Chapter 457: A Cultivator Outside the Sect

All his life, Hul Ping had stood in awe of the Verdant River sect. It wasn't just an organization, it was a fact of life, a force as undeniable as the current of the river itself. Their cultivators were stronger, better funded, simply superior overall. Their highest ranks were unimaginable to someone like him, and the heirs to the sect might as well be higher beings.

And now he was watching it all crumble.

When Yul Wei Ren had brutally taken his sister, it had been enraging, but that hadn't truly shaken his belief in the sect. The strong dominated the weak, that was just the law of the jungle. He had taken the most lethal treasure he could find, trained, and attempted to at least save face through revenge.

Now, as he stood among the others in the headquarters gardens, the sect didn't seem so strong anymore. Two of the four heirs to the Great Rivers were dead, and not honorably despite all the propaganda. The other significant leaders had forsaken them, with the Poison Prince returning to the Purple River sect and Xir Xan Khan going off on unknown business. There were still many cultivators clinging to the strength of the Masterful Crown clan, but the festivities had an air of desperation.

"Go on, attack me!" Yul Wei Ren stood with his hands on his hips, urging them on. "Try a serious attack, really!"

Everyone laughed and pushed at one another, some saying that they had too much respect for him to ever attack. It seemed like he was getting irritated, though, and when the young master became irritated, people got into trouble. Hul Ping took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"Please excuse me, young master," he said with a bow, then he unleashed a qi attack.

When it neared Yul Wei Ren, one of the gems in his crown burned hotly and an aura burst around him. It not only extinguished Hul Ping's attack, it knocked him off his feet. He quickly dropped into a kowtow and stared in awe.

"Incredible! I couldn't even touch you!"

"That's because of this relic from my father!" Yul Wei Ren proudly showed off one of the gemstones dangling from his crown. "It completely nullifies all qi beneath the Sky Soul stage, rendering me invincible! Go on, try!"

Some of the others made their attempts, though less dramatically than the first. They babbled on about how impressive it was, how powerful the Masterful Crown clan must be, and how much they wished they had a father who could grant them such treasures. Hul Ping joined in, but his smile was hollow.

For the first time, he looked at Yul Wei Ren and thought he was pathetic. Everything in his life had been handed to him, but there was no substance to him whatsoever. All the men praising him, all the women fawning over him... they didn't care about him, they just wanted what he possessed. If his position fell even slightly, all of it would vanish, because he'd never earned any of it.

Hul Ping had once thought that such cultivators were superior to him, but now he knew that if he had been handed the same advantages, he would be just the same as them. So would any peasant, or even an animal. All this strutting around suddenly just seemed childish.

And Hul Ping was just as embarrassed with himself, both his past veneration and the current role he played, offering flattery after flattery. Like the young master was an empty shell that needed to be constantly pumped up or it would deflate into nothing.

But stepping forward first and giving fawning praise had been worth it, because Hul Ping was later invited into one of the inner meetings. There he poured the young master's wine, laughed at all his jokes, and tried to memorize as much as possible. He felt like he only understood 30% of what was being discussed, but even that was valuable intelligence.

The turning point came when they received new guests, cultivators wearing the robes of various sects and minor clans. It somehow turned into a fight, during which Yul Wei Ren was victorious... but for all that he declared his victory, the fight had been won by his relic and the strength of the Deepriver patriarch, not him.

Everyone gossiped about that afterward, laughing at how foolish the cultivators had been to attack and marveling at the strength of the young master. Hul Ping struggled to join them, because he saw it for what it was: weakness. When the young master's position had been truly powerful, he hadn't needed to exterminate enemies because they would never dare attack him.

That night, Hul Ping took a combat mission as an excuse and left the sect headquarters to reveal everything he had learned.

.

..

.

Though Hul Ping took great precautions not to be followed or discovered, he found that the Verdant River sect's organization had collapsed. They still held the major cities, but the forests, fields, and even the roads were a lost cause. Peasants went about their business without any taxes or fees, and some wore Redtree symbols openly.

After changing his clothes to blend in, Hul Ping was able to reach the rebel camp. He discovered that it had increased massively in size, sucking in minor groups. There were imperious cultivators everywhere, lording it over others with their Redtree medallions.

And Kai was in the center of it, as praised and celebrated as any young master.

What made Hul Ping tremble was that he was utterly different: Kai barely seemed to notice the praise, and he certainly didn't care about it. He seemed to be truly himself, as if the words of others couldn't touch him. If everyone had insulted and mocked him instead, he would be no lesser for it. Because, unlike Yul Wei Ren and his ilk, at his core there was something instead of an empty void.

"Oh, Hul Ping." Kai noticed his arrival and gestured for him to follow. "Let's talk."

"I have information for you," Hul Ping said, automatically bowing and intending to flatter. The larger man didn't even seem to notice.

"You shouldn't have come here so obviously. There are spies in camp, and if you attracted any attention, they might report you. It wouldn't be safe to go back to the sect headquarters anymore."

It was definitely a major mistake he should have noticed, and Hul Ping braced himself for a strike or at least mockery. None came and he realized that Kai had no need to beat him down. When they stood side by side, the difference between them was so obvious that a blow would have felt redundant. All Kai cared about was efficacy, so the reprimand was all that was necessary.

When they reached an isolated part of camp, Hul Ping nearly lost the power of speech. He had heard rumors about Kai's wives, but hadn't imagined they would be so astonishing. The first had strange golden skin, but everything from her clothes to her body oozed so much sex that the young man's mind was overcome. And the shorter woman had the most unbelievable skin he'd ever seen, putting all other women to shame.

After some stammering, Hul Ping managed to tell his story. He shared the minor information, then struggled to explain the final confrontation.

"When the cultivators insulted the young master," he said, "everyone began to move at once. I am 80% certain that it was one of the guests who struck first, but the Deepriver patriarch responded so quickly that it was hard to tell. The others realized they would be exterminated and acted in the same moment, some attacking the young master and some trying to surround the Deepriver patriarch. This all takes a long time to explain, but it all happened in an inst-"

"We know how high speed combat works," the seductive woman snapped. "It's interesting to know that the clan's reputation is weakening, but what was the meeting about?"

In an instant, she had realized the observation he had fumbled to afterward. Hul Ping swallowed and did his best to answer. "There are many strange rumors about the Loam of the Gods, but it seems that it is no longer producing as much immortality elixir as it once did. The Verdant River sect is failing to fulfill its promises, so even the Masterful Crown clan is being blamed."

"Did they say they were still delivering elixirs?" the goddess of a woman asked. Just her gaze made him feel like a filthy peasant. "Or are they only making more promises?"

"It is difficult to say, because much of what Yul Wei Ren says is lies. But I believe that he has a small store of immortality elixirs that is depleting as different groups demand it. His father is holding back the rest to purchase important allies."

The two women looked back to Kai and they exchanged glances that clearly conveyed more information. Hul Ping was struck by the realization that even though the women had asked the questions, he had never once felt like they were speaking over or dominating Kai. He wasn't threatened by letting them speak.

As they discussed plans far higher than him, Hul Ping wondered at the relationship. In his spiritual sight, it seemed as though the two women were actually stronger than Kai, extraordinary Sky Souls, and yet they were bonded to him. Now, he knew that Kai was even more powerful than he looked, but somehow Hul Ping believed that even if Kai was weakened or injured, they would stay with him.

Because, unlike so many of the women who were hired or threatened, they actually liked him. The cultivator goddess always looked at him with fondness, and the seductive woman's leg slid against his in an extremely suggestive fashion. Just the idea of the three of them together made Hul Ping's mind reel...

"Alright." Kai abruptly stood up and Hul Ping had to resist the urge to flinch. "Since you're stuck here now, we want to try something."

.

..

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What followed was the most brutal week of Hul Ping's life, with months of normal cultivation and years of physical training forced into just a few days. He didn't dare to ask questions, but he surmised that they were using him as some sort of experiment. Since it was increasing his strength rapidly, he didn't object and just went along with the river.

After Kai put him through grueling physical training, the seductive woman tested him with various painful injections. Somehow they made his Physique shoot skyward, exploding in power as his body seemed to be torn apart and knitted back together over and over again.

Part of him hoped that her experiments would require some sort of dual cultivation, but the way she looked at him... it was like he was less than dirt under her feet. No, there was never any hope of that, and he thanked his good fortune that she was bothering to touch him at all.

The goddess never did, and he still felt breathless in her presence. She forced him through intense cultivation and examined his family's Riverbed Stance. Even though she didn't seem particularly impressed, she gave him a few pointers that made his combat efficacy increase by leaps and bounds.

Just when he was so baffled by the whole thing that he wanted to demand answers, Hul Ping was given a jar of something they said was immortality elixir. That seemed impossible, but since any of them could kill him in an instant, he drank it readily.

Immediately new power surged through his body, like a thick oil that coated everything. He felt sluggish for a moment, and a layer of something new formed around his dantian. Yet, once he had finished the jar and his head stopped spinning, he felt far stronger in body and soul. When Hul Ping looked at his own cultivation base, he was astonished.

<

Name: Hul Ping

Total Power: 384

Cultivation: Nascent Foundation 32% (213)

Riverbed Stance (+25)

Physique: E-0 (80)

Immortal Body (50)

Soul Level: 4 (16)

>

They had taken him from 260 Power to 384, carrying him far beyond all the hangers-on desperately scrabbling for whatever scraps fell from Yul Wei Ren's table. And yet it seemed like it was nothing to them. Even though Kai complimented him on his hard work, Hul Ping couldn't escape the feeling that they were in some way disappointed.

Hul Ping wanted to praise them, to offer the same flattery or gratitude that he always carried as a shield, yet found that he could say nothing.