"So that's why Yue Yun is so concerned about Star Luster Grass."
Hong Yuan skimmed through the "Rapid Bee Worm" recipe and immediately understood that Star Luster Grass was the main ingredient for refining the first-rank Sting Bee.
He quickly set aside the Star Luster Grass along with the other required materials, not planning to submit them.
Once the task was finished, Hong Yuan hurriedly left, heading towards the Phoenix Creek Sect's Outer Deacon Court.
「Outer Door Affairs Court.」
Under the incredulous gazes of other menial disciples, Hong Yuan carried a full basket of resources in, then left with an expressionless face.
In just one round trip, Hong Yuan's identity plaque was hung in the eighth position by the Outer Door Affairs Court deacon.
Ahead of him were other long-established menial disciples such as Chen Dongsheng, Liu Xiang'er, and the like.
"Wow, this Hong Yuan doesn't make a move for five days, but when he does, he's in the top ten!"
"That can't be real, right? Isn't Hong Yuan's Martial Arts aptitude really poor? I heard he couldn't persist long while practicing the Five Tiger Breaking Gate Sword Cultivation Technique."
"Heh, Martial Arts aptitude isn't just about the speed of learning Cultivation Techniques; the key is the Aperture."
"True. In previous years, how many initially underestimated senior brothers opened Class A Apertures, proving everyone wrong, while those so-called Martial Arts Geniuses ended up with C-rank Apertures."
"Aperture… Yes, I wonder what level of Aperture Hong Yuan will be able to open. The best, Class A? Or the worst, C-rank?"
"The Aperture Opening Assembly is the day after tomorrow. Why do I suddenly feel so nervous?!"
The other menial disciples expressed disbelief at Hong Yuan's achievements, but their attention soon shifted from Hong Yuan to the upcoming Aperture Opening Assembly.
Hong Yuan paid no mind to them. He returned to the large common room and silently packed his belongings.
Upon advancing to the rank of a formal disciple, he would have his own private room.
The private room was not large; it was so simple and narrow that it barely fit a bed and a stool. But Hong Yuan was happy because, through his own efforts, he had genuinely improved his life!
The noisy and foul-smelling sixty-four-person dormitory could be left for others who needed it.
「Late at night.」
Hong Yuan lay alone on the bed in his private room, earnestly studying the black cloth scroll detailing the "Rapid Bee Worm" refining method.
Rapid Bee Worm, a second-rank Worm, agile in form...
Refining method: Combine a first-rank Sting Bee with Energy Stones, Eagle Feather, the heart of a fierce tiger...
Sting Bee, a first-rank Worm, with a sharp venomous sting...
Refining method: Let forty-nine Tiger Head Bees fight and devour each other, and also mix in Luster Star Grass, Hundred Tempered Fine Iron...
Hong Yuan thought with relief, It seems that Yue Yun has been refining the first-rank Sting Bee. Good thing I made my move early.
His "golden finger" desperately needed time to develop.
Given Yue Yun's unorthodox methods and deep cunning, he would surely start refining the second-rank Swift Bee Worm after becoming a formal disciple and would raise a large swarm of bees as enforcers.
If Yue Yun discovered that he, Hong Yuan, had become a formal disciple and was showing signs of rising, Yue Yun would definitely either suppress him or probe into the secrets of his growth.
At that point, a direct confrontation with Yue Yun would be unavoidable, and it wouldn't be worth it!
When Hong Yuan imagined Yue Yun directing overwhelming swarms of bees to attack him, his scalp tingled; the scene was too horrifying.
Hong Yuan grumbled, Yue Yun, this guy's style is so unlike Martial Arts. He's just a major demon lord, isn't he?
While grumbling, Hong Yuan began to check whether he had enough items to refine the first-rank Sting Bee.
He definitely wasn't doing it so he could hide far away and let the Worms fight his enemies!!!
RUSTLE. RUSTLE.
Hong Yuan kept picking out items and arranging them properly.
After some effort, Hong Yuan found that for refining the Sting Bee Worm, he was only missing Hundred Tempered Fine Iron and forty-nine Tiger Head Bees.
The Tiger Head Bees were easy to find; a trip around the Phoenix Creek Mountain Range would suffice.
However, obtaining Hundred Tempered Fine Iron was not easy. A standard piece cost three thousand silver coins. I truly wonder how Yue Yun managed to acquire it.
Hong Yuan had no silver coins now; his entire fortune amounted to merely fifty silver coins.
"Money, oh money," Hong Yuan sighed softly as he pulled out a green Daxuan Dynasty currency note from his sleeve.
The currency note was quite plain. In Hong Yuan's view, its security features seemed particularly primitive. However, the material of the note itself was somewhat rare.
Hong Yuan furrowed his brows as he looked at the green currency note.
Suddenly, as if struck by an idea, Hong Yuan's eyes lit up, and he quickly checked his proficiency panel.
[Skills and Arts: Cooking - Second Stage (121/2,000)]
Cooking is a Skill and Art, so Painting should be too. If my Painting skills reached a level of deceiving realism, then I... hehehe.
Hong Yuan looked at the green currency note in his hand, a sly smile appearing on his face.
His mind made up, Hong Yuan drifted off to sleep, continuing to control his Mysterious Water Snake avatar to consume, evolve, and grow, so that his [Aptitude] and [Life Span] would both improve.
As the level of his Mysterious Water Snake avatar rose, the benefits Hong Yuan received from ordinary fish and shrimp became increasingly insignificant. He had to turn his attention to those larger fish and shrimp that had already transformed from ordinary creatures into Demon Beasts.
At this moment, Hong Yuan gazed ominously at a black giant lobster swimming freely ahead.
The black giant lobster was over two meters long, leisurely navigating the deep waters.
Hong Yuan longed to enter the deep waters and devour it; doing so would mean tonight's task was perfectly complete.
But Hong Yuan had a premonition: if he rashly entered the deep waters, he would face a lethal attack.
"Tch..." Hong Yuan swallowed hard, black saliva uncontrollably dribbling from the corner of his mouth.
He glanced at his Mysterious Water Snake avatar's level, still only medium-rank of the First Order, and ultimately abandoned the idea of entering the deep waters to hunt the black giant lobster.
Steady, steady.
My Mysterious Water Snake avatar can grow into a Second Order Demon Beast by methodically consuming prey. I'll wait until my Mysterious Water Snake avatar can advance no further before venturing into those deep waters.
Thus, Hong Yuan suppressed his instinctual desire to feed and returned to the shallower waters where he could hunt unchallenged.
Any fish, shrimp, crab, or turtle longer than a meter, Hong Yuan killed and swallowed without hesitation!
A night passed. Hong Yuan stopped hunting and returned to his cold, chilling cave.
[Life Span: 16/161 → 16/163]
[Aptitude: 17-18]
[Level: First Order - Upper Rank]
It's slow. The benefits are really diminishing. Fortunately, the Mysterious Water Snake avatar's level has advanced from medium-rank to upper-rank of the First Order.
Just bear with it a bit longer. Little impatience spoils great plans. I have plenty of time.
Hong Yuan closed his panel, withdrew most of his consciousness from his Mysterious Water Snake avatar, and shifted his main perspective back to his human body.
「The next morning.」
Hong Yuan slept soundly and woke up feeling wonderfully refreshed.
It was nothing like his days as a menial disciple, when he had to be urged to get up and start working.
After washing up, Hong Yuan, dressed in the green clothes that identified him as a formal disciple, leisurely made his way to the dining hall to eat.
On his way, he encountered an Outer Door Affairs Court deacon leading a group of pale-faced youths who were clearly new menial disciples.
These youngsters were generally short and appeared malnourished. Their gazes towards Hong Yuan and the other formal disciples were filled with envy and hope.
This familiar sight unconsciously slowed Hong Yuan's pace.
"Ah Li, in three months, we must become imposing formal disciples, so we won't have to go hungry anymore," one of the youths said.
"Yeah. I'll give it my all so Ma and Pa don't have to toil in the fields anymore," another responded.
"Hehe, country bumpkins sure dream big. Let me tell you, with things so chaotic outside, being able to join the Sect—that's your Luck Tao. In three months, I bet you'll still be dragged off to become laborers," another one chimed in.
Hong Yuan resumed his normal pace, heading straight for the dining hall.
Outside the Sect, the flames of war had not only failed to be extinguished but seemed to be burning ever more fiercely, hadn't they?