As Xie Qing had anticipated, someone did indeed join him for breakfast the next morning. It was none other than Li Su.


    "…"


    "…"


    He calmly sipped his tea. The elder appeared to be a middle-aged man with graying temples. His aura was tranquil, and it was rare to catch even a trace of his Qi—he consciously restrained it. Although most devilish cultivators preferred to unt it.


    In some ways, they were simr. For Xie Qing himself… preferred to conceal his Qi rather than disy it openly.


    However… hmm… the atmosphere was somewhat sour—not very cheerful.


    In fact, it seemed that Elder Li Su''s visit was too sudden. He had arrived at Xie Qing''s residence early in the morning, stating that he was willing to be his patron. This puzzled the young man somewhat.


    "I cannot read his emotions. But I cannot hope that in this ce there are people who would help out of pure intentions," Xie Qing thought, calmly sipping his tea.


    Despite his outward calm, he was actually very nervous. His opponent was a cultivator who surpassed him in experience—this was already a big problem.


    Although Xie Qing possessed Superior Qi, Li Su possessed Superior Demonic Qi. And these two energies were like Yin and Yang.


    Therefore, he could not easily deal with Li Su if necessary. Xie Qing narrowed his eyes.


    After a few minutes, it seemed that Li Su had gathered his thoughts and began the conversation.


    "I heard that you managed to enter the inner court in six months, correct?" Li Su asked indifferently, as if he had started this conversation just for the sake of it. His red eyes narrowed: "How remarkable. If it weren''t for the fact that you arrived a bit earlier, you would have broken my record."


    "Elder Li Su tters me. I am merely a talentless disciple, blessed by the grace of my seniors," Xie Qing replied, appearing submissive.


    In his thoughts, of course, he was not as modest as he tried to seem. He scoffed disdainfully.


    "Of course. You''re trying topare me to yourself?" he thought.


    What an arrogant motherfu-…


    Anyway. Li Su smiled faintly. It seemed he liked that the young man was not acting arrogantly.


    However, then his smile disappeared, as if it had been just an illusion. He tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes.


    "So, Disciple Cheng… may I ask you something?" Li Su asked a rhetorical question and continued almost immediately. His eyes shed, and his index finger tapped rhythmically on the table, as if mimicking an elerated heartbeat: "What was that surge of energy at your residence? Do you know anything about it?"


    "Here it is!"


    Xie Qing smiled—with this, he tried to hide his eyes, full of coldness. Li Su had definitely sensed that surge due to his level of cultivation. The young man was helpless.


    He could do nothing. That time, he had been too excited, causing his Qi to escape. The only thing that was fortunate—he did not forget to suppress it, so many only saw the Soul Integration stage, which was not as shocking.


    Therefore, in response to Li Su, Xie Qing came up with a rather vague but sufficiently convincing answer.


    "Elder Li, I am not sure myself, but… perhaps it was because many disciples often gather around my residence, wanting to fight. Therefore, such a surge of energy can be exined by their aggression!"


    "Hmm? Are you telling the truth?" the elder narrowed his eyes even further.


    "Indeed! I swear on my father''s soul!" Xie Qing said solemnly, cing his hand on his heart.


    "Uh…"


    Li Su was at a loss for words. Why did he see such… pure sincerity on this young man''s face? Although he wasn''t particrly knowledgeable about such things, even for devilish cultivators, their parents are figures of respect. And such an oath would naturally be serious.


    But…


    Why was this young man so happy? Didn''t he fear that Heavenly Retribution would strike his father if he lied?


    "Anyway…" Li Su gave up.


    He was only interested in this question out of pure curiosity, and delving into it further was too bothersome, so he resolved the issue with a rather simple method—he forgot about it!


    He chatted with Xie Qing a bit more and then left, saying he would visit the young man in two days to discuss the matter of patronage.


    Xie Qing stood by the gate and waved his hand, watching Elder Li Su leave. His face bore a wide smile that did not reach his eyes. He snorted when the elder''s aura disappeared.


    "Old coot. I can''t even figure out what he wants. Reading people''s emotions is not my strong suit," Xie Qing muttered, turning around and returning home.


    For some reason, he found himself mired in shit before he could leave the house.


    "Damn it!"


    ***


    Two dayster. Li Su indeed proved to be a responsible person and visited him again. He entered the house and ced a wooden tablet on the table.


    The tablet was rectangr in shape, and it depicted a fist in blood. Xie Qing raised an eyebrow.


    "What a tasteless piece of crap…"


    "This is my elder''s tablet," Li Su said indifferently,pletely unaware of Xie Qing''s thoughts. He tried to act cool, saying, "Although I don''t have much attention, many elders will have to give me face!"


    "Wow, you''re so cool, Elder Li Su!"


    "Hmph!"


    Li Su disyed a carefree smile on his face, looking pleased.


    It seemed that what he enjoyed most was hearing ttery.


    Although his outward demeanor appeared indifferent, Li Su was actually very pompous and arrogant. Xie Qing narrowed his eyes as he conversed with him on some topic. Li Su was recounting tales of his youth, and the young man pretended to listen.


    Li Su was around 700 years old, give or take. In the world of cultivation, he was considered a teenager by those standards.


    Achieving the level of Spiritual Ascension at that age was considered a very good result, almost genius-level. And if Li Su''s words were to be believed, he was only holding back from breaking through further to betterprehend the Dao.


    Of course, Xie Qing couldn''t care less. Any genius would have to kneel before him—he was only twenty years old. Many geniuses at that age had barely reached Core Formation.


    And he was already at Spiritual Ascension, and at the fourth stage at that. This was too shocking.


    ***


    Two months had passed. At this time, the young man was sitting on his bed. He had just emerged from a month-long meditation.


    During this time, nothing interesting had happened in his life. Since he was being pestered with challenges to fight, he decided to go into secluded cultivation.


    Fortunately, this was the right decision. The young man closed his eyes, feeling his body creak.


    "What a pleasure. All this Qi…!"


    And just as the young man was ready to immerse himself in meditation again.


    A loud shout echoed.


    "Disciple Cheng E, you have been invited to an official duel!"


    "…"


    The young man closed his eyes, took a deep breath and exhaled, then gritted his teeth.


    "FUCK!"


    ***


    An official duel. It was the easiest way to boost one''s poprity and resolve conflicts with other disciples. Moreover, it helped to raise one''s ranking.


    In the inner court, there was a ranking system. The top 1000 disciples were engraved on a massive rock. And every day, the rankings changed—all thanks to a special formation.


    And Xie Qing, thanks to countless battles, had sessfully climbed to the 876th spot!


    However, despite the benefits of an official duel, there was a downside.


    If you were challenged, you could not back down! The only way out was to fight!


    That was exactly why Xie Qing looked so gloomy right now. He was too exhausted! Couldn''t these people just leave him alone? Every day, he was bothered by trivial matters.


    He even started to feel like he was cursed. It was too annoying! He began to suspect that this was part of someone''s n!


    Arriving at the battle site, the young man noticed that the arena was packed—spectators eagerly watched as he entered the stage.


    "This…"


    Xie Qing was at a loss for words. Had someone gone to such lengths to gather this entire crowd? It seemed they were quite confident in themselves.


    And while he was lost in thought, someone addressed him.


    "Hey, you!"


    A high-pitched voice, reminiscent of a girl''s, sounded in front of him. Xie Qing looked up and saw a tall, muscr man approaching him. The young man''s expression became strange.


    "You''re Cheng E, right? Hmph, arrogant bastard! I challenged you to a duel because I think your ranking is undeserved! How dare you disce me from my pedestal? I, Wu Da, will not tolerate this humiliation!"


    With each word Wu Da spoke, Xie Qing''s expression grew stranger and stranger, and his shoulders began to shake for some reason.


    "Hmm? Why are you silent? Are you afraid?"


    Wu Da smirked. Xie Qing suddenly turned away and…


    "Pff-... hahahaha!"


    Beganughing loudly!