(1 week later, disciples’ quarters, weakest disciples’ room.)

Xuan stared at the ceiling of his lovely room. Sure, it might be the shittiest, but in the grand scheme of things, if there was a bed, a toilet, and a kitchen, what more could a man want?

Should I reach out to Yuelan? Xuan wondered. She did leave behind a few messages. I guess before training starts, I should reply to her.

So with that in mind, he went ahead and sent her a message.

<Xiao Xuan: Sup, I’m alive. How about you?>

A few minutes passed in silence until finally, he got a reply.

<Xiao Yuelan: Hmph... You don’t text me for nearly two weeks, and then you say ’Sup?’ Really?>

He rolled his eyes.

<Xiao Xuan: I’m glad you’re okay. You know I’m not much of a sweet talker.>

<Xiao Yuelan: Well, if you want to find a wife in the future, you should change that. Or maybe... Never mind... How’s it going? I’m a bit stronger now. Do you want some skills?>

Before he could reply, she continued.

<Xiao Yuelan: Never mind. I forbid sharing skills from a distance unless it’s an emergency or we’re just very lazy. I want to surprise you, so let’s wait until we meet up.>

"Haha..." Xuan rolled on his bed, nearly falling off. She’s still the same. Though I’m pretty sure she’s a little stronger than me now.

After all, aside from body tempering, Xuan didn’t make much progress.

He was still being beat up by the other disciples, but bit by bit, Xuan felt as if he was starting to grasp something.

Every fight, I feel like I’m almost there, but I can’t move my body in time. I know they’re much stronger than me, but...

Xuan suddenly remembered who he was chatting with, so he immediately sent a message.

<Xiao Xuan: I’m in a bit of a bind right now...>

He went over the agreement he had made with Huizhen, mainly the cuffs that sealed away his Qi.

After he was done, Yuelan took a moment for herself, then replied.

<Xiao Yuelan: Don’t you still have a lot of stats? Are they not working?>

Xuan sighed.

<Xiao Xuan: It feels like I can’t even use 10% of my stats. It’s pretty shitty. My body is growing sturdier though, but I wouldn’t say that’s enough.>

<Xiao Yuelan: Nope, it’s enough. Trust me.>

He tilted his head, confused. Before he could reply, Yuelan went into more detail.

<Xiao Yuelan: I know you, and you adapt fast to everything. You said you need to fight and defeat a Spirit Master? I don’t know about you, but I can kill a Spirit Master with my eyes closed now... So as long as you train your durability, you’ll get more chances to hit the Spirit Master since you won’t go down as easily. Maybe you’ll be able to use more of your stats that way too.>

Seeing that, Xuan fell into thought for a moment.

_Fight them with durability instead of strength...? _Xuan grumbled. I guess that would be a bit different than what I was thinking.

He really thought that he could somehow strengthen his body to a point where he could match the Spirit Masters’ speed and strength, but clearly, his thinking was flawed.

But Yuelan’s idea was great. In fact, it was extremely great.

After a single week, it took the Spirit Warrior disciples 8 hits to break a bone instead of the usual two. As for the Spirit Masters, he hadn’t fought a single one since he broke his forearm a week ago.

Thankfully, they have healers here too. Otherwise, I might’ve been screwed.

Anyhow...

<Xiao Xuan: Thanks as always, Yuelan. I realized that to beat the masochists, I must become a masochist. Anything I can help you with, by the way?>

<Xiao Yuelan: Don’t become a masochist for starters... And I was wondering about something. How exactly do you maintain the loyalty of thugs? I mean gangsters, people like that.>

His brows furrowed.

<Xiao Xuan: Are you involving yourself with gangsters?>

Of course, he wouldn’t want her to. Those people chased after money more than anything, and since there was no money now, he could imagine where their desires might land.

Shaking his head with a sour look, he waited for her reply.

<Xiao Yuelan: Well... I figured out something overpowered. I send the thugs off to clear dungeons and do those world events. I’m not going to go too in depth, but I can take away their skills, and that’s what I’ve been doing for a while now. But... I get the feeling that they are holding out on me, and knowing your history, how do you think I should go about this?>

Knowing my history... Xuan sighed. Of course she knew about it. How couldn’t she? The many times I came back bloodied, I guess telling her I fell down the stairs wasn’t enough, even if she was a child.

But despite that, he could still give her some advice. Despite what many people would think, there was only one way to deal with gangsters.

<Xiao Xuan: Beat them into submission. Set up a loyalty system and reward those who contribute the most skills. Punish those who do badly. You get the idea, don’t you?>

<Xiao Yuelan: Yep... I’ll try it out now. I gotta go now, big brother. Good luck with your training... And tell me when you’re going to face the Spirit Master. I’m going to come visit you.>

Xuan smiled and nodded to seemingly no one.

<Xiao Xuan: Will do. Stay safe.>

With those words, he finally closed the chat box and stood up. His legs were slightly sore, but he ignored that feeling and stood by his door.

And almost like clockwork, he heard a knock, followed by his door opening slightly, revealing the familiar bald head of the instructor who was in charge of the disciples’ quarters.

He had a look of disdain on his face, but deep down, Xuan assumed this guy was a softie.

"Jiyan, same old training?" Xuan asked with a smile.

Jiyan scoffed. "You won’t be doing any combat training for the next month, head monk’s orders. You and a few other weak disciples have been assigned to endurance training."

His smirk widened.

"Today, you will be climbing up and down to the top of the tallest mountain peak five times. The person who does the worst will climb it ten times instead."

"..."

Awesome timing.