9: The Qi liquid enters the throat, and a mortal steps on the master?

Before dawn, the morning light was firmly pressed beneath the horizon by thick clouds, unable to emit a single ray.

In front of Crippled Chen's ruined house, Zhang Xuanyi's figure was outlined by the night, like a ghost.

His face was ashen, like paper; last night, he had forcibly deduced the compass, defying heaven to rewrite a certain death situation, almost draining the last trace of Qi power from his Dantian Qi Sea.

At this moment, he was weaker than any mortal, and a gust of mountain wind made his body sway slightly.

However, his fingertips tightly clutched a test tube.

Inside the test tube, a quietblue liquid emitted a ghostly glow, as if imprisoning an entire deep night sky.

The small print on the label was still clear and dazzling in the darkness: "Pseudo-Three Caverns True Qi Liquid. Effect: Forcibly raises the user's Qi power to the Zongsheng Realm, duration unknown. Limited to 1 use, side effects unknown."

This was his last trump card, and also a bomb that could explode at any moment.

The Grandmaster Realm – that was a realm only inner elders of the Tianshi Mansion possessed!

Once he chose to swallow this potion, the immense Qi aura that would instantly erupt would be like a scorching sun in the dark night, immediately alarming all the old monsters in seclusion on Mount Longhu.

At that time, Li Wujiu's pursuit might be temporarily halted, but what would follow would be the Tianshi Mansion's all-out encirclement.

But if he didn't swallow it, with his current state of depleted Qi Sea, let alone Li Wujiu's return, even any disciple from the Hall of Law Enforcement could easily apprehend him.

A dead end, or a desperate path?

Zhang Xuanyi's gaze repeatedly darted over the quietblue liquid, a fierce inner struggle raging within him.

Just then, from the pile of rubble behind the ruins, a dark figure crawled out on all fours, like a startled rat.

His face was covered in soot, his hair was as messy as a bird's nest, and it was none other than the street ruffian, Zhao Sanpao.

"Daoist Master... Daoist Master, you're still alive!" Zhao Sanpao, seeing Zhang Xuanyi, seemed to have found a relative and scrambled over, his voice choked with tears, "I... I've been hiding in this broken place for three days, haven't even had a sip of water... Can I have some food?"

Zhang Xuanyi frowned slightly, about to send him away, but his gaze suddenly froze.

He saw that on the palm of Zhao Sanpao's outstretched, dirty hand, a faint golden light, even weaker than a firefly, was subtly glowing!

Though the light was fleeting, what it contained was clearly a wisp of faint Qi sensation!

It was that "fist soul candy" from last night!

It was originally a thought-form creation containing a trace of a martial arts grandmaster's fist intent, merely a snack for entertainment for an Awakened, but for an ordinary person who had never encountered Qi, this trace of intent was like a seed, forcibly sprouting a tender shoot in his barren "mortal" soil!

Zhang Xuanyi's heart was violently shaken, and a revolutionary thought surged through him: "Ordinary people... can also awaken?!"

He had always thought that his street stall treasures were merely clever tricks within the existing Awakened system, but now it seemed, this was clearly forging a brand new path!

"Stop!"

A cold shout interrupted his thoughts.

Li Songyang, leading dozens of black-robed Hall of Law Enforcement disciples, advanced like a dark cloud from the other end of the long street, completely surrounding the small ruins.

Li Songyang's gaze was colder than the night; the standard-issue magic sword in his hand hummed, pointing directly at Zhang Xuanyi: "Zhang Xuanyi, the Hall of Law Enforcement, in conjunction with the Pill and Medicine Hall and the Talisman Pavilion, has jointly determined that the 'street stall rare treasures' you sell are forbidden items that undermine the foundation of our Tianshi Mansion! You are ordered to immediately hand over all items and return with me to the Hall of Law Enforcement for investigation!"

"Investigation?" Zhang Xuanyi laughed, his laughter carrying a bone-chilling coldness and a weary hoarseness, "Alright, can you investigate why Li Wujiu was able to use the Five Thunder Talisman against me within the mountain gate? Can you investigate why Crippled Chen, this innocent old man, had his home destroyed and family killed, struck by so-called 'heavenly wrath' and turned into charcoal?"

With each question he asked, he took a step forward, an unyielding flame seemingly burning within his depleted body.

Li Songyang's gaze flickered intensely, and his grip on the sword tightened slightly.

How could he not know these questions?

There had long been much discussion within the Hall of Law Enforcement, but the Li family was powerful, and had the backing of the Mansion Lord's lineage; who dared to investigate?

And who could investigate?

"The law dictates this," he uttered a few words with difficulty, his voice dry, "I... can only execute it."

"'Can only execute it,' what a good phrase!" Zhang Xuanyi laughed up at the sky.

Just at this tense moment, no one expected the bystander Zhao Sanpao to suddenly move!

This ruffian, who had been hungry for three days, stared at the blue potion in Zhang Xuanyi's hand with bloodshot eyes, filled with the most primal desire for power and a desperate craving to change his fate.

He didn't understand what 'forbidden' or 'investigation' meant; he only saw that it was a ladder to heaven that could lift him out of the mud!

"Daoist Master! Let me try! I don't want to be trampled like mud anymore! I want to be a true immortal too!"

Zhao Sanpao let out a beast-like roar, lunging forward with all his might, snatching the "Pseudo-Three Caverns True Qi Liquid" from Zhang Xuanyi's hand!

Zhang Xuanyi, with his Qi power depleted, couldn't even stop him!

Under the horrified gazes of everyone, Zhao Sanpao unscrewed the cap, tilted his head back, and drank the quietblue liquid in one gulp!

"Boom—!"

In an instant, a terrifying and unparalleled Qi aura erupted from Zhao Sanpao's body!

All his meridians and blood vessels beneath his skin violently swelled, like countless blue coiled dragons entrenched and roaring within him!

Violent blue Qi flames gushed out from his seven orifices, making him appear like a demon god returned from hell!

"Ah ah ah ah—!"

Zhao Sanpao let out an inhuman roar, his eyes bloodshot, his consciousness seemingly swallowed by the violent power.

He instinctively threw a punch at a half-collapsed wall, struck by lightning, not far away!

No moves, no techniques, only pure, ultimate power!

"Bang!"

With a loud bang, the thick, broken wall, built of bluestone, instantly exploded as if struck head-on by a battering ram, turning into a sky full of dust!

All the onlookers and Hall of Law Enforcement disciples were stunned, their mouths agape, their eyes nearly popping out.

"Grand... Grandmaster! This is the Grandmaster Realm's pressure!"

"Heavens! Zhao Sanpao, that ruffian... he really became a Grandmaster?!"

Li Songyang was even more thunderstruck, stepping back in horror, his shock beyond measure.

However, this god-like power lasted for less than ten breaths.

"Ugh..." Zhao Sanpao let out a painful gurgle from his throat, and the blue Qi flames on his body rapidly dissipated like a popped balloon.

His face suddenly turned purplish-blue, and spiderweb-like black cracks appeared on his skin. He fell to his knees with a "thud," convulsing violently, spitting out white foam with blue electric arcs from his mouth.

The side effects had erupted!

"Idiot!" Zhang Xuanyi growled, disregarding his own weakness, and rushed forward, pressing his withered palm firmly against the convulsing Zhao Sanpao's Dantian.

He activated his sect's secret technique, "Qi Guiding Hand," and a faint but extremely pure pulling force emanated from his palm, beginning to regulate the chaotic Qi raging like a runaway wild horse within Zhao Sanpao's body.

At the same time, he leaned close to Zhao Sanpao's ear and, with all his might, whispered, "Focus! Listen! Qi is not a tool for you to enslave, but a partner that coexists with you! If you respect it an inch, it will return you a foot! Focus your mind on your Dantian, abandon control, feel it, guide it, don't covet power that doesn't belong to you!"

This sharp rebuke was like a resounding bell, exploding in Zhao Sanpao's chaotic consciousness.

The dying Zhao Sanpao suddenly trembled, and a trace of clarity returned to his bloodshot eyes.

He instinctively followed Zhang Xuanyi's words, giving up on trying to suppress the power with brute force, and instead tried to feel and accept it.

A miracle happened.

The chaotic Qi, which had been violent enough to burst his meridians, actually became docile. Though still immense, it was no longer unruly, slowly sinking into his Dantian Qi Sea.

The purplish-blue color on Zhao Sanpao's body slowly faded, and his convulsions stopped.

He shakily propped himself up, actually standing again, looking at his hands in a daze, and trembling with a dreamlike voice, "I... I can feel... the flow of the wind, I can hear... the sound of that ant crawling ten feet away... I can feel the... weight of every stone beneath my feet..."

Li Songyang stared blankly at this scene, from shock to horror, finally turning into deep apprehension.

A mortal... a complete and utter mortal, with a single potion, entered the Grandmaster Realm within ten breaths, and then, with a single word from Zhang Xuanyi, survived the inevitable backlash and stabilized a trace of extraordinary foundation!

This... this was no longer just a pill!

Li Songyang stared intently at Zhang Xuanyi, saying word by word, "What you hold is no longer some clever trick of talismans, but... a key that can rewrite the order of the entire Awakened world!"

Zhang Xuanyi slowly straightened his body, patted the still-unsteady Zhao Sanpao's shoulder, and met Li Songyang's gaze calmly: "Senior Brother, you are right. But have you ever thought, what if one day, the woodcutter below Mount Longhu, the vegetable vendor in town, the sweeping handyman, they could all, with this key, possess the power to protect themselves and their families, to safeguard peace in their corner—"

His voice suddenly rose, like a clap of thunder: "—Shouldn't this rigid, aloof order be changed?!"

"Shouldn't this order be changed?!"

One sentence rendered Li Songyang speechless, and made all the Hall of Law Enforcement disciples look at each other.

They were the guardians of order, but did this order truly protect everyone who deserved protection?

Crippled Chen's tragic death was still vivid in their minds.

Silence, a deathly silence.

After a long while, Li Songyang's tightly clasped magic sword finally lowered slowly.

He didn't order an arrest, but merely looked at Zhang Xuanyi with an extremely complex gaze for a long time, then said coldly, "In three days, the Hall of Law Enforcement will convene a 'Street Stall Rare Treasure Hearing' at Transmission Cliff. The Mansion Lord and all the heads of the various halls will be present. If you dare to show up, you will be walking into a trap, and even immortals won't be able to save you."

With that, he abruptly flicked his sleeve, turned, and commanded, "Let's go!"

Dozens of Hall of Law Enforcement disciples retreated like a tide.

And the moment Li Songyang turned, an almost imperceptible spark of fire quietly slipped from his sleeve, falling behind a broken stone—it was an unlit communication talisman.

The onlookers, seeing that the excitement was over, also looked at Zhang Xuanyi with awe and dispersed, discussing amongst themselves.

In front of the ruins, soon only Zhang Xuanyi and the still-shaken Zhao Sanpao remained.

Just then, a small, thin figure turned the corner of the street.

It was the mute Daoist boy.

He was still expressionless. He walked to Zhang Xuanyi's tattered cloth stall, gently placed a palm-sized bamboo slip engraved with an ancient character " start" (Qi) in the center of the stall, then turned and silently disappeared into the morning mist.

Almost the instant the bamboo slip was placed, a cold system prompt clearly appeared in Zhang Xuanyi's mind:

"Ding! Detected 'Guardian of Artifacts' inheritance token, unlocking hidden quest: 'Myriad Laws for the People · First Lesson.'"

"Quest Objective: Successfully expound the concept of 'Myriad Laws for the People' at the 'Street Stall Hearing' in three days, and gain the approval of at least one Tianshi Mansion high-ranking official."

"Quest Reward: Unknown."

At the same moment, on the system interface of his stall, the alarming "Stock × 0" under the gray icon of "Pseudo-Three Caverns True Qi Liquid" quietly refreshed to "Stock × 1."

Zhang Xuanyi slowly walked back to his stall, picked up the smooth " start" (Qi) bamboo slip, feeling its slight weight in his hand.

He looked up, his gaze passing over layers of palace buildings, towards the cloud-shrouded peak deep within the Mount Longhu gate, and murmured to himself, his voice carrying a cold sharpness and suppressed anticipation:

"Hearing? Good... Then I'll go and give a good lesson to all these immortals on this mountain."

The night wind blew, stirring up the dust on the ground, and also fluttering the old blue cloth on his stall. Beneath the cloth, it seemed, still lay some unknown secret.

The clamor of this night finally ended, but everyone knew that a storm capable of overturning the entire Mount Longhu had only just begun to brew.