Chapter 143: A Quantum Leap in Soul Strength
The Tianji Pigeon flew faster and faster as the bird took in the Spirit Qi on Lake Island.
Its white feathers looked like they were carved out of white jade.
Capital city.
In the teahouse in a narrow alleyway…
The pretty woman Qianqian, who had been pacing back and forth in the teahouse for hours, finally saw the Tianji Pigeon flew in straight from Beiluo City.
Holding the white-feathered Tianji Pigeon in her hands, the pretty woman took a closer look at it in surprise, her long eyelashes slightly vibrating.
She always felt this white pigeon was better-looking than those she had in her attic.
However, without giving it too much thought, Qianqian untied the letter from the pigeon’s leg.
Unfolding the letter, she smelled blood.
“They lost?”
“Even four philosophers fighting together couldn’t defeat Lu Ping’an… The old era has really ended.”
The pretty woman Qianqian let out a sigh.
Since the result she had been expecting had come out, she suddenly lost motive and went weak.
She flopped into the chair.
She went to the attic at the top of the teahouse after taking a sip of her tea. She commanded her subordinates to write down the news on more pieces of paper to spread it far and wide.
The era of the Hundred Schools of Philosophy had come to an end.
A new era that belonged to White Jade City’s cultivators had just begun.
******
Capital city.
Deep in the Zijin Palace.
Yuwen Xiu was leaning on the back of the Dragon Throne. Down there, the old eunuch read the news to him slowly.
“They lost?”
“We’re not surprised. Lu Ping’an is unfathomable. No one knows how strong he really is as of yet.”
“Our goal was to restore Great Zhou’s glory and dismiss the Hundred Schools. However, before we can achieve that, the era of the Hundred Schools of Philosophy has already ended.”
Sitting in the Dragon Throne, Yuwen Xiu was playing with a jade dragon statue.
Some skilled craftsman had carved this jade dragon statue on Yuwen Xiu’s orders. It was modelled after the black jiao dragon. He would play with it whenever his hands were free.
“It’s an emotional moment. An era has ended. What a pity, and it’s also sad… Just like the collapse of a dynasty. We don’t want to be erased from the world like the Hundred Schools of Philosophy.”
“That’s why we need to train cultivators. Cultivators will be the main force in the near future!”
Yuwen Xiu took a deep breath, grasping the jade dragon statue more tightly.
“Tell General Jiang to put more effort into training the Black Dragon Guard. Send 1,000 more soldiers into the Dragon Gate in the Secret Realm.”
Down there.
The old eunuch waved his fly-whisk and then cupped his hands.
“Right away, Your Majesty.”
******
North County.
Tantai Xuan, who had been expecting the news in the tent, scanned the letter. He let out a long sigh.
“He brought peach flowers to blossom on one half of the island with his mind, drove dark clouds away, and made the sun reappear with a single hand…”
“This move of Lu Ping’an’s is really like something done by an Immortal,” Tantai Xuan exclaimed.
He was impressed by Lu Fan’s strength and the cultivators’ mysterious skills.
Tantai Xuan couldn’t help but cover his chest with his hands at the thought of cultivators. Immortal encounters never had anything to do with him.
And he even suffered losses several times because of them.
Tantai Xuan was feeling anxious somehow.
The Hundred Schools of Philosophy had faded away, and one by one, the Dragon Gate in the Secret Realm was being found. The future would be about cultivators, while he… He had nothing to do with cultivation.
What should he do?
What was the right thing to do?
Would he, Tantai Xuan, be washed away by the new wave like those philosophers? Was there nothing he could do?
Tantai Xuan closed his fist tightly. He looked out of the tent.
He looked helpless and reluctant to accept reality.
All of a sudden…
A general of North County ran toward the tent.
“Lord!”
In the tent, Tantai Xuan frowned involuntarily.
“What’s up?”
The general knelt down on one knee, excited.
“Lord! A new Dragon Gate has been found!”
“What?!”
Tantai Xuan’s eyes narrowed to slits. Pounding the table hard, he got to his feet.
“Not the one at Buzhou Peak?”
“No, it’s not at Buzhou Peak. It’s at the periphery of North County, a place called Wentian Peak. It’s in the Tai Mountains!” The general explained to him immediately.
The Dragon Gate at Buzhou Peak was a pain for many generals of North County.
“Wentian Peak…”
Tantai Xuan’s eyes sparkled. A shrewd light flashed in them.
“Our plan was sabotaged by Li Sansi from Daoist School last time. This time… We must occupy this Dragon Gate! This will be the foundation for North County to get a foothold in the near future!”
Tantai Xuan was breathing fast.
He had almost given up. However, after endless mountains and rivers that leave doubt whether there is a pathway, suddenly, one encounters the shade of a willow, bright flowers, and a lovely village.
He had not lost yet!
******
In front of the tent by Dongyan River, West County.
The Overlord shook his head at the news. It did not evoke any feelings in him.
“The appearance of White Jade City ended the domination of the Hundred Schools of Philosophy. If you don’t keep improving yourself, you will be left behind. It always makes sense,” Xiang Shaoyun exclaimed.
Then he stood up, gazing at the running water of the Dongyan River.
His eyes slightly narrowed.
He vaguely felt a significant change was brewing in the air.
With his current strength, he might be able to have some advantage in this significant change.
However, what he had by then was not enough.
“Lu Ping’an…” Xiang Shaoyun murmured.
An elegant teenager sitting in a wheelchair seemed to be reflected in the running water.
Xiang Shaoyun felt extremely pressured. He could not even breathe.
No. He must be stronger!
Carrying the axe and the s.h.i.+eld on his back…
The Overlord did not hesitate. He jumped into the river and swam toward the Dragon Gate in the Secret Realm.
******
When the Tianji Pigeon brought the news, the whole world had learned that the four philosophers from the Hundred Schools of Philosophy had fought against Young Master Lu from Beiluo together, yet they were all defeated in an instant.
This news was even more shocking for the martial arts world.
The appearance of cultivators was a significant blow to the martial arts world.
Several martial arts pract.i.tioners knew that any of the philosophers of the Hundred Schools of Philosophy would have been a leading magnate in the martial arts world, and they could defeat any martial arts Grandmaster.
However, they couldn’t even exchange one blow with Young Master Lu from Beiluo.
“Maybe it’s not only the era of Hundred Schools of Philosophy that has ended but also the era of martial arts pract.i.tioners,” some important Grandmaster exclaimed.
The era of martial arts pract.i.tioners had ended, and the era of cultivators had begun.
And for the first time, White Jade City’s name was known by the whole world. People had only heard about White Jade City, but they had no idea how powerful it was. Nor did they have a clear notion about it.
But by then…
With the four philosophers’ loss, they realized White Jade City’s extraordinariness.
White Jade City had always enjoyed the fame of being the leading cultivation force in the world, but now, it had become the number one force, not just in cultivation.
Many martial arts pract.i.tioners packed up and left their hometown on horses heading for Beiluo.
They wanted to join White Jade City to study cultivation methods.
White Jade City became famous in the whole world.
******
[“Congratulations, Host. You have completed side quest 2. You have gained your fame. Preliminary Supreme Power ‘White Jade City’ is officially Supreme Power ‘White Jade City’ now. 1,000 Available Points awarded.”]
The system prompt kept flas.h.i.+ng before him.
Lu Fan was leaning on the back of the Thousand Blades Chair. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips. The news he had been expecting for a long time finally came.
“Supreme Power?”
He tapped on the armrest of the wheelchair, feeling joyful and emotional.
Gazing at the golden sunlight spilling on the lake, scattered into small golden glints…
Lu Fan smiled.
He was glad, indeed, but it was not the wild joy he had imagined. Instead, he felt kind of relieved. Such a result seemed natural to him.
White Jade City, a force superior to the Hundred Schools of Philosophy.
He did feel he had accomplished something.
He s.h.i.+fted his consciousness.
Indeed, 1,000 Available Points was a super big prize!
If he converted all of the 1,000 to Soul Strength, then he would get 10,000 wisps of Spirit Qi. That meant Lu Fan would reach Refined Qi Level 4 simply with a thought.
However…
Lu Fan didn’t do that.
It had not been long since he had leveled up to Refined Qi Level 3. As a result, he was not very skilled in controlling the Spirit Qi of Refined Qi Level 3 yet.
Therefore, it would do him no good if he reached Refined Qi Level 4 in such a short time.
A high-rise building needs a solid foundation. The foundation matters a lot to almost everything.
Besides, Lu Fan had a hunch that something bad would happen if he exchanged all of the 1,000 Available Points for Soul Strength.
“Take it slowly. Know my power better first,” Lu Fan said to himself out loud.
He was not in a hurry. In the current Great Zhou, who could threaten him?
And Lu Fan’s vision was beyond the Great Zhou Dynasty.
White Jade City was by then a Supreme Power, but it was only a Supreme Power in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
The system page popped up before him.
[Host: Lu Fan]
[t.i.tle: Qi Refiner (permanent)]
[Refined Qi Level: 3 (progress toward Refined Qi Level 4: 1,020/10,000 wisps)]
[Soul Strength: 87 (exchangeable: 0)]
[Physique Strength: 6 (exchangeable: 6)]
[Spirit Qi: 900 wisps]
[Available Points Awarded: 1,000]
Lu Fan spent a lot of time thinking while looking at the system page.
Then he made a decision. He exchanged 17 Available Points. He added 13 of them to Soul Strength and the remaining 4 to Physique Strength.
Boom!
After this had been done, something started to buzz in Lu Fan’s head.
It was like tens of thousands of bees were buzzing in his ears at the same time. He felt his head was going to explode.
Fortunately, this feeling faded away as his Physique Strength grew.
He opened his eyes slowly.
He found his blood vessels had stood out on his hands while pressing on the armrests of the wheelchair.
“100 points of Soul Strength is a quantum leap. Fortunately, I didn’t add 1,000 points all at once. Otherwise, I’m afraid I would have become a blockhead,” Lu Fan murmured to himself, still with a lingering fear.
It was necessary to maintain a subtle balance between Physique Strength and Soul Strength indeed.
All of a sudden…
Another system prompt popped up before Lu Fan.
[“Congratulations, Host. Your Soul Strength has achieved 100 points. Would you like to refine Spiritual Sense?”]
Lu Fan was stunned.
“Spiritual Sense?”
“What is Spiritual Sense?” Lu Fan asked.
The introduction of Spiritual Sense popped up.
[“Spiritual Sense: The result of a quantum leap in Soul Strength, ability to communicate with the energies of the universe, can result in the oppression of the soul. It is one of the theurgies.”]
Ability to communicate with the energies of the universe?
The ability of theurgy?!
“Refine Spiritual Sense.”
Lu Fan decided.
Then he found his Soul Strength changed.
[Soul Strength: 100 (exchangeable: 13) [Spiritual Sense: 1]]
“100 points of Soul Strength for only one point of Spiritual Sense?”
The conversion rate was only 100 to one. That really astonished Lu Fan.
However, as his Soul Strength reached 100 points, Lu Fan actually also reached a higher level. His mind was clearer. He was quicker on the trigger. And his control over things was also stronger.
As this one wisp of Spiritual Sense was refined…
Lu Fan found that Spiritual Sense seemed to be dreadful.
By the railing…
Lu Fan was feeling the wind coming from the lake.
Leaning on the back of the wheelchair, Lu Fan continued tapping on the railing.
Then, a wisp of Spiritual Sense flew out under the control of his mind. It flew for a while and then chose to go into Ni Yu’s body.
Lu Fan raised his eyebrow.
Due to his connection with the Spiritual Sense, Lu Fan could see everything in Ni Yu’s Qi Core as well as her shapeless soul!
If Lu Fan wanted, he could smash Ni Yu’s soul only with a thought.
Lu Fan took a deep breath after taking the Spiritual Sense back.
Spiritual Sense could kill people without being noticed!
This kind of thing should not have appeared in a Low Level Martial World.
However, Lu Fan was not very surprised. After all, he was not affected by the World Leveling System.
“What a pity. I only have one wisp of Spiritual Sense. If I have more, maybe I can refine the legendary immortal’s original spirit?”
Lu Fan smiled.
He had a breakthrough in his Soul Strength, and he refined his Spiritual Sense.
This was a significant improvement. Lu Fan would need to take some time to master his new strength well.
Lu Fan was satisfied with the gains he had got this time.
At this moment, his eyes narrowed into slits. On the system page, the quest column started to s.h.i.+ne.
He was somewhat astounded.
And to his surprise…
This quest prompt seemed to have something to do with the main quest, which had not been prompted to him for a long time!