Mindscape, Divine Refining Breakthrough

"Junior Brother Li, this, this..."

Yu Xiangyang clearly hadn't expected the other party to donate so much silver.

Staring at the two money pouches before him, nearly a thousand taels in total, he was momentarily dumbstruck.

But as Li Xijun tossed the silver into his hands, this young man, who had become a Viscera Refinement Martial Warrior at such a young age, took a deep breath, accepted it, and nodded heavily:

"Junior Brother, since you don't care about these empty reputations, I, your senior brother, swear to keep my mouth shut—even if I die, I won't say a word!"

"There's no need to be so dramatic. I'm just seeking peace of mind. Even if some petty person covets this later, it's nothing that can't be settled with a fight."

After saying this, Li Xijun seemed as if a tied rope had been loosened, suddenly feeling much lighter.

At the same time, a message popped up in his field of vision.

[Your "Refining Spirit Detailed Explanation Aperture Opening Induction Method" has increased from 49% to 69%.]

[Your Spirit-Refining System: Aperture Opening Realm has increased from 89% to 91% (Proficient).]

Li Xijun immediately felt his thoughts flow more smoothly, with a faint coolness lingering in his mind.

Even the manifestation of his soul sense within his Sea of Consciousness, which had been progressing slowly and hitting a bottleneck, suddenly advanced with remarkable clarity.

A natural instinct arose within him—that his subsequent progress in spirit refining would be extremely smooth.

This stirred great excitement in Li Xijun's heart, even a sense of joy.

Spirit refining, spirit refining.

At times, it was truly mysterious and beyond reason.

In high spirits, Li Xijun waved his hand and asked directly:

"By the way, Senior Brother, do you know if there's anywhere in Jinmen that sells nourishing meals to strengthen the body?"

"Oh, medicinal cuisine—several major restaurants in Jinmen have it. Our martial hall also collects some mountain delicacies and demon beasts daily to prepare a few portions, but they need to be ordered days in advance and are sold to nobles and officials."

Yu Xiangyang continued:

"The medicinal cuisine is indeed effective for nourishing the body, but it costs over a dozen taels a serving. When you really calculate it, it's not as good as buying medicinal baths and—"

He was about to give his usual advice, but then realized the wealth of the junior brother before him and changed tack:

"The medicinal cuisine is also in the cafeteria, right next to the martial hall's pharmacy. Today, I happen to be helping the city's disaster victims, so let me treat you to a taste of our martial hall's medicinal cuisine."

With that, he enthusiastically grabbed Li Xijun's arm and headed out.

The two first picked up that month's medicinal bath packs and blood qi medicine. After a few steps, they indeed saw a large cafeteria nearby.

Following Yu Xiangyang inside, Li Xijun silently took in the scene before him.

The first floor of the cafeteria was filled with wooden tables and stools. Outer disciples lined up one by one, carrying large bowls, walking up to the cafeteria chefs, who ladled out a big scoop of coarse rice mixed with white rice as the staple, then another scoop of braised pork belly with herbs.

This scene gave him a feeling of being back in the school cafeteria.

Yu Xiangyang, however, directly pulled Li Xijun toward the stairs nearby.

As the two clomped up to the second floor, the loud creaking of the wooden stairs drew envious glances from the outer disciples below, dressed in coarse linen clothes.

This gave Li Xijun an inexplicable sense of déjà vu.

Especially when, upon reaching the second floor, Yu Xiangyang dragged him straight into a private room to order dishes and pour tea.

This familiar feeling almost made him lose his composure.

'I never thought that back in the cafeteria, I was eating hundred-yuan energy gel sets, but now that I've come to this Da Sheng World, I can eat medicinal cuisine on the cafeteria's second floor every day.'

Still, The nourishing meal sets on the second floor of the school cafeteria cost thousands or even tens of thousands, and even Elite Class students rarely ate them daily.

But here, a serving of medicinal cuisine at the Life-Slaying Martial Hall cost over a dozen taels, and he could take time to eat it every day.

In terms of nutritional resources, he was now the envy of all of Yan'an No. 7 High School, and even most students in Great Yan.

In a cheerful mood, Li Xijun and Yu Xiangyang ate heartily.

It wasn't until near the end that a knock came at the private room's door.

Yu Xiangyang called for them to enter.

The first to appear was a man dressed in a Western-style suit, with short hair slicked back with pomade, looking like a well-off Young Master of this era—except for the palm-sized peachwood sword hanging at his waist, which seemed a bit out of place.

Following behind him was a young man in black tight-fitting clothes, with two shocking scar marks on his face, appearing about the same age as Yu Xiangyang.

Seeing these two, Yu Xiangyang frowned slightly.

The scar-faced man in black, however, immediately put on a warm and friendly smile as he entered, saying:

"I heard the martial hall is buying grain to distribute to the people. Young Master Su and I, your junior brothers, have pooled fifty taels of silver and wish to donate it to the hall."

"Mm, Junior Brother Deng, Junior Brother Su, you have kind intentions."

Hearing their purpose, Yu Xiangyang's expression softened slightly.

"But I still have teaching duties today. I'll trouble you two junior brothers to go directly to Senior Brother and register it there."

"Yes, yes, yes—then we won't disturb Senior Brother any longer."

The scar-faced man surnamed Deng echoed with a flattering laugh, stepping forward to close the door behind him before leaving.

The suited young master, by contrast, had not uttered a single word from start to finish, merely smiling and nodding. After casting a glance at Li Xijun, he clasped his hands in salute and departed, carrying himself with perfect poise throughout.

As the door shut, before Li Xijun could ask, Yu Xiangyang took the initiative to explain:

"That young master is the son of the Jinmen Merchant Guild's vice chairman, named Su Qiuzhen. Don't let his polished demeanor fool you—his family runs a tooth-and-claw business. Rumor has it that the opium dealers in Jinmen secretly work for his house too, and they're connected to the Eternal Life Taoist Temple. That man's not just full of bad intentions—he's also an Orifice Opening Grand Completion Spirit-Refining Cultivator."

"As for the scar-faced one, he's called Deng Gao. In his early years, I hear he was the head of a gang that preyed on the locals. After some chivalrous martial artist nearly chopped him in half, he claimed to have turned over a new leaf and devoted himself to the martial path. Though he hasn't committed any evil deeds in recent years, his martial resources have never dried up—he's already reached Greater Bone and Tendon Refinement! Every time I come to the second floor, I run into those two."

Yu Xiangyang clearly held a grudge against them.

Li Xijun silently committed the two names to memory but couldn't help pressing further:

"So how did these two get into the Life-Slaying Martial Hall?"

"Sigh." At this, Yu Xiangyang let out a heavy breath. "Our master is advanced in years and rarely involves himself in the hall's affairs anymore. Besides me, there are four other senior brothers who hold the true transmission. Sometimes, they can't escape the burdens of human sentiment and obligation."

"Both of them have unsavory reputations outside, but inside the hall, they know how to play the game—keeping everyone on good terms from top to bottom. I may not like it, but there's not much I can do."

"Junior Brother, you'd best be careful. Don't let those two, with their kind faces and black hearts, fool you."

Li Xijun gave a slight nod and said no more.

Elsewhere

When Su Qiuzhen reached a secluded path within the martial hall, he suddenly stopped, turning to look at Deng Gao, who had been trailing a step behind in silence.

"Young Master Su, have you thought of something you need me to do?" Deng Gao hurried forward, his posture unconsciously stooping.

"Nothing much, really. I just found that new Inner Disciple rather agreeable, that's all."

Su Qiuzhen tapped his fingers absently against the peachwood sword at his waist.

"Come to think of it, Senior Brother Yu was fretting over the money for porridge and grain sales not long ago. Yet before long, he was eating quite happily on the second floor."

"He's a Viscera Refinement Martial Warrior after all. Push back a few years, and he'd have been a Martial Graduate out in the world. He can put on an act day to day, but do you really think he'd let a few commoners' lives and deaths stop him from enjoying his Medicinal Cuisine?"

When mentioning Yu Xiangyang, Deng Gao—who was always looked down on by the man—spoke with undisguised contempt.

He himself had already reached Greater Bone and Tendon Refinement and was long qualified to begin Viscera Refinement. He just couldn't scrape together the fee of Eight Hundred Taels. If not for that, he was certain he'd have already stepped into the Viscera Refinement realm and become a Martial Graduate.

"This Senior Brother Yu may be a bit straightforward, but he's not that kind of person. Perhaps... someone gave him a hand."

"Young Master, you mean that—"

Su Qiuzhen smiled faintly, said no more, and turned to walk toward the donation registry.

Leaving Deng Gao alone, frozen in place, lost in thought.