Chapter 464 - 163: The Peak Master’s Frustration, a Peerless Treasure Pill
Before long, a gray-clad servant entered with a tea tray and poured a cup of hot tea for them both.
The tea was clear, and its fragrant steam curled upward, filling the room.
The servant moved with deference, bowing and exiting after pouring the tea, making not the slightest unnecessary sound the entire time.
Yang Jing kept his head bowed, but he could clearly feel a sharp gaze fixed upon him.
Qin Gang’s gaze felt almost tangible, filled with scrutiny, doubt, and a complex mix of emotions that was hard to define. It made Yang Jing’s back tense up and his palms begin to sweat.
’I just don’t get it.’ He had never had any dealings with this Peak Master Zhenyue, so why was the man so "focused" on him? The intense stare made him completely uncomfortable, and he instinctively quieted his breathing.
Qin Gang picked up his teacup but did not drink from it. He simply caressed the rim, his gaze directed at Yang Jing.
The look he gave Yang Jing was complex.
He couldn’t help but recall what had happened back then.
At the time, Zhenyue Peak had very few spots left for new disciples. He had examined Yang Jing’s innate aptitude and found it to be truly terrible.
In his eyes, someone with such poor aptitude would never achieve anything great in their lifetime.
But to his utter surprise, this boy, who had seemed like a lost cause, had fought his way through every obstacle to take first place in the Cyan Qilin Battle. Now, he had even broken through to the Qi Eating Realm at an astonishing speed.
In just over four months, he had accomplished something others might not manage in several years, or even a decade.
This left Qin Gang with a storm of complex, mixed emotions.
After rejecting Yang Jing back then, he had given one of the few remaining disciple spots to a young master from the Prefecture City’s Zhang Family.
The Zhang Family held some power in the Prefecture City. Compared to Yang Jing, that disciple’s innate talent was nothing special, merely average. But Qin Gang had wanted to repay a favor to Patriarch Zhang, and so he had made his decision.
Looking at the situation now, that disciple from the Zhang Family was nowhere near breaking through to the Qi Eating Realm—he was still ages away from even mastering his Inner Strength. Compared to Yang Jing’s progress, the difference was like night and day.
The more Qin Gang thought about it, the more sour he felt.
’All to repay a small favor to Patriarch Zhang, I gave the spot to that mediocre, useless young master who can’t even touch the threshold of mastering Inner Strength. And in doing so, I missed out on a promising talent with astonishing potential like Yang Jing. It was a truly terrible trade.’
To say he had no regrets would be a lie.
The Xuanzhen Sect’s rules were strict, and resource allocation had always been benchmarked against the strength and potential of each lineage.
In the eyes of the sect, only by reaching the Qi Eating Realm could one truly shed the label of "ordinary disciple" and be considered a proper disciple of the sect.
For every additional disciple a lineage produced who reached the Qi Eating Realm, the sect would grant that lineage a greater share of Cultivation Resources.
A disciple like Yang Jing, who had broken through to the Qi eating realm in just over four months, would earn Lingxi Peak a significant amount of additional rewards from the sect, bringing considerable benefits.
However, this regret was merely a faint twinge.
It wasn’t as if he was truly upset by it.
Qin Gang was already a master of the Pill Realm. From his lofty perspective, he looked down on Martial Artists of the Inner Qi Realm. In his eyes, someone at the Qi Eating Realm was merely a slightly larger ant compared to a Martial Artist at the Inner Strength Realm—incapable of making any significant waves.
Compared to a true powerhouse, they were still insignificant.
Unless, one day, Yang Jing could break through to the Qi Absorption Realm and then the True Qi Realm, gradually growing to become the head disciple of his lineage or even rising to the upper echelons as a Sect Elder—truly possessing the power to influence the sect’s landscape—only then might Qin Gang feel a truly deep sense of regret.
Qin Gang slowly shook his head, casting these cluttered thoughts aside. His gaze shifted to Bai Bing, who sat beside him with a composed, indifferent expression. He got straight to the point, "Peak Master Bai, you’ve come in person today. I presume it’s for the stake from our bet—the Bone Jade Pill."
Bai Bing nodded slightly at his words. Her cold, clear eyes showed no hint of emotion as she replied in a calm voice, "Correct. This disciple of mine has a rather poor innate aptitude. Though he has broken through to the Qi Eating Realm, his foundation remains flawed. The Bone Jade Pill is just what he needs to refine and improve it."
Standing behind Bai Bing, Yang Jing went rigid when he heard the words "Bone Jade Pill" and "improve it." First, a look of stunned disbelief appeared on his face, then a powerful wave of shock and elation washed over him, making his heart pound wildly.
’A Bone Jade Pill?’
’An elixir that can directly improve a person’s innate aptitude?’
He had always known his innate aptitude was poor; it was the greatest obstacle on his path of cultivation.
He had been secretly searching for a way to improve his aptitude, but he was well aware that such fate-defying Elixirs and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures were exceptionally rare and precious. With his current status and strength, he wasn’t even qualified to encounter such things, let alone possess them.
He had never imagined that the "serendipitous opportunity" the Peak Master had mentioned was actually her seeking out such a priceless Elixir for him!
What shocked him even more were the Peak Master’s words: "This disciple of mine."
’When did I become the Peak Master’s disciple?’
Yang Jing’s mind raced, and he quickly put the pieces together.
Though he had never been formally inducted as Bai Bing’s Direct Disciple, from the standpoint of sect hierarchy, he was an Inner Sect Disciple of Lingxi Peak. As Peak Master, it wasn’t entirely incorrect for her to call him her disciple. At most, it would make him a Registered Disciple.
Even so, Yang Jing felt a profound sense of gratitude.
He didn’t know what treatment other disciples received upon breaking through to the Qi Eating Realm, but he doubted any of them had a Peak Master personally visit another Peak Master to claim such a precious pill on their behalf.
’Before, I thought the Peak Master was going to ask Peak Master Zhenyue for the Bone Jade Pill,’ Yang Jing realized. ’But from the sound of it, they must have had a wager. And it seems my Peak Master won, and the Bone Jade Pill was the prize.’