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nAfter seeing their younger sibling, Wei Tianzhi and Wei Ming were anxious to get back to cultivating, so they bid farewell.

nUpon leaving the Meditation Garden, Wu Xing went alone to Spirit Wonder Market.

nAs he walked through the market, his mind was in turmoil.

nOne thousand spirit coins!

nThe money that Tang Jie had taken out had completely upset his mind.

nHe clearly understood what this money meant.

nWith this money, he had an even greater chance of reaching Spirit Sea!

nBut this money was for the health of his parents.

nCurses!

nWhy is it that he was able to make almost one thousand coins right after getting into school while I was able to make so much less despite being in this school for seven years? All I have is a few spirit coins.

nWu Xing mentally fumed.

nGritting his teeth, Wu Xing walked up to an upperclassman selling medicines in the market and asked, “Senior Brother, do you happen to have any life-extending medicine?”

nThe student raised his head and glanced at Wu Xing in surprise. “Life-extending medicine? I’ve never made it before. It’s made for mortals, and the price is expensive, so people normally don’t make it. But if you have the money, I can take an order. How much do you want?”

n“One bottle.”

n“That’s not a lot and isn’t really worth the trouble. It’s not like I can easily sell off any extra. I would advise you to see if there’s anyone else that needs it, and then you can come and find me together.”

n“Where am I going to find someone else who needs life-extending medicine?” Wu Xing bitterly smiled.

n“It truly isn’t easy,” the student chuckled. “Those with money will use it to buy medicines to nourish their own spirit. It must have been hard to save up these one thousand spirit coins, right?”

nWu Xing lightly nodded.

nThe student continued, “In my view, you should give up on the life-extending medicine. You’re not that old, so your parents must be about forty? This is far from the age where you need to start thinking about their old age, so why not work hard to improve yourself? Once you’re stronger, can’t you get as much life-extending medicine as you want?”

n“This…” Wu Xing hesitated.

nThe student chuckled. “I can understand the desire to be a filial student, but there’s no need to be in a rush about it. Filial piety is something you can consider in the long term. What’s a true pity is when you try to be filial but lack the strength, so you end up wasting the blood and sweat of your parents. As your senior, I can see that your aptitude is average. If you don’t work hard now, you’ll miss the chance and be filled with regret.”

nHe grabbed a medicine bottle. “I just made these Essence-Refining Pills a few days ago. Anyone beneath Mortal Shedding will receive an enormous boost to their spiritual energy after taking it. If you’re conservative, you could go for forty to sixty days straight of hard cultivation. And I’m not overcharging for it. This happens to be my last bottle, and the sooner I sell it, the sooner I can start on another batch. I just want one thousand spirit coins for it. What do you think?”

nWu Xing was immediately tempted. He also knew that the Essence-Refining Pills had an excellent effect and would normally sell for 1200 spirit coins. He was being offered a cheaper price for them, so this truly was an opportunity.

nThe student saw that he was hesitating and smiled. “What? You still need to think about it? An opportunity passed won’t come by again. I’m only giving you this cheap price because I’m anxious to start another batch, so I’m only looking to break even. Normally, I would never be willing to do this.”

nWu Xing thought it over and then said, “I want to inspect the medicine.”

n“Naturally.” The student wasn’t worried that he would be playing any tricks, and threw the bottle over.

nWu Xing poured out a pill. He rolled around that pill in his palm and sniffed it. After confirming that it was the real deal, he gritted his teeth and said, “Alright, I’ll buy it.”

nHe handed over the money and walked away with the medicine.

nHe was excited, feeling blessed, but he was also uneasy and ashamed. As he was rushing back, a dark silhouette appeared in front of him.

nWu Xing knew that while Basking Moon Academy appeared calm on the surface, anything could happen in the shadows. He immediately got on guard, but then he saw that it was Tang Jie standing in front of him.

n“It’s you?” Wu Xing’s heart tightened. “What are you doing here?”

nTang Jie said nothing.

nHe stood there, coldly staring at Wu Xing.

nWu Xing’s heart chilled, and he backed away. “You… You saw it all?”

nTang Jie lightly nodded, his eyes filled with sorrow.

nHe had been prepared for this, but he was still shocked when he witnessed it with his own eyes.

nHe hadn’t dared to believe that Wu Xing would act like this!

nWu Xing’s body trembled, and then he shouted, “You followed me? You bastard, you didn’t trust me!”

nA hint of bitter helplessness appeared on Tang Jie’s face. “Yes, I didn’t trust you. When I saw how you took my money, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to just let you go. Do you know how much I hoped I was wrong? Though I knew that you were rather unreliable, I felt that you hadn’t fallen this far. I still clung onto a little hope. I didn’t think…”

nTang Jie suddenly roared, “They’re your birth parents! How could you do this!? Are you even fit to be their son!?”

n“I’m doing this precisely because I’m worried about them. What do you know? With this medicine, I’ll be able to cultivate better and reach a higher realm, allowing me to better repay them!” Wu Xing shouted.

n“Not a bad excuse,” Tang Jie sneered. “But why didn’t you tell that upperclassman that your parents are actually pushing sixty and they have many long-term illnesses that are difficult to cure? Wait until you succeed in cultivation? And when would that be? Mortal Shedding Realm? Celestial Heart Realm? Perhaps Violet Palace Realm? Or perhaps when you become an actual Immortal will you actually start doing your filial duty? I worry that they won’t be able to wait that long!”

n“Bull**!” Wu Xing roared. “Tang Jie, my parents are doing fine. I won’t let you slander them like this!”

n“Good, good, very good! Now you’re the filial child again. Sure enough, filial piety through words is the easiest. If someone dared to insult your parents, I’m sure that you would kill their entire family back if you could, right?” Tang Jie laughed. “And using accusations to cancel out your own wicked deeds? Saying that you don’t trust me? Saying that I’m slandering you? Anything else? Make every accusation you can and say it was all my fault, right? And you think that will make it up to your parents? So that you can peacefully take your medicine and start cultivating? Essence-Refining Pills… For the sake of saving a few dozen days, you would be willing to give up on decades of your parents’ lives!”

nWu Xing was so intimidated by Tang Jie’s angry roars that he sat on the ground.

nHe looked at Tang Jie in a daze. “I… It’s not like I don’t care about them… but I… that upperclassman… This medicine only cost one thousand coins… he was giving me such a huge discount… huge… Do you know? This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance!”

n“Yes, and you discounted your parents’ lives while you were at it,” Tang Jie coldly said.

nWu Xing was dumbstruck, and then he held his head and began to cry.

nTang Jie was disgusted by this, but in the end, he said, “There’s still time to correct your error. Go back to that upperclassman, return the medicine, and get back your money. If you can’t, sell it off, and then go and buy life-extending medicine.”

n“It’s useless.” Wu Xing shook his head. “Life-extending pills start at thirty pills for a single cauldron. I would have to find two other people to order it with me…”

n“Stop looking for excuses!” Tang Jie became truly angry. “If you can’t find someone, just slowly work at it. I don’t believe that there’s not one or two people among the more than ten thousand Basking Moon students who need life-extending medicine! But did you go looking? No! You didn’t even try!”

nTang Jie’s bellows infuriated Wu Xing, and he jumped to his feet and shouted, “Yes, I’m looking for excuses, but so what? I won’t accept it! Why? Why is it that people can be so talented that they can easily reach the Mortal Shedding Realm without medicine? Why is it that you were able to get that fish scale and make more than nine hundred coins as soon as you got into the academy? Why is it that you’re a five-cycle while I’m a three-cycle? I won’t accept it! I want to succeed, want to reach the Mortal Shedding Realm! What’s wrong with that? They’re my parents, and they gave me everything I wanted. You sent them money, and then they would send the money to me. I’m their son. Why can’t I use it?”

n“You!”

n“Yes, I’m shameless, unfilial, alright? As for you, you were saved by my parents, so you wanted to repay their kindness, but why do you insist on repaying them? Why not repay them through me? I’m their son!”

nWu Xing started flailing around in agitation.

n“Tang Jie, now that I think about it, I’m your older brother, your big brother! Just treat this as helping me out. This is also a form of filial piety toward my parents, right? My dad sent me a letter saying that those one hundred taels of silver had been given to them by you, and they were sending them to me. I thank you for that, but can I ask you to help me one more time? Give me these one thousand spirit coins so that I can improve myself. With it, I can grow stronger faster. Two months—what if I only need these two months to get into Spirit Sea? You wouldn’t destroy a person over this, would you? This is all my hope! I’ll tell Mom and Dad about this, that you helped me, and they’ll think well of you. Think about it. They also want to see me succeed. If you let them choose, they would also choose me, right?”

nTang Jie’s entire body went cold.

nHe took in a deep breath. “I will not agree to this. I warn you that you should immediately return the medicine, or else I’ll stop being polite.”

n“Stop being polite? Is your head messed up?” Wu Xing burst out in laughter, which looked rather comical when paired with the tears running down his face.

n“And how exactly are you going to stop being polite with me? Just you? A guy who’s only just opened his Spirit Eye and hasn’t reached Spirit Spring? I’m only asking because you’re my little brother, because you gave me this money. Do you really take yourself seriously just because I’m being polite to you?”

nWu Xing’s face darkened. “Yes, I’m not reliable, but who made you have me buy the medicine… You were testing me? You were **ing scheming against me? I’ll be filial to my parents in the future, and I’m their son! Your criticism isn’t needed!”

nHe pointed at Tang Jie, his face turning savage. “Out of respect for my parents, and since you called me Big Brother, I’ll give you one chance. Get out of here at once, or else I’ll have to discipline you!”

nTang Jie’s hopes were utterly dashed now.

nHe grimly shook his head. “I said before that I was asking you to buy the medicine because I offended a few people after entering the academy and didn’t want them to know about the condition of my parents. That might give them something to exploit, could bring trouble on Mom and Dad. Thus, I had to ask you to send the medicine. After all, you’re their son by birth, so it’s only right and proper that you send it to them! I also knew that you would be tempted by this money, but I had no other choice. I could only trust that you were a little better than I imagined… but it seems that your mind is set. I know that you’re at the Spirit Lake Tier, two tiers higher than me, and you’ve probably mastered quite a few spells, right? I’d like to see if you’re actually capable of disciplining me.”

nHe was already striding toward Wu Xing.

n“Impudent!” Wu Xing’s eyes flashed with a ruthless light. He looked around and saw that there were no monitors around, after which his hands began to form the formula. “Since you’re seeking death, don’t blame me…”

nBefore he could finish, Tang Jie had charged up and punched him in the face.

nHe had charged up in a flash, and Wu Xing hadn’t imagined that this would be how Tang Jie attacked, so he was sent flying. He rolled twice on the ground, his hands still trying to create the formula, but before he could finish, Tang Jie had already rushed up and kicked his hand. At the same time, he also punched Wu Xing in the chest, instantly interrupting his energy flow and once more stopping the spell.

nTang Jie slammed his head up into Wu Xing’s jaw and then gave him a knee, causing Wu Xing to throw his head back and howl in pain.

nThough he was at the Spirit Lake Tier, strength and tier were not the same thing.

nAs he lacked talent, Wu Xing had put most of his energy into advancement, and he had little time to practice his spells. Thus, he had a hard time using spells under Tang Jie’s vicious assault.

nThere were numerous Spirit Disciples like him who lacked talent and so focused entirely on their cultivation, and so there were numerous people in the cultivation world who were poor fighters.

nOf course, on the other hand, there were also quite a lot of strong fighters with average cultivation.

nIn normal circumstances, if they were all fighting with just spells, he would be fine. After all, he had a Spirit Lake, so if he could unleash spell after spell, he would definitely beat Tang Jie black and blue.

nBut alas, Tang Jie had caught him completely off guard and refused to compete with him in spells. Without the initiative, he now found it hard to turn the tables.

nAs Tang Jie gave him a savage beatdown, Wu Xing was both shocked and infuriated. Suppressing the pain, he formed a spell, and an azure light finally appeared in his hand.

n“Gale Blade!” Wu Xing sent this blade flying at Tang Jie.

nHe didn’t want to kill Tang Jie, so he sent the blade at Tang Jie’s arm.

nTo his surprise, Tang Jie ignored it, enduring the blade to punch Wu Xing. This was a savage and heavy punch that caused Wu Xing’s eyes to roll over and his body to stagger back a few steps. When he looked at Tang Jie again, he saw that a wound half a finger deep had appeared on Tang Jie’s arm. It was by no means a light wound, but it was far lighter than Wu Xing had imagined.

n“How could that be?” Wu Xing was alarmed. He knew the power of his Gale Blade. It was enough to cut a stone in half, so why was it so weak on Tang Jie’s body, like the strike of an ordinary weapon?

nBut before he could react, Tang Jie came at him with a kick that once more sent him rolling over.

n“Bastard!” Wu Xing reached behind his back and pulled out a dagger. At the same time, he mobilized spirit power and formed another spell, lightning flashing on the blade of the dagger.

nBut as he swung the dagger, Tang Jie grabbed a tree branch on the ground and swung it at his head. Wu Xing instinctively raised his dagger to block, but then Tang Jie turned his wrist, and the tree branch swung upward. This was the Rising Sword Form of the Twelve-Form Horizon Sword.

nSpiritual light flashed on the branch, and the energy-infused branch slapped against Wu Xing’s face. As a martial technique that was usable by both mortals and Immortals, it had average power. Its greatest advantage was that it could mobilize spiritual energy to strengthen its moves without any sort of formula.

nEmpowered by spiritual energy, the blow brought Wu Xing down to the ground so hard that he couldn’t get up. However, he managed to get his dagger to scrape against Tang Jie’s body. But as it lacked in strength, it didn’t even manage to break the skin. The lightning on the blade swiftly coiled around Tang Jie’s body, causing his entire body to go numb, but everything quickly went back to normal.

nA body like steel!

n“This… this is impossible…” Wu Xing stared in disbelief at Tang Jie.

nHe was a Spirit Disciple at the Spirit Lake Tier, but he was defeated by someone who wasn’t even at Spirit Spring?

n“Nothing is impossible. Compared to a Spirit Eye defeating a Spirit Lake, I’m more in disbelief about your character. Since you were able to create a new low when it comes to human character, there’s nothing strange about a new low when it comes to strength,” Tang Jie coldly said. He walked over, pulled open Wu Xing’s clothes, and took out the bottle of Essence-Refining Pills.

n“My medicine!” Wu Xing shouted.

n“It’s mine!” Tang Jie replied. “I owe Mom and Dad, and I will repay Mom and Dad, but you and I… will never be brothers!”

nWith this, Tang Jie strode away.

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