Heavenly Profound Pill

The next day.

Early morning.

Jiang Ping An saw that Meng Jing had not come looking for him and guessed she was still cultivating.

To keep the pastries Meng Jing liked from being snatched away by others, Jiang Ping An did not wait for her.

He headed to the dining hall to get her some pastries.

He had heard Old Li say that there was a medicine called the Grain Avoidance Pill; after taking it, one would not feel hungry.

However, Jiang Ping An felt that eating was a pleasure, not something a Grain Avoidance Pill could replace.

Upon reaching the dining hall, Jiang Ping An spotted Meng Jing at once.

Young men and women filled the seats around her, chatting and laughing with her.

"Miss Meng, this is a specialty from my home. Give it a try—it will help with cultivation."

"Miss Meng, do you know about divine dragons? I have divine dragon bloodline in me."

"Miss Meng..."

Jiang Ping An paused. So Meng Jing had already arrived.

He withdrew his gaze, asked the cook for some high-grade demon beast meat, then found a random place to sit and eat without disturbing them.

The food here was packed with energy. At his current stage, his demand for energy was immense, so he ate as much as he could.

After a while, a plate suddenly appeared before him.

"Hey, didn't you see me eating over there? I came early on purpose to get you a demon beast leg."

Meng Jing sat across from Jiang Ping An and spoke unhappily.

Jiang Ping An raised his head. "I saw that you were having a good time chatting with everyone, so I didn't disturb you. Getting to know more talents will benefit your future."

Meng Jing rolled her eyes at him. "If it's so beneficial, why didn't you come join the conversation?"

"There was no point. Even if they spoke to me for your sake, it would only be idle talk. They would not mean it from the heart. It would just waste time."

Jiang Ping An ate the meat while digesting its energy.

"Yes. If I didn't have the Thunder Spirit Body and this background, they wouldn't pay any attention to me either."

Meng Jing rested her chin on her little hand and stared straight at Jiang Ping An. "But you're different. No matter how talented someone is, you always look like a block of wood, haha~"

For some reason, Meng Jing suddenly burst into loud laughter at the end.

Jiang Ping An looked utterly baffled. What was so funny about that?

This girl's thoughts were too hard to understand.

Meng Jing suddenly shoved a bottle into Jiang Ping An's hands.

"This is a pill Princess Sister gave me. She said it can improve one's talent. My talent is good, so I don't need it. Hurry up and take it—try to break through to Martial Master!"

"The competition for the spots starts tomorrow. Do your best!"

Without waiting for Jiang Ping An's response, Meng Jing skipped away, seeming extremely happy.

Jiang Ping An looked at the pill in his hand and suddenly fell into thought.

Old Li had once said that talent was very difficult to change.

But difficult did not mean impossible. There were still two common methods.

One was a special cultivation technique, and the other was a heaven-defying pill.

Yet no matter which it was, the price would be unimaginably high.

Since this pill had been given by the Princess to improve Meng Jing's talent, it had to be incomparably expensive.

Jiang Ping An's hand tightened slightly around the bottle.

After eating, Jiang Ping An left the Prefect Residence and went to a shop, trading his Foundation Establishment Pills for several Essence Nourishing Pills and a large number of Spirit Gathering Pills.

Essence Nourishing Pills were pills used by Golden Core Stage Cultivators for cultivation. A single pill was worth five thousand.

Today, he would try to break through to a higher realm. If there was a chance, he would attempt Foundation Establishment.

Back at his residence, Jiang Ping An swallowed an Essence Nourishing Pill, and terrifying spiritual energy flooded into his body.

Had his physique not already reached the Martial Master level, along with the improvements brought by the Tyrant Body Art, his body would have long since been burst apart by this energy.

Jiang Ping An suppressed the frenzied energy and began madly battering at the barrier of his realm.

The resources he had consumed in the Qi Refining Stage had already exceeded the resources most Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivators used throughout their entire Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation.

Qi Refining Eighth Layer, Qi Refining Ninth Layer, Qi Refining Tenth Layer...

Within the small courtyard where Xia Qing rested.

Xia Qing stared at the cultivating Meng Jing and suddenly spoke. "You did not take that Heavenly Profound Pill."

Meng Jing's body stiffened. She had been found out. Her eyes darted aside as she said guiltily, "I wanted to wait a couple of days before taking it."

"What you did has no meaning. Even if Jiang Ping An takes the Heavenly Profound Pill, he still will not be able to keep up with you. What you did was irresponsible toward yourself."

Xia Qing had seen Meng Jing through completely and guessed that she had given the pill to Jiang Ping An.

Meng Jing, who had been panicking moments ago, suddenly calmed down.

She lifted her head, her eyes becoming incomparably resolute.

"I don't care whether doing this has meaning or not. I only know that my heart is telling me to do this right now. Whether I regret it or am disappointed in the future, I do not want to look back on my life someday and regret my inaction today!"

"I have let down Princess Sister's trust in me, but rest assured, Sister—I will definitely secure a top ten spot!"

After saying that, Meng Jing drew her blade and began cultivating earnestly.

Xia Qing stared blankly at the girl before her, never expecting her to say such words.

They did not sound like something a little girl would say at all.

The Maid beside her walked over to Xia Qing and used a special secret technique to transmit her voice. "Princess, should we take back the Heavenly Profound Pill?"

Xia Qing shook her head.

The Maid said gravely, "Princess, that is the Heavenly Profound Pill."

"It is a pill you obtained only after enduring countless hardships and paying an enormous price. There is only one in the entire Nether King Province! Even within the Great Xia Dynasty, there are only a few people capable of refining such a pill!"

Meng Jing did not know the value of this pill, but she did.

Xia Qing shook her head and looked at the girl before her calmly. "Compared with the Heavenly Profound Pill, Meng Jing's thoughts are what matter most."

The reason she had been willing to give the precious Heavenly Profound Pill to Meng Jing was to win Meng Jing over.

Since Meng Jing was happy now, then let her be.

If she regretted it in the future, that would be her own affair.

"Yes."

The Maid was very unwilling, but she said nothing further.

That Jiang Ping An had truly stepped in dog shit to be able to eat a pill of this level.

A night passed.

The competition for the tournament spots would officially begin today.

"Woodhead! Woodhead! Get up!"

Meng Jing knocked on Jiang Ping An's door early in the morning.

Jiang Ping An slowly opened his eyes and let out a long breath.

He had still underestimated the terrifying amount of energy stored in his body.

After taking so much medicine, an ordinary Cultivator could have reached the Golden Core Stage, yet he had not even touched the barrier of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

He could only wait until next time.

He rose, shut down the barrier, and opened the door.

"Did you break through?"

Meng Jing grabbed Jiang Ping An's arm and asked expectantly.

Jiang Ping An activated his blood qi, releasing the aura of a Martial Master.

"Haha, not bad at all! Keep it up! Even if you can't get a spot, you can't let down the pill I gave you!"

When Meng Jing saw that Jiang Ping An had broken through, she smiled like a silly little fool.

In truth, Jiang Ping An had not yet taken that pill.

Meng Jing grabbed Jiang Ping An's hand and ran toward the Back Mountain.

"Come on, the competition for the spots is about to begin!"

"I haven't eaten breakfast yet," Jiang Ping An said.

"Eat my ass. We Cultivators won't starve to death even if we don't eat for several days."

Meng Jing wanted to beat this man to death. At a time like this, he was still thinking about breakfast.

The two arrived at the Back Mountain, where a towering peak that pierced the clouds came into view.

It was obvious that the mountain had thirty levels in total. Each level bore special formation runes, forming distinct boundaries.

Moreover, the higher the level, the denser the spiritual energy.

Several dozen youths had gathered at the foot of the mountain. Every one of them looked solemn and high-spirited, like flames on the verge of erupting and unleashing their power.

The seventy-eight Top Talent youths of Black Wind County—perhaps a hundred years from now, these people would make their names known throughout the world.

At that moment, a streak of white light flashed across the sky, and Xia Qing appeared above the clouds with several Maids.

"Prefect!"

"Princess!"

Upon seeing Xia Qing, the youths lowered their heads in salute, their voices filled with utmost respect.

"No need for formalities."

Xia Qing's authoritative yet pleasant voice rang out.