CHAPTER 236: CHAPTER 236: PROVOCATION_1

"Not satisfied with the remuneration?"

Tian Kang was nonchalant, pretending to be generous. "In respect for Senior Brother Guo, I’ll add another fifty Spirit Stones."

Frankly, for a middle-stage Qi Gathering Realm disciple, a monthly net income of one hundred and fifty Lower Grade Spirit Stones was indeed a decent sum. But for Shen Mo, it was merely what he could earn by refining one batch of elixirs! This person didn’t know Shen Mo was a Grade III Alchemist, so the remuneration offered was somewhat understandable. However, this person’s imperious demeanor clearly treated him as a household servant.

Back when Shen Mo was in the Dark Crystal Mine, he had been willing to cook. That was on the premise of interacting as equals with Chen Mengze and Guo Zhao, voluntarily doing what he could. At that time, his cultivation wasn’t high. Most of the hard and exhausting tasks, like dealing with Stone Spirits and Gold-devouring Rats, were completed by Chen Mengze and Guo Zhao. It was only natural for him to be responsible for cooking!

Now, this Tian Kang person was immediately trying to hire him specifically for cooking... The nature of this was completely different.

Let alone one hundred and fifty Lower Grade Spirit Stones, even if it were fifteen thousand, he wouldn’t agree. With that kind of time, wouldn’t it be better to refine more elixirs and sell them for profit? Why should he act like a servant from a wealthy immortal clan, waiting on these second-generation heirs?

Shen Mo looked at Guo Zhao, somewhat displeased, "Senior Brother Guo, did you seek me out just for this matter?"

"Junior Brother Shen, please don’t mind it. Tian Kang didn’t mean it that way!" Guo Zhao hurriedly tried to persuade him, his expression also somewhat helpless. He had thought these two friends merely wanted to taste Shen Mo’s barbecue skills. Who would have expected them to pull something like this?

Then, he turned to Tian Kang and said, "Junior Brother Shen won first place in the Tianshan Grand Ceremony, earning considerable assets and benefits for our Riverside Sect. He can be considered a great contributor to the sect, and to my Stars Peak! Junior Brother Tian, what you’re doing is truly inappropriate. If you want to hire someone to cook, whether in the outer sect or Tianshan City, there should be many disciples with excellent culinary skills..."

Normally, if Tian Kang were sensible, the matter would have ended there. But, for some reason, he paid no mind to Guo Zhao’s words and continued to prattle on.

"One hundred and fifty Spirit Stones isn’t a small amount! Even if you’re the best among the new disciples, such an easy task isn’t easy to find. Instead of risking danger fighting Heavenly Demons and the like, why not safely cook for the two of us? It won’t delay your cultivation, and you can earn Spirit Stones!"

At the same time, Shi Xiaoqian also chimed in with a smile, "Senior Brother Tian is right! Junior Brother Shen, why not reconsider?"

Shen Mo almost laughed out loud, a sneer playing on his lips.

"Senior Brothers, I also have a task with a reward here. I think your cultivation levels are quite suitable! How about you go into the Lancang River and fetch some river clams for my Spirit Pet to snack on? For Senior Brother Guo’s sake, I won’t treat you unfairly either. If each of you fetches two pounds of river clams, I’ll give you each one thousand five hundred Lower Grade Spirit Stones as a reward. How about it?"

Saying this, Shen Mo took out thirty middle-grade Spirit Stones from his Universe Bag.

Hearing this, Tian Kang and Shi Xiaoqian’s expressions changed simultaneously.

"Presumptuous!"

"A mere newly promoted inner disciple like you dares to speak to us like this?"

"So arrogant with just a little bit of merit!"

"Do you really think you’re some important figure?"

The two spoke one after another, reprimanding Shen Mo harshly, as if scolding a household servant.

At this moment, even someone as straightforward as Guo Zhao realized something was wrong. These two ’friends’ of his, where was their admiration for Shen Mo’s cooking? Where was their desire to befriend this new prodigy? They had clearly come with the intention of provoking Shen Mo!

However, in terms of friendship, Guo Zhao had naturally known Tian Kang and Shi Xiaoqian longer. As for Shen Mo, although their relationship was decent, they had known each other for too short a time. If it weren’t for Chen Mengze, he probably wouldn’t have even bothered to glance at Shen Mo in the past. After all, Shen Mo at that time was merely an outer disciple in the Body Tempering Realm. In terms of cultivation, Talent, family background, or Appearance, nothing about Shen Mo had caught his eye. Even though Shen Mo had been promoted to the Inner Door and had shone brightly at the Tianshan Grand Ceremony, in Guo Zhao’s eyes, he was still just so-so.

Ultimately, Shen Mo was just a newly promoted inner disciple with no background or family connections. As for Guo Zhao himself, he came from a big immortal clan, his younger brother was one of the Nine Core Disciples of the Riverside Sect, and his own Cultivation Realm was not weak. Being able to interact with Shen Mo as an equal was also largely due to Chen Mengze.

After a moment’s deliberation, Guo Zhao decided not to get involved in this matter any further. It wasn’t worth offending two friends from influential families for Shen Mo’s sake.

Shen Mo glanced at Guo Zhao from the corner of his eye, his expression unchanging. Seeing Guo Zhao’s silence, Shen Mo understood completely. This was just human nature; there was no need for harsh judgment.

If it had been him in that situation, and if Chen Mengze had a conflict with a cultivator at the first Layer of the Qi Gathering Realm, he too would have sided with Chen Mengze. However, the difference was that Chen Mengze wouldn’t deliberately make things difficult for or provoke a fellow disciple whose realm was far beneath hers. If she were truly at fault, Shen Mo would also speak his mind frankly and admonish her.

Retracting his gaze and looking at Tian Kang and Shi Xiaoqian’s increasingly repulsive behavior, Shen Mo sighed softly. He had a vague idea of their true intentions.

Those who could cultivate to the late-stage of the Qi Gathering Realm were mostly not reckless fools. They wouldn’t just approach someone to pick a fight and create enmity simply because they didn’t like the look of them. Tian Kang and Shi Xiaoqian had clearly come with provocation in mind.

It was all because he had stolen the show at the Tianshan Grand Ceremony... and yet, he wasn’t from a wealthy immortal clan.

In the Riverside Sect, and other sects with over a thousand years of history, cultivators from common backgrounds and those from wealthy sect backgrounds were inherently two opposing factions. Before the Heavenly Demon invasion, the conflict between these two factions had once been a persistent ailment of the Riverside Sect. There were even several occasions when it nearly brought down the millennium-old sect.

The reason was simple: "benefits."

In the entire Red Flame Country, cultivators were the beneficiaries, while ordinary mortals were not. In the cultivation world of the Red Flame Country, the Five Great Sects were the beneficiaries, while smaller sects and rogue cultivators were not. And looking only at the Riverside Sect, the major wealthy immortal clans attached to the sect were the beneficiaries, while those from ordinary or minor family backgrounds were not.

Cultivation resources, positions within the sect, power and influence... all these benefits had to be fought for.

Take Shen Mo, for example. He seemingly minded his own business, not interfering with the various prominent clans and families. However, he was already plotting to acquire the Baodan Pavilion and the Ascending Pill Shop in Jiyun Town. Sooner or later, he would have to clash with the Qian Family.

This was a struggle for resources.

In the future, when he advanced to the Spirit Sea Realm, he would still have to compete with fellow disciples from wealthy sect backgrounds for one of the Nine Core Disciples positions.

This was a struggle for power.

If he successfully became a core disciple, he would then have a chance to contend for positions such as Law Master of the Riverside Sect or Peak Master of one of the three Main Peaks...

The struggle would continue.