Spring fades and autumn arrives. Today, the sun shines just right; it has already been a year since they arrived at the Wuyun Sect. They continued to invest their longevity points into their magical powers. The restrictions of the Medicine Valley opened a small gap, and Chen Xun, leading the big black cow, walked out with a spirited demeanor, his storage bag filled with plenty of spirit herbs, all of which were their required contributions, not a single one less. They made their way to the main hall of the sect with ease, pausing outside for a long while, and today they finally did not encounter Senior Brother Le, or else they would have faced another round of lecturing.
Inside the hall, the same old man awaited them. Chen Xun, wearing a straw hat, respectfully said, "Uncle Master, I'm here to submit the spirit herbs."
"Hmm." The old man seemed as if he had never fully awakened, responding lazily. On the platform, Chen Xun released all the spirit herbs from his storage bag—neither more nor less, the spiritual energy wafting through the air. A glint of light flashed in the old man's eyes as he quickly counted, then took out a token, casting a spell, and said, "Not bad."
"You brat, it's you." The old man recognized Chen Xun beneath the straw hat and glanced at the big black cow. "You are the first disciple to enter the sect and still manage to submit the spirit herbs in full during your first year."
"Uncle Master, you may not know, but my family specializes in growing spirit herbs, so I have some experience."
"Quite impressive." The old man spoke a bit more today, producing a bagua token. "This is your contribution value for this year; it's yours now."
"Thank you, Uncle Master!" Chen Xun was overjoyed, respectfully accepting it and gripping the bagua token tightly in his hand.
"Just drop some blood to recognize it as yours, and off you go."
"Yes." Chen Xun ran off with the big black cow, having long memorized the location of the Contribution Hall. "Old cow, we've struck it rich!"
"Mooh mooh~" The big black cow kept opening its mouth and bellowing. As they passed by, the surrounding disciples frowned, wondering where this straw-hatted person came from, making such a ruckus.
Once outside the hall, Chen Xun found a secluded spot and quickly dripped blood to recognize the token. Upon checking, he was astonished to find they had 200 contributions!
"Wuhu!" Chen Xun jumped up, looking at the big black cow. "Old cow, we have two hundred contributions!"
"Mooh!" The big black cow was startled, standing on its hind legs and leaning against Chen Xun, quickly glancing at the bagua token. It should be noted that the sect's minimum contribution requirement for outer disciples each year was only 100, and they had exceeded it by more than double.
"Let's go to the Contribution Hall; today we're going to spend, spend like crazy!"
"Mooh!" The man and cow began to sprint, ready to storm the Contribution Hall.
Half a day later, Chen Xun and the big black cow emerged from the Contribution Hall with long faces. He held a long sword in both hands, his eyes vacant, utterly disillusioned.
"Damn it… the Black Hall." Chen Xun muttered under his breath, his mouth moving as he kept murmuring, "The Black Hall…"
"Mooh~" The big black cow's eyes were also dull; their contribution value had been completely wiped out.
"One immortal sword, 50 contribution points, a low-grade yellow-tier magical weapon."
"One alchemy furnace, 100 contribution points, a mid-grade yellow-tier magical weapon."
"A recipe for the Pill of Absorption, 50 contribution points."
Chen Xun stared blankly at the big black cow, his voice rising from low to high, "So our contribution points are gone? Huh?! Is that all?!"
"Mooh!" The big black cow bellowed angrily, longing to return to the valley and properly plow the spirit fields, saving up a few thousand contribution points.
"Old cow, back to the valley, let's farm! Can't we handle a Contribution Hall?!" Chen Xun shouted in anger, filled with ambition. "Let's plant for a few hundred years and empty that Contribution Hall!"
"Mooh!" The big black cow stood up, letting out a long roar, its muscles bulging.
"Stop that noise! No ruckus allowed outside the hall!" Several reprimanding voices came from within.
"Mooh mooh~"
"Let's go, let's go." Chen Xun chuckled awkwardly, bending over as he hurriedly led the big black cow away, moving stealthily, and they were checked for identification by the Law Enforcement Hall disciples several times along the way.
Everywhere they went, there were disciples of the Wuyun Sect, chatting excitedly in groups, their voices animated.
"The sect's grand competition is about to start again; I heard Senior Brother Bai Shi has exited seclusion!"
"Oh my, he's the pillar of our outer disciples; the sect master once praised him for having the potential to establish a foundation!"
"If he wins this year, I heard he could be directly rewarded with a Foundation Establishment Pill for the journey to Nanshan in four years!"
"Winning is a long shot for us outer disciples; it's already been claimed by the inner disciples."
"Still, we can go and mix in for some contribution points, enhance our strength."
… A few disciples passed by Chen Xun, their faces alight with excitement, completely unaware of the straw-hatted figure beside them.
"Brothers, wait a moment." Chen Xun gently cleared his throat, leading the big black cow over. "How many contribution points are needed to participate in the sect's grand competition?"
The group was startled; how did this person appear like a ghost, looking like an old farmer?
"Ah, this junior brother must be new to the sect?"
"Yes, yes, please enlighten me, senior brother." Chen Xun accidentally placed three low-grade spirit stones into their hands.
"Oh!" The three exchanged glances, surprised to meet such an amiable junior brother for the first time. They clasped their hands behind their backs and laughed heartily, "We're all fellow disciples."
"Of course, we're brothers, all brothers." Chen Xun smiled back.
"Junior brother may not know," the three looked at Chen Xun with newfound warmth, "the sect's grand competition is only open to Qi Refining stage disciples. If you rank in the top five hundred, you'll receive five hundred contribution points!"
"If you rank in the top one hundred, you'll get a thousand contribution points, and there's a chance to be taken in by the elders."
"If you rank in the top ten, you'll receive two thousand contribution points, directly promoted to inner disciple, and you can choose your own master."
"If you rank in the top three, that's something else entirely; not only will there be various magical weapon rewards, but also some unknown benefits."
The group revealed faint smiles, their eyes glimmering with longing; if they could enter the top one hundred, they would soar to great heights.
"How many people participate?" Chen Xun casually asked, feeling a stir in his heart; he only needed those five hundred contribution points. He had just seen that the recipe for the Foundation Establishment Pill required three thousand contribution points, which meant he would have to work for fifteen years without being able to exchange anything.
"Generally, around thirty thousand."
"So many?!" Chen Xun was taken aback; in his previous life, he had never ranked in the top five hundred out of a thousand in exams.
"Of course, not only are there many inner disciples participating, but also the descendants of the elders." The group shook their heads slightly, sighing softly. "Those people have high-grade yellow-tier magical weapons and various spells; they are not something we can compare to."
"That's just too unfair; what's the point of competing?" Chen Xun frowned; such magical weapons were like wielding a kitchen knife while they had a Gatling gun.
"The sect will consider us; inner disciples have their own competitions, and they only participate in the top one hundred rankings."
"That's not fair; isn't this just the inner disciples entertaining themselves?" Chen Xun shook his head; the resources for cultivation were too unequal.
"Junior brother, you're mistaken; our outer disciples are also talented, like Senior Brother Bai Shi, who is at the tenth level of Qi Refining—who can rival him?" The group boasted, as if Senior Brother Bai Shi were one of their own.
"Ha, that's true; I won't disturb you any longer." Chen Xun led the big black cow away slowly, deep in thought, as disciples rushed past him, some even soaring by on flying swords.