A crisp, ringing crow of a rooster startled Li Qing awake from his deep martial arts practice.
Daylight had only just begun to break, and the fire in the brazier was fading, yet Li Qing did not feel cold in the slightest.
After cultivating throughout the entire night, he was astonished to discover that there seemed to be an unusual sensation within his meridians.
At the activation of his intent, it flowed through his body like a warm current. Yet the feeling was exceedingly subtle, as fine as a gossamer thread; without careful attention, it was almost impossible to detect.
After trying several more times, Li Qing finally confirmed a fact.
"I've cultivated Internal Energy!"
Internal Energy!
It was the defining mark of internal martial arts. Being able to cultivate Internal Energy meant that he had effectively taken his first step into this internal martial art.
Having sensed the existence of Internal Energy, Li Qing was both shocked and delighted, unable to hide the smile on his face.
Unlike external martial arts, internal martial arts placed great importance on talent. Many people, even if they obtained a superior internal martial art, might still never cultivate Internal Energy.
That was why Li Qing had temporarily given up on the Turtle Breath Technique before. Its progress had truly been too slow. After a long time, he might not make the slightest advance, unable even to enter through the door, with no direction to strive toward even if he wanted to.
Yet he had never imagined that cultivating the Turtle Breath Technique together with the Golden Body Technique would produce a mutually reinforcing effect, allowing him to cultivate Internal Energy in just one night.
Of course, Li Qing's previous hard work in training had certainly played a part.
But even so, if word got out that Li Qing possessed an external martial art and an internal martial art that could be cultivated simultaneously, the entire martial world would likely go mad over it.
"This secret must be kept. If anyone finds out, even those great Internal Energy experts probably won't be able to sit still!"
He had no desire to become the public enemy of the martial world, living every day under pursuit from a host of experts.
Having cultivated Internal Energy, Li Qing felt refreshed and clear-headed as he went out early that morning, a lingering smile spread across his face.
"Master Li, good morning! Want a bowl of wontons?" the owner of the wonton shop next door asked with a smile.
Li Qing returned his smile. "Sure! Two bowls of wontons, and add extra chili oil!"
Not long after, two steaming bowls of wontons were served, covered in red chili oil. Their fragrance wafted through the air, powerfully stirring one's appetite.
"Master Li, why hasn't Little Qi come today?" the wonton shop owner casually asked.
Upon hearing this, Li Qing blanked out for a moment before remembering that Qi Kang had already left last night. He had still subconsciously ordered two bowls of wontons.
"Him? He said there was something going on back home. He probably won't return to Sheng Tian anytime soon." Li Qing's tone softened slightly as he began eating.
Seeing this, the owner merely smiled, tossed the rag over his shoulder, and went off to mind his own business.
Just as Li Qing focused on eating his two bowls of wontons, someone at the neighboring table suddenly shouted excitedly:
"The war's over! The war's over! The imperial court isn't fighting Liang Kingdom anymore!"
The excited shout drew some attention at first, but it was quickly ignored by the other diners.
For the common people living in Sheng Tian, no matter how fiercely the border fortress battles raged, as long as the fighting did not reach Sheng Tian, it could not affect their mood.
In their eyes, Liang Kingdom's army might be formidable, but compared with the Wu Li Army, which was made up of Martial Artists, it still fell short. They had great confidence in the imperial court.
Li Qing, however, gave it some thought.
A truce was within expectations. Neither side likely intended to make another move anytime soon.
In the current bitter winter, the bandits of the grasslands had also vanished without a trace. Neither side could do anything to the other, and continuing the war would mean little besides increasing casualties.
Reality was just as Li Qing had expected. As the wind and snow grew fiercer, the grassland bandits no longer took part in the war between Liang Kingdom and Feng Kingdom.
And Liang Kingdom and Feng Kingdom finally reached an agreement to cease fighting during this frigid winter.
Previously, Liang Kingdom had repeatedly used Three-Bow Ballistas to blast open the gates of Wangyuan City on the border. Unfortunately, under the Wu Li Army's desperate defense, they could only break the gates and had no way to seize the city.
After this protracted war had dragged on in deadlock for a long time, both sides finally chose to stop and make peace.
Both sides had paid no small price. Of the Wu Li Army's eighteen thousand soldiers, more than six thousand had been killed or wounded by the end of the war.
Liang Kingdom had suffered even more grievous losses in its attempt to seize the city, with over ten thousand casualties!
However, most of the Wu Li Army were Martial Artists. Nearly twenty Centurions who were Outer Strength Martial Artists had died, and even a commander of a thousand, a great Internal Energy expert, had fallen on the battlefield.
These Battle Reports left the Wu Li Army's commanding general feeling as though his heart were being carved by knives, and even the imperial court felt the pain in its flesh.
"Even Internal Energy experts died on the battlefield. War truly is terrifying." Li Qing looked over the battlefield intelligence he had personally gathered and could not help sighing.
To ordinary people, these casualties might be nothing more than numbers.
But Li Qing knew these casualty figures were not merely numbers. They were real, tangible costs—terribly heavy costs.
The money the imperial court spent training each Wu Li Army soldier was extremely considerable. This was especially true for those Outer Strength Martial Cultivators and Internal Energy Martial Artists; every one of them was a costly existence.
And when these soldiers died on the battlefield, generous pensions had to be issued. That was another heavy price, one that had to be paid and could not be avoided!
"No matter what, the war is finally over." Li Qing slowly set down the intelligence from the border fortress and let out a soft sigh.
Without Qi Kang by his side, Li Qing would basically have to gather information himself from now on.
This made him feel slightly unaccustomed to it. All of a sudden, he somewhat missed Qi Kang.
Over the next few days, Li Qing forged iron in the smithy, earning lifespan for himself while continuing to practice martial arts.
From time to time, he would also visit the inn on the neighboring street and listen to the drinking patrons talk about recent happenings in the martial world.
At last, a piece of news about Little Cui Ridge spread out.
"People are dead! People died over at Little Cui Ridge!"
Upon hearing this, several martial world figures drinking there all had their pupils contract.
Clearly, quite a few people already knew about the matter at Little Cui Ridge. It was no longer much of a secret.
"Brother, could you tell us more?"
"Yeah, yeah! Hurry and tell us what happened over at Little Cui Ridge. After all this time, news has finally come out."
Faced with everyone's questioning, the man who had first thrown out the news instead kept a mysterious look on his face, in no hurry to speak.
But the innkeeper clearly knew how to handle people. Seeing this, he immediately said, "Sir, today's drinks are on me. Why don't you tell everyone about Little Cui Ridge?"
At these words, the man finally showed a satisfied expression.
"Hahaha, it isn't exactly some secret matter. Even if I don't say it, you'll probably know in a few days."
"That Little Cui Ridge..."