Chapter 29: Guidance Rebates, This Actually Works?

Dinner was chicken stewed with mushrooms, and the chicken soup was exceptionally delicious.

Ever since merging with the Saint Body, his appetite had grown significantly; he had polished off three bowls of rice and still only felt seventy percent full. He vaguely understood that perhaps... this was what they meant by "the more you eat, the more strength you have."

"Hiccup~"

Under the twilight of the valley, Li Wudao let out a burp and strolled leisurely back to his room. Before beginning his cultivation, he entered the system space to check his status. As expected, the rebates from Tang Yi and Deng Lin had arrived.

[Congratulations to the host for a successful investment. Investment item: ten bottles of Yuan-Replenishing Pills.]
[Total reward: ten thousand low-grade spirit stones.]

"Ten thousand spirit stones, not bad." Li Wudao was quite satisfied. It had been an unintentional act meant to win over hearts, but it had turned out to be a double gain.

Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. He recalled his "wide-net" strategy he had used at the restaurant before entering the sect. Why not replicate that? Although the vast majority of disciples in the Profound Sky Sect had mediocre destinies, there were simply so many of them. Even with just a double rebate, he would make a fortune. When that time came, would he ever have to worry about a lack of cultivation resources?

There was just one problem... his current status and strength did not permit it. Right now, he was merely seen by everyone as a disciple of the "Wasteland Peak" with a bleak future; how could he possibly have so many resources to distribute? If he couldn't explain it, he would most likely be captured, thrown into a dark cell, and have his soul searched.

No, that wouldn't do. Li Wudao shook his head. This matter required careful planning; he couldn't afford to be hasty.

"It seems I must perform well in this grand competition. I have to make a name for myself." The youth rested his chin on his hands, feeling a headache coming on. He didn't want to show his true colors too early; he still wanted to lay low for a while longer. But his need for cultivation resources wouldn't allow it. To facilitate large-scale investment in disciples, he needed a reasonable status and strength to protect himself.

"Forget it. I'll just invest in a few promising disciples for now to tide me over." Li Wudao pushed the thought aside and entered a state of cultivation.

The long night passed in the blink of an eye. Since breaking through to the peak of the Blood-Moving Realm, increasing his cultivation level had become increasingly difficult. It wasn't that his speed of absorbing and refining spiritual energy was slow; rather, as his realm improved, his meridians and Dantian expanded, requiring far more spiritual energy to even touch the barrier of the next realm.

Li Wudao sighed and got up, walking to the waterfall pool to splash some water on his face. He didn't know if it was a characteristic of the Pure Yang Saint Body, or perhaps the influence of the Emperor Scripture, but after an entire night and thirty bottles of Yuan-Replenishing Pills, he had only refined his cultivation a little; he was still a significant distance away from a breakthrough.

However, there were benefits. For instance, Li Wudao felt his blood energy was more abundant, his strength more formidable, and his spirit refreshed. He clenched his fist, and immediately, the sound of bones creaking echoed.

Li Wudao walked out of the valley floor to the stone forest outside, feeling eager to test his strength. "I wonder what my physical strength is now?"

Curious, the youth stood before a giant boulder weighing a thousand catties. He raised his hand, clenched his fist, and struck.

*Crack—*

As the force of his punch surged forth, a tyrannical power penetrated the entire boulder, and dense cracks instantly spider-webbed across its surface. The next moment, accompanied by a booming sound and a cloud of dust, the boulder shattered from the center of the impact, turning into a pile of rubble. The broken stones were uniform, and not a single piece was larger than a human head.

Li Wudao looked at his masterpiece, slightly startled. It was only a casual punch, using perhaps twenty percent of his power, yet it had such destructive force. If he were to strike with all his might, he could likely pulverize the rock into fine dust!

"Hiss, the blood energy of the Pure Yang Saint Body is truly tyrannical!"

Li Wudao was amazed. Previously, when fighting the phantom beasts in the Illusion Demon Tower, he hadn't had a clear sense of it. Only now, after shattering the boulder with a single punch, did he intuitively realize how terrifying the Pure Yang Saint Body was. If a boulder could be destroyed like this, a mortal body hit by such a heavy punch would likely be blasted into a mist of blood in an instant!

As far as he knew, a standard warrior in the Blood-Moving Realm would not temper their physical body to exceed ten thousand catties. Even those who specialized in physical arts would only reach thirty or forty thousand. But now, he estimated his physical strength had already reached the threshold of nearly eighty thousand catties.

The most absurd part was that Li Wudao didn't feel like he had reached his physical limit yet; it seemed he could continue to improve.

"Perhaps, within the Blood-Moving Realm, I can possess the power of one hundred thousand catties of blood energy!" The youth clenched his fist, his eyes burning with light.

In the days that followed, Li Wudao remained tucked away in the valley, spending most of his time cultivating and pushing toward the next realm. The rest of the time, he either practiced the martial arts he had obtained from the Scripture Pavilion or sat in a rattan chair, sipping wine and fishing. Unfortunately, he didn't know if his fishing skills were just terrible, but he came back empty-handed every single day.

"Damn it! I was an empty-handed fisherman in my past life, and I'm still one in this life! I refuse to accept this!" Li Wudao became anxious and simply decided to fish with his fists.

With one punch, his blood energy surged to the heavens, and a tyrannical force pierced through the water, sending a massive pillar of water erupting from the lake. The youth grabbed a large grass carp that had been shocked onto the bank and gave it several resounding slaps.

"Darn you! Not biting the hook, you're going to be the death of me!"

The sound of *slap, slap* echoed through the valley. A grass carp couldn't withstand such force; its head buzzed, and it exhaled bubbles before losing its life in an instant. That night, a steamed grass carp was served on his dinner table.

The next day, when his fishing failed again, he chose to "convince" the fish with force once more...

Situations like this happened almost every day. Gradually, Li Wudao went from being frustrated by his lack of a catch to slowly calming down, his face devoid of worldly obsessions. He was used to it; he had let it go.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. Having consumed most of the remaining Yuan-Replenishing Pills, Li Wudao finally broke through to the Great Perfection of the Blood-Moving Realm. He was just one step away from the True Essence Realm.

On this day, Li Wudao lay on his rattan chair, waiting for a long time, but still no fish bit.

"Why... why is this happening..." The youth tossed away his fishing rod and sighed heavily, unable to understand. In terms of strength, talent, and comprehension, he was confident he was invincible among his peers, yet he was repeatedly defeated by the simple act of fishing. After much contemplation, he reached only one conclusion: he was innately incompatible with fishing. He was the legendary "Empty-Handed Immortal."

"Forget it, forget it. I've been holed up for half a month; it's time to go out for a walk." Exhaling a breath of frustration, Li Wudao paced outward.

He wandered aimlessly and, without realizing it, arrived at the Martial Arts Field. This was a place specifically for sect disciples to practice their martial arts, and it was open to everyone. The field was immense, capable of holding tens of thousands of people at once. There were hundreds of sparring rings, all built with special refining materials, durable and wear-resistant; it was said that even a Martial King expert would struggle to damage them.

At this moment, there were at least a thousand people in the field. Li Wudao looked up. Many rings were erupting with intense battles; the flash of blades and the brilliance of martial arts skills were dazzling, making one's head spin.

"Hmm, quite a lot of people. I suppose I came to the right place." He activated his Hao Tian Eyes, preparing to look for a target for his destiny investment.

Just then, several disciples from the Li family saw him and hurried over.

"Young Master, why are you here? Are you here to practice martial arts as well?"

"Young Master, we haven't seen you for days. Did something happen?"

Li Dabao, Li Chang, and Li Xiaoyu were all chirping excitedly, clearly thrilled to see the youth.

"Oh, you all are here too," Li Wudao said with a chuckle. "How has your cultivation been lately? Have you been slacking off?" While speaking, he had already taken in all the information about the three of them. Li Chang and Li Xiaoyu had lesser talent and had only broken through a small realm, currently at the Great Perfection of the Body-Forging Realm. Li Dabao had decent talent and was already at the mid-stage of the Blood-Moving Realm.

"We haven't been slacking, it's just... my comprehension is lacking. I've been at this martial art for half a month and still can't master it," Li Xiaoyu said, her pretty face looking dejected.

"What martial art is it? Bring it out and let me see. Perhaps I can offer you some guidance," Li Wudao said with a reassuring smile.

Hearing this, Li Xiaoyu blinked her eyes and replied crisply, "Really?"

"Xiaoyu, hurry up and thank the Young Master!"

"With the Young Master's monstrous comprehension, there's surely no problem at all."

Li Dabao and Li Chang praised him endlessly, not doubting him in the slightest. On the day they entered the sect, the terrifying comprehension Li Wudao had displayed had stunned even the Sect Master and the Elders; surely, guiding them was more than enough.

Li Xiaoyu nodded obediently and took out a Profound-grade low-tier martial art manual—*Clear Wind Sword Technique*. This sword manual was considered one of the best available to outer disciples.

"Let me see—" Li Wudao took the manual and flipped through a dozen pages, his expression unchanging. Compared to the Emperor Scripture, such a martial art was far inferior; he could comprehend it at a single glance.

Ten breaths later, Li Wudao closed the manual and looked at Li Xiaoyu. "Xiaoyu, if there is anything you don't understand, feel free to ask."

"Ah? Young Master, you've already..." Li Xiaoyu's mouth hung open in surprise. Li Wudao had just flipped through it casually, and he had already comprehended a Profound-grade low-tier sword technique?!

"What do you mean 'fast'? I'm not fast, not fast at all." Li Wudao felt a vein throb on his forehead. What was this girl spouting? If this got out, how would he ever find a wife?

A quarter of an hour later, after some discussion, Li Wudao imparted numerous insights to Li Xiaoyu. Li Dabao and Li Chang also gathered around, listening intently to every word.

"Thank you, Young Master! All the parts I didn't understand before—I feel like I've suddenly seen the light!" Li Xiaoyu thanked him repeatedly, her eyes shining.

"This Ningxia Sword is a reward for you. Go to the ring and practice; if there are any issues, I will point them out for you." Li Wudao took out a Profound-grade mid-tier spirit sword he had received as a reward for clearing the tower. He possessed a pseudo-Heaven-grade spirit sword, and a weapon like this would only go to waste in storage; it was better to benefit his kin.

Li Xiaoyu wanted to decline, but seeing the deep, profound look in the youth's eyes, she swallowed her words. She expressed her gratitude, happily took the sword, and stepped onto an empty ring.

On the stage, Li Xiaoyu held the Ningxia Sword, her eyes bright and determined as she practiced the sword moves. From the initial stumbling, she gradually found her form and slowly managed to complete the entire set.

"This girl must be a newly entered outer disciple. To be able to comprehend a Profound-grade low-tier sword technique in such a short time is truly extraordinary!"

"The sword in her hand is nothing simple, either. It must be a Profound-grade mid-tier spirit weapon!"

Below the ring, a group of onlookers was attracted, their expressions filled with surprise. Not far away, Li Wudao watched quietly, feeling a sense of accomplishment.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for a successful investment. Investment method: Imparting the true essence of the "Clear Wind Sword Technique" to Li Xiaoyu.]
[Random reward feedback in progress...]
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining: One Spirit Weapon Star-Upgrade Card.]

Hearing the system prompt in his mind, Li Wudao was stunned.

Wait... this works too?