Firstly, the D class had chosen Ping Lake for their exercise, but Li Weifeng actually came along. Wasn’t this too coincidental?
Secondly, Xia Qingchen encountered an assassination that very night.
And lastly, Li Weifeng’s action with regards to the captive was too strange. It was hard for one not to feel suspicious.
However, Qin Lin didn’t voice his suspicions openly.
“It will have to depend on your capabilities then!” Li Weifeng coldly spoke, completely shredding all pretense of cordiality.
Qin Lin laughed. “Fine then. I’ve long since wanted to try the skill of the martial tutor from the A class!”
Hei~
The sounds of a commotion created by the fight between two people instantly echoed out from the grass hut.
Ten breaths later, Li Weifeng clutched his chest. The corners of his mouth dripped with fresh blood as he ran out.
His expression was incomparably gloomy. He initially thought Qin Lin’s strength was average. How could he have expected that Qin Lin hid his cultivation during ordinary times?
When they had exchanged blows for ten breaths of time, he had been the one at a disadvantage!
Luckily, Li Weifeng’s movement technique was pretty good and he managed to seize an opportunity to flee.
Qin Lin followed closely after, pursuing him tightly.
After the time it took to drink half a cup of tea, he returned empty-handed and mumbled with worry, “Given Li Weifeng’s cultivation, if he fled and committed evil, he would definitely be a huge disaster!”
Half a month later.
The D class and A class safely returned.
Xia Qilin didn’t even have time to relax after returning to the martial pavilion. Along with him, the other students of A class were immediately controlled and split up for individual questioning by the experts of the martial pavilion.
Through the interrogation, the students learned a piece of explosive news.
Their martial tutor Li Weifeng was actually a spy for the bandits!
Also, he had participated in the bloodbath at that certain town several months ago.
As the student Li Weifeng regarded the most, Xia Qilin was strictly questioned and was even suspected.
Not only the martial pavilion, but the entire Lone Cloud City was also unstable.
The martial pavilion sent out large numbers of people to capture Li Weifeng’s family, including his son who was nursing injuries at home, Li Yaozong.
Upon discovering that Li Yaozong was also part of the bandits, he was summarily executed and his body was hung outside the city walls for all to see.
After that, they visited all the martial aristocratic clans that had a connection with Li Weifeng.
Those who ought to be captured were captured. Those who ought to be killed were killed.
The entire Lone Cloud City was in chaos. Panic surfaced in the hearts of the people.
Only Xia Qingchen was still quietly cultivating in the resting chamber, ignoring all outside matters.
After half a month, he successfully cleared his seventh major meridian and reached the seventh radiance-level of the minor constellation stage.
Although there were still ten minor meridians he had yet to clear, the density of his inner force had reached a level equivalent to the eighth radiance-level.
That, in addition to his movement technique and martial skills, those who just stepped into the ninth radiance-level shouldn’t be able to match him.
“Student Xia.” Outside the door, Qin Lin came over with worry on his face the moment he returned to the martial pavilion.
Xia Qingchen opened the door. Upon seeing him unharmed, Qin Lin heaved a sigh of relief and spoke with gratification, “You have accomplished great merit. The upper echelons of the martial pavilion would not mistreat you and would give you great rewards.”
“The credit this time is due to martial tutor Qin scaring the enemy off. Martial tutor Qin should have a portion of the rewards as well.” Xia Qingchen smiled.
This time around, Qin Lin was the one with the most credit.
If he hadn’t acted, just those bandits who were at the ninth radiance-level would be extremely dangerous to the students, let alone the fact that there had been a Li Weifeng who had been looking at them like how a tiger eyed prey.
Hence, Xia Qingchen wouldn’t claim all the credit for himself.
“Haha, what are you saying?” Qin Lin’s heart bloomed with joy. He found Xia Qingchen increasingly pleasing to the eye.
He was very young, but he knew the ways of life.
When Qin Lin thought of himself making things difficult for Xia Qingchen when he first arrived, he couldn’t help but feel ashamed.
Speaking of temperament, he couldn’t even compare to a small kid like Xia Qingchen.
“Martial tutor Qin, I wish to head home to take a look,” Xia Qingchen spoke. Recently, the hearts of the people were filled with panic. He didn’t know if his Xia Manor was affected or not.
Qin Lin clapped his hand to his forehead and hurriedly took out a letter. “I almost forgot. This is a letter from your home.”
Xia Qingchen opened the letter. It was written by his father.
The letter stated that his aunt had arrived in Lone Cloud City several days ago.
Tonight, his second uncle would hold a welcoming banquet at the Cloudguest Restaurant and had also invited them both.
Xia Qingchen frowned. He truly had no wish to go to a banquet organized by his second uncle.
However, his father stated clearly in the letter to give his aunt some face.
If their Southern Xia Manor didn’t go, that would truly be not giving his aunt any face at all.
“Sigh, father…You want to give this aunt some face, but has she ever given face to you?” Xia Qingchen thought back to the time when Zhao Churan first arrived at Lone Cloud City. She had gifted the Northern Xia Manor two exorbitant gifts, while their Southern Xia Manor had gotten a mere bag of tea leaves.
Now that he had to give his aunt face by showing up, Xia Qingchen was naturally unwilling.
But his father had already agreed to this. Xia Qingchen had no way to reject.
“Martial tutor Qin, I will head home first.” After bidding farewell, Xia Qingchen returned to the Southern Xia Manor.
Just as he returned, he saw Grudgy working extremely hard to cultivate the martial skill he had given it.
“Nine Plum Blossoms Bloomed!” His dog paws slammed out, causing nine tiny holes to appear on the fake mountains at the courtyard.
This caused the servants and attendants to break out in applause as they praised it.
“Grudgy you are so awesome!”
Grudgy stuck its neck out, its tail pointing straight up the sky. It closed its eyes. “What sort of dog am I, Grudgy? I’m a supreme divine dog, an absolute genius that no one has seen for the past three hundred years and no one will see three hundred years after I passed on! This mere martial skill, what can it count for? It’s just a minor trick, a minor trick…”
Grudgy boasted but it suddenly felt the atmosphere become quiet.
It opened its dog eyes and saw Xia Qingchen standing behind it with a smile that was not a smile on his face.
“Wa, I… I mean that I, Grudgy, would only be here today because of the guidance of Master Chen!” Grudgy immediately changed its words.
Xia Qingchen laughed. “Supreme divine dog, since you are so powerful, why don’t we have a spar?”
A moment later, Grudgy had a wry look on its face. “Master Chen, please don’t abuse a dog!”
How would it dare to compare itself to Xia Qingchen?
“You must be humble on the martial path. Excessive arrogance and pride would limit your accomplishments,” Xia Qingchen lectured.
Grudgy lowered its head. “Grudgy understands…”
“I can tell that your talent isn’t bad. I will gift you another martial skill.” He took out a dog-type martial skill that he had written before he left the martial pavilion. There were a total of three volumes.
One was a claw-attack martial skill, one was a teeth-attack martial skill, while the last one was a dog-type movement technique martial skill.
“You can only choose one attacking-type martial skill out of the two and cultivate it.”
Grudgy had just entered the martial path, and it was cultivating in a cultivation art, attacking-type skill, and movement technique. This was already the limit. It wasn’t good for it to cultivate too many things in one go.
Grudgy wriggled its paws as its eyes gleamed.
“I will choose the movement technique and teeth-attack martial skill.” Grudgy had a sinister smile on its face. “That move, ‘Fierce Dog Pouncing on Feces’ seemed to be very powerful.”
Xia Qingchen’s brows twitched. “Open your doggy eyes wide and take a good look. What is that move called?”
How could there be such a vulgar name in the moves of the martial skill he provided?
Grudgy opened its eyes wider and took another look. It then yelped in surprise, “Oh, its ‘Fierce Dog Pouncing on Food’! But to dogs, food and feces are roughly the same.”
It licked its lips and had a look like it had not fully expressed itself.
“A dog can never change its habit of eating feces!” Xia Qingchen rolled his eyes at it.
Grudgy licked its face and smiled. “Many thanks to Master Chen for your praise. Grudgy will definitely maintain my graceful manner of eating feces and definitely wouldn’t change…”
“Scram!” Xia Qingchen aimed a kick at it.
This fellow was growing increasingly crafty.
…
In the backyard.
Xia Yuan was also cultivating the [Star-Seizing Thirteen Words Sutra].
Upon seeing his stances, Xia Qingchen knew that his father should be quite proficient in it.
Also, in addition to the inner force he emitted, it was clear that he had reached the second vortex-level of the major constellation stage.
This cultivation speed caused Xia Qingchen to feel startled.
But upon thinking about it carefully, his father’s cultivation base had been stagnant due to his injuries. Now that they were healed, his foundations of many years all erupted out in one go. It was only natural for his cultivation base to improve by leaps and bounds.
That, when combined with the high-grade yellow-tier finger art he was proficient in, most probably he could even fight against people at the fourth-vortex level of the major constellation stage.
“You’ve returned.” Xia Yuan stopped his cultivation and happily surveyed Xia Qingchen. “How’s your cultivation in the martial pavilion?”
Xia Qingchen humbly replied, “Not too bad, but my harvest isn’t great.”
“Don’t rush it, a deity has passed you an inheritance. Sooner or later, you will make your mark in the martial path.” Xia Yuan truly thought that Xia Qingchen didn’t improve too much.
“Since you have returned, you should go and make your preparations before we go and meet your aunt.”
Xia Qingchen nodded.
During evening time, the two of them headed out and went to the Cloudguest Restaurant.
—
And not long after they left, under the gathering darkness, two plain palanquins stopped at the Southern Xia Manor’s entrance.
One of the guards flashed an authority token to a servant in the Southern Xia Manor.
When the servant saw this, his expression drastically changed and he immediately went to inform the butler.