Filthy Cultivation: I Pierced the Heavens with the Merit System

The second test, "Asking the Heart," will be held four days later. Those who pass will then gather at Shenwu Square.

The first hurdle was passed without a doubt.

The results of the first test were out, and the beginning of the second bet had come to an end. Hearing the sect leader tell them to leave and not occupy the platform, thus affecting the efficiency of the test, Yu Zhenzhen bowed and then led her three little followers, who hadn't uttered a word from beginning to end, off the platform without looking back, as if they were being chased by wolves.

Seeing this, Li Fuyao smiled politely and led her young brother to bid farewell to the sect leader and all the elders in turn, even the senior brother in charge of the test. Then, she followed Yu Zhenzhen and was escorted off the platform by Bai Suifeng.

Amidst the stares and whispers of the crowd below, who were treating them like monkeys, the two little ones bumped into Zhang Ze, who was breathing heavily and constantly pinching his philtrum.

Seeing the two of them walking up to him with smiles on their faces, Zhang Ze felt so happy he was dizzy:

With these two as his backers, he will never have to worry about not having enough spirit stones to take good care of his grandmother again.

Why worry about being bullied and unable to hold your head up?

Heaven has blessed him; Zhang Ze has finally found the right person to align himself with!

Congratulations! Congratulations on passing the test!

Having thought this through, he took a deep breath to calm himself, then smiled broadly and clasped his hands in congratulations to Li Fuyao and her brother:

"Such a strange phenomenon could probably be clearly seen even outside Yanjian City. You two fellow Daoists are truly young and promising, with extraordinary talents!"

"The path to immortality is long and arduous. I will rely on your help in the future!"

Seeing this, Li Fuyao smiled and exchanged a few polite words with Zhang Ze, without putting on any airs of genius. This made the onlookers feel jealous of Zhang Ze, but they also felt more favorably toward the approachable brother and sister.

As the group walked through the crowd toward the square, dreaming about the future, they heard a familiar shout coming from afar.

Li Fuyao turned around and saw Duan Hongzhi running over, covered in sweat, clutching a shoe that had been stepped on and turned black – the very shoe that Zhang Ze had lost.

"Brother Zhang, your shoes!"

With a hint of apology on his clear, somewhat foolish face, Duan Hongzhi scratched his head, panting, and chuckled sheepishly:

"I was separated from you all in the crowd, and it took me quite a while to find you all."

"But it's quite a coincidence that I found Senior Brother Zhang's shoes on the way here, hehe. There are little water droplets sewn on the top of the shoes by Senior Brother's grandma, and I recognized them at a glance!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ze was both amused and exasperated, and took the shoe covers back onto his feet.

He stood up and saw Li Fuyao and Duan Hongzhi asking him curiously why there were small water droplets sewn on his shoes. He secretly glared at Duan Hongzhi, and explained to Li Fuyao and Duan Hongzhi with a mix of embarrassment and sadness:

"Well, this is a long story. When I was little, I was often bullied by other kids because I was small and thin and lost my parents at a young age. Sometimes my shoes would be taken by others and I would have to go home barefoot. Because I was afraid that my grandma would worry, I would just tell her that I had accidentally lost them. Back then, my family was poor, and my grandma felt sorry for me and went out to look for them."

"Later, the shoes were found on another child's feet. When Grandma went to ask for them back, the family said that there was no name on the shoes. Not only did they refuse to return the shoes, they also accused my grandma of defaming their reputation."

"My wife and I, an orphan and a widow, couldn't argue with them, so we had to swallow our anger and go home. My grandmother was so angry that she didn't sleep all night. The next day, she embroidered a unique mark on my shoes. My grandmother couldn't read, and since my name contains the water radical, she sewed a small water droplet on it."

"Hmm, it seems she really loves you."

Li Fuyao recalled the stubborn old man deep in her memory, and a warm smile appeared on her lips. This caused Bai Suifeng's heart to stir, and a strange sense of loss welled up within him.

My father and mother always seem to be very busy; they've never sewed anything for me.

From this perspective, they don't seem to love him much, but if they didn't love him, why would they risk their lives to send him to the lower realm?

But if his father and mother truly loved him, why weren't they willing to spend more time with him?

So, what were the feelings of Daddy and Mommy towards me?

Having had little contact with his family, he tried somewhat blankly to savor the smiles on Li Fuyao and Zhang Ze's faces, but he couldn't grasp anything, so he could only sullenly lower his head.

Seeing this, Li Fuyao remembered her brother's background and thought that she had accidentally hurt him in her conversation with Zhang Ze. She quickly reached out and took the slightly cool little wolf paw in her hand.

Seeing Bai Suifeng's slightly flushed cheeks and puzzled look at her, she stopped and turned his bewildered little head toward her, pinching his cheeks and saying earnestly:

"Brother, you must remember that siblings are also family. I will love you just as Zhang Ze's grandmother loved him."

"No matter what the circumstances, Bai Suifeng is not a child who is unloved."

The surroundings were noisy, but the breeze was quiet.

Bai Suifeng felt as if everything around him had drifted away in that instant, as if the whole world consisted only of the pretty little girl pinching his cheeks, and the words she spoke had a warmth that could drown him.

His heart, filled with a bittersweet warmth, was enveloped by that feeling, beating like a fawn or a rabbit in the forest, or like the tinkling spring water in the back mountain of his family home.

His grievances and confusion were comforted. Looking at the little girl's soft and bright smile, a hint of tears welled up in Bai Suifeng's eyes. He looked back at Li Fuyao and solemnly said as if making a vow:

"I remember."

"Okay, good, but don't let your imagination run wild in the future~"

Li Fuyao knew Bai Suifeng was clever, so she didn't say much. She simply tiptoed and patted Bai Suifeng's head like she was comforting a small animal, then grabbed his hand and ran forward, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"I'm in a great mood today, let's get the celebration banquet planned!"