Chapter 847: All Preparations Complete

PENG!

Sparks flew.

The flame flickered faintly, drawing near the lamp, following the blue smoke downward to ignite the wick.

Light splashed outward, revealing Liang Qu's face; he pulled the fire rope, snuffing out the fuse.

It was a hollow copper tube, with a rotating flint wheel fixed to one side; inside was packed an oil-soaked cotton rope. When igniting, pulling the rope triggered the flint, instantly setting the entire oil-soaked rope alight. When not in use, pulling the rope back into the tube compressed it and extinguished the flame—its portability was nearly identical to a lighter.

Placed on the desk.

Liang Qu gulped down a liter of water to quench his thirst, leaned against the wall, closed his eyes to rest, and rubbed his temples.

Tired.

The final 【Chuanzhu Zhan Jiao】 had utterly drained his essence, spirit, and vigor; fortunately, his internal blood and qi replenished his spirit, greatly alleviating the discomfort.

Long while.

Liang Qu, having regained some spirit, exhaled a turbid breath, slowly opened his eyes, and two beams of divine light shot forth.

【The River Lord's Favor has elevated me to the Fourth Level of Divine Martial Art, quadrupling my martial talent and increasing damage against water-affinity beasts by forty percent.】

【The Divine Lord Seal has undergone slight transformation.】

【The Golden Eye has undergone slight transformation.】

【Consumed four spiritual fish; can elevate Favor: Divine Martial Art Fourth Level.】

Pupils melted gold.

The world changed utterly.

In the dark meditation chamber, the flame flickered, yet instead of illuminating the vermilion desk, it was swallowed by a hazy pallor.

Beneath the desk, darkness reigned—even darker than before the lamp was lit.

He glanced around.

Bookshelves, cushions, walls, floor…

Black and white.

Heaven and earth held only these two colors.

No.

Except himself.

Liang Qu extended his hand.

A jarring color burst into view, like a splash of color intruding into a black-and-white film.

Exceedingly vivid.

He observed for a long while.

His gaze returned to the lamp; within his Golden Eye, molten lava seemed to flow—until, in an instant, his body grew weak, his strength plummeted like a cliff, and countless lines trembled and twisted in the pale and dark, never ceasing to change.

He concentrated his will, as if becoming a scalpel capable of severing lines, precisely slicing the thinnest thread of the lamp's form.

SNAP!

The black line snapped, twisted, collapsed, recoiling like a rubber band.

The three-foot-tall lampstand, as if cleaved by an invisible blade, severed at the waist; lamp oil spilled across the floor, blazing fiercely.

Drip.

Drip.

A tear, murky, fell.

Liang Qu's eyes burned and ached; tears forced open his closed lids, cascading down, his entire body muscles stiff and powerless. He gestured to control water, extinguishing the flames, then reached to tug the long rope on the wall.

Ding ling ling.

The bell rang.

"Ah, Elder!" Long Li heard the bell, set down the spiritual robe, "Must be time to change the incense burner—I'll prepare the incense stamp!"

Long Yao lagged half a beat: "I'll pour the tea!"

CREAK!

The door half-opened.

Long Li whispered: "Elder? We heard the bell."

"Mm. I rang it."

A voice came out.

Long Li carried the incense burner, Long Yao held the teapot; they entered one after the other, then saw the meditation chamber in utter disarray—the copper lamp severed at the waist, golden lamp oil mixed with water stains pooling everywhere.

They were not surprised.

Verifying gains, after all.

Cultivation inevitably involves such things.

The meditation chamber in Pingyang Mansion had been overhauled more than once, yet when they saw Liang Qu, Long Yao and Long Li still jumped—Liang Qu looked as if pulled from water, drenched, eyes bloodshot, tears streaming endlessly.

Long Yao hesitated: "Elder… are you thinking of your mother?"

"Don't talk nonsense!" Liang Qu, meditating with eyes closed, flushed awkwardly, opened his bloodshot eyes, "It's from practicing the eye technique."

"Oh." Long Yao understood.

Long Li comforted: "Elder, no need to rush—the Emperor said twenty-two, still over a year away."

"Perfect, I've just finished cultivating." Liang Qu rubbed his brow, inhaled deeply of the incense to refresh his mind, and waved his hand, "First, clean the room, replace the lamp, then bring a basin of warm water—I need to wash my face."

"Yes!"

The two moved swiftly.

Liang Qu sipped tea to moisten his throat, wiped his face clean of tears, a sudden insight flashed—he activated his Golden Eye again, gazing at Long Yao and Long Li.

Compared to the black-and-white world, the two had faint hues—pale cherry-pink lips, pale apricot-yellow faces, extremely weak, extremely light, so faint as to be nearly imperceptible; without the eye technique, one might never distinguish them.

He realized something.

He stepped out of the meditation chamber.

Circling halfway down the corridor, he gazed at Long Long Eying in the hall—vivid, incredibly vivid, like a burst of orange, radiant fire emerging from darkness; beside her, Xu Shi's color was three shades paler than Long Yao and Long Li, nearly colorless.

Liang Qu held out his palm before him, comparing repeatedly—Long Long Eying's luster and texture were three shades more vivid than his own.

If his natural color was baseline, Long Long Eying's was that baseline with slightly increased saturation.

"Long Binglin!"

Long Long Binglin appeared in a flash: "My lord?"

Liang Qu's Golden Eye fixed on Long Long Binglin—his color intensity was weaker than Long Long Eying's, yet slightly stronger than his own.

"So that's it… so that's it…"

He understood completely.

The so-called Golden Eye transformation.

From now on, anything more vivid than himself must be treated with caution—the more vivid, the more dangerous its power!

Long Long Eying was stronger than Long Long Binglin; after all, she had entered the Grand Master realm over a year earlier, possessed two Great Pills and one Great Elixir, and had her bloodline shackles removed with two hundred thousand essence points—so her color "saturation" being higher than Long Long Binglin's was entirely logical.

In the black-and-white world, the depth of color was a simple indicator of strength, with Liang Qu's own hue as the baseline.

If he transformed into Bai Yuan, Long Long Binglin's color would shift accordingly, becoming paler than his.

Building upon this black-and-white foundation, further activation would allow Liang Qu to enter the second divine technique, 【Divine Lord Seal】, the state he entered during 【Chuanzhu Zhan Jiao】, shifting from "black-and-white ink" to "ink sketch," perceiving deeper layers of essence.

Fine-line brushwork was the manifestation of essence.

Just now, Liang Qu used his spear intent to sever the black lines—equivalent to severing the lamp with pure will alone!

Had he used his hand, or Qinglang, or Dragon Fubo instead of will, it would not have been so taxing.

Liang Qu felt joy within.

The Tiger Hunt used will to kill others by extreme life pressure, reducing ordinary people to trembling rabbits with shattered courage—but no matter how intense the pressure, it could not shake an inanimate object!

A difference in quality!

The 【Chuanzhu Zhan Jiao】 imprinted in the 【Divine Lord Seal】 was no longer a simple fixed slash—it had become Liang Qu's state of realm!

"Congratulations, my lord, another breakthrough!"

Long Long Binglin, seeing Liang Qu's pleased expression, knew he had summoned him to verify something.

"Through chance and circumstance, I've gained more skill and certainty."

Certainty?

Long Yao and Long Li caught the implication: "So is the Elder going to enter seclusion for advancement?"

"Clever!"

Liang Qu praised.

The wolf smoke entering the Tiger Hunt's altar had granted him much—not only had it unlocked the Xuan Light, but his martial arts had advanced, saving him at least a year of detours.

In the Fourth Level of River Lord's Favor, his battle with the great beast had fully absorbed the Yan Yan Dongjun Spear Art gained from the altar, fusing it with his former Green Dragon Seven Kill Spear—great progress!

Now, with an additional boost to martial talent.

Just waiting for the cultivation chamber.

Strike with full readiness!

As soon as he spoke,

Everyone rejoiced.

Liang Qu strong meant the Long Clan strong!

Xu Shi was especially moved, her gaze toward Liang Qu filled with emotion, nearly bringing tears to her eyes.

From town to prefecture, from local to illustrious.

In the blink of an eye.

In a moment of dozing off.

That little boy once, truly rose to a height beyond reach.

How utterly unexpected.

"Madam?"

"It's nothing," Xu Xu Shila pressed her handkerchief to wipe her tearful eyes.

Liang Qu turned back deliberately to scold: "How is there still dust in the room? Long Yao, Long Li, did you two slack off? How dare you make Madam's eyes sting?"

"What?! We cleaned it spotless!"

The embroidered handkerchief was snatched away.

"Brat, now you've grown wings and dare to tease your elders?"

"Madam, you're wronging me—I'd never dare! Huh?"

Liang Qu's peripheral vision caught the treasure box on the table,

"That treasure box… has the Spirit Robe arrived?"

(End of Chapter)