Chapter 202: Too Bitter

Zhou Chan had visited him once before to pass on a reward on behalf of Elder Baizhi.

Perhaps Zhou Chan felt puzzled about these rewards, but Jiang Hao knew what it was for. It was a form of payment for planting the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower.

He had received two pieces from the set of Nine Heavenly Battle Armor. He was sure that it would be another piece from the set this time too. With it, his armor defense would be even stronger in the Primordial Spirit Realm. Each piece of the set was a surprise.

Without the third piece, the Nine Heavenly Battle Armor wouldn’t be as effective as it should be.

The armor was only at the Golden Core Realm, and the wrist guards could barely record two attacks from the Primordial Spirit Realm. He needed the third piece to improve the efficacy of the armor.

Zhou Chan, dressed in white, stood outside the Spirit Herb Garden. She was the only person, perhaps in the whole sect, who didn’t conspire or scheme against others. She was familiar and friendly with everyone.

“Junior Brother Jiang.” Zhou Chan greeted him with a smile.

“Senior Sister Zhou, nice to see you,” said Jiang Hao.

“Elder Baizhi asked me to pass this to you,” said Zhou Chan as he took out a box and handed it to him.

It was a ring. Jiang Hao frowned as he looked in the box. ‘What kind of treasure is this?’

“Junior Brother Jiang, I don’t know what it is either,” said Zhou Chan, seeing him frown in confusion. “Also… I have to ask. Did you bring anyone called Lin Zhi to the sect?”

Jiang Hao was surprised. “You know about him, Senior Sister Zhou?”

Then he realized that Zhao Qingxue, one of Lin Zhi’s friends, had joined the White Moon Lake.

Zhou Chan was in the middle stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm. She was considered weak by others.

Although Zhao Qingxue was an outer sect disciple, there wasn’t much difference between the way outer and inner sect disciples were treated in the White Moon Lake.

Among the three that the sect had brought back, Zhao Qingxue’s status was the highest. T .in Mn had ininpd the I .nw Fnfnrcpmpnt Hall If he tnlpntpd pnnllcyh tn make it to the Law Enforcement Hall, his future would be bright.

Only Lin Zhi was left behind. He was of average talent and was often harassed by the strong. The difference was stark between him and his friends.

“I don’t really know him that well. It’s Junior Sister Zhao who is concerned about him. I wanted to ask… Is he doing okay here?”

Jiang Hao was puzzled. “Couldn’t Junior Sister Zhao ask him that herself? They are friends, after all.”

“My junior sister said she asked him, and he said he was fine,” said Zhou Chan. “But she heard that he was getting beaten up by others, so she requested that I find out more.”

Jiang Hao shook his head. “Unfortunately, I cant help you with that. I rarely go to the outskirts of the sect. I rarely meet Lin Zhi. But if he says he is fine, then he must be.”

“Can I go see him?” Zhou Chan asked.

“Of course,” Jiang Hao said.

He told her where he lived, and Zhou Chan was on her way.

Jiang Hao took out the ring from the box and then put it on his index finger. He sensed the ring aligning with the other two pieces of the armor set. The process of integration would take a few days.

Only after that would he be able to see its complete effect.

The next day, Jiang Hao arrived early at Lin Zhi’s house with the spirit beast. He stood at a distance and observed the boy to see any changes in him.

As dawn broke, Lin Zhi got up and headed to the woods. As an outer sect disciple, he had some errands to take care of.

Unlike Xiao Li, who had nothing to do and didn’t attend classes out of sheer stubbornness, others actually followed the rules.

Jiang Hao didn’t notice anything strange, so he went back to the Spirit Herb Garden.

In the evening, Jiang Hao took a detour and walked past Lin Zhi’s house. Lin Zhi’s clothes were torn and disheveled as he limped back to his house.

Jiang Hao turned and left.

After that, he passed by Lin Zhi’s house every day and observed him.

Sometimes he saw Lin Zhi, but other times, the house would be empty. Sometimes, Jiang Hao saw him cultivating. Other times, he would be limping back after getting beaten up.

He silently endured it all, without resistance or complaints. He cultivated diligently.

Seven days later, when Jiang Hao went to Lin Zhi’s house to observe him, he appraised the ring he had gotten.

The ring had integrated with the set and was now active. He realized that it was a storage ring.

[Ring from the set of Nine Heavenly Battle Armor: One of the pieces from the set of Nine Heavenly Battle Armor. Enhances the abilities of the three other pieces from the set to reach the Primordial Spirit Realm. By communicating with it, the pieces could be upgraded to the Primordial Spirit Realm at will. The ring can store various spiritual items and other things. It can nourish the spirit. ]

‘This is extraordinary!’ thought Jiang Hao. The armor could become a Primordial Spirit Armor. ‘The Nine Heavenly Battle Armor is quite remarkable.’

Afterward, he used his Primordial Spirit to communicate with the ring. Sure enough, the ring disappeared from his hand. Jiang Hao smiled. He didn’t need to rely on the spirit beast to hide things anymore.

However, Elder Baizhi knew about the purpose of the ring. It would be troublesome if she investigated him and found some questionable things. ‘It would be safer to make the beast hide my things.’

He then transferred all sorts of things into the ring. The stone tablet, the Heavenly Fate Misfortune Pearl, the magical dice, etc. He even transferred the books on techniques he had on him, like the nameless manual, the Seven Forms of Heavenly Blade, and the Light and Dust technique.

He only kept spirit stones and some ordinary, everyday things in his storage treasure.

After thinking for a moment, he also transferred the things the Bright Moon Sect had given him. He transferred ten thousand spirit stones into it and only kept a few hundred in his storage treasure.

‘This much would be common for a late-stage Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator to have…’

He headed to Lin Zhi’s house once again. Jiang Hao saw him cultivating. His bruises were worse than before.

“He is being beaten so often. Master, did you put someone up to it?” asked the spirit beast.

“No. Why would I do that? It’s probably because of his friend.”

Zhou Chan’s visit had probably worsened the situation. Although Zhao Qingxue meant well, she was making everything worse.

As for offending her, she probably wouldn’t even remember something like this in the future. She would be too strong to bother with petty things.

“I feel so sorry for him. I’ve never seen anyone more miserable than him. Always bullied and beaten… A friend told me he was hiding and crying all alone.” The spirit beast shook its head. “I don’t even have the heart to eat his flesh. It must taste too miserable and bitter.”

“Let’s go,” Jiang Hao said.

Even someone as strong as Han Ming had to obediently call others “Senior Brother” or “Senior Sister” until he defeated them. Zhao Qingxue was nowhere near as strong as Han Ming. Her constant involvement in Lin Zhi’s life was only making things worse for him.

In the following days, Jiang Hao collected bubbles in the Spirit Herb Garden. Most evenings, he spent his time making talismans.

During this period, he attempted to make the Thousand Miles Teleportation talisman again but abandoned it halfway because he didn’t want to damage his divine ability like last time. He could only wait to figure out a better way. Without his divine ability, he couldn’t create such a difficult talisman..