"Junior Brother Wubing, quick, quick, quick, the pot! Iām starving."
Wei Changkong burst into Fan Wubingās room early in the morning, his eyes gleaming green.
Fan Wubing sat up in shock,
"Senior Brother Wei? What are you doing here! Arenāt you fifth-term students not participating?"
Wei Changkong said,
"Yes, not participating. I volunteered to apply to the Sect Leader, came with Elder Lin Xing to protect you all."
"Protect? Youāre just craving my cooking!"
"Hey, how can you speak of your senior brother like that!" Wei Changkong held Fan Wubingās hand, "Junior Brother Wubing, Iāve always treated you well, havenāt I?"
Fan Wubing brushed his hand away,
"Enough with the nonsense. If you want to eat, pay up. Youāve mooched off me so many times before; I didnāt charge you for meals, Iām being as generous as I can. You know, those Immortal Chefs outside, just the cooking fee is a big sum, let alone the cost of ingredients."
"Junior Brother Wubing, even for the sake of your Senior Sister Fu Ming, you should at least... give me a bite to eat!"
"What relation do you have with my sister to use her name? Does she even know you? Does she know Wei Changkong?"
"This..."
He honestly couldnāt say for sure.
In the Eternal Immortal Sect, Fu Ming might not recognize anyone besides her master and junior brothers on Enlightenment Peak.
Wei Changkong gritted his teeth and said,
"She smiled at me once! She must be interested in me!"
As Fan Wubing dressed, he said,
"Senior Brother Wei, go back to Gotham, Batman said he wonāt beat you anymore."
"Huh? Junior Brother Wubing, if you keep saying things I donāt understand, Iāll assume youāre agreeing to let me eat for free."
"I mean, youāre a Nascent Soul cultivator, how come youāre so broke you canāt even afford meal expenses?"
Wei Changkong awkwardly said,
"Wubing, you know. We Sword Cultivators have strong combat power, but maintaining a flying sword is really expensive. With my earnings in the Eternal Immortal Sect, plus what my family gave me, I can barely sustain it. Last month, my flying sword broke through, leaving me completely drained, itās impossible for me to afford anything."
"Explain how it drained you completely, no, wait... explain how the flying sword broke through."
In Fan Wubingās Purple Mansion, the Flying Sword Peach Blossom was still cocooning, who knows when it will break through.
Wei Changkong said,
"A flying sword is different from external artifacts; itās connected to oneās spirit, like a part of oneself. So, nurturing a flying sword is like nurturing the body. The level of the flying sword usually corresponds to the Sword Cultivatorās realm, but it can be slightly higher or lower. My flying sword, well, itās higher than my cultivation. Last month, it broke through to the late stage of Nascent Soul, but Iām just at the middle stage of Nascent Soul."
Wei Changkong looked wistful,
"Iām just a mere middle-stage Nascent Soul cultivator; how can I afford to maintain a late-stage Nascent Soul flying sword? While taking on commissions, I also worked over ten part-time jobs in various places, being a bodyguard, a sparring partner... just to maintain it. I almost resorted to taking out high-interest loans from the Heaven and Earth Bank."
"...Donāt try to sell me your sob story, Iām not buying it!"
Wei Changkong suddenly hugged Fan Wubingās leg,
"Junior Brother, please help your senior brother out. Just hold on for six months! Just six months! After six months, when I graduate from the Eternal Immortal Sect, inherit my familyās fortune, Iāll repay you a hundredfold! My family has mines, my family has mines!"
At this moment, Luo Qingyao came in from outside, and upon seeing this scene, she was instantly furious,
"Oh, you... whatās your name again? Waking up the senior brother is my exclusive duty! Donāt you dare fight with me over this!"
Wei Changkongās mouth twitched,
"Junior Sister Qingyao, itās been three months, havenāt you remembered my name yet! Iām Wei Changkong!"
Luo Qingyao ignored him and said to Fan Wubing,
"Senior Brother, quickly lie down and sleep well, let me wake you up once more. Come on, Iām the one who wakes you up every day, and weāre just one day short of a complete month! If it breaks today, itāll make me feel awful!"
Fan Wubing dragged himself out of the room,
"Two lunatics!"
As soon as he stepped out, he ran into Fu Manman coming out from the opposite room. Seeing each of his legs with someone clinging on, she was taken aback,
"What are you all playing?"
For some reason, Luo Qingyao became serious upon seeing Fu Manman. Not only serious, but also calm and elegant,
"Good morning, Senior Sister Manman."
Fu Manman looked at her curiously,
"You can just call me by my name. Weāre about the same age."
"Senior Sister Manman joined the Eternal Immortal Sect earlier than me, so she is indeed my senior sister."
Fu Manman suddenly stopped speaking, stood still, and looked at Fan Wubing for a while, pursing her lips as she walked away.
Fan Wubing felt a bit puzzled, thinking, she used to be so lively, why is she now so quiet?
Did she become dull from cultivation?
Luo Qingyao whispered,
"Senior Brother, you should be careful with that Senior Sister Manman."
"Why?"
"After boarding the ship, she often hides in the distance, secretly watching you. Sheās definitely up to something!"
"I didnāt even notice, how do you know?"
"Hmph! Anyone who has their eyes on Senior Brother, I can spot immediately! So, you have to be careful of her!"
Fan Wubing gave her a sidelong glance,
"Do you have the right to talk about others?"
...
Fan Wubing always had the habit of cooking right after waking up, and he happened to want to break in a set of supreme mystic cooking utensils. So, early in the morning, he busied himself in the kitchen of the immortal boat.
Everyone on the immortal boat was from the Eternal Immortal Sect, so naturally, he couldnāt just cook for himself, and decided to cook for everyone.
Wei Changkong, wanting Fan Wubing to feed him for free, insisted on helping with the fire. Luo Qingyao was naturally unwilling. After some argument, they decided to take turns, each cooking one meal.
The ingredients were brought from the Nourishing Spirit Peak. Ever since the grand opening ceremonyās banquet, Nourishing Spirit Peak had become like a second home to Fan Wubing, allowing him to freely take various ingredients.
Indeed, the set of supreme mystic cookware crafted by Elder Zhao Yangxia was exceptional! During cooking, it could even actively draw in innate Dao charm, infusing it into the ingredients.
In this way, one elder, five disciples, plus a freeloader, spent three days on the immortal boat.
Most of the time, the disciples stayed in their own rooms. With the opening of Peach Blossom Spring approaching, everyone wanted to be in their best state to face it.
[Fan Wubing]
[Age: 14]
[Life: 5117/5117 points]
[Cultivation: None]
[Cultivation Techniques: "Unwarranted Qi Creation Skill", "Devouring Stars and Chewing the Moon", "Blood Burning Skill"]
[Physique: Heavenly Defect Body...]
[Talents: "Fate Should Not Be Severed", "Unwarranted Qi Creation Skill", "Tongueās Desire"]
"5117 blood points, thatās quite a lot!"
During this time, with all the supplementary immortal food, treating Gu Lan, battling the Lake God, absorbing the Incense Fire Godās radiance... added quite a bit of blood.
With the "Blood Burning Skill", an increase in blood is roughly equivalent to an increase in cultivation. Although the "Blood Burning Skill" is of low quality and its duration is limited, the resulting cultivation is genuine and uncompromised.
With 3000 blood points, the converted cultivation is equivalent to the Seventh-Layer Foundation Establishment.
At 4000 blood points, the converted cultivation was already the Ninth-Layer Foundation Establishment.
But now with 5117 blood points, the converted cultivation still hasnāt broken through Foundation Establishment to reach the Golden Core realm.
"It seems the gap between Foundation Establishment and Golden Core is quite large. Even bigger than the gap between Qi Refining and Golden Core. I wonder how much blood is needed to reach the Golden Core level."
Since he didnāt progress layer by layer, Fan Wubing didnāt have a direct experience of the difference between the Peak of Foundation Establishment and the Golden Core realm. For him, calculating through blood points is simpler.
Originally, he could use the Unwarranted Qi Creation Skill to sense the blood and qi of a Golden Core realm cultivator and compare it to himself to estimate the gap.
Among the five disciples, one-phase Luo Qingyao and two-phase Ai Yinian are both at the Foundation Establishment Stage, while four-phase Jiang Maodian is already at the Late Stage of Golden Core, which is quite far from the First-Layer Golden Core.
Only Fu Manman, at the Second-Layer Golden Core, is more suitable.
However, she seems to be quite sensitive to qi. When Fan Wubing tried to probe her with the Unwarranted Qi Creation Skill, he was immediately discovered.
Although she didnāt show any sign of resistance.
But Fan Wubing still felt a little embarrassed, not daring to feel it carefully, since this kind of thing isnāt exactly aboveboard. Misinterpreting could lead to awkwardness.
Anyway, theyāll meet other cultivators at Peach Blossom Spring, so thereās no rush.
In the evening,
Fu Manman sat in her room, somewhat troubled by the dayās events.
In the afternoon, was Fan Wubing trying to sense my qi? Maybe he remembered who I am... But I didnāt resist him, so why did he stop? Could it be that the changes in my qi over the past ten years were too much, and he thought he got it wrong?
Maybe I should just take the initiative to acknowledge him.
But if he doesnāt remember me, wouldnāt it be really awkward? If he considers me a weirdo, it would be even more painful...
"Sigh... it would be great if interacting with people were as easy as cultivation... How does Junior Sister Qingyao manage to be so cheerful, boldly talking to everyone? They must think Iām cold. But I really want to talk to everyone properly too..."