Chapter 31 9th Stage

"Whew, finally planted everything." Mo Xiaowen sighed, wiping the sweat of his brow. He had been living in his new residence for about a week now. In this time he actually held off from going to Sea Glass City and dedicated the majority of his free time to preparing the garden and planting the seed.

In his original residence he could produce approximately 2000 Body Tearing Grasses every 16 days, here he'd produce at least 10,000 Body Tearing Grass in that time frame. It was safe to say that his profits were sure to rise in the coming days.

'Good thing I stocked up on fertiliser, otherwise there's no way I could sustain so many grasses.' He thought before heading inside his new residence. Unlike his original one, it had two floors and even a dedicated room to cultivate.

Lately he'd been using it to train in instead of the woods near his original residence. For one his new residence was secluded so there wasn't anyone to hear him, and even if there was the room was sound proofed. Not to mention it was made of highly durable materials meaning he could train in there without fear of breaking anything.

"I wonder who'd abandon such a residence.....they did say last year." Mo Xiaowen muttered to himself as he lay on the bed. He'd finished all his objectives for the day so he decided to rest for a moment.

"It couldn't be Zhao Wuji's right?" Continuing on this line of thought it seemed to add up. High quality residence that hasn't been occupied for a year. If it wasn't that guy who else could it be?

"Zhao Wuji, Zhao Wuji, one day I have to meet him again. Maybe I should thank him...." The boy spoke to himself, looking back on his life before the speech he felt like he was a living dead. 'Striving for nothing, only cultivating to fulfill someone else's dream. At least I can say I am doing it for myself now. I've even made a good friend, life's quite nice....' He mused with a smile.

Just as he was about to drift off into sleep, his body shot up out of the bed. "I am burning day light, I should go train Punch of the Mantis Shrimp."

And thus the boy headed into the cultivation room and practiced his punches. A balance between work and rest were important, but Mo Xiaowen didn't believe in that, training was more relaxing than any rest possible in his opinion.

---

A few days later Mo Xiaowen was stood in a weird position within his cultivation room, practicing the Internal Rupture Technique, when all of a sudden a large sound erupted from his body.

"BOOM!"

The cultivation room shook slightly, while Mo Xiaowen ended his training a smug expression on his face. "9th Stage, just one more to go!" He said happily, clenching his fist in delight.

Now it was time for breakfast, and after he'd be heading to Sea Glass City with Old Ox, he had a number of Body Tearing Grasses to sell off. He then headed to the canteen and ate some eggs and bacon.

While his dislike of fish had reduced substantially over time, he still only ate it once maybe twice a week. And when he did it was never fish soup, if possible he'd never eat that again.

Finishing his breakfast for the day, Mo Xiaowen was about to make his way to Old Ox's residence when all of a sudden a loud sound echoed out.

"DONG!"

Hearing the noise, Mo Xiaowen felt as though he was being brought back months ago, it was a very familiar sound. 'Gathering Bell.' With that thought he rushed towards the Whale Subduing Plaza, he wondered if it was another duel or some other matter.

Arriving at the Plaza, a number of supervisors were stationed at the entrance. "Although the Gathering Bell has been struck only those at the 8th Stage of Body Tempering or above may enter." They clarified before sending a number of weaker disciples down.

Naturally Mo Xiaowen was confused, but he didn't question it and simply entered. He was already qualified before, and now being at the 9th Stage he was definitely qualified.

Standing on the Plaza, the number of disciples were much lower than last time. In total they were only around 500, although a few more disciples were entering the Plaza bit by bit. Eventually even Old Ox appeared which was surprising.

"You weren't asleep?" Mo Xiaowen asked the large man who had an annoyed look on his face.

"Actually I was, but the bell gave me such a fright I rolled over and knocked my head on the floor." Old Ox replied in irritation.

"Pfff, it was bound to happen sooner or later." Mo Xiaowen chuckled, Old Ox could only shake his head in response. This Junior Brother of his had been too mischievous lately.

"Ahem!" An old man appeared on the balcony overlooking the plaza. Some of disciples were shocked, while others were simply confused. The people who were in the know immediately bowed.

"This disciple greets Head Elder!"

Even Mo Xiaowen was shocked when he heard this. 'He's the Head Elder?' Without missing a beat he immediately followed suit to greet him. Luckily he had waited cause he was going to refer to him as just "Elder" which could've landed him in a lot of trouble.

What caused Mo Xiaowen to be confused, was that this was the nice old Elder that had given him his prize. On the other hand the Head Elder had a reputation for being strict and cruel. He simply couldn't connect those two images together.

"Enough! This is a serious matter, you must all pay absolute attention to my next words." The Head Elder declared causing the disciples to not dare speak another word.

"Swaths of bandits have appeared across the Flood Dragon Kingdom, and as the paramount Sect of the Kingdom it is our duty to quell these heinous criminals. In a week you will all set out in groups of your choosing to wipe out the bandits. If you have trouble finding a group contact a supervisor, they'll find you people to team up with. Remember this is an extremely important mission and a matter of life and death. Make sure to protect your own life and the lives of your fellow disciples. That is all!"