Chapter 13: Not Going
These past few days, Li Qingfeng lived a life that alternated between dream and reality.
In dreams, he practiced his fists.
When awake, he refined essence into qi, diligently cultivating his foundational strength.
The qi stored in his dantian grew more abundant with each passing day.
He found the fist art truly effective.
Sometimes, during idle moments, he would even practice the Demon Ape Focus Fist in reality.
The vicious energy tempered by the Blood Fiend Grand Method was greatly reduced, and his once restless heart grew much calmer.
Having grown familiar with the primary soul ghost, Li Qingfeng no longer felt the nervousness and restraint from their first encounter.
"Brother Ghost, do you think I should go take the test at the Governor's manor?"
"The righteous immortals in the Governor's manor are like dragons, seen only in glimpses. Even if I don't participate in the test, just seeing one from afar would be worthwhile."
"I'm eager to speak with those of my kind."
"Righteous cultivators uphold justice, defend their domains, and decapitate demon heads from a thousand li away with flying swords, how exhilarating must that be?"
Li Qingfeng sighed deeply, glancing at the ghost beside him who continued practicing punches without pause.
The passion that had risen in his heart waned a little.
After all, one was a ghost of a primary soul, and the other a fledgling demonic cultivator. Should they truly meet a righteous immortal, they'd likely be the ones to be struck down.
Such is fate.
Who asked him to receive his first stroke of immortal destiny from a demonic path?
"Even though I cultivate a demonic method, with the Demon Ape Focus Fist tempering my mind, the fiendish aura doesn’t affect me much."
"I've always believed that techniques aren't inherently good or evil, only people are."
"Who says those who practice demonic arts can't uphold justice?"
"Brother Ghost, why don't we go out for a walk?"
Tu Shanjun paused, shook his head, and continued punching without breaking the boy’s wistful thoughts.
It is good to have dreams, for dreams lead to pursuit.
And pursuit requires strength.
Tu Shanjun longed for strength.
But first, Li Qingfeng needed the power to protect himself.
Any random wandering ghost could take his life right now. If he roamed aimlessly, it would only be courting death.
At the very least, he needed to reach the third layer of Qi Refining.
Thus, Tu Shanjun still didn’t reveal how to enhance the Soul Banner. He would wait.
Just as he had said nothing upon first meeting Li Qingfeng, he remained silent now.
His tongue had been severed. Even as a vengeful spirit, his tongue still bore the wound.
His voice was hoarse and terrifying, more a ghostly roar than speech. Even if he could form words, the sound alone would frighten people. Best to stay silent.
The young man had many thoughts and muttered constantly.
All those things he dared not speak of to others, he poured out without restraint.
He babbled half the night before finally falling quiet.
It seemed he’d taken Tu Shanjun as a hollow tree, an unjudging listener.
Better to speak to a mountain ghost than whisper to lifeless stones.
Tu Shanjun couldn’t understand, how could someone so young have so much to say?
So he ignored him and let the boy talk to himself.
“Brother Ghost, after days of martial practice, my body has been refined by spiritual power and is far stronger than an ordinary person.”
“There’s no one to spar with in reality, why don’t you help me train?”
It wasn’t a whim. Li Qingfeng truly felt he lacked real combat experience. Faced with malevolent spirits, he wouldn’t even know how to fight, much less dare to.
Tu Shanjun halted, gave him a measured look, and gave a small nod.
With a wave of his hand, the little ghost with a human face and a monkey’s body appeared in the yard.
The moment it landed, it launched an attack.
Li Qingfeng was defeated in a flash.
As expected.
Just the sight of the mountain ape spirit brought back that long-lost sense of dread.
A hint of disappointment flashed in Tu Shanjun’s eyes.
Training a banner master was a long-term endeavor. There weren’t so many prodigies to choose from.
Better a bird in the hand than ten in the forest.
At least Li Qingfeng came from a decent family, ate meat daily, and could fully support the early stages of refining essence into qi.
Many cultivators weren’t slow due to poor aptitude, but simply because they lacked nourishing food, which dragged down their cultivation speed.
Righteous sects could still provide for their disciples, occasionally granting them spirit pills, though these often came with the price of dangerous missions.
The demonic path, however, was a whole different world.
In short, more effort was needed.
“I can still...”
Li Qingfeng gasped.
A swirl of clear energy, and he snapped awake in bed, pulled from his dream.
Two or three days had passed in the blink of an eye.
Through grappling and struggle, Li Qingfeng had finally overcome the mountain ape spirit which just entered the ranks.
He also came to a realization, given his cultivation in demonic arts, taking the test would surely expose his origins.
Even watching from afar, if one of those immortals happened to activate their spiritual eye and saw the demonic aura within him, it would only bring trouble.
Li Qingfeng immediately decided not to go.
He came up with a story to appease his parents.
He wove a tale from his strange encounters, claiming he had been taught immortal arts in a dream.
The immortal had warned him not to switch allegiances and promised to retrieve him in a few years.
With that, Li Qingfeng instructed Wubao to keep silent.
Then he displayed a bit of divine power with his spiritual power.
Father and Mother Li gave up on sending him for the test.
The immortals of the Governor’s manor were far beyond their reach anyway.
No matter which immortal taught their son, even if it was a wild immortal, it was not someone they could afford to offend.
They were delighted that Li Qingfeng had found an immortal destiny.
When the storm passed, they would throw a grand banquet to celebrate.
Now, they understood why he had worked so hard those past three or four months, he had been cultivating all along.
With his parents no longer urging him, Li Qingfeng didn’t expect a few close friends to visit together.
“Brother Qingfeng, today’s such an important day. Are you truly not going?”
Li Qingfeng set aside his scroll. “You all know me, I seek a future in court, not among the immortals.”
“A gentleman does not rob another of his aspirations. Since Brother Qingfeng has made up his mind, we won’t press further.”
Leaving the Li residence, the four of them boarded an ox cart bound for the Governor’s manor.
Li Qingfeng sighed deeply. Though mature in many ways, he was still just a boy of seventeen or eighteen.
It was only the secret tied to his life and death that he couldn’t share with outsiders.
Even those friends who had grown up alongside him, he couldn’t tell them.
Saying too much might only bring harm.
The Blood Fiend Grand Method was a demonic art. If not for his daily boxing and reading to dissipate the baleful aura, it might have already changed him.
Were he to pass the technique on to them, and they happened to have greater talent, it would only mislead them.
Better to see what results they received at the Governor’s manor.
Tu Shanjun nodded inwardly. Li Qingfeng had handled it well.
Tu Shanjun didn’t think much of the Blood Fiend Grand Method. If Li Qingfeng wanted to share it, so be it.
But if he were to pass it on, he had to include the Demon Ape Focus Fist.
Without the third form, “Mind-Ape Settles Will” to strengthen the soul and dispel the vicious energy, ordinary people cultivating the Blood Fiend Grand Method would soon become gaunt and cruel, resembling malevolent spirits.
Tu Shanjun had borrowed insight, extracting the foundational seed of the method from Zhao Shixian’s mind, and then cultivated it himself for several months, gaining his own understanding.
Only then could Li Qingfeng glimpse the deeper essence of the Demon Ape Focus Fist.
Such a fortunate encounter, how many could hope for it?
At the Governor’s manor, the street bustled with carts and horses, the courtyard teemed with people.
Among the crowd were boys dressed in silken long sleeves, and others in coarse short jackets.
The short jackets looked oversized, clearly adult clothes handed down.
The wealthy gentry of Eight Directions County City had known of this event ten days prior.
No one had tried to keep it secret. With public notices posted and literate folk reading them aloud, everyone knew immortals were seeking fated ones.
Outsiders would arrive late.
But most local youths of suitable age were already here.
All ranks are inferior, only immortals reign supreme.
A single stroke of fate, and mortal and immortal lives would diverge.
Those families left behind would enjoy congratulations and rewards from the gentry, court, and officials.
A peasant family could become landlords, no longer prey to bullies.
Because they had an immortal in the family.
Even if that immortal no longer meddled in worldly affairs, their house would still command awe.
That was what everyone hoped for.
After all, nobles were few, commoners many.
The wealthy wanted to rise higher, the poor hoped to turn their fate.
Thus, hundreds or perhaps thousands of youths gathered at the gates of the Governor’s manor.
It seemed this screening would last for quite some time.
(Chapter End)