Chapter 138: Chapter 136: Marrow Cleansing

Only then did Qin Li notice something was off with Bu Yunyan, and he frowned slightly. "Bu, what’s wrong? Did... someone cause trouble at your shop again today? Who’s so bold as to provoke you? Do they have a death wish? But you don’t have to stoop to their level. I already performed Marrow Cleansing for Leng Yao today. Once I recover in a few days, I’ll do it for you. After the Marrow Cleansing, your aptitude will improve many times over, and cultivating then will be much more effective. When that time comes, if anyone bothers you again, just give them a ruthless beating! Don’t worry about any Dukes and Ministers or noble families. I’ll take care of everything for you!"

Bu Yunyan didn’t hear a word of what Qin Li said after that. The only thing she heard clearly was that one phrase: Marrow Cleansing... Her heart skipped a beat. ’Could it be... they weren’t... Oh no, this is so embarrassing!’ Bu Yunyan’s face flushed bright red. She quickly stood up and said, "Okay, okay, you can arrange it however you see fit. I’m a bit tired, I’m going to bed. You should get some sleep too..."

After saying that, she fled in a panic.

Qin Li watched Bu Yunyan’s retreating back, completely baffled. He could clearly sense something was wrong with her, but being a complete blockhead when it came to romance, he simply couldn’t figure out why.

"How bizarre!"

Mumbling to himself, the exhausted Qin Li shook his head and went back to his room to rest.

Performing the Marrow Cleansing to reconstruct Leng Yao’s body had nearly exhausted all the Innate Purple Qi in Qin Li’s system. It was like he had just been through a vicious battle, leaving him utterly exhausted. So, the next morning, for the first time ever, Qin Li didn’t wake up early to practice his techniques. Instead, he lay in bed, sleeping soundly.

After Bu Yunyan returned to her room last night, the more she thought about it, the more mortified she felt. Besides, even if something had happened between Qin Li and Leng Yao, it would have been perfectly normal. She had absolutely no reason to lose her composure like that.

There was only one possible reason: she had fallen for Qin Li!

Bu Yunyan was reluctant to face these feelings, which seemed somewhat improper to her. After all, Qin Li was only fifteen this year, while she was already twenty-one!

To have fallen for a man so much younger than her made it difficult for Bu Yunyan, who had always considered herself mature and charming, to even admit. On top of that, she had made such a fool of herself today. She couldn’t imagine how Leng Yao would laugh at her when she heard about it, even though that girl always wore an icy expression and preferred to just stare at you quietly with those expressive eyes of hers.

But that just made it all the more awkward for Bu Yunyan. Unable to sleep, she went to find Leng Yao in the middle of the night, and the changes that had occurred in Leng Yao left her utterly dumbfounded!

In truth, even Leng Yao herself hadn’t expected her body to undergo such a massive transformation after Qin Li’s Marrow Cleansing.

Originally, Leng Yao had thought she didn’t need this so-called Marrow Cleansing. Having grown up in an Alchemy Family, her body had practically been steeped in all sorts of rare treasures from birth! How could her aptitude possibly be poor?

But to her surprise, after Qin Li circulated the Innate Purple Qi through her meridians for a full Great Cycle, her body expelled a large amount of filthy, black gunk. This was incredibly embarrassing for Leng Yao, who was so clean she was practically a germaphobe. The moment the Marrow Cleansing was over, she kicked Qin Li out. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

After taking a bath, however, she was astonished to discover the miraculous changes to her body. First, her skin, which was already fair and delicate, had become translucent and crystalline, glowing like a piece of polished jade!

Her already beautiful face seemed to be veiled in an ethereal aura, making her look like a fairy from the highest heavens. Even Leng Yao herself was captivated by this special new quality!

These were just the external changes. Women, even someone like Leng Yao, care deeply about their appearance, so naturally, the first thing she noticed were the superficial improvements.

If the external changes were a pleasant surprise for Leng Yao, then the internal changes left her utterly shocked!

On the Celestial Essence Continent, Martial Artists cultivated by using various Primordial Power Heart Methods to absorb the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. They would then draw this Spiritual Qi into their bodies, convert it into Primordial Power, and store it within their Dantian. The higher a Martial Artist’s Primordial Power level, the more Primordial Power they could store!

The level of one’s Heart Method generally determined the amount of Spiritual Qi that could be absorbed. For example, if a Martial Artist cultivating a Low Level Heart Method could absorb one unit of Spiritual Qi in a day, then a Martial Artist cultivating a High Level Heart Method could absorb five, six, or even seven or eight units in the same amount of time!

Furthermore, a higher Primordial Power level not only meant deeper reserves of Primordial Power, but it also sped up the absorption of Spiritual Qi!

A true Celestial Level Martial Artist could even absorb Spiritual Qi while simultaneously expending it in battle! A Martial Artist at the Celestial Shattering Realm or above could even instantly drain all the Spiritual Qi within a radius of dozens of meters!

Such domineering power was simply terrifying to even hear about!

Therefore, it was generally believed that only those who reached the Celestial Level could absorb Spiritual Qi at will. Below the Celestial Level, one had to actively circulate their Heart Method to do so.

But after Qin Li’s Marrow Cleansing, Leng Yao discovered that her body was now absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi at every moment! Although the absorption rate was only about a third of what it was when she actively meditated and circulated her Heart Method.

But that alone was terrifying enough!

Normally, only during true secluded cultivation could one continuously absorb Spiritual Qi day and night, relying on it to nourish their body, ward off hunger, and rapidly increase their strength.

But unless a Martial Artist reached the High Tier of the Earth Level and their Primordial Power had reached a certain depth, secluded cultivation was almost completely ineffective! The Spiritual Qi they absorbed was insufficient to sustain their body’s needs; to put it bluntly, they still had to eat, drink, and relieve themselves. That was why Martial Artists below the Earth Level rarely entered secluded cultivation, and even if they did, it wasn’t seclusion in the truest sense.

This meant that, in some respects, Leng Yao’s body had now surpassed the Earth Level and reached the standard of the Celestial Level! Even without actively cultivating, Spiritual Qi would automatically flow into her. If she were to cultivate diligently, the amount of Spiritual Qi she could absorb would surely be far, far greater than before!

If this transformation couldn’t be called miraculous, then what could?

So, after Bu Yunyan heard all this, any trace of her earlier chaotic thoughts vanished. Only one thought remained: ’I have to get it done before that guy Hu!’

...

In Qin Li’s view, it was better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish.

In this world, only by possessing extreme strength could one truly have a voice. Otherwise, even if you became a super-rich tycoon, you would still end up as a lamb to the slaughter.

Qin Li had never been the type to turn the other cheek.

「Over the next month」

Aside from his weekly visit to the Imperial Advanced Academy, Qin Li spent his time performing Marrow Cleansing for Bu Yunyan, Hu, and Watermelon.

He benefited greatly from helping them as well. Each time his Innate Purple Qi was depleted, Qin Li could feel that his recovery speed had increased slightly.

By the time he finished Watermelon’s Marrow Cleansing, his recovery speed was more than fifty percent faster than it had been when he helped Leng Yao!

At the same time, the brilliant, star-sea-like vortex of purple qi in his Dantian had shrunk to the size of a fist. Every time he looked inward, Qin Li was mesmerized. The vortex of Innate Purple Qi now resembled a translucent, crystalline purple gemstone. A misty vapor swirled around it, making it seem both real and illusory as surging energy constantly radiated from it, spreading throughout his entire body!

’Just how strong am I?’ If not for the immensely powerful old man, Chen Yihan, living next door, Qin Li would have had Watermelon bring back a testing device from the Daqing Gang to find out. But he couldn’t do that now, because the moment he unleashed Celestial Level power, Chen Yihan would immediately sense it.

At sixteen years old, possessing the strength of a seventh-tier Earth Level practitioner was already enough to make people burn with jealousy. If it were discovered that his strength had actually reached the Celestial Level, it would undoubtedly cause a massive uproar!

Qin Li had no interest in that kind of attention.

Wei Qiang ultimately managed to survive thanks to timely medical attention, but his power was completely crippled. It was said that the Wei Family had already gone to the Emperor, demanding that the perpetrator, Qin Li, be severely punished. The members of the Crown Prince Faction also seized the opportunity to push for the expulsion of this lawless punk.

However, all their influence was less effective than a few words from the Little Princess, Zhao Qianqian. The Emperor harshly reprimanded Wei Qiang’s father, the Imperial Right General Wei Tenghu.

The Emperor told him he had failed to discipline his son, that Wei Qiang had been the one to provoke the fight. He had drawn his sword to attack, and every student at the Imperial Advanced Academy had seen it with their own eyes. How dare he still come and complain?

Although Wei Tenghu was indignant, he didn’t have the guts to oppose the Emperor, and so the matter was swept under the rug. But all the officials in the imperial court noticed that ever since Qin Li’s appearance, the Crown Prince’s faction seemed to be having a run of bad luck.

From the change in leadership of the Daqing Gang, which the Crown Prince still hadn’t managed to take back, to the way Qin Li was stirring things up at the Imperial Advanced Academy. It was said that whenever Qin Li went to the academy on Mondays, its largest auditorium would be packed to capacity, with more than half the entire student body flocking to attend his class.

This outcome left the Vice Principal of the Advanced Academy, Bu Tong, both furious and helpless, because the one leading the charge was Her Highness the Princess.

In fact, those with better information knew that the Crown Prince’s Celestial Level guard, Shadow, had been severely injured by Qin Li, losing an arm and suffering a great loss in strength!

Thus, the enmity between the Crown Prince and Qin Li seemed to be growing ever deeper.

Meanwhile, after confirming that Wei Qiang had gone from a promising High Tier Earth Level Martial Artist to a cripple, the noble Wei Family, home to the Imperial Right General Wei Tenghu, finally erupted in fury, vowing they would never let Qin Li off the hook!

As for Qin Li himself, he spent his days in a carefree manner. He would usually hide away in the Marquis Mansion to cultivate, or occasionally play a game of chess with old man Chen Yihan and exchange cultivation insights. Other times, he would go to the Imperial Academy and soak in the vibrant spirit of youth amidst the fervent atmosphere.

All in all, Marquis Qin had been living quite a stylish life lately. (To be continued. If you want to know what happens next, please log in to www.qidian.com for more Chapters, and support the author and genuine reading!)