Jiang Chen's consciousness was getting hazy. The pain in his chest and back transitioned from a searing, throbbing sensation to a mind-numbing chill.

With his turbid gaze, he watched the masked figure close the distance between them in unhurried, deliberate steps, hands held behind as a silent declaration of the conclusion of their duel.

Jiang Chen gritted his teeth and tried to get up with every fiber of his remaining willpower. Even within the confused haze, his spirit roared against the indignation of suffering a defeat at the hand of someone he detested so heavily.

By now, Han Xuhan was standing very close, so close that all Jiang Chen could see was a pair of worn-out shoes. The feeling of being enveloped by his opponent's shadow only added to Jiang Chen's fury. He raised his neck and glared at Han Xuhan.

When their eyes crossed, Jiang Chen expected to see mockery and smugness, which would have surely given his spirit the final push he needed; but he saw only one emotion in Han Xuhan's eyes.

Pity.

That look took his mind back several years in the past. When he had just turned old enough to understand the way of society and the complexity of human relationships.

Pity from his father, the head of the clan who saw no potential in him as a future patriarch of their lineage.

Pity from his grandfather, who had tested his spiritual affinities and realized that he didn't deserve the best nurturing quota of their clan.

Pity from the cultivators of his family, who had gone through decades of hardship outside the clan's territory.

Pity from the Elders of the Crimson Snow Sect, who saw through his capabilities and determined that he was most likely to end up in the mediocre section of the batch.

Pity from the mountain-master of Starheart Mountain Peak, who realized that Jiang Chen wasn't really cut out for the secondary skill he was teaching.

In Jiang Chen's vision, all of those sympathetic, and yet indifferent, calm gazes superimposed themselves on Han Xuhan. And the flickering memories of so many failures crushed the little spirit left in him.

With an unwilling, muffled roar, Jiang Chen's head hit the ground. The scent of fresh soil and young grass began to cleanse the thoughts of resistance. His torso felt like a cold shell of iron, too heavy to move.

At that moment, Jiang Chen truly hoped that his consciousness would stop torturing him.

Unfortunately, there was still a considerable gap between a martial artist who has just reached the second phase and a martial artist who has been hammering away at the bottleneck to the third phase for some time.

Han Xuhan's knee strike was not a killing move. It was just one of the heavy-handed offensive moves of the Lightfoot Swallow Manual. Even suffering the full brunt of the strike, Jiang Chen would not be knocked out.

The enhanced Physique of a martial artist began to show its worth gradually. Torn skin stopped oozing blood. Ruptured flesh began to wriggle and mend itself slowly, methodically, even though the effects weren't immediately visible to the naked eye.

Fixing broken bones was still a task far beyond the capabilities of a third-phase martial artist's body. So Jiang Chen didn't wait for such miracles and forced himself to sit up the moment he felt that he could do so, enduring great pain.

Han Xuhan hadn't spoken a word until now. Seeing Jiang Chen grab onto the fence for support, he stepped back and headed to the other end of the yard.

When Jiang Chen stabilized himself on his feet, he noticed a pouch hanging in front of his face. His heart trembled.

But this pouch... It didn't seem to be the same one Han Xuhan had blackmailed him with. This one was much smaller, barely half of its size.

"What the hell is this?" He asked breathlessly.

"Purple-petal Nightflower Essence Powder. This material is useless for you. Neither will Senior Brother Chen Yan have any direct use for it. But rest assured, there are exactly 500 spirit stones' worth of the powder in this bag. And Chen Yan won't turn it down."

Jiang Chen was a little confused. If Senior Brother Chen Yan couldn't use this cultivation resource, why would he accept it? Just because it was valuable?

Han Xuhan seemed to see through the thoughts in his heart. But he simply smiled and threw the pouch at Jiang Chen's face, as if he wasn't afraid of spilling the powder and suffering a loss.

Jiang Chen haphazardously caught the pouch and nearly fell to his knees from the spikes of pain all over his torso. By the time he recovered, the backyard of the hut appeared to be empty. The only door nearby was locked.

Jiang Chen stood there for a long time absentmindedly, letting his body heal a bit more. But the walk back to the Starheart Mountain Peak still became a hellish experience. Halfway on the road, he fell on all fours and lay still on the dirt, unable to bear the pain of further movements.

Some disciples walking by eventually noticed him and took him to the infirmary in a hurry. Jiang Chen didn't even have the strength in his voice to tell them that their rough escorting was only making the pain worse.

At nighttime, Senior Brother Chen Yan came to visit him in his cabin, accompanied by all three friends Jiang Chen had made in this sect. All of them had a distressed and furious look on their faces.

The sight warmed his heart. He quickly took out the pouch full of Purple Petal Nightflower Essence Powder.

"I got it, Senior Brother! Even though he injured me heavily, he didn't dare to go against your demands! If you sell the powder inside, you'll definitely get 500 spirit stones!"

Jiang Chen had thought that the news would invigorate Chen Yan and earn him sincere gratitude. But hearing his words, Chen Yan's face grew cloudy.

"Who said anything about selling the materials?" he said coldly.

"...Isn't that the amount you asked for?" Jiang Chen said, confused. "There is some very valuable herbal medicine inside that would fetch the price you wanted-"

"Are those your words or are you regurgitating what that brat said?" Chen Yan cut in sharply. There was an edge in his voice that unsettled all four junior disciples in the cabin.

"This Nightflower Essence... He said you can't use it, Senior Brother. But even so, he was confident that you would accept it. Doesn't that mean you can only sell it to someone else..."

Seeing a frightening gloom enveloping Chen Yan's face, Jiang Chen lost his words. He distinctly felt that there was a big mistake somewhere. But he had no idea what it could be.

Chen Yan didn't explain anything to him either. However, proving Han Xuhan's words true, he still took the pouch and weighed it in his palm. His countenance kept growing worse as the silent moments ticked by in the cabin, leaving the junior disciples on tenterhooks.

"Looks like I should have done a bit more research before meeting with this lad. His capabilities and connections were already impressive enough for a disciple of the Salted Fish Mountain Peak. But now it seems to be beyond my assumptions."

Jiang Chen had no idea what Brother Chen Yan was saying. He looked for some clues on the faces of his friends, but only Mei'er didn't look utterly confused. She must have realized something.

Does she know anything that they didn't?

Jiang Chen didn't get to ask the question in his heart. Chen Yan changed the topic, perfunctorily spoke some words, and made some promises that didn't quite land as sincere. But Jiang Chen didn't expect much more than that, being well-acquainted with the senior's scheming personality.

Chen Yan bid them farewell and left the cabin. Barely a minute later, Jiang Chen's martial sister Mei said that she had some matters to attend to and hurriedly walked out. With a mind muddled by powerful anesthetics, Jiang Chen didn't have the energy to think anything of it.

Outside the infirmary, Chen Yan impassively watched his junior sister run up to him, her face frigid.

"Explain yourself, you buffoon! How did you screw up a matter this simple?" She hissed, completely ditching the attitude and etiquette a junior had to show in front of a senior disciple. But Chen Yan seemed used to it.

"This can hardly be called screwing up, your highness. That young man has so many connections and rumors floating about him in the sect that it's hard to verify them all. Who could expect that someone who was practically a slave a month ago is privy to information so precious?"

"So you're sure? You think he really knows about the voidboats leaving the planet next month ?" The girl asked in disbelief.

"Why else would he bring up the matter of spirit stones? He must have guessed that no matter what resources he hands over, I'll sell them all to afford a ticket to the voidboats," Chen Yan said.

"But how exactly did he know?"

"Nobody would be desperate enough to violate the oath of secrecy and leak this news to him for no reason. This Han Xuhan has far deeper connections to the sect than what the rumors suggest. He might even be a direct relative of one of the influential Elders."

"Can't it be the Sect Master himself? That purple medallion under his authority-"

Chen Yan cut her off with a raised hand. "You know very well that the Sect Master is an outsider. He can't have direct relatives in this place."

"He's been on this planet for long enough to produce some offspring," The girl said.

Chen Yan shook his head and stopped arguing with her, which only seemed to anger her further. But another thought crossed her mind and her attitude mellowed.

"Chen Yan, whether I survive or not depends on you now. Regardless of the circumstances, you have to buy me a seat in that voidboat so that we can escape this planet together."