Gu Chengming didn't know that someone was already watching him.
After all, those immersed in niche games don't know the ways of the world.
If there was any difference from the previous days, it was that the "mature-looking" Junior Brother Jiang Lu hadn't visited for several days.
Come to think of it, did that sword strike of his really give the other party a lot of insight?
Gu Chengming stroked his chin, gaining a more intuitive understanding of the benefits brought by cultivation method favorability.
Although Junior Brother Jiang Lu, within the entire Wenjian Sect, was at most a mediocre, lower-to-middle-tier disciple.
But within Huiyuan Gate, he was still considered decent.
To be able to win against him in a sword competition, those thirty-plus points of favorability probably amounted to several years of arduous cultivation for others.
Indeed, the galgame path is the ultimate path to heaven.
Gu Chengming thought with some self-satisfaction.
However, his "galgame path" recently encountered a slight bottleneck.
So-called sword practice, though nominally practicing the sword, is ultimately a form of cultivation.
And cultivation, in the end, inevitably consumes resources.
At least for Gu Chengming, just over half a month of practice had already made his body somewhat unable to keep up.
It might be due to his low physique, but to say the main reason... was that his cultivation resources were insufficient.
Or rather, from the very beginning of his cultivation, he hadn't really thought about cultivation resources.
It wasn't until his body felt somewhat powerless that Gu Chengming suddenly realized:
Oh, I can take pills.
The so-called "Blood Replenishing Pills" and "Spirit Condensing Pills" were quite effective at the first realm stage.
As one of the top sects on the Jiuzhou Continent, Wenjian Sect provided ample resources to its disciples.
For instance, first realm disciples could receive ten "Blood Replenishing Pills," five "Spirit Condensing Pills," and one low-grade spirit stone each month from the sect.
These resources, while not abundant for a diligent disciple, were enough to sustain daily consumption.
Although Gu Chengming's realm was lagging, he hadn't missed out on any benefits.
Moreover, for Gu Chengming, there was actually more good news.
That was, before transmigrating, he hadn't focused on cultivation at all.
In other words, he hadn't claimed any of his resources for three years since entering the sect!
In a sense, wasn't this a windfall from heaven?
To avoid being drained by the "Huiyuan Sword Manual," Gu Chengming decided to go and claim all the resources he had missed previously.
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Wenjian Sect, Cangjian Pavilion.
Though it was early morning, the sounds of people were already rising.
This bluestone building, covering half an acre, was located on the east side of Wenjian Sect. Bronze wind chimes hung under its flying eaves and bracket sets, but no sound was heard when the wind blew. The main doors were two heavy red sandalwood doors, carved with the "Azure Bird Holding Ganoderma" pattern, and the door knockers were in the shape of "Taotie Devouring Pearl," cool to the touch. Dozens of outer disciples in azure-grey Daoist robes were already waiting here.
Although the name Cangjian Pavilion sounded imposing, it actually didn't house many weapons. Instead, it was piled high with various cultivation resources like pills, spirit stones, and talismans.
It is said that when Cangjian Pavilion was first established, it was indeed used to store various divine weapons and sharp tools of the sect. But later, with the sect's development, disciples' demand for pills and spirit stones grew, and Cangjian Pavilion gradually evolved into a large "logistics supply station."
There's also an interesting secret about Cangjian Pavilion. It's said that on the topmost floor of the pavilion, a sword once used by the founding grand-patriarch is still kept. But that sword has a strange temperament; only an extraordinary genius can wield it. Once, an elder who didn't believe in evil tried to forcibly subdue it, but was injured by the sword qi and took a full century to recover. Since then, no one has dared to covet that sword again.
When Gu Chengming arrived at Cangjian Pavilion, many disciples were already queuing to receive resources.
He stood at the end of the line, curiously observing his surroundings.
The interior of Cangjian Pavilion was vast, with rows of tall wooden shelves filled with various jade bottles and wooden boxes.
A faint medicinal fragrance permeated the air, invigorating the spirit upon smelling it.
Just then, a disciple in front of Gu Chengming seemed to be arguing with the female elder responsible for registration.
"Elder Yu, did you make a mistake? How could there be a problem with the resource list I reported?" the disciple explained anxiously.
Gu Chengming stretched his neck, looking towards the front desk.
He saw a woman dressed in elder's attire, leaning lazily in a chair, holding a list in her hand, casually glancing at it. Then she raised her eyelids and spoke in a cold, emotionless tone:
"Three scarlet flame grass, two clear heart lotuses. Didn't you just claim them last month? Are they used up so quickly?"
Her voice was beautiful, like a mountain spring, but the content of her words made the disciple break out in a cold sweat.
"This... this..."
The disciple stammered, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time.
The female elder, named Yu Wenqiu, had long, straight hair as black as ink, unbound and flowing behind her. Her skin was fair, and her features were as delicate as a painting, but her eyelids drooped slightly, revealing a sleepy weariness.
"Trying to make false accounts with me?"
Yu Wenqiu's lips curved into a sneering arc:
"Scram."
One word, devoid of any worldly emotion, yet it made the disciple feel as if he had received a great pardon, scrambling away in a hurry.
Gu Chengming secretly clicked his tongue: "You can even make false accounts for this stuff?"
Soon, it was Gu Chengming's turn. He handed over his identity token and resource list.
Yu Wenqiu took the list and habitually glanced at it. When she saw the contents of the list, she couldn't help but be surprised.
Hmm, three years since joining, never claimed resources once?
She looked up, scrutinized Gu Chengming, and then checked his cultivation level.
First Realm, Third Level.
Well... no wonder he's only First Realm, Third Level.
Speaking of Yu Wenqiu, she was actually a remarkable figure within the Wenjian Sect.
Although she was an elder and her realm was not low, she was extremely lazy in her daily cultivation and paid little attention to sect affairs.
Every day, she would either sleep or read various storybooks, only cramming for cultivation when elder assessments were due.
This behavior naturally displeased many diligent elders and disciples. Unfortunately, Yu Wenqiu's talent was truly exceptional; every time she crammed, she would successfully break through, making people exclaim at the unfairness of heaven.
But the sect could no longer tolerate it, so they assigned her a leisurely position as manager of Cangjian Pavilion.
It was euphemistically called "sharing the sect's worries," but in reality, they just wanted her to rein herself in a bit.
Thus, a slacking master met her downfall.
Yu Wenqiu withdrew her gaze and looked at the list again.
However, this kid hasn't taken resources for three years, why suddenly now?
This question popped into Yu Wenqiu's mind. But she quickly remembered that disciple assessments were coming up soon.
Could it be... this person is like me, the type who crams at the last minute?
Ah, there's actually someone in the world so similar to me!
Although she hadn't learned about his character, Yu Wenqiu felt an inexplicable fondness for him.
She was about to approve Gu Chengming's resources with a flourish of her pen, but while reviewing the resource list, she discovered a problem.
For some reason, half of the resources that should have been allocated to this male disciple were missing.
Huh?
Yu Wenqiu couldn't help but frown.
She continued to check further back and discovered that a year ago, Gu Chengming's resources had been diverted by another disciple.
It seemed to be a nephew or grandson of some elder?
How could such injustice exist in the world?
Yu Wenqiu was about to get angry and uphold justice for this "fellow traveler," but when she continued to scroll up and saw the name of the disciple who had diverted the resources, she suddenly deflated.
Ji Chang.
Ji Chang... wasn't he the grandson of Inspecting Elder Ji Fenglin?
Yu Wenqiu didn't know many people in the sect, but Ji Fenglin was one of the few she did know.
It wasn't that they had a good relationship; on the contrary, Elder Ji Fenglin was one of the elders who most disliked her conduct.
And he was an Inspecting Elder... as the saying goes, a higher rank crushes others, and he was three ranks higher.
Thinking of her current difficult life, and then looking at this male disciple who was still at First Realm, Third Level after three years and hadn't claimed a single resource, Yu Wenqiu felt a sense of shared plight.
"Sigh, Gu, Gu Chengming... Little Gu, it's not that this elder doesn't want to help you, it's just that my heart is willing but my strength is insufficient."
Thinking this, she approved the remaining year's worth of resources for him, and when handing them to Gu Chengming, she subtly said:
"You joined late, and some resources... were claimed in advance. This is your remaining year's worth, take it."
Gu Chengming seemed a bit surprised by this.
But he had a good attitude and wasn't disheartened by it; instead, he smiled and said:
"Thank you, Elder."
Seeing him like this, Yu Wenqiu felt even more apologetic.
She gritted her teeth, took out a token from her bosom, and handed it to Gu Chengming.
"Take this token to the sect's Scripture Repository and claim a cultivation method. Consider it compensation for you."
This time, Gu Chengming was genuinely surprised. He carefully took the token and tentatively said:
"Elder, you really don't have to worry; I won't speak of this matter."
He clearly mistook Yu Wenqiu for the mastermind behind the private appropriation of his resources.
Upon seeing this, Yu Wenqiu was furious. But she was too lazy to explain, merely waved her hand impatiently:
"Go on, go on, don't stand here being an eyesore."
After sending Gu Chengming away, Yu Wenqiu also felt her actions just now were a bit irrational.
After all, she wasn't some busybody do-gooder.
Although Gu Chengming looked good, she wasn't someone who was attracted to male beauty, was she?
She thought about it but couldn't come to a conclusion, only feeling that she had acted impulsively and lost her composure for a moment.
However, it was just a qualification for one cultivation method.
She usually disliked practicing cultivation, and that token surely contained many exchangeable cultivation method qualifications. Giving one away was fine.
With this thought, Yu Wenqiu stopped pondering, pulled out a storybook from her drawer, and read it with great relish.
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