Chapter 2653 — Whom to Take Along?
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
In the Ice Palace, among the cluster of outer disciple dormitories, there stood the tallest and most luxurious building, the residence reserved for the outer disciple of highest standing: the chief steward of the outer disciples, charged with commanding all outer disciples in their division of labor, their cultivation, their rewards and punishments, and the distribution of their monthly stipends. His authority was by no means small!
Most importantly, the chief steward of the outer disciples had no chores to perform at all. He need only open his mouth and assign the work, and the rest of his time he could cultivate in peace just like an inner disciple, possessing every privilege of the inner disciples!
Apart from not being housed together with the inner disciples, the monthly stipends and cultivation resources he enjoyed were no different from those of an inner disciple. Even ordinary inner disciples, upon seeing the outer chief steward, had to respectfully address him as Senior Brother.
And the former outer chief steward of the Ice Palace had been Yubing; this, of course, was because of Feng Xiaoxiao. Otherwise, talented as Yubing was, he could never have occupied that seat. It was a position no different from that of an inner disciple, even somewhat higher in standing than an ordinary inner disciple.
Now the Ice Palace's outer quarters had gained another deputy chief steward: Zhao Qiwu, the one who had discovered the hundred-thousand-year heavenly treasure on this occasion. Though Zhao Qiwu too had been assigned to a dormitory nearby, he and Yubing were well acquainted, both being underlings of Wei Zhao, and so the two were on exceedingly good terms.
By the usual order of things, there was always some friction between a chief steward and a deputy chief steward, yet between Yubing and Zhao Qiwu there was none. Both owed their rise to their connection with Wei Zhao, both had been promoted with Feng Xiaoxiao's tacit nod, and so the two belonged to the same faction within the Ice Palace, both retainers of Wei Zhao's lady. What was there for the two of them to quarrel over?
So the two simply moved into the same villa to live together, frequently exchanging and comparing notes on cultivation. Their progress was, in truth, extraordinarily swift! After all, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth here was rich, cultivation resources were plentiful, and the two stood at the very top of the disciples' food chain. It could be said that they lived as freely as they pleased.
"Those cultivation pills, you still do not mean to take them?" Yubing glanced at Zhao Qiwu, somewhat puzzled. Ever since Zhao Qiwu had obtained those cultivation pills, he had stowed them away without using them. Yubing had not felt it proper to ask too many questions before; after all, the pills were the other man's, and too much asking might make Zhao Qiwu mistake it for a hint that he wanted some.
But after some time had passed and Zhao Qiwu still had not taken them, Yubing finally could not restrain himself and asked out of curiosity.
"Me, take them?" Zhao Qiwu was startled, then smiled bitterly. "You went so long without asking me that I thought you knew my purpose. To think you truly did not know, and in the end your curiosity made you ask..."
"People are always curious when they meet with something they cannot understand. I am no exception." Yubing was briefly taken aback, then smiled. "With cultivation pills, the sooner the better and the later the worse. Among those pills, the Small Qi Gathering Pills can help you break through to the Earth Rank, but once you have become an Earth Rank expert, the Small Qi Gathering Pills will be of no use..."