159: Chapter 159 Refining the Heart in the Mortal World

"By the way..." Lu Qingfeng hesitated for a moment but decided to tell Old Xiao about Canghai Yueming. "There's an eye at her Yintang Point that's blocking her Internal Energy from fully entering her head. That's why she hasn't been able to reach Transforming Power. She should be able to in a year."

"An eye?" He was somewhat incredulous.

"Yes... that eye looks very mysterious, yet very fragile. Internal Energy can easily break through it—mine, at least. She's not quite there yet."

Xiao Jingdao fell into deep thought and only spoke after a long while. "I've never seen this before. Could it be that some kind of Divine Ability will be born after it's broken through?"

"Can we not just make wild guesses?"

"This isn't a wild guess. Martial arts is fundamentally about developing human potential. Some exceptionally gifted people are like that; they awaken Martial Arts Divine Abilities very early and possess incredible powers."

"The gods of legend were like this. They were born with abilities that ordinary people didn't have, and after they Cultivated, those abilities became even stronger."

"It's just that predicting the future is too broken. Also, you said the eye is fragile. I suspect that every time she sees a vision of the future, the eye weakens significantly until it eventually disappears. So, if she sees anything else, her Internal Energy might break through in less than a year."

Lu Qingfeng nodded after hearing this and then said seriously:

"I hope you're right... Oh, one last thing. I don't care what students you recruit for now, but I won't share anything regarding what comes after Baodan anymore. We'll talk about that later. Also... Old Xiao, don't blame me if I don't warn you before I clean house in the future."

Xiao Jingdao opened his mouth to speak but eventually let out a sigh and waved his hand.

Lu Qingfeng said, "Old Man Xiao, take care of yourself. I'm leaving..."

Then he turned and left. He knew saying that would make Xiao Jingdao feel bad, as they were all his students, but he had to stick to the bottom line in his heart. Now was not the time for universal martial arts... Martial arts and Cancerous Mutation were different after all.

Sitting on the bus back to Hongzhou, his bracelet already had a message from Old Lu saying he had returned home and asking when Lu Qingfeng would be back.

Lu Qingfeng replied: On the way.

Stepping out of the station and looking at the passing crowds, he suddenly felt a bit emotional. It felt like coming from Hell to Heaven. Blue Star seems really nice right now. What if every place was like this? Even if it's just a facade of peace, it's still peace!

He sighed and took a taxi home.

As soon as he entered, he saw Old Lu sitting on the sofa watching TV, looking somewhat worried.

"Old Lu, I'm back. What are you watching?"

Old Lu saw him and looked overjoyed. "You brat, I haven't seen you in a year. You've gotten darker and thinner, but you look much more spirited."

"By the way, have you eaten? Dad will take you to get something delicious..."

"I haven't had dinner, but let's do it later. I have some things to ask you."

"What is it? Cultivation? I've already reached Obvious Power. Isn't that pretty fast?"

Lu Qingfeng was speechless. It took him a whole year just to reach Obvious Power, and that was only because he was a Cancer-mutant and had his Meridians cleared. He probably wouldn't reach Hidden Power for another eight or ten years.

This Old Lu's Aptitude was truly poor. If his Meridians hadn't been cleared, he probably would never have even started.

"It's not about that... I saw your expression wasn't right when I came in. Did something happen?"

Old Lu hesitated, then thought about how his son was grown up now, so he said, "Taxes were increased recently, and pork prices are skyrocketing. It doesn't matter much to us, but the common people are suffering. Prices are rising rapidly across the board lately. I heard rumors of a war coming, but I don't know if it's true."

"It's true..."

Hearing Lu Qingfeng's answer, Old Lu was a bit surprised. "How do you know?"

"The Dean told us!" Lu Qingfeng brushed it off casually.

"By the way, did Mom not get any time off for the New Year? Can we call her?"

Old Lu shook his head. "Things seem pretty tense at Proxima Centauri lately. It's unlikely she'll have any time off."

"Alright then..." Lu Qingfeng finished speaking, went to his bedroom to put his things away, and came back out. The father and son chatted about other things until it was time for dinner in the evening.

After dinner and returning home, he hesitated for a bit before telling Old Lu that Mother Lu wanted him to go to his maternal grandfather's house. Old Lu didn't say anything, which made Lu Qingfeng breathe a sigh of relief.

Nothing more was said that night.

The next day was Chinese New Year's Eve. Lanterns and decorations were everywhere, and the streets and alleys were teeming with people.

Under the bright, warm sun, children were laughing and playing, while some adults had hints of worry on their faces.

Children celebrate the New Year... adults observe the 'Jie'... the 'Jie' of tribulation!

Early that morning, Lu Qingfeng received a call from Li Tianran.

"Old Six, are you awake? Are we hanging out today?"

"Sure... let's go to the old place. Let's play a few rounds today!"

"Let's go... I'll carry you today."

"Who are you calling 'little brother'? I was born in January!"

"Big brother, big brother, you're my big brother. Your little brother will carry you today."

After hanging up, Lu Qingfeng said goodbye to Old Lu and headed out to the internet cafe on top of the commercial building near Fifth Middle School.

The two of them played for the whole morning.

At noon, they ate at a restaurant downstairs.

"Oh... you two college students, it's been a year..." The owner was as enthusiastic as ever.

"Boss, aren't you taking a break today?"

"I'll rest tonight. I'll do some business during the day."

The two ordered some dishes and a bottle of white liquor.

"Tianran, I heard you learned a Special Ability. That's pretty good. Persistence is the key. Congratulations, cheers." Lu Qingfeng raised his glass.

Tianran clinked glasses and drained it in one gulp. "Forget it, don't mention it. Others learn two, and I only learned one. But I've come to terms with it. I'll just let it be. I stopped trying so hard, and yet I actually learned it. Isn't that strange?"

"You were just too tense. You just needed to relax your mind."

"Yeah, you're right. So now I just go to class normally, study, and play games after class. Dammit, who cares? When the lecturer scolds me, I just pretend I don't hear it. I do whatever I want. Anyway, I'm just Lying Flat and refusing to join the rat race..."

"Impressive..."

Lu Qingfeng gave him a thumbs up.

Li Tianran downed another glass of wine, his eyes a bit red as he stared at Lu Qingfeng and said, "You brat, you're really something else!"

Lu Qingfeng: ?????

"What do you mean?"

"I'm talking about Xiaoyu. It's over between you and Chihiro, so why won't you accept her? You haven't even called her in a year."

Lu Qingfeng was speechless. "Li Tianran, don't tell me you're going to be a Fei Yangyang? Feelings are a mess that no one can explain. But I really do feel sorry for her. Also, can we not mention her?"

"You deserve it. Let me tell you, Xiaoyu is so good, and you don't cherish her."

Lu Qingfeng fell silent. Some things are perhaps truly hard to judge—a tangled mess that's hard to unravel.

"It's a brothers' reunion today, can we please not mention this?"

"No... she's coming over in a bit. Let's see you try to hide from her then, hahaha!"

Lu Qingfeng began to feel a bit angry, but he didn't say anything. He thought about it and suddenly smiled. His heart, which had been tense for a year in Chaos City...

After returning here, he had actually started worrying about gains and losses.

He seemed to understand a bit of what Xiao Jingdao meant by letting him experience the meaning of life!

Martial arts... requires tempering the heart in the Mortal World!