Chapter 88: Yellow‑Haired One Turns Out to Be My Daughter? The 22‑Year‑Old Spirit Child

Morning.

The winter sun, rare in breaking through the dark clouds, drizzles fine, gentle rays.

Under the eaves, a line of ice cones formed by the freezing winter rain begins to melt slightly in the sunlight, shrinking to the size of a pinky finger.

Ten li outside Fēiléichéng.

A bamboo forest.

Deep within the bamboo forest stands a bamboo tower.

This is a residence Li Che found outside the city, relatively clean and free from disturbance.

At least, it suffices for the time being.

Li Che wears a black battle outfit, his clothes bulging, stretched by his muscles, with fine, serpentine tendons as visible as a draconic python.

Qi and blood steam into heat waves, rolling and surging within the bamboo courtyard.

As if transformed into a living, vivid qi‑blood serpent, coiling and hissing.

His stomach churns like a raging torrent, crushing and refining the ingested python‑blood martial pill, extracting its massive medicinal force, forging it into qi and blood that circulates through the minor heavenly circuit's meridian pathways.

His five fingers hook like claws, striking down boldly; a chaotic wind rises, as if a white tiger roars from behind Li Che!

White Tiger Chaotic Wind Fist!

This mid‑level martial technique, refined by Li Che to the realm of transformation and further improved by him, has already become a superior martial skill with impressive power.

Every move brims with the white tiger's domineering ferocity!

Another technique, the Eight‑Strike Bone‑Crushing Spear from Xu Ji, has likewise been refined by Li Che to the realm of transformation, becoming a superior martial skill!

LV3‑level 'Dragon Elephant Vajra' grants an enormous boost to martial talent!

It not only refines unparalleled, but also offers a unique understanding of martial arts, as if a single glance allows extrapolation; essentially any martial art can reach a minor achievement in a day!

This is the LV3‑level 'Horizontal Refinement' talent!

A martial technique, from its introduction, must pass through minor achievement, major achievement, master, and transformation stages, which can be understood as proficiency levels.

Upon reaching transformation, the technique's power peaks; beyond transformation lies the true meaning of the martial path.

This was told to Li Che by Li Qingshan.

To cultivate the true meaning of the martial path, the required martial skill rank must reach the 'True Meaning Absolute Art' level.

Although the White Tiger Chaotic Wind Fist and Xu Ji's Eight‑Strike Bone‑Crushing Spear have been upgraded to superior martial skill level, achieving the true meaning of the martial path at the absolute art tier remains unlikely.

Moreover, divine martial techniques cannot yield the true meaning of the martial path; only pure qi‑blood techniques can generate it.

Qi and blood gradually contract, the crushed martial pill slowly being digested.

It transforms into a rushing energy, strengthening Li Che's internal organs and spawning inner qi like a draconic dragon.

Boom!

Li Che executes each move; the martial practice accelerates the flow of qi and blood and hastens the evaporation of the pill's medicinal properties.

After finishing the White Tiger Chaotic Wind Fist, Li Che clenches his five fingers, silently tearing the air, and spews forth a strange long spear etched with blood‑colored patterns—a top‑grade divine weapon of the Nine Luminaries, the Liu Blood Piercing Shock Spear!

With the divine spear in hand, as he swings it, fierce winds scatter and the airflow ripples!

In a whimpering tone, a startling howl reverberates through the forest, never ceasing.

Even without bearing divinity, the divine weapon's hardness, resilience, and sharpness far surpass ordinary arms.

When a blood python roars and bursts forth, eight successive cracking sounds echo through the air, and Li Che then sheathes the divine spear.

"The last python‑blood martial pill... is enough. My martial cultivation has already reached the pinnacle of the qi meridian, my inner qi is as robust as a draconic python; only the mysterious meridian method remains, and I can naturally break through the realm."

Li Che exhales a puff of foul breath.

Without hesitation, he opens his mouth and swallows the final python‑blood pill.

Thus, having consumed all the martial pills obtained from the Yang family treasury—resources costing tens of thousands of taels—he successfully propelled his cultivation to the peak of the qi meridian.

When the last pill's medicinal essence is fully boiled and devoured by his mortal body.

The entire courtyard swirls with scorching qi, heat waves rising.

Li Che opens his eyes, his gaze glittering.

"The physical foundation is solidified; now, even without activating the Furious Eye Vajra, I can easily kill an ordinary mysterious‑meridian martial man..."

"It seems I can begin attempting to forge the Three‑Eye Furious True Lord Divine Base..."

Forging a divine base cannot rely solely on a surge of blood.

According to the divine base method taught by the temple deity, many items must be prepared.

It is more akin to a ritual.

Li Che compared the Heart‑Astonishing Steel Divine Base method obtained from the Yang family patriarch; aside from differing preparations, the rituals are the same.

The most crucial part is the need to prepare three divine objects—wood carvings, jade carvings, scrolls, and the like.

However, wood carvings are preferred, ideally carved from spirit wood.

Among the Yang patriarch's collection is a wooden block, a spirit wood called 'Spirit Flower Willow'; although it shares the spirit‑wood classification with 'Blood‑Flesh Red', their values differ greatly—'Spirit Flower Willow' is larger yet considerably cheaper.

The divine base method also provides the design for the wood carving.

Li Che himself is a master woodcarver, so this is no trouble; the other required animal bloods merely need time to gather.

After condensing his qi and blood to reveal a fully tempered bone‑refining cultivation, Li Che dons a clean black battle outfit, appearing scholarly and gentle, grips a Fēiléichéng chess piece, and returns to the preset anchor point—the study in his own courtyard.

Today is a major event in Fēiléichéng.

On the day the city lord Cao Guang hosts a banquet at the Golden Radiance Pavilion for the Divine Sect's liaison, the great families of Fēiléichéng bring their spirit children before the liaison to see if they can be recruited into the sect.

In previous years, besides the Divine Sect recruiting spirit children, the Dàjǐng court also officially recruited them.

However, as the disaster of Guiyi Miao expands, the court abandoned the recruitment of spirit children nationwide, leaving it to the great families to cultivate them; the Divine Sect has not given up, still frequently sending liaison envoys.

Some aristocratic clans may still hide proud spirit children, but most small clans and ordinary poor families hope their children can enter the Divine Sect and change their fate.

The Divine Sect's status in the hearts of the people of Dàjǐng remains extraordinarily unusual.

However, it is unknown just how many spirit children remain in this year's Fēiléichéng.

Upon entering the inner room, his wife Zhang Ya was braiding Xixi's hair.

After waiting a moment, Li Che went out together with his wife Zhang Ya, who had finished her grooming, taking Xixi with them.

Li Qingshan and Lü Chi had already gone to the Jinhuang Pavilion; as representatives of the Divine Sect, they naturally could not travel with Li Che's family.

Chen Lao also wasn't idle; he lifted his big wine gourd and followed behind, intending to join the fun as well.

Having left the alley, the uncle's family, who had likewise moved to Nei Cheng, were already waiting in the cold wind.

The uncle still wore that scholar's robe, with a padded jacket underneath, smoking a dry pipe.

Cousin Li Zhengran's family waited to the side; Li Che's nephew Li Zhouzhou was also three years old, a bit more tranquil than Xixi, with a fair and tender complexion, already showing a hint of handsomeness.

Upon seeing Li Che's family, Cousin Li Zhengran immediately broke into a smile; thanks to Li Che's connection, they were living very well in Nei Cheng.

As soon as Xixi stepped out of the alley, she broke free from Li Che's hand and ran to Li Zhouzhou's side.

"Zhouzhou, little brother!"

Xixi familiarly took hold of Li Zhouzhou's hand.

Li Zhouzhou's fair, tender face turned bright red with a 'swish,' and for a moment he was at a loss what to do with his hands and feet.

"Little brother, you're so handsome." Xixi stared at Li Zhouzhou.

Li Zhouzhou instinctively struggled a bit, dodging toward his aunt-in-law Liu Chunming's side.

"Don't be afraid, Zhouzhou, sister's just playing with you." Liu Chunming hurried to soothe him.

Xixi didn't mind either, giggling as she toddled closer.

Li Che paused, then found himself somewhat speechless.

This girl… she's already obsessed with looks at such a young age, huh?

You weren't like this when dealing with Lu Dato.

Li Che pressed his lips together, then suddenly startled.

Wait, after all precautions… the yellow-haired one is actually my daughter?!

Along the way, the people of Nei Cheng, who had originally been frightened into staying indoors after the Yang family was exterminated, now appeared in droves, each carrying a child, heading for the Jinhuang Pavilion.

Upon arriving at the Jinhuang Pavilion, the outside was actually packed with people.

Li Qingshan had already arranged for Lü Chi to wait outside; upon seeing Li Che's party, he brought them into the Jinhuang Pavilion and seated them at a table covered with red cloth, set for the Eight Immortals feast.

"How come there are so many people?" Li Che said, somewhat astonished.

"The number of children in Fēiléichéng… seems greater than I imagined."

Li Che originally thought that, after the Spirit Infant Sect incident, the number of children in Fēiléichéng would greatly decrease.

Lü Chi looked at Xixi holding Li Zhouzhou's hand, his expression somewhat unpleasant; it seemed he had never received such treatment before.

Hearing Li Che's words, Lü Chi shook the Nezha braid on his head and said, "Don't be fooled by the many children who came, but there really aren't many true spirit children…"

"The Spirit Infant Sect also wants spirit children; if you're not a spirit child, they look down on you."

Lü Chi's words were, however, simple and direct.

Everyone sat down to eat the banquet, which was set up by Mayor Cao Guang, funded by public money, a freebie; Li Che ate it with great delight.

Although he had seized the Yang family's vast wealth, sudden riches bring their own joy, and getting something for nothing also has its own pleasure.

The banquet had passed its halfway point.

After Mayor Cao Guang gave a brief speech, Li Qingshan leisurely rose to his feet, his gaze sweeping over the Jinhuang Pavilion and the bustling crowd outside.

He saw many children blinking their eyes, full of curiosity.

Some even brought out infants still in swaddling clothes, hoping to try their luck.

For such a scene, Li Qingshan remained unmoved, calmly saying: "Next year, at the spring equinox of the second month, the Qianyuan Divine Sect will open its gates to recruit spirit children; all descendants of commoners under the jurisdiction of Jinguang Prefecture, aged three years and above, who upon testing are found to be spirit children, may all become disciples of my Divine Sect."

"At the spring equinox of next year's second month, in Jinguang Prefecture City, the sect entrance examination will be held, divided into outer and inner doors."

Li Qingshan's voice was not loud, yet it echoed throughout the inside and outside of the Jinhuang Pavilion, almost reaching everyone's ears.

In an instant, the crowd stirred.

"Of course, besides spirit children, those with decent martial arts foundations can also obtain the opportunity to go to the prefecture city and participate in the sect entrance examination."

Li Qingshan added another sentence.

The atmosphere below grew ever more fervent, yet Li Qingshan slightly shook his head.

He glanced at Mayor Cao Guang, whose face was full of smiles; Cao Guang's expression did not change, still beaming.

"Children aged three years and above may enter the Jinhuang Pavilion; I will glance over them, assessing whether they are spirit children and whether they have good foundations; those who do not meet the criteria should not enter the pavilion."

Li Qingshan finished speaking.

Upon hearing this, Mayor Cao Guang waved his hand, and the divine constable Zhang Xiangyang immediately went to make arrangements, sending the qualifying children into the Jinhuang Pavilion one after another.

The surroundings fell silent.

"I will observe with the Divine Sect's 'Wangxing Technique'; those who possess spirit-child divinity will burst forth with purple light—one ray signifies low grade, three rays medium, six rays high, and nine rays the utmost supreme spirit child…"

"Parents, please take note: the Divine Sect selects spirit children fairly and justly."

Li Qingshan said calmly.

As soon as the words fell, Mayor Cao Guang's face changed slightly; the smile on his visage froze, turning a bit gloomy.

This Li Qingshan is clearly doing it on purpose; historically, the Divine Sect's introducers have used the Wangxing Technique covertly to select spirit children, but Li Qingshan insists on making such a big spectacle, obviously intending to make a joke of Mayor Cao Guang.

After all, most of the spirit children in Fēiléichéng have been captured by the Spirit Infant Sect.

The remainder are not spirit children.

A single sweep of the Wangxing Technique yielded only a scant one or two spirit children; this mayor of Fēiléichéng is likely to feel somewhat embarrassed and awkward.

Li Qingshan, however, ignored Cao Guang's expression.

If you dare to do it, what more face do you need?

"Everyone, just watch closely."

As his words finished, Li Qingshan formed hand seals, and his eyes instantly flowed with purple light.

A surging surge of qi burst forth, spreading and intertwining throughout the entire Golden Splendor Pavilion.

Everyone looked around in amazement.

However…

Within the Golden Splendor Pavilion, only a few spots burst forth purple light.

How could it be so few?

At least several hundred to nearly a thousand children were present, yet… only four bursts of purple light appeared?

Although Cao Guang knew the result, he still instinctively glanced toward where the four purple lights burst forth.

As luck would have it, all four purple lights converged on the same table.

Upon seeing this, his expression completely changed.

He first saw Xixi, with nine strands of purple light, purple aura abundant.

Supreme-grade spirit child?

It's actually a supreme-grade spirit child?!

Cao Guang had always thought Xixi was only upper-grade; he misjudged her!

Had he known earlier that Li Che's daughter Li Nuanxi was a supreme-grade spirit child, he would have personally acted before Li Qingshan arrived!

Supreme-grade spirit children… are the best sacrifices!

And beside Li Nuanxi, there also burst forth an extremely splendid radiance, not inferior to the nine strands of purple light.

Another supreme-grade spirit child?!

Cao Guang's face darkened; under his very nose, he had missed two supreme-grade spirit children?

However, his gaze shifted over.

Cao Guang's gaze instantly froze…

Under the sway of those nine purple strands was Li Che, stuffing his mouth with food.

This twenty-two-year-old old fogey…

Can he even be called a spirit child?!

…

…

The atmosphere of the scene seemed somewhat strange.

Many people also noticed the swaying purple light on Li Che.

"Is the Hope Nature Technique malfunctioning? How does Master Li also possess the purple light that only spirit children have? And it's nine strands…"

"Right, isn't it said that a spirit child's divinity must be newly nurtured?"

"After one reaches adulthood, the newly nurtured divinity is already assimilated by the divinity acquired from heaven and earth, so one can no longer be a spirit child."

"Could it be that Master Li just became a woodcarving master, and his body holds newly nurtured divinity?"

…

Murmurs of discussion echoed continuously around.

Li Che's face showed some helplessness; he had been exposed.

His identity as a twenty-two-year-old old spirit child was ultimately exposed.

Li Qingshan didn't mention having this segment either.

Facing the doubts raised by many present, Li Qingshan simply said confidently, "The Divine Sect's Hope Nature Technique cannot possibly be wrong."

That means Li Che truly possesses spirit-child divinity.

The Xu family ancestor and Xu Helì, among other Xu family members, stared strangely at Li Che; a twenty-two-year-old old spirit child… this difficulty is comparable to that of a twenty-two-year-old old virgin!

However, it was merely surprise; they even retained doubt in their hearts.

Their gazes mostly fell on Li Nuanxi.

Supreme-grade spirit child…

The Xu family misjudged!

Had they known earlier that Xixi was a supreme-grade spirit child…

The Xu family ancestor's breath rose and fell slightly, his eyes growing fervent.

Between supreme-grade and upper-grade, the difference is practically heaven and earth.

Besides Li Che and Xixi, the other two strands of Hope Nature purple light burst forth from Lü Chi and Li Chengzhou.

Lü Chi is an upper-grade spirit child, while Li Chengzhou… has only one strand of purple light, merely lower-grade, but still counts as a spirit child.

They were the fish that slipped through the net under the city lord's nose.

Even City Lord Cao Guang couldn't help but glance again, only to be surprised that Li Chengzhou actually had a connection with Li Che.

For a moment, City Lord Cao Guang felt only ill omen.

"Come forward, those who possess spirit-child divinity will surely enter my Divine Sect's mountain gate; at the spring equinox of next February, Jin Guang Prefecture City will hold the sect entrance examination. As spirit children, you will certainly enter the Divine Sect, so this examination is more about assigning your disciple status."

"As for those who merely passed the martial arts foundation test, they must stand out in the sect entrance examination to have a chance, with the possibility of being eliminated."

Li Qingshan gathered the selected spirit children together and simply said a sentence.

Then, the Heaven and Earth Jade trembled, and jade pendants floated out one by one, falling onto the chosen spirit children.

Li Che also received one with a smiling face.

Li Qingshan glanced at him, but didn't say anything else; the spirit child he had drawn out with the Wangxing technique, even with tears, must be acknowledged.

This is a lower-grade Heaven-Earth Jade; it contains heaven and earth, can store and retrieve objects from thin air, but requires a certain guidance time. It is the identity token for your Divine Sect's spirit children; upon entering Golden Light Prefecture, you can use this token to participate in the sect admission examination.

Li Qingshan said.

Besides that, inside there is a bottle of Nurturing Nature Pills, ten in total, take one every five days to accelerate nurturing nature; one Softshell Turtle Martial Pill, to consolidate the foundation and nurture primordial essence, warm and nourish qi and blood.

Li Che heard this, his eyes lit up at once; spirit child… does it have this benefit too?

He gleefully glanced at the contents inside the Heaven-Earth Jade.

Li Che's smile grew even richer.

Those around him all looked at him strangely, but Li Che was quite composed.

What is there to feel guilty about for something he obtained by his own ability?

As for those who passed the martial arts foundation test, Li Qingshan wasn't so generous; he merely gave them the identity token and then sent them away.

After all, among these children, he hadn't encountered any prodigy with outstanding foundation that would catch his eye.

The banquet dispersed.

Many woodcarvers familiar with Xu Ji Mu diao Pu gathered around.

"Congratulations, Master Li! Father and daughter both proven spirit children!"

"Master Li, congratulations! From now on, having entered the Divine Sect, you'll soar to great heights!"

"What a family with twin talents, twin supreme spirit children—truly a fine story!"

As for these woodcarvers who came to congratulate, his former colleagues, Li Che also greeted them with a smiling face.

Then he waved his hand, announcing that tonight he would set up a hundred tables banquet at the Golden Splendor Pavilion for his daughter.

No red packets accepted; all who come are guests.

Celebrating his daughter Li Nuanxi's entry into the Divine Sect!

…

…

Night fell.

At the City Lord's Mansion, beneath the octagonal, multi-eaved pavilion.

Cao Guang stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the brightly lit Golden Splendor Pavilion where the banquet was in full swing; the night swallowed the light, making his expression uncertain and dark.

Moments later.

A faint footstep sounded from behind him.

It was Cao Qingyuan and Cao He.

"Li Che's daughter… is actually a supreme spirit child! I misjudged… I trusted the Xu family's testing too much."

"It's normal; supreme spirit children are inherently hard to distinguish from superior spirit children. Without the Divine Sect's Wangxing technique, relying solely on experience to infer, confusion is inevitable."

Cao Guang exhaled a breath.

Cao He, the Second Master of the Cao family, narrowed his eyes; a flash of cruelty crossed his aged face: "Do I need to take action? Personally go seize Li Nuanxi?"

"I know there's Li Qingshan, but I only seize spirit children; if I fail, I'll just leave."

Cao Guang felt somewhat tempted; the allure of a supreme spirit child was truly great.

As for Li Che's twenty-two-year-old old supreme spirit child, Cao Guang still harbored doubts in his heart.

How long can a man's shelf life last?

Therefore, the greater temptation for him was still Li Nuanxi.

But he still restrained himself.

"Forget it; with Li Qingshan around, even if his divinity is absent, he is still a Martial Dao Master… there's no need to provoke him."

"Li Qingshan won't linger long in Feiliecheng; he still needs to go to other cities to recruit spirit children."

"The Li Che family will surely follow as well."

"For now, don't let complications arise; steady as she goes, the smooth holding of the Thousand Buddha Carving Feast is most important—let them depart… missing out on a supreme spirit child, then so be it, no harm done."

"Qingyuan, how did your task go?"

Cao Qingyuan respectfully clasped his fists: "Father, I have successfully brought back two medium-grade spirit children from the neighboring city; the spirit children's blood and bones are now complete……"

"Excellent; since the spirit children's blood and bones are complete, once Li Qingshan this big trouble leaves Feiliecheng, the Thousand Buddha Carving Feast can commence……"

In the darkness, Cao Guang's pupils glimmered faintly with a sinister light.

The words having been spoken.

Between the octagonal, multi-eaved pavilions.

Heavy breathing, mingled with greed, ambition, and anticipation, rose and fell.

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