“Naive.” Susan Murray couldn’t help but sneer. “Whether it’s spirit stones or other resources, they’re all extremely precious. As a newcomer who’s just joined, what skills do you have to earn them? Can you handle monsters, or cultivate spirit herbs, or refine pills and craft artifacts? What abilities do you have to earn spirit stones?”

Ian Quinn was left speechless and sighed. “I can’t, but I can learn.”

“Learn? Who will teach you, and besides, there’s not enough time.”

“Now you understand, young man, the path of cultivation isn’t as easy as you imagine. The reason the sect values the children of cultivation families isn’t favoritism—it actually makes sense.”

“It makes sense?” Ian Quinn frowned.

“That’s right. The problem I just mentioned—insufficient cultivation resources—if you’re a disciple from a cultivation family, the clan naturally supplements your spirit stones every month. If you’re talented and favored in the clan, there might even be several people supporting you alone. That way, you don’t have to worry about resource consumption and can focus on cultivating every day.”

“Wouldn’t such disciples have a better chance of success? So of course the sect values them more—it’s not just simple favoritism.”

“And that’s not their only advantage. As the saying goes, ‘A word from a wise man is worth ten years of study.’ During cultivation, if you have elders to guide and assist you, your path will be much smoother. Don’t underestimate it—sometimes a simple sentence, a cultivation insight, is the result of countless hardships by predecessors, painstakingly summarized. It can help you avoid many detours on your cultivation journey.”

“For example, if you hit a bottleneck and try to figure it out alone, you might never break through, or worse, you could go astray. But if you have a senior’s help at that moment, telling you what to do, you might succeed effortlessly.”

“Can’t the sect teach these methods?”

Ian Quinn was a bit confused. You say resources are limited—I get that. But the sect wants everyone to succeed, so shouldn’t cultivation insights be shared? That way, disciples would progress faster.

Susan Murray sighed. “In theory, the sect certainly hopes so, but in reality, it’s impossible.”

“Impossible in practice?”

“That’s right. Every cultivation insight is gained by cultivators through countless hardships and is extremely precious. If you’re not family, why would anyone teach you so easily?”

“Of course, the sect provides cultivation techniques, and from time to time, seniors give lectures. But what they usually teach are simple, easy-to-understand principles. As for rare secret techniques and hard-earned cultivation insights, they’ll never share those.”

“Unless you’re capable enough to become their disciple and be personally taught by them—that’s another matter. But let me ask you, do you think you have that ability?”

Ian Quinn gave a wry smile. He certainly knew he couldn’t.

“And as for those disciples from cultivation families, the elders in their clans naturally won’t keep their insights to themselves. They’ll pass on all their cultivation experience and summaries to their juniors, giving them a huge advantage here as well.”

“And let me tell you, the difficulties of cultivation go far beyond this. You could say danger lurks everywhere, and a single misstep could mean death. So I advise you to give up. Why choose such a hard path? Why not go back to being a mortal, live safely and comfortably, and be even happier?”

“Thank you, Elder.”

However, Ian Quinn’s eyes showed no confusion, only stubbornness. “I know cultivation is hard. I also know that choosing this path means facing many hardships. But I can’t help it—I just love cultivation. And I believe that every difficulty can be overcome, so I still hope Elder will show mercy and let me stay in the sect.”

Susan Murray’s gaze swept over his face, showing a hint of appreciation, perhaps a hint of anger, but in the end she spoke calmly: “You still don’t understand. Young man, don’t aim too high. There are some things that no amount of effort can make up for.”

“Effort isn’t all a disciple has.”

“Oh? What else do you have?”

“Courage and determination.”

Ian Quinn lifted his head. “For the sake of cultivation, I’m not afraid of hardship or difficulty. No obstacle can make me back down. Even if I face danger and risk death, I won’t even frown.”

Chapter 13: Outer Sect Disciple

“Not afraid of hardship, and no difficulty can make you back down?”

Elder Murray mulled over his words, but his face showed some disbelief. “Words are cheap. Can you really do it?”

“Disciple comes from a poor background. In order to walk this path of cultivation…”

Ian Quinn hadn’t finished speaking when Susan Murray interrupted him. “No need to ramble on. I’ve already said words are cheap. I know you’ve suffered a lot to obtain the cultivation manual, but that’s nothing. Compared to the hardships you’ll face on the path of cultivation, that’s just an appetizer.”

“Then what must I do to prove myself, Elder?”

Ian Quinn was a bit unconvinced.

He had always been stubborn by nature and had suffered a lot since childhood. As long as he could walk the path of cultivation, Ian Quinn believed he could overcome any difficulty.