Old Ginger's Pungency Enters the Pill Arts

Liu Dongqing took Manager Hou's words to heart, beginning with that very first remark: "You've made progress, but there is still much more room for progress."

He knew full well that his present temperament had come half from the tempering of nearly four years in the outer sect, and half from taking Manager Hou as his model.

Yet even so, all Liu Dongqing could achieve was a painstakingly cautious attitude toward his every action and everything that happened to him.

This "rigorous" way of life perhaps already surpassed that of every outer-sect disciple in the entire Sunward Dao Academy.

He could even, through exhausting every scrap of mental effort, gain the upper hand over clan-born disciples such as Senior Sister Zhang in battles of wits.

But he knew deeply that his cultivation was still far behind Manager Hou's.

There was one point in which he fell far short of Manager Hou: Manager Hou's exceedingly long experience surviving within the Holy Cult, and his grasp of the thoughts and intentions of Rising Mist Dao Academy's inner-sect disciples, those born of great clans, and even the cultivators higher up Departure Peak.

This was a gap that sufficient caution and enough painstaking effort could not make up for.

Lacking certain experiences meant one was destined to be unable to move as effortlessly as Manager Hou.

Liu Dongqing asked himself honestly: if it had been him going to Rising Mist Dao Academy to seek a reward, he feared he would never have gained what he had today.

And it was precisely because of this.

That initial thought continued to spread through Liu Dongqing's mind, prompting him to call Manager Hou back.

"What is it? Is there something else?"

Liu Dongqing glanced toward the heights of Departure Peak, then asked,

"I wanted to ask Manager Hou: if you were Senior Brother Zhao of Rising Mist Dao Academy, when would you choose to make your third move against an outer-sect disciple like me?"

More than twenty days had passed since Liu Dongqing had killed that cheap Senior Sister of his, who had also been an outer-sect disciple.

That had been inner-sect Senior Brother Zhao's second move.

Being able to focus entirely on cultivation was certainly exhilarating.

Yet Senior Sister Zhang's struggle for position had not truly settled into dust, and Senior Brother Zhao's third move hung over him like a suspended flying sword. No one knew when it would descend from Departure Peak.

Thus, the more time passed, the more this matter became a burden upon Liu Dongqing's mind, making it difficult for him to cultivate in true peace and certainty.

He had once made several different guesses and deductions.

But now, it seemed better to refer to how Manager Hou, with his seasoned experience, read inner-sect disciples like this.

Upon hearing him, Manager Hou's eyes rolled rapidly, and sure enough, he fell into contemplation almost at once.

More than a dozen breaths later.

His gaze settled upon the Jade Cloud Fruit plants in the earthen field, which had now grown luxuriant.

"You first killed his Dao Slave at the sixth level of Qi Refining, then slew an outer-sect disciple of the same realm.

"To an inner-sect disciple who is still contending with someone for position, this means he will no longer underestimate you. And after suffering defeats time and again, he has realized that with the resources presently at his disposal, ordinary methods will likely no longer be enough to deal with you.

"But what about methods beyond the ordinary? Unusual methods? He certainly has them.

"But does that mean he must use those unusual methods on you?

"Not necessarily.

"Because.

"Winning against you first does not necessarily mean he can defeat Junior Sister Zhang. But once he defeats Junior Sister Zhang, he will certainly have the time to deal with you at his leisure.

"And unusual methods often mean unusual costs.

"When inner-sect disciples fought for position in the past, it was not as though no one had ever laid out a smokescreen—using a seemingly important but actually unimportant figure backed by resources to forcibly exhaust an opponent's extraordinary method, one that could only be used once.

"So Junior Brother Zhao will certainly observe patiently, and patiently determine whether you are truly a piece Junior Sister Zhang has placed as part of a smokescreen.

"At the level of resources, whether you have any value at all.

"If I were Junior Brother Zhao, whether you could fight a spell battle would not matter to me in the slightest. But whether the Jade Cloud Fruits you tend could provide Junior Sister Zhang with sufficient aid would be of utmost importance."

As Manager Hou spoke, Liu Dongqing even saw an air of a "grandmaster" about him.

This was someone truly seasoned in reading the minds of others.

And with every sentence he spoke, it was as though he lifted another layer of mist from before Liu Dongqing's eyes, leaving Liu Dongqing deeply convinced by his words.

"So, if everything proceeds according to logic, then after I offer up the first batch of mature Jade Cloud Fruits, and after it is confirmed that they have provided Senior Sister Zhang with sufficient help..."

"Senior Brother Zhao's third killing move will descend from Departure Peak—and it will be an extraordinary killing move?"

At that, Manager Hou revealed a smile that was not quite a smile.

"Little Liu, only those with ability get targeted, and only those who get targeted receive protection.

"I, your old man, have been through matters within this whirlpool of contention for position, and witnessed even more with my own eyes. Before the dust settles, amid the rising and falling tides, no one knows which wave conceals a true dragon.

"Just as I said—

"This manager thinks you'll make it into the inner academy!"

As he spoke, Manager Hou ignored the still contemplative Liu Dongqing, turned around on his own, and leisurely departed.

Only when the sound of the door closing rang out did Liu Dongqing return to his senses. He fastened the bolt, then looked once more at the Jade Cloud Fruit plants in the earthen field.

Only then did he turn and return to his bedroom.

Having sorted out the logic behind Senior Brother Zhao's choice to act, Liu Dongqing instead felt much more at ease and no longer worried over the matter excessively.

The crux of it all lies in the value of the Jade Cloud Fruits. That means I myself hold part of the initiative over how this situation develops!

Next, with his mind settled, Liu Dongqing first took out the page of paper he had just tucked into his sleeve and carefully examined it once more.

Gu Xinian created this Li Fire Void-Soaring Origin-Unity Pill to treat disharmony between body and soul, but now it seems it has long become a true auxiliary Dao treasure pill for the Seven Emotions Enter the Flame lineage.

With this pill, the intervals between cultivating the Little Thought Primordial Furnace Fire-Nurturing Art can be reduced to nothing.

No wonder Zhang Qiwei herself had once deeply studied this Pill Formula.

And since it consumes the power of blood and qi to nurture the mind, does the baleful demon blood sedimented within my limbs and bones count as a kind of blood and qi power?

Ordinarily, even within the mind, it is poison that throws the spirit into chaos.

But if this pill follows the medicinal principles of the Li Palace Eight Trigrams and walks the path of extreme yang giving birth to yin, then the more poisonous the Blood Baleful Intent, the clearer and more ethereal the power it feeds back into the mind will become.

Viewed this way, it even possesses part of the effect of refining Baleful Intent—or, more accurately, refining Blood Baleful Intent!

At this thought, Liu Dongqing could not help but chuckle.

This Zhang Qiwei is both generous and stingy.

She is generous because at nearly every crucial juncture where a reward should or should not have been given, she never left anything out, and her gifts of worldly wealth were exceedingly lavish.

She is stingy because at every critical point in granting rewards, she deliberately held back, insisting on making things difficult for others.

An empty promise, and a Pill Formula so difficult to fathom.

Giving such a reward is the same as giving none.

Of course, Manager Hou may have maliciously guided matters behind the scenes.

Adding in the Azure Flame Spirit Pill itself, whose medicinal force is domineering and difficult to refine, only half of the three rewards has truly materialized.

Thus, in Manager Hou's eyes, these rewards would not even speed up my cultivation progress by much.

You all underestimate people far too much.

Liu Dongqing's gaze slowly fell upon the Bloodthirsty Medicinal Vine within the jade vat.

You have all concluded that Liu has no talent in the Pill Dao.

But Liu thinks that not only do I have it—I have a great deal of it!