Bloody Light

"What does Confucian School have to do with me? I'm just Nightwatchers wearing the guise of Confucian School," Xu Qi'an said self-deprecatingly, straightening his expression as he stared at the jade mirror.

A moment later, text appeared on the mirror, and the messenger from Number Four arrived: [I once traveled to the Western Regions. The people there were generally illiterate, ignorant and backward, and knew nothing of "etiquette." However, the locals were quite hospitable. They warmly welcomed me, who appeared as a swordsman, but when I told them that I was a "scholar," their attitude towards me changed drastically.]

[The insults, threats, and expulsions forced me to leave the area, and during my subsequent travels, I never again revealed my identity as a scholar.]

Is this what they call the anger of a slacker towards a top student? Xu Qi'an didn't comment and continued to wait for the next message.

[Four: I thought the Western Regions simply disliked scholars, but later I realized that they didn't dislike scholars, but rather Confucian School, orthodox Confucian School. This reminded me of a passage I read in a history book before. Well, after that period of history five hundred years ago, Buddhist School flourished in the Great Feng and spread its teachings everywhere.]

[This period of prosperity was short-lived. Less than a century later, the imperial court began to suppress Buddhism, and the one who pushed for this was none other than the then-Grand Secretary. He also held another position: the headmaster of the Cloud Deer Academy.]

In the past, almost all scholars came from the Cloud Deer Academy; the break in orthodox Confucian School occurred two hundred years ago. Xu Qi'an typed: [That's it?]

At that time, Great Feng was a Confucian School territory. It was perfectly reasonable for the Buddhist School Confucian School sect from spreading its teachings in the Central Plains. Similarly, it was equally reasonable for the Western Regions to hate scholars.

This melon is not very interesting.

[Four: Hey, Number Three, you've been a bit lazy lately.]

Xu Qi'an: "???"

Should I bite my nails and give you a little performance of "my brain is trembling"?

[Four: Or is it because you're preparing for the imperial examinations that you don't have time to read history? Well, what I want to say is that the prime minister back then said something when he was suppressing Buddhism: "If Buddhist School is not destroyed, the whole world will be Buddhist; I will use my life to cut off the path of Buddhism."

To this day, I still don't understand the true meaning of that sentence.

"As long as Buddhist School exists, the world will be a land of Buddhas; I will use my life to sever the path of Buddhism." What did this mean? Xu Qi'an was completely bewildered.

[5: Perhaps it's just an inspiring slogan.]

"Number Five asked a good question! "Xu Qi'an smiled.

[One: No, the third rank in Confucian School is the Establishing Destiny Realm one's destiny. This is no joke. Number Four's words reminded me of more details. That Grand Secretary was named Du Zhongshu. After the suppression of Buddhism, he entered the third rank of the Establishing Destiny Realm. In other words, his "Establishing Destiny" was the suppression of Buddhism.]

After the suppression of Buddhism, he entered the third-grade Establishing Destiny Realm? Xu Qi'an recalled the information that Zhang Shen, the great Confucian scholar, had mentioned to him by chance. The Confucian School Establishing Destiny Realm is a process of "finding one's life goal," hence the name "establishing Establishing Destiny."

"Establishing one's Establishing Destiny" must be a positive and upward-looking goal. The fact that one enters the Establishing Destiny Realm " after the suppression of Buddhism is quite interesting; does this mean that the suppression of Buddhism was indeed a positive and proactive goal?

Xu Qi'an thought to himself, then sent a message: "[The Establishing Destiny Realm is similar to making a great vow in Buddhist School; to enter the Establishing Destiny Realm by destroying Buddhism means that destroying Buddhism is the right thing to do.]"

With the endorsement of the Confucian School scholar number three, everyone realized something was amiss. The saying "As long as Buddhist School exists, all under heaven will be Buddhist" might not be just a joke.

There are deeper underlying issues involved, and it's not as simple as a "territory dispute."

No one spoke for a long time, seemingly pondering the hidden truth behind the matter. After more than ten minutes, Number Two spoke:

[Number 3, how many skilled fighters are in the governor's entourage heading to Yunzhou this time?]

[Three: On the surface, there is only one Golden Gong, but the details are unknown.]

The word "only" was used well. Number Two thought to himself.

Anyone familiar with the Nightwatchers's office knows that the Golden Gong is a fourth-rank martial artist, and fourth-rank martial artists are all top-notch masters on the battlefield, capable of taking on a thousand men single-handedly.

Within the realm of mortals, the fourth grade, which embodies "intention," is the pinnacle.

Above that is the third rank. Those at the third rank possess the ability to regenerate severed limbs and are no longer ordinary people.

Even with my team and myself, if we were to deal with a fourth-rank Golden Gong, we would probably only end up dying together.

Number Two sighed.

After a long silence, and confirming that all the rude group members had logged off, Xu Qi'an put away the small mirror, left the room, stood on the edge of the deck, facing the great river, and poured out the burden on his bladder.

I fastened my belt and went back to my room.

The next day, as dawn broke, Xu Qi'an woke up and looked around. He saw two colleagues moving their Qi and Qi Refinement breathing exercises.

Everyone is working so hard, so full of energy every day. Xu Qi'an sat up and stretched.

Essence, Qi, and Spirit are one. When Qi fills the upper, middle, and lower Dantian, spiritual power will surge. At this time, it means that one can visualize and prepare to break through to the Spirit Refining Realm.

Xu Qi'an's Qi had long since filled his Dantian to the point of overflowing, and with his daily meditation, his spiritual power increased day by day. He was just one opportunity away from stepping into the Spirit Refining Realm.

Xu Qi'an didn't know how this opportunity came about, nor did Wei Yuan tell him, because Wei's father was unaware of Xu Qi'an's rapid progress in cultivation.

I always thought the little gong I valued was still in the stage of moving energy.

Noticing that Xu Qi'an had woken up, Zhu Guangxiao and Song Tingfeng stopped their breathing exercises. The former said:

"Once I finish my trip to Yunzhou and the government issues my reward, I'll have enough money to marry a wife."

Zhu Guangxiao has a childhood sweetheart, a girl next door, though not his biological sister. The two are very close, like fish in a pond.

However, the younger sister's father demanded a bride price of one hundred taels of silver from Zhu Guangxiao, otherwise he wouldn't accept it.

Zhu Guangxiao's monthly salary was five taels, plus some illicit income, so he could earn about eighty taels a year. However, he still had to entertain guests, cover daily expenses, and visit brothels. He could only save about thirty taels a year.

It's already quite an achievement, considering that going to brothels is a basic necessity. Even ordinary people have this need, let alone a Blood Qi martial artist.

"Damn it. Don't you dare plant your flag! I've seen at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, on TV in my past life. "Xu Qi'an rolled his eyes.

"Congratulations! May Guangxiao get married soon." After saying this, Song Tingfeng noticed a beautiful purple sachet embroidered with white lotus flowers hanging from Xu Qi'an's waist and asked, "Ningyan, did Fuxiang send this?"

"No!" Xu Qi'an let him take off the sachet.

"You don't have a fiancée yet, do you?" Song Tingfeng widened his squinty eyes slightly and said sourly.

"No." Xu Qi'an snatched back the sachet, lay down again, the purple sachet dangling from his nose, and hummed a tune. "She's just my sister. My sister says purple has a lot of charm."

"Why doesn't Ningyan get married?" Zhu Guangxiao asked, puzzled.

In his view, Xu Qi'an was not only highly regarded by Duke Wei, but had also received a reward of a thousand taels of gold from His Majesty, and his future was bright in both wealth and career.

He's also reached the age where he should be getting married and having children.

"He's a wanderer, just like me," Song Tingfeng commented.

"Get lost, we're different." Xu Qi'an lay on the bed, hands behind his head, and sighed, "Let's get used to it for a while longer."

Having only been in Great Feng for three months, he was still unable to settle down and fully adapt. That's why he frequented the Imperial Academy of Music and the Fuxiang, warm pleasure houses, but he wasn't mentally prepared to settle down and start a family.

Zhu Guangxiao nodded slightly and suggested, "That depends on your requirements for your future wife."

"The requirements are..." Xu Qi'an pondered for a moment, "Long, wavy hair."

"Your request is strange," Song Tingfeng frowned.

Xu Qi'an glanced at him. "These are three requests."

After washing up and having breakfast, Xu Qi'an knocked on Jiang Luzhong's door.

"What is it?" Jiang Luzhong sat at the table, looking at a map of Yunzhou. His sharp, eagle-like eyes gave people a great sense of pressure.

"I'd like to ask Jiang Jinluo about cultivation," Xu Qi'an said, popping a piece of pastry into his mouth. "How do I advance to the Spirit Refining Realm?"

Xu Qi'an's previous understanding of this was that it should be done gradually and naturally.

When you accumulate enough, you can naturally advance to the Spirit Refining Realm.

However, he was inspired by the requirements for Chu Caiwei's advancement to Alchemist. He reviewed the martial arts system and discovered that there were also requirements for advancing from the Essence Refining Realm to the Qi Refining Qi Refining Realm: one must not break one's body!

Jiang Luzhong smiled and said, "It's very simple. When your spiritual power reaches a certain level, you'll feel a throbbing pain between your eyebrows. That's when you advance to the Spirit Refining Realm. As for the method of advancement, well, don't sleep for ten days."

Huh? Ten days without sleep? Are you serious? Won't you die suddenly?

Seeing Xu Qi'an's blank expression, Jiang Luzhong explained, "You heard me right. If you can survive ten days without sleep, you can advance to the Spirit Refining Realm. If you can't, you'll either fall into a coma or die from spiritual decay. In the martial arts system, every rank is a life-or-death test."

"Why go ten days without sleeping?" Xu Qi'an asked, puzzled.

"When you were in the Essence Refining Realm, you must have often experienced the limits of your physical body. Every time you broke through those limits, your physical strength increased. But do you know the limits of your Primordial Spirit?"

Xu Qi'an shook his head.

"The best way to break through the limits of the Primordial Spirit is to stay awake all night. One ten-day period is just a general standard; everyone's limit is different. You will have a personal understanding when you try to advance to the Spirit Refining Realm in the future."

Won't your body be unable to handle it?

"Therefore, refining essence and Qi Refinement also lays the foundation for refining spirit, including your daily visualization and strengthening of your Primordial Spirit. This also increases the chances of advancing to the level of refining spirit." At this point, Jiang Luzhong chuckled and said...

"You still have a long way to go. The most important thing on the path of Martial Dao is the will to overcome all obstacles; you can't be overly ambitious."

"Jiang Jinluo is right." Xu Qi'an nodded in agreement. "I've already Peak Qi Refining."

Jiang Luzhong: "???"

He stared at Xu Qi'an with an incredulous look, and after a few seconds, said unhappily, "Don't joke around. I remember when you joined the Nightwatchers, you were still at the Essence Refining Realm. Who can reach the Peak Qi Refining in less than three months? You can't be serious, can you?"

Xu Qi'an shrugged. "If that weren't the case, why would I be asking you this? Well, I'll take my leave now."

Xu Qi'an left Jiang Luzhong's room, leaving Lord Jinluo alone at the table, muttering, "This is unreasonable, this is unreasonable."

"Does Duke Wei know about this?"

Six days passed in a flash. Xu Qi'an's feeling about his first long voyage by boat was: Damn!

On the deck, Song Tingfeng listlessly gazed at the river, watching the passing cargo ships, and said, "We'll arrive in Yuzhou tomorrow. Jiang Jinluo promised us a day to rest; I'm sick of eating fish."

"Yuzhou is famous for its iron ore deposits and is known for its wealth and outstanding people. The beauties in the Imperial Academy of Music must be quite stunning," a gong player chimed in.

Xu Qi'an didn't care whether the beauties at the Imperial Academy of Music were pretty or not; he just wanted to get off the ship as soon as possible and then have a good meal.

In the dead of winter, fruits and vegetables are already scarce, let alone those floating on water. He's been eating fish every meal lately, and now the sight of fish makes him nauseous; he almost developed anorexia.

At this moment, Xu Qi'an, who was leaning against the railing, inadvertently caught sight of an official ship coming towards him.

Several officials in black robes on the deck also noticed the official ship where Xu Qi'an was. Upon seeing the gongs worn by Nightwatchers on the deck, the officials visibly panicked and instinctively took a step back.

Then he quickly regained his composure, remaining unchanged, but without glancing in their direction again.

Their instinctive panic upon seeing us is a sign of guilt. Although they tried to salvage the situation and appeared relatively calm, their aloofness only highlighted their unease. Is it a natural fear of the Nightwatchers?

Veteran detective Xu Qi'an thought to himself with suspicion.

The reactions of the officials on the opposing official ship were exactly the classic guilty reactions he had observed when studying psychology.

Just to be on the safe side, let's double-check.

Xu Qi'an reached into his robes, gently tapped the back of the jade mirror, took out the "magic book" from the Confucian School Academy, and tore out the page recording the Qi-Watching Technique.

Nowadays, the most common Qi-Watching Technique. On the day he escorted Zhou Chixiong, a centurion of the Golden Guard, to the capital, Xu Qi'an shamelessly asked Zhang Shen for Law Technique to replenish the magic book that was being consumed day by day.

Chu Caiwei was also present at the time and became a major contributor to the transfer of skills.

As for why they are all called Qi-Watching Technique, it's because the technique is simple and easy to record.

"Laugh"

As the pages burned, a clear light flashed in Xu Qi'an's eyes as he gazed at the official ship ahead.

He saw a bright red, viscous glow of blood.

According to the definition of Qi-Watching Technique, after a murderer has killed someone, he will be stained with blood for a period of time.