Day Eight, Early Morning, Su Ji Now Seriously Questions Life.

The eighth day, early morning.

Su Ji was now seriously doubting his life.

Shouldn't the so-called "sparring" be a beautiful thing where both sides gain tremendously and advance their cultivation together?

How did it become one-sided poverty alleviation when it came to him?

Targeted poverty alleviation, at that.

He was responsible for giving, and the little fox was responsible for reaping the rewards.

Su Ji lay weakly on the cold bed, staring blankly at the roof beams, his mind completely empty.

He didn't want to do anything right now; he just wanted to lie there.

That little fox, Su Jiu, was lying lazily on her side, covered only by a thin quilt.

Right at this moment.

"Senior Brother, someone is approaching."

Thump, thump, thump!

Three urgent and heavy knocks abruptly shattered the tranquility of the courtyard.

The sound revealed an uncontrollable impatience.

Su Ji shivered, almost rolling off the bed.

Zhao Tianyang!

The old geezer was back!

Ignoring the soreness in his body, Su Ji tried to kip-up... and failed.

"Junior Sister! Quick! Hide!"

"That old geezer is back!"

"Oh."

Su Jiu simply replied with a lukewarm tone.

"What do you mean 'oh'! Hurry up! Don't tell me you can't change back?"

He remembered clearly that Su Jiu had said before that her secret art consumed a lot of energy. Once she came out of his body, she would need to rest for at least half a month before she could use it again.

For the past seven days, the two had practically been sparring and exchanging pointers day and night.

In her current state, could she still hide back inside?

"Senior Brother, what are you panicking for?"

Su Jiu sat up, having fully dressed herself at some unknown point.

Her figure blurred and transformed into that palm-sized, furry, chibi-like mini phantom. Only this time, her phantom was incredibly solid, and the third fox tail behind her was almost fully visible.

With practiced ease, she turned into a streak of flowing light and entered Su Ji's body.

Su Ji only felt a slight warmth at his Spirit Root, and then there was no further movement.

Thump, thump, thump!

The knocking outside the door grew more urgent, even carrying a hint of impatience.

Su Ji took a deep breath and straightened his crumpled robe.

Supporting himself against the wall, he stumbled toward the door, his footsteps unsteady.

Creak—

The courtyard door was slowly pulled open from the inside.

At the door, Zhao Tianyang's wrinkled old face was so gloomy it could almost drip water.

Behind him followed Zhang Kui, whose face was filled with anxiety and worry.

Zhao Tianyang had actually returned on the fifth day.

He had wanted to verify Su Ji's "quality" immediately but was desperately stopped by Zhang Kui.

Zhang Kui's excuse was simple: Steward Su was at a critical juncture of his secluded cultivation and absolutely could not be disturbed, otherwise all previous efforts would be wasted and everyone would be doomed together.

Although Zhao Tianyang was anxious, he also knew what was at stake, so he could only force himself to hold back his temper and wait outside for another three days.

These three days had been pure torment for him, every minute and every second.

Today, he truly could not wait any longer.

When he saw Su Ji's weak appearance, looking as if he had been besieged by over a dozen female cultivators, a flash of surprise and doubt crossed Zhao Tianyang's cloudy eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a look of understanding.

It seemed Zhang Kui hadn't lied to him.

This kid was indeed using some kind of secret art, and from the looks of it, the price was not small.

"Steward... Steward Su."

Seeing Su Ji looking half-dead, Zhang Kui's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly took a step forward to support him.

"You are..."

Su Ji waved his hand, his voice so weak it sounded like he would stop breathing at any moment.

"I'm... I'm fine."

He leaned against the doorframe, panting heavily, and squeezed out a smile on his pale face.

"I've kept... Old Zhao and Brother Zhang waiting."

Zhao Tianyang didn't speak. His cloudy eyes, like those of a falcon, were locked dead onto Su Ji, scanning him up and down.

After a long time, his hoarse voice slowly sounded.

"The seven days are up."

Zhao Tianyang's voice was flat, devoid of any discernible emotion.

"Are you ready?"

Hearing this, Su Ji's face revealed a perfectly timed touch of tragic solemnity.

He straightened his slightly hunched back, and those eyes that should have been dull and lifeless suddenly burst forth with a startling brilliance.

He spoke word by word.

"I am ready!"

Zhao Tianyang merely nodded slowly.

"Good."

He turned around, his thin and withered back looking somewhat desolate in the cold wind of the wasteland.

"Since that is the case."

"Then... follow me."

Zhao Tianyang didn't say another word. He turned and walked toward another direction of the mining area.

Zhang Kui quickly caught up, not forgetting to turn his head and shoot Su Ji a look. That look seemed to say: Brother Su, hang in there! Success or failure hinges on this one move!

Su Ji rolled his eyes in his heart.

Acting.

Everyone is fucking acting here.

Su Ji also took his unsteady steps and followed.

His acting skills at this moment could be called a natural performance.

Because he was truly weak.

Zhao Tianyang didn't take them anywhere else, but headed straight to his own residence.

Zhao Tianyang had no intention of inviting Zhang Kui inside.

His gaze landed back on Su Ji: "You come with me."

Hearing this, Su Ji followed him inside.

After entering the room, Zhao Tianyang didn't say a word. He just carefully took out a palm-sized box made of red sandalwood from his chest.

The box opened, and an abundant spiritual energy instantly permeated the air.

Su Ji took a closer look and saw that the box was lined with soft golden silk, on which quietly lay three jade needles of different colors, each about three inches long.

One was snow-white all over, emitting a soft halo.

One was as black as ink, yet it didn't look the least bit evil; instead, it gave off a feeling as heavy and solid as a mountain.

The last one was a faint pink, crystal clear, like the most touching blush on a young girl's cheek.

The tails of the three jade needles were all connected to a golden thread as thin as gossamer, and the other ends of the threads converged on a pigeon-egg-sized, completely grayish, and utterly unremarkable stone.

"This item is called the 'Three Talents Body Testing Stone'."

Zhao Tianyang's voice was hoarse as he picked up the gray stone.

"I originally wanted to find someone to test you."

"But the fewer people who know about this matter, the better."

"I could only settle for the next best thing. I spent a considerable price to 'borrow' this item from a declining sect."

He glanced at Su Ji with an undisguised scrutiny.

"It can verify the vast majority of special physiques in the world, with an accuracy rate of over ninety percent."

Su Ji's heart skipped a beat, but his face still maintained that weak appearance, and he even cooperatively coughed twice.

"Then... how do we test it?"

"Strip."

Zhao Tianyang spat out a single word, simple, direct, and leaving no room for argument.

Su Ji: "?"

"Old Zhao, isn't this... a bit too direct?"

Zhao Tianyang ignored his banter. He just stretched out his withered fingers and picked up the snow-white jade needle.

"This needle is named 'Bright Snow', and it tests the purity of a physique."

Holding the jade needle, he gestured toward Su Ji's chest.

"The Tanzhong acupoint at the center of the chest is the convergence point of the body's qi and blood. Whether one's physique is pure or not is most easily determined here."

Su Ji's cheek twitched involuntarily.

This old geezer was certainly a stickler for details.

To just test a physique, he actually had to strip.

Sluggishly, he untied his crumpled robe, revealing the rather thin inner garments beneath.

"Do I have to take this off too?" Su Ji asked.

Zhao Tianyang furrowed his brows.

Su Ji sighed. Resigning himself to his fate, he pulled off his inner shirt as well, exposing a chest that, while not overly muscular, was lean and well-defined.

Zhao Tianyang didn't waste any more breath. Gripping the white jade needle known as "Bright Snow," he slowly stepped forward.

Su Ji felt a sudden chill on his chest.

Silently, the jade needle had already pierced half an inch into his Tanzhong acupoint.

A gentle yet distinctly probing wave of peculiar energy slowly flowed down the needle and into his body.

He could feel this strange energy coursing through his meridians, as if it were searching for something.

The next moment.

Buzz—!

Without any warning, the white jade needle lodged in Su Ji's chest erupted with an incomparably radiant white light!

The instant he saw this brilliant glow, Zhao Tianyang's murky eyes suddenly lit up!