Chapter Twelve: A Wave of Experience Arrives

All around, people had been waiting for Chen Xiang to make a fool of himself, so their attention never wavered from him. When they saw him produce a spirit stone, shock rippled through the crowd. The mortals displayed fear and greed—anyone capable of bringing out a spirit stone might well be an immortal, and they’d just laughed at him. Meanwhile, the cultivators watching from afar revealed only greed in their eyes.

"I never expected this fool to casually hand out a low-grade spirit stone just for a few questions. Looks like he’s pretty wealthy," one cultivator whispered, his eyes flashing with avarice.

"Spirit stones are rare. Our sect only distributes three low-grade stones per month, and a mid-grade one comes just once a year. That kid gave a mortal a low-grade stone without a second thought—he must have more on him," another chimed in.

"He doesn’t even understand the principle of keeping wealth hidden. He must be a greenhorn. Gentlemen, I’ll be right back," said a blue-robed cultivator, darting in pursuit of Chen Xiang.

"Brother Gao, wait, I’m coming too!"

"Take me with you!"

A dozen or so followed, while a cultivator ran to the stall owner and threatened him for the spirit stone.

Chen Xiang had traded for the spirit stones with the senior disciple he’d met in the forest. The system had scanned everything in his storage pouch—nothing much of value except a sixth-grade yellow-tier spiritual tool. There was also a high-grade spirit stone, a few mid-grade ones, and several low-grade stones. Giving one away for directions was nothing to him; spirit stones were useless for Chen Xiang—he didn’t need them for cultivation.

Strolling leisurely down the road, Chen Xiang felt no need to hurry now that he’d left the forest. Suddenly, he paused, turned toward the empty road behind, and called out, "Fellow cultivators, since you’re here, why not show yourselves? What business do you have, skulking in the shadows?"

He smiled warmly, his demeanor so courteous it inspired instant goodwill. Yet he was puzzled—why were these cultivators following him?

Outed by his words, the group of cultivators stepped forward, no longer hiding, and stood before Chen Xiang.

"Kid, you’ve got sharp eyes to notice us," one of them said mockingly, his gaze full of derision.

What a pack of villains, Chen Xiang thought, seeing their faces—clearly troublemakers. He wouldn’t be polite in return.

Chen Xiang’s smile was sly. "To hell with you idiots. You lot weren’t even trying to hide, so of course I noticed!"

"Who the hell are you calling an idiot?" the group erupted in rage.

"Who am I calling an idiot? Oh, the morons standing right in front of me, who don’t even know who’s being insulted. Did your PE teacher teach you language arts in grade school? Go back and study again," Chen Xiang said coolly.

The crowd grew even more furious. They’d already gauged his cultivation—just at the tenth layer of Qi Refining. Among them, five or six were Foundation Establishment experts. Yet he dared insult them—he must have a death wish.

The man out front was clearly the leader, with cultivation at the fourth layer of Foundation Establishment.

He stepped forward, snarling, "Kid, I was only going to let you go if you handed over your spirit stones, but now, no one can save you. You’re dead!"

He was certain Chen Xiang couldn’t escape his grasp and planned to torment him until he could no longer speak.

Seeing their leader’s fury, the others were shocked. This man belonged to the nearby demonic sect, notorious for ruthlessness and torture. Chen Xiang was doomed.

Chen Xiang ignored him entirely. In his eyes, they were just more experience points.

He withdrew the senior disciple’s spiritual tool from the system space—a sixth-grade yellow-tier sword—and prepared to test it out, having never used a spiritual tool in the forest. He wanted to see how it would enhance his combat ability.

"System prompt: Host has obtained the ‘Clearwind Sword,’ a sixth-grade yellow-tier spiritual tool. Bind and use?"

"Yes," Chen Xiang replied.

"System binding… Binding successful. Host’s current cultivation can fully unleash the sword’s power, increasing combat strength by twenty percent."

"Twenty percent? Not bad, for a yellow-tier tool," Chen Xiang murmured. Now at the tenth layer of Qi Refining, his strength had increased significantly. He’d slaughtered beasts at the eighth layer; with a weapon, he could certainly wipe them out.

When the crowd saw him draw a spiritual tool, they were stunned again. Upon closer inspection, they realized it was a sixth-grade yellow-tier sword—greed blazed in their eyes.

A sixth-grade yellow-tier tool! How many such items existed in Misty Forest City? Only a few dozen at most. The most valuable items here were the handful of manifesting mysterious-tier tools, but yellow-tier sixth-grade tools weren’t something ordinary people could possess.

It was common knowledge: spiritual tools were ranked Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow, each with seven grades. Yellow-tier tools were most prevalent, mostly used by outer disciples. Mysterious-tier tools could be sect treasures. Earth and Heaven-tier tools—just glimpsing them was a rarity.

"Kid, hand over your spiritual tool and I’ll mercifully spare you. How about it?" the demonic sect man finally couldn’t resist, his cultivation the highest here, but he dared not snatch it outright lest he become the target of all.

The others realized the same thing. The dozen Qi Refining disciples sighed—there were five or six Foundation Establishment experts present; the tool would never fall to them.

Those Foundation Establishment disciples were deep in thought, plotting how to claim the weapon.

Chen Xiang regarded them as fools. Such scenes—classic cultivator world drama! He would never hand it over.

He sneered, "Idiots. You rabble think you’re doing me a favor? Let me tell you: today, it’s not you sparing me—it’s me not sparing you."

A collective gasp broke out.

Where did he find the courage to challenge them all?

"Hmph, arrogant brat. Let me smash your mouth and see if you dare boast again," a blue-robed man at the first layer of Foundation Establishment snorted, darting forward, forming a spell to subdue him.

"Come on!" Chen Xiang didn’t move, simply waiting.

The crowd thought he was paralyzed by fear—after all, the gap between Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment was vast. But a second later, their jaws dropped.

With a casual lift of his hand, Chen Xiang pressed down and pinned the blue-robed man to the ground, unable to move.

"Garbage is garbage—slow, weak, not even worth the effort," Chen Xiang said calmly.

He raised his sword and severed the man’s head.

"System prompt: Congratulations, host ‘Chen Xiang,’ for slaying a first-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator. One thousand experience points and thirty reputation."

"System prompt: Congratulations, host ‘Chen Xiang,’ for leveling up. Current realm: first layer of Foundation Establishment."

"System prompt: Congratulations, host for progressing to Foundation Establishment. Special reward: Growth Gift Pack."

As his cultivation advanced, Chen Xiang felt a warm flow surge through him. His spiritual energy became denser and purer, his body stronger.

The cultivators were stunned to see Chen Xiang defeat a Foundation Establishment expert in one move—a Qi Refining cultivator killing a Foundation Establishment one, even if only first layer, was extraordinary.

They backed away, no longer daring to approach.

The demonic sect man grew serious. If he faced the slain cultivator, he could have won easily, but not in a single move. There was something strange about Chen Xiang.

"Everyone, this kid is odd. He must have cultivated some demonic technique. That move just now surely drained him. Let’s attack together and finish him quickly—his treasures will be ours," the demonic sect man incited.

Sure enough, no one dared go alone, but before treasure, a crowd cannot resist.

Chen Xiang was delighted—having just leveled up and been rewarded with a Growth Gift Pack, these people were lining up to deliver experience. They were truly excellent assistants. He gave the demonic sect man an appreciative look.

The demonic sect man felt unsettled by Chen Xiang’s gaze. He growled, "Kid, you killed Brother Gao. We won’t spare you. Hand over your weapon and kill yourself to atone!"

"Sigh, the same old script. I can predict everything you’ll say. If I refuse, you’ll all attack me together, claiming to act for justice, right?" Chen Xiang shook his head.

The demonic sect man was startled—how did he know?

"Hmph, enough talk. Everyone, let’s go—kill him and avenge Brother Gao!" he barked, then prepared to charge.

"Kill him!"

Most of the Qi Refining cultivators rushed forward. The remaining Foundation Establishment experts hung back.

Chen Xiang sneered inwardly—if they wanted to test him, he’d go to them instead.

With wind at his feet, Chen Xiang sped past the charging Qi Refining cultivators, rushing the five Foundation Establishment experts.

The Qi Refining cultivators were baffled—where did he go?

Chen Xiang moved so swiftly they couldn’t see him.

The five Foundation Establishment cultivators’ faces changed; they drew weapons and cast spells.

Chen Xiang appeared behind a second-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator, who was wary but too slow to react—a blade pierced his chest.

The other four, realizing what was happening, saw Chen Xiang instantly kill one of their own and were terrified. Wait—his cultivation is only first layer Foundation Establishment? Run, or die!

They scattered in four directions.

Chen Xiang extracted the Clearwind Sword and chased the nearest Foundation Establishment cultivator. His speed had evolved with his advancement; though lacking in movement techniques, his straight-line speed was despair-inducing.

He quickly caught up. The man cried out, "Wait, I’m—"

"Your sister!" Chen Xiang snorted, cleaving off his head, then turned to pursue another.

The Qi Refining cultivators, now aware, panicked and fled in all directions. In an instant, not a single one remained.

Chen Xiang wasn’t merciful—he simply couldn’t be bothered. Their experience wasn’t worth the effort.

"To be continued..."