Chapter 47: No One Knows Foundation Establishment Better Than Me
Chapter 47: Chapter 47: No One Knows Foundation Establishment Better Than Me
The moment the vortex collapsed, the Wang family’s Old Ancestor turned livid.
He never imagined it. With the aid of a Foundation Establishment Pill and his own Dual Spirit Root aptitude...
Wang Xingwei had actually failed his Foundation Establishment.
Seeing the Old Ancestor’s foul expression, the other Wang family cultivators, including Patriarch Wang Quyan, didn’t dare say a word, lest they incur his wrath.
Half an hour later, Wang Xingwei emerged from the small courtyard with his head bowed. He silently walked to a distant corner, away from the other Wang family cultivators, completely unable to meet the Old Ancestor’s eyes.
No one spoke. The Wang family Old Ancestor’s gaze was filled with bitter disappointment, but his mind was already working on what to do next.
Originally, the best outcome would have been for Wang Xingwei to succeed in his Foundation Establishment with one Foundation Establishment Pill, leaving the other as a family reserve.
But now that Wang Xingwei had failed his Foundation Establishment, they couldn’t keep the other pill.
What he was contemplating was who should be given this Foundation Establishment Pill.
After much thought, the Wang family Old Ancestor’s gaze returned to Wang Xingwei. "Xingwei, take this Foundation Establishment Pill and try one more time!"
Giving the remaining Foundation Establishment Pill to Wang Xingwei was the result of the Wang family Old Ancestor’s careful deliberation.
First, as a cultivator with a Dual Spirit Root, Wang Xingwei’s chances of reaching Foundation Establishment were naturally ten to twenty percent higher than those of a cultivator with Three Spirit Roots.
Second, Wang Xingwei had already attempted the breakthrough once. Although he hadn’t succeeded, the medicinal power from the previous Foundation Establishment Pill had already helped him break through part of the bottleneck, and some of its potency still remained in his meridians.
If he were to strike while the iron was hot and use another Foundation Establishment Pill to attempt the breakthrough now, his chances of success would be even higher than with the first Pill.
Therefore, all things considered, the Wang family Old Ancestor believed that giving the remaining Foundation Establishment Pill to Wang Xingwei was the best choice.
"Huh? Me?" Wang Xingwei looked up, his eyes filled with confusion and disbelief.
The Wang family Old Ancestor forced a smile, trying to make his tone gentle, but his words only put more pressure on Wang Xingwei. "Yes, Xingwei, I believe you will succeed. You carry the hopes of our entire clan. The future of the family depends on you."
"No, no... I can’t do it..." Wang Xingwei didn’t dare look the Old Ancestor in the eyes, his gaze constantly shifting away. He wanted to run, to get as far away from here as possible. "Old Ancestor, that Foundation Establishment Pill... I can’t."
In truth, he wanted to say that there was a problem with the Foundation Establishment Pill.
He had been on the verge of succeeding in his Foundation Establishment, but the medicinal power released from the Pill had suddenly faltered. He hadn’t reacted in time, which caused the process to halt, resulting in his failure.
But he immediately realized that if he said that, the Old Ancestor would surely think he was just making excuses for his failure.
The Old Ancestor would surely scold him, saying things like, "Don’t shirk responsibility when you make a mistake; you should reflect on your own shortcomings," and, "To acknowledge and correct your faults is the greatest virtue." He would be berated until he hung his head in shame and admitted his error.
After that, the Old Ancestor would probably warn him with some story about ’an ancient sage who cut down his family’s Spirit Fruit Tree and presented himself to his elders with an axe to admit his wrongdoing,’ lecturing him that one must own up to their mistakes and not resist a senior’s scolding...
So, stammering, he never managed to get the words out. He just kept repeating, "I can’t," hoping the Old Ancestor would change his mind.
Seeing Wang Xingwei in this state, the Wang family Old Ancestor’s expression grew hesitant.
After all, a cultivator’s confidence and morale had a significant impact on the success of Foundation Establishment.
And Wang Xingwei was like this...
He sighed inwardly, preparing to give the opportunity for Foundation Establishment to another clan member, a Late-stage Qi Refining cultivator with Three Spirit Roots.
Just then, however, Patriarch Wang Quyan, who was standing nearby, saw Wang Xingwei’s pitiful state. After hesitating for a long time, he finally mustered the courage to speak up again. "Old Ancestor, given Xingwei’s current condition, he is really not fit to attempt the breakthrough. How about we choose someone else from the clan, or let Xingwei get his state of mind right and try again another day?"
Before Wang Quyan had even spoken, the Wang family Old Ancestor had already been about to change his mind.
But now that Wang Quyan had made the suggestion, if he agreed to switch, wouldn’t it make him seem inferior to Wang Quyan?
At this thought, the Wang family Old Ancestor became resolute. He frowned, turning to snap at Wang Quyan, "You’re just a Qi Refining Cultivator, what do you know about Foundation Establishment? In this family, no one understands Foundation Establishment better than I do!"
"We do it today, all at once! Xingwei will be the one to use this Foundation Establishment Pill!"
"Take the Foundation Establishment Pill and go attempt the breakthrough right now!"
...
Forced by the Old Ancestor and unable to refuse, Wang Xingwei could only take the Foundation Establishment Pill and obediently walk toward the small courtyard nearby.
His heart was filled with dread, but he kept trying to reassure himself: ’Maybe only the last Foundation Establishment Pill was flawed. The one I’m holding now is probably fine.’
...
「Ten days later」
The second meeting of the Friends Association was held on schedule in Li Ping’s cave residence.
Since this meeting was only to confirm each member’s contribution amount and collect for the Foundation Establishment Fund, it was held at noon. After it concluded, the others could leave the Inner City directly, without having to wait for the curfew to lift the next day.
Li Ping, as expected, contributed 300 Spirit Stones. Next was Zhang Tie.
When his turn came, the expressions of Gumu Sheng and four other members grew solemn.
To their surprise, however, Zhang Tie seemed quite composed. He stood up and announced, "After careful consideration, I’ve decided to contribute 100 Spirit Stones to the Foundation Establishment Fund this year."
As he spoke, he poured a small pile of Spirit Stones out of his Storage Bag.
Everyone swept their Divine Sense over the pile; it was exactly 100 stones.
At this, looks of surprise appeared on everyone’s faces.
Only Teng Feng looked as if he wanted to say something but held back, apparently wanting to dissuade him. He had been brought into the association by Zhang Tie and was usually quite close to him. Seeing Zhang Tie seemingly acting out of pique, he was naturally worried.
Li Ping nodded, his expression unreadable. "No problem. But your annual contribution can’t be lower than this amount from now on. Understood?"
Zhang Tie’s gaze was resolute. "Big Brother, I understand."
Li Ping wasn’t at all surprised that Zhang Tie could come up with 100 Spirit Stones.
Zhang Tie himself didn’t have the means, but his master, Old Man Lin, was not only a Tier One Upper Grade Leatherworker, but he also owned his own leatherworking shop.
He certainly had the ability to put up 70 Spirit Stones to cover the shortfall for Zhang Tie.
Besides, Old Man Lin was the only person outside of the seven of them who knew about the Friends Association.
With the opportunity for Foundation Establishment right there, how could he not step in to help Zhang Tie?
After Zhang Tie, it was Gumu Sheng’s turn.
Gumu Sheng stood up and said with a smile, "After careful consideration, I’ve also decided to contribute 100 Spirit Stones."
Although he was surprised that Zhang Tie was able to match the contribution, after a moment of thought, Gumu Sheng decided it was a good thing.
With Big Brother’s 300 Spirit Stones, plus his and Zhang Tie’s 100 each, even if the four members after them contributed the minimum amount, the Foundation Establishment Fund would still collect at least 570 Spirit Stones annually.
At that rate, they would only need about six years to save up enough Spirit Stones for a Foundation Establishment Pill.
If Cheng Yao and the other three broke through in their cultivation, it might not even take ten years for the Foundation Establishment Fund to provide enough Spirit Stones for both him and Zhang Tie to attempt their breakthroughs.
’In ten years, I’ll only be forty-three.’
’Even if I’m after Zhang Tie, as long as I get a chance at Foundation Establishment before I turn fifty, I can completely accept that.’
...
Li Ping nodded in acknowledgement of Gumu Sheng’s decision as well.
Next were the remaining four, who, for their part, had no intention of causing any trouble.
Cheng Yao, Qi Hanmo, and Teng Feng were at the Middle-stage of Qi Refining and each contributed 20 Spirit Stones. Bai Qing was at the Early-stage of Qi Refining and contributed 10 Spirit Stones.
After collecting all 570 Spirit Stones into his Storage Bag, Li Ping finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The oath of the Friends Association was tied to his Great Dao, so he had to handle matters with the utmost caution.