Not Going

These past few days, Li Qingfeng had been living a two-point routine between dreams and reality.

In his dreams, he learned fist techniques.

After waking, he refined essence into qi, building up the foundations of his cultivation.

The qi stored in his dantian also grew increasingly abundant.

He discovered that this fist technique was truly effective.

Whenever he had spare time, he would also practice a set of Demon Ape Mind-Settling Fist in reality.

The vicious aura refined by the Blood Fiend Art immediately diminished by more than half, and his originally restless heart settled considerably as well.

After growing familiar with the Main Soul evil ghost, Li Qingfeng had long since lost his initial nervousness and restraint.

"Brother Ghost, do you think I should go to the Prefectural Governor's Mansion for the test or not?"

"The righteous immortal masters within the Prefectural Governor's Mansion are like divine dragons that show their heads but never their tails. Even if I do not take the test, it would still be wonderful just to glimpse them from afar."

"I truly want to speak with people like me."

"Righteous immortal masters, upholding justice and roaming the land, guarding one region, flying swords taking demon heads from a thousand miles away—how exhilarating!"

Li Qingfeng sighed with deep emotion and glanced at the evil ghost beside him, who was still practicing his punches over and over.

The heroic spirit rising in his heart dissipated somewhat.

One of them was a Main Soul evil ghost, while the other was a fledgling of the demonic path. If they truly encountered a righteous immortal master, they would likely be among those getting cut down.

Such was fate.

Who told him that the first immortal opportunity he obtained had not been one from the righteous path?

"Although the method I obtained is a Demon Cultivator's method, with the Mind-Settling Fist at hand, the baleful aura has little effect on my mind."

"Besides, I have always felt that cultivation methods have no distinction between good and evil. Only people do."

"Who says cultivating demonic arts means one cannot uphold justice and roam the land?"

"Brother Ghost, how about we go out for a walk?"

Tu Shan Jun paused for a moment, then shook his head.

He continued throwing punches, not opening his mouth to interrupt the young man's daydreams.

Dreams were good. Only with dreams would one pursue them.

And pursuit required strength.

Tu Shan Jun desperately wanted strength.

But the prerequisite was that Li Qingfeng first possessed the ability to protect himself.

Any random little ghost could take his life. Running around everywhere now would only mean throwing his life away for nothing.

At the very least, he needed to reach the third level of Qi Refinement.

Thus, Tu Shan Jun had not told Li Qingfeng how to improve the Soul Banner's abilities yet. He still had to wait.

He had not spoken when he first met Li Qingfeng, and it was the same now.

His tongue had been cut out. Even after becoming a vicious ghost, his tongue still retained the appearance of having been severed.

His voice was hoarse and grating, buzzing and indistinct, like the furious howl of a vicious ghost.

Speaking would only frighten people. It was better to remain silent.

Young men carried many thoughts and chattered endlessly.

He held nothing back from the things he usually did not dare say outside.

After muttering for half the night, he finally quieted down.

He had probably treated Tu Shan Jun as a tree hollow that could only listen.

Rather than speak a great pile of words to dead things like stones, it was better to tell them to a mountain ghost.

Tu Shan Jun also did not understand why someone of this age had so much to say.

He simply ignored him and let him talk to himself.

"Brother Ghost, I have practiced martial arts for several days now. After being cleansed and reforged by mana, my body is far stronger than an ordinary person's."

"There is no sparring partner in reality. How about you help me out, Brother Ghost?"

It was not that Li Qingfeng's head had grown hot. He felt that he truly needed practical combat experience. Otherwise, if he encountered ghosts and specters, he would not dare fight, nor would he know how to fight.

Tu Shan Jun stopped, scrutinized him with his gaze, then gave a slight nod.

With a wave of his hand, a monkey-bodied xiao ghost with a human face appeared in the training ground.

The instant the xiao ghost landed, it launched an attack.

Li Qingfeng was defeated cleanly.

It was only to be expected.

When he saw the xiao ghost, a long-lost terror swept over him.

A flash of disappointment passed through Tu Shan Jun's eyes.

Cultivating a banner master was a long-term endeavor. Where could he find so many geniuses to choose from?

Ten birds in the forest were not worth one in the hand.

At least Li Qingfeng came from a fairly well-off family and ate meat at every meal, fully able to sustain the initial stages of refining essence into qi.

Many Qi Refiners were not lacking in talent, but in meat and qi. That was what dragged down their overall progress.

Righteous sects could still support their disciples and occasionally distribute spiritual pills, though their disciples likewise had to go out and undertake missions. The demonic sects were an entirely different sight.

In short, he still had to keep working hard.

"I can still—"

Li Qingfeng cried out in alarm.

Clear qi swirled, and he had already broken free of the dream, jolting awake on his bed.

Two or three days passed in the blink of an eye.

After scrambling and struggling, Li Qingfeng finally defeated the xiao ghost that had just entered the ranks.

He had also thought it through. With the demonic cultivation method he practiced, if he truly went for the test, his origins would definitely be exposed.

Even if he merely watched the ceremony from afar, if by coincidence the other party activated spirit-light Dharma eyes and saw the spirit light within him, there would inevitably be another bout of trouble.

Li Qingfeng immediately decided that it was best not to go.

He only needed to make up some excuse to fool his parents.

Combining it with his own bizarre experiences, he said that an immortal had taught him immortal arts in his dreams.

The immortal had warned him to wait a few years, saying he would come to take him away. At such a time, he could not switch allegiances.

With Li Qingfeng's instructions, Wubao kept his mouth shut and did not dare say a word.

Then Li Qingfeng displayed his mana and manifested a miracle.

Father Li and Mother Li immediately gave up on making Li Qingfeng go for the test.

No matter how powerful the Prefect's immortal masters were, they had no connection with them.

No matter which immortal master had taught Li Qingfeng, even if it was a wandering immortal, they could not afford to offend him.

Father Li and Mother Li were still very delighted that Li Qingfeng had obtained an immortal opportunity.

Once the excitement passed, they would hold a grand feast to celebrate.

Only now did Father Li and Mother Li suddenly understand why Li Qingfeng had been so diligent over the past three or four months. It turned out that he had been cultivating immortal arts.

His parents no longer urged him, but unexpectedly, several close friends came to visit together.

"Brother Qingfeng, are you truly not going to today's great event?"

Li Qingfeng put away his book scroll. "You should all understand me. My aspirations lie at court, not in the vain pursuit of immortality."

"A gentleman does not seize another's aspirations. Since Brother Qingfeng has made up his mind, we will not try to persuade you further."

After leaving Li Manor, the four of them boarded an ox cart and headed for the Prefectural Governor's Mansion.

Li Qingfeng let out a long sigh. Mature as he might be, he was ultimately still a youth of seventeen or eighteen. He merely possessed a secret that concerned his very life and death, one not convenient to reveal to outsiders.

Even to those friends who had grown up alongside him, it was difficult to say much.

The more he said, the more he would harm them instead.

The Blood Fiend Art was a demonic art. If he had not practiced his fist techniques and read every day to dispel the baleful aura, he might truly have been affected by it.

If he passed the art on to those four, and their spiritual roots and talent happened to be better than his, would he not be misleading them?

It was better to see the results they obtained at the Prefectural Governor's Mansion first.

Tu Shan Jun nodded inwardly. Li Qingfeng had handled it very well.

Tu Shan Jun did not consider the Blood Fiend Art to be any sort of treasure. If Li Qingfeng wanted to pass it on to others, that would be fine.

But if he passed on the art, he would have to pass on the Mind-Settling Fist as well.

Without the third stance of the Mind-Settling Fist, 'Mind Ape Settles Its Will,' to strengthen the soul and dispel baleful aura, an ordinary person cultivating the Blood Fiend Art would truly turn himself gaunt and vicious, resembling an evil ghost.

Tu Shan Jun had borrowed Zhao Shixian's light to extract the seed of an entry-level cultivation method from his mind, then cultivated alone for four or five months, gaining insights of his own.

Only then could Li Qingfeng come into contact with the true essence of the Mind-Settling Fist.

How could ordinary people possess such fine karmic fortune?

Before the Prefectural Governor's Mansion, carts and horses filled the streets, and the entrance was as crowded as a marketplace.

There were not only youths dressed in long-sleeved brocade and silk, but also youths dressed in rough cloth and short garments.

Those short jackets appeared rather oversized, unlike clothes meant for youths. They seemed more like the clothes of adults in their households.

The wealthy gentry of Eight Directions Prefecture had received the news ten days earlier.

No one had deliberately suppressed the news. With public notices posted and literate people reading them aloud, everyone knew that immortals were seeking those with affinity.

Those from other places arrived more slowly.

Among the locals of Eight Directions Prefecture, most whose ages met the requirements had come.

All trades were lowly; only immortals stood high.

With affinity gained in a single day, one would henceforth be different from mortals.

But the families left behind would receive congratulations and support from wealthy gentry, the imperial court, and officials.

A farm serf could become a landowner and never be bullied again.

Because there was an immortal in the family.

Even if immortals no longer concerned themselves with worldly affairs, a household that had produced an immortal possessed an inexplicable deterrent force.

This was what they longed for.

In this world, wealthy gentry were ultimately few, while the poor were many.

The wealthy gentry hoped to advance further, while the poor hoped to turn their lives around.

Thus, hundreds or even thousands of youths gathered before the city lord's residence.

This test would likely continue for quite some time.