Chapter 7: A Youth's Heart Holds Soaring Ambitions, Once Promising to Be the World's Best
Wang Rongyuan held Tang Nianqiu's hand, seemingly whispering some private words to him.
His older brother, Yulou, was chatting with the head waiter, inquiring about Flavorful Bistro's business.
Yu'an sat to the side, bored out of his mind and feeling a sense of inexplicable melancholy.
'Sigh, although Uncle Rongyuan hits hard, he paid out of his own pocket to treat us to meals twice. He really is a good uncle.'
'If he can make it back from the West Sea alive, when I become an immortal in the future, I will definitely help him become one too.'
'If he meets an unexpected end in the West Sea, when I become an immortal in the future, I will definitely resurrect him.'
Thirteen-year-old Yu'an did not understand how difficult it was to become an immortal, nor did he comprehend what it meant that the Wang Clan had not produced a single Purple Palace cultivator in twelve hundred years.
He only possessed boundless ambition—to become an immortal before Yulou!
'Hmph, Yulou, I can cultivate for three and a half hours a day, but you can only cultivate for three.'
'In one month, I can cultivate five days more than you. In one year, I can cultivate fifty days more than you. No, wait, sixty days!'
'Sixty days equals two whole months.'
'Foolish Yulou, do you know what this means?'
'It means you are finished!'
'Enjoy your brief moment of arrogance. Once I reach Foundation Establishment first...'
'Hehe, I will parade in front of you every day and listen to you call me senior!'
"What are you giggling at? Come here!"
Wang Rongyuan's bark made Yu'an jolt in fright, snapping him out of his daydream.
Realizing that Yulou and Uncle Rongyuan were standing beside Tang Nianqiu, all three of them staring at him, he hurried over.
"Your annual spirit stones will be distributed by Old Tang from now on. Starting next month, you will each receive one per month. Do not squander them!
"Pills will be distributed according to your cultivation base, meaning you will not receive any until you reach the mid Qi Induction realm. Regardless of whether you have pills or not, you must not slack off on your daily cultivation. Understand?"
Wang Rongyuan had quite a few complaints about Yu'an's erratic nature, but he didn't plan on giving him another barrage of slaps.
Anyway, Yu'an's biological father would soon arrive at Clear Stream Market alongside the Patriarch. He had already left a letter for Rongwen.
When that time came, this brat Yu'an would naturally be dealt with by his own father.
"Nianqiu, I leave them in your care. I am setting off tonight."
After giving his final instructions to the two boys, Wang Rongyuan bid farewell to Tang Nianqiu.
"Brother Rongyuan, traveling at night is not safe," Tang Nianqiu said with some concern.
"It is fine. Traveling at night is exactly what I want. You wouldn't understand, hahaha."
Wang Rongyuan chuckled a few times, shot another glare at Yu'an, and strode out of Flavorful Bistro.
He did not look back, only raising a hand to signal that they need not see him off.
It wasn't a funeral, after all. He was confident he would return from the West Sea alive.
Besides, he still had to come back and refine Yulou's Black Jade Oil Bead to the fifteenth layer of restrictions!
As for why he hadn't refined it in advance?
Hongmei was not a simple figure. If he used the Wang Clan's secretly transmitted Earth Nurturing Method restrictions to refine the Black Jade Oil Bead to the fifteenth layer, would Hongmei still properly teach Yulou the fire-attribute metal and stone restrictions?
Stepping out of Clear Stream Market's main gates, the Wang Clan's breath-concealing technique activated seamlessly.
Very quickly, in the eyes of his fellow Qi Refining realm cultivators, Wang Rongyuan's aura dropped from the late Qi Refining realm down to the mid Qi Refining realm.
Pulling a gray, leaf-shaped magical artifact with nineteen layers of restrictions from his storage bag, he used his spiritual energy to activate three of its layers. Pretending to be in a hurry, Wang Rongyuan hopped onto it.
Time to start fishing!
In the dead of night, a mid Qi Refining realm rogue cultivator was flying through the sky, rushing along on a tattered leaf that barely passed as a low-grade magical artifact.
Yep, the bait was perfectly set.
If any bandit rogue cultivators dared to come looking for trouble, they would truly be reaching the end of their miserable lives.
With a growing boy threatening to eat him out of house and home, Wang Rongyuan planned to take advantage of his journey to the West Sea to do a little bit of fishing along the way.
——
"Brother Rongyuan is brave and resolute, and his cultivation base has reached the tenth layer of Qi Refining. You two don't need to worry about him.
"Come, follow me to your living quarters. For the next several years, barring any accidents, you will both be studying and cultivating in Clear Stream Market—whatever you do, do not venture out on your own."
Seeing Wang Rongyuan disappear around the street corner, Tang Nianqiu turned back and addressed the two youths.
Following the chief manager, the group passed through the back door of Flavorful Bistro.
Behind the shops of the two streets lay a small alleyway wide enough for a horse-drawn carriage.
Directly opposite the back door of Flavorful Bistro was the back entrance to the Wang Clan's other business in Clear Stream Market, Fortune Source Residence.
It was similar to a mortal inn. However, because Fortune Source Residence had drawn a well connected to the Clear Stream of Qin Rhyme, it offered a value-added service of specially supplied spiritual energy.
When breaking through a bottleneck, many rogue cultivators would come to stay at Fortune Source Residence for a few days, purchasing a few breaths of spiritual energy from the seventh-grade spiritual object, the Clear Stream of Qin Rhyme, to add some insurance to their breakthrough.
"I am also responsible for Fortune Source Residence, but the main rooms here are meant to host paying guests. You two will stay in the side rooms out back. Come, take a look."
Tang Nianqiu smiled warmly as he led Yulou into the left side room behind Fortune Source Residence. Although the furnishings inside were entirely unremarkable, the ambient spiritual energy was noticeably richer than outside, reaching the standards of the Wang Clan's ancestral lands.
The density of spiritual energy could not directly alter a cultivator's upper limit, but high-purity spiritual energy could help them better draw in spirits and refine qi, thereby reducing the mental effort required for cultivation.
There was still a significant difference between exhausting one's spirit to absorb energy from the world, and taking it in with effortless ease.
"This spiritual energy... thank you, Uncle Nianqiu."
Not expecting such excellent living conditions, Yulou felt somewhat moved.
"Ah, it is only right. You do not need to pay rent, either. The good thing about this side room is that it's on the smaller side.
"By secretly reducing the spiritual energy supply to the main building just a bit, I can raise the concentration here to match it. Just settle in and rest easy."
Just as the group was conversing in the doorway, a young girl dressed in a server's uniform stepped out of the main building and noticed them.
Seeing Tang Nianqiu, she hurriedly ran over. Glancing timidly at the three of them, she lowered her head and said, "Manager Tang, I haven't had the time to change the bedding in this room yet. I will change it right now."
Placing his hands behind his back, Tang Nianqiu frowned.
"Then change it quickly. Yu'an, go inside with her and see if you are missing anything else, so she can arrange it for you."
Yu'an followed the waitress into the room, while outside, Tang Nianqiu pulled Yulou to the side.
"Yulou, what is the exact relationship between you and Brother Rongyuan?"
It was a strange question. Wang Yulou did not quite grasp his intent, but not daring to be careless, he weighed his words before answering.
"Uncle Rongyuan is one of the clan uncles I admire the most. Even though he is strict, he treats both me and Yu'an very well."
Tang Nianqiu sized Yulou up for a moment. Unable to figure it out, he simply stopped thinking about it.
Looking toward the side room and verifying that Yu'an had obediently gone inside, he lowered his voice.
"Brother Rongyuan left a sum of spirit stones for you, instructing me to arrange a quarter-kilogram of spirit rice for you every day. Tell me, should we let Yu'an know about this?"
'Uncle Rongyuan left me a sum of spirit stones.'
'A quarter-kilogram of spirit rice every day.'
'One kilogram of spirit rice costs one spirit stone, and provides the equivalent of four hours of cultivation!'
Wang Yulou was not stupid. On the contrary, he was incredibly sharp, and he knew exactly what this meant.
In that moment, goosebumps involuntarily rose on his back.
Thirteen years after transmigrating into this world of immortal cultivation, Yulou felt for the very first time that he was truly, unequivocally a member of the Wang Clan.
'My past life is all in the past. In this life, I am Wang Yulou, Yulou of the Wang Clan!'
"Uncle Nianqiu, I will tell Yu'an about this matter myself. You do not need to worry."
Yulou replied respectfully.
Tang Nianqiu was far too experienced in handling matters and had considered everything thoroughly, but he simply did not understand the bond between Yulou and Yu'an.
Looking at the polite Yulou, whose mind seemed as deep as an abyss, Tang Nianqiu opened his mouth to speak but ultimately just patted the boy on the shoulder.
"Go on in. Focus on your cultivation."
——
In the pitch-black room, Yulou and Yu'an lay in their respective beds.
Tang Nianqiu was right. Though the room was small, it had everything they needed, including two separate beds prepared just for them.
"Yu'an, let me tell you something."
"What is it? Don't tell me you've already started taking notes?"
"Taking notes on what?"
"Taking notes on what clan rules I've broken, so you can tattle to Uncle Rongyuan when he gets back! Brother, Uncle Rongyuan only left two hours ago. Aren't you moving a bit too fast?"
"You idiot, it's not that!"
"Then what is it?"
...
"Hmm? Do you also like Senior Sister Ningyao? Wait, no! I mean, I mean... do you like Senior Sister Ningyao?"
...
"Brother, say something. I'm getting a little scared."
"Uncle Rongyuan knows that I only need three hours a day to reach the maximum Qi Induction limit for my dual spirit roots. He arranged a quarter-kilogram of spirit rice for me every day, so I can finish cultivating earlier and go study the artificing path."
"What's the big deal? Your aptitude is worse than mine, and the Qi Induction limit during the Qi Induction realm can't be increased by spirit rice anyway. In the end, you'll still become an immortal later than me~"
"He didn't leave any for you. Are you upset?"
"Brother, once I reach Foundation Establishment and need you to forge a handy spiritual artifact for me, will you refuse?"
"No."
"Then it's fine! No matter how well you study the artificing path, you'll still become an immortal later than me, hahahaha."
"'A youth's heart holds soaring ambitions, once promising to be the world's best.' It is a good thing that you have the ambition to become an immortal, but you still need to keep your feet planted firmly on the ground. Your Fire Control Spell practice today was terrible."
"Give it a rest! You have water and fire spirit roots. When it comes to starting a fire in water, even someone with a single fire spirit root might not master it faster than you!
"If you've got the guts, why don't you compete with me in melting gold and dissolving stone?"
"...Just go to sleep."
"So, do you like Senior Sister Ningyao or not?"
...
"Brother?"
...
"Are you asleep?"
"If you don't go to sleep right now, I'm taking notes!"
"Fine."