"No, never in a million years," said Long Huang as he rolled his eyes.
"Was worth a shot," Huang Min said dejectedly.
"Oh! Did you notice that strange phenomenon last night?" she added.
"No, I was cultivating," Long Huang replied. Huang Min then said,
"More like sleeping, cause if you were there, there's no way you wouldn't have noticed."
"I said I was cultivating, " said Long Huang as he grew annoyed.
"Sure, sure. You're such a cultivating genius, but you still didn't notice someone drained almost half the spiritual energy in the city." Huang Min said in a mocking tone.
"What!!!"
Long Huang was shocked. Was it me? No, it can't be right... ?' But before he could finish his thought. Huang Min said something that made him laugh.
"Word on the street is that Chi Wei was the one who caused it."
"Haha, haha!"
"That piece of cow shit caused such a phenomenon," said Long Huang, laughing.
"Exactly what I'm saying. An Earth bloodline can't absorb so much spiritual energy. It's impossible," Huang Min responded confidently. Hearing this, Long Huang couldn't help but say,
"How come you seem so sure that it can't?"
"It's not like we've seen an Earth bloodline before."
"What's a stinky Earth bloodline?"
"Your senior sister here has a bona fide Heaven bloodline, impressive, right?" said Huang Min proudly.
"You...u...u... what? How is that even possible?" He stammered, struggling to believe his ears.
"How come I'm finding this out only now? How long have you awakened your bloodline? What bloodline is it?"
Long Huang quickly fired off a series of questions at Huang Min, but he was amazed that his boastful senior kept this secret so long.
Huang Min took a moment before responding.
"First off, it is known only to my parents. Second, I awakened it about 9 months ago. It's called the Heavenly Moon Spirit Bloodline."
"No wonder you looked down on Chi Wei," Long Huang remarked.
"Of course." Huang Min responded sharply.
"So I'm telling you it couldn't have been him who caused last night's incident."
Before Long Huang could interject, she continued speaking.
"Hmm, not only did I awaken a Heaven bloodline, but I also awakened a Heaven-grade constitution."
"So, I'm sure a puny Earth bloodline couldn't create such a phenomenon." Huang Min said, a hint of arrogance creeping into her voice as a slight smirk tugged at her lips.
"The heavens are truly unfair..." he whispered sarcastically, his face displaying his frustration.
Hearing this, Huang Min pouted and replied,
"What's so unfair?"
"No one can rival your senior here. So worry not, for in the future no one will dare bully you."
"Oh, great empress, protect me from the strong winds and thunder of life for eternity," Long Huang said sheepishly, his hands held out, bowing to Huang Min. Not wanting to hear any more sarcastic remarks from him, Huang Min changed the topic.
"Aren't you going to invite me in?"
Upon hearing this, Long Huang walked from the side of the house and opened the door.
"Sure, come in, make yourself at home. Empress," he said with a slight, smug smile.
"Oh, I almost forgot! Dad told me to give you this."
Huang Min said as she pulled a neatly folded robe from her storage pouch and handed it to Long Huang.
"Alright, give me a moment."
Long Huang replied. He quickly walked to his room while Huang Min sat on the handmade sofa in the living room. As she sat there, she couldn't help but enjoy how soft the sofa was.
After a few minutes, Long Huang returned, wearing a luxurious black martial arts-style robe with azure accents and an azure lotus design on the back of the official disciple robes of the Azure Lotus Sect.
"The robes suit you," said Huang Min.
"Thank you"
"So when are you going to build my house for me?" asked Huang Min, looking at him as if he owed her money.
"I'm tired of living with my parents,"
"Maybe after the martial arts competition," Long Huang said, though his voice was filled with uncertainty.
"Alright, it's a promise then!" Huang Min said with a big smile.
After chatting a bit more, she got up to leave and said to Long Huang,
"Just be careful not to get snatched up, okay, this senior sister."
Once she was gone, Long Huang thought about the martial arts competition and Ch Wei and how he wanted to get his revenge. That's when he realized he needed a combat art.
Though the legacy he received had combat arts, they required him to be at least the Profound Xiantian Origin Realm to begin, even the first layer.
"I should be able to get some assistance from the martial pavilion," he thought, and with that in mind, Long Huang headed down the mountain to the sect.
As he arrived at the sect's entrance, he saw Chi Wei surrounded by several female and some male disciples who were flattering him.
"Big brother Chi Wei, you're so powerful for causing such a big commotion when breaking through to the Skin Tempering Realm," said one of the disciples.
Upon hearing this, Long Huang felt bewildered, but then he remembered that Chi Qide was a Dan Disciple alchemist and had likely refined a perfect-grade Skin Tempering Pill for his son.
It must be known that Dan Disciples can refine pills from ordinary to mortal grade with relative ease. So, a Skin Tempering pill, a common grade pill that was easy for Chi Qide to refine.
Long Huang couldn't help but complain in his mind, 'Lucky bastard if it was me...', but his thoughts were interrupted by Chi Wei.
"Who are you and why do you have on our sect's official disciple robe?" shouted Chi Wei.
The others who heard his words all turned and looked towards Long Huang,
His appearance instantly made some of the boys envious, and some of the older female disciples had some indecent thoughts.
Long Huang, who initially was going to avoid Chi and his fans, had no choice but to respond,
"It's me, Long Huang."
Chi Wei, who heard this name, couldn't help but feel like the heavens were punishing him, but he didn't allow it to stop him from trashing.
"Well, well, well, look who we have here! If it isn't the prodigy Long Huang."
"Planning on being a boy toy after losing to me, I see." Chi Wei said, grinning.
"Still bitter about losing to me even after you beat me." Long Huang replied
"Get over it already. I said I was sorry back then."
Hearing this, Chi Wei's face twitched with anger as memories of the past resurfaced as he looked at his knuckle. It was 4 years ago that he and some other children came to the Fifth Elder's courtyard to get Long Huang to play with them, as instructed by his father.
However, Long Huang had just found out about his illness and wanted to be left alone. Knowing only part of the story, Huang Min tried to get Chi Wei and his crew to leave, but Chi Wei, childishly, said something that made her burst into tears.
"Go away! Brother Long doesn't want to play with you guys!" a 5-year-old Huang Min had exclaimed.
"He has no one to play with but us! Since his parents don't want him, I, Chi Wei, don't want to play with him."
This made Huang Min drop to the floor, throwing a tantrum. Seeing this, Chi Wei tried to pick her up, but at the same time.
Long Huang arrived at the scene, drawn by the sound of crying, and saw Huang Min crying, held by Chi Wei. Seeing this, he lost it. Beating Chi Wei and his crew, even going as far as to kick Chi Wei in the balls and bite off some flesh from his knuckle, leaving a scar.
Long Huang later learned what had really happened and apologized to Chi Wei, but Chi Wei was not satisfied.
And as they grew, Chi Wei's resentment only deepened.
Long Huang was praised as a prodigy, and Chi Wei felt burdened by living in his shadow, even as the sect leader's son.
"Still basking in your onetime victory, I see," Chi Wei said with a scornful tone, rubbing his knuckle.
"Aren't you the same?"
Long Huang replied, and with that, Chi Wei changed the topic.
"Hmph... what are you doing here at the martial pavilion? You do know you have to break through the Skin Tempering Realm to enter, right?" Chi Wei said arrogantly.
"Which set disciple doesn't know something so basic?"
Long Huang replied, his tone laden with sarcasm as he rolled his eyes as he entered the pavilion, not bothering to look back at Chi Wei. Frustrated, Chi Wei shouted,
"Hey, trash! Stop."
Long Huang, unfazed, remained silent and continued until he reached the front desk of the martial pavilion, where an elderly man was sitting.
"Name and cultivation stage," said the elderly man.
"Long Huang, 1st stage Skin Tempering Realm," Long Huang responded.
Hearing this, the old man was shocked, as he knew who Long Huang was and was amazed by his transformation. But his cultivation level surprised him more, since he had only awakened an Ordinary bloodline.
"Kid, there's no need to lie about your cultivation level," the elder said.
"I'm not," replied Long Huang. He then walked to the test stone and placed his hand on the stone, and a faint light indicated he was indeed at the Skin Tempering Realm.
"Okay, I believe you. Combat arts for your stage are on the first floor," the elder said.
"Thank you," Long Huang responded, proceeding to the first floor. The pavilion had three floors.
The first floor housed countless common and mortal-grade combat arts and cultivation techniques; the second floor featured yellow and black-grade combat arts; and the third floor contained some low and mid-level spirit-grade combat arts.
Plus, it held the sect's signature set of Earth-grade techniques, the Azure Lotus Scripture.
Long Huang couldn't help but lament that although he possessed an Ancient-grade Scripture legacy, he couldn't use it for a while.
"I guess everyone starts from the bottom," he thought as he browsed the combat arts on the first floor.