Cleansing the Meridians and Marrow

At first, Hong Mao and Lan Mao disagreed with Lan Hong's plan. After all, it truly went against morality.

To put it bluntly, it was no different from digging up graves.

But after Lan Hong told them the full story of how Tang Hao and the Blue Silver Emperor had developed, they agreed to his plan.

There were simply too many coincidences involved. Rather than leave the Blue Silver Emperor here, under Tang Hao's control,

it would be better to take her away and give her a chance to seek the truth.

If the Blue Silver Emperor ultimately chose to stand against him, Lan Hong would destroy her without hesitation.

After taking the Blue Silver Emperor away, Lan Hong returned to meet up with Zhu Zhuqing and Dugu Yan.

"What did you go do?"

"It would be impolite not to return the favor. I merely got a little revenge on Tang Hao!"

"Won't that be dangerous?"

"No! I know my limits! Zhu Zhuqing, I'll begin guiding your cultivation tonight. Be prepared!"

"Yes, Teacher!"

That night, Lan Hong first had Zhu Zhuqing sit cross-legged. Then he grasped her wrist and used Rain Flower True Qi to examine the circulation of her Meridians.

Before long, Lan Hong withdrew his hand. He already understood Zhu Zhuqing's condition.

"Teacher, I..."

"Your talent is not bad, and your Meridians are quite resilient! It's just that some of them haven't been fully opened yet.

Next, I'll unblock those clogged Meridians and teach you a new Cultivation Method!"

"Thank you, Teacher!"

"A Cultivation Method must not be passed on casually. Anyone who violates this will be expelled!"

"Yes! This student understands!"

"Good! Take this!"

Lan Hong handed Zhu Zhuqing a pill, and she swallowed it without hesitation.

"Very good! It seems you trust me greatly! Sit cross-legged and steady your mind. This may hurt a little!"

Dugu Yan was watching from the side.

"I feel like I've heard that before! Why does it sound so strange?"

Seeing that Zhu Zhuqing was ready, Lan Hong steadied himself, took out the Golden Thread needles, and began using the Golden Needle Acupoint Technique on Zhu Zhuqing.

With the Golden Needle Acupoint Technique working in conjunction with the pill she had taken, it did not take long to clear the congested Meridians throughout Zhu Zhuqing's body.

Once he was done, Lan Hong removed the needles. A layer of grime appeared over Zhu Zhuqing's skin.

Fine beads of sweat covered Zhu Zhuqing's face, a testament to her strength. The process of opening Meridians with the Golden Needle Acupoint Technique was extremely painful, yet she had not made a sound.

"Yanzi! There's a deep pool over there. Take her to wash up!"

"Oh!"

"There's no need! I can go by myself!"

With that, Zhu Zhuqing headed toward the deep pool alone.

"Go after her and keep watch! Just in case something happens!"

"You really love ordering people around!"

"If Zhu Zhuqing succeeds, I'll cleanse your Meridians and marrow too! Helping her is helping yourself!"

"You always have a reason!"

Not long afterward, Zhu Zhuqing returned after washing up, her little face slightly flushed. Dugu Yan had probably shared some little secret with her.

"Teacher!"

"Mm! Try cultivating for a while!"

"Yes!"

Zhu Zhuqing began cultivating with an ordinary meditation method. A short while later, she opened her eyes in delight.

"Teacher! I can feel it—my cultivation speed has increased! It really has!"

"As expected! Cleansing the Meridians and marrow works. Come here! I'll teach you the next Cultivation Method!"

"Yes! What should I do?"

"Turn around, sit cross-legged in front of me, hold your breath, calm your mind, and focus your thoughts!"

Zhu Zhuqing did as instructed. Then Lan Hong placed both hands against her back, and he could feel her visibly shudder.

"Calm your mind! Don't let your thoughts run wild!"

"Yes!"

Lan Hong began using his own true qi to adjust the circulation route of Zhu Zhuqing's Soul Power.

The Cultivation Method Lan Hong had chosen for Zhu Zhuqing was the Purple Cloud Heart Method. It was the only one suitable for her.

Guiding Zhu Zhuqing's Soul Power, Lan Hong circulated it through one full cycle according to the route of the Purple Cloud Heart Method.

"Remember the route of this Soul Power circulation. Next, you'll take the lead. I'll help wherever you can't continue the circulation! Do you understand?"

"Yes!"

With Lan Hong's help, Zhu Zhuqing completed several more cycles before she could barely manage a full circulation without his assistance.

Only then did Lan Hong lower his hands and let out a long breath. This was far more exhausting than cultivating by himself.

"Keep the heart method circulating tonight. Try not to sleep. From now on, you'll use cultivation in place of sleep!"

"Yes, Teacher!"

Zhu Zhuqing was extremely obedient. The next day, Dugu Yan saw Zhu Zhuqing looking utterly exhausted.

"Zhuqing, you really didn't sleep all night?"

"Mm! Teacher ordered it!"

"Don't obey every single thing he says! This guy is a cultivation maniac. I've never seen him sleep!

You're not like him. If this continues, you'll collapse before your cultivation amounts to anything! Hey! Say something too!"

"I only told her to gradually get used to replacing sleep with cultivation. I never told her to accomplish it overnight.

A brain is a useful thing. You're not a puppet on strings, so you should use it."

"I'm sorry, Teacher! I failed to correctly understand your meaning!"

"Why are you apologizing to him? I think this guy did it on purpose!"

"Yanzi, today I'll cleanse your Meridians and marrow!"

"Sure!"

"Zhu Zhuqing, I'm not particularly skilled in unarmed combat, but teaching you should be more than enough.

You can choose to learn unarmed combat from me to complement your Hell Spirit Cat martial soul.

Or you can choose to learn swordsmanship from me. I can teach you the Purple Cloud Sword Style, which complements the Purple Cloud Heart Method!

You don't need to answer immediately. Give me your answer before tonight! We'll continue traveling during the day!"

Meanwhile, at Shrek Academy, Xiao Wu did not choose to keep a low profile. Instead, she brought out the imposing air she had possessed as the boss at Nuoding Academy.

Xiao Wu naturally ran into the incident where Ma Hongjun broke up with Cuihua, just as in the original story.

As a result, Ma Hongjun was taught a harsh lesson by Xiao Wu after speaking rudely.

Ma Hongjun went to complain to Headmaster Flender. Flender tried to stand up for Ma Hongjun, only for Xiao Wu to tear into him before dragging Ning Rongrong away.

Flender was so angry that he wanted to teach Xiao Wu a lesson, so Xiao Wu pushed Tang San forward.

Xiao Wu figured she would not be staying at Shrek Academy for long anyway, so she might as well cause as much trouble as she could.

As a result, Xiao Wu's behavior suited the little witch Ning Rongrong's tastes perfectly, and the two got along quite well.

It was impossible for Flender to discipline Ning Rongrong through suppression. He would only end up getting scolded by Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong together.

It gave him quite a headache. Today, Oscar was late for assembly again, making Flender even angrier.

"What's going on? Why isn't Oscar here yet?"

"I'm here! I'm here!"

"Oscar! Are you looking to run laps again?"

"No, no! Good news, Headmaster—I've broken through to level 30!"

"Mm! Good! Very good! You're the third to break through level 30! We'll arrange for you to hunt soul beasts later!

Now, let me tell you today's training assignment: eating Little Ao's sausages!"