Haoran Qi, Earth-Shattering Change

Inside the gatehouse.

Yang Xiao looked at the green glow spreading over from the private room next door and tried to perceive it, only to discover in astonishment that his entire body had no reaction at all.

"With my maxed-out comprehension, I can easily understand the Nurturing Self Scripture. Not only do I not find it bitter and tongue-twisting, I actually enjoy it immensely."

"But the Haoran Qi released by Mr. Zou—I can't sense it at all? Not even the slightest trace?"

Yang Xiao sat cross-legged, imitating Huo Zhen and the others. A long while passed in a blur, yet he still failed to sense anything.

Yang Xiao's expression instantly turned ugly.

Yang Xiao knew his innate bones and aptitude were poor. That was also the root reason why, despite being a household slave of the Princess Mansion, he could not remain there to serve, and had instead been sent off to Vermilion Bird Tower as a waiter.

But Yang Xiao still had not expected this body's aptitude and innate bones to be so poor.

"Even that fake Zhao Hu, and the likes of Zhang Long, can faintly sense Haoran Qi. Am I really inferior even to them?"

After trying to comprehend it for a while longer, Yang Xiao's expression grew uglier and uglier.

Wait!

Yang Xiao's heart suddenly stirred, and a wild, bold idea surfaced in his mind.

"My 'Myriad Phenomena Heaven-Swallowing' devours all things. Maybe it can also devour this Confucian Haoran Qi?"

After hesitating for only the span of a single breath, Yang Xiao, knowing how rare this opportunity was, swiftly circulated the Myriad Phenomena Heaven-Swallowing Art.

Whoosh—

A phantom stepped out from within Yang Xiao's body, its entire form erupting with dazzling black light that swallowed up the green glow inside the gatehouse in an instant.

An unprecedented feeling of comfort and warmth suddenly surfaced through Yang Xiao's limbs and bones.

"It really works!"

Yang Xiao was instantly overjoyed.

Yang Xiao had known the phantom might be able to devour Haoran Qi, but he had never expected the effect to be this good.

How was this Haoran Qi?

This was clearly precious, massively nourishing flesh and blood!

Yang Xiao wasted no more words. He urged the phantom with all his might and began devouring madly.

But very soon, Yang Xiao discovered that the black glow emitted by the phantom had started to weaken, faintly showing signs of being crushed by the green glow.

As if blessed with sudden insight, Yang Xiao also summoned the white glow that devoured vegetarian dishes. Coordinating it with the black glow, the devouring efficiency indeed increased quite a bit, and the black glow stabilized along with it.

However, as time went on, both the black glow and the white glow still began to weaken, faintly showing signs of collapse.

"One black, one white—the Dao of Taiji!"

Recalling the Taiji of his previous life, Yang Xiao's heart stirred. He tried rotating the two currents of black and white qi, turning them into the shape of yin-yang fengshui fish.

In an instant, the green glow flew away like flowing water, and like a whale sucking in seawater, it was madly devoured by the fengshui fish.

"Compared to the black glow or white glow alone, the fengshui fish not only increased the devouring speed tenfold, the devouring efficiency also rose by a large margin. That's an unexpected joy."

Sensing that his meridians were being remade at an astonishing, exaggerated speed, Yang Xiao grew even more excited.

An unknown amount of time passed...

Boom!

Yang Xiao felt a thunderous crash ring out in his mind, and an unprecedented sense of power instantly surfaced in his heart.

When he opened his eyes, Yang Xiao finally discovered that the green glow around him had vanished completely, devoured until nothing remained.

As for the skin on the surface of his body, though it was still Iron Skin, it was several times sturdier than before. Within the Iron Skin, a faint green glow seemed to flicker dimly.

"I only devoured a strand of Haoran Qi that Mr. Zou casually released, yet my cultivation actually rose directly from the early Iron Skin realm to the very peak of the Iron Skin realm? I'm only one step away from the major realm of the first blood replacement?"

Yang Xiao abruptly clenched his fist, feeling that if he were to fight his previous self, he would only need one punch to instantly kill him!

His realm remained Iron Skin, but Iron Skin and Iron Skin could not be lumped together as the same thing!

Yang Xiao even suspected that against an ordinary First Blood expert, he should be able to wrestle wrists with them and possess the strength to fight one.

However, blood replacement was a major realm of shedding the mortal body and exchanging the bones. As for what special abilities one would possess after blood replacement, Yang Xiao had never fought a First Blood expert before, so he temporarily had no way of knowing.

But at the very least, from this moment on, the pressure that the person impersonating Zhao Hu had brought Yang Xiao—vanished without a trace!

"If I can follow by Mr. Zou's side and constantly listen to his teachings, then I'll be able to devour Haoran Qi endlessly, thereby becoming stronger at tremendous speed..."

When this tempting thought surfaced in his mind, Yang Xiao soon drove it away.

When Mr. Zou had explained the Haoran Scripture earlier, he had also mentioned that although the Confucian method of nurturing qi was good, it could not be used to kill enemies. It could only temper essence, qi, and spirit, preventing martial artists from suffering qi deviation or giving rise to distracting thoughts while cultivating.

In this chaotic age, that clearly would not do.

Not to mention, with Yang Xiao's garbage aptitude and innate bones, he fundamentally could not cultivate any Haoran Qi at all. Following Mr. Zou would purely be bringing humiliation upon himself.

If Yang Xiao really did that, he feared it would not take more than a few days before Mr. Zou swept him out the door and drove him from the residence.

"A man should know contentment. Staying low, keeping quiet, and developing in the shadows—that is the way to survive in troubled times!"

Yang Xiao sat cross-legged and regulated his breathing for a while longer, then pushed open the door and stepped out of the porter's room. He continued standing quietly at the entrance to the private room, waiting.

In the blink of an eye, another half hour passed.

Inside the private room.

The young girl Jing Shu was the first to wake from her contemplation.

Seeing that everyone around her was motionless, their faces all showing struggle and pain, Jing Shu could not help staring in astonishment. "Grandfather, what's happening to them...?"

"Haoran Qi is the righteous qi of heaven and earth. Anyone with guilt in their heart, the moment they comes into contact with Haoran Qi, will involuntarily recall the wrongs they committed in the past, and thus fall into an illusion..."

Lightly stroking his white beard, Mr. Zou said with a smile, "Jing Shu, you faced the past once more, yet were able to make a firm choice and wake in such a short time. Grandfather is very gratified."

"Of course. Just look whose granddaughter I am!" Jing Shu lifted her head proudly, her eyes full of smug delight.

But she did not see that within Mr. Zou's smile, a few traces of bitterness were faintly mixed in.

It was not that Mr. Zou looked down on Jing Shu. In truth, Jing Shu had been guided by him for many years, and her talent in the Confucian Dao was extremely high.

It was just that there was not much time left!

In the blink of an eye, another half hour passed.

Huo Zhen was the second to wake from the haze.

He swept a glance around and, seeing that the others had not awakened and that most of their faces were lost and pained, Huo Zhen finally let out a breath of relief inwardly.

After sitting cross-legged in meditation for a while, Huo Zhen rose, bowed respectfully to Mr. Zou, and said, "Sir, I will remember today's kindness in my heart. My Huo family will surely repay you in the future. Farewell."

With that, Huo Zhen hurried off, the first to leave the private room.

Because he left too hastily, Huo Zhen did not even look at Yang Xiao by the door. His face was panicked, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat.

"Huo Zhen is a martial arts prodigy, and even his Confucian Dao talent is this strong? He actually woke before Fairy Bai and Song Que?"

Watching Huo Zhen's departing figure, Yang Xiao's heart could not help sinking.

Huo Zhen loathed Yang Xiao very much and wished he could get rid of him as quickly as possible; he simply had not been in a hurry to make a move for the time being.

But Yang Xiao did not want to watch Huo Zhen grow and rise all the way, only for him to come beat him down later, or even kill him.

"If there's a chance someday, Young Master Huo, you'll be the first one I kill."

Yang Xiao thought to himself in secret.

And the third to wake from the haze was still not Song Que, but—Fairy Bai!

"Sir, this junior will remember your kindness in my heart. This junior must return to my residence and enter seclusion to digest today's insights. I will visit again another day to thank you, Sir. This junior bids farewell."

Fairy Bai now put away her charm and seductiveness, solemnly gave Mr. Zou a bow, then turned and drifted gracefully away.

As she passed the doorway, before Yang Xiao could even come back to his senses, there was already a heavy silver ingot in his hand.

"Fairy Sister, no merit, no reward. This silver... this lowly one cannot accept it."

Yang Xiao quickly came to his senses and hurriedly chased after her.

"No need for that, little gentleman. Because of me, you were brought a little trouble. It is only some broken silver, that's all. I hope you will forgive me."

Fairy Bai gave a bewitching smile, waved her hand indifferently, and floated away.

"Could it be that in the dreamscape of Haoran Qi, Fairy Bai dreamed that I was killed by Song Que, and that made her feel guilty?"

Yang Xiao was somewhat curious, but he was too lazy to think much about it. He swiftly put away the broken silver and continued standing motionless at the entrance to Private Room Ding 527.

Very soon, Song Que also woke up. After respectfully bowing to Mr. Zou and thanking him, he likewise left in a rush.

A short while later, Lei Jie, whom Uncle Mute was impersonating, opened his eyes with a complicated expression. Without saying a word, he cupped his hands to Mr. Zou, turned, and quickly left.

Even when he passed the doorway, "Lei Jie" had a heart weighed down with thoughts, his expression changing nonstop, and had no time at all to pay attention to Yang Xiao.

"Although Zhang Long and Zhao Hu are both inside the private room, Uncle Mute doesn't know their names, nor did he ask."

"From the look of it, the matter of me impersonating Zhang Long has not been exposed."

"There are still five days until the Grandmaster Debate. Uncle Mute probably won't come here again. For now, I suppose I'm safe..."

Only after Uncle Mute had gone far away did Yang Xiao's heart, which had been hanging in suspense for so long, finally settle completely.

After that, a little while later, the young masters who had come with Huo Zhen also woke one after another.

They went forward one by one to thank Mr. Zou, then took the initiative to leave behind silver notes before hurrying away.

A long while passed after that. Seeing that Zhang Long and Zhao Hu still had not awakened, Mr. Zou, under the persuasion of his granddaughter Jing Shu, waited a while longer before finally rising in an unhurried manner and slowly walking out of the private room.

"The two men inside the private room likely will not wake for a short time. I will have to trouble you, young brother, to help look after them. The silver on the table is your payment."

Mr. Zou smiled kindly at Yang Xiao, then turned and left.

Yang Xiao hurriedly agreed and respectfully saw Mr. Zou off in a flurry.

Only after watching Mr. Zou go downstairs and walk far away, his figure vanishing completely, did Yang Xiao turn and return to the private room.

"Fairy Bai rewarded me with a hundred taels of silver, and Mr. Zou actually left me nine hundred taels in silver notes as payment?"

Yang Xiao swept a glance over the few silver notes on the table and immediately swallowed, his breathing growing a little ragged.

Even for an iron-badge waiter like Uncle Liu, his official monthly wages were only a mere two hundred taels.

To an ordinary waiter like Yang Xiao, one thousand taels was no different from an enormous fortune.

But Yang Xiao accepted the money with a clear conscience, without the slightest guilt in his heart.

After all, Mr. Zou had meant well but caused harm, nearly dooming Yang Xiao beyond redemption.

If Yang Xiao had not thought quickly in a crisis, the consequences would have been unthinkable!

"Mr. Zou realized it after the fact and felt he owed me, so he used the excuse of having me look after Zhang Long and Zhao Hu to gift me this money."

"This way, he can also settle the karma between us. We owe each other nothing. If I don't take this money, it would instead mean I look down on Mr. Zou."

Yang Xiao's thoughts soon became clear, and he happily picked up the silver notes on the table, about to tuck them into his robe.

Yet at that very moment, a sinister, ice-cold voice suddenly sounded beside Yang Xiao's ear:

"Who gave you the guts to take this money?"

The voice had barely fallen.

A sharp dagger had already, without a sound, pressed its chilling edge against Yang Xiao's neck.

Zhao Hu's savage face, his eyes filled with killing intent, slowly appeared before Yang Xiao...