Translator: Lordbluefire
Editor: Lordbluefire
Leaving aside everything else, just Xia Qingchen’s strength alone was already stronger than hers. How could he be that weakling who couldn’t even pass the martial pavilion’s examination?
“It shouldn’t be him,” Zhen Zhilan spoke with certainty. She thought about it for a little while and spoke again, “You guys go look for him.”
Wang Bahu moved over. His voice was low and his eyes gleamed with a ruthless, fierce light. “Has that brat offended Miss Zhen? Do you want me to send some people to…”
He made the motion of slitting his throat.
“Don’t act recklessly, he is someone that grandpa…” Zhen Zhiran instantly stopped her words. “Cough, cough. He is a good friend of mine. You must not be disrespectful toward him!”
Wang Bahu’s heart pounded rapidly. Although Zhen Zhiran had changed her words quickly, he still had managed to hear the word ‘grandpa’.
“My heavens, how did Xia Qingchen get involved with the martial legend?” Wang Bahu felt his heart trembling.
Although he was an attendant of the current Shrine Master, if the old Shrine Master was unhappy toward him, the old Shrine Master could make his life worse than death with a single look.
“This lowly one knows what to do. Miss Zhen, please rest at ease,” Wang Bahu replied. He brought along a few guards and rapidly set off to look for Xia Qingchen.
Luckily, their cultivation bases were strong enough and their movement speed was quick.
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, they managed to catch up to Xia Qingchen who was about to enter the Southern Xia Manor’s entrance.
“Young Master Xia, please hold your steps!” Wang Bahu laughed as he walked over.
Xia Qingchen glanced at him, lifting his eyebrows. “You are?”
“Haha, I’m Wang Bahu from the Dong Clan of the Immortal Pavilion. I’ve long since heard of Young Master Xia’s great name,” Wang Bahu passionately reported his name without losing his sense of propriety.
Immortal Pavilion?
Xia Qingchen heard of this place before. It was an extremely famous money-squandering establishment in Lone Cloud City.
It was said that just an ordinary invitation to that place would cause one to spend at least 100,000 taels of silver. Only those with high status and authority could afford to visit it.
Given the Southern Xia Manor’s financial ability, they could at most go there a few times before exhausting the entirety of their wealth.
But for his second uncle’s side, it was no problem for them to go there occasionally.
“Oh, is there a problem?” Xia Qingchen had never met this person before. He had no idea why this person stopped him.
Wang Bahu smiled widely and took out a golden card. “Sir, since you are Miss Zhen’s friend, you are also my friend. Could Young Master Xia give me some face and come to visit my Immortal Pavilion occasionally?”
Miss Zhen?
He contemplated a while before he understood.
The number of females he had interacted with was extremely low in number. The one with the highest status was undoubtedly that young lady named Zhilan which he had met in the Shrine earlier.
Wang Bahu should have received Zhen Zhilan’s instructions and came here to befriend him.
He pondered for some moments before accepting the golden card.
“I will accept this. Help me pass a message to Zhen Zhilan. In the future when I have some time, I will come to cure her grandfather’s old injuries.” He didn’t like to own favors. Since he had received something, he had to give back something.
Wang Bahu nodded and muttered words of thanks and agreement. This answer ought to make Zhen Zhilan satisfied, right?
Although he didn’t really understand how Xia Qingchen could have the confidence and the guts to treat the old Shrine Master’s injuries.
Wasn’t he just a kid?
“I will definitely pass the message on,” Wang Bahu replied. “In the future, if Young Master Xia brings this card to the Immortal Pavilion, all expenses will be covered by us.”
Xia Qingchen nodded. “Very well then. Just so nicely, my younger female cousin will be here half a month later and I will be the one receiving her. Go and make the preparations there and await our arrival.”
Upon hearing this, Wang Bahu nodded his head.
He watched as Xia Qingchen entered the house. Only then did Wang Bahu return to the Shrine.
Zhen Zhilan was pacing to-and-fro at the Shrine’s entrance with a look of anxiousness on his face.
“How is it?” Seeing that Wang Bahu had returned, she hurriedly asked.
Wang Bahu wiped away the sweat on his forehead. “I accomplished the mission.”
He then repeated Xia Qingchen’s words.
After hearing it, Zhen Zhilan’s crystal-like eyes sparkled with light. She exhaled a long breath. “Well done!”
Upon hearing this, Wang Bahu understood that he hadn’t wasted his time to make that journey.
“He is going to welcome and receive his younger female cousin? Fine, you have to do this well and make sure that he is satisfied,” Zhen Zhilan seriously spoke.
Originally, Wang Bahu didn’t really care about Xia Qingchen’s reception. But now, he knew that he had to put in some efforts.
Zhen Zhilan then entered the inner layer of the Shrine and reported this to Zhen Nantian.
After knowing that Xia Qingchen would help him cure his old injuries, his aged eyes involuntarily gleamed with agitation and anticipation.
“Grandpa, can I go and cultivate the [Traversing Snow, Flowering Plum] now?” Zhen Zhilan still couldn’t forget how powerful this martial skill was.
Zhen Nantian nodded. “You can. However, you have to make a copy and auction it out.”
“Ah, why?” Zhen Zhilan asked.
Zhen Nantian sighed, “Hasn’t your grandfather suffered enough from cultivating the [Fragmented Heaven-Mending Scroll]? Make a copy and hold an auction. You should wait for someone else to cultivate it first. If that person is fine, it wouldn’t be too late for you to start.”
After pausing for a moment, Xia Nantian added, “Naturally, the auction copy will be an abridged version. Remove 50% of the important points.”
This meant that the abridged version of the [Traversing Snow, Flowering Plum] would only have a quarter of the full content.
“Grandpa, your heart is so black!” Zhen Zhilan sighed. Her grandfather glared at her and she instantly changed her words. “I mean grandpa has deep foresight. I was praising you!”
—–
After returning to the Xia Manor.
Xia Qingchen looked for Uncle Qin and spoke, “This is a Thunderfire Char. Pass this to father and tell him to cut out a hole in it. After that, he should use and meditate inside the Thunderfire Char every night for a month. It would definitely benefit him.”
Uncle Qin was completely clueless. He then took this piece of wood that was seemingly about to rot.
Xia Qingchen was preparing to enter the cultivation chamber. However, all of a sudden, he heard Grudgy reading out ancient poems in his father’s study.
This fellow. Ever since he came to the Xia Manor, he had been focusing on reading the books of mankind.
“Hold on, Uncle Qin.” Xia Qingchen took some paper and ink. He wrote a cultivation-type martial skill on the spot. “Doesn’t Grudgy likes to read? Pass this to him from me.”
What he could do was to give Grudgy some basic stuff. As to what achievements the white puppy could have in the future, it all depended on its own comprehension ability.
“Yes, young master.” Uncle Qin held the two items in his hands before he left.
There were no longer any other matters for Xia Qingchen. He immediately entered the cultivation chamber for seclusion.
Inside it, he took out the ingredients of the Dragonblood Powder and began concocting.
With the experience from his past life, his concoction process was like floating clouds and flowing water. There was no difficulty at all.
Half a day later, he felt some fatigue as he rubbed his sore arm.
But before him, there were now ten boxes of red-colored spirit powder. Each box had bubbles churning and seemed as though they were boiling.
“Success.” Xia Qingchen picked up a box and inclined his head to consume it.
A moment later, a feeling of heat flowed down his throat into his stomach.
It felt like he was ingesting a box of blazing fire. His entire body felt a scorching pain.
“Compared to that intense pain I felt long ago, what does this bit of pain count for?” Xia Qingchen gritted his teeth.
If one wanted to wear the crown, they had to undertake the responsibility.
If he wished to attain his previous peak and become the king of all gods, he had to endure the pain and constantly sharpen himself on a grindstone.
Just like this, he forcibly endured the torment and activated the four major meridians and forty-one minor meridians in his body, circulating the medicinal potency to his four limbs, arteries, and veins.
The circulation speed in all his martial meridians increased. The most direct effect was that his absorption speed of the essence of heavens and earth was now twice as fast compared to earlier.
After the essence qi entered his body, it settled down in his major and minor meridians, becoming the inner force of martial cultivators.
With the medicinal potency still lingering in his body, Xia Qingchen did his best to absorb essence qi as quickly as he could before it faded.
Finally, half a month later.
He opened his eyes. Slamming his palms on the ground, he bounced up from where he sat.
A silvery-white qi was faintly floating on his skin.
This indicated that someone had stepped into the fifth radiance-level of the minor constellation stage.
By using the Dragonblood Powder, he cultivated with twice the results for half the effort. He successfully cleared his fifth major meridian and reached the fifth radiance-level of the minor constellation realm.
Together with his forty-one minor meridians, the inner force in his body was almost at the sixth radiance-level.
If he cultivated for another half a month, he should be able to clear nine more minor meridians.
However, he most probably had to stop cultivating now.
Today was the date his younger female cousin would arrive. His father had instructed him that he had to welcome and receive her.