Before losing consciousness, Wang Yuan was left with only one intense wave of hatred in his mind.
I won't let this go!
As for the surrounding menial disciples, they simply stared in utter shock at the scene, remaining silent for a long, long time without uttering a word.
A fierce fiend!
Who would have thought that such a terrifying fiend would appear among the newly arrived menial disciples!
At the same time, seeing Wang Yuan sprawled on the ground, looking completely battered and stained with blood, the various menial disciples couldn't help feeling immensely gratified, the stifling oppression in their chests easing considerably.
It wasn't until Jiang Chen walked far away, out of their line of sight, that they finally began to speak one after another.
"That damned Wang Yuan usually acts so tyrannical and arrogant—he's finally met his match."
"Hahaha, this is the first time I've ever seen him look so pathetic."
"Shh, keep your voices down. Have you forgotten who is backing Wang Yuan..."
Just as everyone was beginning to vent the anger in their hearts, someone lowered their voice with a cautionary reminder.
It was as if a basin of cold water had been dumped over the observing crowd, instantly sobering them up. They shut their mouths one after another and spoke no more.
There was a reason why Wang Yuan was able to lord over others and act with impunity without drawing adverse attention... and it wasn't something he could achieve through his own strength alone.
Suddenly, without exchanging words, everyone's gazes snapped unanimously in the direction Jiang Chen had left.
After a moment, someone sighed softly: "That kid is probably going to be in big trouble..."
***
Walking along while reviewing his menial disciple tasks, Jiang Chen casually twirled the interspatial ring he had just plundered, his intuition telling him it contained no small amount of wealth.
He probed it with his divine sense, and though he was somewhat prepared, he was still rather surprised.
"Over a dozen Defective Qi-Consolidating Pills, and there are actually around thirty low-grade spirit stones as well..."
If these resources were converted at equivalent value, it would amount to at least three years of his menial disciple stipend.
And that was merely based on standard exchange rates. In reality, pills like the Defective Qi-Consolidating Pill—while not scarce among top prodigies—were virtually entirely consumed by disciples of the four aptitude grades: Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding.
Very few ever trickled down to the menial disciples. If one wanted to trade a Defective Qi-Consolidating Pill for equivalent, more ordinary resources, countless people would gladly offer a premium to exchange for it.
Yet if you tried to trade a premium for a Defective Qi-Consolidating Pill, those willing to make the swap were few and far between, practically nonexistent.
From this, one could tell just how vast Wang Yuan's stockpiles over the years truly were.
"The spiritual energy contained within a Defective Qi-Consolidating Pill is far too violent and concentrated. Ordinary menial disciples have mediocre talent and lack top-tier cultivation techniques, so absorbing even a single pill takes them at least half a year."
"This fellow most likely couldn't digest them, which is why he left behind so much."
Initially, Jiang Chen had wondered how Wang Yuan managed to accumulate so much despite robbing people for so long.
After all, pills had always been exceptionally precious items; logically speaking, they should have been used up long ago.
Yet upon second thought, Jiang Chen understood.
Aside from an insufficient rate of pill digestion, no other explanation made sense.
Well, this worked out nicely—it was his good fortune now.
In an instant, Jiang Chen's mood brightened considerably. With the "Sword Heart Clear and Bright", his cultivation speed was exceptionally fast, meaning his rate of resource consumption was naturally swift as well.
A Defective Qi-Consolidating Pill that took someone of Wang Yuan's caliber half a year to digest would only take Jiang Chen half a month.
And that was still assuming his current cultivation technique was garbage.
Once the grade of his technique improved, digesting one pill every five days was entirely possible. Therefore, the likelihood of resources piling up in excess was slim; he would only ever find them lacking.
Aside from the daily check-in rewards, being able to provide for oneself through one's own efforts was naturally even better.
After all, on the path of cultivation, aside from peerless talent, what mattered even more were sufficient resources; otherwise, no matter how great one's talent, one would still be weighed down by poverty and have their cultivation speed hindered.
Following that, Jiang Chen frowned slightly and fell into deep thought. Seeming to have recalled something, he muttered to himself in a low voice: "No, Wang Yuan was able to run amok for so many years and plunder the resources of new disciples—someone must be backing him from behind the scenes."
A moment's simple reflection made this obvious.
Otherwise, how could someone with a cultivation base of only the Qi Refining 2nd Layer stand tall for so long?
Given everything he had done over the years and the sheer volume of resources he had plundered, even practitioners at the 3rd or 4th Layers would inevitably be tempted. There had to be someone backing him, acting as his protector.
Yet Jiang Chen shook his head, a hint of disdain crossing his features: "No matter how powerful, they are merely menial disciples. My cultivation progress is advancing by leaps and bounds with each passing day; it won't be long before they pose no threat at all."
As for disciples of the Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding grades?
He hadn't even given them a thought, because people of that caliber disdained doing such things, let alone lowering themselves to meddle in affairs among menial disciples.
Because it was beneath their dignity.
Immediately afterward, Jiang Chen cast the matter to the back of his mind, dwelling on it no further as he focused on the task at hand.
"Today's assigned cleaning area is the outer perimeter of the Xianyun Sword Sect's Sword Tomb."
The Sword Tomb was the very lifeblood of the entire Xianyun Sword Sect, housing an unknown number of insights, cultivation techniques, and natal flying swords left behind by the sect's predecessors.
Exceptionally talented geniuses were frequently granted entry to seek their own fortuitous encounters within.
Of course, those were the core areas; as for the outer perimeter? It was merely a place designated for sightseeing, having nothing whatsoever to do with the aforementioned treasures.
Jiang Chen felt a faint sense of anticipation: what would today's check-in reward be?
Taking out his menial disciple token, he activated the teleportation array and arrived directly at the outer perimeter of the Sword Tomb.
Because the outer perimeter of the Sword Tomb was vast, such an immense workload could naturally never be completed by a single menial disciple alone.
Therefore, every day's cleaning of the Sword Tomb was assigned to a group of more than a dozen menial disciples.
Upon arriving at the outer perimeter of the Sword Tomb, Jiang Chen noticed something: these menial disciples were looking at him with gazes that held a trace of—awe?
Some were trying to ingratiate themselves, while others kept a cautious distance, but regardless of which emotion predominated, a sense of awe ran through them all.
This immediately perplexed Jiang Chen. He was a newcomer who had arrived as a menial disciple not long ago. The other menial disciples weren't the type to make a living through bullying and plunder like Wang Yuan; normally, when they ran into him, there was merely a faint sense of aloofness.
Why such a reaction?
Yet a moment later, Jiang Chen realized the truth. News of what he had done must have already spread; the circle of menial disciples was only so small, and word traveling fast was a given.
Just as his thoughts were swirling, he suddenly saw several people approaching him with smiles, their expressions full of eager enthusiasm.
"Senior Brother Jiang Chen! Oh, look at you—if we'd known you were coming to the Sword Tomb, we could have just cleaned your section for you instead of making you make the trip yourself."
"That's right, for us it's just a matter of spending a few extra minutes. If you need anything in the future, just let us handle it."
"..."
One voice after another rang out, overflowing with flattery.
Where the others couldn't see, the corners of Jiang Chen's mouth twitched slightly.
Se... Senior Brother Jiang Chen?!
With a casual glance, he could tell that the bone age of these people was at least five or six years older than his—and that was the bare minimum, with some being over a decade older...
Though the cultivation world respected the capable as masters, they were all merely responsible for menial tasks—yet they were actually calling him Senior Brother?
Still, Jiang Chen knew what kind of little schemes these fellows were plotting. It boiled down to one thing: they wanted to latch onto him.
To this, Jiang Chen merely replied with lukewarm indifference: "No need. Everyone do their own work."
While one didn't strike a smiling face, Jiang Chen was well aware that in this world where strength reigned supreme, everyone was ruthlessly realistic. Such eager flattery was built entirely upon the foundation of his strength.
He couldn't be bothered to invite trouble. Besides, if Jiang Chen wanted to elevate his strength, the daily menial tasks were a necessity; if he let these fellows snatch them away, how was he to check in?
Seeing this, the group of menial disciples didn't grow angry; instead, they smilingly retreated one by one.
Jiang Chen then began sweeping the Sword Tomb, and after a short while, he silently thought in his heart: "System big brother, check in!"
At the same time, Jiang Chen silently hoped: *System big brother, be reliable this time and cough up something good.*
The moment that thought arose in his mind, a system prompt rang out.
[The host has checked in at the outer perimeter of the Sword Tomb and obtained the reward: Wuji Sword Sutra!]
[Wuji Sword Sutra: Earth-grade lower-tier cultivation technique!]
"Earth-grade lower-tier cultivation technique?"
Jiang Chen pondered silently, quickly recalling that martial arts grades in this world were divided into: Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow.
Earth-grade martial arts belonged to a precious tier even within the Xianyun Sword Sect. During the initial stage of entering the sect, only disciples with the highest Jia-grade aptitude were qualified to study them.
However, even disciples with Jia-grade aptitude rarely possessed Earth-grade lower-tier techniques in the early stages; most had to make do with Mysterious-grade middle and upper tiers.
Now, speaking of raw talent—
Jiang Chen had already left numerous formal disciples far behind in the dust by countless streets, and now he had secured a technique as well. As for the remaining resources, he had no worries; as long as he maintained diligent and hardworking check-ins, the system big brother would certainly never let him down.
Even Jiang Chen himself hadn't expected such a fine treasure to appear from this check-in.
"Whew... Having an Earth-grade martial art means I won't lag behind others in early-stage cultivation."
While it wouldn't put him miles ahead, it at least leveled the starting line.
Ah, the system big brother was indeed reliable, knowing he lacked martial arts and sending one right over.
It was practically handing him a pillow just as he felt sleepy.
Though inwardly ecstatic to the extreme, Jiang Chen's outward expression remained utterly calm, showing no unusual fluctuations that the dozen or so people around him might suspect.
"Once one reaches the Qi Refining 5th Layer, the importance of cultivation techniques increases significantly. Prior to that, possessing a slightly more powerful martial art brings very noticeable improvements to both speed and foundations."
"And the appearance of this Wuji Sword Sutra right now has solved a pressing, urgent need."
Jiang Chen thought to himself. The importance of a cultivation technique went without saying.
If he had truly continued practicing that technique attached to the menial disciple stipend... his foundation alone would have fallen behind by an untold margin, which was naturally something he was unwilling to see.
Now, all he needed was time.
Sufficient time.
Furthermore, his original plans had been completely overturned.
"Even though my current strength is still at the Qi Refining 3rd Layer, with the appearance of the Wuji Sword Sutra, my consumption of Qi-Consolidating Pills has already reached a rate of one per day, and the spirit stones... do not look optimistic either."