Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

Chapter 294: Chapter 236 Data Panel Refresh

This year’s Dao Performance Tournament saw an unexpected victor for first place, the famously sharp-tongued, shameless, and cunning Zhao Degang.

Watching the stocky, dark-skinned man on stage bowing repeatedly, Zhao Sheng turned his head towards Zhao Qinghua beside him, her gaze firm:

“If you had chosen to compete in the tournament, first place would undoubtedly have been yours, along with the Foundation Establishment Pill. Seeing others bask in glory while you must hide your name and talents from this day on, do you have any regrets?”

Zhao Qinghua’s face remained impassive as she confidently replied, “I have no regrets!”

“Good, I really wasn’t wrong about you. With your addition, Zhao’s Secret Department will be even more formidable.”

At this point, Zhao Sheng confidently said, “As long as you don’t meet with a mishap on your journey, I assure you a Golden Core future.”

Ten years had passed, and Zhao Qinghua had now reached the Qi Refining Eighth Layer Realm, with her Qi Fortune growing day by day, one-third of her red Qi Fortune having transformed into a cyan color.

Zhao Sheng dared to make such a grand claim, partly because her Qi Fortune was exceptionally strong.

More importantly, Zhao Qinghua’s character, principled conduct, and handsome features had caught Zhao Sheng’s eye.

He was more than willing to nurture a second “Zhao Xuanjing” for the Zhao Family.

…

As night fell, within a modestly luxurious mansion in Xinglong City’s Fire District, Zhao Sheng sat in the chief seat of his living room.

Zhao Degang, who had just won the Dao Performance that day, sat at the lower end, his face full of respect.

“Lord Gang, how confident are you in advancing to the Foundation Establishment?”

Zhao Sheng had taken Zhao Degang under his wing ten years ago and had completely won him over, treating him as a confidant, allowing for straightforward conversation without the need for pleasantries.

“At most twenty percent,” Zhao Degang instantly looked troubled upon hearing the question, losing all of his earlier arrogance.

Zhao Sheng’s eyes narrowed slightly, and a flash of Five-Colored Divine Light flickered in his gaze, revealing a slight disarray in the other’s Qi Fortune, yet the red Qi Fortune remained as stable as ever.

“Don’t worry, I’ll give you a peace of mind.”

With that, Zhao Sheng loosened his hand, and a pill bottle flew out from the sleeve and landed steadily in Zhao Degang’s hand.

Upon opening it, he was overjoyed: “Is this… a top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill?!”

After speaking, his expression changed, and he quickly declined, “Qingyang, this is too valuable, I can’t accept it!”

“Hmm, keep it. I’ve recently been rather eager and managed to refine a batch, coincidentally producing two top-grade pills.”

Zhao Sheng spoke lightly, but it left Zhao Degang secretly astounded, filled with admiration.

In the family hierarchy, he was of the elder generation to the other.

But the truth was, the other man was the real ‘elder.’

Compared to him, Zhao Degang was like a loach meeting a True Dragon, incomparable.

This ‘elder,’ not yet thirty years old, had already upgraded to Foundation Establishment, not only nurturing both the Magic Body and scholarly pursuits but also knowledgeable and skilled, renowned as a master of alchemy and talisman making.

In terms of alchemy and talisman painting, few in the entire Zhao Family could match him.

What was more important was that this ‘elder’ was indifferent to fame and fortune, extremely low-profile within the family, and even less known in the outside world.

If Zhao Degang hadn’t followed him for ten years, he would never have known that this hidden Zhao Family dragon was such a genius!

Take alchemy, for instance. He had never heard of anyone who could effortlessly produce top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills after merely a decade or so of study.

Just like he had never seen anyone who could pick up talisman making so quickly, quickly becoming adept, and even innovatively creating new talismans.

This elder before him possessed such “Divine Skills”!

There was a time when Zhao Degang snorted at the Ancient Buddhism of the Western Wilderness’s teachings about ‘innate wisdom’, but now it seemed it wasn’t entirely a false notion.

Zhao Sheng was unaware that Zhao Degang had so many thoughts in the blink of an eye.

He had high hopes for Zhao Degang’s future.

The other’s Qi Fortune was not low; categorized by the gray, white, red, cyan, and purple Qi Fortunes, the red Qi Fortune was already at the third level.

Since being reincarnated, after years of discreet observation, Zhao Sheng discovered that most of the Foundation Establishment Elders in the Zhao Family ranged from light red to pure red in Qi Fortune.@@novelbin@@

A few of the late-stage Foundation Establishment elders had red Qi Fortune tinged with cyan, far from Zhao Qinghua’s level but nonetheless outstanding in the family.

Zhao Xuanjing, Zhao Tongxian, and Zhao Dingguang—the three ancestral elders of the family—had Qi Fortune of pure cyan. Among them, Zhao Dingguang had the lightest cyan, while Zhao Xuanjing’s was a soaring purple with barely a trace of cyan.

After summarizing and conducting research, Zhao Sheng found that the gray, white, red, cyan, and purple Qi Fortune roughly corresponded with the five major realms of mortals, Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul.

Of course, he had also seen many exceptions, such as those brimming with Red Fortune suddenly dying before their time, with only the Qi Refining Realm achieved before their deaths.

The Path of Destiny was mysterious and profound. Zhao Sheng had barely grazed the surface and dared not claim understanding.

…

Suddenly, as spring turned to autumn, the peaches ripened.

In Xinglong City, in the Underground Fire District, within the Overweight Room shrouded in steam and fog, muffled thudding sounds could faintly be heard from within.

Zhao Sheng, drenched in sweat, was clad in a layer of Mystic Iron Armor, running laps in the Dao Field.

He wasn’t practicing Body Refinement, merely warming up.

Since establishing his foundation ten years ago, Zhao Sheng’s body surprisingly had a second growth spurt.

For a full decade, he never missed a meal without consuming demon meat or Spiritual Medicine, gnawing on ginseng as if it were radishes, and ingested countless Spirit Pills that nourished Qi and blood.

Now, he had finally grown to over seven feet tall. His face and body had put on some flesh, barely moving past the look of a sickly ghost.

To outsiders, Zhao Sheng still seemed alarmingly thin and sallow, but almost no one knew of the significant enhancement in his physique.

Under twenty times the gravity, he wore Mystic Iron Heavy Armor weighing three hundred pounds and could still run dozens of laps with ease, solely to warm up.

After about the time it takes for a pot of tea to brew, having completed thirty laps, Zhao Sheng slowly stopped, lifting his hand to drop the Mystic Iron Heavy Armor with a thunderous crash to the ground.