“Excellent, excellent. Quite a few disciples have handed in spiritwinter bamboo today, but yours is definitely the best in terms of quality. It isn’t high-grade, it's definitely superior-grade. Very, very good job, Zhao Yiduo. Keep up the good work!”
Zhao Yiduo once again bowed to Elder Zhou, then looked over challengingly at Chen Zi’ang. “Junior Brother Chen, it seems you need to put some more work into your studies.”
Chen Zi’ang’s expression grew even darker, and he snorted coldly. “Isn’t it a bit early to gloat, Elder Brother Zhao? After all, it doesn’t count when you have someone helping you. Next time, I’ll definitely grow the spiritwinter bamboo to five meters tall!”
Hearing this, Zhao Yiduo laughed heartily. “Junior Brother Chen, if you talk yourself up too much, you’re bound to crash and burn. spiritwinter bamboo is extremely hard to grow because of the incredible amount of spiritual energy it requires. For Qi Condensation disciples like us, growing it to three meters is the absolute limit of the limit. And you think you’re going to grow it to five meters? Only Foundation Establishment Elders could do something like that. That’s not even to mention six meters. In all the years I’ve been in the sect, I've never even seen six-meter-tall Spiritwin--”
Before Zhao Yiduo could even finish speaking, booming thuds could be heard from the path leading up to the Missions Office, as if some enormous creature were approaching. Instantly, the Outer Sect disciples turned in shock, whereupon gasps began to ring out.
The standoff between Zhao Yiduo and Chen Zi’ang was also interrupted, and both of them frowned and looked over toward the path.
Soon, what became visible were the tops of several stalks of enormous bamboo, thicker than a person. They were a bright emerald green, and if you looked closely, you would even see some violet specks flickering on their surface. They also emanated a splendid, multicolored glow.
Even more shocking was the powerful spiritual energy emanating off of the bamboo, which instantly led to cries of shock.
“Wh-what is that stuff!?”
“It looks like some kind of tree! But at the same time, it also looks like bamboo!”
Chen Zi’ang and Zhao Yiduo were frowning, and couldn't even identify what it was they were looking at. However, they could tell that it was something incredible. Off to the side, Elder Zhou’s eyes were wide as he stared at the bamboo, and he even began to pant slightly.
Everyone stared as more and more of the bamboo became visible. When the bamboo was completely revealed, shockingly, each stalk was fifteen meters tall, and it was being carried by a petite young man, who was currently panting as he trudged up the path, the bamboo slung over his shoulder.
He almost looked like an ant carrying a steamed ....
Every step that he took resulted in a booming thud, and as he walked along, the Outer Sect disciples made way for him, shocked by how strong he appeared to be.
The young man was, of course, Bai Xiaochun, who had been grumbling to himself the entire way about the brutality of the competition and the horror of 10,000 Snakes Valley. Although he wanted to cry, no tears would come, and as he trudged along, he didn’t even notice the crowd of people looking at him. When he reached Elder Zhou, he tossed the bamboo down onto the ground, which resulted in a huge boom. Then he sat down on top of the bamboo, huffing and puffing a bit as he wiped the sweat from his brow.
“I couldn't fit this bamboo in my bag of holding. Man, I'm totally worn out. Oh, hello Elder, I’m here to hand in this mission.” All of a sudden, Bai Xiaochun got an odd feeling, and looked around to find everyone in the crowd staring at his bamboo. Gasps could even be heard.
“Bamboo.... That stuff is actually bamboo?”
“It's so big! I’ve never seen bamboo that big before. Come on, they must be trees, right?!”
Chen Zi’ang and Zhao Yiduo couldn’t conceal their astonishment as they realized what they were looking at. However, they almost couldn't make themselves believe it was true, and knelt down to inspect the bamboo more closely. Zhao Yiduo began to tremble, and had to resist the urge to try and break open one of the bamboo stalks to examine it from the inside.
Before he could, Elder Zhou tromped over and then waved his sleeve, sending Chen Zi’ang and Zhao Yiduo tumbling off to the side. Then Elder Zhou stood there, staring at the bamboo with wide eyes. After a long moment, he took a deep breath and said, “Th-this... this really is spiritwinter bamboo!!”
The surrounding Outer Sect disciples gaped in shock for a moment, and then burst into an uproar.
"Spiritwinter bamboo!! I can't believe those big trees... are actually spiritwinter bamboo!!”
“How is that even possible? How could spiritwinter bamboo get so thick? Heavens, they’re actually fifteen meters long!”
“Fifteen meters and as thick as a person. Th-that’s... bamboo?”
The sounds of the uproar grew even louder as people began to compare Bai Xiaochun’s bamboo with that of Chen Zi’ang and Zhao Yiduo. Previous Chapter Next Chapter
Please go to
install our App to read the latest chapters for free
Chapter
28: Pressure is Motivation
Bai Xiaochun gaped in shock at the commotion. Chen Zi’ang and Zhao Yiduo, apparently completely oblivious to the pain caused by Elder Zhou tossing them aside, rushed back toward the bamboo and knelt down to examine it.
Elder Zhou began to study the stalks of bamboo one by one, his expression that of shock and elation.
Everyone’s crazed reaction left Bai Xiaochun somewhat alarmed. In his mind, these people were acting like lunatics. It was just bamboo, after all, right? Besides, he had originally planned to grow it to a total of thirty meters before turning it in.
Bai Xiaochun took a few steps back and then tried to get the Elder’s attention.
“Elder….” he cried loudly.
“Wonderful! Amazing!” Elder Zhou said, laughing as he began to caress each and every inch of the bamboo. Apparently, he hadn’t even heard Bai Xiaochun speaking. “Spiritwinter Bamboo like this is extremely rare. Only by growing it to fifteen meters can it achieve such a deep green color. In fact, at this point, it’s not a medicinal plant, but rather, the primary ingredient to forge spirit bamboo swords. It can even be used to cast certain unique magical techniques!
“Listen up everyone. Take a deep breath.” Looking very excited, Elder Zhou closed his eyes and breathed in deeply through his nose. “Can you smell that fragrance? It smells like flesh and bone, right? That’s the unique aroma that appears after this type of bamboo reaches fifteen meters!”
Chen Zi’ang and Zhao Yiduo earnestly followed suit. The other disciples in the area also pressed forward to do the same.
Bai Xiaochun cleared his throat. He had noticed that same aroma as he was carrying the bamboo down the path. However, he was pretty sure that… it was actually the aroma of chicken bones. After all, he had buried several hundred Spirit Tail Chicken skeletons in the spirit field where he had grown the Spiritwinter Bamboo. Furthermore… those bones had all been stripped clean of their meat by none other than him.
By now, Bai Xiaochun was thoroughly convinced that these people were crazy.
“Elder….” he cried out again.
However, it was at this point that a violent tremor ran through Elder Zhou; flames of rage sprang up in his eyes, and his expression twisted with rage.