate the Five Tigers Sect. After all, it was an extremely rare occurrence for an outer-sect disciple to find a spiritual medicine. Moreover, it happened at such a sensitive time.
He interrogated Su Wan’er personally and observed her carefully. He did not detect any sign of lying from her, so what Su Wan’er said was most likely true.
“Su Wan’er has contributed greatly to the sect. Therefore, she will be promoted to be an inner-sect disciple and she will enjoy all the benefits that the inner-sect disciples receive. Furthermore, she will be rewarded with five times the monthly allowance of an inner-sect disciple. Within five years, she will not need to do any chores and can focus on practicing and learning. The sect will provide her with resources and intensive training.”
Outer-sect disciples were the lowest disciples in a sect. Most of them spent their time doing the dirtiest and the most tedious chores for the sect. But the inner-sect disciples were different: they received intensive training from the sect.
“According to the rules, an inner-sect disciple will be guided by an elder. May I know which elders present would like to take Su Wan’er as their disciple?” Wang He scanned the people around him slowly. There were quite a few elders present in the hall. Clearly, Wang He was directing his question to those elders.