Chapter Sixteen: Martial Arts Competition (Part One)

  In the following months, Shi Dong cultivated in this way and indeed gained a lot of benefits. Not only did his meridian injury recover quickly, but he also gradually increased his strength. This indirectly accelerated his true energy cultivation speed, which was already 20% faster than at first, and it was still slowly increasing.

  However, the physical constitution of the four spiritual roots is really troublesome. When he uses the Qi-gathering pill to absorb yin energy, his cultivation progress is very fast, but when he changes to absorbing yin energy from around him, a lot of spiritual energy impurities often get mixed in, forcing him to repeatedly circulate the meridians and use the Zhuan Sha Shen Gong technique at least three times to expel them cleanly.

  As a result, his overall cultivation speed is not very fast. If he was originally at the lower end of the spectrum, now he's only around mid-tier at best.

  But there are also advantages, one is that he has more control over the evil spirit's energy; another is that his physical strength and power have a great advantage.

  Now he has over 200 kilograms of strength and can hold up two stone pillars at once for cultivation.

  This made Shi Dong quite delighted, thinking that even if he couldn't break through the first layer of Qi Refining within a year, with this child's strength, he would still be much stronger than an ordinary person. Taking a step back, even if he really returned to Shijia Village, at least he could ensure that his mother and sister lived a good life.

  ……

  Before I knew it, half a year had passed.

  The ball of evil energy in Shi Dong's dantian had grown from its original sesame seed size to that of a soybean.

  It's almost time to make a breakthrough in the first layer of the Refining Qi stage, and it can be as big as a soybean.

  However, he encountered trouble and now has to consume two bottles of Nourishing Blood Pill and two bottles of Cultivating Qi Pill every month, which makes his spirit stones insufficient.

  The first month had already thickened his face to ask Wang Bao for a loan, although the two were now on good terms, Shi Dong had also introduced several new disciples to him in the past, but his cultivation was only at the fifth layer of Qi Refining, and he still needed to use spirit stones to circulate elixirs, so he really didn't have any extra resources to help Shi Dong.

  So this month, I couldn't bear to ask Wang Bao again no matter what.

  He gritted his teeth and cultivated in the usual way, but the speed was so slow that it made Shi Dong persist for more than half a month before he couldn't bear it anymore.

  At this rate, it's going to be a problem even breaking through the first layer of Qi Refining.

  After finishing his morning exercises, Shi Dong's eyes still fixed on the pea-sized ball of true energy within him. He grew anxious and held the map in his left palm, thinking to himself: "Damn it, I'll risk everything! I need to come up with a plan to get close to Mao Feifei and dig out Zhou De Nuo's 'Gambler's Scripture' - that way, I can definitely earn a lot of spiritual stones!"

  For half a year, Shi Dong quietly inquired about the mysterious Zhou Shixiong and obtained some information. It is said that during his more than 30 years in Mo Xie Men, he had gambled on seven Ling Gui, and sold hundreds of Ling stones.

  Moreover, he often disappeared, and someone had seen a suspected figure of him at the public market at the border of Youzhou and Zhongzhou. That person also gambled with several spirits and suddenly disappeared.

  What's even more bizarre is that this mysterious Zhou Shixiong has a large amount of spiritual stones in his hands, but his cultivation speed is as slow as a turtle's, and after all these years, he still hasn't broken through to the late stage of Qi Refining.

  The so-called Lianqi period is divided into twelve layers, with the first three layers being the initial stage, the fourth to ninth layers being the middle stage, and the tenth to twelfth layers being the later stage.

  According to the usual rules, if one can cultivate in a sect for thirty years, even if they cannot lay the foundation, at least it should be the later stage of refining Qi.

  But this Brother Zhou, seems to have spent a lot of time studying the ghost gambler, and as a result, he's become quite eccentric. Every time Bai Jin tries to drive him away, he takes out a piece of spiritual stone, and then Bai Jin doesn't say anything else.

  As for Situ Jin, he was a recluse who had been in seclusion for many years, and the management of his famous disciples was completely handed over to Bai Jin.

  Since Zhou De Nuo seems to have received Bai Jin's protection, others don't dare say much. This person can be considered a rare flower of Yunwu Peak.

  But this time, Bai Jin took advantage of the new disciple's entry and actually drove Zhou De Nu out, shocking all the old disciples, who secretly discussed it in private, naturally letting Shi Dong hear a lot of news.

  This news made Shi Dong even more convinced of his previous speculation - there must be an extraordinary secret between Zhou De Nuo and Bai Jin!

  But once this secret is obtained by Zhou De Nuo's gambler scripture, it may be deciphered.

  "The problem is... what kind of opportunity can I find to get close to Mao Feifei?" Shi Dong's eyes sparkled as he secretly pondered in his heart.

  For half a year, he hasn't relaxed his attention to Mao Feifei at all. Every time he goes out to buy medicine for Wang Baobao, he secretly inquires about her.

  Unfortunately, Mao Feifei had been practicing in seclusion ever since he got the Lingyun Ghost, occasionally coming out to collect his monthly allowance and buying some Qi-refining pills before returning to his cave.

  This made it impossible for Shi Dong to get close, and if he rashly visited, he would fall into Bai Jin's ears, which wouldn't be good.

  No matter how hard he thought, Shi Dong couldn't think of a good solution either.

  Just as I was getting anxious, I suddenly heard a flurry of footsteps coming from the corridor outside, accompanied by some urgent and excited whispers: "Quick! Go take a look! Mao Feifei and Lei Huang are fighting!"

  "Where is it?"

  "Sumo arena, hurry up! Hurry up! If you're late, there won't be any good seats left!"

  Shi Dong's two eyeballs suddenly bulged out, and he jumped up from the bed, immediately rushing out of the cave.

  As soon as they came out, they were shocked to see that dozens of new and old disciples rushed out of the corridor, each with excitement on their faces, all running towards the outside.

  There was a new disciple who was somewhat familiar with Shi Dong, and when he saw him, he grabbed his arm excitedly and shouted: "Shi Dong, hurry up! Mao Feifei and Lei Huang are competing in a spiritual ghost battle, it's a rare opportunity! Come and take a look with me!"

  The crowd's eyes lit up, and it was no wonder that the martial arts competition between these two new disciples had attracted so many people. It turned out that everyone was actually looking forward to seeing the battle between "Great Strength Ghost" and "Light Spirit Ghost". As soon as they entered the door, the two of them separately released a spirit ghost, and after more than half a year of cultivation, they should already be able to skillfully control two spirit ghosts. Who would win or lose was yet to be seen, and everyone was eager to find out.

  This made Shi Dong feel inexplicably excited, and without saying another word, he followed the man running forward.

  The martial arts arena was located on the upper layer of Yunwu Peak, and as people ran up all the way, those who heard the news along the way joined in one after another. By the time they arrived at the arena, there were already hundreds of people gathered inside and outside the three layers.

  Shi Dong squeezed through the crowd, opened his small eyes and looked around, only to see that the martial arts arena was over a hundred feet in diameter, built inside a huge cave on Yunwu Peak.

  In the middle was a platform dozens of feet wide, at least one foot high from the ground, surrounded by a layer of wave-like prohibition, which played a protective role for the platform. Two people stood still inside the prohibition.

  One person was tall and large, with thick lips and a broad nose. At the age of 14 or 15, his upper lip had already grown fluffy whiskers. It was Mao Fei Fei, who looked annoyed as he stared at the opposite side.

  The person facing him had a handsome face, wearing a blue robe that set off his tall and slender figure, with his hands clasped behind his back, looking quite elegant. It was exactly Lei Huan. He had an air of leisure, seemingly pleased with the attention from so many onlookers.

  Below the high platform was a large empty space, and the majority of onlookers were new and old disciples of Yunwu Peak, numbering over one hundred.

  In the empty space, there were several giant rocks standing upright, on which more than 50 monks were scattered, including Bai Jin and Hao Ren's direct disciples, who were gathered together discussing something; the rest were monks from outside Yunfeng Peak, Wang Baobao was among them, should be heard the news, came from Du Ghost Building.

  Apart from these people, neither Master Sito Kam or the mysterious Big Sister appeared. It seems that this commotion is not enough to disturb them, with Bai Jin and Hao Ren present, it's sufficient to sweep the array.

  Suddenly, a loud shout came from the high platform, Shi Dong turned his head to look, and saw Mao Fei Fei pointing at Lei Huang with impatience: "Lei Shixiong, we are just testing the Linggui, why do you need to make such a big show, attracting so many people to watch? Do you still want to compete or not? If not, I'll leave." As he spoke, he was about to jump down from the high platform.

  "Hahaha......" Lei Huan burst out laughing, "Mao Shixiong, if you're afraid and don't dare to compete, then just leave!"

  "Nonsense! Who's afraid?" Mao Feifei glared and shouted, raising her hand to summon the white shadow. In an instant, it flashed into existence behind her, floating silently like a ghost.

  Mao Feifei pointed at Lei Huang and said impatiently: "If you want to compete, hurry up, don't waste words!"

  "Slow down." Lei Huan bowed to the surrounding audience, then cupped his hands in a salute towards Bai Jin's direction. He puffed out his chest and declared loudly: "Fellow martial artists, greetings! Today, I, Lei Huan, will be engaging in a trial of skills with Mao Feifei to hone our respective spiritual energies. Thank you all for your support. If there are any areas where my skills are lacking, please forgive me."

  Bai Jin spoke out on the high platform: "You two go all out, if there's any danger, I'll personally step in to help. This battle concerns the display of strength of the new disciples of Yunwu Peak, and we can't afford to hold back or lose face for our sect! Do you understand?"

  "Yes!" The two of them bowed their heads in unison and replied.

  "Thanks for the reminder, Second Brother." Lei Huan added respectfully, then turned around to face Mao Feifei with a smile: "Mao Shixiong, Second Brother said that in this battle, you and I must go all out and not lose our school's reputation. If you're afraid of losing badly later, you can admit defeat now."

  Mao Feifei's face turned red with anger, and she shouted: "Bah! How dare you speak so rudely? When has Mao Feifei ever been afraid? Go to Suishui City and ask around, our Mao family blacksmiths have always been like this. We can't be like the Lei family, speaking nicely to your face but being dirty behind your back. Hmph!"

  As soon as the stone moved, he couldn't help but think of that big iron pot he bought from Mao's blacksmith shop. He thought to himself: "Hehe, people from the Mao family are all like this, stubborn and strong-willed. The ironware they make is indeed good. Hmm, how come I didn't see Mao Feifei back then? And how did he end up being caught here?"

  He turned to Lei Huang and saw a flash of anger in his eyes, gritting his teeth with a smile: "Haha, that's great! Let me see the skills of the Mao family's iron hammering. If you lose, don't say I didn't warn you about not being able to take out the spiritual stone."

  "Now it's yours!" Ma Feifei flicked her hand, and with a flash of black light, five Soul-Extinguishing Stones fell onto the center of the arena.

  "Refreshing!" Lei Huan's sleeve fluttered, and he swept across the ground with a whooshing sound. Wherever he passed, five Soul-Extinguishing Stones were suddenly placed there.

  This made the disciples watching from under the ring unable to help but let out a low cry, those five pieces of Shattered Spirit Stone weren't a small amount, equivalent to five months' worth of monthly interest!

  The stakes were so high, and the two men's verbal sparring was so explosive, that the entire atmosphere suddenly became tense. Countless pairs of eyes fixed on the two men, eagerly anticipating a fierce collision.