50: Chapter 50 He's probably gone mad.

"You're not dead? I called for you to come out earlier, why didn't you?" Deacon Wu was very annoyed.

Xia Shaoxin had just achieved a Breakthrough to the Qi Refining Realm, and his body was still humming and vibrating slightly from within.

It felt as if someone was giving him a massage from the inside, which was incomparably comfortable.

In a great mood, he stood proudly, believing that his spirit and energy were now extraordinary and that the people who had arrived would surely be able to tell that he had achieved a Breakthrough.

Seeing the two men, one wearing the attire of a Chiyan Sect Deacon and the other wearing unfamiliar clothing with an arrogant expression, he assumed the latter was someone of a higher rank within the Chiyan Sect.

He raised his hands high, traced a firm and powerful arc in front of his chest, and bowed to the two of them, saying, "This Disciple greets the Deacon and the Elder."

He did not bend his waist or lower his head, his eyes bright and shining as he looked directly at the two men.

The cave was dimly lit, so how could the two men see that the Utility Disciple before them had already achieved a Breakthrough to the Qi Refining Realm!

Hearing how Xia Shaoxin addressed Cao Ben, Deacon Wu was both angry and amused.

What kind of eyes does he have! Mistaking Cao Ben for an Elder? He must be crazy.

He pointed at Cao Ben and said, "This is Fellow Daoist Cao Ben from the Yue Kingdom; you may get to know him."

Deacon Wu's intention in saying this was to let Xia Shaoxin know who would be killing him shortly.

Only then did Xia Shaoxin realize his mistake. He blamed it on the fact that he had never seen an Elder before, and seeing that Cao Ben looked dignified and possessed more Aura than the Deacons of his own Sect, he had jumped to the wrong conclusion.

He still hadn't realized the severity of the problem and, thinking he was just a Loose Cultivator from the Yue Kingdom, hurriedly bowed to Cao Ben, saying, "Greetings, Fellow Daoist Cao."

When he was a Utility Disciple before, he would never have dared to call someone in the Qi Refining Realm "Fellow Daoist," but now he dared to.

Cao Ben was furious seeing him switch from calling him an Elder to a Fellow Daoist, thinking, 'Who do you think you are!'

"You are no longer a Disciple of the Chiyan Sect. Go with Fellow Daoist Cao from the Yue Kingdom," Deacon Wu said.

By emphasizing that he was no longer a Disciple of the Sect, his purpose was to sever all ties between this matter, this person, and the Sect.

"Ah? I'm going with him? Why?" Xia Shaoxin did not know what had happened and why he had to go with a Loose Cultivator.

That was fine too; in any case, he had already achieved a Breakthrough to the Qi Refining Realm, and he could just find another place to Cultivate.

"Come with me to serve as an official in the Yue Kingdom's imperial court," Cao Ben said playfully.

"You are from the imperial court? You aren't a Loose Cultivator?" Xia Shaoxin exclaimed in surprise.

"You thought I was some Jianghu Loose Cultivator?" Cao Ben felt very depressed, "I am an official of the Yue Kingdom's imperial court!"

Xia Shaoxin immediately thought of his own case.

"You really found this place! Why did you come here? Do you intend to execute me on the spot?"

Xia Shaoxin felt a chill down his spine and quickly made a decision: there is a Deacon and a Qi Refiner opposite me, can I beat them if I take a strength pill?

Cao Ben certainly did not want to make a move inside the cave, so he calmly said, "No, I have been dispatched by the Punitive Division to ask you to come down the mountain and serve the imperial court."

"Really?"

"Of course it's true, please."

When Cao Ben said this, his eyes flashed with a joyful light.

These were words meant to tease a madman.

But Xia Shaoxin misunderstood, thinking that Cao Ben had seen he had successfully achieved a Breakthrough to the Qi Refining Realm, had changed his purpose for coming here, and was wiping away his past crimes.

He thought to himself that this world still valued strength; once one had strength, everything could be forgiven.

He was still immersed in the joy of his Breakthrough to the Qi Refining Realm, and with his mind not functioning very well, he happily walked onto the Teleportation Array beside the stone door of the cave.

Seeing the sun again, he squinted his eyes.

"Deacon, forgive my rudeness, I haven't seen you before, may I ask how to address you?"

"You are about to leave the Chiyan Sect, and from now on there will be no chance to meet again. I am merely a Deacon; Your Excellency need not know me." Deacon Wu did not want to speak much with a dying man.

He urged him to hurry and walk out.

Cao Ben added, "This is my first time at the Chiyan Sect and I am not very familiar with the path. Fellow Daoist Xia, please lead the way."

Xia Shaoxin walked in front happily.

Deacon Wu knew that Xia Shaoxin would certainly die once he went out, so to prevent Cao Ben from making a move too early, he followed behind, escorting them away.

Passing by Xueyan Cliff, they were seen by Utility Disciples, all of whom were shocked.

Isn't that the kid who was sentenced to permanent confinement? Why was he released?

Many people quietly followed, wanting to see what was going on.

"Fellow Daoist Cao, what position will I have when I go to the capital?"

Xia Shaoxin was full of curiosity about his future, asking questions all the way.

Cao Ben replied casually, "I don't know, the higher-ups have their own arrangements, and you will certainly be satisfied."

"May I ask, what are the benefits of Cultivating in the imperial court? For example, do you issue Spirit Stones every month?"

"Ahem, yes, yes."

"Is your daily work mainly Cultivation or handling errands? It wouldn't be mainly handling errands, right?"

"When there are errands, you handle them; when there are no errands, there will be enough for you to Cultivate."

"I learned an Introductory Cultivation Method at the Chiyan Sect; does the imperial court have more Advanced Cultivation Techniques for me to Cultivate?"

"..."

Cao Ben could not take it anymore.

He said to Deacon Wu, "Fellow Daoist Wu, I think we should just knock this person to the ground right here and drag him outside to beat him to death. I can't take it anymore."

Deacon Wu's expression was cold and stern: "As you wish."

Xia Shaoxin was stunned and asked Cao Ben in surprise, "Who do you want to beat to death?"

"You, beat you to death, I want to beat you to death!"

"Why?"

"Yapping on and on, don't you know you're about to die?"

"Why would I die?"

"You fool, why don't you take a piss and look at yourself in it? A slave like you actually wants to go to the imperial court to be an official? Do you deserve it?"

"Didn't you say so?" Xia Shaoxin finally realized that the situation seemed a bit wrong.

"And you believed it just because I said so!"

Cao Ben's patience was exhausted; he didn't want to say another word, so he clenched his fist and swung it over.

Usually, when beating a Mortal, using twenty percent of his strength could potentially beat them to death.

Thinking that this person could kill two Utility Disciples who had Cultivated, he figured using forty percent of his strength would be enough to knock him down.

But then he thought, as long as he wasn't killed, being crippled was fine, so he could use sixty percent of his strength.

Besides having greater strength than a Mortal, a Qi Refiner would also be faster.

When it came to throwing the punch, he felt he should resolve it in one blow, so he used seventy percent of his strength.

Xia Shaoxin felt the surging, rolling power in front of him was extremely strong, so he dared not be careless and dodged suddenly, causing Cao Ben's fist to miss.

"Good kid, fast reflexes, you actually dodged my punch!" Cao Ben was very surprised.

How could a Mortal compare to the speed of a Qi Refiner!

Deacon Wu looked at Cao Ben coldly and snorted to himself: Useless!

"It seems I cannot be soft-hearted." Cao Ben's face darkened.

Deacon Wu wanted to grab Xia Shaoxin himself and throw him to Cao Ben, but he was afraid of hurting Cao Ben's pride, which was not the way to get along with the imperial court.

"Fellow Daoist Cao, everything you said earlier was a lie?"

"Nonsense, you killed so many people from the Gu Bureau, and the Punitive Division has been hunting you down; I just didn't want to kill anyone inside the Chiyan Sect!"

Xia Shaoxin was completely awake now.

So the imperial court does not respect talent at all; even though I am in the Qi Refining Realm, they still treat me as a slave!

The fire in his heart surged up; now that he was also a Cultivator and had the power to fight, could he just surrender?

Cao Ben thought he had been careless just now, so he clenched his fist, used full strength, and threw a punch that made the air crackle.

Xia Shaoxin felt the powerful pressure and, not wanting to meet it head-on, retreated again, dodging it easily.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

Cao Ben's attacks were as fast as lightning; in the blink of an eye, he had thrown three punches, all of which were dodged by Xia Shaoxin.

Eh, this kid, he's quite fast!

Deacon Wu felt that things seemed a bit wrong.