Time flows differently during cultivation - in the blink of an eye, a day had passed.
Gu Qingfeng opened his eyes, confusion flickering across his star-bright pupils, looking exactly like a student rudely awakened by an alarm clock.
"Huh? Did I fall asleep?"
Gu Qingfeng finally realized he had dozed off while practicing.
Sensing the weak qi energy within his body, it had grown only by a hair's breadth compared to before cultivation.
"Ah, it's not that I'm not trying hard enough, it's just that cultivation is so mind-numbingly boring!" Gu Qingfeng lamented silently.
As a modern person, sitting still all night without being able to do anything except breathe and meditate was truly too tedious.
Especially when the results were so minimal, it made everything feel even more monotonous.
Gu Qingfeng's aptitude was poor, otherwise he wouldn't still be at the third level of Qi Gathering Realm at his age.
"System, why can't you just increase my cultivation level? You always increase these weird attributes instead, either defense or strength - are you trying to turn me into a bodybuilder?"
"Because the host has no true cultivation, therefore this system cannot increase your cultivation level," the system's cold voice echoed in Gu Qingfeng's mind.
Gu Qingfeng bristled instantly: "Hey, who are you looking down on? What's wrong with being at the third level of Qi Gathering Realm? What's wrong with having a low cultivation level? Don't lie to my face - I clearly have cultivation!"
"The Qi Gathering Realm is merely storing heaven and earth's qi in your body, it doesn't count as true cultivation. Only when the host reaches the Internal Qi Realm and refines the stored qi into your own internal energy will it count as true cultivation. At that time, this system can help increase your cultivation and internal qi."
"Can't you make an exception?"
"No."
"Tch, how boring!"
Gu Qingfeng felt disappointed. The Internal Qi Realm? It seemed so far away. With his aptitude, reaching the Internal Qi Realm through hard work alone would take forever.
Oh well, he'd take it one step at a time. After all, his actual strength wasn't too closely tied to his realm anyway.
"Ah, time to go, got to attend the second match."
Gu Qingfeng stood up, stretched his muscles and bones, then headed straight for the arena.
The arena was still packed with people, even more than yesterday. There were even some formal Yellow-rank Demon Eliminators who had come to watch.
While Gu Qingfeng was wondering about the crowd, suddenly someone in the audience spotted him.
"Gu Qingfeng is here!"
"What?! Where?"
"Is that really Gu Qingfeng? Then is that wooden sword on his back the legendary Dark-rank Spirit Weapon?"
"Wow, look at the sword's luster and streamlined design. Can't you feel that ancient and mysterious aura emanating from it?"
"What the hell is going on?" Gu Qingfeng was shocked. So all these extra people were here to see him, or rather, to see the Wood King Sword.
Were they all really this inexperienced? Getting so excited over a Dark-rank Spirit Weapon? What's all this about an ancient and mysterious aura? Yesterday they were calling it a worthless piece of wood!
Actually, Gu Qingfeng didn't truly understand the value of a Dark-rank Spirit Weapon. Spirit Weapons were rare resources - most Yellow-rank Demon Eliminators only used ordinary weapons, and only when they reached the level of Dark-rank Demon Eliminator might they acquire a Yellow-rank Spirit Weapon.
As for Dark-rank Spirit Weapons, within the Demon Suppression Bureau, only those high-and-mighty Earth-rank Demon Eliminators possessed them.
Earth-rank Spirit Weapons? There was only one in the entire Demon Suppression Bureau, wielded by Li Qianren, the head of the bureau and a Heaven-rank Demon Eliminator.
And Heaven-rank Spirit Weapons? Those only existed in legends, like true love - everyone had heard of them, but no one had ever seen one.
For Gu Qingfeng, an Apprentice Demon Eliminator, to possess a Dark-rank Spirit Weapon was like an elementary school student driving a Ferrari to school - it definitely drew attention.
"Brother Gu, Brother Gu, I'm from the Wang family, one of the four great families of Wutong Prefecture. I want to buy your Wood King Sword - name your price!"
"Brother Gu, don't listen to him. Sell it to me instead - whatever he offers, I'll double it!"
"Brother Gu, I don't want to buy it, I just want to look. I've never seen a Dark-rank Spirit Weapon in my life. Just let me touch it once, just once!"
Gu Qingfeng was completely surrounded by the crowd, making him shudder with disgust. Mainly because these were all grown men trying to reach out and touch him.
His fists clenched.
His knuckles hardened.
Fortunately, at this moment, the proctor came to his rescue, calling him up for his match. Only then did Gu Qingfeng escape, hurriedly climbing onto the stage.
His opponent this time was another ninth-level Qi Gathering Realm warrior, Li Hu.
As soon as Gu Qingfeng stepped onto the stage, Li Hu stared at him with intense concentration, as if facing a formidable enemy.
Mainly because he was eyeing the Wood King Sword on Gu Qingfeng's back with great apprehension.
Li Hu knew that the power of a Dark-rank Spirit Weapon was not something he could resist, so his only chance was to finish off Gu Qingfeng before he could draw the Wood King Sword!
"Begin the match!"
With the proctor's command, Li Hu moved!
He pounced like a fierce tiger, without wasting a single word, like a sprinter responding to the starter's gun. He raised his long blade and charged at Gu Qingfeng.
Gu Qingfeng seemed shocked by his speed, apparently unable to react in time, not even reaching for the Wood King Sword.
In the next moment, Li Hu was right in front of him, his face showing a confident smile - he had him!
His blade slashed toward Gu Qingfeng's chest!
Killing was forbidden in Demon Suppression Bureau matches, so Li Hu's strike wasn't aimed at any vital points.
However, just as his blade was about to touch Gu Qingfeng, suddenly, something unexpected happened!
The still-sheathed Wood King Sword on Gu Qingfeng's back seemed to come alive, countless vines sprouting from it, quickly weaving themselves into a wooden shield in front of Gu Qingfeng's chest!
Clang!
The blade struck the wooden shield, sending sparks flying, but the shield remained undamaged.
Li Hu was shocked and tried to pull his blade back for another strike, but found he couldn't withdraw it. Looking closer, he saw countless tiny branches, like fresh willow shoots, sprouting from the wooden shield and firmly entangling his blade.
Li Hu pulled harder but couldn't break free from those branches. Instead, the green tendrils slithered along his blade like little snakes, rapidly approaching the handle.
Making a split-second decision, Li Hu abandoned his weapon and quickly jumped back to escape the branches' attack range.
Whoosh whoosh!
The wooden shield in front of Gu Qingfeng dispersed, revealing his kind and shy smile as he caught the long blade and offered it back to Li Hu: "Brother Li, your blade."
Looking at Gu Qingfeng's smile, Li Hu felt inexplicably enraged: "How dare you mock me!"
He roared and charged forward with his fists.
Gu Qingfeng remained motionless, but the vines behind him grew wildly, attacking Li Hu, making Gu Qingfeng look like some sort of tentacle monster.
Dozens of vines whipped toward Li Hu, who, despite his recklessness, knew his fists were no match for them and could only dodge desperately.
Gu Qingfeng wasn't in a hurry. He simply controlled the vines, gradually restricting Li Hu's movement space until he was forced to the edge of the stage.
"Brother Li, will you step down yourself, or should I help you down?"
Li Hu glanced at the stage edge behind him, then at the overwhelming mass of vines before him. Finally, he shot Gu Qingfeng a resentful glare before jumping off the stage.
Gu Qingfeng chuckled - at least Li Hu knew when to quit, unlike Lin Xiao from yesterday.
"Hey, Brother Li, your blade!" Gu Qingfeng called out, tossing the blade to Li Hu below the stage. Li Hu caught it, gave a quick bow, and left.
"The winner is Gu Qingfeng."
The proctor announced listlessly, clearly having anticipated this outcome from the start.