Can Slay a Third Rank

"What happened to the Holy Son?" Li Qingxian asked.

Xiaoya sighed. "Near noon, the Holy Son suddenly screamed and vomited blood again and again. The Holy Son's wife desperately tried to treat him, crying to heaven and calling to earth. We were busy for quite a while before we finished."

"How are the Holy Son's injuries?" Li Qingxian asked.

Xiaoya hesitated for a moment. "The Holy Maiden said you were one of us, and you're also Lord Zhou's nephew, so I won't hide it from you. The Holy Son was already seriously injured, and this time... he seems to have suffered from a wandering soul affliction. I'm afraid his Spirit Platform was damaged."

"How could he suddenly be injured? Did someone harm him in secret?" Li Qingxian asked.

Xiaoya lowered her voice. "The other senior brothers and sisters asked as well. The Holy Son's wife said no. It's just... I'm afraid a woman was responsible."

"Why?"

"We all heard the Holy Son's wife gritting her teeth and cursing a 'little bitch' several times. We don't know who it was."

"Probably a woman from the Devil Sect."

The two chatted for a while before Xiaoya left.

In a nearby courtyard stood an imposing three-story building.

In the master bedroom on the second floor, a middle-aged man with an ashen face lay unconscious on an azure bed. The room was thick with the pungent smell of medicinal pills.

A middle-aged woman in a dark blue Daoist robe sat beside the bed.

The woman wiped away her tears and said softly, "Brother Ren, this time, neither you nor I are to blame. It's all that little bitch's fault. We thought she would surely be injured this time, and that you could take the chance to affect her with the Soul-Control Art. Who knew she would summon Divine Firmament Heavenly Thunder and destroy a wisp of your divine soul? Don't worry. I'll find a way to seize that little bitch's cultivation and then kill her!"

The woman sighed. Ever since Sect Master Jiang Zhijian disappeared, the Sky Firmament Sect had changed, and so had she and her husband.

The next day, Li Qingxian rose early and entered Jiang Youfei's chamber.

Jiang Youfei lay in bed beneath a light goose-yellow blanket, her head resting on a soft pillow embroidered with twin phoenixes. She looked sickly and listless.

Li Qingxian teased her for a while, then asked her about cultivation. Time flew by.

Though Jiang Youfei was still young, she was a cultivation prodigy. Not only was she proficient in Daoist arts, but she also possessed deep attainments in Fate Arts, martial cultivation, Literary Cultivation, and many other fields.

In just one day, she helped Li Qingxian establish the initial framework for cultivating Daoist arts and Fate Arts.

All he needed to do next was fill in that framework, and he could grow at breakneck speed.

On the morning of the third day, Jiang Youfei was already able to get out of bed and walk. Li Qingxian bade her farewell and returned to the Night Guard Yamen with Zhou Hen.

Halfway to Chunfeng Residence, they ran into Zhou Chunfeng.

When Zhou Chunfeng saw that Li Qingxian was not only completely unharmed but also brimming with energy, he softly said, "Good!"

With Zhou Chunfeng showing concern for him all along the way, the three entered Chunfeng Residence.

Beside the artificial mountain outside Chunfeng Residence, someone stepped out across the grass and watched the three disappear amid red flowers and green trees.

Ye Han sighed softly. "If only I'd been more ruthless back then..."

Thinking back on the days when he and Zhou Chunfeng had laughed and talked together, Ye Han felt a sense of loss. He turned and left.

Outside Chunfeng Residence, the cool breeze whispered and the plantain trees swayed.

Inside Chunfeng Residence, Li Qingxian and Zhou Chunfeng took their seats.

Zhou Chunfeng immediately asked, "I truly underestimated you. I never expected that, at such a young age, you would understand such a venomous scheme!"

Li Qingxian was just about to boast when he sensed something off in Zhou Chunfeng's tone. "Uncle Zhou, which venomous scheme?"

"There was more than one?" Zhou Chunfeng did not know whether to laugh or cry.

"I truly don't understand." Could it be that he discovered I stole Ye Han's opportunity?

Zhou Chunfeng said, "When you initially refused to help Youfei, I fear you had already guessed that the Devil Sect had infiltrated the Divine Capital Office and learned our every move. That was why you trapped Ye Han here that day, making the Devil Sect suspect that Ye Han had discussed impersonating Lü Ren with us. But your intentions went beyond that. Ye Han failed to visit his mother's grave that day, then went alone early the next morning. That overlapped with the time you impersonated Lü Ren, making the Devil Sect suspect him even more."

Li Qingxian did not know whether to laugh or cry. "How did I not know I was so formidable? If I could calculate that far ahead, I'd definitely praise myself as the Qi Kingdom's foremost strategist."

"Really?"

"If I had planned it, could I possibly not praise myself properly?"

"That's true..." Zhou Chunfeng nodded. "I forgot one thing: you don't know much about the Devil Sect. Never mind that. You've reached Entry Rank? Stand up and let me have a look!"

Li Qingxian stood and circulated his mana. A peculiar power flowed through his body. It was as though a clear breeze stirred beneath his cyan robe, and his entire person radiated an ethereal, unworldly air.

"Good! Good! Good!" Zhou Chunfeng's face was white as jade, and the redness around his eyes was especially conspicuous. "Brother Gang Feng's spirit in heaven will surely be greatly comforted!"

Zhou Chunfeng's hair was streaked black and white, and every root seemed to tremble.

"It was all thanks to Uncle Zhou's help. Youfei and I have agreed that once she recovers from her injuries, we'll come thank you together. Asking a Second Rank high official to act is too great a favor."

"Master Wu owed me a favor in his early years. I had never found a use for it, so using it on you two was perfect. Right, although Cao Ming has already submitted his report, details are still missing. Tell me everything, starting with the Divine Firmament Thunder Seed."

As he spoke, Zhou Chunfeng swept his sleeve. The doors and windows shut, and a strange power enveloped the room.

Li Qingxian had no choice but to explain in detail, omitting key information such as Heaven's Mandate Instrument.

As for the battle outside the city, Li Qingxian concealed almost nothing. Even if he did not say it, Jiang Youfei would.

When he heard that Li Qingxian had actually obtained Dragon Appears Spirit Eye, Zhou Chunfeng was overjoyed, grinning from ear to ear as he repeatedly warned Li Qingxian never to spread the news.

Zhou Hen, however, sighed inwardly. Having followed Mister Zhou for so many years, this was the first time he had seen him this delighted.

After Li Qingxian finished, Zhou Chunfeng said seriously, "You were still lucky. How could Upper Three Ranks experts die so easily? Those four Third Rank Devil Sect members knew Jiang Youfei was skilled in battle but inexperienced in worldly affairs, so they had been hiding their strength. Even if Youfei had risked her life to activate the Thunderlight Fire Seal, she might not have been able to kill them. Fortunately, it drew forth a phantom of Ancient Thunder City, raising the Divine Firmament Heavenly Thunder to Beyond-Rank level. Only then did it instantly suppress the Three Flowers above those four men's heads. Had the Divine Firmament Heavenly Thunder been even slightly weaker, the four Third Rank Devil Sect members would only have needed an instant to activate demonic arts or treasures and flee without a trace."

"I thought the Devil Sect was very weak..." Li Qingxian said.

Zhou Chunfeng shook his head. "The gap between the Upper Three Ranks and the Middle Three Ranks is beyond imagination. Youfei is the personal disciple of a great Dao Sect leader, bears the Illuminating Sword Body and a First Rank treasure, and has experienced an immortal opportunity, giving her extraordinary fortune. Only then could she resist them. Replace her with an ordinary Fourth Rank, and they would not last three moves before those men."

"What about you? You're also a Principal Fourth Rank." Li Qingxian asked curiously.

Zhou Chunfeng thought for a moment. "Without the Righteousness Sword, I am no match for a Third Rank. But with the Righteousness Sword, I can slay a Third Rank!"

"Lord Zhou is very strong," Zhou Hen added, a rare occurrence.

"Impressive!" Li Qingxian said. "But I heard that the longer the Righteousness Sword is nurtured in the Middle Dantian, the more powerful it becomes. After it is used, it needs to be nurtured anew, and its power drops sharply. It is best not to use it unless necessary."

"Of course. A scholar's Righteousness Sword is meant to preserve his life. As for the Righteousness Sword Seed, I'll think of another way." Zhou Chunfeng said.

"Then I'll wait for Uncle Zhou's good news," Li Qingxian said.

Zhou Chunfeng pondered for a long while before looking up at Li Qingxian. His peach blossom eyes were exceptionally bright. "Qingxian, are you interested in returning to Literary Cultivation?"