The bald, fat man at the Spirit Food Workshop brandished a large ladle and pointed it at Xu Xian, huffing, "Who are you calling 'Little Fatty'? Have some respect! Call me 'Martial Uncle,' understood? I’m of the same generation as Junior Sister Wen..."
Xu Xian said nothing. He simply tossed his jade token onto the table, crossed his legs, and said with an air of nonchalance, "Enough talk. Hurry up and bring the food; I’m busy."
The fat man clicked his tongue, picked up the dao jade, and scanned it with his divine sense.
"Holy crap!"
His face drained of color.
His eyes darted back and forth between Xu Xian and the dao jade several times before he finally snapped out of it. He hurriedly tucked away his ladle and asked, trembling with uncertainty, "You... you are Xu Xian?"
The youth narrowed his eyes slightly and said flatly, "No respect. Is 'Xu Xian' a name you should be calling?"
The Wendao Sect prioritized seniority above all else.
The balding fat man immediately changed his tune. He put on a fawning smile and said, "Little Grand-Uncle! Little Grand-Uncle! I was blind not to recognize a great figure like you. I didn’t know you were gracing us with your presence. Please, don't take it to heart! I was just wondering why my left eyelid kept twitching this morning. It turns out a noble guest was coming to brighten my humble shop..."
Xu Xian’s lip twitched. Aside from the title, the man hadn't changed a single word of his flattery. He was really phoning it in.
"Is that so?"
"The sun and moon can witness my sincerity!"
Xu Xian said playfully, "Then I'll give you a chance to prove it."
"Please instruct me, Grand-Uncle."
"This meal is on you."
The fat man’s face instantly shifted back to professional indifference. "Grand-Uncle wants a bowl of spiritual porridge, right? That's 10 merit points. I’ll bring it right over. Just a moment."
Without giving Xu Xian a chance to speak, he grabbed the dao token and bolted away.
Xu Xian was speechless.
The man was fat, yes, but he was even stingier.
The spiritual porridge was served, and 10 merit points were deducted.
While eating, Xu Xian had a brief chat with the man.
This fat man was named Zhou Tao, the owner of the Spirit Food Workshop. Like Wen Qingxue, he was a third-generation disciple.
He was fat, and he was incredibly miserly.
"Little Grand-Uncle, come by whenever you want to eat. I’ll cook for you. I’m not boasting, but in our Wendao Sect, while I might not be the strongest, I am definitely the highest-ranking and most skilled among the chefs. I guarantee you’ll be satisfied."
Xu Xian asked sincerely, "Can I start a tab?"
Zhou Tao paused for a moment. "I didn't say anything just now."
They parted on bad terms.
Back at his small courtyard, Xu Xian began his cultivation.
The first step was body tempering.
"As heaven maintains its vigor, a gentleman should constantly strive for self-improvement. Let's get to work."
If he didn't endure the hardships of cultivation now, he wouldn't even have food to eat later.
Even if he didn't want to cultivate, Xu Xian had to reach foundation establishment quickly.
Only then could he take on missions at the Mission Hall to earn merit points. Only after reaching foundation establishment could he fly—allowing him to go wherever he pleased.
Over the following days, Xu Xian’s life was very simple.
He woke up early to absorb the morning mist.
Then he went to eat.
He returned to perform body tempering, climb mountains, leap up long flights of stairs, and meditate under waterfalls.
Then he went to eat again.
He returned to meditate some more.
Then he slept...
He stayed indoors most of the time, repeating this cycle.
His self-discipline was terrifying, and he pushed himself to the brink of exhaustion.
Fortunately, having grown up in the mountains, he had a good physical foundation and could withstand the strain.
However, the rumors about him in the mountains only intensified.
Xu Xian was awake.
The Sect Master had accepted a disciple on behalf of his master.
Xu Xian was the youngest disciple of the Sword Ancestor.
Xu Xian was the youngest ancestor of the Wendao Sect... and so on.
"Did you know? The Little Grand-Uncle loves porridge more than anything."
"Really?"
"Would I lie to you? My buddy is from Zhijian Peak. Everyone there knows he drinks two bowls a day."
Xu Xian overheard this once and sneered.
Was it because he loved porridge?
It was because porridge was all he could afford!
Consequently, Xu Xian earned a resounding nickname: the Porridge Ancestor.
Sales of spiritual porridge at the workshop on Zhijian Peak skyrocketed. Many disciples traveled from afar just to see what was so special about this porridge.
Zhou Tao took the opportunity to hike the prices.
A 10-point bowl of porridge was suddenly being sold for 15 points.
Not only did this not hurt sales, but the porridge became even more popular.
When Xu Xian found out, he specifically tracked down Zhou Tao, claiming he had made the porridge trendy and demanded a cut of the profits.
Zhou Tao refused.
He stated he could only continue to provide the porridge to Xu Xian at the original price.
In a fit of rage, Xu Xian reported him.
The price of spiritual porridge returned to normal.
Zhou Tao looked like he had lost a whole layer of fat from the stress.
A month passed.
Xu Xian achieved minor success in body tempering, completing the first stage. He began the second stage: bone forging. His appetite increased accordingly. The balance on his card had dropped below 300 merit points. Seeing that he wouldn't even be able to afford porridge soon, he felt incredibly gloomy.
During this time, Ye Xianyu visited once and asked Wen Qingxue how Xu Xian was performing.
Wen Qingxue gave an honest evaluation.
She said Xu Xian was the most hardworking disciple she had ever seen. Aside from eating, he spent the entire day cultivating without a moment’s rest.
Ye Xianyu was skeptical.
Given the personality Xu Xian had shown before, it was hard to believe he was so diligent.
'A man is judged by his deeds, not his thoughts.'
It seemed she had indeed misjudged him.
Ye Xianyu was quite pleased. Before leaving, she asked Wen Qingxue, "I heard Xu Xian likes drinking porridge?"
Wen Qingxue confirmed, "Yes, he drinks it every day."
Ye Xianyu asked again, "If he cultivates all day and does nothing else, where does he get the merit points to eat?"
Wen Qingxue mentioned the part about him borrowing points.
Ye Xianyu frowned and specifically instructed Wen Qingxue that she was not allowed to lend him any more.
Wen Qingxue didn't understand why, but she agreed nonetheless.
Ye Xianyu left, feeling a bit disgruntled as she muttered, "Why didn't I think of borrowing money back then? I guess one shouldn't be too stubborn."
Everything Xu Xian was going through, she had experienced herself.
Back then, she had also been dumped at the Sword Suppression Hall by her Senior Martial Brother. She also had no merit points. To eat, she had to juggle cultivation with two part-time jobs. Life was truly bitter back then.
In her Senior Martial Brother's words: 'To be the best, one must endure the worst.' This was tradition, and she had survived it.
So, she had applied the same treatment to Xu Xian.
Who would have thought?
Xu Xian was actually living on borrowed money.
And he had borrowed it from the usually cold and unapproachable Wen Qingxue.
Utterly ridiculous.
Another half-month passed...
Xu Xian’s bone forging was complete. His strength had increased dramatically, but his appetite had doubled, and his balance had finally hit zero. He went to Wen Qingxue again to borrow money, even offering to increase the return on investment to twenty percent.
Wen Qingxue refused.
She offered to introduce him to some jobs instead.
Sweeping floors.
Weeding the spirit herb fields.
Xu Xian refused.
He was already suffering the hardships of cultivation; there was no way he was going to suffer the hardships of a job too.
"Say no more. Working a job is out of the question. It’s impossible in this lifetime..."
"I, Xu Xian, would rather starve to death, rot in this house, and stink to high heaven than work a job!"
Wen Qingxue chose to respect Xu Xian's stubbornness.
Xu Xian started trying to borrow from others, but unfortunately, he didn't know many people, and no one was willing to lend to him.
Even Zhou Tao wouldn't let him start a tab. In his anger, he pawned his three spirit stones.
That barely held him over for two more days.
He felt that as a Grand-Uncle, he was undoubtedly the most pathetic one in history.
The Wendao Sect really didn't treat people like humans.
Just as he was about to run out of food and resources, someone visited. There was a knock on the door. Xu Xian opened it and saw a person. As their eyes met, both were momentarily stunned, realization dawning on them.
In unison, they asked:
"Who are you?"
"Who are you?"
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