Chapter 28

In the mountain forest at night, the sound of wolf howls echoed.

But this sound only appeared for a moment before gradually dissipating, as if a presence even more ferocious than them was walking alone.

Walking in the pitch black, the sense of loss in Xu Qing's heart could not be quickly buried. Having grown up in the slums, he was already accustomed to parting, but this time, it was somewhat deep.

That feeling of emptiness in his heart made his mood low. In silence, his figure became increasingly desolate.

Until near dawn, having walked all night, he saw the camp under the dawn.

In the camp, the lights were sparse.

Xu Qing thought of the past; no matter how late he returned from the forbidden zone, he could always see the light of one residence that was always lit for him.

But today, in that direction, one lamp was gone forever.

The sense of desolation grew stronger. Xu Qing walked silently into the camp, walked to the pitch-black residence, pushed open the door, and saw the dozen or so wild dogs in the courtyard. They were also quietly looking at him.

Looking up, the three rooms were pitch black.

There was no human presence, no light, no aura.

The leftovers from yesterday's dinner still remained in the kitchen.

Xu Qing walked in, looked at the three sets of bowls and chopsticks on the table, and after being dazed for a long time, sat there silently, lowering his head to eat the cold food.

One bite, another bite. After slowly swallowing, he washed the bowls and chopsticks, tidied up the kitchen, took a deep breath, and returned to his room.

He closed his eyes and began to cultivate.

And at this moment, outside the courtyard, the purple-robed old man and his servant were standing there, their gazes seemingly able to penetrate everything to see Xu Qing inside.

They were both silent. After a long while, the purple-robed old man sighed softly.

"He is a child with feelings and righteousness."

"Seventh Master, should we give him a token?" The servant looked at the purple-robed old man.

"Let's wait until we retrieve the Cloud Dream Flower that Master Bai wants from the forbidden zone." After speaking, the purple-robed old man's body slowly dissipated, and the servant beside him nodded and dissipated as well.

Just like that, the night passed.

The next morning, Xu Qing walked out of the room and subconsciously looked toward Lei Ting's residence, but quickly withdrew his gaze, silently going to Master Bai's place for lessons, and then silently returning.

He cooked a meal for himself. On the table, he still set out three sets of bowls and chopsticks, eating silently.

He would occasionally look up at the seat where Lei Ting used to be; there... one person was missing, and the sound of conversation was also missing.

The whole meal was very quiet. The feeling of loneliness once again permeated Xu Qing's heart, only to be forcibly suppressed by him.

After eating alone and cleaning up the bowls and chopsticks, he took out the food for the wild dogs and threw it into the courtyard.

Watching the pack of wild dogs devour it, Xu Qing returned to his room and continued to meditate.

Days passed like this, one by one, and soon it was the sixth day since Lei Ting left.

Xu Qing had already buried the loss in his heart and returned to his usual coldness, but if one looked closely, they would find that his coldness had become even more icy.

Except for when he went to Master Bai's lessons, at other times, the sense of vigilance on Xu Qing's body always existed. He was no stranger to this state, because for the previous six years, this... was his normal state.

Like a lone wolf.

He also cultivated more diligently than before, as if only in this way could he find the familiar loneliness as soon as possible. Until late at night on the seventh day, Xu Qing's cultivation base broke through.

From the fourth layer of the Haishan Secret Technique, he broke through to the fifth layer.

As the thumping sound echoed within his body, the wild dogs outside also felt the pressure, retreating one after another while trembling, as if an aura that made them awe-struck and fearful existed within Xu Qing's room.

This time, the sound within Xu Qing's body lasted for a long time.

Even in terms of time, it exceeded the previous ones.

After a full hour, when the filth oozing from the pores of Xu Qing's entire body reached its limit, his eyes suddenly snapped open.

In this instant, the entire room appeared with a fleeting purple light.

And the moment his eyes opened, Xu Qing's body echoed with cracking sounds, as if his bones were growing and his flesh and blood were being pulled, and a tearing sensation followed.

But for Xu Qing, all of this was still within his tolerance.

In calm endurance, another hour passed. When all of this slowly ended, Xu Qing stood up, and the clothes on his body were actually a bit short.

His slender body looked, if not reborn, then not far from it; it was very refined.

Especially his appearance, because there was no anomalous substance in his body, it was pure.

This made his original delicate features even more obvious, and combined with his coldness, there was actually a strange charm that even filth could not conceal.

But Xu Qing didn't care about these things. He walked out of the house, tested his speed, and then threw a punch into mid-air. A muffled thunderous sound seemed to echo, and its power was more than double that of the fourth layer!

Even more astonishing was that when his fist landed, the spiritual energy fluctuated intensely, actually faintly manifesting a ghoul shadow, with fangs in its mouth, like a fierce ghost!

"Is this the power of one ghoul?" Amidst the trembling of the wild dogs in the surroundings, Xu Qing looked at his fist and whispered to himself.

The Haishan Secret Technique mentioned that each layer increases the power of one tiger, and five tigers equal one ghoul, and two ghouls equal one champion.

But after pondering, Xu Qing felt that he did not quite fit the description of the Haishan Secret Technique.

Now, his own power was probably already at the level of seven or eight tigers, and his speed was the same. He even had some confidence that when he cultivated the Haishan Secret Technique to the sixth layer, he would possess the power of two ghouls in advance.

"It should be the effect of the purple crystal, and also caused by the sword strike I copied from the statue in the temple."

Xu Qing murmured in his heart, looking at his right hand. After being silent for a long while, he slowly raised it. The image of the statue's sword strike appeared in his mind, and the surrounding air currents seemed to be faintly gathering.

After a while, Xu Qing did not continue but lowered his right hand.

"Still a little bit off."

Xu Qing could feel that his copying was not enough. At this moment, he took a deep breath and was about to return to his room, but under the moonlight, as he turned around, he lowered his head and saw his shadow.

When he broke through earlier, all the anomalous substances, as usual, had merged into the shadow. At this moment, his entire body, from inside to outside, was pure, without the slightest anomalous substance.

Gazing at the shadow, Xu Qing suddenly had an idea.

"I wonder if this shadow can be controlled..."

After this thought appeared in his mind, it grew deeper and deeper, causing Xu Qing to gaze at it constantly, trying in his heart to make the shadow's hand move. But after trying for a long time, he still couldn't do it.

This made Xu Qing sigh softly. He felt he was being greedy. Just as he was about to give up, at this moment... the shadow's hand suddenly twitched!

This scene made Xu Qing's eyes widen, and his breathing became slightly rapid.

He was sure he wasn't seeing things, and his own hand hadn't moved just now, so he increased his gaze and attempts.

Until after a while, the shadow's hand, while Xu Qing's hand had not been raised, slightly... raised once!

Just once, and Xu Qing felt as if his head was about to explode, leaving it completely empty.

It took a long while to recover somewhat from the headache. Panting, his eyes revealed a strong light.

"It can be controlled!" Xu Qing lowered his head and took a deep look at the shadow.

He knew that although it was very difficult to control now, and the emptiness of his brain just now and the headache now were telling him that the consumption of this matter was huge.

But he believed that with his proficiency and the improvement of his cultivation, sooner or later, he would be able to flexibly control his own shadow.

And when that time came, the shadow... would become his unexpected weapon!

"I hope that day comes soon." Xu Qing took a deep breath, rubbed his aching forehead, and returned to the room to sit cross-legged and meditate.

It wasn't until dawn that he recovered half of his strength, his expression somewhat listless.

Forcing himself to perk up, he changed into a slightly larger set of old clothes and hurried to Master Bai's tent.

Chen Feiyuan was not there, and Master Bai hadn't arrived yet. Only Ting Yu was there reciting the Pharmacopoeia. After seeing Xu Qing arrive, she casually raised her hand to greet him and continued reciting.

It had been like this for a while. Xu Qing had heard from Ting Yu that among the boys and girls who came from outside a while ago, there were friends of Chen Feiyuan, so he often asked for leave to go play.

And Master Bai didn't know what he was busy with during this time; he would arrive a bit later every day and leave quickly after finishing the lesson.

After Xu Qing nodded and sat aside, taking out his bamboo slips to silently review yesterday's homework, Ting Yu, who had greeted him and lowered her head, suddenly looked up again and looked at Xu Qing suspiciously.

"Why do I feel like there are some changes in you?"

Xu Qing didn't look up and continued to review.

Ting Yu's bright eyes widened, and she examined him carefully.

Soon Master Bai arrived, so she had to give up, but during the lesson that day, she swept her gaze over Xu Qing many times.

If it had been any other day, Master Bai would have been strict, but today he seemed to have something on his mind, and after scolding a few words, he didn't pay any more attention.

Until the lesson was finished and the content for tomorrow's assessment was assigned, Master Bai left in a hurry.

After the teacher left, Xu Qing stood up and was about to leave when Ting Yu's body swayed, and she blocked the door directly.

Xu Qing frowned slightly and looked at Ting Yu.

Ting Yu also raised her head without showing weakness. On her beautiful and refined little face, her star-and-moon-like big eyes stared at Xu Qing, her beautiful eyes scanning his height and face, and she said in a daze.

"I know, you've grown taller."

"Yeah." Xu Qing nodded and bypassed Ting Yu, wanting to leave, but Ting Yu's body swayed, blocking him again, her eyes as bright as stars filled with some curiosity.

"Little kid, your face is dirty every day, I don't even know what you look like. Today you've changed again. No, I have to wipe it for you and see what you actually look like."

Ting Yu said, taking out a handkerchief, and was about to take action.

Xu Qing resisted, and just as his body was about to retreat, Ting Yu snorted.

"Little kid, I helped you ask for leave, this is a favor!"

Xu Qing's movements paused, and taking advantage of the moment he paused, Ting Yu's body arrived instantly. The handkerchief in her hand was moistened with spiritual energy, and she wiped it lightly on Xu Qing's face.

The wiped cheek instantly revealed fair skin. Xu Qing felt impatient in his heart and was about to force his way out.

"Little kid, I am your senior sister!" Ting Yu shouted again, and the two words "senior sister" were clearly very heavy, causing Xu Qing's body to freeze involuntarily.

Ting Yu's eyes curved like crescent moons, hiding spiritual charm and cunning. This time her speed was faster, and she wiped back and forth on Xu Qing's face with the handkerchief.

Although Xu Qing felt strong resistance in his heart, the two words "senior sister" made him ultimately not dodge.

Just like that, as Ting Yu wiped, Xu Qing's face was slowly revealed.

And Ting Yu's movements also gradually slowed down, her eyes widening even more, staring blankly at Xu Qing's appearance. For some reason, sunshine appeared in her mind.

For the first time in six years, Xu Qing's face was clean, which made him extremely uncomfortable. Taking advantage of Ting Yu being dazed there, he immediately bypassed her and drilled out of the tent at high speed.

The sunlight shone on his face, and Xu Qing's discomfort became even more intense; he had a feeling of walking outside naked.

So he lowered his head, picked up some mud from the ground, and smeared it on his face. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief, feeling much more comfortable in his heart. He restored his coldness and walked toward the forbidden zone.

Until he left, Ting Yu in the tent let out a long breath and whispered.

"Yeah, he looks pretty good."

She said, subconsciously lifting the tent's door, looking at Xu Qing's receding back. Her elegant and spiritual little face was slightly red, and she looked around with her heart pounding like a deer.

"He looks much better than Chen Feiyuan. No, Chen Feiyuan can't compare to him at all."

Brothers and sisters, another three chapters updated, ten thousand words!

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