Reborn as Xu Xuan, Plundering Perks & Flooding the Mountain Ling

Chapter 23: Ten Thousand Pounds of Strength? Are the Requirements of Alchemy Sect This High Now?

“Master, if he wants to carry it, let him! You can use this time to train your Qi or practice your martial arts and spells…”

Jing Song, standing nearby, didn’t understand why his master was this angered. Wasn’t moving one less stone a good thing?

Master Xuan Yuan flicked his sleeve, speaking with indignation.

“What do you know? I fought so hard to get this job! Do you even know how much virtue merit moving these Fiendstones gives?”

Mount Longhu took in so many disciples, and trained so many students, not to mention cultivating immortality, martial arts, alchemy, and weapon forging, just feeding everyone was an astronomical expense. This virtue merit was a special reward system of Mount Longhu. Other than menial labour disciples, from Celestial Masters to inner disciples, everyone had to complete a set amount of tasks each year.

Completing these tasks earned them virtue merit points, which could be exchanged for elixirs, treasures, talismans or even converted into gold and silver—one virtue merit was worth a hundred taels of silver! Gold and silver were easy to obtain, while virtue merit was priceless. No one on Mount Longhu would waste it on mere money. Hearing that moving Fiendstones could earn virtue merit, the inner disciples’ eyes were instantly filled with greed.

“No way… there’s virtue merit for this? No wonder even Master Xuan Yuan is here carrying stones!”

“But even if there is merit, the payout can’t be that high! Moving these stones is hard, sure…But if your body is strong, you can do it!”

“I’d say one merit point per day would already be generous!”

“One merit per day? I wouldn’t even dare dream of that! If I could earn one per day, I’d be filthy rich!”

The combat sect disciples thought they were guessing high—for them, one merit a day was already their wildest fantasy. Hearing their answers, Xuan Yuan burst out laughing.

“If it were only one per day…would a Master like me rush over here so eagerly?”

The disciples’ eyes widened when Xuan Yuan dropped a bombshell.

“It’s one merit per stone! Each stone earns you one virtue merit!”

The disciples fell into a stunned silence and then erupted in shock.

“One stone, one merit? Master, where do I sign up?”

“I want in! I need virtue merit! Master Xuan Yuan! Father—!!”

Xuan Yuan nearly laughed himself to death.

“You really think merits fall from the sky? This task requires one person to move 100 Fiendstones within three hours! If you fail to meet the quota—you get nothing.”

With that, Xuan Yuan vanished in a blink, rushing off before Xu Xuan could steal all the virtue merits. The combat disciples stood dumbfounded, watching him leave. They all thought of one person, the swift-moving, unstoppable figure of Xu Xuan.

“One person… three hours… a hundred Fiendstones?”

“If you don’t finish, you get nothing?”

“Isn’t that a scam? How strong would your physical body need to be?”

“I’d guess at least 10,000 pounds of raw strength!”

“10,000 pounds?! Are you exaggerating?”

“Without that kind of strength, how could you possibly complete it?”

“So… this means only elders like Xuan Yuan can do it?”

“Wait… didn’t you all forget about that Alchemy Sect disciple?”

Everyone froze, recalling the figure who had come and gone like the wind—the one who had even snatched Xuan Yuan’s Fiendstone.

“That disciple… was that terrifying? But that’s not the scariest part…The scariest thing is he’s from the Alchemy Sect!”

The combat sect disciples fell into deep silence, yet, a certain figure refused to fade away.

“Since when did the Alchemy Sect’s entrance requirements get this high?!”

They couldn’t wrap their heads around it. As the Fiendstone task ended, this matter faded into the wind. Time flew by and winter was nearing. Cold winds howled and snow filled the sky. Yet the harsh weather couldn’t dampen the disciples’ training. As the Year-End Grand Ceremony and the Inner Sect Tournament approached, the entire Mount Longhu burned with fervent determination.

On a platform paved with Fiendstones, Xu Xuan stood bare-chested, wearing only thin pants. His stance was the Tiger Subduing Sutra, his fists holding the Celestial Emperor Fist, his movements as fierce as a raging tiger. Even the howling blizzard could not touch him within ten feet. If one opened their Heaven’s Eye, they would witness an endless surge of deadly fiend energy pouring from the very ground into Xu Xuan’s flesh, veins, and bones. This was the first step in cultivating the Western Extreme Gengjin Sword Qi—drawing fiend energy into the body! Most cultivators would purify the Qi first, but Xu Xuan was directly absorbing it—an insane method only Master Xuan Yuan had dared attempt before!

“Brat! Take this punch!”

Just as Xu Xuan was immersed in his training, Master Xuan Yuan couldn’t hold back anymore! Like a massive black eagle, he shot forward at Xu Xuan. Xu Xuan had long expected this. With the speed of a tiger, he dodged the attack and then countered with a flurry of lightning-fast punches!

“Good! Come at me!”

Master Xuan Yuan grinned, his massive arm moving like a phantom wall, blocking every single one of Xu Xuan’s strikes!

BOOM!

A huge impact shook the ground—then another, and another, like firecrackers exploding non-stop! They traded blows for half an hour until Xu Xuan was sent flying off the platform!

“Master, you can’t just spit at me!”

Master Xuan Yuan showed zero shame, instead, he laughed loudly and spat another shot of saliva at Xu Xuan! That tiny droplet…blasted a hole straight through the stone floor.

“Kid, your first work is decent now, but your combat experience is lacking. I can’t help you there, you’ll have to figure it out yourself.”

Xu Xuan nodded. He had already realized this weakness. Xuan Yang was too familiar with him—their fights had become predictable sparring matches. If he wanted real progress, he needed new opponents.

“Master, don’t worry—I already have a plan.”

“…What plan?”

“Simple. I’ll just throw money at the problem.”