Once they had eaten their fill, the cat monsters began licking their fur to relax. Thanks to this innate calming technique, they were still able to keep their composure when faced with Qiao Zhi's military drills and Chu Qiguang's lectures.
On the other side of the yard, Chu Qiguang rested to let his food digest properly, practicing his calligraphy with a brush. After all, even though the classics essay portion of the martial examinations had dwindled to a mere formality, it would still reflect poorly on him if his handwriting was atrocious.
After that, Chu Qiguang would begin meditating and practicing martial arts, while the cat monsters played in the courtyard, tumbling onto his bed whenever they grew tired.
Watching Chu Qiguang lecture every day, eating and living alongside the cat monsters, Qiao Zhi thought to himself, *He's training these cats to become his trusted confidants!*
At the thought, delight welled up inside him, though a flicker of doubt soon followed. *Still, why does what he teaches in those ideological lessons sound so different from before? Liberating cat monsters, freedom, democracy, equal rights movements... none of that seems to be there anymore.*
*Could it be because of me?* Qiao Zhi’s eyes darted back and forth. He turned it over and over in his head, yet unable to make sense of the difference, he simply gave up thinking about it.
***
In the days that followed, Chu Qiguang stayed mostly behind closed doors. Aside from his daily visits to Yinglue Academy, he spent his time back in his courtyard cultivating martial arts and Daoist arts, while giving lessons to the cat monsters to foster their revolutionary camaraderie.
As for the looming clash between the Wu family, the Hao family, the Ding family, and Magistrate He, he had no desire to involve himself too deeply. After all, he was currently nothing more than a hardstuck Bronze, and stepping personally into a Challenger lobby was far too dangerous.
Besides, he had devised the strategy. If it succeeded, neither the Wu family nor the Hao family would forget him.
Though he kept to himself and focused on cultivation, he kept a close watch on Qingyang County's shifting winds through the street gossip and intelligence gathered by the dog monsters during their strolls.
First, several hundred villagers from Nangou Township gathered before the county yamen to file a formal complaint.
Then, villagers from Nangou Township went to lodge complaints with the Military Defense Circuit, the provincial governor, and the regional inspector...
Beyond demanding that the demon soldier pay be evenly distributed, the petitions even included claims from the villagers that the other twelve townships should reimburse Nangou Township for the silver they had underpaid over the past decade. Radical rhetoric surged without end, and the commotion grew larger by the day.
Such legal petitions were obviously beyond the wit and means of ordinary villagers; the Wu and Hao families had to be pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Such a massive stir naturally caught the attention of the other twelve townships. Both rural gentry and common folk were exceptionally sensitive when it came to taxes. The moment they heard Nangou Township wanted them to pay more silver, they immediately raised an uproar, swarming to file complaints with the governor, the regional inspector, and various other yamens. In this, the Wu and Hao families naturally added fuel to the fire as well.
Moreover, Qingyang County was thick with martial artists and prominent gentry, with seasoned hands in bureaucratic circles belonging to many local clans. Once money was on the line, every level of administrative office was hounded incessantly within a matter of days.
While legal battles raged above, the common people brawled in the streets below. Several incidents had already broken out in the county seat where people from Nangou Township were mobbed and beaten. Some locals even barred anyone from Nangou Township from entering the city, or hurled curses the moment they heard a Nangou accent.
Under the fanning flames of the Wu and Hao families, all of Qingyang County had turned into a giant powder keg in a very short time.
Then, Lingzhou Governor Li Peiqian issued an official missive demanding that Beiyue Prefecture immediately conduct a thorough investigation into the matter. Between the lines, he urged Beiyue Prefecture to align with national policy, demonstrating an utmost level of gravity.
Beiyue Prefecture immediately handed down directives requiring Qingyang County to assemble the relevant officials, rural gentry, prominent gentry, and other representatives to carry out a comprehensive probe into the demon soldier pay. The message made it clear from every angle that Qingyang County was expected to heed national policy and equalize the tax burden.
This immediately ignited further strife within Qingyang County. Seeing the chaos spiral out of control, Magistrate He found himself caught between a rock and a hard place.
Yet Chu Qiguang knew that since the spearhead had targeted Grand Secretary Wu from the very start, things would never conclude so simply.
***
Amidst crisp crackles of bursting air, Chu Qiguang stood alone in a corner of Yinglue Academy's training grounds, drilling the Heavenly Spirit Body Tempering Fist.
After these days of daily bitter practice, Chu Qiguang had finally managed to unleash three hundred explosive airbursts the previous evening. His physical stamina had reached the human limit, stepping squarely into the second stage of martial arts.
Over the past two months of continuous cultivation, taking various medicinal remedies, establishing his foundation, and being at an age where his body was naturally growing, his physical constitution had undergone transformation after transformation.
Now, Chu Qiguang had shot up in height, standing nearly six feet tall. His frame was lean and lithe, packed with tight muscle; with every rise and fall of his stance, the shifting musculature beneath his clothes resembled a leopard pouncing through the jungle, brimming with an aesthetic harmony of power and speed.
Even his skin had shed layers repeatedly under the effects of the Hundred-Refined Ointment, shifting from its previous sallow, malnourished tone to a healthier, fairer complexion.
Chu Qiguang thought to himself, *After nearly a month of bitter training, I've finally reached the second stage of martial arts. Having become good brothers with the Hao family, I won't need to waste time coming to Yinglue Academy every day anymore.*
Just then, the Outer Branch instructor, Lin Yao, walked over leading several students, among whom was Wang Cailiang.
Previously, assuming Chu Qiguang had no significant background, Lin Yao had casually brushed him aside to practice on his own, while dedicating his attention to instructing Wang Cailiang.
Now, Lin Yao walked up to Chu Qiguang and said, "Chu Qiguang, you submitted a request to the academy for extended leave, claiming you'll train at home every day and don't need my instruction?"
Chu Qiguang nodded. "Instructor Lin, is there a problem?"
Of course there was a problem. In Lin Yao's eyes, if word got out that Chu Qiguang had taken extended leave, people might think his martial arts were substandard or that he neglected his students.
Looking at Chu Qiguang, who was only fourteen or fifteen years old, Lin Yao let out a cold snort. "You're still young and don't understand the path of martial arts. The key lies in drawing on the strengths of many. What good will it do to shut yourself behind closed doors?"
With that, he extended a palm and crooked his fingers. "Take a strike at me. I'll personally instruct you today, and I'll do so every day from now on. You should stay at Yinglue Academy and focus on your training."
Turning toward the surrounding students, he added, "All of you, watch closely. In martial arts, without an experienced instructor offering hands-on guidance at your side, practicing for ten times as long is useless..."
Before he could finish, Chu Qiguang, who couldn't be bothered to listen further, struck out. The muscles across his frame surged and coiled, barreling forward into Lin Yao like a charging elephant.
Lin Yao himself was merely a martial artist of the second stage; had he attained the third stage, he would have sat for the wusheng exams rather than lingering as an instructor in Yinglue Academy.
Confronted by Chu Qiguang's sudden, explosive charge—wielded with the full force of the second stage—Lin Yao proved completely unable to withstand it. With a loud thud, he was knocked backward several paces. No sooner had he regained his footing than Chu Qiguang's torrential onslaught was upon him.
In haste, Lin Yao raised both arms to parry, only to feel a tremendous force radiating from the incoming fist that rivaled his own peak strength. How could an unprepared guard hold against such power? His arms were blasted wide open by the blow, followed instantly by another punch hammering straight into his chest.
*Thump!*
Lin Yao crashed flat on his back, his chest tight and breathless. His face alternated between pale and flushed as he stared at Chu Qiguang. "You've... reached the second stage of martial arts?"
Seeing Chu Qiguang fell Lin Yao in an instant and hearing Lin Yao claim he had already reached the second stage, the surrounding students were struck dumb with shock.
Wang Cailiang's eyes widened in disbelief. *Brother Chu has reached the second stage already?* He suddenly remembered Chu Qiguang's claim that he would enter the Inner Branch within a month. Who would have thought it would actually come true?
Seeing Chu Qiguang nod, Lin Yao's expression turned stormy. Without a word, he scrambled to his feet and slunk away in disgrace.
Wang Cailiang and the other students gathered around, offering effusive congratulations to Chu Qiguang.
Breaking through to the second stage at such a young age instantly elevated Chu Qiguang's stature in their eyes from a quiet nobody to someone of immense weight.
Chu Qiguang offered modest pleasantries. "Alas, I had already reached the first stage at fourteen, and now I'm fifteen and only just reached the second stage. I still fall short of true geniuses."
Hearing his words, Wang Cailiang and the others felt both sour and thoroughly embarrassed. Which of them hadn't already practiced martial arts for three or four years without even sniffing the second stage?
Even so, everyone showered Chu Qiguang with polite compliments and invited him out for a meal. After all, a fifteen-year-old at the second stage of martial arts was considered a prodigy in Qingyang County, well worth befriending for sons of the local landlord gentry.
After a round of social pleasantries, Chu Qiguang left Yinglue Academy and returned to his courtyard to consult Qiao Zhi on charging toward the next martial stage.
Watching Chu Qiguang practice, Qiao Zhi said, "Starting from the second stage, a martial artist's physical body reaches the limit of ordinary mortals. Ordinary martial forms can no longer temper the body further. You must learn to harness the power of qi and blood to achieve the third stage: Qi Coursing through the Four Extremities.
"The so-called Qi Coursing through the Four Extremities means that once your perception of your physical body becomes sharp enough, your strength can circulate all the way to the four extremities of the human form. The extremity of the sinews is the fingernails and toenails; the extremity of the flesh is the tongue; the extremity of the blood is the hair; and the extremity of the bones is the teeth.
"Once you reach this step and perceive your fleshly body down to the minutest detail, you will be able to circulate your qi and blood."
Having heard Qiao Zhi out, Chu Qiguang summarized, "If I can channel my strength into my hair, tongue, teeth, and nails, I'll be able to perceive and circulate my qi and blood, thereby stepping into the third stage. So what I need to train next is physical control, sensitivity, and perception."
Punch by punch, kick by kick, Chu Qiguang slowly went through the Heavenly Spirit Bone Tempering Fist, feeling the movement of strength within his body.
Suddenly, he stopped. Practicing martial arts like this felt far too slow. Back on Earth, whenever he leveled up in video games, he either used cheats, whaled with cash, or used cheats while whaling. Who would grind away mindlessly like this?
Beside him, Qiao Zhi continued, "With your talent, backed by the third stage of Daoist cultivation, it will probably take you about three to four months. This stage is fundamentally slow, painstaking grind work, gradually heightening your sensitivity to perceive the minute details inside your body. Reaching Qi Coursing through the Four Extremities in three to four months would already make you a genius among geniuses."
Chu Qiguang cut straight to the chase. "Cut to the point. What pills can I pop to speed things up?"
Qiao Zhi paused, then said helplessly, "Medicines can indeed enhance your body's sensitivity, which would naturally let your cultivation advance by leaps and bounds. But the Hundred-Refined Ointment won't be of much use now; you'll need something much stronger."
Qiao Zhi counted on his feline paws. "The Heavenly Master Sect's Xiaoyao Pills can enhance physical agility and the five senses. Five Food Powder can temporarily stimulate the brain, speeding up your reactions by heightening neural activity. But both of those are expensive and rare; you probably won't be able to buy them.
"On the other hand, Ear-Opening Pills can temporarily boost the sensitivity of your ears, and they're available in greater quantities, so you should be able to get hold of them.
"In any case, while each has a different effect, all of them should boost your cultivation efficiency. If you use all three medicinal pills together, with your talent, you might be able to make a push for the third stage in about a month."
Chu Qiguang's eyes lit up. "One month? Now that sounds more like it."
Qiao Zhi continued, "If you want something even better and faster, those are pills reserved for high-ranking masters of the Heavenly Master Sect, or supplied exclusively to the Demon Suppression Bureau. You couldn't possibly buy them in Qingyang County."
Listening to Qiao Zhi's breakdown, Chu Qiguang nodded. "I've nearly run out of silver over the past few days. I might as well go hit up my good brother Hao Yongtai for a little aid. But before I head over..."
Chapter 76