Trump Card

So this was how cultivators probed another person's cultivation.

Zhou Qing happened to need a method like this.

He had not yet reached the point where he needed to hide his cultivation. After all, his current cultivation speed was roughly equivalent to having four spirit roots, not too different from the one spirit root recorded in his profile. It would not arouse suspicion.

But if his magnetic field strength grew alongside his cultivation in the future, increasing his cultivation speed as well, then it would be easy for flaws to show.

After thanking Chen Qingxuan, Zhou Qing asked, "Do all cultivators in the Cultivation World have methods like this?"

Chen Qingxuan smiled. "This is essential for every cultivator."

"Even Rogue Cultivators?"

Chen Qingxuan nodded. "Rogue Cultivators lack systematic inheritances and mostly grope their way through cultivation on their own. Many of them have no method for concealing Spirit Pressure."

"Later, the Four Great Dao Palaces of Qionghua Continent took the lead, and all sects and Daoist grounds jointly promoted it, spreading methods for concealing Spirit Pressure. Now, such methods are essential for cultivators."

Huh?

Zhou Qing was greatly surprised. "The Four Great Dao Palaces are that kindhearted?"

In his view, the benefit of concealing Spirit Pressure was that it kept others from seeing through a cultivator's true depth, reducing the danger of being plotted against.

It was understandable for sects to teach their disciples the Spirit Concealment Art for their safety, but for the Four Great Dao Palaces to collectively teach it to all cultivators was somewhat beyond Zhou Qing's imagination of the Cultivation World.

Could it be that the Cultivation World was a peaceful, loving place?

Chen Qingxuan explained, "It is not because we are kindhearted. It is because, for cultivators to coexist with one another, and with mortals, we have no choice but to do so."

"Spirit Pressure is a form of intimidation. You are only at the first level of Qi Refinement now, so it is nothing much. But if you have the chance to break through to the Golden Core realm, you will find that if you do not conceal your Spirit Pressure, mortals within ten paces will see you as though staring directly at the sun, while those within three paces will feel as if they are standing inside a furnace."

"And it is not only mortals. If the ranges of two cultivators' Spirit Pressure overlap, spiritual energy within that overlapping area will become turbulent."

"When humans had only just discovered cultivation methods and were still developing in a barbaric fashion, the existence of Spirit Pressure caused countless tragedies."

Chen Qingxuan's words completely overturned Zhou Qing's conception of cultivators.

Influenced by the immortal ideals of his previous life, Zhou Qing had imagined cultivators as serene and unhurried, free-spirited and graceful.

Now it seemed that the cultivators of this world were utterly unlike the immortals of his previous life. They were clearly a pack of flesh-and-blood reactors, miniature Godzillas, beings born with the power to damage their surroundings.

After thanking Chen Qingxuan once more, Zhou Qing headed down the mountain.

Chen Qingxuan, meanwhile, flew through the air toward Azure Cloud Mountain.

He intended to find Elder Jin Mang again and discuss recommending Zhou Qing as Senior Apprentice.

When Zhou Qing returned to his Bamboo Grove Courtyard, he saw a carrying pole outside the gate, with a sheet of red paper bearing his name attached to it.

Zhou Qing untied the bundles in puzzlement and found three sets of blue cloth Daoist robes inside, along with matching shoes and socks. There was also a small brocade box.

He opened the small brocade box and found a porcelain bottle inside. The bottle contained ten Bigu Pills.

It seemed to be a sect benefit. Since Zhou Qing had not been home, and outsiders were not permitted to enter his small courtyard, the items had been left at the entrance.

Zhou Qing glanced around the carrying pole and saw several footprints. They were not light and drifting like those of cultivators, but somewhat heavy.

There was no need to think about it. Azure Cloud Sect could not possibly have cultivators handle such menial work.

It seemed there were still many mortals without cultivation in Azure Cloud Sect, serving the sect's disciples.

This rather matched Zhou Qing's imagination of cultivators' status.

Zhou Qing entered the courtyard and tried on the robes, shoes, and socks. He found them all exceptionally well-fitted, clearly tailored according to his measurements.

He could not help sighing. It truly was a Golden Core Sect with deep foundations; its extraordinary nature could be seen even in the details of daily life.

When they had left their life imprints in the Imprint Hall, their body measurements must have been recorded as well.

Zhou Qing held his old clothes and stood lost in thought for a while. Then he smiled and shook his head, carried the old clothes into the courtyard, and burned them in a single blaze.

After doing this, it was as if he had completely severed himself from the mortal world. From then on, he would only press forward with fierce diligence, advancing toward the immortal Dao.

Zhou Qing sat down on the bed and began today's cultivation.

After two hours of painful yet exhilarating circulation of qi, Zhou Qing awakened from meditation.

To his delight, he discovered that his mind and energy still had something left in reserve this time. He was not utterly exhausted as he had been yesterday.

Moreover, while cultivating, he could sense that the speed at which he captured spiritual energy had increased as well.

Though the increase was not obvious, after two hours of accumulation, he could still tell that today's qi circulation had been a few degrees more effective than yesterday's.

It seemed his estimate had not been wrong. As his strength increased, his magnetic field ability would grow stronger as well.

Zhou Qing did not continue cultivating until he had drained all his energy and mental strength.

He needed to leave himself some strength in reserve too.

He had now grown accustomed to his magnetic field ability. It was like a new limb and sense of his. Once he was utterly exhausted and could no longer activate the magnetic field, it felt as though he had suddenly gone blind or become lame. It always left him with a sense of insecurity.

It was still early, and since he did not plan to continue cultivating, Zhou Qing decided to review the trump cards he currently possessed.

His most fundamental trump card was naturally his magnetic field ability.

Based on that fundamental trump card, he had currently mastered about one and a half skills that could be used for attack and self-defense.

The first was his Hypersonic Iron Pellet.

The other half was the method he had conceived during the day, using his magnetic field to shake another person's mind.

Both skills required repeated practice before they could be used effectively. Unfortunately, his iron pellet had already been destroyed, so he could not practice yet.

He had originally planned to find another iron pellet when he had the chance. But recently, he had to spend his days at the Instruction Platform, and upon returning at night, he was too eager to cultivate. He had actually been unable to find the time to handle this important matter.

Now that he knew Azure Cloud Sect had mortals serving cultivators, he considered whether he could use their help to obtain some iron.

He still needed to think of a reason, preferably one that would not arouse suspicion.

Among this batch of disciples, he could be said to have stolen the limelight completely and had already become the focus of everyone's attention.

The advantage was that he had clearly gained Uncle Chen's attention. With Uncle Chen speaking for him before the sect elders, he would enjoy many conveniences in his future actions and cultivation.

In fact, he had already received such conveniences—for instance, obtaining cultivation techniques and the Spirit Concealment Art ahead of time. Those were things other disciples did not have.

The disadvantage was that some people whose interests had been harmed might have their eyes on him, so he had no choice but to be doubly careful.

After pondering for a while, Zhou Qing suddenly caught sight of the pile of ashes in the courtyard, and an idea came to him.

Why not use repairing the house as an excuse and apply to the sect for iron hammers, iron nails, and the like? There should be no problem with that.

With the matter of the Hypersonic Iron Pellet showing some promise, the next issue was the method for shaking the mind.

This method was even more troublesome than the iron pellet. He needed someone to serve as a test subject.

But where could he find such a person?

Uncle Chen was present during the day, and everyone was together besides, making it inconvenient for him to do anything. As for nighttime...

He looked at the empty courtyard and could not help shaking his head.

Just as Zhou Qing was hesitating, he suddenly heard a knock at the door outside.