I Cheated While Cultivating

Zhou Heng was also taken aback for a moment, turning his head to look at the man, he realized he did not know him.

Who was this person?

There was no need for Zhou Heng to ask; someone present already opened their mouth.

“Who are you, lad?” The first to ask was a burly man with dark skin, a beard covering his jaw, and eyes like copper bells, “By what right do you judge Zhou Heng and Li Wuwang?”

“Exactly, who do you think you are to say Li Wuwang is inferior to Zhou Heng?” Another young swordsman spoke up, “Zhou Heng is currently ranked thirty-first on the People’s List, while Li Wuwang is fifteenth. The gap between them is like a chasm, is it for you to say if he is unworthy?”

The number of people questioning the young gentleman increased, but he acted as if he heard nothing, his facial expression not changing the slightest bit.

Zhou Heng extended his spiritual perception and discerned that this man’s level of Qi was of the Seventh Rank in the Martial Path and that he had reached a certain extent of communion with the great outside world.

Just beginning to show his internal viewpoint externally, this was a young master at the peak of the Seventh Rank.

The young gentleman was youthful and handsome, elegant and cultured, apparently not older than twenty-five years of age.

If he had traveled the jianghu and fought others, he would likely be well-known on the People’s List, perhaps even in the top thirty or top twenty.

“It’s because I am Wang Xiuye,” the young gentleman said with a cold laugh, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, “If we are to speak of the People’s List ranking, I am even above Li Wuwang.”

Wang Xiuye!

This was actually Wang Xiuye!

The surrounding people were instantly shocked upon hearing this, even those who were standing far away and had not paid much attention to the conversation turned to look.

The thirteenth-ranked on the People’s List, Wang Xiuye!

He was a descendant of the Wang Clan from Xuanzhou, one of the Twelve Ancient Families of Da Qi. Although he came from a collateral line, he was the most outstanding disciple of the Wang family of his generation, practicing the Sect Fifth Rank internal strength “Divine Strength Skill”, skilled with dual palms, possessing immense power, known as “Three Palms Shaking the Mountains.”

Both his nickname and the special characteristics of his martial arts starkly contrasted with his genteel appearance.

Oftentimes, the same words said by different people have entirely different effects.

After Wang Xiuye revealed his identity, those who were questioning him suddenly fell silent and no longer spoke.

What could they do?

The man indeed had the qualifications to evaluate Li Wuwang.

That’s just how the jianghu is.

The strong are revered.

The capable go first.

No one would object.

“You all have no idea how strong Zhou Heng is,” Wang Xiuye said, looking around and speaking solemnly: “I once watched Zhou Heng avenge his martial arts school’s senior friends at the gates of the Chang Xing Sect. He alone faced an entire sect, fighting against dozens of peak Seventh Rankers.

“It’s just that those people are not on the People’s List, so they weren’t recorded in the rankings. Zhou Heng’s sense of justice precedes him, along with his formidable strength, he surely qualifies for the top ten of the People’s List.

“To compare a mere Li Wuwang, who dares not even disclose his own lineage and only knows how to make wild statements when others are not present, with Zhou Heng?”

This speech once again rendered the audience speechless.

“But surely Li Wuwang, having made his way into the top fifteen of the People’s List, must have some strengths,” Zhou Heng suddenly said.

What could he do? He originally intended to inquire about the situation with Li Wuwang.

Now, with Wang Xiuye’s interjection, if he didn’t ask himself, there would be no more discussion about Li Wuwang.

Of course, hearing what Wang Xiuye said felt rather good.

“Of course,” Wang Xiuye was not the kind of person who would disparage others without limit. He said, “Li Wuwang’s strength is not bad at all. Known as ‘Dragon Spear,’ the ranking list of the Divine Martial Bureau proclaims that his spear strikes are like a dragon, swift and fierce beyond compare; wherever the spearhead goes, nothing can stand in its way. It’s not entirely an exaggeration.”

“However, I met a friend who was defeated by Li Wuwang. He said that Li Wuwang is extremely ruthless and deals heavy blows, often breaking people’s tendons and shattering their meridians. He is not a kind person.”

“This time, when I heard that he was in Wujiang Prefecture City, I specifically went there to test his mettle and see if his Dragon Spear could shake these palms of mine.”

So, he was also targeting Li Wuwang.

However, reading between the lines, it seemed he was mostly seeking revenge for a friend who had suffered at Li Wuwang’s hands.

After all, it is quite rare for someone with a high ranking on the human list to actively challenge someone with a lower ranking.

Of course, it is also possible that Li Wuwang might directly challenge Wang Xiuye.

Later, Zhou Heng also learned some information about Li Wuwang from others and heard various rumors about the grandmaster’s treasure in Wujiang Prefecture City.

This rumor gave him a sense of déjà vu.

The beginning of the incident in Yuyang County seemed to have started with rumors of an opportunity to break through to the Secret Sixth Rank.

“If I think about it, it really does seem familiar,” Zhou Heng stroked his chin and muttered to himself, “But what are the chances of that? Probably not… probably not.”

…

Wujiang Prefecture City, late at night.

Dark clouds covered the moon.

Li Wuwang was sitting cross-legged on top of a small hill on the outskirts of Wujiang Prefecture City, circulating his Inner Strength and harmonizing the resonance between his inner microcosm and the outer macrocosm.

This caused the environment around him to change; with each breath, he could stir the wind and waves to circle around him, blowing through the grass and plants, making them stiffen up like spears.

As Li Wuwang’s breathing became heavier, his aura grew sharper, and those plants and grass were further influenced by him. Within a three-yard radius, it was as if transformed into a battlefield, every blade of grass a soldier, every plant a weapon.

His inner microcosm seemed like an invincible army that had won a hundred battles, its edge peerless and unstoppable!

“Huff!”

Li Wuwang exhaled a breath that shot out like a bright light, extending three feet ahead, tearing through the air with a series of screeches, much like a sword flying from his mouth.

When he slowly opened his eyes, the extreme brightness in his gaze burst forth, shooting straight out a foot ahead of him and lingering without dispersing. Only after several breaths did it begin to fade away gradually.

This meant that his Inner Qi and spirit had both completely reached the peak of his current realm.

One more step forward would mean the return of Inner Qi to the Innate, the meeting with the external macrocosm, the realm of Secret Sixth Rank.

However, this step was extremely difficult.

The key no longer lay in whether the Inner Qi was profound or the degree of harmony between the inner microcosm and the external macrocosm.

It was a test of spiritual will.

Building the bridge between heaven and earth, manifesting the inner microcosm outwardly, and transforming Inner Qi to Innate—all of this was the work of spiritual will.

Different levels of spiritual will could lead to different heavenly and earthly phenomena, creating different levels of the Secret Sixth Rank.

If one could condense an invincible spiritual will, when the time comes to manifest the inner microcosm and meet the external macrocosm, there would surely be earth-shattering phenomena.

Once the breakthrough succeeds, one will become a far stronger Innate Sixth Rank than their peers.

“You think that after I reached fifteenth on the Human List, I would lie low for a while, but you do not realize that this is just my beginning,” Li Wuwang’s mouth curled up into a faint smile, and a glint appeared in his eyes.

“Kong Zhi… Cheng Jianjian… Situ Nanfeng… Fang Wen! I will trample each of you under my feet, suppress everything, sweep through all obstacles, and eventually achieve my invincibility.

“Invincibility!

“Forge my path!”