In the plaza, two young disciples were engaged in a fierce duel.
The young disciple from the Golden Thunder Sect was wreathed in lightning, like Thunder God Descends. His steps were light, and though he seemed to tap the ground casually, every step concealed exquisite footwork.
Several slender golden arcs of electricity coiled around his palm like nimble little snakes, repeatedly shooting toward his opponent from bizarre angles.
The disciple from the Azure Flame Dao Palace opposite him showed no weakness either. Crimson flames enveloped his body, blazing fiercely as though a scorching sun had descended.
The spiritual energy within him circulated madly, and flames swiftly condensed into a fiery shield before him. The electric arcs struck the shield, instantly scattering brilliant showers of sparks.
Zhou Qing watched with great focus. For him, this was a rare chance to learn combat techniques, and he could also gain some understanding of the other great sects nearby.
Ignorance Points +1
Just as Zhou Qing was watching intently, the system prompt suddenly sounded.
After a brief daze, he was immediately overjoyed.
He had not expected it could work like this.
Of course. Wasn't this precisely a tense, thrilling environment with many people? On top of that, his innate skill Reduce Presence had already reached LV2 (51/100).
That gave even Foundation Establishment Realm disciples a 50% chance of overlooking him. Gaining Ignorance Points was simply perfectly normal.
"Stop eating, or you'll draw other people's attention to me!"
Seeing the old hen bobbing her head as she prepared to peck at someone's heel, Zhou Qing hurriedly crouched down and picked her up.
The battle continued, and the force it generated made the surrounding spectators retreat again and again.
Ignorance Points +2
Ignorance Points +1
Ignorance Points +2
Before long, the Azure Flame Dao Palace disciple was defeated, and the Golden Thunder Sect disciples burst into cheers.
"Sun Hefen of the Azure Flame Dao Palace is here to seek Junior Brother Cheng's guidance!"
"What, when did the Azure Flame Dao Palace learn to fight a wheel battle? My Junior Brother Cheng is already exhausted. Let me, Xu Keling, have a little fun with Brother Sun instead."
With that, the two began fighting once more.
At that moment, Zhou Qing wished they could fight a little longer.
"Was this arranged?" Zhou Qing soon noticed that among the spectators, many Chief Eldest Brothers and senior sisters from Taiqing Sect's Thirteen Peaks had arrived. Some had tightly furrowed brows, while others rubbed their fists and palms, eager to give it a try.
It seemed that for quite some time to come, he would be able to farm Ignorance Points.
Ignorance Points +1
Ignorance Points +1
Ignorance Points +1
It was not until evening that both sides stopped at the proper point.
Each sect had sent out five people in total, and the outcome was essentially a draw. This was enough to show how extraordinary the younger generation of the five great sects truly was.
When Zhou Qing returned home that evening, he tethered the old hen nearby, tossed her some millet, then began heating water for a bath.
That Crimson Flame Dragon Lion bone would be almost entirely used up tonight, but at the same time, his "Silver Dragon Hand" was about to reach minor mastery.
A night passed. When Zhou Qing emerged from the bath barrel and entered the courtyard, a flash of light gleamed in his eyes. After he took a deep breath, the spiritual energy within his body immediately surged madly like a tide.
He slowly raised both hands and began swiftly moving them before him, forming one complex and mysterious hand seal after another.
As the hand seals continuously changed, a layer of silver light gradually shrouded his hands. The light grew increasingly brilliant, as though countless silver threads had tangled and woven together.
A moment later, a silver dragon condensed entirely from pure spiritual energy slowly took shape between his hands.
The silver dragon bared its fangs and brandished its claws, lifelike to the extreme. Even its scales shimmered beneath the sunlight with a cold, dazzling gleam.
Zhou Qing's expression suddenly turned grave. He immediately leaped into the air, let out a furious shout, and thrust both hands forward with all his strength.
The silver dragon roared. Wherever it passed, the air itself seemed to be torn apart, releasing a piercing howl.
Boom!
When it slammed into the mountainside, there was first a teeth-grinding silence, followed by an earthshaking explosion.
The immense impact instantly blasted apart the rocks and soil on the mountainside, sending them flying in every direction. Dust shot into the sky like billowing smoke.
But then, the spiritual energy within his body seemed to have been drained dry. Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his body swayed slightly, forcing him to hurry down from the air.
"This Silver Dragon Hand is far more powerful than I imagined. Right now, I've only condensed a silver dragon around three meters long, which counts as minor mastery, yet it nearly exhausted all my spiritual energy. It seems that unless it is absolutely necessary, I should use it as little as possible."
But he soon became happy again.
He had seen the power of that strike just now. If he fought desperately, he should be able to unleash it twice. From now on, it could count as one of his trump cards.
"Grand Elder Duanmu Shu probably never expected me to cultivate this divine ability to minor mastery so quickly."
Zhou Qing felt quite pleased with himself. At this moment, he was even somewhat grateful to Second Uncle.
"I still need to hurry and raise my strength. That way, even if I'm forced to use it, I won't be drained dry like this. And things like bones containing dragon blood—after this experiment, this seems like a pretty good path for cultivation."
Zhou Qing immediately found his next direction.
But when he turned around, he was instantly startled out of his wits.
In the courtyard, the old hen was trembling all over. Her cross-eyed eyes twitched ceaselessly up and down, while every feather on her body seemed to have been greatly stimulated, standing straight on end as though she were about to explode.
"Did the noise just now scare her?" Zhou Qing helplessly shook his head with a bitter smile.
Just as he was about to go inside to find some spirit stones and restore his spiritual energy, the old hen's entire body suddenly contracted.
Immediately afterward, a round chicken egg dropped down. The old hen instantly let out a string of "cluck-cluck-cluck, cluck-cluck-cluck" cries.
Then she ignored it and began pecking at the nearby post.
Zhou Qing stood frozen in place. Only after a moment did he snap out of it as if waking from a dream, then rushed over, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Because wisps of spiritual energy coiled and flowed around that egg like threads of silk. Even the surrounding space seemed to have been infused with an agile aura, becoming gentler.
As Zhou Qing carefully picked it up, it was still warm.
"Spirit stone? No, a Spirit Egg!"
Zhou Qing could clearly sense that the spirituality contained within this egg was comparable to seven or eight Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
No, it should be said that the spiritual energy it contained was even purer than that of an equal number of spirit stones, with almost no impurities at all.
Its purity was nearly comparable to the Spirit Hidden Worm and Ice Soul Dark Scale Fish Zhou Qing had refined before.
"It can actually remove the mottled impurities from spiritual energy!!!"
Zhou Qing's eyes instantly burned with fervor. His gaze locked tightly onto the old hen pecking at the wood nearby, his heart filled with disbelief.
The stall owner had absolutely misjudged her. He, on the other hand, had clearly stumbled upon an enormous bargain.
How was this an ordinary chicken? This was clearly an unparalleled spirit chicken, rare in all the world!
Chicken, you are too beautiful!
Chicken, you really are too beautiful!
Zhou Qing's face immediately piled into a fawning smile. He hurried over, scattered some millet on the ground, then carefully straightened the old hen's head. The old hen began pecking at the millet with a tap-tap-tap.
The more Zhou Qing looked at her, the more he liked her. She clearly looked like a common country chicken—what breed was she, exactly?
How had she ended up with a farming family?
Before you continue