After finishing the arena match, Gu Qingfeng returned to his dormitory to continue his cultivation.
Since he was still on break, he hadn't returned to the Demon Suppression Prison, and he wasn't in a hurry to go back.
To be honest, after encountering the White Bone Master, Gu Qingfeng couldn't really take the demons in the first level of the Demon Suppression Prison seriously anymore, except that he missed the little ghost.
His Vajra Body had reached its critical point, just one step away from advancing to the next level.
However, with his current physical defense, Gu Qingfeng didn't think any demon in the first level of the Demon Suppression Prison could break through his defense and help him improve it.
He might as well wait until he became a Yellow-rank Demon Hunter and visit the second level.
Moreover, the system had clearly stated that once he reached the Internal Qi Realm, demon attacks would help increase his internal qi cultivation, so Gu Qingfeng was now full of motivation!
Qi Gathering Third Level! Let's break through... no, let's advance!
Time flies during cultivation, and three hours passed in the blink of an eye.
Gu Qingfeng felt another hair-thin strand of qi growing inside him and fell into deep thought.
He recalled a story told by his senior when he first joined the Demon Suppression Bureau.
Long, long ago, there were twins who began practicing martial arts at the same time. They had the same master, and theoretically, with the same aptitude, same techniques, and same teacher, their cultivation speed should have been identical, but reality proved otherwise.
The older brother practiced eight hours daily, while the younger brother practiced seven, yet the younger brother's progress was faster.
Confused, the older brother asked their master. The master explained that practicing all day except for eating and sleeping wasn't ideal. Cultivation requires a balance between work and rest. Constant practice leads to physical exhaustion, reducing cultivation efficiency.
The younger brother practiced for seven hours and spent the remaining hour relaxing - playing chess, tending to flowers, and such.
This one hour of rest allowed him to maintain peak mental and physical condition, keeping his cultivation efficiency consistently high, which is why he surpassed his brother.
This became the famous "7+1 is greater than 8" story in the cultivation world.
The moral was to maintain a balance between work and rest.
Thinking of this, Gu Qingfeng went straight to bed.
Scientific cultivation starts with me.
......
The next day.
Gu Qingfeng participated in another martial arts competition.
"Gu Qingfeng, if you've got any courage, fight without your spirit weapon. Relying on weapon advantage is no real skill!"
Gu Qingfeng looked at his shouting opponent while slowly drawing out his Wood King Sword.
"That's incorrect. Weapons are part of one's strength. When you face demons in the future, will you not use weapons? Will you fight bare-handed?"
"That's nonsense! How can you compare competition fights with facing demons?"
"How are they different? What's the purpose of these competitions? Isn't it to select the strongest candidates for Yellow-rank Demon Hunters, to better fight demons?"
"If I let you win today by not using weapons, what will you do when you encounter demons? Will demons show you mercy?"
"You... you're twisting words!"
"Brother, let me give you some advice. This competition is beyond your depth. Be good and step down yourself."
"Gu Qingfeng, you bastard! You won unfairly. Just you wait." The man cursed as he jumped off the stage.
"Winner, Gu Qingfeng," the official announced expressionlessly.
......
The next day.
"Gu Qingfeng! Let's make a deal. You don't use your spirit weapon, and I won't use my cultivation advantage. I'll suppress my power to Qi Gathering Third Level, and we'll have a fair fight. How about it?"
"Not interested."
"Fine! Gu Qingfeng, you shameless coward!" The man cursed as he left the stage.
"Congratulations, Gu Qingfeng. You've made it to the final four. Tomorrow is the finals," the official announced emotionlessly.
"Haha, congratulations to us all."
......
The next day, before the competition.
A group of people approached He Fenghua, the Dark-rank Demon Hunter.
"Lord He, please do something about Gu Qingfeng."
"Lord He, that shameless Gu Qingfeng is clearly cheating!"
"Indeed, winning with a spirit weapon makes this competition meaningless!"
"Exactly! With a Dark-rank Spirit Weapon, even a dog tied to the stage could win!"
He Fenghua looked at the group and pondered, "Gu Qingfeng has indeed gone too far. I will consult with the judges about this matter and give you an answer later."
"Thank you, Lord He."
"We thank Lord He for upholding justice."
After dismissing the group, He Fenghua called his trusted subordinate and whispered something in his ear.
"Do you understand what to do?"
"Yes, I understand."
......
Soon, He Fenghua's subordinate found Gu Qingfeng and explained the situation about the collective protest against him.
"Brother Gu, let's be frank. Lord He thinks you've indeed aroused public anger this time. However, if you're willing to sell the Wood King Sword to Lord He, he will allow you to continue using it until you obtain the Yellow-rank Demon Hunter position, after which you'll hand it over to him.
Brother Gu, please consider it carefully. If you agree to sell the Wood King Sword, you'll not only receive a substantial amount of money but also secure the Yellow-rank Demon Hunter position and Lord He's favor.
But if you refuse, you'll be prohibited from using the Wood King Sword during the competition, stopping at the final four, losing your chance at becoming a Yellow-rank Demon Hunter, and earning Lord He's displeasure.
Weigh your options carefully, Brother Gu."
This combination of threats and enticements would have been tempting if Gu Qingfeng's strength was truly only at Qi Gathering Third Level.
Unfortunately for them, it wasn't.
Even without the Wood King Sword, he could easily claim first place.
Moreover, the Wood King Sword wasn't just an ordinary Dark rank Inferior Spirit Weapon.
"Please tell Lord He that the Wood King Sword is a family heirloom and is not for sale."
The man gave Gu Qingfeng a long look, as if looking at a fool who couldn't read the situation, then left.
......
"Next match, Gu Qingfeng at Qi Gathering Third Level versus Hu Banqing at Qi Gathering Ninth Level."
As Gu Qingfeng and Hu Banqing took the stage, the crowd below buzzed with discussion.
"Ah, what a shame for Hu Banqing. He was originally one of the most likely candidates for first place. With his Qi Gathering Ninth Level cultivation, he could defeat an Iron Armored Zombie. His strength is already infinitely close to the Internal Qi Realm, practically half-step into it."
"Indeed, but unfortunately, he encountered Gu Qingfeng."
"Let the match begin."
As the official announced.
"Wait!"
Hu Banqing suddenly spoke up, drawing everyone's attention.
Hu Banqing proclaimed loudly, "Lord He, honorable judges, I have something to say."
"Speak."
He Fenghua watched Hu Banqing calmly, his expression revealing neither pleasure nor anger.
"Thank you, Lord He."
After receiving He Fenghua's permission, Hu Banqing suddenly turned and pointed at Gu Qingfeng, saying, "I wish to state that Gu Qingfeng has been blatantly exploiting competition rules by relying on his spirit weapon's advantage, openly cheating, which is despicable. This competition is meant to select the strongest, most respected person to serve as a Yellow-rank Demon Hunter.
But Gu Qingfeng has no real strength beyond his spirit weapon, and his character is shameless, unworthy of respect.
Therefore, I request Lord He and the honorable judges to revoke Gu Qingfeng's right to use spirit weapons! Let's restore fairness to this competition!"
His words caused an uproar among the crowd.
Plants in the crowd who had been arranged beforehand suddenly shouted, "Good! Well said! I support you!"
"Right! That's so well said! I've been annoyed with Gu Qingfeng for a long time!"
"Revoke his spirit weapon privileges!"
"Revoke his privileges!"
The crowd suddenly became inflamed with emotion.
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
