[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-ascending-to-the-jade-palace":3,"chapter-ascending-to-the-jade-palace-ascending-to-the-jade-palace-chapter-7":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Ascending to the Jade Palace",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2320469,4538,"Chapter 7: These Free Cultivators, How Could They Understand Unity?","ascending-to-the-jade-palace-chapter-7",7,"\u003Cp>A mid-grade magic artifact, the Spirit-Binding Rope, is standard equipment for the Qingxi Alley Peacekeeping Unit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Jian has trained with it for years and wields it with extreme familiarity, swinging it like a swift, living serpent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shhh~ Crack!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Using the rope as a whip, he lashed it straight across Wu Jinyan’s face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since he held back, Wu Jinyan only suffered split skin and flesh—not a blown-out skull—suggesting Gao Jian still had a shred of humanity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why did you hit me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He summoned a wooden bowl-shaped artifact to shield himself, clutching his ruined face as he asked in fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Jian’s ambush was too swift, easily successful, and the entire hall erupted into chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Rongyuan instantly stepped between the two Yu Lou brothers, while Zhong Tianshuo unleashed spiritual power to shove his daughter, Zhong Ningyao, into the back chamber.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Nianqiu, seemingly startled, belatedly moved to stand beside Wang Rongyuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why hit you?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Unity Fee is collected to make Qingxi Alley better. My master spent an entire day studying to determine how much each shop must pay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You dare complain it’s too much? Do you even deserve to? Does your Wu family even own a shop in Qingxi Alley?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or are you, on the surface a free cultivator, secretly a bandit cultivator, trying to sow discord among Qingxi Alley’s cultivators?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhong Tianshuo and Wang Rongyuan have already stepped in—both their cultivation bases are roughly equal to his.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing he couldn’t keep whipping, Gao Jian retracted the Spirit-Binding Rope, but piled on even heavier accusations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, there’s no need for so many “whys.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Wang family is untouchable; Hongmei Recluse is too strong to fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So who else is left to beat?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I can’t teach __, but I can still punish you!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Brother Gao Jian, brother Gao Jian, how about this—I’ll pay one hundred and twenty spirit stones. Here they are. Don’t say another word. Old Wu isn’t a bandit cultivator.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taking the small bag handed by Hongmei Recluse, Gao Jian first hefted it and shook it twice, then grinned in satisfaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, Brother Hongmei, why didn’t you pay earlier? Then none of this would’ve happened. Hahaha. Of course, it’s not too late now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, he casually swung the Spirit-Binding Rope in his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Hongmei had paid, Tang Nianqiu had no choice but to hand over fifty spirit stones—the entire one-and-a-half-month profit of Zhiwei Fang was gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Jian then glared at Wu Jinyan, clutched the Spirit-Binding Rope, and swaggered out, arrogant as ever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These free cultivators don’t understand the bigger picture. Unless you beat them a couple times, how can they ever learn unity?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the sake of Qingxi Alley’s merchants and cultivators, for Hong Deng Zhao’s interests—do you think it’s easy for me? Do you think it’s easy for my master?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When you must beat, beat. One lash, and the spirit stones appear immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What Wang family? Before Hong Deng Zhao, even if it’s a dragon, you’ll coil up!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This guy’s a thug!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhong Ningyao emerged from the back chamber, looked at the silent crowd, and couldn’t help but curse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hongmei Recluse silently applied ointment to Wu Jinyan’s wounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Rongyuan shook his head and spoke softly to the two Yu Lou brothers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is your first lesson.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After seeing Wu Jinyan and Wang Rongyuan off, Hongmei Recluse finally turned to his daughter and disciple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Father, Huafeng Ju shouldn’t have paid so much. That Gao and his master probably stole a portion of it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhong Ningyao simply couldn’t understand why Hongmei Recluse had paid the damn “Unity Fee” so readily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was one hundred and twenty spirit stones—Wang Rongyuan only gets one hundred from his family in a whole year!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So many spirit stones, just snatched away by that Gao’s filthy mouth!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Listening to Zhong Ningyao and Zhong Tianshuo’s conversation, Wang Yulou standing nearby felt awkward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t because Zhiwei Fang paid less.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhiwei Fang sells drinks and food; its profit margins and turnover are far lower than Huafeng Ju’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What Yulou hadn’t expected was that Hongmei Recluse’s daughter was the very female cultivator Yuan had seen yesterday—naked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That idiot Yuan stared at her over a dozen times today—now the Wang family’s face is completely lost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Eighty percent? One hundred percent! That Jiang guy is just a...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mid-sentence, Zhong Tianshuo spotted Yulou and Yuan, and fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is my daughter, Zhong Ningyao. Call her Senior Sister.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ningyao, teach them the basics of fire control. I’m going out.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hongmei Recluse seemed to have urgent business; he gave a brief assignment and left Huafeng Ju directly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhong Ningyao glanced at Yulou, then at Yuan, feeling nervous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She wanted to grab her father’s hand and ask why he was so confident she could teach these two cheap disciples.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Um... you two... seem quite young?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thirteen, Senior Sister Ningyao. I’m thirteen this year.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou subtly stepped left, maintaining a slight but not total distance between himself and Yuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhong Ningyao, fifteen years old, still a youthful girl, but having received her father’s order, forced herself to appear mature and composed as she replied to Yuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm, thirteen is a good age to begin learning fire control.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After speaking, the girl realized how stupid that sounded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So stupid...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She’d tried to mimic her father’s tone, but ended up looking like a poor imitation of a tiger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of it, her fair cheeks flushed with embarrassment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuan didn’t understand why the senior sister blushed; he just licked his lips and asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Senior Sister Ningyao, what’s the difference between fire control and flying fire?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flying Fire, Yulou knew, was similar to the fireball spell in xianxia novels—a common technique among Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Flying Fire was more refined, emphasizing maximum attack effect with minimal spiritual power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Power wasn’t important; what mattered was combining it with other artifacts and techniques to achieve systematic combat—brute-force methods were a dead end for ordinary cultivators.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ordinary free cultivators lacked sect or family lineage, so their Flying Fire was crude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the same Qi Refining Layer Two cultivation base, Yulou could now fire over a dozen Flying Fire spells in succession.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But an ordinary Qi Refining Layer Two free cultivator might exhaust his spiritual power after three or four.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Flying Fire is for combat. Useless after Foundation Establishment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fire Control is the introductory technique of the fire cultivation system, primarily used for refining the Dao.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Didn’t your Wang family send you here to learn refining the Dao?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuan still wanted to ask more, but Yulou couldn’t wait.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Please, Senior Sister, instruct us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cultivation demands seizing every moment. He had no time to watch Yuan ramble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fine, follow me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gratefully glancing at Yulou, Zhong Ningyao led the two boys into Huafeng Ju’s back chamber.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the center stood a massive alchemy furnace, glowing red, its engraved surface flowing with silver-white light—clearly extraordinary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On one side was a pile of charcoal taller than Yulou, seemingly some kind of spiritual substance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the other side was a wrought-iron table, clearly where Hongmei Recluse placed materials during forging.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There’s a basin of water. Go fetch two basins from the well. Then we can begin practicing Fire Control.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pointing to the basin in the corner, Zhong Ningyao finally found the feeling of teaching Dao techniques.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Use water to practice Fire Control?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuan, whether brain-fogged or just trying to chat up the pretty senior sister, dared to ask such a pointless question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, hurry up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhong Ningyao actually preferred Yulou—he never asked such useless nonsense. Yuan not only talked too much, but stared at her like an idiot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, under Zhong Ningyao’s guidance, both boys placed their hands in the water basins and stared blankly at her, awaiting further instruction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The adolescent girl clasped her hands behind her back, pretending to be a grown-up, pacing around the furnace, recalling her father’s words when he taught her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The first step of Fire Control is to generate fire in water—without any igniting aid, solely through your own spiritual power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fire is fierce. Even my father, when struggling with forging, often loses control of the flame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had you fetch water to suppress the influence of fire-elemental spiritual energy in the heavens and earth, so you can gradually master flame control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, I’ll teach you the incantation for Fire Control—it’s a secret transmission. Don’t you dare reveal it to anyone!”\u003C\u002Fp>",1391,"2026-06-20T15:48:26.995Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","433fdcb03981b6e3fffd1ce7cdee32c6607e5fd880f78d6af45439b216044bb5","ascending-to-the-jade-palace-chapter-8","ascending-to-the-jade-palace-chapter-6",243,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fascending-to-the-jade-palace-cover.jpg"]