Li Qingshan left Cloudwisp island with Xiao An, pinching and twisting Xiao An’s cheeks. However, she leaned against his arms and laughed even harder, such that even Li Qingshan felt powerless.
The sun had yet to rise up. It was currently the darkest part of the night. The academy was silent. He could only hear the neverending rise and fall of waves below the ice.
Although Qi Practitioners could go for several days and nights without sleep, they would still rest at night like regular people if there was no need to stay up so that they could maintain their mental state. It was beneficial to cultivation.
Li Qingshan wanted to move around a little, but he had no idea where to go. In the past few days, he felt like something had been pressing against his chest the entire time.
Suddenly, he thought of something. Didn’t he still have some unresolved grievances?
Hao Pingyang happened to be clinging to his blanket, sleeping soundly. Suddenly, he heard a few knocks on the door and got up to see who it was. Opening the door, he saw Li Qingshan and Xiao An standing there.
Li Qingshan told him about how He Yishi had tried to frame him when the Hawkwolf Guard was carrying out an investigation.
Hao Pingyang was infuriated too. Without saying another word, he put on his clothes. “Let’s get him!”
The two of them then knocked on Zhang Lanqing’s door. After a moment of thought, Zhang Lanqing said, “Give me a moment.”
He returned upstairs. They could vaguely hear a woman’s complaints, along with Zhang Lanqing’s gentle pleading.
The two of them smiled at one another. Li Qingshan thought about how Zhang Lanqing’s cultivation was not particularly high, but he spent his days even more comfortably than them, unlike him who had to face an obscene man who wrote smut all day.
He could not help but think about finding a woman to warm his bed. The figures of a few women flashed across his mind. Hua Chenglu was too young. Yu Zijian was not bad, but she had yet to blossom completely either. Han Qiongzhi would be pretty good, but it seemed like it had been quite a while since he had last seen her.
Speaking of which, sect master Qiu Haitang was still the best. They say a friend’s wife is off-limits, but it’ll just be in my fantasies, so you can’t blame me, little Hua.
Xiao An stared straight at Li Qingshan. She found his expression to be slightly strange, rather similar to Liu Chuanfeng’s. Did he infect Li Qingshan with something bad? Did she have to kill him?
As Li Qingshan was carried away by his fantasies, Zhang Lanqing came back down, and Li Qingshan said, “Apologies. We’ve interrupted your spring night.”
Zhang Lanqing reddened. “What spring night? Let’s go!”
It was still very dim outside, but rows of street lights lit up the way. Various structures of strange shapes stood within the darkness. Looking at them in the darkness, it added a sci-fi-esque feeling to the air.
Li Qingshan had compared the Academy of the Hundred Schools to university before, but the status of Qi Practitioners were obviously beyond anything university students could match. It was impossible for them to be all squeezed into a single dormitory, even nominating a bunch of people in charge.
They all had their own residences, which they could personally adjust using the mechanisms built into the structure. Just this alone demonstrated how great a mohist disciple’s residence was.
He Yishi’s residence was located in a corner to the west of Divine Mechanism island. He was sleeping too, except he slept rather uneasily. After Li Qingshan made a name for himself in that battle, his fear grew with each passing day.
He had once investigated Li Qingshan and learnt that he possessed the nickname of “Tiger Butcher” in Jiaping city, and he possessed a cruel, murderous character. Just this alone had made him jerk awake several times. He set down layers upon layers of trigger mechanisms, but it still gave him no peace.
Seeing how close Hua Chengzan and Li Qingshan were to one another, he knew that being exposed was just a matter of time. His own betrayal haunted him constantly.
He Yishi suddenly sat up in bed. He was covered in cold sweat. He had dreamt that Li Qingshan had become a tiger and mauled through his belly, ripping out his organs.
Blurrily, he saw a few dark figures standing before his bed. He jerked awake completely.
Li Qingshan and He Yishi met face to face. They made eye contact and were both stunned.
He Yishi had set up many warning mechanisms, but how was it possible for them to be triggered with Hao Pingyang and Zhang Lanqing here? They dismantled all of them, allowing them to enter He Yishi’s bedroom smoothly. They were just about to throw something over his head and vent their anger, but they never expected him to actually wake up at a time like this.
Hao Pingyang and Zhang Lanqing looked at one another too.
Li Qingshan rushed up. He picked up the cotton blankets and threw it over his head, beating him viciously. They were already here anyway. Were they supposed to apologise and say that they had entered the wrong room at a time like this?
Below the blankets, He Yishi called out, “Don’t kill me! I’ve seen nothing! I’ve seen nothing!” After witnessing Li Qingshan’s battle against Chu Tian, he no longer possessed even a shred of confidence in holding his ground against Li Qingshan.
Li Qingshan had no idea on how to react. He never planned on killing He Yishi in the first place, or he would not have called Hao Pingyang and Zhang Lanqing to come with him. Not only was his killing intent not heavy enough to kill in the academy, but He Yishi was not worth this risk to him either.
Li Qingshan lifted his fists of revenge and gave He Yishi a thorough beating.
“Qingshan, enough! He doesn’t deserve death!” Zhang Lanqing was afraid Li Qingshan would actually beat He Yishi to death.
He Yishi ached all over, but he was still so touched that he almost began crying. Senior brother Zhang was truly a kind-hearted person!
“I’m fully aware!” Li Qingshan punched him another three times viciously. “He Yishi, don’t act like you’ve seen nothing. The person who beat you was me, Li Qingshan. I saved your life back then, but you turned against me instead. Today was for showing the consequences. I’m not a person who you can frame just because you want to. If you hold any ill intent towards me again in the future, I’ll never spare you! Let’s go!”
He heard the footsteps vanish through the door, followed by a bang when the door closed. Only then did He Yishi reveal himself from his covers slowly. His face was swollen like a pig’s, to the point where he almost could not open his eyes. His fear of dying was gone now, while his body was in agony. He even felt like a few bones had broken.
He had never suffered so much before. As he sobbed, he cursed Li Qingshan, he cursed Hao Pingyang, and he cursed Zhang Lanqing. After becoming exhausted from all the cursing, he collapsed on bed and felt his mind lighten up. Finally, there was no need for him to be on edge all the time. He could finally sleep in peace.
If Li Qingshan learnt how his beating had instead brought He Yishi relief and liberation, who knew how he would feel? Anyhow, Li Qingshan was in quite a good mood right now. A part of the gloominess he had built up over the past few days had vanished.
He was not afraid of He Yishi reporting this to someone either. He did not have evidence, and even if he did have evidence proving they were responsible, they would just suffer a bit of punishment at most, but He Yishi would not be able to remain in the academy any longer. A backstabbing, ungrateful scoundrel was not welcome anywhere.
Originally, Li Qingshan wanted to invite Hao Pingyang and Zhang Lanqing to the Hundred Flavours restaurant for breakfast, but Zhang Lanqing insisted on going home. Afterwards, he invited out his “companion”. She was not a supreme beauty, but she was a gentle and understanding person.
When the female cultivator witnessed the arrival of the two primary disciples, both prominent figures within the academy, her small complaint completely vanished. She felt happy that Zhang Lanqing had friends like them. She even personally manned the kitchen, preparing a sumptuous breakfast for them all.
Zhang Lanqing helped her out during the process. Even Li Qingshan was amazed by how perfect of a combination they were. Everyone had their own path of cultivation. With how vast it was, there was no need for a person to advance alone, and even if companionship resulted in nothing in the end, there would be no regrets when looking back.
A few bowls of congee and a few pickled vegetables were served up. The taste was nothing special, but Li Qingshan still sang praises about how lucky Zhang Lanqing was. All of it came from the bottom of his heart.
The sky lit up, and the day of study and cultivation began.
Hao Pingyang said, “You’ve missed quite a few classes on forging artifacts.”
Li Qingshan was currently facing a dilemma about whether to continue writing novels or not, so he was in no mood to study artifact forging. “I need to visit the school of the Military for some matters. I’m going to hold off artifact forging for now!”
The leader of the school of the Military, Han Anjun, had personally invited him. No matter his reason, he had to go.
He cared quite a lot about what Han Anjun had said too. He had not undertaken any systematic battle training before, purely relying on his own understanding, so there was nothing he could do about his moves being rather rough. He could unleash a hundred and twenty percent of his strength during every single battle through his impressive talent for battle, reaching the state where any move that could knock down a person was a good move.
However, if he could receive some guidance from a master of battle like Han Anjun, he would definitely benefit quite a lot. Compared to the techniques that involved true qi, forging and tempering his body was still his roots, particularly when he transformed.
And, according to his past experiences, moving around and working up a sweat would put him in a good mood too.
As the disciples of the other schools were still struggling to get out of bed, all the military disciples had already begun training. They all stood on the snow-covered land, naked. They were all doused with a bucket of ice water first before being forced into the lake to swim a lap around Great War island.
It was no different from living in military barracks, but no one even batted an eye. When they leapt into the icy lake, if they hesitated even in the slightest, the officers behind them—equivalent to the professors—would immediately give them a kick, showing them absolutely none of the respect that Qi Practitioners deserved.
Though, almost a year had already passed since the entrance examination. Even the new disciples would not hesitate anymore.
Those who could not put up with this lifestyle had already left the school of the Military. Among the academy, the school of the Military was the only one with disciples who left willingly. It was also the only one without female disciples.
Forging the body was no less painful than practising qi. They had to undertake the hardships of tempering and toughening their bodies. Only creatures like men would give up on their wonderful lives and experience a sense of pride as well as a hot-blooded bond of brotherhood through these masochistic drills.
Within the academy, the disciples of the school of the Military were the most united too.
Han Tieyi was at the very front with a patrol group. Suddenly, he heard a loud whistle from above, and he spotted Li Qingshan smiling on the cloud, saying, “Nice build, though your drinking capacities are a little lacking! Hahaha!” Li Qingshan thought about his glorious achievement of toppling Han Tieyi in drinking again.
Han Tieyi heard why Li Qingshan had come, and he immediately withdrew the disciples back on shore. Afterwards, he made Li Qingshan wait outside.
Li Qingshan arrived before the central building of the school of Military. Outside the martial arts hall, there were several hundred tall, wide steps. Several hundred military disciples stood to the two sides, all bare-chested and neutral in expression, without shifting their gazes at all.
Li Qingshan said, “You’re far too polite. You’ve even arranged a special welcoming ceremony for me!”
Han Tieyi appeared on the top of the steps. He wore a set of black clothes that were easy to work in, which accentuated his straight eyebrows and twinkling eyes, making him seem extraordinarily valiant. “If you want guidance from the school leader, we’ll have to see whether you qualify or not.”
Li Qingshan asked, “Then how can I qualify?”
Han Tieyi seemed to smile, but it was just too fast, such that even Li Qingshan doubted his own eyes.
“Don’t use any techniques. Fight your way up!”
PS: Going with the flow is much better than insisting on a certain day. An eruption of three chapters today. Who still dares to say I’m morally compromised? I’ll change it all today, so where are the monthly tickets at!?
