"That's Senior Sister Sherry Jing." As they passed a residential area for outer disciples, Garrett suddenly called out.
Joe Di didn't need Garrett to point it out; he had already spotted Sherry Jing.
On a large open space in the outer disciples' residential area, Sherry Jing stood there nervously. Besides her, there were at least twenty or thirty other outer disciples.
"Joe, the guy who stole Senior Sister Sherry Jing's storage pouch is here too—the one in yellow. Huh, that stolen pouch seems to be hanging in the middle..." Garrett finally figured things out and no longer called the thief 'senior brother.'
"Let's go have a look." Joe Di immediately walked over.
In the center of the open space, a storage pouch was hanging. Besides the pouch, there was a small pile of spirit stones—Joe Di took a quick glance, at least thirty of them. Next to the spirit stones were several jade bottles.
"Senior Brother Tao, this is everything I have. I shouldn't have forced Senior Sister Sherry Jing to sell her storage pouch. Whatever punishment you decide, I'll accept it all." The yellow-robed cultivator spoke respectfully, his tone filled with unease.
A tall man with a cultivator's topknot stepped forward and shouted angrily at the yellow-robed cultivator, "Get out of here! Trash like you is a disgrace to our Starstream School."
After the tall man finished, he clasped his fists to the crowd and said, "Our Starstream School values unity and camaraderie. Joel Sa, a third-level Qi Refinement cultivator, openly robbed a newly joined outer disciple. It's a shame I'm not an enforcer—if I were, I'd have kicked this scum out of Starstream long ago. Now, I'll take back Joel Sa's belongings and return them to Junior Sister Sherry Jing. As for the spirit stones and pills, consider them compensation for her."
"Senior Brother Tao is mighty!" The surrounding cultivators applauded, their voices full of respect.
Joe Di was momentarily stunned by the scene. Were Starstream School disciples really this righteous? Did they actually care about a new outer disciple's belongings being stolen?
The man called Senior Brother Tao nodded to those around him before turning to Sherry Jing. "Junior Sister Sherry, you can take your things back."
Sherry Jing quickly bowed. "Thank you for your help, Senior Brother Tao. I've just joined the sect, so please accept this storage pouch as a token of my gratitude."
Joe Di looked at Sherry Jing in confusion. She had just joined the sect, so she should know the value of a storage pouch. It was originally hers—why would she give it away so easily?
"Haha..." Owen Tao laughed heartily, patting the storage pouch at his waist. "If I took your storage pouch, Junior Sister, others would think I, Owen Tao, only did this for the pouch. Please don't make things difficult for me. Besides, I already have one."
Sherry Jing bowed again. "Then I'll just take my storage pouch back. I don't dare accept anything else."
After speaking, Sherry Jing stepped forward to retrieve her storage pouch.
Before Sherry Jing could reach the pouch, Owen Tao had already packed the spirit stones and two jade bottles into it. He then handed the storage pouch to her. "Don't worry, Junior Sister. Even though Starstream School is a second-tier sect, we all look out for each other here."
"Thank you very much, Senior Brother Tao." Sherry Jing paused, then accepted the storage pouch and thanked him again.
"Alright, everyone, you can disperse now. If any of you ever need anything, feel free to come find me, Owen Tao." Owen Tao waved his hand, his tone sincere and earnest.
"Thank you, Senior Brother Tao," everyone echoed in gratitude.
Garrett rubbed his hands together. "Joe, Senior Brother Tao is really a good person. This is what a true Starstream School senior should be."
At first, Joe Di also thought Owen Tao was like him—someone genuinely coming to help Sherry Jing. After all, Sherry had been disfigured and had no backing. But when he focused his spiritual sense on her, he sensed something was off.
Sherry Jing's hand trembled as she put away the storage pouch.
He could sense that Sherry Jing was extremely nervous, even fearful. Not only that, she hadn't looked up at her surroundings once, and her steps were unsteady as she left with the storage pouch. Logically, she should be happy to get her pouch back, along with dozens of spirit stones.
"Garrett, go back and wait for me at the dorm. I'll take a walk and return later." Joe Di had faced life and death many times—he could tell Sherry Jing was troubled.
Normally, he wouldn't get involved, but Sherry Jing was kind and had helped him several times. If he could help her now, Joe Di wouldn't hesitate.
"Okay." Garrett, ever simple-minded, didn't think much of it.
With the crowd dispersing, Joe Di blended in with a few cultivators and deliberately sighed. "Senior Sister Sherry really is lucky, getting a storage pouch and Senior Brother Tao's help. If only I had such luck—able to answer the questions that stump everyone."
A narrow-eyed cultivator walking beside Joe Di chuckled, "Don't even think about it. The instructor asks that question every time during lectures, but so far only Junior Sister Sherry has answered it. So, to have good luck, you also need good talent."
Every time? Joe Di didn't ask further; he felt there was something odd about this.
With his powerful spiritual sense, Joe Di casually trailed far behind Sherry Jing. Her residence wasn't secluded, located in an outer disciples' area. Although her spiritual roots weren't exceptional, compared to Joe Di and Garrett, she was on a different level—so her accommodations were better than theirs.
Once Sherry Jing entered her room and closed the door, Joe Di waited outside for a while, making sure no one had followed her. He then settled in a corner behind her house and set up several concealment arrays.
He was now a level-four array master. Even though he hadn't practiced much, the concealment arrays he set up here would be impossible for anyone in the outer disciples' area to detect.
After hiding himself, Joe Di focused his spiritual sense on Sherry Jing's room. She sat on her bed in a daze, clutching her storage pouch.
Joe Di was surprised; only now did he notice the spiritual fluctuations around Sherry Jing. By his estimation, she was at least at Qi Refinement level one.
How long had Sherry Jing been at Starstream School? Just a few days, and she was already at Qi Refinement level one? That was incredibly fast. He didn't believe she had acquired a miraculous gray stone like he did. Was this really the speed of someone with triple spiritual roots?
Could it be that Sherry Jing had a secret Owen Tao discovered? Was that why Owen Tao wanted to get close to her? After more than half an hour passed and Owen Tao hadn't shown up, Joe Di began to doubt his own theory.
Just as Joe Di was about to enter Sherry Jing's room to greet her, a shadow suddenly appeared in his spiritual sense.
The shadow moved swiftly and, in the blink of an eye, arrived outside Sherry Jing's room.
It was Owen Tao—Joe Di recognized him immediately. His earlier suspicion was correct; Owen Tao had another reason for helping Sherry Jing.
Owen Tao knocked gently on the door, his voice soft. "Junior Sister Sherry, are you there?"
Joe Di's spiritual sense clearly saw Sherry Jing's hand tremble slightly before she regained her composure, hung the storage pouch at her waist, and quickly opened the door. Seeing it was Owen Tao, her eyes lit up with surprise. "Senior Brother Owen, please come in!"
Owen Tao didn't enter; instead, he stood at the doorway. "Junior Sister Sherry, I won't come in. The day after tomorrow, I'll be heading to Nufeng Ridge for a trial with Senior Sister Wang Qi and Junior Brother Yue Chi. You should come along too."
"But I've only just joined the sect—I don't have any cultivation..." Sherry Jing replied nervously.
Owen Tao waved his hand. "That's exactly why you should go—because your cultivation is low. Back then, I followed Senior Brother Ping to Nufeng Ridge for my first trial. Sigh, in a big sect, there will always be people of poor character. Now that you have a storage pouch, I hope you reach mid-stage Qi Refinement soon. By then, trash like Joel Sa won't dare trouble you."
Clearly, Owen Tao wanted to help Sherry Jing improve her cultivation so she could protect her belongings.
"Ah..." Sherry Jing exclaimed in delight, then bowed. "Thank you, Senior Brother Owen. I understand—Senior Brother can't always be in the sect. I'll prepare tomorrow and join you all at Nufeng Ridge the day after."
"Good. I'll head off now. We'll meet you in the Mission Hall the day after tomorrow. Before we go, we'll pick up a sect mission for Nufeng Ridge. Sect points are important—if we can earn some, your cultivation will progress faster." Owen Tao said before leaving.
After Owen Tao left, Joe Di didn't plan to speak with Sherry Jing. He was about to follow Owen Tao when he saw Sherry Jing quickly pack her things and head out, moving swiftly in the opposite direction.
Joe Di didn't care where Sherry Jing was headed. What he really wanted to know was what Owen Tao was plotting. Sherry Jing only had a storage pouch—if Owen Tao wanted it, she had already offered, but he refused. As for liking Sherry Jing, Joe Di didn't buy it.
Joe Di had no idea where Owen Tao lived. After tracking him for more than half an hour, he found that Owen Tao entered what seemed to be a regular outer disciple's residence.
From what Joe Di could tell, Owen Tao's cultivation should be late-stage Qi Refinement. Normally, someone at that level wouldn't live in such a shabby place.
When Joe Di focused his spiritual sense on the house, he was puzzled. Inside was Joel Sa—the very one who had robbed Sherry Jing's storage pouch and was disciplined by Owen Tao.
(That's all for today's update. Good night, friends.)