Chapter 26
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Chapter 26: Gentle Breeze Tower
"Our family’s so poor we can barely put food on the table!" Fang Huo lamented. Responsible for feeding all the children, he knew their dwindling supplies best.
"True, the children haven’t tasted meat in ages!" Longxing Tianxia added with sorrow.
"Mao Mao’s hungry!" the girl whimpered pitifully.
Fang Lie and the others immediately turned concerned eyes toward her. Mao Mao quickly reassured them, "Don’t worry! I’m okay for now!"
The girl possessed a unique constitution requiring daily spirit stone consumption. Without at least one low-grade spirit stone each day, she’d gradually weaken, develop fevers, fall ill, and potentially die.
When Fang Lie’s father lived, the Fang Family’s status among the Eight-Hundred-Generation Families ensured Mao Mao’s needs were met. But after their fortunes collapsed, sustaining her became arduous.
Despite this, none abandoned Mao Mao. Fang Lie even sold his only magical tool to buy spirit stones – a devastating sacrifice, as treasures defined cultivators’ strength. The cultivation world proverb rang true: "A low-level cultivator’s power lies two parts in skill, eight in treasures."
With his treasure, Fang Lie had ranked decently among outer disciples, shielding himself and weaker peers from bullying. After losing it, even poorly-equipped cultivators could drive him away like frightened vermin. Their hardships multiplied from that point.
Yet no resentment touched Mao Mao. The considerate girl often tried starving herself to ease their burden, only surviving because Fang Lie forced spirit stones upon her.
Though puzzled by her condition – even Fang Lie’s father couldn’t explain it beyond speculating about her origins – they cherished her. The late patriarch had jokingly called Mao Mao Fang Lie’s childhood betrothed before dying battlefield, taking her true history to the grave.
Now sensing hope, Mao Mao confessed: "I’ve been starving… lately one stone feels half a meal."
"Don’t worry," Fang Lie smiled, rising. "From today, three stones daily – breakfast, lunch, dinner! I’ll claim our overdue sect allowances now."
"We’re coming!" others chorused, standing.
"No." Fang Lie waved them down. "Those vultures outside might strike anytime. Stay guarded by Law Enforcement Heavenly Soldiers here. I’ll handle this alone."
"Be careful, Big Brother!" Ice Second Brother nodded.
"Pummel those scoundrels!" Fang Huo grinned.
"Stay safe," Longxing Tianxia said gravely.
"Return unharmed even empty-handed," Mao Mao whispered.
"Don’t fuss – I’m no child!" Fang Lie laughed, darting outside. Wings unfurled, he soared from their cave dwelling.
Beyond the sacred mountain’s bounds, Fang Lie sensed surveillance. Messaging Flying Swords zipped through air – Eight-Hundred-Generation Families’ spies reporting his movements. Powerless to stop them, he simply flew westward.
After flying for about half an hour, Fang Lie arrived at a sacred mountain owned by the Mo Sect, where the massive Gentle Breeze Tower stood.
This tower belonged to the Internal Affairs Hall and served as one of its branch offices, managing outer disciples across thousands of surrounding miles.
The five-story building had distinct purposes: The first floor hosted job postings for short-term work. Families needing youths capable of manipulating Spiritual Energy posted recruitment notices here – the primary income source for outer disciples.
The second floor displayed fixed sect missions. Every Mo Sect disciple had to perform monthly duties like gathering spirit minerals, harvesting spirit herbs, or constructing sect buildings.
These tasks offered no payment beyond contribution points. Outer disciples could exchange these points for Dao magic seals, treasures, and spirit pills.
However, sect goods were notoriously overpriced. Calculating the time spent, working short-term jobs for spirit stones could purchase more than these contribution points ever could – making sect missions blatant exploitation of outer disciples.
Yet refusal wasn’t an option. Those failing missions lost all sect subsidies, and repeat offenders faced expulsion from the Mo Sect – forfeiting their path to immortality.
Thus outer disciples reluctantly complied despite the unfairness.
The third floor distributed Sect Benefits. Officially, disciples completing monthly missions should receive five low-grade spirit stones and five spirit pills to boost cultivation speed for Qi Sea level Cultivators – these basic pills being worth roughly one spirit stone each.
But the corrupt Mo Sect ignored its own rules. Only family disciples received full benefits. Ordinary outer disciples got just two spirit stones and two pills monthly, with greedy Higher-ups pocketing the remainder.
Still unsatisfied, these parasites intensified exploitation against defenseless disciples without connections.
Fang Lie’s group – including Ice Second Brother, Mao Mao, Longxing Tianxia, and others – hadn’t received any subsidies since Fang Lie’s father died ten years prior.
Their mission quotas weren’t reduced but actually exceeded others’. Worse, their hard-earned contribution points got halved, then Gentle Breeze Tower staff stole seventy to eighty percent of what remained.
After years of this, the group couldn’t afford proper Dao magic manuals, let alone treasures. Their cultivation suffered until they resorted to Fang family’s limited library collection – heavy on fire element techniques but lacking ice element methods for Ice Second Brother or suitable ones for Mao Mao and Longxing Tianxia.
Yet they kept doing missions, knowing expulsion would doom their younger siblings at home.
Their sole hope had been Fang Lie’s cultivation. His top-tier spiritual root talent made Advancing in the Golden Pool seem effortless – becoming an inner gate disciple would have stopped the bullying. Without Xiao Huan’s ambush and false accusations, he’d likely have succeeded within two years.
Now, with his Lifespan potentially ending before breakthrough, that hope faded. Still, Fang Lie marched into Gentle Breeze Tower undeterred.
The ever-busy tower froze as he descended with wings fluttering. Outer disciples stared with mixed awe, envy, and terror, yet none dared approach – even those he’d helped before turned away guiltily.
Fang Lie understood. Being branded an enemy of the Eight-Hundred-Generation Families made him toxic. Anyone associating with him risked retaliation. Indeed, no other outer disciple dared oppose the clans so openly.
Ignoring the plague-victim treatment, Fang Lie stormed past cowering crowds to the third floor, confronting the elderly Cultivator responsible for distributing outer disciple benefits.
