Chapter 75: Tell me, who is the real monster (3)
Cheng Hong Ling opened the door and saw her Master standing at the door, looking extremely anxious.
“Are you in such a hurry?” Cheng Hong Ling asked in surprise.
“Yes, the end of the month is the deadline given by the Cao family. Those people might come to cause trouble again at any time. Since you disrupted their plans last time, it’s best to leave early,” Senior Sister Shi Yuqi expressed her concerns.
“I was just about to tell you, my main body’s cultivation has broken through. It has now reached the third layer of the Huashen Realm,” Qi Huang excitedly reported. How could she and her main body, having finally arrived at the Hua Rong Sect, possibly leave without a valid reason?
“Is that so?” Shi Yuqi’s face lit up with joy, and she tentatively asked, “Can you let me inspect it with my spiritual sense?”
Qi Huang’s expression faltered, and then she looked at Cheng Hong Ling with a questioning gaze.
“Forget it, let her look. Otherwise, being secretive might arouse suspicion,” Cheng Hong Ling transmitted her thoughts.
“Alright. Anyway, the Xihui Dynasty is tens of thousands of miles away from here, spanning dozens of countries. And Shui Linglong’s technique is not that well-known, so they won’t be able to discover our identities in a short period,” Qi Huang agreed.
“Alright, you can inspect it yourself.” Cheng Hong Ling removed her protective spiritual sense.
Shi Yuqi used her spiritual sense to examine, finding that the Shui True Qi in her disciple’s Qi Sea had indeed reached about one-third, and the small ice figure in the middle represented the Huashen Realm.
“As expected, Huashen Realm Layer 3! Congratulations, quickly pack your luggage,” Shi Yuqi said perfunctorily, congratulating her and then urged her to hurry. Perhaps due to her haste, she did not notice that her disciple’s True Qi was extraordinary.
“No, didn’t you hear properly? My main body’s cultivation has already reached the third layer of the Huashen Realm!” Qi Huang breathed a sigh of relief and reiterated.
“And then? Can she defeat the two Heavenly Punishment Realm experts from the Cao family?”
“No!”
“Can she block the Cao family’s Immortal Tablet?”
“No?”
“Then why aren’t you leaving quickly!”
“You… your reasoning makes so much sense!” Qi Huang was almost misled and explained in exasperation, “My main body broke through to the third layer of the Huashen Realm in just one night! This talent should be stronger than Hua Yu, right? As long as you let her marry into the Cao family, then we won’t have to leave?”
Shi Yuqi frowned slightly and, after a moment of thought, asked Cheng Hong Ling, “How long have you been at the third layer of the Huashen Realm?”
“Two years,” Cheng Hong Ling replied truthfully.
“Two years to reach the third layer of the Huashen Realm from the second layer. Although it’s much stronger than ordinary cultivators, it’s still far from being comparable to Hua Yu. Therefore, you cannot replace her,” Shi Yuqi dealt a heavy blow without mincing words.
“Uh…” Qi Huang was speechless. It was true that she was able to help her main body break through to the third layer of the Huashen Realm within four hours because Cheng Hong Ling had already been cultivating for two years. But she was still far from breaking through, wasn’t she? Qi Huang argued internally, but she also knew that even if she said it, her cheap Master wouldn’t believe her, as seeing is believing.
“Quickly pack your luggage. I still need to go inform others,” Shi Yuqi urged and then hurried away.
“Wait, Master, there’s no rush, let’s leave tomorrow!” Qi Huang quickly called out, not wanting to waste any more time.
“Why?” Shi Yuqi turned back, sounding slightly impatient.
“I have something I must do and it will take a day,” Qi Huang said firmly.
Shi Yuqi hesitated for a long time before relenting, “Alright then, I’ll give you one day. You must leave tomorrow morning.”
“Definitely,” Qi Huang replied perfunctorily, thinking to herself with a teasing smile, “By then, it’s probably you who won’t want to leave.”
Seeing her cheap Master leave, Cheng Hong Ling turned back and asked, “What do we do now?”
“What else can we do? Seize the time to cultivate! Although this short day might not be enough to break through to the next layer, the growth of True Qi is clearly visible. I will show them what a monster is,” Qi Huang tried to encourage herself.
Cheng Hong Ling also knew there was no other way, so she followed her clone back into the house to cultivate.
…
Meanwhile, Shi Yuqi was not idle that day. She went directly to Sect Leader Hua Ru Yi.
“Sect Leader, do you remember Hua Yu’s cultivation progress in the Huashen Realm?” Shi Yuqi inquired.
“Why are you asking this?” Hua Ru Yi looked puzzled.
“It’s nothing. I just want to clarify it so I can use it to motivate those disciples later on,” Shi Yuqi lied.
“Motivate whom? It’s not Jian Ling, is it? As the saying goes, a master for a day is a father for life. I understand your desire for your disciple to soar, but a descendant of immortals with a ninety percent bloodline is not comparable to ordinary cultivators, not even with eighty percent. You must not put too much pressure on her, or it will be counterproductive,” Hua Ru Yi advised kindly.
“I understand!” Shi Yuqi’s expression became a bit unnatural. It was indeed embarrassing to have her ulterior motives exposed.
“Alright, then I’ll tell you. It took Hua Yu four months to go from the first to the second layer of the Huashen Realm, and eight months from the second to the third… In total, it took her sixteen years to reach the Shentong Realm from the Huashen Realm,” Hua Ru Yi recounted as if listing family treasures. When mentioning her disciple’s past outstanding performance, a hint of pride actually appeared on her face.
“Thank you, Sect Leader, for telling me. I’ve noted it down.” Shi Yuqi took a deep breath, her expression very solemn. It took sixteen years to cultivate from the Huashen Realm to the Shentong Realm, yet she was still struggling at the sixth layer of the Huashen Realm at the age of thirty-six. Truly, comparing oneself to others could be deadly.
Shi Yuqi then left in a hurry. After clarifying Hua Yu’s situation, her last bit of wishful thinking was completely shattered.
…
During this day, Qi Huang focused on helping her main body improve her cultivation. The True Qi in her Qi Sea surged again. However, it was unrealistic to break through to the next layer within a day; it would take at least several more days. Fortunately, the growth rate of True Qi was “visible to the naked eye,” so she wasn’t afraid of others not noticing.
After a day of hard work, Qi Huang increased her main body’s True Qi to about one-sixth of the third layer of the Huashen Realm. At this pace, it would only take another five days to advance to the next layer.
“It seems I’ve underestimated the difficulty of cultivation. I didn’t expect that even with the amplification of spiritual sense from the Heavenly Punishment Realm, your cultivation couldn’t advance a small level in a day,” Qi Huang complained to her main body, still somewhat dissatisfied.
“A small level a day? Do you think it’s like pouring water? Without your help, I probably wouldn’t have broken through to the third layer of the Huashen Realm in a few more years, let alone the fourth layer,” Cheng Hong Ling said helplessly.
“I wonder how fast those little monsters cultivate,” Qi Huang murmured worriedly, as it concerned whether she could convince the higher-ups of the Hua Rong Sect.
“Don’t worry, I inquired. Hua Yu was born with the cultivation of the Guiyi Realm. She entered the Huashen Realm before she was ten years old, and only reached the Shentong Realm last year. This means she spent fifteen to sixteen years in the process. Calculating this way, even if the early stage of the Huashen Realm is relatively simple, the time spent on each small layer would definitely be calculated in months,” Cheng Hong Ling analyzed intelligently.
“That puts my mind at ease,” Qi Huang breathed a sigh of relief.
At this moment, Shi Yuqi had started going from house to house urging the disciples of Jade Peak to leave.
“Senior Sister, are we really not waiting for Protector Yuan?” Xiang Jun asked hesitantly.
“Why wait for her? Haven’t I already told you the reconstruction address of the Hua Rong Sect? You know the way, don’t you? Although Jiang Ling made a great contribution that day, she also offended the Cao family, so she must leave as soon as possible. We still rely on her to carry forward the Jade Peak,” Shi Yuqi explained sternly.
“Alright then!” Xiang Jun realized and also helped to urge the disciples.
Qi Huang and Cheng Hong Ling had not yet left the house when, unexpectedly, that cheap Master came looking for them again.
“Is this matter settled? Then quickly pack your luggage and leave with your Martial Aunt Xiang. She will take care of you,” Shi Yuqi said, as anxious as ever.
“Why don’t you take a look at my main body’s cultivation before deciding whether to leave?” Qi Huang said pretentiously, as it was her achievement, after all.
“What do you mean?” Shi Yuqi asked verbally, but her spiritual sense reflexively swept towards her disciple, and then her phoenix eyes widened.
“This isn’t right. When I looked yesterday morning, wasn’t your cultivation just entering the third layer of the Huashen Realm? How has the True Qi increased by one-sixth in just one day? Am I seeing things?” Shi Yuqi rubbed her eyes vigorously.
“Master, you’re not looking with your eyes, why are you blinking?” Qi Huang kindly reminded her.
“Then what is going on?” Shi Yuqi asked, utterly bewildered. She couldn’t even begin to imagine cultivation with such a terrifying growth rate.
