The Shabby-Clothed Emperor Seedling

　　The eyes of the preparatory disciples fell on Chen Xia.

　　After all, they weren't that far away from each other, so it was normal to notice him.

　　And Chen Xia's appearance was quite eye-catching. In the Heavenly Sword Sea, there probably wasn't a second person who could dress so shabbily except Chen Xia.

　　"Damn it! There's a beggar!" The preparatory disciple who saw Chen Xia exclaimed in surprise.

　　This made the other preparatory disciples stop their conversations and quickly gather around to look.

　　Could there be a beggar in the Heavenly Sword Sea?

　　That was even rarer than a powerful being at the Heaven-Mending Realm!

　　The gazes of a group of preparatory disciples kept sizing up Chen Xia.

　　To be honest, there wasn't anything special about him. Except for his tattered clothes and down-and-out appearance, there was nothing outstanding at all.

　　And he didn't have three eyes or four arms. He just looked like the weakest human race.

　　"Damn it! He's really a beggar!"

　　"No way. How could there be a beggar in the Heavenly Sword Sea? And he's a human race. Looking at his wet appearance, could it be that he just swam here?"

　　"Where would he swim from? Could it be from the sword sea? He's come to the preparatory disciple area. Could he also be a preparatory disciple? Does anyone know him?"

　　"Who the hell would know a beggar?"

　　The preparatory disciples all shook their heads.

　　Li Yang and the petite woman on the stage also turned their heads and kept looking at Chen Xia.

　　"Is he a new disciple?" The petite woman asked in confusion.

　　"Probably." Li Yang replied.

　　Nowadays, the Heavenly Sword Sea would have new preparatory disciples every dozen years or so. So this unfamiliar "beggar" was very likely a new preparatory disciple.

　　"How pitiful." The petite woman sighed. She got up from the bench and walked straight towards Chen Xia, asking gently.

　　"Are you a new preparatory disciple?"

　　Chen Xia dug his ears. He always felt like there was water in his head and something was wrong. He patted his head again, trying to get the water out. He didn't hear clearly and casually replied.

　　"I'm newly released from prison."

　　"?"

　　The petite woman didn't quite understand. She just thought that Chen Xia had admitted it, so she smiled and said.

　　"Looking at you like this, your life must be really hard. It doesn't matter. As long as you join our camp, I can give you some allowance every month so that you can maintain a basic living."

　　"For example, for cultivation, talismans, pills and such things."

　　The petite woman even counted them on her fingers, being considerate for Chen Xia.

　　Chen Xia heard this clearly and couldn't help but be stunned. He looked at the petite woman back and forth, feeling a bit shocked in his heart.

　　He had seen many living Yamas, but this was the first time he had met a living Bodhisattva.

　　Now he faced a dilemma. Should he nod and agree to lie down and collect money, or should he shake his head and refuse to maintain some dignity?

　　How would others choose?

　　Chen Xia wasn't too sure, but if just agreeing could get him money, he was quite willing.

　　After all, he wasn't really a beggar. Maybe a real beggar would have some concerns.

　　Chen Xia wouldn't have any concerns!

　　At worst, he would do as much as he got paid for.

　　Just as he was about to nod and agree, a preparatory disciple suddenly shouted.

　　"Using the membership fees we paid to support such a useless person isn't appropriate, right?"

　　This was a Supreme Seed at the peak of the Great Vehicle Realm, wearing a black and white yin-yang robe, and he questioned this.

　　The petite woman turned her head, glanced at this Supreme Seed, her face slightly cold, and there was a hint of scolding in her tone.

　　"I said I'll pay with my own money. It has nothing to do with you!"

　　Being scolded like this, the Supreme Seed felt a bit embarrassed. After all, among the preparatory disciples of this batch, he was also an outstanding existence in terms of talent. So he immediately questioned again.

　　"But how can you guarantee it? Now we're gathering together to huddle together for warmth and build our own power in the Heavenly Sword Sea."

　　"Now is the most critical time. There are threats from other preparatory disciples, and we also need to make friends with the minor elders. And from above, formal disciples often come to collect money."

　　"Instead of thinking about leading everyone well, you're spending money on someone dressed like this. What's the point?"

　　The petite woman frowned tightly and scolded angrily, "I'm spending my own money. What does it have to do with you?!"

　　Chen Xia also thought so. This Supreme Seed was really meddling too much.

　　"Alright." Li Yang on the stage stopped them. She crossed her arms and her eyes stayed on Chen Xia as she said.

　　"It's okay to join our association, and it's okay to receive a salary. But you have to do as much as you receive. If you don't do it, you won't get it."

　　Chen Xia frowned.

　　What the hell? So it wasn't about lying down and getting money.

　　He had been tricked big time.

　　He was about to open his mouth to refuse when the petite woman suddenly whispered.

　　"My money doesn't count as theirs."

　　Chen Xia was stunned.

　　Damn it! She was really like a Bodhisattva coming down to the world.

　　The petite woman put her hands behind her back. Her white dress seemed to be shining, and she smiled.

　　"I was really scared of being poor when I was young. I also suffered a lot of grievances and understood the taste of being poor. Although I don't have much money myself, I just can't bear to see others having a hard life. Haha."

　　Chen Xia was silent for a while before saying.

　　"The Buddha would have to kowtow to you when seeing you."

　　"Not at all. It's not that exaggerated." The petite woman waved her hand with a smile and then asked, "By the way, what's your name?"

　　"Chen Xia. The Xia in 'July is like fire'."

　　The petite woman was stunned for a moment and then nodded with a smile, "The Xia for summer, right?"

　　"Yeah." Chen Xia nodded and started cleaning the seaweed off his body.

　　"I'm Liu Qing. The Qing in 'red, orange, yellow, green'."

　　Chen Xia nodded, indicating that he knew.

　　Liu Qing glanced at him and then asked curiously, "What's this pitch-black ring of yours?"

　　She thought it was a bit mysterious and was curious by nature, so she immediately asked.

　　Chen Xia wiped the pitch-black ring, put his hands on his hips, raised his head and chest, and said.

　　"A medal!"

　　————

　　It was a month after Chen Xia was released from prison.

　　Nothing had happened in the Heavenly Sword Sea, and there wasn't any news of anyone being beaten up.

　　Some people speculated that Chen Xia had changed his temperament. After all, the five-hundred-year prison life in the sword sea wasn't easy.

　　Another half a month passed, and the Heavenly Sword Sea was still very calm, just like usual.

　　Some formal disciples had already set off for the preparatory disciple area. Taking advantage of the opportunity that other formal disciples didn't dare to make a move, they collected a large amount of protection fees.

　　They counted the spirit stones in their pockets, and the smiles on their faces could hardly be contained.

　　This was a large sum of money, equivalent to the hard work of the past few years, and they didn't even have to compete with other preparatory disciples.

　　The smiles on the faces of these several formal disciples were full of satisfaction. Although they were already at the peak of the Mountain-Moving Realm, there was still a distance from breaking through to the Overturning Sea Realm. It was precisely the time when they were most short of spirit stones.

　　Generally, only low-level formal disciples like them would come to ask preparatory disciples for spirit stones.

　　Those potential Great Emperors and outstanding formal disciples didn't lack spirit stones at all.

　　Only those like them who couldn't move up or down and didn't come from good families were the most pitiful.

　　They finally became formal disciples but couldn't keep up with the real prodigies. Unwilling to be left behind, they could only try every means to catch up.

　　Asking preparatory disciples for spirit stones was one of the ways.

　　One of the formal disciples suddenly had a bright look in his eyes. He saw a figure in a white robe in the front pavilion, who seemed to be drinking tea. So he quickly led the others forward and shouted.

　　"Brother is here. Why don't you quickly offer some spirit stones to your brothers?!"

　　Chen Xia paused the hand holding the teacup and turned his head back, asking in confusion.

　　"What?"

　　The bodies of the several formal disciples instantly froze. The leading formal disciple reacted the fastest. He directly held the money bag in both hands and sent it forward, kneeling on the ground and saying.

　　"May you be blessed!"

　　The pattern expanded infinitely at this moment!