Chapter 183: Brutal Training

That big guy was also at the Lotus Spirit Realm, specifically just having reached the first grade of the Lotus Spirit Realm. Still, his strength could be considered quite impressive; after all, he should only be a teacher here.

Coupled with his shiny bald head and the tattoos on his neck, if placed in modern society, he would give off the vibe of a gang boss. He certainly looked like someone you shouldn't mess with.

Seeing that both of us were quite cooperative, the big guy softened his tone slightly and continued, "From now on, as long as you are within the sect, you must wear the designated sect attire. The two of you will also be given tests in the next few days, so do not slack off."

After saying that, he turned around, pushed the door open, and walked out. To be honest, I found him quite obnoxious, but since I was here to steal something this time, I couldn't afford to cause too much of a stir.

Therefore, I swallowed my pride and followed Chen Chen back into the room.

"This environment is all right, not as bad as I thought it would be, huh?"

Chen Chen smiled slightly and directly changed into the black and blue-patterned robe. Once he had it fully on, he felt that the robe was quite tailored, belonging to the category of casual wear without looking too ugly.

Compared to my white robe, I felt it was still slightly inferior, but when one is living under another's roof, one has no choice but to bow.

After changing my clothes, I thought about going out to fetch a bucket of water.

There were no water storage barrels inside, only a small water well outside. It seemed we could only take and drink as needed, with no way to store it.

That didn't matter; anyway, it wasn't too much trouble. In short, we just needed to stay here for a while and then find a way to slip away—that was all.

Thinking this, I went out into the courtyard, casually bringing a small cup along. Looking down into the well opening—perhaps because it was too dark—the water inside appeared pitch black.

I lowered the bucket, gently scooped some up, and pulled it back up. The bucket was only filled about one-third of the way with water.

Moreover, the bucket was leaking, and the water started spilling out the moment it was pulled up. I quickly used the small cup to catch a serving.

It looked clear enough, and it was very cold. I tested it by dipping a finger in and tasting it. Finding no strange odor, I drank it down in one gulp.

We cultivators are not afraid of bacteria or viruses; the only real concern is whether someone might have poisoned it.

This sufficed to show that the bucket of water was quite clean. It would have been even better if I could boil a pot of it, but there didn't seem to be any stove around here.

Just as I was sitting by the well, spacing out, a voice came from the small courtyard next door.

"Hey! You guys over there, why do you get to live in a nice room while twenty-some of us have to share one?"

I tilted my head slightly and saw a group of people leaning over the fence, shouting defiantly at me. Their cultivation realms were also at the first and second grades of the Leaf Spirit Realm—utterly pathetic.

"Because you lot are trash!"

I retorted domineeringly. Those little punks over there had never taken such abuse and looked as if they were about to come over and beat me up.

They were basically delinquent youths from society, almost all of them tattooed, and every single one of them arrogant and overbearing, acting as if they were the hottest shots in the entire world.

They simply hadn't received a harsh lesson from society yet...

I didn't bother paying them any more mind, nor did I care whether they came over or not. I stood up and walked back into the room.

I always grew drowsy in the afternoon, and right now was no exception. So, I lay down on the bed and quickly fell asleep.

......

When I woke up again, I was startled by shouts coming from outside. I frowned slightly, my bed-waking temper flaring up intensely.

"Who is it?!"

After cursing furiously, I pushed the door open to take a look. It turned out to be that bald instructor, who was currently standing in the courtyard with his arms crossed.

Chen Chen woke up just in time as well and slowly walked out.

"Are the two of you deaf? I've been calling out to you for ages!"

Suppressing my anger, I lowered my head slightly. Seeing that we didn't talk back, the instructor stopped cursing and got straight to today's topic.

"All right, this afternoon is dedicated to testing your strength. As long as you defeat your opponents, you can stay in the Seven-Colored Sect. If you fail to win..."

Having said that, he flashed a wicked smile, though it lasted only for a fraction of a second. Then, he clapped his hands forcefully. A few seconds later, two more people walked in from outside the door.

Both of these individuals were at the third grade of the Leaf Spirit Realm. With matted, messy hair, they looked as if they had just crawled out of the dirt. More importantly, not only did they look like beggars, but their hands and feet were also bound with chains.

"What is the meaning of this?"

I muttered under my breath and began observing the two of them.

They were already extremely thin, practically skin and bones. At that moment, the instructor beside us spoke up, "These two are prisoners of the Seven-Colored Sect and also your opponents for today. The rules of the match are simple: defeat your opponent."

Hearing this, I couldn't help but think that his tone was damn well similar to the Ghost King's. No wonder I felt such a strong aversion to him.

"There is no time limit. Whoever falls to the ground loses. Begin!"

Following a loud shout from the instructor, the two prisoners charged at us like madmen. I deliberately patted Chen Chen on the back to signal him not to expose his true strength.

Chen Chen gave a few dry coughs in response. Then, I assumed the most basic starting stance of the Baji Fist.

"Oh? Baji?"

The instructor looked somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected a greenhorn to actually know a lethal martial art like Baji.

I ignored the instructor and turned my gaze back to the person lunging at me. This person was covered in dirt, and their hair had grown long enough to obscure their face, making it impossible to see anything clearly.

Moreover, I remembered one of the conditions in the game mentioned by the Ghost King: to release all the prisoners of the Seven-Colored Sect.

Yet looking at these prisoners, they were practically on the verge of death. What use would it be to release them? Never mind, I'll fight first and figure it out later.

Since I had already used the Baji Fist, I still needed to hold back slightly, otherwise, my cover would be blown.

I tried my best to suppress the spiritual energy within my body, and the few punches I threw used practically no spiritual energy at all.

Thud, thud, thud! With three successive blows, I landed three strikes on the enemy. However, I hadn't used much force. Perhaps because he was as thin as a skeleton, he was sent flying backward entirely by his own momentum.

"Huh?"

I looked at the instructor in surprise. I had thought my cover would be blown right then and there, but the instructor nodded with satisfaction and explained to me:

"These prisoners are traitors who betrayed our sect and have been locked up for a long time, so they have lost their combat capability. But those few punches you just threw were quite good. Keep practicing diligently."

With that, he shifted his gaze toward Chen Chen. Chen Chen was no fool; naturally, he hadn't drawn any weapons and had also suppressed his strength, yet he easily secured a victory.

"Hmm... Not bad. It seems my career is full of surprises."

The instructor revealed his first smile, nodding repeatedly toward both of us before saying, "Go take a rest. Promptly wake up at six o'clock tomorrow morning."

Having said this, the instructor dragged the two prisoners away. I gently shook my head and turned to walk back into the room.

It was already six o'clock in the evening, and the sky was gradually darkening. However, no one seemed to be coming to deliver food, so we would have to go out and get it ourselves.

"Let's go. Eating comes first."

Chen Chen didn't want to move, but I dragged him along anyway. Before leaving the courtyard, I deliberately locked the door to prevent the people from the neighboring rooms from coming over to make trouble.

The two of us walked all the way back to the plaza. For some reason, the people in this Seven-Colored Sect loved to come out and move around at night; hardly anyone could be seen during the day.

There were also female disciples in this sect. Compared to the males, these females appeared much more refined, though there were exceptions.

For instance, we happened to encounter one such exception right in the plaza. This girl had dreadlocks and tattoos on her arms. She would have been quite pretty, but she wore thick makeup.

Especially her dark eyeshadow, which made her look like a female demon. Furthermore, she didn't wear her robe properly; she deliberately left it unfastened, exposing her fair skin.

I couldn't bear to look at her and hurriedly dragged Chen Chen away from the spot.

By nighttime, all the disciples had come out for a stroll. The plaza, which had been deserted earlier, was now packed with people.

Yet I noticed that almost everyone here peppered their speech with curses, as if they felt that swearing sounded pleasant.

If anyone with a decent upbringing were placed here, they would surely be tortured to death. Based on my observations, this place could be summarized in one phrase:

Utterly depraved! Hardly a single decent person existed here!

Thinking of this, I quickly pulled out the map, identified our direction briefly, and hurried toward the cafeteria.

This crappy place was lacking in many things, but the cafeteria was quite nice. Not only was the interior decoration decent, but the food was also good.

Moreover, meals in this cafeteria were completely free. Chen Chen and I ordered some food each and found a seat in a corner.

There weren't many people left in the cafeteria at this hour; by now, most of the disciples had already finished eating.

Therefore, I wolfed down several bowls of food in succession. Once finished, I prepared to head back with Chen Chen.

As soon as we stepped out of the cafeteria doors, a group of people walked straight toward us. Leading them was none other than the dreadlock-wearing girl.

They meant trouble!

Before they could get close, I quickly detoured to the side, preparing to hurry back, but we were immediately surrounded.

Seeing that trouble was bound to find me today, numerous disciples who had gathered around began to crowd closer to watch the spectacle.

Yet I wasn't panicked in the least. Glancing around, I didn't spot a single person at the Lotus Spirit Realm. This was likely the confidence rooted deep within my heart.

I fished a cigarette out of my storage ring and, ignoring what anyone else might say, lit it up and started smoking.

The dreadlock-wearing girl at the front slowly swayed her body as she walked over, wearing an expression as if she wanted to devour me whole. Right before reaching me, she spoke up:

"Yo, among this batch of newcomers, the two of you are definitely the best-looking."

Under normal circumstances, if someone praised my appearance, I would be quite happy. But today, in this setting, I felt intensely annoyed.

I ignored her and continued smoking.

"And a little wild horse, too. Come here~ let big sis have some fun."

Seeing her face made me feel somewhat sick, so I asked directly:

"What's your name?"

My question caught the dreadlock-wearing girl somewhat off guard. After pausing for a moment in a daze, she replied:

"Big sis's name is Cao Xin."

I smiled faintly, nodded, and then prepared to walk past her.

"What? Do you not like big sis?"

That line was truly nauseating. Looking at her with an expression of disgust, I spat out a single word:

"Scram!"

Startled by my sudden outburst, she cursed fiercely in response:

"Fine, you little brat... Don't let me catch you again in the future!"

After saying that, she left with her subordinates, casting a wicked parting glance at me as she departed.

Thus, Chen Chen and I had officially crossed paths and made an enemy of Cao Xin right here in the Seven-Colored Sect. I had intended to avoid trouble, but life rarely offers that much patience for forbearance.

As the two of us walked back, some gossip could be heard from nearby:

"Look, that new kid really is quite good-looking... No wonder Brother Cao could take a fancy to him."

"Yeah, but since this newbie is so arrogant, could he have some powerful connections?"

"Probably not. Besides, even if he had connections, what good would it do? Brother Cao's dad is a sect elder..."

So that was it. The "Brother Cao" they spoke of must have been Cao Xin just now, and to top it off, her father was a sect elder.

"Looks like we provoked a big shot..."

Chen Chen smiled bitterly from the side. Well, since the offense was already committed, I wouldn't back down from anyone!

We didn't encounter any further incidents along the way, and the two of us smoothly returned to our room.

The neighboring room still had its lights on, indicating they hadn't gone to sleep yet. But having bustled around for an entire day, I returned to rest and collapsed onto the bed, instantly falling fast asleep.

The bed was actually quite comfortable, and I slept soundly. However, in the middle of the night, I was abruptly woken up by some commotion.

Just as I was about to burst out cursing, I caught the sound of a few people whispering quietly inside the room:

"In a bit, put a cloth sack over his head, then kill him, and we'll take over this room."

It turned out to be those little punks from the neighboring room. They actually dared to plot against me; did they really think I was deaf and couldn't hear them?

I quickly estimated their numbers—only about five or six people. Then I thought to myself: five or six people? Even a hundred Leaf Spirit Realm practitioners wouldn't matter.

I lay quietly without alerting the enemy. Meanwhile, they were still quietly discussing their plan, smugly believing it was foolproof.

At that moment, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Chen Chen had also slightly opened his eyes before quickly closing them again.

It seemed he was thinking the same thing as me—both of us wanted to play possum.

After waiting for a long time, to the point where I was almost about to fall back asleep, they finally made their move. Judging by the sounds, everyone had stepped inside the room, so I stopped pretending to sleep.

I instantly leaped up from the bed, landing firmly by the door, and switched on the sole electric light in this room.

Chen Chen followed right behind me with a handsome carp kip-up, conveniently drawing a small knife at the same time.

This sudden movement thoroughly terrified the six little punks in the room, and they frantically fumbled for their respective weapons.

I looked at their leader—it was none other than the one who had acted defiantly toward me that afternoon. Talk of the devil!

"Lads, what's the meaning of this?"

As I finished speaking, I drew the Miao saber from my storage ring and pointed it at the leader. This guy had dyed his hair green and was wearing bean shoes and skinny trousers, looking every bit like a hoodlum.

Seeing us suddenly wake up, he was stunned for a moment, then raised the small dagger in his hand, attempting to stab me.

Yet such speed was like that of a turtle in my eyes. After effortlessly dodging his lunge, I brought my blade down and severed his right arm.

Although the rest of the people in the room were street punks, none of them had ever witnessed such a bloody scene, and they all began shouting in panic.

As for the hoodlum whose right arm I had lopped off, he had already passed out from the pain. I originally intended to kill him as well, but I couldn't quite bring myself to do it.

After simply bandaging his bleeding right arm, I warned the rest of the group in the room:

"From now on, whoever the hell dares to come near my place again, I will kill every single one of you. Take him and scram!"

My words still carried a certain deterrent effect, and those few individuals hastily retreated outside.

(Brothers, some of you complained that it's not enough to read, so I'll make this chapter four thousand words long.)