Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 308 - Lower Region

Chapter 308 - Lower Region

Everyone knew Lin Mingxu and Gongsun Zhen were picking on Liu Wuxie because of his low cultivation and didn’t dare to go after the other five. Not to mention, Liu Wuxie came from the mundane world and had no backing.

After all, these people were the easiest to bully, and they wouldn’t resist no matter what they were asked to do. But it was unfortunate that they were destined to be disappointed this time.

Humiliated in public, terrifying murderous intent swept out from Lin Mingxu and Gongsun Zhen as they clenched their fists and gritted their teeth.

“Very good. I will remember you!” Lin Mingxu laughed instead of getting angry, a brutal smile hanging on the corner of his lips. After joining the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, he planned to settle the score with Liu Wuxie slowly.

With that, the farce ended with Liu Wuxie’s name remembered by everyone. After all, Liu Wuxie was the only one chosen among the six who was in the third level of the True Core Realm.

Liu Wuxie walked out from the crowd and stood with the other five. Aside from Yin Yu, everyone maintained their distance from him, not wanting to get too close.

After all, those from the mundane world were trash, in their opinion.

“I’m Yin Yu!” Yin Yu walked over proactively, extending her hand in a gesture of goodwill.

“Liu Wuxie!” Liu Wuxie replied.

The remaining disciples went to the box to draw lots, randomly picking their colors.

Lin Mingxu and Gongsun Zhen were the first to draw and were both lucky. They both drew white, representing the Heavenly Trigram Peak.

“Hahaha! What a stroke of luck! Brat, you’re dead now!” Lin Mingxu burst into laughter because they had joined the Heavenly Trigram Peak. This meant they would have plenty of opportunities to deal with Liu Wuxie.

A bold idea rose in their minds. Even if Liu Wuxie could receive double the resources, the resources would still fall into their hands if he couldn’t protect them.

The other disciples followed next, spending an hour to divide into six factions, each with a roughly similar number of disciples.

“Brother Liu, I’ll visit you when I can!” Weng Li drew dark yellow, joining the Terrain Summit Peak. This meant they wouldn’t have many chances to meet in the future.

Liu Wuxie nodded in response. Out of everyone, only Weng Li had a relatively good relationship with him, and he wouldn’t mind helping if he could. After all, they all came from the mundane world.

When all the disciples were divided into six factions, they followed the six deacons to enter the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.

The deacon in white brought forty people with them to the Heavenly Trigram Peak’s Registration Hall. Everyone would receive their first batch of resources, uniforms, and disciple medals. The items were long prepared for them and arranged into boxes, with Liu Wuxie obtaining the largest.

Meanwhile, the decon who had escorted them took his leave.

"The information you need is inside the box. Open it up and take a look," said the Registration Hall deacon. There was no hint of emotion in his tone; he was already accustomed to this process, as the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion recruited disciples in large numbers annually.

When Liu Wuxie opened the box, he saw a cultivation technique, a martial technique, and a white medal aside from two uniforms. The medal would have to be activated by dripping blood on it. The medals were forged with special materials that couldn’t be faked. This was because the medal would be destroyed if the disciple died.

In addition, 500 mid-grade spirit stones were distributed, while others probably received only 200 spirit stones. This was because Liu Wuxie could enjoy double resources.

On top of the spirit stones was a jade slip containing the information of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, including the rules.

“There is also information on your residence. You can now leave with your items!” Everyone dripped blood on the medals to activate them. The medals emitted a faint radiance, establishing a mental connection with the disciples.

If the disciple died, the mark they left behind on the medal would be destroyed, and the sect would receive a notification about it. The sect would know when their disciple died no matter how far away they were. The miscellaneous disciples didn’t have this because no one would care about their death.

Keeping the box in the interspatial pouch, everyone left the Registration Hall. According to the jade slip, outer disciples were divided into lower, mid, and upper regions.

For example, those in the first to the third level of the True Core Realm were assigned to the lower region, those in the fourth to the sixth level were assigned to the middle region, and those in the seventh to the ninth level were assigned to the upper region.

As Liu Wuxie was only in the third level of the True Core Realm, he could only stay in the lower region. He would have to reach the fourth level of the True Core Realm if he wanted to move to the middle region.

This was to encourage competition between disciples. If someone wanted to receive more resources and have a better living environment, the only way would be to make a cultivation breakthrough. Otherwise, they could only stay in the lower region for the rest of their lives.

The competition began when everyone stepped into the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion. After leaving the Registration Hall, the group of forty-odd people separated, most heading to the middle region while the remaining few headed to the lower region, and Liu Wuxie was one of them.

The lower region had the poorest environment and was the most chaotic, which Liu Wuxie had a clearer understanding of upon arrival.

Everyone who stayed there was an old-timer with no hope of advancement. They had been in the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion for five to six years and could only bully new disciples.

It was the same for the Heavenly Trigram Peak and the other peaks. If they wanted to leave this place, they would have to work hard to advance their cultivation and be promoted.

The lower region was massive, residing over thousands of disciples. There were rows of houses lined on both sides of the streets, and disciples were passing by with hostile gazes.

After walking for roughly fifteen minutes, Liu Wuxie stopped in front of a courtyard marked with the number seventy. When he pushed open the gate, a rotten smell wafted into his nose, making him frown as he walked in.

The courtyard wasn’t large and could only accommodate four people. There were two main rooms, one on each side. When Liu Wuxie came in, three youths were seated in the courtyard, picking at their toes, and the stench came from their feet.

When they saw someone coming in, they stood up, and the man in the middle was the most conspicuous. He was in his thirties, and he had probably joined the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion for seven to eight years.

“It looks like we've got a newcomer!” The three men smiled as they walked towards Liu Wuxie, and the youth on the left reached out to pat Liu Wuxie’s shoulder.

“Get your filthy hands off me!” Liu Wuxie’s icy words echoed. He had joined the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion to cultivate, not waste time engaging with troublesome people. He wouldn’t provoke any trouble as long as no one provoked him.

Staying in the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion was only temporary because the resources issued each month weren’t even enough for him to return to the Celestial Realm in a thousand years. But he had no choice but to make do for now.

As time passed, the monthly resources received by these old disciples would decrease, and they were barely making ends meet. If they couldn't achieve anything by the age of forty, they would either be assigned menial tasks or handle miscellaneous matters. And these three weren't young anymore.

After all, the sect wouldn’t keep garbage around, and the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion was generous enough. In the other sects, everyone would be sent out of the sect to manage the sect’s businesses if they couldn’t advance for three years.

The man’s hand hung in mid-air, with his expression becoming stiff. He didn’t expect the newcomer to have such a temper.

"Senior Brother Zhang Lin, our newcomer, seems to have quite the temper!" The youth withdrew his hand, casting an eerie gaze. Zhang Lin stood in the middle, flanked by Zhu You and Wu He. It was Zhu You who spoke, his smile freezing on his face, replaced by a brutal grin.

Zhang Lin began to chuckle sinisterly, sending shivers down everyone’s spines. He said, “Well, we specialize in dealing with fiery tempers. Kneel and lick our toes!”

The moment he said that, the other two burst into laughter.

“Kid, did you hear that? If you want to stay here, kneel and lick our toes.” Wu He chimed in and deliberately removed his shoes to release a foul odor, demanding Liu Wuxie to go down to his knees and lick their toes.

“You all have one breath to leave. If you dare appear before me in the future, don’t blame me for being impolite!” Liu Wuxie was enraged. He wanted to maintain a low profile, but trouble tended to come knocking on his door like a curse.

“Hahaha!” The three burst into laughter after hearing what Liu Wuxie said. They laughed so hard that they began tearing up. The three might be stuck in the third level of the True Core Realm, but they had tempered their cultivation for seven to eight years. Even ordinary people in the fourth level might not be their match.

But today, a newcomer mocked them, and they naturally wouldn’t take this lying down.

“Brat, you’re finished just because of what you said earlier. Deathmatch is barred in the sect, but we will ensure you live in fear daily!” After Zhang Lin was done speaking, he punched Liu Wuxie without hesitation.

They were all ruthless and had bullied countless newcomers over the years. But it was special this year because there weren’t many who were assigned to the lower region.

Lin Mingxu and Gongsun Zhen were assigned to the middle region, meaning they would soon be promoted to the upper region.

Zhang Lin’s punch was powerful, as expected of an old-timer. Someone who had just reached the third level of the True Core Realm might not be his opponent, and the density of his true essence was even higher compared to those in the fourth level.

Most importantly, they had spent a lot of time honing their martial technique, and even the most ordinary attack could unleash incredible power. This was why many newcomers weren’t willing to offend old-timers and would even compromise as much as possible.

Zhu You and Wu He stood on both sides to prevent Liu Wuxie from escaping.

However, Liu Wuxie had no intention of running because he wanted to establish his authority. In the future, he would call shots in this courtyard.

The punch swiftly approached Liu Wuxie, who lifted his leg and kicked right before the punch was about to reach him. Furthermore, his kick was aimed at Zhang Lin’s lower abdomen.