In the morning, Ye Jun woke up early and spent some time cleaning his hut and its surroundings. If he was going to live in this place for a while, he needed it to be as good as possible.
Fortunately, there wasn’t much to clean since he didn’t have many things to begin with. The hut was so empty that one could call it abandoned.
Once the cleaning was done, he worked on expanding the courtyard. It was easier now that he was a proper Martial Artist and could lift stones and boulders without getting exhausted easily.
’Phew! I’m gonna earn lots of money just to get a good place to stay.’
He swore before starting to flatten the land around him. Then, he removed all the stones and filled it with sandy dust he found in the Wilderness.
He spent over an hour doing that to make sure he had proper space for practicing. After all, he couldn’t practice freely in the training grounds.
If the clan learned that he could cultivate normally now, they might spare no effort in eliminating him, even if that earned the ire of the Ancestors.
They were only lenient toward him because they knew he was bound to fail.
Hence, he made his own practice grounds.
’I will still need to be careful. I can practice normally here and practice combat skills in the wilderness. It’s dangerous, but also safer than doing it here. So much trouble for no reason.’
Ye Jun clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction. Still, his determination to achieve his goals heavily outweighed his annoyance, so he completed his work before long.
Then the easiest, but also most exhausting part came. He had to bring many boulders down from the wilderness to make a boundary.
That took another two hours.
At the end of the work, he stood before a poor but clean hut with a big courtyard and tall boundaries made of boulders.
Sweat dripped down his chiseled body as dense muscles shone in the morning sun. The sweat also made his jet-black hair stick to his face and neck.
"Worth it!" He took heavy breaths, but a toothy grin still formed on his handsome face. "Ain’t gonna live in shitty conditions again."
Although he was used to living in worse conditions, it didn’t mean he liked them. In fact, it was the opposite. Because he lived on the streets in very shitty conditions, he had sworn to live a lavish life no matter what.
And it was the same in this world. He couldn’t achieve a lavish life anytime soon, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t make his lifestyle a little better.
’Ah! But it would be so much better if I had a swimming pool here. Wait! That goes on the bucket list. I want a swimming pool in my home.’
Ye Jun nodded, thinking of that, and then went to take a bath. Fortunately, the Mercy River was close to Bright Star City, so he didn’t have any water problems.
Only when he cleaned himself well and wore his new robes did he decide to start his new day. Before leaving, he applied the healing paste on his wounds again, even though they didn’t hurt much.
’I need them healed as soon as possible,’ Ye Jun thought as he marched out toward the training grounds.
But then he stopped and turned around to look at his hut. He blinked. ’I can bring wood and make this even better.’
The thought was tempting, but he threw the idea aside. It would take too much time and effort he could spend on getting stronger. It wasn’t like he planned to stay here for long.
’How can I leave this clan?’
That was the question. Although it was a good place to farm attributes, he didn’t like it, so he wanted a better place. But he couldn’t leave it so easily.
’Let’s see if the city has some information for me.’
The training grounds were the same as usual, with many teenagers practicing the Tempered Frame Art. Seeing their hard work brought a wave of happiness to his heart.
He wiped a fake tear from the corner of his eyes and thought, ’They work so hard for me. Good job, guys. I won’t forget you when I destroy this clan.’
With that, he started his morning routine, where he gave each of his juniors pointers. They helped him grow stronger, so he could do this much at least for them.
"Put your chest a bit forward. Yes, show your boobs to the world. You’re a man, what are you so embarrassed about?"
"You’re improving, Junior Sister. Last week that mistake was embarrassing, now it’s merely sad."
"At least your balance is consistent. Always bad, but consistent. Keep it up!"
"If you’re trying to imitate him, stop. If you’re not, that’s worse."
"I’ve seen street brawlers with cleaner footwork. They usually win, by the way."
He received many hateful glares, and even the instructors were looking at him as if they would eat him alive. But he just shamelessly grinned at them, which angered them even more.
Of course, he was doing this with a plan in mind. Last day, he did this just for fun, but he realized that when they were angry, they dropped more attributes, as if they suddenly gained more energy.
’I am such a benevolent person. Taking all the hate so they can improve faster. Sigh! This world doesn’t deserve a saint like me.’
Ye Jun wanted to pat himself on the back, but he was too busy collecting all the attributes to do that. Seeing everyone’s expressions worsen, he smiled and shouted,
"I’m not mocking you. I’m explaining why you lose."
That angered them even further, as a teenager broke the boulder he was practicing on in rage. Ye Jun quickly sneaked up on him and collected the attribute before patting his back.
"Good work!"
He understood very well why they were so angry. After all, who would want to get pointers from someone like him who couldn’t even cultivate?
’You have no choice, though.’
[Strength +32]
[Agility +21]
[Endurance +14]
[Tempered Frame Art +26]
[.... +1]
’This feels so good! So heavenly! Give me everything!’