"A month has passed."
"Indeed, the most talented child has only just completed the trials of three Sects."
Su Bai clasped her hands behind her head.
She was conversing with Xu Changge.
In this past month,
many children had performed quite well.
It reminded Su Bai of her past.
Back then, when her parents passed away,
she was only at the Qi Refinement Stage - First Level, yet she had to work hard to earn Spirit Crystals to support herself.
Because her parents were Spiritual Farmers,
Su Bai also followed in their footsteps, farming for others.
If not for the appearance of the myriad realms cauldron, which allowed Su Bai to pursue a path as a Body Cultivator when she was in extreme poverty, giving her an extra trump card to use, she would have suffered a lot during the Qi Refinement Stage.
And the System even compensated for Su Bai's Innate deficiencies.
Her Physique improved Su Bai's life-saving ability.
The Creation Essence saved Su Bai from worrying about Spirit Medicine resources, allowing her to avoid searching for resources in dangerous Secret Realms.
Her Divine Soul allowed Su Bai to develop Divine Sense early on, which greatly helped her understanding of Alchemy and Cultivation Techniques.
Without these aids,
she would probably have farmed her entire life.
Perhaps she would be old now, lying in a wooden house, waiting to die.
Let alone Foundation Establishment, perhaps even the Qi Refining Stage - Late Phase would have been a luxury.
Although the assessment had only just passed its halfway mark, Su Bai no longer had the desire to continue watching.
As it stood,
those with outstanding talent were already receiving widespread attention.
Those who were not capable had already been eliminated.
Those who could still persevere now
had already passed the second round of assessment.
They were just waiting for the third round to begin.
So, she planned to return to the Danfu Pavilion.
After all, she had promised Yu Rou and Yu Ying they could go out and play.
Now that a month had passed, if she still didn't return,
the excitement would soon be over.
Watching Su Bai turn and leave,
Xu Changge asked,
"Leaving so soon? Not watching anymore?"
"No, I'm not watching anymore."
Su Bai responded to Xu Changge.
"Oh, right, remember to clean up your things. Littering isn't a good habit."
"Wait for me, Aunt Su!"
Watching Su Bai leave, Lu Hong also quickly got up.
Her original purpose was to accompany Su Bai, not to watch the disciple recruitment ceremony.
Now that Su Bai was leaving, she naturally wouldn't stay.
After Su Bai and Lu Hong left,
Xu Changge got up and slowly walked to the stone table.
She gently picked up a pair of chopsticks.
For this past month, Su Bai had been using them to eat her dishes.
"Hmm? A teacup is missing…"
Besides the chopsticks, there was naturally also a wine jar.
Just as Xu Changge was still looking around,
she noticed that the teacup Su Bai had used earlier for drinking tea and rinsing her mouth was also gone.
At this moment, there were only two teacups on the stone table.
"…"
After her eyes swept over the spot where Lu Hong had been sitting,
Xu Changge flicked her long sleeve, packing up all the items the group had left behind and taking them away.
As they descended from Xingluo Mountain,
Su Bai saw mirror-like scrolls in the sky.
These seemed to be the sub-mirrors of the jingyuan mirror.
The scrolls were projecting the figures of the children participating in the assessment.
There were also many people gathered together, shouting loudly.
Those people's expressions were quite frenzied.
Some cheered excitedly, as if they had become rich overnight.
While others were pale, as if someone in their family had died, their bodies swaying, looking as if they were about to faint.
So Su Bai used her Divine Sense to listen to what they were discussing.
"Wuwuwu, big brother, didn't you say that following your bets would definitely make money? I only have ten Spirit Stones left in my pocket!"
"Impossible, impossible! I have boundless luck, I am a born Gambling Immortal!"
"Big brother, stop talking, the more you talk, the more my heart aches. Sigh, I'm not gambling anymore."
"I don't believe it! Don't you still have ten Spirit Stones?! Lend them to me! I'll turn the tables directly!!"
Hearing this conversation,
Su Bai's expression showed a hint of disgust.
"So it's a bunch of gambling addicts!"
Su Bai had just been wondering how there could be such destitute people in the Inner City.
It seemed they had gone mad from gambling.
They were not worth pitying.
And all along the way,
Su Bai saw many Cultivators with expressions as if they had lost their parents.
These people were not allowed to stay overnight outside the Inner City.
They either had to find an inn to stay in, or rent an Immortal Cave, or simply buy a residence.
Otherwise, the enforcement team would make them leave that very night.
Upon returning to the Danfu Pavilion,
Su Bai found Yu Rou and Yu Ying had moved a small stool, sitting at the entrance, drinking tea and watching the jingyuan mirror's projection.
"Why are both of you outside? Usually, one of you is outside acting as a signboard, and the other is inside handling accounts?"
Yu Rou extended her slender fingers and gestured around.
Looking around,
besides the taverns and inns,
not many shops were still open.
Everyone had moved out tables, chairs, and stools.
"…"
"Alright, now that I'm back, you can take Yu Ying out to play."
"Yay, little sister, let's go!"
Although there were no customers now,
everyone chose to watch the show.
But there would still be those diligent Cultivators who didn't join the fun and focused on Cultivating.
Just as Yu Rou pulled Yu Ying and left,
a young man walked over.
He looked up at the signboard of the Danfu Pavilion.
Then he looked at the departing Yu Rou and Yu Ying.
This Cultivator seemed to have visited several times.
He recognized Yu Rou and Yu Ying as attendants of the Danfu Pavilion.
"Uh, is the Danfu Pavilion not doing business anymore?"
The welcoming attendants had left.
How was he supposed to buy Medicinal Pills now?
Should he go to the Danding Pavilion instead?
After the Elixir Cauldron Sect moved here, the Danding Pavilion under the Sect naturally also opened a branch here.
However, he still felt that the Medicinal Pills here with Su Bai were cheaper and more effective.
And he had bought them many times.
He didn't want to change places.
"No, we're open as usual."
Su Bai stood nearby, hearing the other party's words, feeling a bit confused.
She, the Shopkeeper, was right here, so how could it be closed?
Who knew that after Su Bai spoke,
the Cultivator first looked left and right.
Not seeing anyone speaking,
he touched his head in confusion.
"Eh! How strange!"
"I clearly heard someone speaking just now."
As the Cultivator uttered these words,
"Pfft!"
Lu Hong couldn't help but accidentally laugh out loud.
Su Bai's eyelids twitched.
She felt like she was being mocked.
However, she didn't care much about this.
"Fellow Daoist, look down, I am the Shopkeeper of the Danfu Pavilion. The store is open as usual. Are you here to buy Medicinal Pills?"
After Su Bai's reminder,
the Cultivator looked down.
Indeed, he saw a little girl.
He immediately reacted.
"My apologies, my apologies, I was rude."
Seeing Su Bai's appearance,
he also remembered seeing Su Bai a few times at the Danfu Pavilion before.
It was just that at the time, he only thought Su Bai might be the child of the Danfu Pavilion's Shopkeeper.
He had also wondered why, after visiting so many times, he had never met the Danfu Pavilion's Shopkeeper.
After the Cultivator bought his Medicinal Pills and left,
Su Bai looked at Lu Hong, who was still covering her mouth and snickering beside her.
She sighed helplessly.
Then she extended her two small hands.
Directly reaching for the soft flesh at Lu Hong's waist.
Tickling her until she giggled incessantly.
Soon, she was out of breath.
"Giggle giggle! Stop, Su… Aunt Su, I, I was wrong! Mm! Hahahaha!"
"Hmph, let's see if you dare to make fun of me next time!"
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