Time flowed like a river, and in the blink of an eye, two years had passed.
Old Mo ran himself ragged, while Li Xunhuan raked in the cash.
Spells, magical artifacts, Martial Dao, Knowledge, secret techniques—
As the saying goes, while my neighbors stockpile grain, I stockpile guns. My neighbors are my granary.
To avoid becoming someone else’s granary, Li Xunhuan diligently cultivated and handled his guns every day.
If his Qi Refining cultivation had stagnated, he would practice martial arts and study spells.
He had mastered the basic spells of the Mortal World.
He had not neglected spells from other Worlds, either.
Of course, most important of all was his progress in Martial Dao.
Soaring Heaven Treading Waves, from *Song of the Youthful Melody*.
After practicing it, Li Xunhuan found it remarkably effective—worthy of its name.
Soaring Heaven meant taking off into the air and heading straight for the clouds. It was exactly the same as flying on a magical artifact during the Qi Refining Stage.
Treading Waves meant crossing a river on a reed with ease, standing in midair, and dashing across the water.
Likewise, Wind God Leg truly lived up to its High Martial Arts origins. Stepping on one’s own foot to spin nine times in midair was no difficult feat.
Most importantly, this was a combat leg technique.
It could attack from afar with gang qi, or suddenly close the distance and strike like an assassin. That was all in a day’s work.
Paired with the Swimming Dragon Sword Technique, which could break spells, it was remarkably effective.
He could hardly imagine what it would look like when his opponent was still locking onto him with divine sense, but he had already rushed right up to them.
Besides these, he had also mastered the basic weapons—Little Li’s Flying Dagger, the eighteen traditional weapons, Unorthodox Weapons, and the techniques for wielding them.
The only pity was that he had no magical artifacts above high-grade.
That was only natural. High-grade magical artifacts were forged from Foundation Establishment and Second Tier materials; they were beyond anything a qi refining cultivator could match.
In the Mortal World, even for rogue cultivators, high-grade magical artifacts were hard to come by.
Take Qingwen Daoist, whom he knew well. With Ninth Layer of Qi Refining cultivation, on the surface he had only one high-grade magical artifact:
a fly-whisk.
Of course, what he had hidden away was anyone’s guess.
After all, everyone in the Mortal World was a schemer. Keeping a trump card hidden was only natural.
..
That evening was the agreed-upon day to hand over the monthly protection money.
For once, Li Xunhuan was not cultivating. Beneath the pavilion, dressed all in white, he drank wine and played the qin.
The wineskin came from another World, made from a Special Spirit Plant.
It was not a magical artifact, and on the outside it looked no different from an ordinary wineskin. Inside, however, it contained a cave heaven.
It had a large capacity and could hold a thousand catties of wine.
It could only hold liquids, though.
The wine itself was no ordinary brew, either. It was called Bone-Strengthening Wine.
He could not find a suitable Body-Refining Technique.
So Li Xunhuan found something to nourish himself with.
It was remarkably effective.
His strength in one hand reached five hundred catties, though it did not show on the outside.
【Clang, clang!】
The qin’s lingering notes curled around the beams and did not fade for a long time.
It was only the simple piece “High Mountains and Flowing Water.”
Nothing valuable.
At that moment, Qingwen Daoist arrived from Ox-Crouching Mountain and stopped outside Li Garden.
He had come in anger, but at the sound of the music, he paused.
Scholars were versed in the qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
This Li Xunhuan was not only a child, but also a scholar who had read widely.
A person like that surely disdained doing anything underhanded.
It seemed he, Qingwen Daoist, had wronged Li Xunhuan. The tribute from Jiayuan City had certainly not decreased because of him.
He was a Daoist and half a scholar himself, and had his own refinement.
So, without announcing himself, he flew straight onto the roof.
Meanwhile, Li Xunhuan was also a Fourth Layer of Qi Refining cultivator. His divine sense had formed, and since Qingwen Daoist was not concealing himself, Li Xunhuan naturally sensed his arrival.
But he did not greet him right away.
Thinking of how he had lined his own pockets and split the take with the Yue Emperor, three parts to seven, Li Xunhuan could not help blushing.
To cover it up with a mix of truth and lies, he began performing martial arts on the spot.
He slapped the stone table, sending the qin flying.
He struck it with his palm, sending it farther away, then leaped backward and caught up with it, catching it in midair.
He swept it in a circle over his head to dissipate the force. The qin was already in his arms, and he plucked a few notes as though playing a guitar.
Li Xunhuan tossed it back. It landed exactly where it had been before.
“Excellent!”
Qingwen Daoist could see that Li Xunhuan’s control had reached the pinnacle.
He praised him not only because Li Xunhuan looked impressive, but also because he saw that Li Xunhuan’s cultivation remained at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining.
His guess had been right. Li Xunhuan had not skimmed anything off the top; otherwise, his cultivation would have reached at least the fifth layer.
As a fellow three-element spiritual root cultivator, he understood.
Of course, he also felt a little superior. Back when he broke through from the fourth to the fifth layer, it had taken him only two years. Li Xunhuan still showed no sign of breaking through.
He really was quite impressive.
Thinking this, he stroked his beard, feeling pleased. He jumped down from the roof and approached Li Xunhuan, about to speak.
Then another accident occurred.
Li Xunhuan brushed his hand over his storage bag, and a bamboo staff appeared in it?
After a flourish of sword flourishes, he slashed, chopped, raised, and thrust.
His movement technique shifted between parallel stance, horse stance, and crossed steps.
His sword techniques were fierce, his steps swift.
Plum blossoms scattered down like rain.
Seeing this scene, Qingwen Daoist had to praise Lord City Lord: he truly was Jiayuan City’s Most Handsome Man.
But they were cultivators! What did it matter if someone perfected Mortal sword techniques?
Just then, Li Xunhuan bent backward and drank some wine.
With his other hand, he pointed the bamboo tube at Qingwen Daoist.
The hilt and half the blade of an ancient-looking long sword emerged from it.
It was none other than a low-grade magical artifact, the Azure Edge Sword.
A strand of Qingwen Daoist’s beard fell as he suddenly understood.
Li Xunhuan’s real intention was not the wine; he was showing off his low-grade magical artifact to him.
Look at this poor child, showing off a low-grade magical artifact as if it were a treasure.
It must have been hard on him.
Could he really be unfamiliar even with the object-control technique?
Honestly, he was going to such lengths for the Black Fiend Sect.
If he could bear to part with it, he would surely give his fly-whisk to the City Lord.
From then on, he no longer suspected Li Xunhuan at all.
On the contrary, he wanted to do something for Li Xunhuan. There were not many people so simple and sincere in this day and age.
Li Xunhuan had no idea Qingwen Daoist had imagined so much. Who could have guessed that he was merely hiding his true ability, while someone had already invented a whole story about him devoting himself heart and soul to the Black Fiend Sect?
He was only a City Lord, not a prime minister.
After showing off the Clear Breeze Sword, Li Xunhuan put it away, then smiled and gestured toward the pavilion with one hand.
“Daoist, please.”
“Very well, very well. Lord City Lord, please.”
Qingwen Daoist was in high spirits. Stroking his beard, he was even more pleased with Li Xunhuan.
Unlike the others, who were all brainless, uncultured louts.
It was shameful to be associated with them.
The two went to the pavilion, where a wine jug had already been prepared.
Li Xunhuan took the initiative and poured Qingwen Daoist a drink. It was ordinary wine from Jiayuan City.
Then he placed eight storage bags on the table.
“Daoist, these are the goods collected in Jiayuan City this month. Please accept them.”
Qingwen Daoist swept his hand, and the storage bags flew through the air to land at his waist, promoting him to Nine-Bag Elder.
He did not inspect them. He already knew the state of Jiayuan City over the past two years. Instead, he brought up something else.
“Xunhuan, your cultivation?”
A hint of amusement passed through Li Xunhuan’s heart. It seemed his performance had been a success.
That made sense.
It was not that Daoist Qingwen could not count; it was simply difficult for people to understand what lay beyond their own knowledge.
Take sword techniques, for example. They looked like ordinary sword techniques on the surface, but were actually Qi Refining Stage sword techniques.
One cannot discuss ice with a summer insect.
He acted unconcerned, though his eyes held eighty percent struggle, ten percent pain, and ten percent helplessness.
“Daoist, cultivation is too difficult.”
Daoist Qingwen deeply related to those words.
Cultivation was difficult, and it was even harder for rogue cultivators—harder than ascending to the heavens.
For a moment, his expression turned despondent as well.
After a long while, he studied Li Xunhuan, wanting to help this junior.
“Do you know the Yu Family?”