59: Zhao Qingge's heart skipped a beat

The next day.

The atmosphere at the dining table was a bit subtle.

Xu Lulu’s eyes darted between Lu Ming and Zhao Li, like a little fox who had discovered a secret.

She had vaguely heard movement in Zhao Li’s room until the early hours of this morning.

She never expected Sister Li, who seemed so cold, to have such a huge contrast.

“If it were me and Sister Li, we would have already…” Xu Lulu said with a mischievous smile, deliberately drawing out her words, “Sister Li, why do you look so good today? Did you go to bed particularly early last night?”

Zhao Li’s hand, holding her chopsticks, paused, her pretty face tightening slightly.

She secretly glared at Lu Ming, but saw him lowering his head, drinking porridge, a faint smile playing on his lips, clearly intending to stay out of it.

Zhao Qingge, sitting at the head of the table, poked a fried egg on her plate with one hand, staring at Lu Ming with a look of resentment.

She had barely slept all night; when she closed her eyes, chaotic images of Zhao Li bullying Lu Ming, and the possibility of Zhao Li’s talent recovering, swirled in her mind, making it a mess.

Zhao Qingge put down her chopsticks and suddenly looked at Li’er, asking, “Li’er, is your talent…”

“Hmm… the intensity has recovered to two-star.” Zhao Li’s voice was still a bit hoarse, clearly exhausted from last night.

Zhao Qingge suddenly looked up, her beautiful eyes fixed on Zhao Li, her voice trembling with disbelief: “Really? How did you do it?”

Zhao Li met her aunt’s gaze and nodded gently.

As for how she did it… she secretly glanced at Lu Ming, the tips of her ears gradually flushing red.

Zhao Qingge’s gaze instantly shifted to Lu Ming, carrying scrutiny, inquiry, and a hint of an imperceptible sense of absurdity.

How could that be!

Could such a preposterous thing actually have this effect?

This was simply unheard of.

Back then, Zhao Li’s foundation was unstable, and forcibly using the Myriad Miles of Ice Seal caused her meridians to rupture and suffer damage.

Zhao Qingge didn’t know how many famous doctors she had taken her to; over a decade had passed, and it only managed to curb the deterioration, never showing any improvement.

But now, after just one night of… effort, it had recovered to two-star!

Then, is there a chance for my talent to also make a breakthrough?

As soon as this thought emerged, Zhao Qingge suddenly pinched herself hard, her cheeks instantly burning hot.

She secretly glanced at Lu Ming, just as their eyes met, and she hastily lowered her head as if scalded, her fingertips unconsciously picking at the tablecloth, her heart pounding as if it would leap out of her throat.

What nonsense! That’s Li’er’s husband!

Zhao Qingge vigorously shook her head, trying to shake off those absurd thoughts.

But thinking of Zhao Li’s genuinely recovered talent, and her own seven-star talent, her heart felt itchy, as if scratched by a cat’s paw.

The Five Realms are also called the Dao Comprehension Realm.

Talent itself is a kind of Dao.

The level of talent determines the strength of this Dao.

Although her “Resplendent Heavenly Might” had a seven-star intensity, if there were no accidents, her domain would only be able to expand 700 meters at most.

It couldn’t compare with those nine-star monsters at all.

If… if this brat really had such an incredible effect, then could she also possess a nine-star talent?

“Aunt? What’s wrong?” Zhao Li noticed her abnormality and asked with concern.

“N-nothing!” Zhao Qingge suddenly snapped back to reality, picked up her teacup, and took a large gulp. “The Night Watch Division still has some urgent matters to deal with. You two eat slowly.”

Lu Ming watched her fleeing back and felt a bit puzzled.

He had originally wanted to ask her if the Night Watch Division had any good four-star martial arts techniques to recommend, but now he had to give up on that idea.

After an entire night of intense effort, his Spark had reached 120 points.

Of these, 60 points came from the twins, and the remaining 60 points were all contributed by Zhao Li alone.

It was no wonder Zhao Li could barely speak when she woke up this morning; she was truly exhausted.

The current Spark value was still some distance from awakening a four-star talent, so Lu Ming was thinking about whether to raise his spiritual power to four-star first.

Although he currently had no plans to become an alchemist or artificer, four-star spiritual power was still quite appealing.

Martial arts techniques below four-star could be mastered with just enlightenment, without needing to train diligently for ten or eight years like others.

Moreover, after he completed the relic mission last time, coupled with dismantling the Five Yin Cult’s stronghold two days ago, his contribution points suddenly reached 1000 points.

This was more than enough to exchange for a four-star martial art technique.

After some mental calculations, Lu Ming immediately took out his phone and logged into the Night Watch Division’s app.

There were quite a few four-star martial arts techniques available for exchange.

“Mountain Splitting Palm,” fierce and overbearing, suitable for close-quarters combat, requires 750 contribution points to exchange.

“Flowing Shadow Steps,” agile movement, skilled in evasion and pursuit, requires 680 contribution points to exchange.

“Thunderbolt Fist,” combines speed and power, with a weak paralyzing effect, requires 800 contribution points to exchange… Four-star martial arts techniques generally cost between 600-800 contribution points, which made Lu Ming a bit conflicted, as he had planned to save some contribution points to exchange for spirit herbs.

Only upon reaching the Third Realm does cultivation truly begin.

The more spiritual liquid converted, the stronger one’s power; the higher the quality of converted spiritual energy, the stronger one’s foundation.

However, the liquefaction of spiritual energy can no longer be improved by simply consuming pills; it requires a vast amount of time and spirit herbs.

And Lu Ming, possessing 360 more acupoints than others, required an even more bottomless pit of spirit herbs.

Fortunately, his luck was heaven-defying; as soon as he stepped into the Third Realm, he inherited Reid’s Buddha bone and that drop of Thunder Beast essence blood, allowing his cultivation to soar and successfully break through to the fifth stage of Qi Movement.

This indirectly illustrated the preciousness of spirit herbs; if he had relied on his own cultivation, he wouldn’t know when he would break through to the fifth stage of Qi Movement.

However, the spirit herbs in the Night Watch Division were exorbitantly expensive; his current contribution points would not be enough after exchanging for a four-star martial art technique.

Fortunately, he had acquired two three-star martial arts techniques from Shi Hu last time, which were all unorthodox methods. Although Lu Ming didn’t care for them, turning them in to the Night Watch Division could still earn him 600 contribution points.

Lu Ming swiped his finger and finally, with a pang of reluctance, exchanged for one four-star Demon Subduing Nine Blades and two Scarlet Flame Fruits.

The Demon Subduing Nine Blades is a fierce and sharp technique, created specifically for slaying demons and evil spirits. Each strike contains the power to dispel evil, and it requires 800 contribution points to exchange.

The most unique aspect of this martial art technique is its stacking effect: with each successive strike, the power to dispel evil increases by 30%, and spiritual energy consumption also increases by 30%.

When all nine blades are unleashed, even a peak Four Realms body cultivator would have to avoid its edge.

However, it is also extremely difficult to cultivate; some Transcendents have spent sixty years and only learned the second blade, which is why it is so cheap.

However, none of this was an issue for Lu Ming.

As for the Scarlet Flame Fruit, a third-tier spiritual material, its fruit is entirely crimson, like a burning flame, containing violent fire-elemental spiritual energy. After consumption, it can convert at least 40 acupoints of spiritual liquid, requiring 400 contribution points to exchange.

40 acupoints was already quite a bargain for others, raising them by a minor realm and saving five or six years of cultivation.

But for Lu Ming, it was a bit of a loss, because he needed to fill 80 acupoints to advance a minor realm!

Others could go from the fifth stage of Qi Movement to the sixth with one fruit, but he had to painstakingly save up two to have enough.

“Damn it, I’m really poor! Where have all the demons and evil cultivators gone?”