Chapter 36 - Conflict

Three months passed from the field’s sowing. During this period, Hei's training routine consisted of getting hurt, healing, cultivating, and looking after the field. Despite the enormous burden on the body, the results were equally satisfying.

The various parts injured in training had begun to harden due to the continuous process of wounding and healing. His hands, in particular, showed a considerable increase in hardness, so much so that Hei had finally been able to complete the well, digging at a depth that he considered suitable.

But it wasn't just his body that showed improvement; his spirit power had increased from the first stage, skin, to the second stage, muscles. His talent combined with the unique cultivation method he practiced and his constant training allowed him to breakthrough quickly without bottlenecks.

In the Flower Sect and Rainbow Island, this speed bordered on the absurd. However, it wasn't just him who showed signs of improvement. Lian had also grown a lot.

Her muscles had assumed more tonicity, and her body had acquired a more curved appearance. Her movements had also begun to possess grace and lightness not present before, in particular, while she was dancing.

Even if at first glance it might have seemed stupid to get her trained in dancing, since she was supposed to be a martial artist, Bao Bei knew what she was doing and how deadly the lotus flower style was.

Countless martial artists had been killed by the graceful movements of the flower and plant type divine beasts' queen. As for the elusiveness, she was among the first in absolute among the divine beasts.

From the perspective of spirit power, she also advanced to the second stage as Hei. With a talent comparable to that of him and undergoing training regimes no less intense than his, this result was very reasonable.

It should be known, however, that although the bloodlines had incredible effects on the comprehension’s speed of elemental laws, they had no impact on cultivation speed. That depended solely on the amount of personal talent and how much a person would train in cultivation.

Ye and Xing, on the other hand, had grown to reach half a meter in size, although this wasn’t obvious to the outside since they could adjust their size. Even from the combat point of view, they had improved a lot. Frequently fighting, they had learned how to move correctly against bigger opponents and how to react.

Bao Bei, Shui, and the other buffaloes remained the same. After all, it was difficult for normal animals to awaken their spirit power, while Shui was in its adulthood and had to accumulate slowly its power to be able to become stronger.

But they weren’t the only ones to show the changes of the time. In these three months, the field had given harvest several times. The portion intended for vegetables was planted with seeds of rapid growth vegetables, so during this period, all of them could eat the vegetables produced. However, the spirit grain was the pride of this field.

After three months and with the help of the spirit vein, the wheat was finally ready, just in time for the expiry of the sect's donation quota. Even with the three-section division, given the initial size of the field, the wheat’s quantity produced was considerable.

Therefore, on the last day of the period in which to make donations, Hei prepared to go to the designated collection point. As busy as he was in training, Hei had never left the territory assigned to him, not to mention that he had no particular interest in visiting the outer sect’s territories. Except for personal houses, there were, in fact, nothing but agricultural land, and with his status as outer disciple, he was allowed to wander only in those areas.

For outer disciples to go to the inner sect’s area, it was necessary to pay an entry fee in the form of contribution points. Only on rare occasions, the inner territories were open for free to particular outer disciples, like the selection tournament’s participants.

Therefore, after placing the wheat in large bags and having them tied to buffalo with his mother's silk threads, Hei left with everyone in the collecting point’s direction.

*

Donation Collection Point

It was nothing but a large warehouse that served as a temporary warehouse before transporting the donations to the warehouses present in the inner territories.

Outside the warehouse, a long counter had been set up in which various inner sect’s members were busy evaluating the goods and assigning contribution points or other forms of currency.

Around the warehouse’s perimeter and close to the collectors, numerous guards were positioned with the task of supervising the goods and resolving all kinds of problems that could arise.

There was a fundamental difference between these guards and the donation collectors, even if they were all part of the inner sect - the former was part of the regulations division led by the sixth elder, while the latter was part of the supply division led by the seventh elder.

It should be known that, regardless of the faction to which they belong, each member of the inner sect could be differentiated according to the task they were in charge of.

There were a total of five divisions and seven elders in the Flower Sect and, excluding the first two elders, the others were in charge of supervising their respective divisions, making sure that there were no problems in the sect’s activities.

Incidentally, the third, fourth, and fifth elders were respectively in charge of alchemy, blacksmithing, and formations and were chosen by the respective three factions. Only the sixth and seventh elders were neutral in inner power games due to their duties.

As for the guards’ presence, that was necessary due to the presence of spies in the outer sect. They were usually unimportant members of other sects, placed in large sects to monitor the situation. It was mainly the mid-level sects who used this trick - after all, their most important goal was to be part of one of the Rainbow Island's five big sects, and they awaiting the right moment to strike.

Since it was the last of the five big sects, the Flower Sect was often subjected to those spies. And even if an accident had never happened during the collecting session, it became common practice to adopt guards during every public event that involved both inner and outer sect member.

It was due to this reason that Hei had been forced to stay at the outer sect, despite the interest aroused in the sect elders. However, it had to be said that from their point of view, not even the craziest sect would risk the life of a talent like Hei using him as a spy. Without taking into account the albino buffalo and Lian, who had an equal level of talent.

But, even with the danger of spies, those present at the collection point were somewhat relaxed, thinking that it would be another day as usual. Unfortunately for them, their hopes were shattered, and soon, there was confusion in the people waiting in line for their turn.

Riding on the albino buffalo and leading the remaining buffaloes, Hei was approaching the place designated for the collection. The sight of all those mighty animals that walked neatly was amazing. How much skill did that boy have to maneuver a similar herd without constant orders?

"Hey, do you know who that guy is? Is he new in the sect? I've never seen him before. "

"I never saw him either, yet with that number of buffaloes, it shouldn't have gone unnoticed."

"Wait, now I remember something. Almost four months ago, there was a rumor among the new arrivals. They said that in the entrance test, a strange boy had arrived leading a herd of buffaloes. Is it possible that he is?"

Similar conversations were taking place among those present. When Hei first appeared in the sect territories, he caused quite a stir. But since he had disappeared from everyone's sight after that, the rumor had soon subsided. However, now that rumor began to circulate again, more powerful than ever.

The regulation division guards became annoyed by all this turmoil and ordered those present to be silent.

"I'll take care of it, stay at your positions." At one point, a white-haired man who had left the warehouse said.

Although he appeared old, the man showed a solid physical prowess, and his age didn’t affect his movements at all. His sturdy build was also noticeable from under his clothes.

Seeing him approach, Hei raised his guard. The man in front of him was strong, perhaps at the same level as the sect leader and the other two elders he had met.

"You don't need to stiffen like that, Hei. I don't have bad intentions."

Hearing his name come up, Hei become more serious,

"How do you know my name?"

"Ahaha, a prudent type. It's a pleasure to meet you, the same goes for the girl behind you.” The man said, turning to Lian on Hei’s back before continuing.

"I am the Flower Sect seventh elder, in charge of the supply division. I heard your name from the sect leader and the other two elders, that's why I know your name."

Hearing his words, Hei, together with the outer members in that place, couldn’t help but be surprised. It was not a common occurrence to be able to meet one of the seven sect elders.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, seventh elder," Hei replied briefly, joining his fists in respect. Before all these people, he certainly couldn’t behave as he had done with the sect leader during their agreement.

"I see you have bags tied to those buffaloes. I suppose you're here to make your donation. Come with me. I will examine your harvest." So turning to the crowd, "Everyone calms down. The boy is a member of the outer sect as you. He has come to make his donation. There is no need to make a fuss."

That being said, he led Hei to the outer spot of the long counter. The attendant sitting there stood up to make way for the seventh elder.

"Give me one of those bags." The seventh elder asked.

He obeyed and coming down from Shui, took one of the bags fixed on the buffaloes. Then he passed it to the seventh elder who weighed it in his hands.

"It weighs about 50 pounds. Considering three bags for each buffalo and a total of 8 buffaloes, they are around 1200 pounds. It could certainly be said that you did a good job as your first harvest." The seventh elder commented as he examined the state of the wheat inside.

"The wheat is of adequate quality. Normally I should check the individual bags one by one, but the sect leader seems to trust you, so I will trust her evaluation and will consider the others of the same quality and weight as this one. Are you okay with it?"

"Yes, there are no problems for me," Hei replied briefly while inside he felt relieved that the wheat had been accepted without problems.

But when the guards began to take the bags to transport them to the warehouse, suddenly, three figures arrived in the distance from three different directions that converged at that point.

The sect leader, the first and second elder, had arrived at this point at high speed. They had been warned of Hei's presence in that place, each by their own means, and their arrival shocked all those present, surprising even the seventh elder who wondered why they had come here. Regardless of their desire to recruit Hei, the boy had come for a simple donation, and this shouldn’t require the presence of the three main elders.

"SILENCE!" The first elder loudly screamed, silencing those present and approaching the seventh elder.

"Old Seven, what's going on here." He asked the seventh elder in an authoritative tone.

"Sect leader, first elder, second elder. I'm evaluating this guy's harvest, that's all. In total, he brought 1200 pounds of topo quality spirit wheat. Can I ask what is the reason for your visit here?"

When they heard that number, both the first elder and the second elder couldn’t help being stunned. Without delay, the first elder took one of the bags in the guards' hands and examined the contents — the grain inside contained spirit power.

‘Spirit power? How is it possible? Unless... ’ the first elder thought to himself, coming briefly to the answer.

He knew that Hei had remained all the time in the territory assigned to him without contact with other outer members, so there was no way for that grain to come from different areas of the sect. Therefore, this meant that the spirit vein was active in that place even though it should be inactive.

The second elder also arrived at the same conclusion as the first elder but decided to remain aloof at the moment to observe the situation.

"Boy, I'll just ask you once. Is that your doing? "

Hei knew what he was referring to, but he feigned ignorance and replied, "I don't know what you're referring to. I simply grew wheat, that's all."

"I see. I don't know if you are stupid or shameless. Do you have a vague idea of what this means? I honestly want to recruit you in my faction but this change-”

All of a sudden, the tension in the air became intense. A light brown-pink aura was being emitted from the sect leader’s body.

"I advise you to calm down, Chang. You should remember where you are right now."

A simple warning from the sect leader but containing a series of hidden meanings.

They were in the outer sect territories and therefore exposed to the presence of any spies. However, the most significant meaning was that she was already aware of the spirit vein’s situation.

"Xieren, you knew? And you didn’t consider informing me?" The first elder asked as he emitted an aura of a slight shade of red from his body, with a grandeur no less than that of the sect leader.

"Don't make me repeat it a second time. Calm down, or I'll have to help you do it."

The two were glaring at each other. The tension in the air was palpable and could be cut with a knife. All those present were terrified at the idea of a conflict between the sect leader and the first elder, especially when they didn’t understand the reason, yet they were at the same time, reluctant to leave that place.

The seventh elder, who was unaware of the state of the territory assigned to Hei but guessed there was something important hidden, intervened between the two.

"Even after your years of training, you are behaving disgracefully. I advise you to stop this nonsense, or I'll finish it. Obviously, Little Tai will give me a hand, will you?” The seventh elder asked the second elder while he was unleashing his spirit power.

The latter smiled bitterly and also activated his spirit power. The seventh elder, despite leading with the less important and less influential division, was also the strongest martial artist of the sect. Therefore he had some authority even over other elders and the sect leader.

Four martial artists representing the peak of the martial artists' society on Rainbow Island had activated their spirit power ready for combat.

At one point, the sect leader sighed and recalled her spirit power within her body, followed by the remaining elders.

"I'd say the situation got out of hand. I apologize to Old Seven for this lady’s behavior."

After making a quick bow to the seventh elder, she turned to Hei.

"Hei, come back to your home for the moment. Don't worry. The contribution points will be assigned to you without any problems. Later I will send someone to tell you the amount. I advise you to prepare yourself. In one month, there will be an extra opportunity for outer members to pass to the inner sect."

“Sect leader?" The seventh elder asked inquiringly.

"Given that the situation has degenerated in this way, I believe that some measures are necessary. Furthermore, it is within my powers to proclaim a possible extra chance for the outer sect."

Hei, who until that moment hadn’t said a single word asked, "Sect leader, is this trial mandatory for me? As you know, I have recently reached the second stage."

"Do you have complaints about this proposal? I thought you wanted to enter the inner sect as soon as possible."

"I have no complaints, but I don't like being forced. If I participate and win, can Lian pass to the inner sect with me without taking the trial? If this cannot be accepted, I won’t participate."

"All right, you have my word, don’t worry."

"Xieren, you-?" The first elder exclaimed angrily.

"This is an order from the sect leader. When you become the sect leader, you can make your own rules. The discussion is over." The tone of the sect leader was authoritarian and full of strength.

The first elder glared at her and left, while the seventh elder shook his head in disapproval and returned to the warehouse. The second elder gave a glance to Hei and Lian, and he also left that place followed soon after by the sect leader.

Hei, who could no longer do anything else in that situation, climbed back on Shui and led the buffaloes towards the spiderweb house.

That day, the rumor of a conflict between the four elders spread from person to person throughout all the sect, whether it was the outer one or the inner one. In particular, rumors about the strange boy responsible for that event.