The two fought a hearty battle, ending in a draw.
Xiang Jian believed in fighting to grow stronger, while Xiao Man’s strength grew in proportion to the opponent. In terms of martial arts, their mindsets were quite similar. However, Xiang Jian’s entire focus was on cultivation, whereas Xiao Man still needed to dedicate part of her attention to learning other things. In Xiang Jian’s view, concentrating on one thing and perfecting it was enough; he could not multitask.
“Xiao Qin, have you ever considered putting all your thoughts into cultivation?” Xiang Jian inquired.
“All my thoughts are already on cultivation,” Xiao Man replied unhurriedly. “It’s just that while cultivating, I don’t let it prevent me from acquiring other knowledge.” SudanaNovel.com
“You’re learning too much, which may hinder your future cultivation,” Xiang Jian warned Xiao Man. “You can’t have your cake and eat it too. With your intelligence, you should understand this.”
Xiao Man propped herself up with her elbows. “I’m learning things that are useful to me, and things I believe will aid my cultivation. My current goal is to live well and cultivate well. But with my cultivation level, living well isn’t easy, is it?”
Xiang Jian fell silent. Yes, he too had once focused solely on cultivation, ignoring everything else, and ended up with a shattered Golden Core and crippled hands. If he had been more wary of people and learned more self-defense skills back then, how could he have ended up like this?
However, he also had to thank those who had persecuted him. If not for their persecution, how would he have met Xiao Man, and how would he have learned so many things he had never encountered before? The things Xiao Man taught him were simple yet very practical; they could even save his life when encountering enemies!
“Xiao Qin, do you have anyone you hate?”
“Yes,” Xiao Man affirmed. “There is someone I must kill.”
“Did your fall into lawlessness have anything to do with this person?”
“Yes,” Xiao Man said softly. “The hatred between him and me cannot be explained in a few words. However, no matter where he hides or how powerful his backing is, I will find him and grind him to dust.”
Xiang Jian glanced at Xiao Man and thought, for her to hate someone so much that she wished to grind them to dust, that person must truly be capable. He wondered what terrible deeds they had committed to make Xiao Man resent them so deeply.
As the enrollment period for the Seven Great Sects approached, more and more people gathered in the Roland Mountain Range.
The Seven Great Sects all sent disciples to the Roland Mountain Range for training. Ostensibly for training, their real purpose was to scout for potential disciples in Wuji City and extend early invitations to recruit them into their sects.
“Senior Brother, aren’t we going to meet Elder Fang He?” An Yue asked. They had been wandering the Roland Mountain Range for many days since that incident.
“Junior Sister, have you forgotten? Our mission is to scout for potential disciples,” Liu Hong said calmly. The reasons he volunteered to come were that there were many valuable resources in the Roland Mountain Range, and it was good for training. Secondly, the disciples he recruited could help each other in the sect later, preventing them from being suppressed by others without the ability to fight back.
“Senior Brother, I think Xiao Qin is very good,” An Yue quickly added. “Look, her cultivation is at the ninth stage of Qi Condensation, just a step away from entering the Foundation Establishment stage. If we help her successfully establish her foundation, there’s no doubt she’ll join our sect.”
Liu Hong chuckled. “Do you think I’ve been wandering around the Roland Mountain Range for nothing? Isn’t it to find her?”
“So that’s how it is.”
“But we’ve searched the outer perimeter and haven’t found any trace of Xiao Qin. Could she have gone into the inner region?” An Yue frowned. Given Xiao Qin’s personality, she might actually risk her life. After all, during the ruins, Xiao Qin dared to charge out and fight the demonic ape alone.
“It’s possible.” Liu Hong looked towards the depths of the Roland Mountain Range. The further one went into the mountain range, the higher the chance of encountering high-level demonic beasts. However, the highest cultivation among them was his, at the early Foundation Establishment stage, and he had only recently advanced. The others were still in the Qi Condensation stage. Entering the deeper regions would indeed be unwise.
“In that case, we should hunt demonic beasts in the outer regions to improve ourselves. We’ll head to Wuji City before enrollment, and I’m sure Xiao Qin will return to Wuji City then. We’ll definitely see her again.”
“Very well.”
Xiao Man and her group had indeed entered the middle layer of the Roland Mountain Range, where many high-level demonic beasts resided. However, the higher the level of the demonic beast, the less they disdained to gather in groups. Even if they encountered them, Xiao Man and her group had ways to deal with them.
During the day, the group hunted demonic beasts and consolidated their cultivation. At night, they meditated and cultivated, using cultivation in place of sleep. They all seemed to have been stimulated, cultivating desperately.
Xiao Man prepared various medicinal meals for them daily, helping to condition their bodies. Their cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, with Poison Lady and Xi Wen being the first to reach the seventh stage of Qi Condensation.
The people from the Blazing Sun Sect were still searching for Lu Xiong’s whereabouts. However, they had searched everywhere possible and found no trace of him. Fang He suspected that Lu Xiong, due to some unavoidable circumstances, had entered the depths of the Roland Mountain Range. After much thought, he ventured alone into the deeper regions.
Fang He cautiously proceeded through the Roland Mountain Range and, by chance, encountered Xiang Jian’s group again. Just three months ago, Xiang Jian was still a cultivator at the fifth stage of Qi Condensation, but now his cultivation was the same as his!
“Fellow cultivator, we meet again.” Fang He looked at the people behind Xiang Jian, shock in his eyes. The first time he saw Xiang Jian’s group three months ago, they were just beginning to draw Qi into their bodies, newly initiated cultivators. Yet, in three months, two of them had already advanced to the seventh stage of Qi Condensation. What was even more terrifying was Xiang Jian, who had become a cultivator at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. Such cultivation was considered outstanding even among the Seven Great Sects!
“Greetings, Immortal Master.” Xiang Jian remained humble. Although he enjoyed fighting, he also knew it was not advisable to make enemies. Besides, Xiao Man had always emphasized that without benefits, they should not provoke trouble and should try to get along with people. However, if others bullied them, there was no need to be polite; they should gang up and beat the enemy to death!
Although they felt their captain was somewhat despicable, this kind of “despicableness” resonated deeply with people and earned their approval. In a world of the survival of the fittest, having strong fists was the true principle.
“Are you all training in here?”
“Yes.”
“While training in here, have you seen any disciples from the Blazing Sun Sect?”
“No.”
“I have a fated connection with you young friends,” Fang He said, taking out a token and handing it to Xiang Jian. “If you young friends don’t mind, this token is for you. If you encounter danger, you can use this token to request help from the disciples of the Blazing Sun Sect.”
“Thank you, Immortal Master.”
“Farewell.”