That night, Tingyu, who had grown up in the Violet Lands without any understanding of the hardships of life, had a dream about Chen Feiyuan making things very hard for Xu Qing. It made her furious. When she woke up in the morning, she was in a very unusual mood. After arriving at Grandmaster Bai’s tent, she sat in her usual place to read her medicinal codex, but just couldn’t concentrate. She found herself constantly looking up at the entrance of the tent.

Eventually she caught sight of… Chen Feiyuan.

She blinked suddenly as she recalled the dream from the previous night.

Pushing his way through the tent entrance, Chen Feiyuan yawned and rubbed his eyes, then prepared to sit next to Tingyu. Before he could, she pushed his seating cushion out from under him.

Chen Feiyuan stared down in shock. “What are you doing?”

Not even bothering to look at him, she pointed to Xu Qing’s usual spot and said, “You sit over there.”

“But, why?” Chen Feiyuan asked, not moving an inch.

She glared up at him. “Why? Because you don’t study hard. And you’re always asking for time off. Having you next to me is annoying. Is that enough of an explanation?”

During her rapid-fire response, Chen Feiyuan simply stared at her. After she finished, he muttered a bit and, obviously trying not to provoke her further, plopped down where Xu Qing usually sat.

After sitting there for a short time, Chen Feiyuan muttered, “Oh dear. Tingyu, you—”

“Don’t call me dear!” she snapped. “What would happen if someone overhears and gets the wrong idea?”

“Huh? I didn’t call you dear!” Chen Feiyuan looked utterly confused, but before anything else could happen, the tent flap opened and Xu Qing entered.

When Tingyu saw him, she smiled, causing two faint dimples to appear on her cheeks. Then she brushed off the cushion Chen Feiyuan had been about to sit on earlier.

“Little Junior Brother, you sit here,” she said.

Xu Qing looked startled. Chen Feiyuan stared in shock.

“What are you staring at?” Tingyu said. “Teacher’s going to be here soon. Hurry up!”

Xu Qing hesitated, first looking at Tingyu, then the spot where she was trying to get him to sit down, and then Chen Feiyuan. It really was time for Grandmaster Bai to arrive, so after a moment, he sat down next to Tingyu, right in the spot where Chen Feiyuan usually sat.

Looking embarrassed, Chen Feiyuan pointed at Xu Qing and was about to say something when Tingyu glared at him fiercely and barked, “Shut up!”

“I didn’t say anything!” he whimpered, looking like he was about to cry. As far as he was concerned, all of this was very unfair, and he was about to say something when the tent flap opened and Grandmaster Bai walked in.

Chen Feiyuan had no choice but to bite his tongue and sit there fuming. Opposite him, Tingyu seemed very happy, and Xu Qing looked profoundly uncomfortable.

After taking a few steps inside, Grandmaster Bai noticed where Xu Qing was sitting. He looked at Tingyu, and then the hapless Chen Feiyuan. Smiling faintly, he sat down and began the testing.

As usual, Chen Feiyuan stammered his way through his answers, and got thoroughly berated by the grandmaster. Tingyu looked very pleased with herself as she answered her questions, and then looked at Xu Qing with anticipation.

He answered his questions perfectly, and even asked some very meaningful followup questions.

During the entire testing part of the class, Chen Feiyuan looked very depressed. After the lecture was over, he was the first to hurry out of the tent, feeling very discriminated against.

Xu Qing, meanwhile, felt uncomfortable during the entire class. When it was over, he stood, bowed to Grandmaster Bai, and then made to leave. Before he could get out, Tingyu said, “Little Junior Brother, why is your face dirty again?”

Rising to her feet, she pulled out her handkerchief eagerly. Xu Qing, however, made it out of the tent and vanished. After he was gone, Tingyu seemed hurt. Turning to Grandmaster Bai, who was just sitting there enjoying the show, she said, “Teacher, why is the Kid always so dirty? I just want to help him out.”

Grandmaster Bai threw his head back and laughed. Then he patted her head and said, “Because, to people who lead bitter and dangerous lives, attracting attention isn’t a good thing.”

Tingyu nodded thoughtfully.

Xu Qing couldn’t hear Grandmaster Bai, but he was thinking the exact same thing. Back in the slums, he had learned that the less attention you attracted, the safer you were. If everyone around you was dirty, and you weren’t, that made you like a torch on a moonless night. And then things got more dangerous. From the time he was small, he had always avoided attention. People who didn’t were either stronger than everyone else, or they didn’t live very long. It was for that reason that he didn’t make it a habit of bathing; it made it easier for him to blend into his surroundings. He was like a skilled hunter in hiding who revealed their ability only in the moment of attack.

Right now, he was heading into the forbidden region, and he did the same thing there. Once he was in the jungle, he picked up a handful of rotten leaves, crushed them into a paste, and covered himself with it. With that natural disguise on, he headed into the forbidden region.

Though Sergeant Thunder had already moved away to the city, Xu Qing hadn’t given up on his hope of finding a lifespan flower.

His advancements in cultivation base made him stronger, and he had a lot more experience now. Plus, he knew a lot more about plants and vegetation. That, coupled with his general vigilance, ensured that he encountered few dangers in the periphery of the forbidden region.

Nowadays, he didn’t limit his explorations to the area leading up to the temple. Instead, he ventured past it into the deeper jungle. The further in he got, the more dangers there were. But such training improved his battle prowess, and also helped him with his knowledge of plants.

Similar to what he had found elsewhere, there were a lot of medicinal plants in the interior of the forbidden region, though most of them were unhealthy yin plants, full of poisons. The more poisonous plants he was able to study, the more his knowledge of plants and vegetation veered in the direction of poison. As he made more progress, he refined his poison powders into a few different varieties.

It was for that reason that he’d purchased a coat that had a lot of pockets. In each pocket he put a different type of poisonous medicine.

What was more, he started using that pair of black gauntlets he found in Captain Bloodshadow’s sack. The more he fought with them, the more familiar he became with their usage.

The gauntlets made his fist attacks even more powerful, and also added a measure of protection against poisons. Now, his signature weapons included the gauntlets, the dagger Crucifix had given him, and his trusty iron skewer.

The sun was setting by the time he finished his day of training and poison concocting. Leaving his laboratory in the canyon, he organized all his weapons and poison powders, then started running toward the temple complex at top speed.

It had become a custom of his to visit the temple to look for scar-removing crystals before returning to camp. Though he had yet to have any success, he had asked around and knew more about what to look for. He knew that they formed naturally and glowed with seven colors. They were rare, but people did find them occasionally. Thus, he didn’t give up on his search. And this time…

When he got to the temple complex, it was bathed in an evening glow. Perhaps because of that reason, he immediately noticed a stone statue off in the distance, and the seven-colored glow coming from its forehead.

Eyes narrowing, he quickly scanned the area to check the traps he’d set up. None had been sprung. Jumping up to the rooftop of a nearby temple, he crouched and observed the area further.

After confirming that the area was safe, he sped toward the statue.

Once in front of it, he looked up and saw that, in a crack in the forehead, there was a seven-colored crystal, growing naturally. Before, that statue had been ordinary in nature. But in this mysterious temple, the strange passage of time ensured that, on this day, it was different.

Xu Qing quickly harvested the crystal, then searched the area hoping to find more. As luck would have it, he found five more.

When he was finished, he stood looking at the crystals in his hand, and he let loose a long sigh. He had long been searching for both lifespan flowers and scar-removing crystals, and now he had finally found at least one of those two things.

Carefully putting the six crystals away, Xu Qing looked around at the temple complex, then bowed deeply at the waist. After that, he sped off into the jungle.

Before long, he was leaping from treetop to treetop. As night fell, the roar of the beasts rose into the air. Xu Qing maintained the same pace the entire time.

At one point, as he landed on a branch and prepared to launch himself into the air, a giant horned anaconda exploded out of the dirt below, shooting up with a gaping maw toward Xu Qing.

This serpent was much larger than the one he’d fought in the camp, but Xu Qing’s facial expression didn’t change at all. He just reached out and flicked his finger, hitting the anaconda on the top of the head. [1]

A thump rang out, and then the anaconda shrieked. It couldn’t even come close to standing up to Xu Qing’s strength, and exploded into a mass of flesh and blood.

However… its gallbladder was left intact. Xu Qing reached into the mist of blood, grabbed it, and sped off.

It was just before the break of dawn when Xu Qing left the jungle and got back to the basecamp. It was still dark, but there were some lamps and fires in the camp as Xu Qing made his way through it. He had been very excited to find the scar-removing crystals, but the closer he got to his residence, the more his mood sank.

The only thing waiting for him in the dark were a few of the stray dogs. When they noticed him, they wagged their tails. He walked into the courtyard, looked at Sergeant Thunder’s old room out of habit, then went to the kitchen. He heated up yesterday’s leftovers to fill his stomach, then went back to his room.

He sighed.

I wonder how Sergeant Thunder is doing in that city. He should be fine. If I can’t find that lifespan flower soon, maybe I can buy one with spirit coins.

Closing his eyes, he started cultivating.

The next day, he went through his usual routine.

Tingyu seemed to be acting more normal, though she did save the same spot for him. Chen Feiyuan had accepted his fate, and just glanced helplessly at Xu Qing sitting where he used to. After the lecture was over, Tingyu didn’t bring up face-washing again. It seemed Grandmaster Bai’s explanation had sunk in.

Xu Qing noticed that. Bowing his head, he clasped hands to Grandmaster Bai and took his leave.

Outside the tent, he rubbed his sack, within which were the scar-removing crystals, and headed toward the general store where that girl worked.

Upon nearing, he noticed that there was a group of strangers gathered around the store! They wore unusual clothing, including black cloaks embroidered with blood-colored suns. However, most noticeable was the somber, desolate, and bloodthirsty aura they emanated.