Wang Pushi glanced at the bag of spiritual stones. “Commander, t- that’s far too precious.” His Bodhi Brew was not even worth a tenth of that. Gu Yanying had clearly called him here to give him these spiritual stones. He was unable to describe the gratitude he felt.
“If I want you to take it, just take it. Am I supposed to be lacking such a measly amount of spiritual stones?” Gu Yanying said before turning to Hua Chengzan, “Little Hua, what you lack right now is not spiritual stones. Don’t just tell others to spend their time cultivating instead of harassing children. You don’t enjoy yourself enough, spending most of your time cultivating. Out of the eighteen commanders under me, only you’re still a Qi Practitioner. You have to understand that if you can’t undergo the heavenly tribulation and establish a foundation, you’re still just a mortal.”
Li Qingshan thought that it was no wonder that Gu Yanying knew Feng Zhang was lying. Just by sitting there, she had heard everything that happened in the city. In the eyes of ordinary people, this was truly an ability that only gods could possess.
Hua Chengzan giggled. “Yes, boss Gu. I will definitely throw my life away at cultivation.”
Only at the very end did Gu Yanying turn to Li Qingshan. “Little bro Qingshan, I’ll give you this map, along with a saying, ‘The Green province spans fifteen thousand kilometers. The jianghu is only but a corner.’”
With that, she took off. Her wide sleeves ruffled in the wind, like a brave hawk unfolding its winds.
Before Li Qingshan could even return to his senses, the figure that was even whiter than snow had disappeared into the horizon already.
As it turned out, flight really was possible!
He muttered the saying from Gu Yanying. He understood that if he remained in Qingyang city, he would probably never meet her again in his life.
In the cold winter, Feng Zhang was drenched in sweat as if he had just been scooped out from a pool of water. Now, he felt like he had just survived a disaster, so he inhaled deeply.
Wang Pushi’s expression became stern once more, immediately radiating with great pressure.
Li Qingshan suddenly noticed that the person right before him was an impressive, terrifying figure as well. Under Gu Yanying’s radiance, he seemed as ordinary as an uncle next door, but once Gu Yanying had left, his terrifying aura flooded over like lava from a volcano.
Li Qingshan instinctively felt fear and danger as if a blade was against his throat, about to behead him in the next moment. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, allowing the aura to crush him however it liked without moving at all. Under the tremendous pressure, his iron bones seemed to creak.
Feng Zhang fell onto his knees with a thud.
“Leave behind your wolf tablet and piss off!” If he came across this situation at some other time, he would just scold Feng Zhang at most, but he really could not afford to humiliate himself like this in front of Gu Yanying. He was truly as furious as he could get inside. This bastard had actually thought he could fool Gu Yanying with his lies.
Although Gu Yanying had not directly stated it, nor did she become angry, just her single exclamation of surprise had determined Feng Zhang’s fate.
“Commander!” As if he had been struck by lightning, Feng Zhang cried out.
In Li Qingshan’s ears, it sounded like the final cry of sorrow before a bird would let out before it died. He thought, He’s just making you resign, that’s all. Why’re you acting like your parents died? That’s not manly at all.
He had no idea just what this meant to Feng Zhang, nor did he understand the difficulty in joining the Hawkwolf Guard. Various martial arts and cultivation methods that rarely ever appeared in the jianghu could be freely viewed in the library of the Hawkwolf Guard. No matter where he went, even when he came across people stronger than him, they would all have to treat him politely. His entire clan prided itself over this identity of his. Once this identity was taken away from him, he would just be a so-called ‘innate master’ of the jianghu.
However, Wang Pushi was known for his heart of steel. He would never take back something he had said. If Feng Zhang insisted on refusing, perhaps he could even lose his life. He placed the wolf tablet on the table with trembling hands and glanced at Li Qingshan.
Just what kind of glance was that? It was filled with resentment, enough resentment to skin him alive and eat his bones. Regular people would struggle to sleep for several months after receiving a glare, but Li Qingshan was no regular person. He glared right back without any fear or qualms. Having gone through all these matters, his willpower could no longer be compared to before.
In the end, it was Feng Zhang who shifted his gaze first, taking off and leaving in a hurry.
Wang Pushi said, “Take it!”
Li Qingshan went up to collect the map of the Green province carefully. Although this item could not be used for cultivation or killing enemies, it widened his horizons the most. It allowed him to learn the vastness of the world and his own personal insignificance in this world.
However, no matter how insignificant he was, there would be a day when he would prove that a frog would not remain a frog forever. He would definitely leap out of this well, unfurl his wings and fly towards the nine heavens, pursuing that unfathomable figure.
His experiences from this failed to shatter his confidence. Instead, it strengthened his ambition and heart, setting an even further goal.
Hua Chengzan only smiled on one side, but only three words existed in his mind. Ignorance is bliss. There will be one day when you understand just how distant you are from her, so distant that it cannot be made up by any fortuitous encounter, talent, or hard work. Even if you pursue her like this, you’ll never be able to get a step closer.
“And this.” Wang Pushi narrowed his eyes at the wolf tablet.
Li Qingshan was surprised. He picked up the wolf tablet, and a cool sensation filled his palm. He felt pleasant all over.
Not only was this forged from Black Ice Iron, but it could even consolidate the mind and prevent the wielder from suffering from cultivation deviation so easily, making cultivation much easier. It also came with many other wondrous uses.
Li Qingshan did not know about this, but he knew the item was significant. However, everything had happened so quickly that he had no idea how to react. In under an hour, he had become a Hawkwolf guard that the people of the jianghu feared so much, and all of this came from how Gu Yanying had treated him.
Wang Pushi stowed the table, stove, and tripod into the pouch on his waist. He stood up. “You’re still not a Hawkwolf guard yet. Go report to Zhuo Zhibo in Jiaping city!” He took out a metal baton and tossed it in the air. The baton swelled in size in the wind, becoming three meters long. As it hovered in the air, Wang Pushi stepped on it.
Hua Chengzan patted Li Qingshan’s shoulder and looked at him with an expression of praying for his wellbeing. He said a single word, “Run!”
The metal baton tore through the air, leaving behind a glowing trail.
“Oi, old Wang, wait for me!” Hua Chengzan crossed over a dozen meters in a single step and mounted the metal baton, vanishing into the night sky in the blink of an eye.
Before Li Qingshan could even become amazed by these methods that belonged to immortals, an intense aura of murderousness flooded over. He spotted Feng Zhang’s twisted face in a single glance as the fellow rushed over like a mad dog. He decided to follow Hua Chengzan’s advice for now and not confront the crazy Feng Zhang. He used the movement technique of the Tiger Demon Climbs the Mountain and bounded up the mountains.
As soon as he leapt up, a wind blade passed by his previous location, cutting the huge pine tree in half. Its trunk slowly slid down, collapsing loudly on the ground.
Li Qingshan glanced back and was startled by this. This probably was not purely due to Feng Zhang, but also due to his Wind-entwining blade. The benefits that came with joining the Hawkwolf guard really were impressive. It could not be compared to the mediocre spiritual artifacts used by first or second-rate people of the jianghu.