I’ll Take That Opportunity Chapter 17 - The Sword Manipulation Method

“Young Hero, please… spare some food. I haven’t eaten in three days.”

The old beggar, who had been keeping his head down, suddenly looked up. Ye Lin was standing before him. He grabbed Ye Lin’s robe with grime-covered hands and pleaded in a low voice.

The pristine white robe was instantly stained with dark smudges.

“Young Master, don’t listen to him. He begs here every day, and he’s perfectly fine.” A woman nearby spoke up, shaking her head.

Ye Lin smiled faintly, “It’s alright.”

Turning to the old man, he said, “Old Timer, there’s a restaurant just ahead. Today’s my treat—you can eat as much as you like.”

The beggar’s cloudy eyes lit up, “Really?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t deceive you.” Ye Lin replied with a smile.

“Thank you, Young Hero! Thank you!”

Without another word, the old beggar scrambled to his feet and rushed into the restaurant. Reaching a table, he slammed his hand down on the wooden surface.

“Bring me one of everything on the menu!”

The waiter hesitated, glancing uncertainly at Ye Lin. When he gave a slight nod, he hurried away.

He had seen Ye Lin’s earlier display of terrifying strength—how he had slammed Cheng Huai’s head into a table. From that moment, it was clear this young man wasn’t ordinary… likely a cultivator.

Ye Lin sat across from the old beggar, unfazed by the unpleasant odor clinging to him.

[Name: Huang Tianyi]

[Cultivation base: late-stage Foundation Establishment (damaged)]

[Fate grade: green (damaged)]

[Fate trait: sword dao prodigy]

[Fate prediction: you were originally a Foundation Establishment rogue cultivator. After your enemy slaughtered your family, you sought revenge in a moment of fury. However, your opponent’s strength far surpassed your own. As a result, you were defeated and your cultivation base was crippled, rendering you disabled. After enduring blow after blow, you lost all hope, ending up as a wretched old beggar, living out a bleak life until death claims you in old age.]

[Upcoming opportunity: none]

Upon seeing the old man’s panel, Ye Lin was stunned. He hadn’t expected this ragged beggar to be a powerful Foundation Establishment cultivator.

But thinking about it, it made sense. How else could a common beggar possess a Foundation Establishment demon core?

Before long, the table was filled with steaming, sumptuous dishes. The old beggar didn’t hesitate in the slightest, grabbing chunks of meat with his filthy hands and stuffing them into his mouth. A bite of meat, a swig of wine—he devoured the food with unrestrained delight.

Half an hour later, with the table reduced to scraps, the old beggar leaned back and patted his bulging stomach.

“Not bad, not bad. Best meal I’ve ever had… truly satisfying.”

Ye Lin simply smiled.

Then, as if recalling something, the old beggar lowered his voice and leaned in, “Young Hero, so young, yet you’ve already reached the 6th layer Qi Refinement realm. You must be a disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect, right?”

Ye Lin nodded with a smile. With Tianfeng City so close to the Azure Cloud Sect, it wasn’t a difficult guess.

“I saw it with my own eyes—you’re a good person. As thanks for this meal, I’ll entrust these two items to you.” As he spoke, he set a small wooden box and an ancient book onto the table, “Feels like a burden’s finally been lifted from my chest.”

Without waiting for a response, he rose and left the restaurant with a satisfied grin.

Ye Lin turned his gaze to the table, first opening the wooden box. Inside lay a round, lustrous demon core, emanating a faint, delicate fragrance.

He carefully stored the wooden box away before picking up the ancient book. Three bold characters adorned the cover: Sword Manipulation Method.

Ye Lin’s eyes widened. Could it be…?

The Sword Manipulation Method was a treasured sword method of the Heavenly Sword Sect, a low-grade mystic-tier sword method, said to allow cultivators to control swords from a distance, slicing down enemies with but a thought.

If this was truly that technique, then he’d struck it big this time.

Ye Lin quickly stowed both treasures into his Interspatial Ring. Just as he was about to leave, the waiter approached nervously.

“Sir… the meal comes to two silver taels.”

Ye Lin glanced at the waiter, nodded, and reached into his robe—only for his expression to freeze.

Spirit Stones… he had three mid-grade Spirit Stones. As for silver? Not a single tael. He couldn’t even afford to pay for the food.

The waiter’s expression turned odd, “Sir… don’t tell me you don’t have any money?”

A small, awkward pause.

Ye Lin pulled out his outer disciple token and presented it to the waiter, “I guarantee, as an outer disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect, that I’ll settle this within a month.”

With that, he tucked the token away and strode out of the restaurant.

Recalling the token Ye Lin had presented—and the name engraved upon it—the waiter fell into deep thought.

The restaurant belonged to the Azure Cloud Sect, and outer disciples could eat here for free. Did he… not know?

After leaving the city, Ye Lin made his way to Wang Family Village. True to their word, the villagers had assigned two men to stand guard over the serpent head.

Ye Lin exchanged a few polite words, then, without effort, grabbed the massive serpent head and headed toward the Azure Cloud Sect.

“Good heavens… that thing must weigh several hundred kilograms… and the Immortal Master carries it like it’s nothing.”

The villagers could only watch in stunned admiration as Ye Lin casually walked away, the serpent head in tow.

Hours had passed, and the blood had dried, but the head still looked gruesome.

Upon reaching the Azure Cloud Sect, Ye Lin made straight for the Task Pavilion. He was in no mood to dally; he needed to submit the task quickly and get the Sword Manipulation Method verified. If it was genuine… it would be a huge windfall.

Without ceremony, he tossed the serpent head at the entrance of the Task Pavilion with a dull thud and strode inside.

“Hiss… is that the 5th layer Qi Refinement demon serpent from Wang Family Village?”

“Yeah, it is! And the guy who just walked in—isn’t he that newly promoted outer disciple? I heard he’s only at the 4th layer Qi Refinement realm.”

“No way. He killed a 5th layer Qi Refinement demon serpent while still at the 4th? That serpent’s combat strength ranks at the top even among 5th layer demon beasts. That’s insane.”

A wave of astonished murmurs rippled through the outer sect disciples gathered nearby.

Typically, no one dared accept such a dangerous task without at least 6th layer Qi Refinement cultivation base. And even then, there were only a dozen or two cultivators at that level within the outer sect.

Ye Lin approached the drowsy-looking Huang Xiao and said, “Senior Disciple Brother, I’ve completed the task.”

Huang Xiao snapped upright, his eyes narrowing sharply, “You serious? Where’s the serpent head?”

Ye Lin turned toward the entrance.

Huang Xiao followed his gaze—and there it was, the hulking head resting right in plain view, its presence drawing more and more disciples to the scene.

“This… this serpent could even hold its own against 6th layer Qi Refinement cultivators.” Huang Xiao mused, his gaze flickering over to Ye Lin, “A 4th layer Qi Refinement small fry managed this? Unless…”

A cold chuckle escaped him. If his guess was correct, there was definitely something strange about Ye Lin—but it had nothing to do with him.

In fact, the stronger Ye Lin became, the more pleased he was to see it. After all, his older brother was Huang Xiong—who happened to be at odds with Zhang Xiao. Naturally, he didn’t think much of Zhang Xiao either. If Ye Lin’s cultivation base soared, there’d be quite a show to watch.

“Alright. Since you’ve completed the task, I’ve awarded you 300 contribution points. The outer disciple assessment’s held once a month, and you only need 200 to pass. You’ve already passed.”

Ye Lin nodded calmly.

It was no wonder so many new outer disciples couldn’t endure unless they joined one of the three factions. Even the outer disciple assessment alone was enough to push them to their limits.