Chapter 6: A Glimmer of Hope for the Withered Tree

Leaving the Contribution Hall, Chu Xing pushed open the gate of his dilapidated courtyard. A stench of sweat and decaying vegetation followed him inside.

Just as he was about to step into the yard, a hostile figure emerged from the nearby shadows. It was a sturdy youth who, upon seeing Chu Xing, paused for a moment before theatrically pinching his nose.

"Oh, if it isn't our genius, Chu?" the youth sneered, his eyes filled with undisguised contempt. "Which cesspool did you fall into? I was wondering where that stench was coming from—it nearly made me vomit up my dinner!"

The youth was Zhao Hu, a cultivator at the eighth level of Body Tempering. Among the outer sect disciples, he was something of a minor bully, and his favorite pastime was mocking and tormenting Chu Xing, the eternal bottom-dweller of the sect.

Chu Xing glanced at him but said nothing, heading straight for the water vat in the corner of the yard.

Seeing that he was being ignored, Zhao Hu felt his pride bruised. He stepped forward, blocking Chu Xing’s path. "What’s the matter, brat? Have you been shoveling manure for so long you’ve forgotten how to speak?"

Chu Xing didn't stop scooping the water. Without even looking up, he said calmly, "Is there something you need?"

"Heh, you piece of trash, you dare to put on airs with me?" Zhao Hu was so amused by his attitude that he laughed, slamming his hand down onto Chu Xing’s ladle. "Don’t be in such a hurry. I’ve got plenty of time to play with you."

"Let me remind you: in three days, it’s the monthly Day of Plunder. Per sect rules, outer sect disciples at the Body Tempering stage may challenge one another at will." Zhao Hu pointed a thumb at himself, looking smug. "The winner gets five contribution points from the loser! Chu Xing, all the contribution points you've earned over these three years have been essentially 'donated' to me. Tell me, should I keep looking for such a loyal customer?"

With that, he released his grip and let out a mocking, unrestrained laugh, as if he could already see Chu Xing cowering at his feet, forced to surrender his points.

Chu Xing finally looked up, staring at him quietly. There was no trace of his usual tolerance in those eyes; there was only a bottomless, icy calm—a calm so profound that it made Zhao Hu’s laughter die in his throat.

"Are you finished?" Chu Xing asked.

Zhao Hu blinked, stunned.

"If you're finished, get lost. Don't interrupt my bath."

"You're courting death!" Zhao Hu was thoroughly enraged, his face turning an iron-blue. He lunged, reaching out to grab Chu Xing by the collar.

The speed of an eighth-level Body Tempering cultivator was immense. The grab carried the force of a gale; it was a guaranteed strike. However, at the very moment his fingertips were about to touch Chu Xing's collar, Chu Xing didn't stop his scooping motion at all; he simply shifted his body to the side with fluid, natural ease.

A simple sidestep!

Zhao Hu’s strike hit nothing but air. Overextending his force, he lost his footing and stumbled forward.

*Thump!*

Zhao Hu landed face-first in the mud with a classic, pathetic thud.

Only then did Chu Xing slowly put down the ladle. He turned around, looking down at Zhao Hu, who was sprawled on the ground, and smiled. "I’m afraid I can’t accept such a grand gesture."

"You... you dare to play me for a fool!" Zhao Hu, humiliated and furious, lifted his head from the mud, his face shifting between shades of green and white.

Just then, a steady, authoritative voice rang out from the alley entrance. "What is going on here? All this shouting—what kind of behavior is this?"

Zhang Wu, a captain of the Law Enforcement Team, walked over with a frown.

Zhao Hu, who had just managed to climb halfway to his feet, froze. The ferocity on his face was instantly replaced by a look of apprehension. "Senior Brother Zhang! It’s... it’s nothing. I was just joking around with Junior Brother Chu!"

Zhang Wu’s sharp gaze swept over the two of them, lingering on the disheveled Zhao Hu and the calm Chu Xing. He let out a cold snort. "Joking around? It doesn't look like it to me. Within the sect, private fighting is forbidden outside of the Day of Plunder. One more time, and you'll be thrown into solitary confinement!"

"Yes, yes, of course, Senior Brother. You are right," Zhao Hu bowed and scraped, not daring to argue.

Zhang Wu took one more long look at Chu Xing. Seeing he was truly unharmed, he waved his hand. "Clear out!"

"You just wait!" Zhao Hu didn't dare vent his anger on Zhang Wu, so he hissed a threat at Chu Xing through gritted teeth before vanishing into the night.

Chu Xing watched him go, expressionless, then poured a ladle of ice-cold well water over his head.

The Day of Plunder? Zhao Hu?

A faint curve appeared at the corner of Chu Xing’s mouth. Talk about someone handing him a pillow just as he was getting sleepy.

According to sect rules, outer sect disciples received twenty contribution points monthly as a baseline for cultivation. Yet, for the past three years, no sooner would Chu Xing receive his points than Zhao Hu would snatch five of them on the Day of Plunder, with the rest picked clean by others. In essence, Chu Xing had gained almost nothing for three years.

Now, just as he was fretting over how to find enough contribution points to feed the black stone bead, someone had volunteered to deliver them to his doorstep.

Setting his thoughts aside, Chu Xing finished washing and retreated into his cramped room. He closed the door and immediately sat cross-legged.

He took two items from his robe—the seeds he had accidentally unearthed in the Hundred Herb Gully that afternoon. One was pitch-black, dried out like a piece of charcoal; the other was grayish-brown and withered.

Chu Xing placed the charcoal-like seed on the table, flicking it gently with his finger, his eyes narrowing.

*Cultivating like this is still too slow,* he muttered to himself. Relying on absorbing the essence of rotting leaves in the gully had pitifully low energy conversion efficiency. It worked well before he reached the fifth level, but now that his foundation had changed, it was far less effective. He needed a better way.

His gaze returned to the charcoal-like seed.

A thought emerged, unbidden. The stone bead could purify the energy of rotting leaves into pure vitality. Could it... could it inject that vitality back into this dead seed?

The moment the idea took root, it felt like opening a door to a new world. The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. If he could revive these dead seeds, their value would be immeasurable.

"Let’s give it a try."

Intrigued, Chu Xing placed the black seed in his left palm, took a deep breath, and focused his intent. He activated the black stone bead in his dantian, guiding a gentle, warm current toward the seed.

However, the seed was like a solid rock. No matter how much energy he funneled into it, there was no reaction; the warm current simply dissipated upon contact, unable to penetrate the surface.

Chu Xing didn't give up; he increased the output of his energy. But the result was the same. The life force within the seed had been completely extinguished; it was like a sealed bottle—no matter how much water he poured, not a single drop could get inside.

After struggling for nearly an hour, he had achieved nothing but the waste of his own internal energy.

Feeling discouraged, he tossed the charcoal seed aside, his brows furrowed. "It doesn't work... I suppose I was being too naive." He laughed at himself, the spark of hope he had felt snuffed out as if by a bucket of cold water.

Frustrated, he ran a hand through his hair, his eyes accidentally falling on the second seed—the one that still held a faint, lingering trace of life.

His heart skipped a beat. *The one that was completely dead didn't work, but what about this one... the one that's still 'breathing' a little?*

*It can't hurt to try!*

Chu Xing sat up straight again and placed the second seed in his palm. This time, he didn't hold high expectations; he simply didn't want to abandon this last possibility.

He activated the stone bead once more, guiding a warm current toward the seed.

*Now!*

This time, the reaction was completely different!

Like a parched man finally finding water, the seed reacted the moment it touched the warm current, instinctively producing a faint, yet very real, suction!

"It actually works!"

Chu Xing’s eyes widened, his heart, which had just cooled, instantly igniting with heat once more.