"This, this, this..."
The young and old of several Lineages stood dumbstruck.
They had never imagined that Lu Qing, so easygoing and young, would unleash such thunderous fury when he struck. They looked at the Killing Intent of the arrow rain that had pierced straight through the entire river's surface, at the layers of mist swallowed by countless waves, and finally at the clear vault of sky revealed beyond them.
Their hearts trembled in dread.
Only after the wind had stilled and the waves had calmed did Lu Qing extend his Divine Consciousness, sweeping through every stretch of river and water in the surrounding area.
Once the ominous Divination in his mind had vanished, he withdrew the formation he had activated.
This eerie threat clearly involved some major problem behind the scenes. Whose was that Blood Bone, exactly? What was its connection to that old Dragon King? What did its appearance here signify? Or were there other mysteries beneath the Spirit Terrace River? In an instant, Lu Qing thought of countless such questions, but he immediately dismissed his curiosity.
He had directly used Thousandfold Waves and the Cloud-Riding Water Arrow spell to slaughter everything here, then paired it with the Soul-Scattering Wind within the Gale Formation. Even if there had been lingering souls or Divine Sense, they would have been ground to dust.
Of course, what Lu Qing trusted even more was the ominous Divination in his mind. Its disappearance proved that this Divination had come to its proper end.
Since it had already ended, Lu Qing naturally would not grow curious and investigate the secrets within.
At the same time, he quietly drew a line of danger around this place.
Lu Qing had no intention of setting foot in the Spirit Terrace River again.
Who knew what tangled webs of Cause and Effect might be dragged out next?
"The mist has dispersed. The eerie threat has been eliminated."
Hearing Lu Qing personally declare that the eerie thing here had been destroyed, many cultivators finally let out a sigh of relief.
They had witnessed the might of a Purple Mansion Realm cultivator—turning clouds and rain with a flip of the hand was nothing difficult—and they were laymen besides, seeing flowers through the mist. Beneath the surging watery haze formed by the fog and white spray, they had not seen clearly how the thing was killed.
But those water arrows had been plain for all to see.
"Immortal Master, thank you for taking action!"
"Yes! If not for the Immortal Master's help, our goods would have expired after all these days!"
Lu Qing's intervention earned the gratitude of countless cultivators. Cultivators, too, had to make a living; what part of cultivation did not require resources?
This stretch of the Spirit Terrace Riverbank was a docking point for merchant ships.
That was even more true for the Lineages of Spirit Terrace County. They all conducted major external trade, and there was also a batch of goods here bound for New Peace Prefecture City, personally requested by an important figure.
If anything had gone wrong, the others might have been able to muddle through, but the Lineages responsible for it would never have escaped blame.
So what if they were at Foundation Establishment? After witnessing Lu Qing's attack, they understood the gap in cultivation all the more clearly. They felt despair before they could even think of making a move.
"Enough. Handle the rest yourselves." The Immortal Master, who looked like a youth, spoke with calm indifference.
The crowd only saw the young Immortal Master transform into an Escaping Light and leave the city wall, returning to Spirit Terrace Mountain for secluded cultivation.
The cultivators who still wanted to come and ingratiate themselves had not even approached before he vanished from sight.
"Hmph, hurry back and prepare to set sail!"
One man glared and immediately dispersed the many cultivators gathered here in hopes of meeting the Immortal Master.
Seeing that he was from the Zhao Clan, some of the other cultivators sneered while others were dismissive. But the Immortal Master they had hoped to cling to, the lord stationed here, had long since departed.
So they, too, left with the flow.
The eerie threat that had plagued all of Spirit Terrace County for several days came to an end in a thunderous fashion.
Even if someone later wanted to search that place for some treasure, it would be absolutely impossible to find even a trace of that bone.
Lu Qing had come only to resolve the crisis. Once there was nothing more to deal with, he returned to Green Bamboo Courtyard.
Staying behind to deal with these people was far too great a waste of time. After killing that Blood Skull, he had faintly touched the threshold of the second layer of the Purple Mansion Realm.
"Would this count as the first cultivator I've killed?"
Looking back over the past year, Lu Qing had either been cultivating or on the road to cultivation. If his hands had ever been stained with blood, it had only been during the time before he entered the path of cultivation.
"Still, I originally thought I would have to wait for the Outer Academy Grand Tournament three years from now before I could enter the Inner Academy. Who would have thought it would actually be postponed?"
On one hand, Lu Qing faintly sensed a breakthrough in his cultivation. On the other, just moments ago, he had received a voice transmission from White Crane Boy.
At the same time, the Jade Slip that had previously only updated with matters within the Outer Academy—matters unrelated to Lu Qing at present—now contained several pieces of news concerning him.
No, it should be said that the news concerned most Outer Academy disciples.
It was the content Lu Qing was reading now.
White Crane Boy: "Lu Qing, Lu Qing, are you there? Have you arrived at Spirit Terrace County for your posting yet?"
White Crane Boy: "The Outer Academy Grand Tournament has been postponed. Hurry and prepare yourself. It would be best if you can enter the Purple Mansion Realm—then perhaps you might be able to enter the Inner Academy too?"
Lu Qing felt that White Crane Boy probably had never left Central Province and perhaps did not have much concept of geography either.
When he had left, Lu Qing had said that it was extremely far away.
Now that White Crane Boy had sent this message, perhaps he had forgotten—or perhaps the geographical distance displayed through the sect token's transmission was simply too great, causing the message to arrive late?
Lu Qing: "Thank you for your concern, Boy. I have arrived at Spirit Terrace, and have now received the message. Has Boy been well lately?"
After waiting for a while without receiving another message from White Crane Boy, Lu Qing set down the token and turned his attention to the crucial content of the news.
[Have you heard? This time, the Outer Academy Grand Tournament was actually postponed!]
[No way. I fucking had everything prepared, and now it's been delayed.]
[Does anyone know what happened? Wasn't it supposed to take place at the end of the year? It's already a new year now.]
[Unconfirmed news, unconfirmed news. I heard it has something to do with that batch of prodigies coming to the Outer Academy.]
[I knew the inside story had to be something like that. Could they possibly make those people wait for the tournament three years from now?]
[...]
The "intelligence" section of today's intelligence Jade Slip was exceptionally lively.
Lu Qing did not rush into secluded cultivation. After reading through each message, he gained a comprehensive grasp of what had happened in the two months since he left the Dao Academy.
What concerned him most was the Outer Academy Grand Tournament.
Lu Qing had heard of this tournament long ago.
He had originally thought he would be a spectator at this tournament, but now...
Thinking of something, Lu Qing did not continue down that train of thought.
Because the tournament's postponement had been confirmed. It had been delayed until this year, and according to the deductions of disciples with inside information—it would most likely be delayed until midsummer.
Before you continue