After a filling meal, the cat fiends relaxed by grooming themselves. Thanks to this ability, they were able to stay calm and clear-headed while undergoing Qiao Zhi's military training and Chu Qiguang's lessons.

Chu Qiguang needed some time for digestion, so he couldn't begin his martial arts cultivation right away. Instead, he spent time practicing his calligraphy.

Even though the written section of the martial examination was nothing more than a formality, he still couldn't walk into it with handwriting worse than a child's.

After practicing calligraphy, he began meditating and cultivating martial arts. Meanwhile, the cat fiends were playing in the yard, and once they grew tired, they fell asleep on his bed.

Qiao Zhi was very happy to see Chu Qiguang investing so much time and effort into the cat fiends every day.

It looks like he plans to make us cat fiends his closest subordinates! I wonder why his lessons are different from before. All that talk about liberating the cat fiend race, liberal democracy, and equal rights seems to have disappeared. Is it because of me?

***

What followed was an extremely busy period for Chu Qiguang, during which he barely left his courtyard. Aside from attending his daily lessons at Wise Hero Academy, he spent almost all of his time on cultivation and educating the cat fiends to deepen their bond.

He wanted as little personal involvement as possible in the upcoming conflict between He Wenyan and the Wu, Hao, and Ding Clans. At the moment, he was still only a first-state martial artist, so it would be far too dangerous for him to be swept up in such a perilous storm.

In any case, he was the one who had come up with the plan. If it succeeded, then the Wu and Hao Clans would surely be very pleased with him.

Even though he hardly went anywhere outside of Wise Hero Academy, he was able to keep up with the unfolding events in Azure Sun County through the intelligence gathered by his loyal dog fiends.

The first event to ignite the conflict came when hundreds of South Gully Town residents gathered to make a report to the county office. After that, they also made reports to the Northern Mountain Manor, the provincial governor, and every other authority they could reach.

They were demanding an equal distribution of the fiend tax burden, and some even demanded that the other twelve towns pool their funds to reimburse all the extra tax that South Gully Town had paid over the past thirteen years.

A report made by an average resident of South Gully Town definitely wouldn't be able to reach the provincial governor, so it was clear that they were receiving assistance from the Wu and Hao Clans.

The other twelve towns quickly became aware of the situation as well. Everyone was very sensitive about the topic of taxation to begin with, and they immediately opposed the idea of sharing South Gully Town's tax burden. Thus, they began making reports of their own to the provincial governor, and they were undoubtedly receiving assistance from the Wu and Hao Clans in this process as well.

There was no shortage of martial artists in Azure Sun County, so the unrest quickly escalated into physical altercations. Angry residents began to attack those they believed had wronged them.

There had already been many cases in the county town of people from South Gully Town being cornered and beaten, and some of the local residents were even barring South Gully Town residents from entering the county town.

With the Wu and Hao Clans fanning the flames behind the scenes, the situation quickly began to spiral out of control.

Governor Li Peiqian of Spirit Province issued an official order to Northern Mountain Manor to launch an investigation, and they made it clear that they were taking the matter very seriously.

In response, the Northern Mountain Manor immediately issued an order of their own, demanding that the officials of Azure Sun County launch an investigation to ensure fair and equal taxation, as stipulated by national policy.

The conflict in Azure Sun County was escalating by the day, and He Wenyan was at a complete loss.

However, Chu Qiguang knew that this was only the beginning. If Secretary Wu was the true target of those pulling the strings behind the scenes, then there was no way things would end so easily.

***

On this day, Chu Qiguang was practicing his Heavenly Spirit Body Refinement Fist Techniques alone in a corner of the training ground at Wise Hero Academy.

Just the night before, he had finally achieved his goal of throwing three hundred consecutive audible punches, reaching the second state of martial arts.

Chu Qiguang was already at an age where his body was still growing, and thanks to the past two months of diligent cultivation and ample nutrition, he had undergone a drastic physical transformation.

He was quickly approaching six feet in height, and he had developed a well proportioned and athletic physique. His entire body was packed with lean, explosive muscle.

Even his skin had become fairer and healthier thanks to his repeated use of Hundred Refinement Ointment.

Now that I've reached the second state and become close friends with Hao Yongtai, I no longer have to waste time coming to Wise Hero Academy every day.

Right at this moment, Chu Qiguang noticed Lin Yao, the instructor of the outer school, approaching him with several other students. Wang Cailiang was among them.

After learning about Chu Qiguang's humble background, Lin Yao had dismissed him to cultivate on his own, and this was the first time he had approached Chu Qiguang in a month.

"Chu Qiguang, I heard that you applied for an extended leave of absence from the academy. You said you're content to cultivate on your own at home and no longer require my instruction. Is that true?"

Chu Qiguang nodded. "Is there a problem, Instructor Lin?"

Of course there's a problem! If anyone else finds out about this, they'll think I'm an incompetent instructor!

With that in mind, Lin Yao sneered. "You're still just a kid who doesn't even know how to cultivate correctly. How're you going to make any progress by cultivating at home on your own? Come! Attack me! I'm going to personally instruct you in martial arts today, and I'll continue to do so every day from now on, so don't get any funny ideas about leaving the academy. All of you, watch closely. Without the guidance of an experienced instructor, you won't be able to make any progress in martial arts no matter—"

Chu Qiguang couldn't be bothered listening to Lin Yao's lecture any longer. He launched himself at him, cutting him off mid-sentence.

Lin Yao was only a second-state martial artist. If he had been able to reach the third state, then he would've taken the martial examination instead of working as an instructor at Wise Hero Academy.

Caught off guard by Chu Qiguang's attack, Lin Yao stumbled back with a loud thump. He had only just managed to steady himself when Chu Qiguang was already upon him, unleashing a fierce barrage of attacks.

Lin Yao hurriedly raised his arms to defend himself, but to his shock and dismay, he could sense that Chu Qiguang's strength was not inferior to his own. His guard was quickly broken by Chu Qiguang's fists, and a punch struck him in the chest, sending him crashing to the ground.

He stared up at Chu Qiguang in shock and humiliation as he exclaimed, "You've already reached the second state?"

All of the students present were astonished, especially Wang Cailiang.

Brother Chu has already reached the second state? He did tell me that he would enter the inner school in a month, but I never thought it would actually happen!

After receiving a nod of confirmation from Chu Qiguang, Lin Yao stood up without a word, then left with his tail between his legs.

The other students gathered around Chu Qiguang to congratulate him.

Previously, everyone had written him off just as Lin Yao had, but the fact that he had reached the second state at such a young age instantly forced them to see him in a new light.

"I was already a first-state martial artist at fourteen. I'm fifteen now, yet I've only reached the second state. I still can't compare with the true prodigies," Chu Qiguang said modestly.

Wang Cailiang and the others all fell into an awkward and dejected silence. All of them had been working hard for three or four years without reaching the second state.

Even so, everyone still praised and congratulated Chu Qiguang, and they invited him out for a meal. A fifteen-year-old second-state martial artist could already be considered a prodigy in Azure Sun County, so they were eager to get on good terms with him.

After sharing a meal with everyone, Chu Qiguang returned to his courtyard to receive instruction from Qiao Zhi.

"As a second-state martial artist, you have already reached the absolute physical limits for a human, so you can no longer make progress through practicing martial arts," Qiao Zhi declared. "From this point onward, you need to learn how to use your qi and blood. In order to reach the third state, you must heighten your sensitivity to your body and transmit your power all the way to your four extremities.

“The extremity of your tendons are the nails of your fingers and toes, the extremity of your flesh is your tongue, the extremity of your blood is your hair, and the extremity of your bones are your teeth. Once you reach the third state, you'll be able to inspect the internal condition of your body and control your qi and blood at will."

"So I'll have reached the third state once I'm able to control my qi and blood and transmit my power to my hair, tongue, teeth, and fingers," Chu Qiguang summarized. "That means that from now on, I need to work on improving my bodily control and sensitivity."

With that objective in mind, he began practicing his Heavenly Spirit Body Refinement Fist Techniques while carefully sensing how his power moved through his body.

All of a sudden, he stopped. He felt that this form of cultivation was far too slow. Whenever he played games back on Earth, he would always use hacks or take the pay-to-win approach. Never had he been forced to accept such slow progress.

"Given your aptitude and the perks you'll enjoy as a third-state Dao artist, it should only take you three to four months to reach the third state," Qiao Zhi continued. "This is a process of slowly and steadily heightening your sensitivity, and reaching the third state in three to four months is already something only a prodigy among prodigies can do."

"What medicines can I use to speed up my progress?" Chu Qiguang asked.

Qiao Zhi paused slightly at the question, then replied, "You can use medicine to heighten your bodily sensitivity and speed up your progress, but Hundred Refinement Ointment won't be enough anymore. The Heavenly Master Religion's Free Spirit Pill can enhance your bodily sensitivity and your five senses, while the Five Feed Powder can temporarily stimulate your brain to heighten your brain activity and reactions.

"However, both of these medicines are very expensive and difficult to come by, so you probably won't be able to get your hands on them. That said, Ear Opening Pills, which heighten auditory sensitivity, are a bit easier to obtain, so you should be able to buy some. The three medicines each work in different ways, but all of them should be able to speed up your cultivation progress. Given your aptitude, if you can use all three medicines together, you should be able to reach the third state in about a month."

Chu Qiguang's eyes lit up.

"A month? That sounds much better!"

"If you want even faster progress, then you'll have to acquire pills reserved only for the high-ranking members of the Heavenly Master Religion or the Demon Vanquishing Department. Those types of pills are impossible to buy in Azure Sun County," Qiao Zhi continued.

Chu Qiguang nodded with a thoughtful expression as he mused, "I'm running a little short on funds right now... Looks like I'll have to turn to Hao Yongtai for some donations..."