Chapter 83: Martial God Pill

“Why go back? To help those people oppress the common folk?”

Li Yang stared at the two people on the Martial Arts Stage, speaking without expression.

During his time staying at the Qingxiao Sect, his martial arts improved significantly, and he often went up to the Martial Arts Stage to spar with others. Many Disciples knew him; he was considered a regular on the Martial Arts Stage.

Zhao Linglong said helplessly, “Things aren’t as bad as you imagine. Moreover, if the Dynasty is flawed, you should work harder to change it, rather than wallow in self-pity here.”

“How do you know I’m wallowing in self-pity?” Li Yang countered.

Zhao Linglong didn’t know how to respond, because Li Yang was indeed fully focused on practicing martial arts.

But what good is merely practicing martial arts?

Li Yang’s background destined him not to be a person wandering the Jianghu; his future lay on the battlefield and in the imperial court.

“Senior Brother Xue, please enlighten me!”

Ji Ya looked at Xue Jin, cupped his fists, and spoke. He had an ordinary appearance and wasn’t tall, and his speech seemed somewhat timid, but he possessed an underlying ruthlessness that revealed itself during combat.

Xue Jin raised his sword in salute, then initiated the attack first.

Ji Ya first struck out with both palms, unleashing the Nine Heavens Divine Palm. Surging Origin Qi erupted, the palm wind vast and mighty, covering the entire Martial Arts Stage, forcing Xue Jin to raise his sword to defend.

“That opening move again! Such abundant Internal Qi truly allows him to do whatever he pleases!”

A Disciple below the stage exclaimed, Ji Ya always started his matches this way.

His Nine Heavens Divine Palm wasn’t as exquisite as Yang Jueding’s or Wu Maner’s, but his boundless Origin Qi meant that any casual strike was impossible to dodge and had to be met head-on.

After the initial clash, Ji Ya was ready to unleash his second major move.

Ji Ya’s hands changed gestures, and he quickly chanted an incantation. Origin Qi overflowed from his body, rapidly condensing into a silver-blue fierce tiger, standing a full ten feet tall at the shoulder, incredibly majestic.

Mountain Lord Divine Incantation!

This incantation had already become Ji Ya’s signature unique skill. As soon as the Mountain Lord Divine Incantation appeared, it pounced toward Xue Jin.

It wasn’t the first time Zhao Linglong had seen the Mountain Lord Divine Incantation, yet she still couldn’t understand: was this truly a martial art?

The Mountain Lord Divine Incantation was extremely agile, and its claws and teeth were sharp; even just being hit by it could easily cause severe injury.

Relying on this move, Ji Ya had achieved ten wins out of ten battles.

Of course, Zhao Linglong felt that the Mountain Lord Divine Incantation still had flaws.

Xue Jin quickly dodged the Mountain Lord’s attack. He seized an opportunity and suddenly threw the sword in his hand. The long sword swept past beneath the Mountain Lord and shot toward Ji Ya.

Almost simultaneously, Xue Jin stepped using Profound Footwork, his figure flashed, and he appeared right behind the sword hilt. The Sword Qi on the long sword carried him toward Ji Ya.

Ji Ya’s expression changed slightly, and he once again deployed the Nine Heavens Divine Palm. When Xue Jin’s sword reached within half a zhang of Ji Ya, Xue Jin was knocked flying.

After landing, Xue Jin evaded the Mountain Lord, swung his sword again, and continued to attack Ji Ya.

His footwork and moves became faster and faster.

Ji Ya’s weakness emerged: although his Origin Qi was abundant, his reaction time and speed were far inferior to Xue Jin’s.

After five consecutive charges, Xue Jin’s sword finally rested against Ji Ya’s throat, causing him to freeze completely.

“Junior Brother, I accept your concession!”

Xue Jin said with a cold face. From beginning to end, the Mountain Lord never managed to touch him.

Ji Ya let out a breath and said helplessly, “Senior Brother is still the more formidable one.”

Xue Jin’s lips curled up, but he felt far from calm inside.

He had used all his strength. His speed was so fast due to the enhancement of Origin Qi, and if he had to do it a few more times, he wouldn’t be able to execute such sword steps.

He merely won the present battle, but lost in natural talent.

Ji Ya’s natural talent truly impressed him.

The Disciples below the stage cheered, as both Xue Jin and Ji Ya had demonstrated impressive strength, earning admiration.

Xue Jin walked off the stage, preparing to go up the mountain to Cultivate and recover his Origin Qi.

He hadn’t walked far when a middle-aged man in a green robe approached, smiling. “Young Hero Xue, my name is Zhu Li, and I come from the Zhu Family of Jiejun County in Dongling Prefecture. May I speak with you privately?”

“I don’t have time.”

Xue Jin didn’t even glance at him, shaking him off directly before leaving.

Zhu Li stopped, watching his retreating figure, secretly cursing him for being so arrogant.

He turned and walked back to the Martial Arts Stage, continuing to select outstanding Qingxiao Sect Disciples. His Family had given him a death order: he must win over a Qingxiao Sect Genius to help the Zhu Family gain entry into the Qingxiao Sect.

The Qingxiao Sect was now the number one School in Guzhou Prefecture, producing numerous Geniuses whose future potential was boundless. Furthermore, rumors claimed that the Qingxiao Sect possessed the Divine Skill of the martial arts myth, which made even more people want to join.

Since forcible seizure was impossible, they had to think of other methods.

After watching several matches below the stage, Li Yang couldn’t resist going up himself.

The Qingxiao Sect Disciples were very familiar with this top scholar in martial arts. They were not intimidated by the title of top scholar in martial arts, and Disciples continuously went up to spar with him, all of whom were defeated.

“I’ll go!”

Accompanied by a female voice, Chai Yunshang, wearing the blue robe of the Qingxiao Sect, leaped onto the Martial Arts Stage.

Seeing that his opponent was a woman, Li Yang frowned slightly, instinctively wanting to refuse.

“Your Spear Technique is decent, but your Internal Skill is lacking,” Chai Yunshang stated.

Li Yang was displeased by these words. The opponent’s tone was lecturing, reminding him of Zhao Linglong below the stage.

Even after a year, he still harbored resentment over Zhao Linglong deceiving him. This anger had never been vented.

Excellent!

Today, I’ll take out my frustration on this woman!

Li Yang raised his spear, pointing it at Chai Yunshang, and said, “Then let me see how formidable your Internal Skill is.”

Chai Yunshang drew her sword and said, “The Qingxiao Sect’s Internal Skill is unparalleled under heaven.”

Hearing this fueled Li Yang’s anger, and he immediately raised his spear and charged toward Chai Yunshang.

In the evening, Li Qingqiu returned to Lingxiao Courtyard with Yuan Li and Zhao Zhen. As soon as they entered the courtyard, Yang Jueding came to greet them.

“A School-wide martial arts competition is too early. It cannot be held until the situation is completely stable, lest we give our enemies an opportunity,”

Li Qingqiu said first, stopping Yang Jueding from speaking.

—-

As the Hall Master of Guangyuan Hall, Yang Jueding had always wanted to host a grand event for the Qingxiao Sect. Since the Martial Arts Stage he established had received good feedback, he wanted to organize a Full-School Competition to boost the Disciples’ motivation for martial arts practice.

But Li Qingqiu felt that now was not the appropriate time.

“It’s not about that. I wanted to ask if we could transfer Chai Yunshang from the Law Enforcement Hall to my jurisdiction. I don’t have any Geniuses under me, and I need someone to represent us,” Yang Jueding said, shaking his head.

Li Qingqiu asked in surprise, “Why did you suddenly think of her?”

“This girl’s growth rate is too fast! Even the top scholar in martial arts isn’t her opponent. How long has she even been initiated into the School?” Yang Jueding lamented.

Hearing that Li Yang was defeated by Chai Yunshang, Li Qingqiu was not surprised.

“That won’t do. This female Disciple was long ago internally designated by Senior Brother to be the Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall. You might as well think about transferring Ning’er to your side.”

Li Dongyue, who was serving the dishes, chuckled softly.

Yang Jueding felt surprised and asked, “Could it be that this woman is a Genius you secretly cultivated?”

No wonder Chai Yunshang grew so quickly.

Li Qingqiu smiled. “Hall Master Yang, there are more and more Disciples in the School. You need to learn to scout for them yourself, instead of waiting for others to rise to prominence before trying to win them over.”

After speaking, he bypassed Yang Jueding and walked toward the long table.

Yuan Li and Zhao Zhen followed closely behind.

Yang Jueding was somewhat unconvinced and turned to speak, but upon seeing Zhao Zhen’s retreating figure, he suddenly choked up.

Geniuses were emerging endlessly in the School now, but if one spoke of the most terrifying Genius, it still had to be this kid named Zhao.

His competitive spirit was roused. He refused to believe he couldn’t scout a Genius himself.

After Li Qingqiu sat down, Li Sijin leaned over and said, “Senior Brother, the spirit plants experiment has succeeded. I want a plot of land for large-scale planting of spirit plants, and I also need the Spiritual Resources Hall to allocate a sum of money.”

“Go find the Tiangong Hall for land, and find your Fourth Senior Sister for money. Just ask freely, and tell them I agreed.”

Li Qingqiu said casually. He placed extreme importance on spirit plants and was willing to allocate resources for them.

“Thank you, Senior Brother!”

Li Sijin happily hugged him, resting her face on his shoulder.

“You’re all grown up now, you must be mindful of the distinction between sexes.”

“The distinction between sexes is for outsiders! Why mention that to you, Senior Brother? Even if Senior Brother gets married and has children, I’ll still hug you!”

“You girl—”

Li Qingqiu was helpless and could only let her be.

Speaking of which, among his Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters, only Li Sijin hadn’t changed her personality as she grew older. He thought she was fine the way she was, so he rarely taught her how to conduct herself.

Subsequently, an Elder from the Experience Hall came to find Li Qingqiu. Since Li Sifeng was absent, many matters had to be decided by him.

Li Qingqiu was beginning to get used to people seeking him out at any time.

He heard that a government office wanted to pay Qingxiao Sect Disciples to hunt down a Flower Thief in the Jianghu. Because this Flower Thief possessed extremely high martial arts skills, the Experience Hall Elder feared they couldn’t handle it. Li Qingqiu agreed immediately after hearing this, instructing the Experience Hall Elder to write out the task and allow Disciples to freely sign up to accept it.

After the Experience Hall Elder left, Li Qingqiu muttered, “Why haven’t Third Junior Brother and Sixth Junior Brother returned yet?”

Li Dongyue sat beside him and chuckled softly, “Don’t worry, with their strength, they won’t be in danger. It must be that kid Lisfeng being playful and delaying the time.”

Li Qingqiu nodded, then started discussing other matters with her.

Under the cover of night, the heavy rain poured down.

In the mountain forest, Jiang Zhaoxia and Li Sifeng stood in front of a large tree. Both were dressed in black, wearing black masks and straw rain hats, each holding a sword.

Behind them was a soaking wet woman in plain clothes, staring ahead in terror.

Rumble—

Lightning flashed, illuminating the dark mountain forest. In front, mysterious figures holding blades were approaching, densely packed and countless.

These mysterious figures all wore bamboo hats and Evil Ghost Masks. Their Killing Intent was soaring, exerting immense pressure on the woman in plain clothes.

Li Sifeng muttered, “Senior Brother, why do they look so much like people from the Demon Sect?”

Jiang Zhaoxia’s gaze was calm as he replied, “Probably not. Their masks are slightly different from those of the Demon Sect. They look like—”

“—another kind of ghost face. Be careful. These people’s martial arts are not weak. Watch out for their hidden weapons.”

After speaking, he stepped forward, facing the multitude of enemies ahead alone.

Li Sifeng tilted his head, looked at the woman in plain clothes behind him, and said, “Hey, we’ve already killed wave after wave of people to save you. Don’t let you and your father be messing with us.”

The woman in plain clothes averted her gaze and said cautiously, “You must be extremely careful. I fear the Martial God Pill I refined has already been consumed by them.”

“Hearing you say that, I really want to see how strong their people are after consuming the Martial God Pill,” Li Sifeng chuckled softly, then looked back.

Accompanied by another flash of lightning illuminating the forest, Jiang Zhaoxia moved, raising his sword and charging toward the enemy masses ahead.