This Kid Isn't A Loser!

"It turns out Master Shangguan is distributing the drugs himself, along with Inner Sect disciples Elder Sister Xu and Elder Brother Chen. They all came. You don't see this very often. Don't tell me there's an Individual Drug Distribution this time?"

"It must be. Look, Elder Brother Han Zong is here. He's the second-ranked disciple in the Outer Sect. His Cultivation base has reached the fifth level of Quelling Conscience. If he can reach the seventh level, then he will automatically become an Inner Sect disciple. Too bad Elder Brother Wang Tengfei isn't here."

"Considering Elder Brother Wang Tengfei's abilities, he wouldn't care at all about marijuana pills. The year he joined the Sect, he caused a big sensation amongst the Sect Elders. He probably doesn't want to violate Sect etiquette, so he'll rely only on himself to enter the Inner Sect. Then there will finally be a third Inner Sect disciple."

"Heh heh, this is gonna be fun. With Individual Drug Distribution, there's a twenty-four hour period of sealing in which the drug can't be used. Every two hours, the drug glows brightly. Anyone who wants to fight for it will be able to determine its location. Even if you hide it in your ass, your cheeks would just shine like a star for twenty-four hours."

Meng Hao listened to the discussions around him. Even though it was his first time taking part in this sort of thing, he knew whenever drugs were distributed, there was a lot of fighting. In his half a month here, he had seen plenty of fights and even some deaths.

If today was really an Individual Drug Distribution day, then the fighting would be even more intense.

Meng Hao remained silent. Considering he was at the first level of Quelling Conscience, there was no way he would end up with the pill. Just looking at the addicted faces around him gave him a deeper understanding of the expression "the law of the high."

"Quiet!" said the old man in the gold robe. The Cultivators standing below him were shocked to the core. Their ears hummed. Meng Hao was the most shocked of all, and it took him some time to recover.

"I am Shangguan Xiu. Today, everyone in attendance will receive one Suppressing Conscience pill, and half a Sniff Stone." Shangguan Xiu flicked his right arm, and immediately, hundreds of pills and Sniff Stones flew about in all directions. They landed perfectly in front of everyone present. Meng Hao gazed at the pill and Sniff Stone floating in front of him. A fragrant, intoxicating aroma washed over him. This was his first time ever seeing a drug pill or a Sniff Stone.

The Sniff Stone was about the size of his fingernail, sparkling, and almost translucent. Just looking at it was already trippy.

His heart began to beat rapidly. Without any hesitation, Meng Hao reached out and grabbed the pill. He was about to pop it into his mouth and swallow it down when he noticed that no one around him was doing any such thing. His heart lurched. He looked down at the pill in his hand and noticed that it had a faint glow to it, and was sealed with a strange mark.

As Meng Hao stared at the pill in his hand, Shangguan Xiu's voice once again rang out from the platform.

"There is also … a Dried Smoke Pill." A gray-colored medicinal pill could be seen in his hand.

As soon as it appeared, a wonderful cigarette fragrance filled the entire square. Even just breathing it, Meng Hao felt as if his narcotic energy had increased a bit. This was clearly no ordinary pill.

"That's… a Dried Smoke Pill!"

"That's … that's something incredibly precious to anyone under the fifth level of Quelling Conscience! There can't be many within the Sect, and yet, there it is!"

"When that pill is distributed, the fighting here in the Outer Sect will be fierce. Who knows how many people will die?" The crowd buzzed as they stared up at the glowing pill held by Shangguan Xiu, their faces filled with greed and desire. This was especially true of disciples who were on the brink of breaking through to a new level of cultivation. They fairly panted.

"Originally, the Dried Smoke Pill was not to be distributed today. However, I heard there was a disciple promoted to the Outer Sect this month, which makes me very happy. If we can do this every month, then brilliant glory lies just around the corner for the Reliance Sect. I bestow this pill upon that person as an encouragement." Shangguan Xiu smiled, and his glittering eyes swept across the crowd to fall upon Meng Hao.

"Fuck..." Meng Hao thought to himself.

His heart began to race. He just got screwed and had no time to react; Shangguan Xiu's right hand flicked, and the gray pill appeared in front of him. Before he could even make an attempt to refuse, the pill lowered into his hand.

As of that moment, Meng Hao's entrance into the Reliance Sect could be called unprecedented. The eyes of the entire crowd focused on him.

Greed and cruelty filled their expressions, as if they planned to rip him to pieces alive. Even the man and woman standing next to Shangguan Xiu were staring. The woman had a look of shock on her face, which she quickly covered up with an icy expression.

"Haha, so a first level Quelling Conscience disciple receives the pill. There will be a lot of fighting this time. This guy is going to be public enemy number one."

"He's finished. Last time there was an Individual Drug Day, the guy who received the pill was at the second level of Quelling Conscience. He hesitated for just a moment too long, so Elder Brother Zhao Wugang dragged him in a fury to the Public Area and lopped off his head."

The sound of discussion reverberated across the square, and many disciples of the second or third Quelling Conscience level, despite knowing the danger, grew greedy. Because the Cultivation base of the person who received the pill was so weak, they felt as if they were qualified to snatch it.

Meng Hao's entire body broke out in a cold sweat. He wanted to throw the pill away, but he found that it actually stuck to his hand, making it impossible to get rid of. Around him, covetous eyes stared at him menacingly, and suddenly, it was as if he could feel the shadow of death hanging over him. Some people began to slowly walk toward him, murderous expressions filling their faces.

"Junior Brother, why don't you toss that pill to me? If you don't, I'll give you a thrashing."

"If you don't give it to me, next year today will be the anniversary of your death."

The murmurs blasted at him like a cold wind from all directions.

At that moment, two old men sat cross-legged on one of the nearby mountain peaks, smiling as they discussed the scene unfolding in the Outer Sect Square.

"Master Shangguan really doesn't pay attention to things. To give the drug pill to a normie like that who just entered the Sect… He's finished. It seems our Reliance Sect will be short another disciple."

"The fighting this time isn't going to be interesting at all. I bet that as soon as the restrictive fog dissipates from the square, the normie will toss the pill."

As soon as the second old man finished speaking, the nine colorful, weed statues surrounding the square began to fade in color. From the look of it, after the space of about ten breaths, they would be completely colorless. At that point, the restrictive fog would also disappear.

Meng Hao's heart began to pound, harder than it did when he was high. He didn't need anyone to explain to him what would happen when the glowing pillars grew dark. The square would become a scene of madness. Even if he threw the pill away, that in and of itself would make some of the people angry at him.

"How… how could this be given to me?" said Meng Hao, sweating. His mind began to spin. If he didn't get rid of the pill, he would die; if he did throw it away, he would become an object of hatred. Trying to make use of all the knowledge he had acquired in his three years of studying, he looked at the fading, colorful glow, and then at Shangguan Xiu, who stood amidst the colorful fog on the platform, preparing to leave. At this critical moment, Meng Hao suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

He took a step forward and called out, "Disciple has something to say."

"Being able to come to the Reliance Sect and experience the wonders of living amidst Immortals has been a wonderful stroke of good fortune. Disciple would very much like to offer thanks to the one person who made this possible.

"Disciple has been waiting day and night for another opportunity to lay eyes on her, to offer thanks in person. Today, I finally have that opportunity." He talked faster and faster, and as he did so, Shangguan Xiu stared in shock, no longer making his leave.

"That person is Elder Sister Xu. Elder Sister Xu, Junior Brother is extremely appreciative of what you did, and is truly unable to pay you back. I would like to offer this pill to you as a measure of my thanks to you for giving me a new lease on life." Meng Hao lifted up his right hand, raising the drug pill up high.

Shangguan Xiu gaped, clearly never having imagined that Meng Hao would say such a thing. A strange expression appeared on his face, and he slowly smiled. Standing next to him in her silver robe, Ms. Xu also stared in shock. Even though she was still cold and detached, there was something different about her expression now. Her Cultivation base was the seventh level of Quelling Conscience, thus the Dried Smoke Pills would not be of much help to her. However, Dried Smoke Pills were still relatively rare and not easy to acquire, even for her, a member of the Inner Sect. If she took this pill and cooked it together with a few other pills, she could create a new pill worth five normal pills. For a moment, she couldn't help but palpitate with eagerness.

At this moment, even the man in the silver robe with the not very high expression looked down at Meng Hao.

Everyone was quiet. The Cultivators who had been advancing on Meng Hao suddenly stopped in their tracks, strange expressions on their faces. They stared at him with confusion.

After the brief silence, there was a sudden uproar.

"You can do this…?"

"To give away a drug pill in front of all these people, to an Inner Sect disciple… who dares to fight for the pill now? That would basically be picking a fight with the Inner Sect."

"What a pussy! Dammit, dammit!"

"That freaking… I can't believe I didn't think of doing this that one time. I would rather be called a pussy over being injured so badly I was bed-ridden for three months."

The people staring at Meng Hao seemed to all have different feelings on the matter. It was hard to say what had happened in ages past, but as for the Cultivators here, they had never seen anyone deal with a drug pill in this fashion. As of now, Meng Hao had been indefinitely impressed onto everyone's memories.

As of now, the dragon-carved pillars were completely colorless. The pill still lay in Meng Hao's outstretched palm, and yet no one moved to take it. This was truly something rare to see in the Reliance Sect.

Ms. Xu's expression had returned to normal. Without hesitation, her right hand flashed downwards, and the drug flew from Meng Hao's hand into hers. Seeing the pill taken away, Meng Hao secretly sighed. However, he knew that in his current state, it could only bring him calamity. Around him, everyone else sighed, feeling angry at Meng Hao. But, as soon as they thought of Elder Sister Xu, any such anger dissipated.

Ms. Xu hesitated for a moment. Considering her status as an Inner Sect disciple, it would be a bit improper to take something so valuable from an Outer Sect disciple and not offer anything in return.

She was silent for a moment, then said, "Years ago, when I was a member of the Outer Sect, an Immortal's Crackhouse was bestowed to me. I shall lend it to you to live in." She reached into her bag of holding and pulled out a white jade slip. She tossed it down toward Meng Hao and he grabbed it from the air.

"Elder Sister Xu's Immortal Crackhouse… this fellow really got lucky. They say there's a lot of narcotic energy in there, more than anywhere else in the Sect."

"Elder Sister Xu says she's going to lend it, but she's obviously just giving it to him. She just used the word lend so that everyone wouldn't think too much. This kid really did the right thing in giving her the pill."

"Dammit, I wish I had thought of this back then."

Just then, back atop the mountain peaks outside the Outer Sect were the two gray-robed old men who had been betting on the proceedings. Tall, grand, and high, their eyes were bloodshot. They laughed heartily.

"This kid is pretty interesting. He just entered the Sect, but already knows that he should find someone to rely on. Don't tell me he has innate instincts… Very good, splendid. He comprehends the true meaning of the Reliance Sect. This kid isn't a loser. He really isn't a loser!"