Martial Immortality: Starting with the Spirit Beast Scroll

"A new disciple?"

Xiang Shaofeng’s brow twitched. "Did he ambush you when you weren’t looking, or did he have help?" he asked in a deep voice.

The shame on Xiang Bao’s face deepened. He mumbled, "No ambush, no help. He defeated me all by himself."

Xiang Shaofeng was taken aback, his expression turning serious. "I never thought the Wuxiang Institute had someone like that. I wonder which family he’s from."

Xiang Bao was speechless for a moment. After some thought, he got straight to the point. "Brother, you have to help me teach him a lesson and get my things back."

Xiang Shaofeng’s eyebrows shot up. "You useless thing!" he snapped. "You can’t beat someone on your own, so you come running to me to fight your battles? Do you think you’re still a child?"

"If I were you, I’d take this loss, go back, and train my ass off. I’d get my revenge next year. What’s the point of resorting to these crooked schemes?"

Xiang Bao’s face flushed with shame, but he pressed on. "Brother, it’s not just about getting even. You know the grand prize for the Wuxiang Institute’s autumn harvest is a Wuliu Pill. I’m determined to win it, which is why I borrowed the Silver-spotted Fox in the first place."

"But that new disciple... I don’t know what tricks he’s using, but he kept getting ahead of me. He has several high-grade medicinal herbs now."

"With what he has, plus my own harvest, winning first place would be a sure thing."

"Brother, please, just help me this one more time."

Xiang Shaofeng fell silent for a moment, his expression softening slightly. "I’m in the middle of my own autumn harvest, you know."

Seeing his brother’s tone soften, Xiang Bao was secretly delighted and pressed his case. "The family has always been the one to use the Silver-spotted Fox. The heavy snows will seal the mountains in another month, and the fox will go into hibernation. It was a rare opportunity to borrow it for three days."

"If I return with nothing, how am I supposed to explain myself when I get home?"

Xiang Shaofeng glanced at the distant peaks. "I’m an inner-court disciple. If I go beat up a student from the Wuxiang Institute and the sect finds out..."

Xiang Bao quickly interjected, "We’ll do it somewhere deserted. Afterward, we just deny everything. No matter what he says, it’ll be his word against ours. He’ll have no proof."

Xiang Shaofeng pondered for a moment, then sighed. "Which mountain is your autumn harvest on?"

Knowing his brother had agreed, Xiang Bao was overjoyed. "Five Finger Mountain! We can get there and back in less than half a day."

Xiang Shaofeng finally made up his mind. "Fine. The inner court’s rewards this year are nothing special anyway. I’ll help you this once. But remember, you must take first place in the spring competition next year. If you don’t, I won’t let you off easy!"

Xiang Bao grinned. "Don’t worry, Brother. Once I get that Wuliu Pill, I’ll be able to break into the Blood Realm by next year."

"The Blood Realm isn’t that easy to break into..."

Xiang Shaofeng said no more. He led Xiang Bao down a secluded path, and they activated their Body Techniques, heading straight for Five Finger Mountain.

"You said... he’s only at the First Layer of the Qi Realm?"

Along the way, Xiang Shaofeng questioned Xiang Bao about the details of his fight with Zhao Lin. He was stunned to learn that Zhao Lin was only at the First Layer of the Qi Realm and used the Stone Roar Fist.

He knew his brother’s strength well. He wouldn’t have been surprised if Xiang Bao, when he was at the First Layer of the Qi Realm, had managed to defeat an opponent at the Third Layer.

But for it to happen the other way around was simply unbelievable.

’What in the world is so special about this guy?’

"You don’t understand, Brother. Even though he’s only at the First Layer of the Qi Realm, he’s way stronger than me. And even though I’ve practiced the Whirlwind Leg Force, my Body Technique is no match for his movements."

"Interesting."

This piqued Xiang Shaofeng’s interest even more. "But your cultivation is two layers higher than his. Did you practice the Fire Cloud Palm Force for nothing?"

Xiang Bao scratched his head. "It’s weird, now that you mention it. We were evenly matched at first, but then he pulled some kind of trick. His legs didn’t move, but suddenly he was behind me, and then he shot up above my head..."

Xiang Shaofeng frowned. "Were you seeing things?"

Xiang Bao vehemently denied it. "Absolutely not! I even heard a strange sound."

"What kind of sound?"

"It was like air leaking from a rubber ball... HSSSSS..."

"Stop hissing. I’ll find out for myself when we get there..."

The two ran for nearly an hour before arriving at the foot of Five Finger Mountain.

"Brother, your clothes are too eye-catching. Switch with me."

Xiang Bao said, taking off his training uniform.

Xiang Shaofeng changed into the uniform. "You just go find him," he said. "I’ll follow from behind. And remember, make sure there are no bystanders."

Xiang Bao nodded firmly, then lowered his head and muttered a few vague, unintelligible commands to the Silver-spotted Fox nestled in his arm.

The Silver-spotted Fox let out two soft cries and scurried quickly up the mountain.

To avoid being seen, the two ascended from the back of the mountain. They searched for a while on Middle Finger Peak before eventually moving on to Index Finger Peak.

...

The sun was high and bright, but Index Finger Peak remained cool and quiet.

Zhao Lin had collected a good number of medicinal herbs that morning and was growing increasingly confident about taking first place in the autumn harvest.

Whether it was Zhang Xiaoshan or Xiang Bao, they both relied on beasts to find their herbs. How could they possibly compare to him doing it himself?

Some disciples had found people to teach them how to find herbs beforehand, which certainly helped. But herb gathering was a deep and complex skill; it was impossible to master without years of experience.

Besides, with Zhao Lin’s current sense of smell, even most experienced herb gatherers were no match for him.

Around noon, Zhao Lin realized his waterskin was empty. He paused his herb gathering to look for a water source.

There were a few small lakes and pools on Index Finger Peak, and the water looked quite clean. But as someone from the modern world, he wouldn’t drink stagnant water, no matter how clear it appeared.

Perhaps because of the cold, there weren’t many disciples on Index Finger Peak. His path was clear and empty.

Before long, from a higher spot on the mountain, Zhao Lin heard the gurgling sound of water.

He saw a small stream flowing down a ravine, its water so clear it reflected his image perfectly.

He followed the stream uphill and saw a spring gushing from a natural crevice in the cliff face.

"Ah, that’s cold!"

Zhao Lin walked up to the spring, scooped some water into his hands, and took a drink. It was sweet and piercingly cold, the chill spreading from his throat down into his stomach.

He took out his waterskin, filled it to the brim, and leaped back down into the ravine, ready to resume his search for herbs.

Just then, the sound of footsteps reached his ears.

The rhythm, the cadence of the steps... it seemed familiar...

’Don’t tell me it’s him again,’ he thought.

Zhao Lin frowned. Standing at the bottom of the ravine, he looked in the direction of the sound.

Sure enough, Xiang Bao emerged from the woods, an odd smile on his face.

"What are you doing here again?"

Zhao Lin sized him up. Something about him seemed strange.

Xiang Bao wasn’t wearing his Wuxiang Institute uniform. His eyes were bloodshot, and they shone with a manic excitement, as if he were eagerly awaiting something. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Why can’t I be here?"

Xiang Bao’s eyes darted about, a cold sneer playing on his lips, but he didn’t advance.

"Don’t tell me you’re still thinking of..."

Zhao Lin trailed off mid-sentence, his attention suddenly caught by something else. He heard someone else approaching, and fast.

This person’s legs pushed off the ground with incredible force, creating the sound of crunching soil.

The footsteps had sounded distant at first, but within a few breaths, they were already nearby.

’Who can run that fast?’

Alarmed, Zhao Lin looked up to see a figure with a black cloth covering their face burst out of the woods.