In Ash City, shrouded in mist as always, Chen Jing arrived at the house where his master was.
As always, Master never closed the door when he was home. After knocking and receiving permission, Chen Jing went in.
"Master," Chen Jing said calmly, having composed himself.
"Hmm?" The expert, who was facing away from the door and holding a cup of tea, said, "You've reached the Blood Realm?"
Chen Jing was surprised. He went inside and closed the door, replying, "I broke through by chance before."
The expert, upon receiving confirmation, was speechless for a moment. After a brief pause, he said, "You are very talented."
Chen Jing asked curiously, "Master, can you tell my cultivation level?"
This is a very serious problem, because he has come face to face with Black Hand and the others at close range. If his master can do it, then Black Hand and the others can probably do it too.
Expert: "As far as I know, before the Mingjing realm, there was no ability to directly see a person's cultivation level, and I don't know if the Mingjing realm can do that."
Hearing this, Chen Jing breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Master, how did you see that I had reached the Blood Realm?"
“Just guessing.” The expert, still with his back to Chen Jing, said, “You didn’t arrive here on time, so you must have come back from the Black Hand. You were obviously participating in the trial, but you are so calm and composed, neither depressed nor excited. So I judge that you have entered the Blood Realm and gained the ability to conceal your emotions.”
Chen Jing nodded: "Indeed."
The expert turned around, his eyes sweeping over Chen Jing's bandaged left hand, and said, "You said the assassins mistook you for the Qi of Dao. If I didn't have a special understanding of the Qi of Words, I would suspect it was the Qi of Words."
Chen Jing asked curiously, "The spirit behind the words?"
"The spiritual energy cultivated by Confucianists and strategists during the pre-Qin period is now part of the An Dynasty's tradition. Within the Confucian school, there are also some who call themselves Sound Cultivators," the expert said. "Blood Realm Sound Cultivators can exploit the fear, cowardice, and suspicion of others to form alliances and manipulate them skillfully. They can also transform into a kind of bloodthirsty beast state, such as being covered in fur and growing sharp claws and teeth. However, orthodox Sound Cultivators will deliberately control that evil state, regarding controlling that state as a method of cultivation."
After hearing this account, Chen Jing immediately thought of someone.
Li Aidan!
Could she be Yan Xiu of the Body Realm? Because the Body Realm is essentially an incomplete Blood Realm, she only gained the ability to transform her arms into beast fur and claws?
"Dan Realm cultivators excel at boosting morale, organizing civilians and armies, and managing others. They can perform many wondrous and awe-inspiring spells, most of which are related to music and poetry," the expert said. "Qi Realm cultivators, on the other hand, can promulgate spell-like laws and decrees, and command others to do things they wouldn't normally do out of 'authority' or 'moral values'."
It sounds... completely different from the Confucianism on Earth before I transmigrated. Uh, I thought the Confucian school would cultivate righteous energy or something... Chen Jing thought to himself.
Seeing that his master was unwilling to talk about higher levels of cultivation, he asked, "Master, how much do you know about the Qi of the Dao?"
The expert said, "The Qi of the Dao is quite mysterious, and I know very little about it. I only know that Daoist cultivators are good at illusions, transformations, and creating things from the void."
Skilled in illusions… So there really is a high-level Daoist cultivator in the Black Hand gang. Chen Jing thought about the battle he heard from the wounded, his heart heavy.
"Sit down and tell me about your trial," the expert said, looking at Chen Jing.
"Yes." Chen Jing pulled up a chair and sat down, then began to tell the expert about the whole incident, including the stories he had heard from the wounded.
The expert listened attentively without making a comment.
Only after Chen Jing finished speaking did the expert say, "You did very well, but you need to think more about whether you could do even better if you did it again. I can't help you with that because the spiritual energy you cultivate is different from mine."
Chen Jing nodded: "Yes, Master."
Post-mortem analysis is very important!
The expert said, "The image of the wandering slave is a painting, which reminds me of the legendary Bai family."
"The Bai family?"
"The Bai family of the Star Lotus Ship." The expert said, "They live on a large ship that resembles an island. Every adult member of the clan undergoes a trial that is almost impossible to pass. Only those who succeed can travel to other parts of the world. They claim to be descendants of the divine beast Bai Ze and are skilled at recording history, drawing portraits, and dispelling evil spirits."
"It is said that the portraits they draw can retain a portion of the power of the person being recorded. The stronger the painter is, the stronger the power of the person being recorded will be, and it may even exceed that of the person being recorded."
How amazing... Speaking of which, Li Huaxing also loves to draw. If he were to become a cultivator, he would probably be the most suitable... Chen Jing thought for a moment and then asked, "What kind of spiritual energy do they cultivate?"
The expert shook his head: "I don't know."
“There’s a hidden feng shui master in the Black Hand gang,” the expert continued. “The aura of a Qi Realm cultivator can break through all kinds of illusions, but in your account, they deceived the slave souls with some kind of illusion. This confirms what you got from the assassins.”
Chen Jing asked, "What exactly is the title for a Feng Shui master?"
The expert shook his head: "Don't risk your invisibility abilities lightly in the future."
Chen Jing pondered the sentence and gleaned a piece of information.
A Feng Shui master is at least at the Ming realm! Or even higher—a title for a certain type of spiritual cultivator!
Chen Jing then recounted to his master how he saw guards looking for Wan Tong when he got home, and finally asked:
"Master, I'm thinking of going to Mo Wujiang as a new member of the Black Hand Gang, to portray my sister as someone who escaped and knows nothing about the incident, so that she'll no longer be wanted, and at the same time, to probe about the blood sacrifice. Do you think there's anything wrong with my idea?"
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