Qi Sensation

A few streets south of Fukang Ward is Tai'an Ward, the ward closest to the Southern City Gate.

Due to its proximity to the city gate, there is a large flow of people, and the streets are a mix of all sorts of characters. Ordinary people are generally unwilling to live here. The main establishments on both sides are shops and inns, and further inside are shacks where the poor gather. It has always been quite dirty and chaotic.

However, deep within, there is a large residence that occupies a corner of the ward, quite spacious. The facade is not too ostentatious, just two dark wood doors with the words "Hong Residence" hanging above them. Not many people enter or exit, making it look like an inconspicuous private residence of a wealthy family.

Only those with some status in the Southern City know that this is the center of power in the southern part of the city. This Hong Residence is the hidden headquarters of the Dragon Tooth Gang.

Whether the Southern City is chaotic or not is up to Hong the First.

Traveling merchants from other places who want to do business here must come here to pay their respects. And no matter how wealthy you are, you can only enter through the side door. No one has ever entered the Hong Residence through the main door.

As for the members of the Dragon Tooth Gang, they usually enter and exit through the back door.

On this day, an inconspicuous middle-aged peddler, carrying a pole, walked into the back door of the Hong Residence. Upon reaching the covered walkway in the courtyard, he dropped his load and hurried forward along the wide stone path, arriving before a side hall.

Above the door plaque were the words "Leopard Hall".

"Hall Master, it didn't work again!" the peddler exclaimed as he stepped over the threshold.

Seated in the main seat was a scholar dressed in a Confucian robe and wearing a Confucian cap. He was about forty years old with a pair of drooping mustaches, looking refined and gentle. However, there was a hint of gloominess in his eyes, and a glance from him made one feel uncomfortable.

This person was Bai Zhishen, the master of the Dragon Tooth Gang's Leopard Hall.

He looked over with a calm expression and said, "What happened? Speak slowly."

"The few people sent to cause trouble had already succeeded, and the few Imperial Capital Guards from the Southern City General Yamen had also arrived. Before they could intervene, a few Imperial Capital Guards from the Fukang Ward station rushed out halfway, exposed their tricks in a few words, and arrested the people. The people from the General Yamen went to stop them, and the two sides even fought! The people we sent were beaten away, and the few troublemakers were also arrested," the peddler recounted.

Listening to his words, he must have witnessed the entire process from the side.

"It's the Fukang Ward station again," Bai Zhishen frowned slightly.

"That's right, and the person who made the arrest this time is the same person who solved the arson case last time! It's that Subordinate Guard!" the peddler said.

"That Subordinate Guard..." Bai Zhishen gently blew on the tea in his cup, a light flickering in his eyes.

The idea of using frozen phosphorus powder for arson last time was his. He had been quite pleased with himself, thinking that by the time the useless Imperial Capital Guards solved the case, the merchants on Linmen Street would have already been driven away.

He didn't expect it to be solved in just a few days.

The person who solved the case at that time was a Subordinate Guard, and this time it was the same person.

"The Gang Leader hasn't been in a good mood recently. The news about the Tongtian Tower is about to be impossible to hide. If Linmen Street isn't taken down soon, it might not fall into our hands," Bai Zhishen murmured. "At that time, our Leopard Hall's failure to handle things properly will definitely be punished."

"Recently, the Ministry of Works official was assassinated, and the murderer has not been caught. The Ministry of Works is about to be thoroughly investigated. If the Lu family doesn't step forward, Zou Fang of the Imperial Capital Guard definitely won't do us any favors at this time."

"..."

"Although I don't really want to touch people on the official side, a mere Subordinate Guard has repeatedly ruined our plans. We must take action. Investigate where that Subordinate Guard lives, go to the Tiger Hall and call a few brothers who are skilled and unfamiliar, ambush them at his doorstep, and as soon as he returns home tomorrow, immediately go and break his limbs and throw him into the river outside the city, giving him a small lesson."

"Yes!" The peddler cupped his fist and left with the order.

The Dragon Tooth Gang has four halls: Tiger, Leopard, Eagle, and Bear. Among them, the Eagle Hall is responsible for gathering information, the Leopard Hall is responsible for causing trouble in secret, the Bear Hall is responsible for connecting with those above and below, and the Tiger Hall is responsible for direct action.

The four halls work together to create such a massive force. How could the Dragon Tooth Gang, like a giant beast in the Southern City, allow a small stone to get stuck in its foot?

Bai Zhishen took a sip of tea and put down the cup.

Then he looked out the door into the distance and said faintly, "When you're young, you need to know who you can provoke and who you can't."

"I've recently made some enemies, so you should all be careful in your daily lives."

After returning home, Liang Yue secretly called his younger siblings for a meeting and warned them.

Because of the incident on Linmen Street, he had grudges with both the Dragon Tooth Gang and Zou Huainan, and he didn't know if they would retaliate. Both the underworld and the official forces were something to be wary of.

He himself spent most of his time at his post, and his strength had been growing rapidly recently, so he wasn't too worried about his own safety. What Liang Yue was more concerned about was the possibility of the other party acting dishonorably and targeting his family.

"Try not to go out alone. If a stranger asks you to go somewhere, absolutely refuse. If you're in danger at home, quickly ask your neighbors for help..." He instructed them on the things they needed to be careful about.

"Don't worry, Big Brother," Liang Xiaoyun smiled gently. "We can protect ourselves and Mother. You just focus on your own matters."

"That's right!" Liang Peng also nodded heavily.

"Heh." Liang Yue also smiled. His younger siblings' intelligence did indeed make him feel quite relieved. He turned to Liang Peng and asked, "Didn't you go to see a doctor? How was it?"

"Hmm..." Liang Peng paused, then suddenly smiled as well and said, "The doctor said I don't have any illness. He invited a Qi Refiner with cultivation to come, and they confirmed that I have developed Qi Sensation."

"Qi Sensation?" Liang Yue and Liang Xiaoyun exclaimed in surprise at the same time.

"It should be because of that fight with Zhen Xiaohao. It was one of the few times I exerted a lot of effort, and it actually cleared my Qi meridians," Liang Peng said. "That Qi Refiner said my Qi Sensation is not weak, and my meridians are wide open. Not only do I have talent for Qi refining, but it's quite exceptional."

"That's great," Liang Xiaoyun said with a smile. "Our family is going to have a Qi Refiner."

Developing Qi Sensation means that the Qi meridians are connected, allowing one to communicate with heaven and earth – this is the foundation of a Qi Refiner's cultivation.

Ordinary people's breathing cannot sense the spiritual energy between heaven and earth. After developing Qi Sensation, every breath can draw in spiritual energy. Perhaps this is why Liang Peng felt dizzy before.

This spiritual energy is too pure, it's intoxicating!

The reason why the number of Qi Refiners in the world is so small is because only one in ten thousand can develop Qi Sensation.

"The path of cultivation is difficult. I don't know how far I can go," Liang Peng was quite calm, completely unlike other young people who had awakened Qi Sensation and were ecstatic.

"You've always been intelligent. Once you become a Qi Refiner, your comprehension will definitely be outstanding," Liang Xiaoyun encouraged. "Then you can prepare now and take the entrance exam for the Sword Dao Academy."

"If your talent is sufficient, joining the Mystic Sect is also a good option," Liang Yue also said. "Becoming a Mystic Sect cultivator living in seclusion from the world, on Cloud Top Immortal Mountain, high above!"

The Sword Dao Academy is the sacred place for Confucian Qi Refiners, where all the Confucian cultivators practice both cultivation and scholarship.

And the Mystic Sect Eight Veins are the orthodox lineage of Daoist Qi Refiners, the oldest inheritance in the world.

The so-called Three Religions of Qi Refiners, excluding the Buddhist Zen sect for those who want to become monks, the two paths now before Liang Peng are Confucianism and Daoism.

Of course, there is also the legendary Devil Sect, which Liang Peng would naturally not consider.

It is said that those Devil Sect cultivators refine their cultivation by sacrificing flesh and blood, and they most hope for chaos in the world, because the Devil Sect thrives in times of chaos and perishes in times of prosperity. And the current Yin Dynasty is in a prosperous age. A hundred years ago, the Devil Master of East Peak Mountain was shattered by Master Chen Yandao of the Xuan Palm. Today, Devil cultivators are virtually extinct, and many people may not even know of their existence.

Among the two choices of Confucianism and Daoism, the Sword Dao Academy requires not only talent for Qi refining but also a mind for reading and scholarship, which Liang Peng definitely does not lack in this regard. The Daoist Mystic Sect Eight Veins are more pure, only looking at talent; even a slight deficiency means one cannot join.

From the perspective of cultivation, the status of Mystic Sect cultivators is clearly higher, because the Mystic Sect has almost never been without Immortal Realm experts throughout its history, which is something the Confucian lineage cannot compare to.

"No." But Liang Peng's tone was very firm, indicating that he had already made up his mind. "I want to take the entrance exam for the Sword Dao Academy, and then still participate in the imperial examinations and become an official... That is truly being high above."