40. Misfortune

Consort Qi could not help but silently ponder what kind of woman someone like Li Miao might favor. Alas, she could not fathom it. She had encountered countless men in her life, but most of them were mere patrons—ninety-nine out of a hundred were such. Li Miao, however, was not among them. Thus, his thoughts remained inscrutable to her.

Time slipped quietly by. Lost in her own musings, Consort Qi kept her gaze fixed upon Li Miao. Only the sound of Liu Xuanfeng returning and opening the door snapped her out of her trance.

“How is he?” Liu Xuanfeng asked as soon as he entered.

Consort Qi’s eyes once again caught sight of Li Miao’s robust chest, and her cheeks reddened slightly as she replied, “N-nothing. He should be fine now; his breathing is much steadier.”

“That’s good,” Liu Xuanfeng exhaled in relief, worried that Li Miao’s injuries might be too severe for him to compete in tomorrow’s duel.

He suddenly noticed Consort Qi seemed somewhat different than usual and asked, puzzled, “What’s wrong? You don’t seem quite yourself.”

Feeling a little embarrassed, Consort Qi’s face flushed deeper, and she quickly averted her gaze, replying, “It’s nothing. I was just thinking whether his injuries would heal in time for tomorrow’s competition.”

Though they were uncle and niece by generation, the small age gap made them more like siblings, and their familiarity ran deep. Liu Xuanfeng could easily tell her reaction was not as simple as she claimed. He glanced at the meditating Li Miao and understood immediately, smiling lightly, “It’s not a big problem. In tomorrow’s duel, he’ll certainly take first place.”

Consort Qi nodded, “Mm, I think so too,” and said no more.

After a while, Liu Xuanfeng asked, “Consort Qi, did you forget something?”

“What thing?” Consort Qi was puzzled.

Liu Xuanfeng pursed his lips, sounding a bit jealous, “Aren’t you going to ask whether I won or lost my match?”

“Oh, that…” Consort Qi hesitated, “With uncle’s cultivation and two superior artifacts, the odds should be overwhelmingly in your favor.”

She wasn’t nervous about her words, but rather because she had forgotten such an important matter as her uncle’s duel. Normally, she would have asked immediately, not waited for Liu Xuanfeng to bring it up himself.

Liu Xuanfeng looked at her, then glanced at Li Miao, shaking his head helplessly. “You…”

He knew Consort Qi well enough to see through her thoughts in this moment. Matters of the heart are innate, and once stirred, emotions become difficult to restrain. This holds true for both commoners and cultivators alike.

Liu Xuanfeng understood Consort Qi’s feelings, but also knew Li Miao’s character. He patted her shoulder and said softly, “Don’t let your mind wander. That man is no ordinary soul—there’s no possibility between you and him.”

Consort Qi’s heart trembled. The words hit her like a cold slap, dispersing her dreamy thoughts and replacing her earlier shyness with a sense of desolation.

She lowered her gaze, thought for a moment, and then nodded quietly, “You’re right. I’m merely a minor cultivator residing in a pleasure house, while he possesses boundless potential. How could I ever be worthy?”

“That’s not it,” Liu Xuanfeng interrupted, “I can tell Li Miao harbors a wild ambition. For someone like him, power is the only true pursuit; he won’t be easily moved by emotion.”

“Such a heartless man—whether before him stands a village maiden or an ethereal beauty, he will not look at her differently.”

Consort Qi frowned, “Uncle has always judged people accurately. It seems I’ve been thinking too much.” Yet her expression still carried a hint of unwillingness to accept her fate.

Liu Xuanfeng said, “Some people are destined only to be friends. You must have realized that long ago.”

“Mm.”

Consort Qi gave a soft response, said nothing more, and after a moment’s thought, rose and left the room.

Liu Xuanfeng knew she was unwilling, but he could not make things clearer. He could only hope she would come to terms with it herself, and not cling to vain hopes.

Outside, dusk gradually deepened, and soon night would fall.

Li Miao’s injuries were healing well. Once he had fully absorbed the effects of the elixir, he had recovered to nearly seventy percent of his strength.

When he opened his eyes, he found Consort Qi replaced by Liu Xuanfeng in the room, and asked, “How did it go? Did you win?”

The latter replied, “It was fairly easy. I didn’t even use my superior artifact.”

“Do you know tomorrow’s match-ups?”

“The list was drawn after the second round. Of the remaining eight, apart from you, all are mid-stage cultivators. I got lucky—my opponent is Lu Zijing from Tianxin Hall, considered the weakest of the eight. My chances are over sixty percent.”

“And my opponent?”

“Yours is Wang Ruhu, second strongest in Fire Refining Hall. He’s stronger than me, but certainly not as formidable as Lu Yan.”

Li Miao laughed, “Just knocked out Lu Yan, and now comes Wang Ruhu. Fire Refining Hall is unlucky to cross paths with me.”

Liu Xuanfeng nodded in agreement, “After tomorrow’s first round, barring surprises, we’ll both make the top four and become the biggest winners of this tournament. Fire Refining Hall will take at most fifth and second place, which falls short of their expectations.”

By now, the outcome of the competition was basically decided. With Lu Yan defeated, there was no suspense about Li Miao claiming first. The rest depended on how well Liu Xuanfeng performed.

As for Fire Refining Hall, although they missed out on the greatest benefits, their strength ensured they held two of the eight spots, which was still substantial. Their position as the fourth major power in Longling County would soon be secured.

“What are your plans after acquiring Sun Manor’s resources?” Li Miao rummaged through his Cosmic Ring, searching for suitable elixirs as he spoke.

Liu Xuanfeng replied, “Building a sect isn’t easy. Shaoyin Sect has declined for years and is short on members. Even with all these advantages, we can’t rise overnight. I plan to recruit some loose cultivators at the Qi Refining stage to fill the ranks, and then take on a few promising disciples to nurture slowly.”

His resources weren’t just from the tournament. The share Li Miao gave him from Sun He’s Sumeru Ring was the real treasure.

“Haha, work hard at it. Who knows, next time I return to Longling, Shaoyin Sect might be a major sect.”

Li Miao had few friends in this world; after the Guo brothers’ deaths, Liu Xuanfeng was the only one he was close to. He genuinely hoped Liu Xuanfeng could build his sect and leave the pleasure house behind.

“Thank you for your kind wishes.” Hope shone on Liu Xuanfeng’s face as he looked toward the future.

“By the way,” he suddenly remembered, “Today I saw some people from Sun Manor.”

“Oh, the ones sent out on missions?” Li Miao raised an eyebrow.

That day, Ji Lingyu’s fan swept through, and none of Sun Manor’s two hundred survived except those sent out on tasks or stationed in other small towns.

Liu Xuanfeng nodded, “Not many—seven or eight cultivators at the Qi Refining stage, plus one at the early True Condensation stage. Not a significant threat.”

An early True Condensation cultivator was nothing to Li Miao. “Whether they know the truth or not, they can do nothing to me. Just be careful so no one discovers the trail and destroys your base.”

“Of course, I’ll be cautious.”

“Any other news?”

“Nothing of value. After you leave Longling, where do you plan to go?”

“I won’t go far for a few months. Guo’er is still learning from Fairy Ji, so I’ll stay within Pangshan for now. Later, I’ll go to Xinzhou.”

Xinzhou was where Guo’er wanted to go, and it was also a royal city teeming with powerful cultivators and endless challenges.

Liu Xuanfeng’s face was full of envy, “If ever I’m freed from sect duties, I must go there and see it for myself.”

The royal land of Xinzhou, where countless cultivators longed to be.

Li Miao gazed out the window and smiled, “According to some, Xinzhou is just a small place. If my cultivation allows, I’d like to go even farther—perhaps beyond the nine heavens, just to see.”

The night before last, Ji Lingyu had said, “Cultivators of the Eastern Lands have too narrow a perspective.” By “Eastern Lands,” she meant the ancient nation of Dongxuan.

Dongxuan comprised five provinces, each stretching for tens of thousands of miles. Yet such a vast place, in Ji Lingyu’s view, was still insignificant.

Clearly, she hailed from an even broader world, where powerful figures like “Peach Immortal” existed.

Li Miao, who came from the galactic star system beyond the stars, knew the cosmos was boundless and filled with wonders. He had seen planets of immense size and did not find such vast worlds strange.

He was simply curious—how could such a world full of powerful beings remain unknown to him until now?

If one day the expeditionary army discovered this world, what might happen?

“Beyond the nine heavens…” Liu Xuanfeng repeated quietly, shaken by Li Miao’s ambition.

Laws of the world stood tall and forbidding. The sky was high, the earth deep; even a grandmaster at the Divine Transformation stage could not glimpse the boundaries. Those who claimed to ascend beyond the nine heavens were either ignorant fools or extraordinary talents.

Li Miao, in Liu Xuanfeng’s view, belonged to the latter.

“I need to continue adjusting my injuries. You should go and rest as well; nothing should happen tonight,” Li Miao said, pulling himself from his reverie and taking a few greenish pills from a bottle, swallowing them in one gulp.

These were Nourishing Pills, fifth-grade healing medicine, extremely precious for True Condensation cultivators. Only someone like Sun He, head of a family, would carry so many, which Li Miao ultimately benefited from.

“Alright, rest well. If you need anything, call me,” Liu Xuanfeng finally regained his composure, nodded, and left the room.

With the medicine’s effect and the operation of genetic primal energy, Li Miao’s injuries healed swiftly, returning him to normal.

The night passed peacefully. Though the news that he possessed a spirit treasure flying sword was sensational, no one dared make a move to seize it.

The reason was twofold: first, his strength was formidable—ordinary True Condensation cultivators were no match; second, the various factions were not united. None could be sure that if they acted, they wouldn’t be ambushed by hidden rivals.

Even a Return Origin expert like Daoist Songshi, confident of defeating Li Miao, had to consider whether he could withstand the combined assault of Ge Rou and He Jianfang after acquiring the Violet Jun Sword.

No one wished to be the first to make a move.

The competition was not yet over, and compared to the almost unattainable spirit treasure, everyone cared more about tomorrow’s results.

At dawn the next day, Consort Qi knocked on the door just as Li Miao finished digesting the effect of the Nourishing Pill.

“Master Li, how is your recovery?” Consort Qi entered and asked.

Li Miao stood up, brushed off the charred skin and tattered cloth, and replied with ease, “Not bad at all. Ready for battle anytime.”

After a night of adjustment, his condition had recovered ninety percent. Only his primal energy was slightly lacking, not quite full, but no longer problematic.

Consort Qi looked him over, her eyes smiling, “Then today, everything depends on you.”

Yesterday, as Li Miao meditated, she had stolen a few glances and felt shy. Now, however, she looked at him quite naturally, even with a hint of flirtation in her gaze.

Her words carried a subtle double meaning, but Li Miao didn’t catch it. He casually donned a new robe and replied, “Rest assured, I will take first place today.”

“Alright, let’s set out then,” Consort Qi said with a smile as he finished dressing.

But in her heart, she quietly thought, If only you had done the same last time in Wuan Town.

Together, they left the room and, with Liu Xuanfeng, headed east toward the city.

The open ground east of the city was packed with people. Even more spectators had gathered than yesterday. Word of yesterday’s thrilling matches had spread, and the townsfolk had put aside their affairs to join the excitement.

With hundreds of cultivators added in, at least seven or eight thousand people crowded the eastern grounds.

As the trio approached, many people spotted them from afar and began whispering.

“Look, those three are from Shaoyin Sect.”

“The tall young man in the middle is Li Miao—the one who defeated Fire Refining Hall’s Lord Lu.”

“That fellow is remarkable. Not only are his techniques fierce, he also possesses a spirit treasure flying sword that can summon heavenly thunder. Unless a Return Origin cultivator appears, nobody can match him.”

“Wasn’t he badly injured yesterday? How come he looks perfectly fine today?”

“That’s where you’re mistaken. With good enough medicine, even serious injuries heal overnight.”

“To secure victory, Shaoyin Sect spared no expense. The medicine is a trifling matter. I heard Liu Xuanfeng, to win over this mysterious powerhouse, even offered all his female disciples for his enjoyment, and…”

The rumors swelled and faded, but Li Miao’s ears were sharp, catching every word.

“When did I ever enjoy your female disciples?” he said, bursting into laughter.