Under the silent veil of night, streaks of multicolored light occasionally slashed across the heavens, outshining the stars and leaving the firmament dim in their wake.

Watching through the lattice of his window, Wang Ba lowered his head and sighed heavily.

With so many Qi Refining disciples patrolling the skies, how was he ever supposed to escape?

Powerless to change his situation, he decided to drown his anxiety in the only way he knew how: a binge. He attacked the stewed Spirit Poultry in the clay pot with a ferocity born of frustration, channeling his helplessness into appetite.

He ate and cultivated until the latter half of the night, barely managing to condense half a drop of Yin Spirit force before his energy failed him. He fell into a deep, dreamless sleep, so exhausted that he didn’t even notice Alpha-Seven burrowing into his quilt.

When he woke the next morning, he discovered a present in his bed. Alpha-Seven had relieved itself during the night, and the chicken droppings in the quilt were already dry and crusty.

To make matters worse, the culprit had the cheek to snuggle up to Wang Ba, rubbing its head against his chest in a shameless attempt to curry favor.

Furious, Wang Ba dragged Alpha-Five over and gave the rooster a sound thrashing.

“Look at what your seed has produced! Look at this mess!”

“Cluck?”

Alpha-Five tilted its head, blinking in utter confusion.

I’m just the father! How is this my fault?

In truth, Wang Ba simply couldn’t bring himself to hit Alpha-Seven. The chick’s progress was too gratifying to punish.

Its movements had become terrifyingly agile. It could effortlessly execute a three-stage aerial reversal, followed by a pouncing peck that was nearly impossible to track. Its trajectory was bizarre, unpredictable, and its destructive power constantly surprised Wang Ba.

He had a vague suspicion that among the four Sect disciples in Ding-Nine Manor, only the inscrutable Senior Brother Shi might stand a chance against Alpha-Seven. The other three—Tao Yi, Lin Yu, and the brat Chu—would likely be pecked full of holes before they could cast a spell.

Of course, that assumed they didn’t have any hidden trump cards.

“If only I had a Spirit Beast Bag,” Wang Ba sighed again.

With a Spirit Beast Bag, he could keep Alpha-Seven hidden and summon it instantly for protection. Combined with the defensive jade pendant Zhao Feng had given him, he might even be able to retreat unscathed from an encounter with an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator.

But wishing wouldn’t make it appear.

Wang Ba didn’t dwell on it. After his routine training with Alpha-Seven, he efficiently prepared the feed for the Rare Fowl and Spirit Poultry in his own manor.

He collected several buckets of feed from Old Hou and shoveled the manure with practiced speed. However, something gnawed at him: Niu Yong’s brother hadn’t shown up today, either.

A dark premonition began to take root in Wang Ba’s heart.

Unfortunately, he was too busy to investigate. He left a message written in charcoal on his door and, not daring to delay, headed straight for Ding-Nine Manor.

According to Elder Qian’s schedule, Wang Ba was only required to work in the afternoons. However, when he arrived, Tao Yi had only just finished his breakfast.

“Whoa, you’re here early!” Tao Yi exclaimed, clearly surprised.

“Hehe, the sooner I finish, the sooner I can rest,” Wang Ba replied with a humble smile.

Without waiting for instructions, he grabbed a broom and began cleaning the feed troughs and collecting eggs.

The commotion soon drew out the other three cultivators.

From the central room, Senior Brother Shi emerged. He frowned when the door opened, but upon seeing it was Wang Ba working, his expression relaxed slightly. He nodded curtly to Tao Yi and immediately retreated back into his quarters.

Lin Yu didn’t bother coming out. She merely pushed open the window of her side room, cast an indifferent glance at the courtyard, and shut it again.

Only the white-robed youth, who was performing breathing exercises facing the morning sun, couldn’t resist shouting when he saw Wang Ba.

“Did you wash your hands? Don’t dirty the handle of the shovel!”

“Chu Erniu, shut your mouth!”

Before Wang Ba could apologize, Tao Yi stood up, eyes glaring.

The white-robed youth shrank back, his neck retracting like a turtle, but he still retorted with forced bravado. “My name isn’t Chu Erniu! I’m Chu Batian! Batian, as in ‘Domineering the Heavens’!”

“Don’t think giving yourself a tough name changes who you are, Chu Erniu! Two-Cows is Two-Cows!” Tao Yi laughed heartily.

The mockery made the youth stamp his feet in rage, but he didn’t dare raise a hand against his Senior Brother. Instead, he shot a venomous glare at Wang Ba, as if the laborer were the cause of his humiliation, and slammed his door shut.

“Thank you, Brother Tao Yi,” Wang Ba said sincerely.

“Don’t mention it. I despise people who don’t treat mortals as human beings,” Tao Yi said, waving his hand dismissively. “Our parents and ancestors were all mortals. What is there to be so arrogant about?”

Wang Ba nodded in agreement, his impression of Tao Yi improving further.

He continued his work. After a while, he seemingly inadvertently guided the male Spirit Poultry—the one he had drained of Lifespan the previous day—to walk right under Tao Yi’s nose.

Wang Ba held his breath.

Tao Yi glanced at the chicken… and remained completely unmoved.

A wave of relief washed over Wang Ba.

Later, Lin Yu walked out of her room, lazily carrying a water basin. She looked straight ahead, ignoring both Wang Ba and Tao Yi, and paid absolutely no attention to the drained rooster pecking near her feet.

This wasn’t unexpected.

Chu Erniu didn’t come out, but Wang Ba doubted the brat would notice anything even if the chicken danced in front of him.

After distributing the special feed into the troughs, the door to the central room opened again. Senior Brother Shi stepped out.

“Good morning, Senior Brother Shi.”

“Morning, Senior Brother Shi.”

Tao Yi and Lin Yu greeted him simultaneously.

Shi nodded, his face expressionless. With his hands clasped behind his back, his sharp gaze swept over the flock of Spirit Poultry.

Spirit Poultry were not ordinary creatures and rarely fell ill, so his inspection was mostly a formality. As expected, he found nothing amiss.

Just then, Chu Erniu emerged from his room again.

“Senior Brother Shi,” the youth called out. “I haven’t used my quota for this month yet. Could you help me pick a Spirit Poultry to eat?”

“Today?” Shi’s brow furrowed.

Chu Erniu seemed intimidated by the older disciple but nodded firmly.

Shi glanced at him, then walked slowly through the flock. He felt the breast and wings of several birds before finally selecting one.

“This is the only real benefit we get for raising chickens here,” Tao Yi whispered to Wang Ba. “Each disciple gets one Spirit Poultry a month.”

Wang Ba nodded, internally relieved that even Senior Brother Shi hadn’t detected the missing Lifespan in the other bird.

Suddenly, Chu Erniu’s voice cut through the air.

“Hey! You, laborer! Kill this chicken for me.”

“Are you ever going to stop?” Tao Yi snapped, glaring at the youth.

But Chu Erniu smirked, looking fearless. “Laborer disciples are here to serve us! I’m not hurting him, am I? What’s wrong with asking him to dress a chicken?”

“Chu Erniu, are you begging for a beating…”

“Immortal Master, allow this lowly one to do it,” Wang Ba interjected softly.

“You don’t understand!” Tao Yi turned to him urgently. “You haven’t handled Spirit Poultry before. They might look like meat birds, but when they sense killing intent, they go berserk! They don’t recognize people then—a mortal could easily get their hand pecked off! He knows this! He’s trying to maim you for a laugh!”

But the warning came too late. Chu Erniu, moving with the speed of a cultivator, had already shoved the squawking Spirit Poultry into Wang Ba’s arms.

“Chu Erniu!” Tao Yi roared, rolling up his sleeves.

The youth leaped aside, crossing his arms and wearing a look of malicious anticipation. He wanted to see blood—Wang Ba’s blood.

Senior Brother Shi stood aside, watching the farce with a frown, but showed no intention of intervening.

Lin Yu, who had been about to return to her room, paused. She frowned, worried that the finally-arrived laborer would be crippled by that idiot Chu. If the laborer lost his hands, she’d have to collect the eggs herself again, which would cut into her cultivation time.

She hesitated, wondering if she should fetch some healing salve. But healing salve was expensive…

However, what happened next defied all their expectations.

Wang Ba didn’t flinch. His left hand shot up, clamping the Spirit Poultry’s beak shut and wrenching its head back in a single, fluid motion.

The bird didn’t even have time to struggle.

With his right hand, he flicked a small knife across the neck, clearing the feathers. Then, slash.

“Don’t spill the blood—” Chu Erniu started to shout.

But the words died in his throat.

Wang Ba was already prepared. The hand that clamped the beak shifted, two fingers pinching the knife while the others held the head firm. His free hand had already snatched a large porcelain bowl from the table, positioning it perfectly beneath the cut.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The blood flowed smoothly into the bowl. Not a single drop was spilled.

The entire sequence—seizing, exposing, slashing, and bleeding—was executed with liquid grace. It was ruthless, precise, and shockingly fast. It was the movement of a master butcher, a one-strike kill that left no room for error.

The courtyard fell silent.

Tao Yi stared at Wang Ba as if seeing him for the first time.

Lin Yu’s eyes widened slightly. She assessed the laborer with a new glimmer of interest; he was clearly different from the clumsy oafs they usually got.

But it was Chu Erniu who reacted most viscerally. He subconsciously touched his own neck, feeling a phantom chill slice across his skin.

“You… you said you hadn’t handled Spirit Poultry before…” he stammered.

Before Wang Ba could conjure an excuse, Senior Brother Shi suddenly spoke, his voice cutting through the silence.

“How could he not have handled them?” Shi said flatly. “Two of the Spirit Poultry in this very flock were bred and offered to the Sect by him.”

The other three gaped in surprise.

Shi didn’t elaborate. He looked at Wang Ba, his eyes unreadable.

“After you finish cleaning this afternoon, come find me.”

With that, Senior Brother Shi turned and walked away, leaving a stunned silence in his wake.