5 Transformation in Progress

"You're way too reckless, Brother Chen. If you keep this up, you're going to shoot yourself in the foot one day."

Back at the lower court, Wu Fulai looked at Chen Shaojie with eyes that had disappointment pouring out of them. It was as if his eyes were saying "I 've taught you so much, but why do you never learn?"

Chen Shaojie listened with his lips pursed. He tried to act low-key and modest.

The Book Depository was huge. There was no way he could handle it alone. He still had to rely on the servant disciples of House A Class 2 to help him.

Wu Fulai, being the class representative, was a crucial figure. Chen Shaojie must have him on his side.

Chen Shaojie waited until Wu Fulai's nagging was almost over before he expressed his opinion. "Actually, Brother Wu, I was just thinking that, well, the Book Depository is already in such a mess to begin with, so no matter what I do, it's not like I can make it any messier. The worse that can happen is I'll do a bad job and it remains messy. But..."

After a slight pause, he lowered his voice and said, "But using this as an excuse, we can now go to the Book Depository every day to sort out the books. That's an easy job. We won't have to bother with other errands for a month at least."

"Hmmh?"

Wu Fulai stumbled, the air of a steady Senior Brother he previously put on all but shattered.

"Careful there, Brother Wu."

"I'm fine, I'm fine..."

Wu Fulai's pupils darted about. After doing a bit of thinking to organize his words, he nodded and said, "Having heard what you have to say, Brother Chen, it does seem to makes sense."

Of course it makes sense...

Compared to the various hard work they had to do every day, it was definitely more comfortable to organize books in the Book Depository in peace and quiet.

Chen Shaojie shook his head modestly. "No, no, no, Brother Wu, now that I've thought it over, I think you're right. I was too reckless. Tomorrow, I'll go look for the elder and tell him that I won't take on this duty."

"Wait, Junior Brother, there's no rush..."

Wu Fulai quickly tried to stop him. "Since the elder has passed down the task, we just have to accept the job. There's no need to refuse."

"No, no, no, Brother Wu, I think you're right, we might suffer down the line. I better refuse it."

"Listen to me, Junior Brother. We'll take the job."

Wu Fulai pulled Chen Shaojie back, his attitude resolute. "This matter is settled. I'm the class representative, and I'm making the executive decision to accept the job. Just do as I say."

Chen Shaojie hesitated for a moment, but finally sighed. "If you say so, Senior Brother. I'll listen to you and take the job."

Wu Fulai nodded his head, content.

After a while, he vaguely sensed that something was wrong, but he could not figure out what it was.

Having worked for the whole day, Chen Shaojie returned to the dormitory and immediately fell into a nice, deep sleep.

The next day, Chen Shaojie woke up early. He had a bowl of water-boiled noodles as usual before he went out.

He was still chewing on a big cucumber when he stepped out of the door. If only the big cucumber was a big sausage, he thought. Cucumbers did not taste like meat at all.

When Chen Shaojie arrived at the lower court hall, his steps halted out of surprise.

He saw that Meng Tiancheng was actually already sitting in his usual corner in the hall and had already started cultivating.

This guy sure was early...

So he's not only talented... but also hardworking...

That was a real blow to Chen Shaojie. He secretly clenched his fists and vowed to work hard from now on.

Perhaps sensing someone's gaze on him, Meng Tiancheng opened his eyes to look at Chen Shaojie. There was a trace of disdain in his eyes. He closed them again.

Our dear protagonist who vowed to work hard walked to Li Xuejiao's usual corner and started his morning cultivation.

After cultivating for a short while, he opened his eyes again in frustration. He had lost all desire to train.

"I shouldn't have come so early..."

Without Li Xuejiao there, he had once again turned back into a weakling. His Qi sense was so low it was incredible. There was virtually no difference whether he trained or not. It was a complete waste of time.

"When are you coming, Senior Sister Li? I have no motivation to work hard..."

Chen Shaojie stared at the entrance of the main hall with eyes filled with anticipation, wishing that the sinful body of Li Xuejia would suddenly appear there.

Servant disciples walked into the main hall one after another.

Some started to cultivate as soon as they walked in, while others doze off after coming in... Chen Shaojie could sympathize with the latter. He was feeling a little sleepy himself from waiting for Li Xuejiao to arrive.

Finally--

Li Xuejiao appeared at the door of the main hall. Perhaps because she ran there, her chest was heaving up and down with a wonderful rhythm that was difficult to conceal.

Chen Shaojie was overjoyed. His eyes brightened up at once.

Li Xuejiao wasted no time in walking straight to her usual corner.

She was stunned for a moment when she saw Chen Shaojie sitting nearby.

Then, she saw the anticipation in Chen Shaojie's eyes. Her own eyes flickered slightly.

She quickly averted her gaze. As if she had not noticed Chen Shaojie at all, she walked straight to her corner, sat down and started to cultivate.

*Crunch*

[A friendly reminder from the Bask-in-the-Glow System: Li Xuejiao's body contains a grade-3 Wooden Spiritual Root. When you are close to her, your cultivation speed can become 10 times as fast. Would you like to bask in her glow? (Yes/No)]

There was nothing to hesitate about. He chose "Yes".

After nine shallow exhalation and one deep inhalation, the spiritual Qi in the surroundings surged towards him. Countless pairs of little hands started to massage him once again... Mmmh, that's right, this is how you should cultivate.

Cultivation makes one feel fulfilling and happy.

Happy times always passed by especially fast.

In the blink of an eye, the morning cultivation session came to an end.

Because of the matter with the Book Depository today, Chen Shaojie had to leave in a rush as soon as morning cultivation was over, so he could not stay to chat with Li Xuejiao to deepen their relationship.

However, Chen Shaojie still managed to slip in a greeting. "Good morning, Senior Sister".

Li Xuejiao's gaze swept over his face. She gave a faint "Mmh" before leaving in her usual cool demeanor.

Not long after that, the steward shuttled the entire House A Class 2 to the Book Depository once again.

The Book Depository steward from yesterday came out to meet them in front of the Book Depository.

"Grandmaster Qing Zhu has to take care of something today and couldn't come here personally, but he already told me this morning to leave the depository in your hands. You can start right away."

The Book Depository steward glanced at Chen Shaojie and said, "Grandmaster Qing Zhu said you'll be in charge of the operation. You can do as you see fit."

"Thank you, Senior!"

Chen Shaojie quickly replied.

The Book Depository steward pointed at Chen Shaojie and said, "The rest of you will follow his instruction. Do not act recklessly. If anything goes wrong, you will not be able to handle the consequences."

"Yes, Senior!"

The servant disciples of House A Class 2 answered obediently.

After that, the steward turned around and left.

Wu Fulai turned to Chen Shaojie and asked, "What do we do first, Junior Brother Chen?"

Chen Shaojie pondered for a moment and said, "First, we'll do a little induction training."

"In...in-what? Introduction?"

"It's where I tell everyone how things should be done today, and we'll only start doing them when everyone has understood."

"Oh, I see."