C13 Write down the Iou!

Ho Liao curiously picked up the pouch that the female cultivator had thrown to the ground and asked, "What kind of bag is this that can hold so many things?"

Seeing Ho Liao's naivety, everyone couldn't help but burst into laughter, even the Eastern cultivator chuckled and coughed.

Ho Liao knew they were mocking him, but he didn't care. After they finished laughing, he coldly glanced at them and said, "Is it that funny?"

The disciples of the Flying Cloud Sect felt the chill in Ho Liao's gaze and lowered their heads. The petite female cultivator whispered, "It's just a basic storage bag. Every disciple in our sect has one!"

"Alright then, hand over all your storage bags. They're mine now. This thing is fascinating, and I want to play with it!" Ho Liao instructed seriously, still very much a young man at heart.

Seeing their hesitation, Ho Liao raised the broken blade in his hand.

"Here you go!" The Eastern cultivator was the first to hand over his storage bag to Ho Liao.

The other disciples of the Flying Cloud Sect quickly followed suit, tossing their storage bags in front of Ho Liao. After all, none of them wanted to face Ho Liao's humiliation.

Ho Liao looked at the seven storage bags, thought for a moment, and said, "Since you don't have any money, I can't kill you. Each of you will write me an IOU for ten thousand dollars, with interest at twelve percent. Once you're done, we can go our separate ways. I'll come to collect when I have the time!"

"You bully! You've taken all our storage bags, and now you want us to write IOUs!" the petite young woman couldn't help but cry out.

Ho Liao, still just a child at heart, didn't understand the concept of showing mercy. Instead, he was even more playful and said with a hint of pride, "You said you'd kill me, but if I hadn't been stronger, I'd be dead by now. What's wrong with making you write an IOU?"

Hearing Ho Liao's words, the Flying Cloud Sect disciples knew they had no choice but to endure the humiliation. The Eastern cultivator was the first to tear a piece of his robe, using his own blood to start writing the IOU. Halfway through, he asked, "What's your name, so I know who to write it to?"

"Ho Liao, the rogue cultivator!" he replied nonchalantly.

"Ho Liao," the Eastern cultivator thought to himself, "I'll grind you into meat paste to feed the lowest of dogs."

Noticing the Eastern cultivator's grim expression, Ho Liao wasn't bothered. Instead, he laughed heartily and said, "If any of you want revenge, don't bother. I told you I'd come to collect the money, and I mean it. So, there's no need to waste your time looking for a rogue cultivator. Just wait at home."

Holding seven IOUs and watching their staggering backs, Ho Liao thought to himself, "Master, are all sect disciples so quick to kill?"

"Those with power but no virtue are all like this, whether they're sect disciples or lackeys of worldly families. It's the rogue cultivators, with no one to rely on, who are cautious and even make life-and-death agreements before acting," the Book Spirit said in Ho Liao's mind. Suddenly, it added, "Kid, don't get cocky just because you beat the Flying Cloud Sect disciples today. You exposed many weaknesses. If you weren't a rogue cultivator and they took you seriously from the start, that Eastern cultivator might have blocked your sword energy with his treasured blade, and the others would have attacked you together. You'd have met a grim fate!"

Hearing the mentor's words, Ho Liao fell into deep thought.

"You little rascal!" The Book Spirit paused before continuing, "But don't lose hope. You need to train hard and aim to break through to the second level of Soulkeep as soon as possible. Once you do, I'll teach you the second martial technique of the True Origin Method, the Dazzling Spirit Technique. You need to have at least twenty energy nodes to practice it. That way, you'll have an additional attack method. Otherwise, if your opponent blocks your sword energy, you could be in danger!"

"Master, how can I reach the second level?" Ho Liao was eager to advance quickly after hearing his mentor's advice.

"Kid, right now, the energy in your dantian isn't sufficient. You need to keep fighting. Only through constant battles can you stimulate your current energy nodes to expand. When the energy in these nodes reaches its peak and overflows, that's when new nodes will appear, and you'll have the chance to break through to the second level of Soulkeep!" the Book Spirit explained. "However, I see that your dantian nodes are only about seventy percent full. If you want to advance quickly, you must keep pushing your nodes to expand, or engage in a life-and-death battle. The immense pressure will force your dantian nodes to rebound rapidly, allowing them to mature and absorb the remaining thirty percent of energy they should be holding."

"Master, let's seek out a life-and-death battle!" Ho Liao declared with determination.

"Good lad, you've got some grit!" the Book Spirit replied approvingly. "If you're looking for a real challenge, you should find a disciple from a major sect."

Three days later, Ho Liao stood before a river, about 3,000 feet wide, its waters rushing swiftly under the blazing sun. He scanned the area for a boat while his horse drank from the river.

"Master, why aren't there any boats? I can't swim!" Ho Liao exclaimed.

"Figure it out yourself, kid. You can't rely on me for everything," the Book Spirit grumbled.

Ho Liao looked frustrated, when suddenly, a young man in red, around twenty years old, rode up on a fine horse. His eyes gleamed with intelligence, clearly marking him as a cultivator. Without sparing Ho Liao a glance, he dismounted and pulled a small paper boat from his storage bag. As soon as it touched the water, it transformed into a sleek vessel.

Leading his horse onto the boat, the young man prepared to cross the river, ignoring Ho Liao entirely.

Ho Liao quickly called out, "Hey, we're both cultivators here. Give me a hand, will you?"

The young man paused, glancing at Ho Liao with a cold expression. "Everyone crosses their own river. I don't beg from others, and I don't like others begging from me. I look down on those who plead and they can never be my friends. I won't ferry anyone who isn't a friend across. Just because we're both cultivators doesn't mean anything. There are too many of us on this continent. Do you expect me to help them all? Don't talk to me about favors or friendships."

"Is asking for a favor the same as begging?" Ho Liao asked, clearly annoyed. But then he reconsidered, realizing he hadn't seen any other cultivators for three days. Could this red-robed figure be the opponent fate had sent his way?

"Buzz off!" came the cold reply. The willow-leaf-shaped boat had already started, swiftly heading to the opposite shore.