Chapter 5

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Chapter 5: Eighth Level of Qi Refinement

A month later, the girl in blue pushed open the door to the training room and stepped out with a confident stride, her aura sharp and refined, embodying the essence of the eighth level of Qi Refinement.

Eighth level of Qi Refinement! In just one month, Ming He had broken through two more levels.

She felt quite satisfied with this outcome.

Initially, she had thought that even with the abundant spiritual energy in the training tower, she would only reach the pinnacle of the seventh level of Qi Refinement in a month. However, the training tower had delivered a tremendous surprise.

And this was just a common sect in a border town!

Looking back at the training tower, Ming He once again understood what it meant to be a child of a powerful family.

True aristocratic disciples start at the top of the cultivation chain from the moment they are born.

And how many people like the Dragon Hero, who come from humble beginnings and climb into the public eye step by step, are there?

There could only be a handful.

But among those few, Ming He believed her name should be included.

The girl in blue gazed up at the billowing white clouds in the sky with her bright, sparkling peach blossom eyes, feeling full of fighting spirit.

Reaching the eighth level of Qi Refinement, she thought it would be quite difficult to break through in just one month.

The path of cultivation has the third level of Qi Refinement to the fourth level as a minor watershed, where the original owner got stuck and ended up going astray.

The leap from the eighth to the ninth level is a major watershed, and among the three thousand outer sect disciples of Liu Yun Sect, countless individuals have fallen at this hurdle and couldn’t enter the inner sect, ultimately being expelled due to exceeding the age limit.

Ming He certainly didn’t think she would be expelled; she was self-aware enough.

In the two months, she didn’t intend to demand that she break through to the ninth level of Qi Refinement.

Since she couldn’t improve her cultivation further, it was time to focus on strength.

In the training room, she had already memorized the general content of "Rotating Cloud Steps" and "Breaking Cloud Fingers"; the next step was comprehension and practical application.

Comprehension and practical application? Ming He recalled a place very suitable for her to enhance her abilities—Woodman Lane.

It was one of Liu Yun Sect’s trial grounds, a great spot for many disciples to improve their combat skills.

As the name suggests, Woodman Lane is a long alley made up of wooden figures, about a kilometer long, with wooden figures that grow stronger when they encounter stronger opponents; the modes can also be adjusted.

Determined about the direction of Woodman Lane, Ming He calmly turned and set off.

"Su Ming He." A light voice called out and stopped her.

Ming He did not halt her steps and continued toward Woodman Lane; whether it was her or the original owner, both had been solitary in Liu Yun Sect. The original owner had been reclusive and cold, but she didn’t need that.

So, why would so many people call out to her? Just more gossip?

Ming He was not at all interested and quickened her pace.

"Su Ming He, stop!" The voice turned angry.

Ming He, who had been moving straight toward Woodman Lane, suddenly stopped—not because she heard the voice but due to the shadow that fell in front of her.

Ming He coldly raised her head, blocking her path was a tall, average-looking young man with a sword at his waist, at the eighth level of Qi Refinement, his gaze cold and filled with desire.

"Are you sent by Wang Feihu?" Ming He understood this kind of tactic well.

Since she had offended the boy in gray in the Liu Yun Mountains, someone with low cultivation but a bit of influence would definitely not let her off easily.

So after returning to the sect, she took a moment to learn about the boy in gray and the web of relationships surrounding him.

The girl in blue narrowed her eyes; if she were the protagonist of a story, these people would be the early-stage cannon fodder, causing trouble and handing her experience on a silver platter, wouldn’t they?

She mentally tagged the young man before her as an NPC and a disposable tool, her lips curling into an amused smile.

“Su Ming He, I challenge you,” Li Si said, his voice low and tinged with irritation as he glared at her smile, which he found inexplicably grating.

“Challenge me?” Ming He thought to herself, *as expected*. “A martial arts competition or a life-and-death duel?” Her tone was light, almost playful, devoid of the panic Li Si had anticipated. Instead, there was a faint undercurrent of… thrill?

Li Si was momentarily taken aback by her composure, a flicker of unease creeping into his mind.

From what he had gathered, Su Ming He was petty and weak. Her earlier confrontation with Wang Feihu had seemed like the last gasp of a doomed soul.

But now, it appeared he might have misjudged her?

And her question—martial arts competition or life-and-death duel? The very fact that she posed it suggested she was leaning toward the latter.

A life-and-death duel, as the name implied, was a fight to the death. The loser forfeited their life, and all their possessions went to the victor.

“Fine, a life-and-death duel it is!” Li Si declared, his voice laced with the reckless fervor of a gambler. All traces of his earlier disdain for the girl vanished in that moment.

This was his final gamble!

He had no other choice. He had promised Wang Feihu he would end Su Ming He’s life. If Wang Feihu returned to find her still breathing, Li Si’s own fate would be grim.

Killing Su Ming He would bring him closer to the threshold of Half-step Sword Intent. If he could leverage this to enter the inner sect, a bright future awaited him.

He *had* to win.

“Oh,” Ming He murmured softly, making no move to follow.

“Su Ming He, this way,” Li Si said, gesturing toward the life-and-death arena.

“Oh, I’m not going,” the girl in blue replied, leaning casually against a pillar behind her.

“Why not? You just said—” Li Si pressed, his voice rising in frustration.

“I only asked whether it was a martial arts competition or a life-and-death duel. I never agreed to step onto the stage. Hmm, I was just curious,” Ming He said, her smile widening as she watched his face pale in an instant.

“You…” The young man felt a pang of exasperation.

“If you don’t step onto that stage today, you’ll never know peace. You’re well aware of the consequences of crossing Wang Feihu,” Li Si said, forcing himself to remain calm despite his mounting frustration.

“Today it’s just a life-and-death duel, but tomorrow? Who knows—assassinations, underhanded schemes… you name it,” he said, his tone grim. He knew Wang Feihu’s methods all too well. Though he despised them, as a mere outer sect disciple with no backing, he had no choice but to comply for the sake of resources.

“Fine, five hundred spirit stones,” Ming He said, her tone casual. She had no intention of refusing. After all, she understood the peculiar pride of these privileged yet inept individuals.

“On top of your belongings, I want Wang Feihu’s five hundred spirit stones,” Ming He added, her smile sharp. Since he had come to her doorstep, she might as well make the most of it.

If she won, it would be a double victory. If she lost… well, they’d meet again in the underworld. She was already scraping by—what did she have to lose?

“Deal,” Li Si agreed. Everyone in the outer sect knew he was Wang Feihu’s lackey, so a debt note in Wang Feihu’s name would hold weight.

As for Wang Feihu’s potential wrath—by then, he’d likely be crossing the Bridge of Helplessness. What was there to fear?

Life-and-death arena.

“Look, Li Si’s at it again. Who’s that girl?”

“She must be nobody special. Otherwise, Wang Feihu wouldn’t dare target her.”

“I wonder how she managed to offend Wang Feihu?”

“Is it the allure of beauty that makes one stubbornly resist?”

The crowd below the arena watched the two on stage, murmuring among themselves, with some even speculating about romantic entanglements, which filled the air with laughter.

“Have you both decided? Are you certain about this life-and-death duel, where the loser’s life will be forfeited, and all their possessions will go to the winner?” An attendant disciple of the life-and-death arena asked seriously, his gaze lingering on Ming He with a hint of regret.

This would be the seventh person this month to die because of Wang Feihu.

Why agree to a life-and-death duel? It was clearly a death sentence, yet there were always those who took the bait.

He followed the standard procedure, knowing that once someone stood here, there was no turning back, yet he still clung to a sliver of hope.

“I’m sure,” Li Si replied with a calm nod.

Standing there, he was reminded of those who had fallen beneath his sword before; so many stronger than Ming He had been defeated—how could he possibly lose?

“I’m sure,” the girl in blue said, her voice firm and clear.

It wasn’t a solemn vow; she wasn’t certain she would survive the fight.

But the path of cultivation was a grand gamble, and since she had come this far, she had to accept that reality.

Anyone could die, including her.

All she could do was strengthen herself before the ultimate danger arrived.

Deep down, she, too, was a gambler.

“Very well,” the attendant disciple reluctantly declared, “The match begins!”

With that, he gathered his energy and leaped off the platform, waiting to announce Li Si’s victory once the outcome was clear.

“Finally!”

“It’s starting!”

“Get on with it!”

The outer sect disciples watched the spectacle on the stage, knowing the likely outcome but still reveling in the excitement. After all, it wasn’t their lives at stake—it was just entertainment to them.

Numb and cold-hearted, foolish yet pitiful.

“Fairy Qin, this is the life-and-death arena of the Liu Yun Sect, where disciples wager their lives against one another.”

In a high pavilion overlooking the arena, a young man in yellow spoke earnestly to the woman in white, his expression focused, his eyes brimming with infatuation.

“Mm,” the woman in white nodded slightly, her gaze fixed on the girl in blue on the arena, clearly intrigued.

Yun Zhao Feng, the young man in yellow, lost interest after a single glance. To him, the life-and-death duels of outer sect disciples were trivial, far beneath his notice.

Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have even glanced their way. But since Fairy Qin seemed so interested, he decided to humor her.

Though he was consumed by his cultivation, he still knew a thing or two about pleasing women.

But to be entirely submissive? Yun Zhao Feng looked at the stunningly beautiful woman with a determined glint in his eyes.

The woman in white was oblivious to his thoughts, and even if she had known, she would have dismissed them with a smile.

At that moment, her attention was on the girl in blue, her curiosity piqued. A life-and-death duel, was it?

Both were at the eighth level of Qi Refinement, but she could tell at a glance that the girl in blue had only recently reached this stage. Though they were both at the peak of the eighth level, there was a difference between a sudden breakthrough and a gradual ascent.

She guessed the girl would struggle against her opponent.

The thought left her feeling somewhat disinterested.