CHAPTER 72: CHAPTER 72: DILIGENCE

Deep into the night.

The moonlight, like water, spilled across the ancient land.

A hush enveloped the disorderly burial grounds. In this deserted place, only the sound of the wind and ancient whispers from the grasses could be heard.

RUSTLE—

Footsteps sounded.

A shadowy figure appeared.

Cloaked in black, his features indiscernible.

He walked lightly yet resolutely across the disorderly burial grounds, as if the ominous land meant nothing to him.

As he ventured deeper into the heart of the grounds, the atmosphere grew even more sinister and frightening. The rustling of leaves and branches in the wind seemed to conceal something chilling. Yet, the man showed no sign of fear, continuing his leisurely pace.

"This place is very good." Qi Xiu looked around, nodded lightly, then flicked his robes and sat on the ground.

A gust of night wind arose, chilling to the bone. With the cold wind blowing, Qi Xiu slowly shed the robe from his upper body.

His lean, well-defined body was densely covered with a total of three hundred sixty-five Suppression Talismans. Inside his body, within the Purple Mansion of his dantian, tiny, golden Suppression Talismans firmly surrounded the Purple Golden Dao Seed, creating an airtight barrier of golden light that temporarily suppressed its immense power.

Qi Xiu used the Suppression Talisman Sealing Skill to temporarily contain the True Cultivation Power and Inner Qi within him, preventing accidents during Mana cultivation. He then took a long breath and began to circulate his Mana.

His pupils slowly lit up with an azure glow.

Mo Jiao slithered out from behind him. This spiritual creature, born from a Divine Marvel of spellcasting, seemed intelligent. After appearing, it affectionately rubbed against Qi Xiu’s cheek. Then, as if sensing the cold and eerie aura around, it instinctively opened its maw, bristling with sharp teeth, consuming the gloomy, foul miasma and chilling air of the surroundings.

Streams of faint, gray-black Yin energy transformed into wisps of black energy that continuously poured into Mo Jiao’s mouth. Having absorbed this Yin and murky energy, its slender, delicate body gradually grew a little stronger. Threads of ice-cold, pure, flawless Mana were then filtered through Mo Jiao, nourishing Qi Xiu’s sea of consciousness.

Watching the joyful Mo Jiao eagerly devouring the cold Yin energy, Qi Xiu nodded slightly. At this rate, the time it would take to advance the Bitter Pool Elusive Scales Heart Scripture to the Third Realm would be at least twice as fast as for the Purple Golden Skill.

The cultivation of spells and the cultivation of Inner Qi were vastly different. Similar to arts and sciences, one focused on enlightenment, the other on practice. Spellcasting scriptures placed high demands on one’s innate talent and temperament. The higher the talent, the deeper the comprehension of the scripture, and the quicker the progression of Cultivation. A single day of meditation for someone with exceptional gifts could surpass months, or even years, of arduous practice by an ordinary person.

Under such cultivation rules, Qi Xiu’s proficiency-enhancing Divine Marvel naturally gave him a unique advantage. The insights and experience gained from each recitation and study of the scripture snowballed, continually accelerating his cultivation of the heart scripture. The more he practiced, the faster he got; the faster he got, the more he practiced. Within just seven short days, the proficiency of the Azure Pond Mysterious Scales True Sutra, which he had only recently entered the First Realm of, had already increased to 87%. Almost every time Qi Xiu recited the scripture, his proficiency would leap by several points. Such an astonishing rate of improvement often made him laugh out loud in his sleep.

Furthermore, after pondering for a few days, he had come to these miasma-rich disorderly burial grounds. With the added benefit of this cultivation environment, the speed of cultivating the Bitter Pool Elusive Scales Heart Scripture reached yet another level.

The night passed swiftly.

Dawn broke.

The gloomy, toxic miasma within the disorderly burial grounds gradually dissipated.

Realizing that Mo Jiao could no longer absorb much spiritual energy, Qi Xiu stood up, dressed, and with a wave of his hand, Mo Jiao swam back into his sleeve. He lightly tapped Mo Jiao’s head with his fingertip and smiled faintly. "That’s enough for today. I’ll bring you back here later this evening."

Having retracted Mo Jiao, Qi Xiu activated the Invisible Shadow Qinggong. He took a step forward and, like a ghostly shadow, darted back toward Baoho County. The forests and fields beside him swiftly receded.

Fortunately, the Purple Golden Skill doesn’t care for the Inner Qi of the Invisible Shadow Qinggong. As a result, the Inner Qi of this Qinggong is isolated. Otherwise, with my Purple Golden Skill’s Dao Seed sealed and my Inner Qi unusable, I’d have to walk all the way back to the city.

He hastened all the way back to the city. Without a word, Qi Xiu headed straight for the southern district. Some time ago, Song Tingye had persistently pestered him to become the instructor for the City Protection Army. Since he owed Song Tingye a favor, he had begrudgingly accepted. With this responsibility, his already tight schedule became even more packed. He was so busy he practically had to schedule his meals and bathroom breaks.

He hurried to an open training ground in the southern part of the city. This place used to be an open-air wooden shack market. After the West Wind Army entered the city, all the shacks were dismantled, turning it into a military camp. Later, when Song Tingye took office, it became his training ground for the City Protection Army.

On the broad sand field, roughly six to seven thousand square meters in size—about as large as a football field—six hundred young men, bare-chested, trained their bodies with stone locks, wooden stakes, iron balls, and other equipment.

"Instructor Ye."

"Instructor Ye."

"Instructor Ye."

In the training ground, upon seeing Qi Xiu walk in, the young men who were training stood up one by one and bowed in greeting. Of course, this politeness was born only after they had witnessed Qi Xiu snap an iron rod as thick as a bowl with a mere flick of his fingers.

Qi Xiu nodded lightly to the crowd, then walked over and sat down under a shaded pavilion. Sliced sweet melons and fragrant brewed tea had already been prepared. He took a light sip from a cup of tea. Qi Xiu rested his chin on one hand, gazing at the vigorous, energetic young men before him.

I wonder what our dear County Magistrate Song is thinking. These men are all complete novices with no martial arts foundation. Just the basic training of tempering their bodies will take at least a year. Did he invite me here just to watch them?

After resting idly under the pavilion for a while, Qi Xiu stretched. Just as he was about to recite the sutras and mantras to cultivate his Mana, suddenly, across the training ground, a short young man with a crew cut let out a low shout, a burst of Qi Force erupting from his hands. He actually managed to toss a hundred-pound stone lock high into the air.

"Get out of the way!" Seeing the stone lock fall, the surrounding crowd cried out in alarm, urging everyone to get out of the way.

"Hm?" His ear twitched. Sensing something amiss, Qi Xiu turned his head to look, his figure flickering. In the next instant, he appeared beside the crew-cut young man and casually caught the falling stone lock.

"Tha... thank you, Instructor," the crew-cut young man stammered to Qi Xiu, his face pale with lingering fear.

Something’s not right. Frowning, Qi Xiu placed a hand on the young man’s wrist and tapped three major acupoints on his arm with his fingers. A burst of Qi Force pulsed from the points, thrumming audibly.

Tempering Power Realm? Qi Xiu’s pupils contracted, his brow deeply furrowed as he stared at the bewildered crew-cut young man. Reaching the Tempering Power Realm in seven days? Is that even possible?

But what surprised Qi Xiu even more was yet to come. After the crew-cut young man’s sudden display of Tempering Power Realm strength, nearly one hundred more of the six hundred men on the training ground successively awakened to the same power.

Watching these young men cheering jubilantly over their newfound strength, Qi Xiu’s expression grew grave. Something is very wrong. There’s a problem here.