Qi Martial Fifth Level

Seven days flashed by. Yang Chen received word that the spirit fields had returned to their original state. Counting the days, exactly half a month had passed.

He brought several days' worth of food and Qi Strength Pills, then returned to Spirit Field Number Eight.

He had thought the great fire would have brought considerable changes to the spirit fields, but upon arriving, he discovered that very little had changed. The wooden hut was still the same wooden hut, and the spirit fields were still the same spirit fields. That great fire seemed like nothing more than a dream.

The only change was that the golden Spirit Rice in the fields had turned into seedlings.

As usual, he made a round of inspection, but he did not activate the formation and let the spiritual energy escape. The seedlings were in their growth stage, precisely when they needed a great amount of spiritual energy.

He returned to his former leisurely routine, spending most of his time cultivating and sleeping. Yet as his cultivation rose, his spiritual power had noticeably strengthened, leaving him with enough energy to do other things after cultivating.

But though he had time to spare, he had nothing to do.

Disciples in the Qi Martial Realm were still laying their foundations. Everything centered on tempering their strength, and the sect had not issued them a single cultivation technique.

If they wished to learn cultivation techniques, they could only wait until they broke through to the Blood Martial Realm.

Only then would their minds be strong enough to comprehend cultivation techniques while continuing their cultivation.

Bored out of his mind, he made time to visit Nineteen Peaks Town and bought some materials on brewing wine to study.

As the days passed, Yang Chen steadily improved his cultivation while gradually gaining a little understanding of winemaking.

Before he knew it, Yang Chen had been at the Sun Moon Sword Sect for a full three months.

In the end, he still failed to make it onto the Cultivation Ranking. After the steward's lecture, he collected next month's resources and returned to the spirit fields.

During this period, he had rarely returned to the residential area. It was quieter here, and it was also more convenient for brewing wine.

After returning to the wooden hut, he poured himself a bowl of rice wine brewed from spirit rice.

Rice wine was not difficult to brew, and its fermentation time was short. Seven days ago, he had begun drinking his own rice wine. It tasted excellent and even provided a slight boost to cultivation. He guessed it might be related to the spirit rice.

After downing a bowl of wine, he summoned his panel:

[Realm: Qi Martial Fourth Level, Punching Force: 5,768 kilograms]

Qi Martial Fifth Level was already within reach. Yang Chen was determined to make the rankings this month. Setting down his bowl, he immediately began cultivating impatiently.

Five days later, he finally broke through.

[Realm: Qi Martial Fifth Level, Punching Force: 6,007 kilograms]

"I've finally caught up with the main force!"

Yang Chen laughed loudly. Those near the bottom of the rankings had clearly slowed in their progress. The more than forty lower-ranked disciples were now all at Qi Martial Fifth Level, which meant the gap between him and them had further narrowed.

In an excellent mood, Yang Chen cooked a huge pot of beast meat rice and drank several more bowls of wine.

The days that followed remained leisurely. He spent most of his time at the spirit fields, only occasionally returning to the residential area to meet with Zhu Xi.

Eight days after his breakthrough, he returned to the residential area and went to Zhu Xi's residence. The moment he entered, he asked, "Old Zhu, what happened? You actually used Sound Transmission Bamboo to contact me?"

If you can't find it by searching the book title, try searching the author instead. It may simply have been renamed!

More than three months after joining the sect, this was the first time Zhu Xi had used Sound Transmission Bamboo to contact him.

Zhu Xi's expression was somewhat ugly, but before Yang Chen, he had no intention of hiding anything.

"I ran into some trouble. I nearly lost my assignment at the medicine garden."

"Something that serious?"

Surprise showed on Yang Chen's face. He knew Zhu Xi's character. Zhu Xi was definitely not someone who stirred up trouble, and he cultivated diligently as well.

"It was a close call, but I preserved the assignment after paying a price."

Zhu Xi sighed and pointed at the lavish meal on the table. "Let's eat and talk, brother."

Only then did Yang Chen notice that Zhu Xi had prepared an abundant spread. There was not only Fierce Beast Meat, but spirit wine as well.

The two sat down. Zhu Xi drank three cups of wine in a row, then said angrily, "I had a verbal dispute with someone at the medicine garden. That should have been nothing, but I never expected Zhou Tao's neglect of duty to nearly make me lose my assignment!"

Yang Chen followed up on his words. Zhu Xi continued, "At the medicine garden Zhou Tao guarded, a nearly mature second-rank medicinal herb somehow withered and died. It so happened that an Outer Sect senior sister came down that day to gather herbs. When she discovered the second-rank herb had died, she flew into a fury and cursed Supervisor Zheng there until he was drenched in dog's blood."

"After being reprimanded, Supervisor Zheng flew into a rage. He found Zhou Tao, who was responsible for that section of the medicine garden, and without another word told Zhou Tao to get lost. But Zhou Tao had some backing. His elder brother was a supervisor over at the mines, so he came to plead on Zhou Tao's behalf."

"Supervisor Zheng refused to give him any face. Seeing that he could no longer remain at the medicine garden, Zhou Tao bit back at me instead, claiming I had secretly framed him."

"Left with no choice, I offered Supervisor Zheng eight spirit crystals and swore a poisonous oath that it was not my doing. Only then did I barely manage to remain at the medicine garden."

At this point, Zhu Xi's face carried a trace of apology. Raising his cup, he said, "I called you here today because I wanted to tell you that this matter may drag you in."

Yang Chen was stunned. What did this have to do with him?

"I'll punish myself with a cup first!"

Zhu Xi drank a cup of wine, then slowly said, "The two of us are close, and many people know it. Zhou Tao definitely does not want to take on those bitter and exhausting assignments. Now that he has no chance at the medicine garden, among the remaining assignments, the spirit fields are the easiest. So there's a high chance he'll use his elder brother's influence to arrange something."

Yang Chen understood. Either way, someone had to be replaced. If it were him, he would likely replace a disciple close to his enemy as well. Looking at it that way, he really might end up as a fish caught in the crossfire.

He looked at Zhu Xi. Zhu Xi's eyes were full of apology. Clearly, Zhu Xi had never expected this to happen. Since things had already come to this, Yang Chen was not about to blame him.

"Old Zhu, there's no need to blame yourself. Strictly speaking, this has nothing to do with you. Besides, though it is possible, it may not necessarily happen."

Hearing this, Zhu Xi let out a long breath of relief. He had indeed felt uneasy. If their positions were reversed and he had been implicated, how would he have faced it?

He asked himself whether he could have remained as composed as Yang Chen. Thinking so, the way he looked at Yang Chen gained a trace more admiration.

After exchanging cups, Yang Chen rose and left. Once he returned to his own residence, he fell into thought.

It would be false to say he did not care at all, but he truly did not take it too seriously. He was on the verge of making the rankings. As long as he could get onto the Rankings Board, if not possessing boundless prospects, he would at least have the potential to enter the Outer Sect. The Zhou brothers presumably were not fools; they would not make an enemy of him over such a trivial matter.

After pondering for a moment, Yang Chen went to the plaza, where he happened to encounter an acquaintance.

It was none other than the strikingly beautiful ice-cold Xu Qingqing. Compared with when she had first joined the sect, Xu Qingqing had only grown more beautiful. At this moment, quite a few menial disciples surrounded her.

Yang Chen did not go over to join the excitement. He stood at a distance and watched.

This month was also about to reach its halfway point, and the Rankings Board had undergone many more changes.

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