Chapter 381 The New IOU
This "mini-exam," guided by his uncle, lasted for six hours.
The main reason for ending it was that the nephew's Xuan power had been completely drained, not a single drop left. He was not allowed to heal or replenish his energy during the process, so as to observe his ultimate endurance.
When he finally stopped, Wu Dongxiao lay down on the ground and didn't move. Xuan Bing was so frightened that he rushed over and almost bumped into the defensive formation—of course, the formation was deactivated at that moment, allowing him to pass through smoothly.
After passing through, Xuan Bing discovered that Wu Dongxiao was perfectly fine; he was simply exhausted.
Wu Shaogan, tall and elegant, seemed as if those six hours had never happened. He calmly walked back to Zhong Cai's side, placed his hand in Zhong Cai's palm, and lowered his eyelids.
Zhong Cai immediately understood; his hands were sore from typing.
So he grabbed Wu Shaogan's hand and started kneading it.
Xuan Bing saw this scene by chance and was speechless. Then he reached out and scooped Wu Dongxiao up, pressing him down to sit cross-legged on the ground.
Zhong Cai took a moment to toss over a bottle of pills.
Xuan Bing immediately took out one and stuffed it directly into Wu Dongxiao's mouth.
Wu Dongxiao recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Then, the group returned to the room and sat down again.
·
Zhong Cai brought out several plates of exquisite side dishes as a welcome dinner for Wu Dongxiao and Xuan Bing.
Wu Dongxiao didn't stand on ceremony and started eating heartily after picking up his rice bowl.
After he finished eating, Wu Shaogan cleared his throat slightly.
Wu Dongxiao immediately understood that this was the time for commentary.
Wu Shaogan said, "His strength is decent, but he still needs to cultivate diligently and make further progress in order to compete with the world's young powerhouses."
Wu Dongxiao also gleaned something from his uncle's unfathomable "performance," and then said earnestly, "Uncle, please tell me in detail?"
Wu Shaogan didn't want to go into detail, mainly because he didn't want to say so much.
He silently looked at Zhong Cai.
Zhong Cai smiled and said, "Let me explain."
Wu Dongxiao immediately looked at Zhong Cai, appearing very docile.
Zhong Cai said, "When your uncle was around forty years old, he was only in the early stage of Fusion, yet he already ranked third on the Sky Ranking. At that time, the top spot was only forty-seven or forty-eight, which was the peak of Fusion."
A sense of foreboding suddenly arose in Wu Dongxiao's heart.
Next, Zhong Cai first introduced Wu Dongxiao to what the "Sky Ranking" was, and then said: "You are sixty-five years old this year, in the early stage of fusion, and your strength should be ranked between ninety and one hundred."
Wu Dongxiao's ominous premonition intensified.
Sure enough, Zhong Cai flashed a bright smile: "Your uncle surpassed the top two to become number one in just a few months. At that time, he was in the late stage of fusion. You can't lose to your uncle, can you?"
Wu Dongxiao: "I think it's normal for me to lose to my uncle."
This is something he fought hard for.
Zhong Cai's smile froze.
Wu Dongxiao immediately said, "According to Uncle Zhong, the Sky Ranking can't record my name. Even if I work hard to improve my combat power later, it will be difficult to make an accurate judgment..."
Zhong Cai's expression softened, and he said gently, "No need to be so precise. You should know now that the Starlight Arena is a great place for cultivation. Your uncle once trained hard there to improve his combat power. You can do the same." He pretended to think for a moment, then made a decision, "Your uncle and I don't have high expectations for you. As long as you pass a thousand levels in the early stage of fusion, two thousand in the middle stage, and three thousand in the late stage, you will be considered qualified."
Wu Dongxiao gasped.
Zhong Cai paused, and her smile softened.
"Furthermore, your alchemy skills absolutely cannot be neglected."
Wu Dongxiao became nervous again when alchemy was mentioned.
—In fact, alchemy was of great help to him, but he still valued martial arts more, which prevented him from developing alchemy at the same time. He only studied it when needed, which was indeed not very appropriate.
Zhong Caiyan smiled and said, "You should first improve your fifth-level alchemy skills. Before you build your palace, you should also study sixth-level pills."
Wu Dongxiao felt it was a bit difficult.
Zhong Cai maintained her smile: "Dong Xiao, your grandmaster practiced alchemy beyond his level, and your uncle also practiced alchemy beyond his level. You are someone we taught, so what reason do you have not to practice alchemy beyond your level?"
Wu Dongxiao said humbly, "I can't compare to Uncle Zhong and Grandmaster Sang..."
Zhong Cai continued to smile, not letting him downplay his abilities: "Your talent is comparable to Master Sang's."
Wu Dongxiao sensed a hint of his own uncle in that smile, and felt a bit pressured.
Zhong Cai sighed.
Wu Shaogan looked over at Wu Dongxiao.
Feeling the double gaze, Wu Dongxiao immediately perked up and solemnly said, "Uncle Zhong, don't worry. Although my alchemy skills are currently lagging behind my martial arts, I will work even harder in the future and will definitely become a sixth-level alchemist before I reach the Palace Building stage!" He raised his voice slightly, "Uncle, keep an eye on me!"
Zhong Cai was satisfied.
Wu Shaogan rarely raised his hand, but he patted Wu Dongxiao on the shoulder.
·
Xuan Bing watched all this from the side and could clearly sense that his junior brother's aura was gradually tightening.
That's not bad either.
Xuan Bing had also noticed that several times when his junior brother encountered danger, he was generally fine in martial arts, but he always had to study alchemy on the spot, and often he would be a step too slow and thus bring even greater danger.
Although danger is also a form of training, and it's true that one cannot slack off in martial arts training in the past, if Junior Brother really sets his mind to it, he might not be unable to manage it. Now, with two major challenges on his shoulders, he should be able to squeeze out even more of his potential.
Given my junior brother's personality, he needs extremely strict environments to be able to focus and make rapid progress.
Xuanbing took another sip of tea.
The junior apprentice's encounter with his two uncles was accidental, and failing the assessment was his just deserts.
Before long, he should be able to see a junior brother who has undergone a complete transformation.
As for him... since his junior brother has been so generous in sharing this opportunity with him, he will cherish it.
Even if he is not as good as his junior brother in combat talent, he cannot be too far behind him.
Let's go into seclusion together at the Star Arena then.
·
After Zhong Cai gave his nephew a pep talk, he stopped talking about cultivation.
Just then, Wu Dongxiao showed a hesitant expression, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.
Zhong Cai laughed and said, "Is there anything you're afraid to say to me?"
Wu Dongxiao scratched his head, chuckled, and said readily, "Uncle Zhong and Uncle Xiao have a lot of resources at their disposal."
Zhong Cai raised an eyebrow: "And then?"
Wu Dongxiao said, "So, I wanted to ask if Uncle has any Rock Heart Pomegranate, Crimson Flame Grass, or Heavy Water Clear Lotus..."
In one go, he listed a total of eighteen resources.
As Zhong Cai listened, she became somewhat speechless.
After Wu Dongxiao finished speaking, although he was a little embarrassed, he still had the courage to look Zhong Cai directly in the eye and wait for her reply.
Zhong Cai chuckled and said, "These resources are at least level five or six, and at most level seven or eight. Do you have that many Xuan Stones?"
Wu Dongxiao felt even more embarrassed and said in a low but clear voice, "If that's not enough, my senior brother and I can sign an IOU."
Zhong Cai laughed: "So you paid off your debts before because you thought that if you borrowed and paid back, it would be easy to borrow again?"
Wu Dongxiao chuckled again, clearly acknowledging the agreement.
Zhong Cai raised her hand and patted Wu Dongxiao on the head.
Then he said, "Consider yourself lucky. Your uncle and I can produce fifteen of these. As for the other three, you and Senior Brother Xuan can find them on your own."
Wu Dongxiao's eyes lit up immediately: "Fifteen kinds?!"
Zhong Cai patted his head again: "Don't underestimate me and your uncle."
Then, Zhong Cai looked at Wu Shaogan.
With a smile in his eyes, Wu Shaogan took out the resources one by one and placed them on the table.
Wu Dongxiao looked at each item in turn, his eyes filled with amazement and his heart filled with excitement.
·
In fact, Wu Dongxiao only wanted two types of level eight resources and four types of level seven resources. The rest were all of lower level. He thought that there would be high-level resources that he could not obtain from here... But to his surprise, he found both level seven and level eight resources. The three missing items were actually level six resources!
Wu Dongxiao was deeply shocked—his two uncles were incredibly wealthy! Amazing!
So why is it that even though his speed of strength improvement is already among the best in the Flying Star Continent, and his family background is already very strong among those of the same level... he can never be proud?
With two uncles like these, who could possibly be proud!
Moreover, even if he occasionally gets a little cocky, such as when he faced countless more setbacks than other cultivators, yet still managed to maintain a top-tier breakthrough speed amidst these setbacks... or when he used his Fusion Realm strength to withstand many veteran Fusion cultivators on the Flying Star Continent, and even escaped from an encirclement with cultivators at the Palace Building Realm... as soon as he activated the Gate of All Beings, he encountered this Land of All Beings filled with top-tier experts, and immediately met two uncles he hadn't seen for many years in the Land of All Beings.
The two uncles immediately used their iron fists to tell him what he was so arrogant about. What right did he have to be so arrogant? Did he think he was so great because of his little strength? Had he surpassed his level in alchemy? Could he even last a few more rounds against his uncles, who were at the same level?
Can't do any of that? If you can't do any of that, what's the point of all this arrogance!
Wu Dongxiao immediately landed and became incredibly sincere again.
·
Seeing that Wu Dongxiao's joy was practically overflowing, Zhong Cai couldn't help but laugh and raised her eyebrows, saying, "I gave you a discount before because you were young and I didn't want to put too much pressure on you, but now that you've integrated, you're a grown man, so I won't give you a discount anymore."
Wu Dongxiao snapped out of his daze and immediately said, "Your two uncles have already been very kind to me by allowing me to write an IOU when I don't have enough Xuan Stones."
Zhong Cai snorted: "You know that much."
Wu Dongxiao: "Hehehe."
Zhong Cai ran his fingers over the various resources a few times, then estimated and said, "Two level-eight resources, each worth 200,000 high-grade Xuan stones. Four level-seven resources, each worth 250,000 mid-grade Xuan stones, totaling one million. Converted to mid-grade Xuan stones, that's 21 million. As for the other level-five and six resources, let's just give them a total of one million low-grade Xuan stones."
"In the end, you can use whatever level of mystic stones you want to pay for it."
Wu Dongxiao listened attentively.
He discovered that the price of each resource was not high... although there was no discount, the lowest price was definitely offered.
Wu Dongxiao looked at Zhong Cai with eyes full of emotion.
Zhong Cai got goosebumps from the look in her eyes: "What kind of look is that?"
Wu Dongxiao said earnestly, "I will definitely be filial to both of my uncles."
Zhong Cai quickly waved her hand: "Alright, alright, your uncle and I both know."
Wu Shaogan nodded, indicating that he did indeed know.
Seeing his two uncles interacting in this familiar way, Wu Dongxiao smiled even more happily.
At this moment, Xuan Bing handed over a bag of mustard seeds.
Wu Dongxiao skillfully took it, scanned it with his soul, and then handed it to Zhong Cai, saying, "This is all the Xuan Stones that my senior brother and I can take out right now. Uncle Zhong, please count them."
Zhong Cai took it and examined it with her soul.
The majority of the stones inside were mid-grade Xuan stones, totaling fifteen million. There were also three hundred and one million low-grade Xuan stones—which, when converted, amounted to three million mid-grade and one million low-grade.
Therefore, the remaining debt is only three million mid-grade Xuan Stones.
Zhong Cai smiled and said, "You can come up with the bulk of it? Not bad, you're quite well-off."
Wu Dongxiao continued scratching his head, then said frankly, "It was all earned through hard work."
— Mainly mined.
Then, Wu Dongxiao quickly produced an IOU, wrote a few lines on it, and signed and swore an oath.
Even though decades had passed since he last wrote an IOU, he was still very skilled at this series of actions—partly because he remembered it vividly, and partly because he had reviewed it in his mind many times.
Zhong Cai took the IOU and handed it directly to Wu Shaogan.
Wu Shaogan put away the IOU.
Zhong Cai generously pushed all the resources towards Wu Dongxiao.
"Sold."
Wu Dongxiao carefully rummaged through the resources, giving what was due to his senior brother and keeping what was rightfully his own.
The transaction was officially completed.
·
Next, Wu Dongxiao asked Wu Shaogan about some of the questions he had not understood during his previous guidance. Xuan Bing also gained some insights and raised them as well.
Since Zhong Cai was also a Fusion cultivator, and his cultivation level was between that of Wu Dongxiao and Xuan Bing, he happily joined the conversation.
Unlike Wu Dongxiao, who only received guidance from his uncle after their reunion, Zhong Cai had sparred with Wu Shaogan quite a bit during her cultivation process.
Although Wu Shaogan was reluctant to use excessive force against Zhong Cai, the two had grown up together and Wu Shaogan had given Zhong Cai a lot of pointers. So Wu Shaogan wasn't too restrained and there were still some roughhousing incidents.
Zhong Cai's martial arts skills are also quite remarkable.
As they talked, Zhong Cai even had a friendly sparring session with Wu Dongxiao.
Wu Dongxiao also refused to use his full strength against Zhong Cai, nor did he use any particularly lethal moves. However, he could tell from this exchange that Uncle Zhong's fighting ability was not weak either—although he was indeed inferior to him, he was still stronger than many opponents he had encountered!
Uncle Zhong, whose martial arts talent was only good, has improved to such an extent and has also raised his alchemy skills to the sixth-level alchemy king and the top of the sixth-level alchemist list on the Sky List!
He is truly "both scholarly and martial"!
Wu Dongxiao felt more and more that he really needed to work even harder in the future.
·
Xuan Bing usually just watches, but this time he couldn't resist the urge to fight. After Zhong Cai and Wu Dongxiao finished their sparring, he also went down to the arena to fight Zhong Cai.
Similarly, he also sensed that Zhong Cai's martial arts strength was very powerful, even surpassing many of the top geniuses in Canglong Academy!
And this person was actually a Pill King with terrifying alchemy skills!
Xuan Bing grew increasingly alarmed as the fight progressed.
He was well aware that Junior Brother Zhong's formidable combat prowess was inseparable from Junior Brother Wu's meticulous guidance, but Junior Brother Zhong himself also needed to work hard enough.
If there are other reasons...
So, that must be the difference between top-tier continents and mid-tier continents.
Xuan Bing's eyes flickered slightly.
It seems we still need to find a way to bring our junior brother to the top continent as soon as possible.
If Junior Brother had cultivated on a top-tier continent all these years, he would not only have had far fewer external interferences, but he would also have gained more methods of honing his skills, and his strength would have improved far beyond what he has now.
With my junior brother's talent, staying on the Flying Star Continent would undoubtedly be a waste of his potential...
For a moment, many thoughts raced through Xuan Bing's mind, but since he hadn't discussed them with Wu Dongxiao yet, he didn't voice any of them.
For now, let's resolve the difficulties in combat and improve through repeated sparring!
·
After Wu Dongxiao and Xuan Bing came to visit, they did not leave for the time being.
The Zhong and Wu couple's mansion was very large, with many rooms, and there was plenty of room for them to live in.
Thus, the two fellow disciples essentially joined the couple's household.
Since we've joined them, we can't just stop working.
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan also had their own things to do. Wu Dongxiao and Xuan Bing were trustworthy, so when they weren't cultivating, they would occasionally go to the general store in front to stock up on goods or collect the resources and mystic stones that had already been traded. Some posts and message crystals were also taken to the back to sort them into categories.
This is what it means to handle miscellaneous tasks.
As for the residence belonging to the two brothers in the gathering place, it was originally very simple, and now it's just a place to occupy. The two of them rarely go back there anymore—even when they do, they just browse the stalls in the gathering place and listen to news from there.
Then, a lot of information was gathered and sent back to Mr. and Mrs. Zhong.
·
And just like that, ten days or so passed without us even realizing it.
During this time, the two brothers never left the Land of All Beings. They did visit the Starlight Arena when they had time, but the Zhong-Wu couple suggested that Wu Dongxiao enter the 1000th level in the random level. So Wu Dongxiao went to other levels with a fixed number of people to hone his skills and estimate what level he was probably at.
It was very hard work, but there's no doubt that Wu Dongxiao is making progress every day.
He also carefully allocated his time, ensuring that he had a fixed time for alchemy every day, except when he was in the Star Arena, and he tried to allocate it reasonably.
Wu Dongxiao's talent in alchemy was indeed outstanding, so he only needed to calm down and study for a few days to not only achieve a breakthrough in the quality of the pills he had already learned, but also learn a new level 5 pill!
If this continues, when he reaches the peak of fusion, he should indeed be able to refine pills beyond his level.
His Uncle Zhong had high expectations for his alchemy skills, but he didn't force him to reach the level of a mid-stage sixth-level alchemist, giving him plenty of time... However, for Wu Dongxiao himself, it still took a lot of time to catch up, since he really didn't refine fifth-level pills when he was in the Suspended Illumination Realm, so he naturally had to be much busier now.
But it was very fulfilling.
Despite the busy and tumultuous years that Wu Dongxiao had experienced, it was only during these days in the Land of All Beings, beside his two uncles, that he truly felt at peace while continuing his cultivation.
Aside from cultivation and improvement, he had no other thoughts on his mind.
·
Zhong Cai was quite satisfied with Wu Dongxiao's progress; after all, a protagonist should have such abilities.
Wu Shaogan didn't know why his Ah Cai suddenly had the idea of messing with his nephew, but then he realized... it was just a whim, he hadn't gotten over the excitement of their reunion yet.
So he just went along with it.
The reason I took this kid away back then was originally to make A-Cai happy.
Acai is very happy now.
·
Before we knew it, two months had passed.
Wu Dongxiao trained very hard in the Starlight Arena and did not disappoint Zhong Cai's expectations. He directly passed more than 1,100 levels in the random levels of the Starlight Arena.
This is not just barely over a thousand, but more than a hundred over, which means that Zhong Cai's requirements have been exceeded.
Wu Shaogan even praised Wu Dongxiao a few times because of this.
This made Wu Dongxiao even more excited—being praised by his uncle was truly a rare treat!
Xuan Bing also worked hard and gained experience.
Despite his unassuming demeanor, he has endured a great deal of hardship alongside Wu Dongxiao over the years—even though those hardships weren't directed at him, he has still suffered countless consequences.
Although his cultivation level did not fluctuate like Wu Dongxiao's, he had also suffered physical weakening multiple times, spending a lot of time recuperating.
This experience also tempered his will and continuously improved his abilities.
In the Star Arena, Xuan Bing worked extremely hard. Whenever Wu Dongxiao challenged a level, he would also try to challenge it to observe his own strength.
This continued... So, when Xuan Bing was randomly challenging levels, he passed more than two thousand levels with the peak of the Fusion Realm.
Of course, this is nothing compared to the mid-term two thousand or the late-term three thousand, but it is still a remarkable achievement!
On ordinary days, Wu Dongxiao and Xuan Bing often sparred together.
Wu Dongxiao is the type of character who gets stronger the more he fights. As the protagonist, he often improves his strength while fighting, and he always manages to win against stronger opponents.
Xuan Bing will also improve himself in battle.
So far, assuming neither side is willing to kill or fight to the death, Wu Dongxiao can only manage a draw with Xuan Bing.
After all, Xuanbing's realm is higher.
But because Wu Dongxiao was chasing so fiercely, Xuan Bing was even more determined to keep up his own standards. No matter how hard Wu Dongxiao worked, Xuan Bing worked even harder to maintain this slight advantage.
Because Wu Dongxiao was originally raised by Xuan Bing, and his strength was inferior to Xuan Bing's in his early years, he did not have such a sense of urgency.
However, because Xuan Bing improved very quickly, Wu Dongxiao always wanted to go to places of similar level to train with his senior brother, so he also needed to keep up with the major realm.
On the Flying Star Continent, Wu Dongxiao is indeed very famous, and Xuan Bing is also a top-notch young powerhouse.
The two brothers were truly the "Twin Jewels of the Azure Dragon".
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