Chapter 158: Lightning Screech
"Li He, since you're already a fourth-state martial artist, why didn't you try to become a wujuren instead of coming here?" Zhang Haizhu asked as he lay down in bed.
Rather than sleeping, Li He was performing seated meditation on the bed.
Is he cultivating Dao arts? Chu Qiguang wondered to himself.
"I have my reasons," Li He replied in an aloof and ambiguous fashion.
"I can't believe you beat Jiang Longyu with just a single finger today," Zhang Haizhu said. "You must be the strongest martial artist out of all of us right now."
"Shut up and sleep!" Jiang Longyu snapped. "Otherwise, I'm going to call the instructors!"
Zhang Haizhu rolled his eyes in disdain, but he didn't say anything.
Meanwhile, Chu Qiguang was feeling incredibly bored. It had been a very long time since he last slept at night, and it was really quite a pain on the backside.
He had come here to secure power and cultivation resources, not to waste his time with needless sleep.
Furthermore, sharing a room with four people was quite a hindrance.
In particular, he had to put his practice of the Sumeru King Scripture on pause, as he couldn't just whip out the scripture in front of others.
In any case, he hadn't even brought the scripture with him. Instead, he hid it at a secret location at the foot of the mountain, where it was being guarded by Chen Gang.
Even when he was back home, his practice of the Sumeru King Scripture hadn't been going very smoothly.
As a cat fiend, Qiao Zhi lacked the ability to provide him with much guidance in his practice of the Sumeru King Scripture.
By practicing the Sumeru King Scripture on his own, Chu Qiguang could sense his constitution becoming stronger by the day, but the rate of progress was becoming slower and slower by the day.
Moreover, he had no idea how to actually reach the Dao Comprehension state.
Furthermore, the more he practiced the Sumeru King Scripture, the more difficult he found it to resist its allure. He was spending more and more time composing himself after each practice.
At this rate, he would have to give up on practicing the Sumeru King Scripture for his own safety.
Given that the Demon Vanquishing Department had the Sumeru Strength Scripture, they surely knew how to practice it. This was one of Chu Qiguang's goals and reasons as to why he had set off for Jade Face Mountain.
Let's see what the Demon Vanquishing Department is planning tomorrow. If it's going to be like this for the entire year, then this is just going to be a massive waste of time.
Early the next day, Jiang Longyu's servant prepared hot water, a towel, and a toothbrush for Jiang Longyu to help him wash up, while Chu Qiguang's trio had to do everything themselves.
Once everyone had washed up, they were dragged to the ancestral hall behind the villa, where they paid their respects to the ancestral statues in the hall before praying to the Profound Origin Dao Lord.
Huang Xiangyu approached Chu Qiguang and explained, "The Demon Vanquishing Department was founded with the assistance of the Heavenly Master Religion.
"Everyone in the department comes into frequent contact with fiends, demons, and evil deities, which them more prone to demonification than the average person, so they have to pray daily to the Profound Origin Dao Lord."
Chu Qiguang nodded in response. Both the Demon Vanquishing Department and the Heavenly Master Religion worshiped the Profound Origin Dao Lord, yet they were also in competition against one another, so it was no surprise that they eventually found themselves in conflict with each other.
They're like two branches of the same religion; it's no wonder they don't see eye to eye.
After their morning prayers, the thirty-two trainees were taken to the training ground, where they paid their respects to the instructors.
After that, they were left to stand there, as the instructors seemed to be waiting for something. None of the trainees dared to do anything without instructions from the instructors, so they could only wait.
Several minutes later, thunderous rumbling echoed in the distance. One moment, it was far away on the horizon, yet the next instant, it was already directly outside the villa.
A shadow descended from the heavens, and all of the trainees cried out in alarm as they retreated in a hurry.
As a fifth-state martial artist, Chu Qiguang was much more composed than everyone else, but he still pretended to stumble back as if he had been caught off guard.
Someone had just thrown a massive object down on the training ground. Upon closer inspection, Chu Qiguang discovered that it was a giant bird with nine human faces.
The creature was only around half the size of a Chongming Bird, but even in death, it was giving off a far more formidable aura.
In particular, its feathers were formed by flames, and they were still burning fiercely, indicating that the creature possessed supernatural power.
"This is a Nine Phoenix, a beast fiend with a bird's body and nine human faces. Last night, I traveled to the Shu Province to slay this Nine Phoenix, which had been wreaking havoc in a city.
"These are the types of creatures that you'll all be dealing with in the future."
A figure slowly stepped down from the Nine Phoenix's carcass. Despite his elderly appearance, he still had an incredibly imposing stature.
What was even more remarkable about him was the waves of intense heat radiating from him, which vaporized the nearby snow.
He must be a Dao Comprehension state martial artist! Chu Qiguang concluded.
They were high up on a mountain in the dead of winter, yet the heat radiating from the old man was so intense that everyone was sweating profusely in his presence.
"That's Head Instructor Zhong Shan'e of the Demon Vanquishing Department!" Huang Xiangyu said excitedly. "He's the most renowned and revered Dao Comprehension state martial god in the Demon Vanquishing Department!"
"Which of the four orthodox arts did he cultivate?" Chu Qiguang asked.
"The Lightning Screech," Huang Xiangyu replied.
"I hope you all slept well last night," Zhong Shan'e remarked. "Over the course of the next month, you will be educated on fiends, demons, cults, and ghosts. You will also learn how to kill them. At the same time, all of you must continue your martial arts cultivation to hone yourselves, and you must also take pills every day to build up your willpower.
"A preliminary trial will be held in a month, and the top ten will enter the advanced school, while the rest will remain in the outer school..."
Chu Qiguang quickly understood the assignment. In summary, an examination was going to be held every month to split the trainees into different schools. The top ten would each have their own private room and instructor. They would also receive more pills and have access to more books in the library.
Those in the outer school would have to continue sleeping in communal beds, and they would also be worse off in all other aspects.
On top of that, there was also the mid-year examination, which would decide the faction everyone would belong to, while the final examination in a year would determine if any of the trainees were worthy of practicing the four orthodox arts.
Chu Qiguang was relieved. So I just have to stick it out for a month.
