After sweating profusely and spending half the night awake, neither of them showed any signs of fatigue; on the contrary, they were full of energy.
This was precisely due to the perfect fusion of the two cultivation techniques, complenting each other.
"Qingmu, co with ."
Chen Tang said.
"Why, to roam the Jianghu with you?"
Qingmu smiled and said, "I’m not going. Having journeyed through the Jianghu with my master for years, I’m long weary of it."
Chen Tang was silent.
Qingmu seed to perceive what Chen Tang was thinking and said, "You don’t need to worry about , nor do you need to stay in the Capital City because of . Chen Tang, you belong to the Jianghu; that’s where your world is!"
"You know, I’ve never seen soone as disciplined as you in martial arts practice."
From the day Qingmu first t Chen Tang, he had been diligently cultivating every day without fail.
This kind of perseverance and discipline even left the fat old man in awe.
Half the reason for this was Chen Tang’s curiosity, love, and pursuit of martial arts.
On the other hand, it was also because being in this world was fraught with dangers; without strong martial prowess, one couldn’t ensure their own safety.
"The sons and daughters of the noble families have famous masters guiding them, with nurous superior cultivation thods and countless miracle elixirs, but how many of them can endure such hardship?"
Qingmu said, "With your talent, coupled with this discipline, I believe that one day, among the masters of the world, there will be a place for you."
"But..."
Chen Tang glanced slightly sideways at Qingmu lying next to him, hesitating to speak.
Seeing him like this, Qingmu burst into laughter and said, "Hey, don’t feel guilty like you’ve taken advantage of sothing. Let tell you, I’ve gained even more!"
With that, Qingmu raised a foot and kicked at Chen Tang’s waist.
A huge force surged forth, and Chen Tang, unprepared, was directly kicked off the bed.
"See that?"
Qingmu sat up, sowhat proudly, and said, "That’s inner power!"
Qingmu had just broken through to the Fifth Grade, and a trace of inner Qi had ford in her Dantian, which she showed off.
Chen Tang was sowhat amused and helpless.
"You should go. Let’s pretend what happened tonight never did."
Qingmu said, "When you’re in the Jianghu and you attract so beauty, I don’t care! You don’t need to think about either; let’s part ways gracefully and find our own happiness."
With these words spoken, there would probably be no more entanglents between them.
Chen Tang got dressed, was silent for a while, and then said, "Sister Mu, I’m leaving. Take care!"
He knew that even if he stayed a little longer, it would be to no avail—only adding parting sorrow in vain.
Inside the bed curtains, Qingmu remained silent.
As Chen Tang went downstairs and disappeared, tears slowly rolled down that beautiful and radiant face.
...
Chen Tang left the Imperial Palace and returned to Prince Wei’s Mansion.
Closing his eyes to rest, he felt the changes in the blood within his body.
At the peak of the Sixth Grade, his blood had been replaced completely, the newly generated blood from his bone marrow was free of any impurities, pure and refined, flowing through his limbs and bones. Chen Tang could clearly feel that his strength had increased again!
When dawn broke.
A caravan leaving the city, consisting of dozens of carriages, drove out of the Capital City from the South Gate.
Under the arrangent of Yuan Qingmo, a carriage with a hidden compartnt mingled with the group.
Chen Tang was hiding inside.
Outside the Capital City, a few miles away from the city, Chen Tang seized the opportunity, when the caravan was not paying attention, to slip out of the hidden compartnt.
In the forest outside the South Gate of the Capital City, he found the Thunder Leopard.
One man and one horse, they tried to avoid the official roads as much as possible, heading southeast.
The southeast direction of Qian State was Qingzhou.
At the far east end of Qingzhou was the boundless East Sea.
The southwest side of Qingzhou bordered Yaozhou.
Further south was Xiajiang, which divided the Divine Land in two.
Beyond Xiajiang was Nanxia Country.
To go to Nanxia, one could either pass through Yaozhou or Qingzhou.
Moreover, Chen Tang rembered Yuan Qingshan’s instructions and decided to investigate the flooding issue in Qingzhou.
Heavy rain had poured down in Qingzhou for nearly a month.
However, the crisis caused by the flooding had not been alleviated, and the death toll continued to rise.
There was indeed sothing strange about it.
Chen Tang speculated that the Profound Celestial Sect might have had a hand in it.
But how exactly the Qingzhou flood was caused, he did not know.
The Nine Provinces of Qian Country were roughly divided and occupied by various top forces.
For instance, Yan State could be considered the domain of the Murong Clan.
Yaozhou belonged to the Yuwen Clan.
And Qingzhou was not among the Four Great Clans, almost entirely under the control of the Profound Celestial Sect, with eight Great Marshals guarding it.
After a few days, Chen Tang entered the Qingzhou border.
Within Qingzhou, there was a clear distinction from Qian State.
Even the official roads within Qingzhou were muddy, and the forests were full of puddles and sand, making it extrely difficult to traverse.
Fortunately, with the Thunder Leopard, Chen Tang’s journey was not too greatly affected.
After traveling for about half a day, Chen Tang perked up his ears and suddenly heard sounds of fighting in the forest not far away, with weapons clashing and a few angry shouts.
Chen Tang turned his horse’s head and headed in that direction.
Before long, he saw in an open area in the forest, four governntal officials besieging a bald monk.
The four governntal officials wielded steel knives, and among them, the strongest wore the clothes of the Chief Constable, his face full of a big beard, approximately of Seventh Grade strength. The other three were Ninth Grade Martial Artists.
The monk, in his thirties, tall and stalwart, wielded a Water-Milled Zen Staff, which he swung with a fierce wind.
This tall monk also had Seventh Grade strength, but under the siege of four n, he did not fall behind and even had strength to spare.
Chen Tang could clearly see that several tis the monk could have injured the three governntal officials with Ninth Grade cultivation.
But he seed to have reservations, unwilling to harm anyone, always holding back.
The bearded Chief Constable caught sight of Chen Tang nearby and shouted, "Monk Ke Ren, your Evergreen Temple has poisoned the innocent refugee people, your cri is a grave one, and you still wish to resist stubbornly?"
He seed to be persuading the monk to surrender, but in truth, he was saying it for Chen Tang to hear.
The bearded Chief Constable was telling Chen Tang that this monk was unforgivable, so don’t ddle!
"We have not!"
The tall monk’s face turned red with anger as he loudly defended, "The porridge and water we gave were all good; soone tampered with them!"
"Nonsense!"
"Still arguing!"
The other governntal officials scolded repeatedly.
One of them glanced towards Chen Tang, frowned, and said, "This Jianghu friend, the governnt is apprehending soone, please leave quickly!"
Chen Tang remained silent.
Both sides hold their ground, and it was unclear who was truthful.
But the way the tall monk acted, leaving room in his moves, he didn’t seem like soone who would poison innocent people.
The refugees were all due to the flood in Qingzhou.
And those poisoned to death would surely also be blad on the wrath of the heavens.
It was uncertain if this incident was isolated to this place or was happening throughout Qingzhou.
Chen Tang planned to intervene and get to the bottom of it.
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