Chapter 149: Qiu Mingzi’s Austere Poverty

The rain kept falling, and Zhou Shitong was still being beaten.

Everyone stood in stunned confusion beneath the wind.

Only when Zhou Shitong began crying and begging for mercy did Qingxi finally lower his staff.

The outcome of the battle had never been in doubt.

The number one on the New Star Rankings had been beaten without the slightest power to fight back.

Though most people found it utterly unbelievable, Qingxi had indeed defeated Zhou Shitong with overwhelming force and dominance, becoming the undisputed number one of the New Star Rankings.

As one of the very few people present who knew Zhou Shitong’s true identity, Ye Wuyou was even more astonished.

In his eyes, Zhou Shitong was somewhat stronger than he himself had been in his youth.

Yet such an extraordinary young prodigy was no match for Qingxi.

Could it be that those great figures from the Outer Territories had once again planted their favored disciples in the Yunchuan Prefecture, treating the local prodigies as whetstones?

After pondering for a moment, Ye Wuyou decided that this possibility was highly likely.

Otherwise, how could a boy of barely a dozen years possess such astonishing strength?

As the person present with the highest cultivation, Ye Wuyou had seen the situation most clearly. Zhou Shitong had absolutely not been holding back on purpose. Rather, he had been restrained by some invisible force and thus defeated by Qingxi.

In Ye Wuyou’s view, it had certainly been some formidable secret art.

“I must report this to the sect master and let him decide. For now, this boy named Qingxi is not someone we can afford to provoke.”

With that thought, Ye Wuyou cleared his throat and called out, “The extraterrestrial fiends have retreated. Everyone, make haste and clean up the battlefield, lest they launch another attack.”

“Yes!”

The experts from the various great powers nodded one after another.

Qingxi withdrew his spatial power and reunited with Xia Dang, Lin Feng, and the others.

Freed from his restraints, Zhou Shitong fell backward onto the ground, his entire body trembling.

He had believed that he was invincible among the younger generation of Yunchuan Prefecture and could return to his ancestral land bearing supreme glory, becoming the pride of his clan.

Who could have imagined that he would encounter such a terrifying opponent today?

He secretly swore that he would never return until he had defeated Qingxi!

With that resolve in his heart, Zhou Shitong sprang to his feet.

His face flushed scarlet as he nodded toward Ye Wuyou, then turned and left without hesitation.

He had suffered too humiliating a defeat today to remain there any longer.

Qingxi did not help clean the battlefield. In his view, there was no need.

“Oh? That’s strange. Why have all the core crystals of these fiends disappeared?”

“Same here. I can’t find even a single one. How infuriating!”

“Damn it, some shameless bastard must have taken advantage of the chaos to pick them up.”

The crowd cursed and grumbled.

When Longma heard this, its breathing nearly stopped. Even so, it followed Qingxi’s instructions and maintained an air of elegance and composure.

As for the crowd’s complaints, Qingxi remained perfectly calm, as though none of it had anything to do with him.

After all, it had been Longma and the Little Vajra Ape who had done the work!

He had merely been the one to give the order.

With that thought, Qingxi looked toward the Little Vajra Ape perched atop Longma’s head.

A storage bracelet had been fastened around the little fellow’s plump, round waist.

Qingxi reached out and took it.

When his consciousness entered the bracelet and he discovered more than two hundred fiend core crystals inside, the corners of his mouth rose slightly. He nearly lost control of himself.

...

By the time the rain stopped, everyone had finished cleaning the battlefield.

Through the opening created by the leyline formation, they entered the mountain gate of the Spirit Medicine Sect.

As the foremost of the Southern Region’s three great powers, the Spirit Medicine Sect did not occupy a particularly large territory—only about ten miles across, or roughly five thousand meters.

Deep beneath this area, however, lay a medium-grade leyline. It filled the sect grounds with dense spiritual energy, making them scarcely inferior to the territories of the three two-star powers.

The mountains and fields were covered with every manner of spirit herb. Their fragrance swept over them, intoxicating all who breathed it in.

Qingxi gazed upon the scene with envy.

Following the old sect master, Xia Yan, everyone entered a vast and spacious hall, where Ye Wuyou began summarizing the gains from that day’s battle.

Qingxi took the opportunity to ask Qiu Yingying about the situation.

Apparently, about three days earlier, the fiends of the Southern Region had gathered their forces and launched an all-out assault on the Spirit Medicine Sect.

On the first day, the Spirit Medicine Sect had burned five thousand low-grade spirit stones to strengthen the leyline formation, only barely managing to repel the attack.

Afterward, the various powers of the Eastern and Southern Regions arrived to provide aid. With Ye Wuyou’s appearance as well, they had finally driven back the fiend army.

Over the following days, the extraterrestrial fiends attacked at least twice every day, placing tremendous pressure on the Spirit Medicine Sect.

After hearing Qiu Yingying’s account, Qingxi was deeply puzzled.

With the strength the Spirit Medicine Sect had currently assembled, it was entirely capable of holding the line. Why, then, did the extraterrestrial fiends continue attacking several times a day?

Were they not simply throwing their lives away?

Could they be trying to exhaust the formation’s power?

But the leyline formation drew its primary strength from the medium-grade leyline beneath the ground and relied upon the power of the surrounding mountains and terrain. Although it could be shattered by overwhelming force, its energy would never simply be depleted.

A leyline could communicate directly with the origin of the world, making its power inexhaustible.

The difference lay in the grade of the leyline, which determined the speed and density at which it released spiritual energy.

The extraterrestrial fiends could not possibly be unaware of this.

“Could it be that the extraterrestrial fiends have another purpose in attacking the Spirit Medicine Sect?”

Qingxi fell into deep thought.

Before long, the summary meeting reached its latter half.

Ye Wuyou publicly praised Qingxi, calling him invincible in battle and declaring that he possessed the bearing to become a king in the future.

Because of Xia Dang, the Spirit Medicine Sect’s old master, Xia Yan, also held Qingxi in high regard. He publicly rewarded him with a gourd of pills.

Qingxi wore an expression of modesty, but his hands honestly accepted the medicine.

“Actually, it is all thanks to our venerable sect master’s guidance.”

Compliments cost nothing, and Qingxi tossed them out without hesitation. But Qiu Mingzi, who had been praised before everyone, flushed with excitement.

Feeling the envious gazes of the other sect masters, Qiu Mingzi secretly basked in triumph.

Not long afterward, the gathering dispersed, and everyone went off to patrol the Spirit Medicine Sect.

“Qingxi, this is the cultivation manual for the Condensing Qi Formula, Spirit Adamant Chapter.”

Before leaving the main hall, Qiu Mingzi called Qingxi back and handed him an ancient book.

“I have observed that your talent is extraordinary. You have already reached the pinnacle of the Innate Realm in such a short time, so I imagine you will soon attempt to break into the Half-Step Spirit Adamant Realm.”

“Thank you, Sect Master!”

Qingxi was overjoyed.

One of his purposes in coming to the Southern Region had been to obtain this cultivation manual.

Now that the sect master had taken the initiative to give it to him, it was an unexpected delight.

“By the way, Sect Master... do you happen to have any adamant stones to spare?”

“No. I used them all up long ago.”

Qiu Mingzi shook his head like a rattle drum.

Used them all up?

Was the sect truly this impoverished?

Qingxi complained inwardly, rendered utterly speechless.

No wonder the Spirit Origin Sect had failed to produce even one Half-Step Spirit Adamant cultivator after all these years. It turned out the problem lay with the adamant stones.

“Big brother, I have some adamant stones. I’ll give you a few to play with later.”

Xia Dang chuckled.

Upon hearing this, Qiu Mingzi inexplicably felt a sharp ache in his nose.

Qingxi cast an awkward glance at Qiu Mingzi. Seeing the sect master avoiding his gaze, he could not help shaking his head inwardly. Perhaps this was simply the difference between sects.

“Once the fiends have been driven away, I should distribute some of my wealth as well. If things continue like this, the Spirit Origin Sect may soon be unable to make ends meet.”

After bidding farewell to Qiu Mingzi, Qingxi left with Xia Dang.

Lin Feng, meanwhile, was kept behind by Qiu Mingzi. Master and disciple intended to have a heart-to-heart talk and strengthen their bond.

As for Qiu Yingying, she had grown quite close to Mu Yue and Wang Shuiling during this period. The moment the meeting ended, she disappeared to who knew where.

Before long, Qingxi arrived at a secluded little courtyard.

This was Xia Dang’s residence.

Yet the instant they pushed open the door and stepped inside, a red figure flashed past the entrance and appeared before Xia Dang. A slender, jade-like hand swiftly seized him by the ear and gave it a full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree Thomas rotation.

“Hiss!”

Xia Dang sucked in a breath of cold air. That long-lost terror of being completely dominated came rushing back into his heart.