Chapter 10: Five-Year Wager (2)

Two streaks of spiritual light speeding through the air drew the attention of the cultivators on the square.

Judging by their speed, they are at least at Qi Refining Great Perfection.

In the Outer Sect of the Azure Moon Sect, Qi Refining Great Perfection is not rare; there are at least over a thousand.

What is rare is that a cultivator can fly so recklessly in the air.

"At least they possess a high-grade magical artifact!"

"They also need a lot of spirit stones!"

In front of the Assessment Hall's square, all the cultivators remained silent, yet silently analyzed in their hearts.

Some cultivators flashed a murderous look, but immediately concealed it.

They are not fools; they know who can be provoked and who cannot.

Wang Ping stood at the edge of the square, his eyes slightly narrowed as he gazed at the sky; he had a premonition that they were coming for him.

Moreover, in the air.

Wang Ke and Steward Yue sped through the air, rushing urgently toward the Assessment Hall.

Even now, Wang Ke's face still bore a trace of disbelief—how could that brat have broken through?

He is about to break through; what will become of my son?

The more Wang Ke thought about it, the angrier he grew, and in this situation his flight speed increased ever faster.

Steward Yue wore a look of helplessness; such ostentatious conduct was not his wish.

However, thinking of the thousand spirit stones in his pocket, he reluctantly agreed.

Burning with rage, Wang Ke's speed was great; in just three quarter-hours he had flown a hundred li, and a mountain shaped like a palm came into view.

Heaven Palm Peak is said to have been formed when an ancient cultivator casually unleashed a great divine ability during a primordial war.

The square before the Assessment Hall lies at the palm's center, extending outward, where five straight heavenly pillars pierce the clouds.

At a glance, they appear like five sharp swords piercing the firmament.

Unlike other towering, majestic peaks, Heaven Palm Peak exudes a strong sharp aura.

Those with low cultivation merely glance at it and feel fear arise.

On Heaven Palm Peak there is not only the Assessment Hall, but also the Punishment Hall that oversees sect rules and discipline.

Even though Wang Ke's heart was filled with rage, upon seeing Heaven Palm Peak again he slowed his speed.

Behind him, Steward Yue let out a slight sigh, thinking: Wang Ke still has some sense; if he truly flew so recklessly toward Heaven Palm Peak, I would never accompany him in such madness.

Outsiders may not know, but we stewards certainly do: seated atop Heaven Palm Peak is a Foundation Establishment cultivator who has initially unlocked the Gate of Longevity.

Who would dare cause havoc here?

When he came within ten li of Heaven Palm Peak, his speed had already decreased.

However, as soon as he landed, he prepared to walk toward the Assessment Hall.

Just as he lifted his leg, he suddenly felt something and instantly turned his head to look back.

Wang Ping!

At that moment, the feeling gave him a sense of turning back abruptly, yet that person was at the edge of the square.

As a Qi Refining Great Perfection cultivator, his spiritual sense was already evolving into divine sense; with a casual sweep, indeed the brat's spiritual power surged throughout his body, fluctuating, and his spiritual power was unusually pure.

This matches the phenomenon of a recent breakthrough; his unusually pure spiritual power is obviously due to his Spirit Eye.

Damn it!

Just a bit short.

Wang Ke seethed inwardly; from the fluctuations of his spiritual power, he could see that Wang Ping's breakthrough to Qi Refining Mid-stage had occurred just these past two days.

Wang Ping was also somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected his Third Uncle Wang to track him down here.

Seeing him stride over, Wang Ping's face showed a hint of a strange expression; he wouldn't still want me to return to the family, would he!

"Little Ping, how about returning to the family with me?"

Wang Ke, who had approached, said in a low voice.

Tch!

Wang Ping nearly laughed in anger; could this Third Uncle Wang have cultivated his mind into ruin?

However, Wang Ping also did not want to entangle further; he immediately shook his head and replied, "Third Uncle, I, your junior nephew, have already broken through to Qi Refining Mid-stage, and I have won our original wager."

Wang Ke, seeing this, said again: "Little Ping, how did you break through? Third Uncle already knows; now you relied on luck to transfer your Spirit Eye breakthrough—what about later, the late stage, Great Perfection?"

"How do you break through these realms?"

"Heed my advice, Uncle, and return home with me; Uncle also knows you're not exactly willing now, but if you come home with me, I guarantee you'll reach Qi Refining Late-stage within twenty years—how about that?"

Ha!

Do you take me for a three‑year‑old?

You still guarantee I'll reach Qi Refining Stage in twenty years—thanks a lot; do you believe or not that I'll break through to Qi Refining Late‑stage in three years?

Having no interest in arguing with Wang Ke's ink stains, he still needed to go to the Mission Hall to accept a task.

"Wang Ping! Do you truly intend to oppose the family?" Seeing Wang Ping unmoved by bribes, Wang Ke immediately issued a low‑voiced threat.

Hearing this, Wang Ping responded with a half‑smile:

"Third Uncle, am I opposing the family, or am I opposing you?"

"You?"

Wang Ke seethed; all his life, besides the Founding Ancestor, no one had dared speak to him like that.

Now a family junior with a low‑grade spiritual root, having merely broken through to Qi Refining Mid‑stage, dares to show off before him.

Gazing at Wang Ping's retreating back, Wang Ke's expression fluctuated between cloudy and clear; in the end he said nothing, turned, and shot up into the sky.

In the Azure Moon Sect he truly could not get aroused; Steward Yue saw this, shook his head slightly, and muttered that Wang Ke's survival to this day is merely thanks to good rebirth.

Look at that Wang Ping—he's the kind of person who can survive in the cultivation world.

Even when faced with his uncle's pressure, he stays remarkably calm; this endurance skill is truly impressive.

In the cultivation world, where the strong devour the weak, those who merely compete aggressively and show off rarely live long.

Back then, many of his peers were considered heaven‑chosen prodigies.

They were so arrogant back then that, with just a three‑person team, they planned to wipe out a demon sect's outpost.

First they were ambushed by a poisonous group, their strength plummeted; then ten mid‑Qi Refining cultivators surrounded them, and in only ten rounds the three top‑grade spiritual‑root genius cultivators were slain.

They must have regretted it bitterly before death.

Yueyang has survived to this day, possessing full Qi Refining cultivation and serving as one of the outer sect's ten chief stewards, all thanks to his lifelong caution.

After so many years, he has realized a truth: the cultivation world never lacks geniuses, only strong individuals.

Seeing this disciple named Wang Ping today inevitably reminded Yueyang of the past.

After standing there a while, Yueyang also took flight on his magical implement.

He decided that if he ever met this disciple named Wang Ping again, it would be worth making friends.

Wang Ping, descending the mountain, watched the spiritual light fly away in the sky, a faint smile on his lips; his plan succeeded, and henceforth the heavens were high and the sea wide, with no further restraints.

He had long expected that his cheap third uncle would come to the sect looking for him, so he arrived a day early at the Examination Hall to undergo the assessment and told the sect his fabricated reason.

Speaking of which, the inspiration for that excuse still came from that earlier transaction.

Once, while browsing some miscellaneous notes, he learned about Spirit Eye Transfer; the description there invigorated Wang Ping.

It didn't know where else Spirit Eye Transfer could be found.

But he could manufacture it!

His internal spirit energy is extremely pure; by continually diluting it to a certain degree, he can simulate the level of spirit energy absorbed from a third‑grade spirit vein.

To produce these impure spirit forces, Wang Ping had to absorb some miscellaneous qi, lowering its purity.

The result is naturally excellent, though it now feels extremely uncomfortable.

His current feeling is like a clean‑bodied person putting on a dirty garment.

Although uncomfortable, Wang Ping can only endure it; he must wait a while before he can expel it from his dantian.

Back then, these strands of spirit power could fetch a good price—at least fifty spirit stones, surely.

In the cultivation world, besides taking elixirs and painstaking effort, using pure spirit energy to charge the pass is another method.

Moreover, this method is far superior to using elixirs to charge the pass, and after breaking through one's own spirit energy becomes even purer.

Those few strands of spirit energy on Wang Ping are impurities to him, but to others they are undoubtedly the utmost pure heaven‑earth spirit energy.

The mountain path was rugged and hard to walk, yet Wang Ping trod it as if on level ground, his steps steady; after walking so long, his face didn't flush and his heart didn't race.

"The Diamond Body indeed has its secrets!"

Wang Ping secretly thought that, over the two years, unable to cultivate Qi Refining, he devoted most of his mind and spirit to body refinement.

Surprisingly, his talent for Qi Refining is mediocre, but in body refinement he seems quite gifted.

With the pure spirit liquid inside the silver‑white block, he managed within two years to push his body‑refinement cultivation to the Iron Body stage.

Moreover, since he always trained with pure spirit energy, his Iron Body seems different from what is described on the jade slip.

It appears stronger and tougher.

Although Wang Ping's current body is frail, it possesses tremendous explosive power and astonishing defensive ability.

After breaking through to Iron Body, he once hurled a 200‑jin boulder ten meters away in a single throw.

He casually picked up a ten‑jin lump of iron and struck his arm with it, leaving only a white mark.

This is merely the effect of early‑stage Iron Body; after he used up the spirit liquid, his Iron Body had already progressed to the middle stage.

Now he isn't quite sure how much force this body can unleash; thinking about it, he involuntarily turned his gaze to the long sword in his hand.

He mused to himself: "I don't know whether my present body can withstand an attack from a rudimentary magical implement."

In the end, Wang Ping suppressed the urge; with many people and mixed eyes around, it's better not to try.

His body‑refinement cultivation is meant to be a hidden trump card; it's best not to expose it.

Over the two years, besides practicing body refinement, he also painstakingly studied the introductory artifact‑refining guide that Ling Ruoxian had given him.

He has memorized the contents of the jade slip backwards and forwards; he just lacks experience.

Now he intends to go to the Spirit Excellence Peak Mission Hall to see if there are any openings for artifact‑refining apprentices, take one, and turn theory into practice.

Next time he enters the Spirit Realm, he will bring back the fragments there to forge into magical implements.

He wouldn't trust anyone else to craft such items; it's better to do it himself.

After displaying his mid‑Qi Refining cultivation, the number of tasks Wang Ping could accept suddenly increased.

Had he still been at the early Qi Refining stage, he wouldn't even have qualified to see such tasks.

Spirit Excellence Peak borders Azure Spirit Peak, which houses the Hidden Merit Pavilion; together their scenery ranks first among the outer sect of Azure Cloud Sect.

Upon entering the territory of Spirit Excellence Peak, a mountain shaped like a celestial crane came into view.

Within the peak, strange flowers and exotic grasses spread everywhere, while the reclaimed spirit fields were laid out in terraces.

In every spirit field, sparkles of spirit light flickered; the light within the fields stretched continuously, making Spirit Excellence Peak appear even more lush and luminous, brimming with immortal energy.

Wang Ping, seeing this, couldn't help but sigh: "This is what a cultivation mansion ought to be; my Emerald Bamboo Peak has nothing but a mountain of bamboo."