I Cheated While Cultivating

As the central region of Da Qi’s “world,” its territory is more than twice that of Pingzhou, and the Purple Tenuity Palace entrance set up by Zhou Tian Boundary Officer here is also exceedingly scarce.

Having no other choice, Zhou Heng could only ride his chestnut horse to hurry along his journey, taking more than a day to finally reach the Imperial City of Zhongzhou.

He just happened to arrive when the Shenwu Office was posting the Heaven, Earth, and Man ranking lists.

So, he decided to go take a look.

Had his deeds of killing Liu He and Qiu Yuanchang been published on the Man List?

If they were published, would his own ranking change?

And did the top ten of the Man List see any variations, he wondered, while also casually inquiring about how many of those listed would attend the Chaoyang Wine Meeting.

However, what he did not expect was to encounter this Saint reincarnation from the Zhou Family of Lu Yang upon his arrival.

Indeed, Zhou Heng had already come to know the identity of Zhou Yin.

After all, with his current cultivation realm, his hearing and eyesight were far beyond that of an ordinary person; even from a great distance, he could hear Zhou Yin’s conversation with Zhou Danqing clearly.

So the identities of these two were no secret to him.

He also knew that they were talking about him.

However, Zhou Heng did not reveal his awareness, nor did he expose his own identity.

He simply pretended to be an ordinary wanderer in the martial world, asking the two to step aside so he could go check the latest Man List.

“Where did this young fellow come from?” Zhou Danqing frowned, casting a glance at Zhou Heng, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, about to chide him.

“Danqing, let’s go.” Zhou Yin’s brows were tightly locked as he gently pressed on Zhou Danqing’s shoulder, speaking in a deep tone, “Let’s go.”

“Yes, young master.” Zhou Danqing nodded and had no choice but to swallow the words that had reached his lips.

Afterward, the two of them left the crowd and went far away.

Zhou Heng watched their receding figures, touched his chin, chuckled lightly, and thought to himself, “Interesting. That ‘Danqing’ seems to be a Middle Third Rank expert; why does he act like a hot-tempered older brother?

“Could it be that he was about to curse me away just now? This temperament is a bit too aggressive. It shouldn’t be the case. After all, I am not that kind of novel protagonist.

“Just now, that Zhou Yin seemed to deliberately interrupt ‘Danqing’ from speaking, appearing quite composed. How can such a person have a servant like this?

“Zhou Family of Lu Yang…”

Zhou Heng had suspected that the “Zhou Family of Lu Yang” might be related to his parents in this world, his original family in this realm.

Now, seeing the most noteworthy young generation of this ancient family, his feelings were somewhat complex; he still wanted to try and see if he could obtain some clues from Zhou Yin.

After all, the mysterious disappearance of his parents in this world, the Zhou-surnamed village where he used to live, which also seemed to be a Cave Sky manifested by a Celestial Man, all pointed to a possible clue that might exist.

Could the Celestial Man who manifested that Cave Sky come from the Zhou Family of Lu Yang?

Although Yan Shouyi had previously gone to inquire in Southern Jin’s Lu Yang and received the answer that the Zhou Family had not had any bloodline scattered outside for three thousand years, Zhou Heng still wanted to verify it himself.

In his heart, there was still that bit of hope and expectation.

Perhaps this Saint reincarnation, Zhou Yin, knew something others did not?

This was possible.

With many thoughts whirling in his mind, Zhou Heng took quite a while to calm down before he turned to look at the information on the Man List displayed on the notice board.

“`

But with that one glance, he immediately froze on the spot.

Thoughts started bubbling up in his mind.

“Damn it… I’m second? But, that seems normal, right? After all, I killed two Secret Six Ranks. But Zhou Yin, he actually defeated Cui Guanlan and directly climbed to the fifth rank on the human list.

“His strength cannot be underestimated. After all, he’s the reincarnation of a Saint. It seems he’s really extraordinary. If I were to face him at the Chaoyang Banquet, I’d have to be cautious and not take him lightly.”

…

Zhou Yin and Zhou Danqing returned to the manor arranged for them by the Da Qi Royal Family.

Once in the main hall.

“Danqing.” Zhou Yin glanced at Zhou Danqing, not stating anything explicitly, but his eyes already sent him a signal.

“Yes, my lord.” Zhou Danqing immediately nodded respectfully, and at the same time, he formed a series of hand seals and cast a soundproof secret technique, preventing the sound from this place from being transmitted to the outside world.

Although he was just a Fifth Rank Sect Master and such a level of soundproofing secret technique couldn’t really prevent those high-level cultivators in Zhongzhou Imperial City from eavesdropping, what they actually needed to guard against were just the servants of the manor.

To prevent the servants from overhearing the conversation that followed and potentially spreading it, which could lead to gossip.

It wasn’t particularly secretive matters indeed.

“Danqing, you seem to have quite an issue with Zhou Heng,” Zhou Yin said as he sat on a chair, casually circulating his Inner Qi to heat the tea next to him, pouring himself a cup and smiling, “Come on, tell me about it.”

“My lord, I just…” Zhou Danqing, who had been relaxed, immediately became defensive upon hearing this.

“I don’t want to hear your excuses,” Zhou Yin shook his head, interrupting Zhou Danqing and said indifferently, “Although I haven’t regained much of my previous life’s memory, I’m not deaf or blind. I could see your attitude clearly beforehand.”

“Please forgive me, my lord.” Zhou Danqing quickly bowed in apology and then said in a low voice, “In truth, I’m somewhat worried that Zhou Heng might affect your awakening, and I’d prefer not to have you come into contact with him.”

“He might affect my awakening?” Zhou Yin’s eyes narrowed slightly, his presence imposing without anger, and he laughed, “Tell me, how could he possibly affect my awakening?”

At this moment, although he was sitting, he gave Zhou Danqing the impression of looking down on him from above, evoking trepidation.

“In order for my lord to know, I had been paying attention to this Zhou Heng before,” Zhou Danqing explained with his head down, “All signs indicate that he is undoubtedly the reincarnation of a powerful being, and he has carried out many contingencies from his previous life. In terms of awakening, he should be much stronger than you.”

“And then?” Zhou Yin’s demeanor remained nonchalant.

“That, that was Master’s instruction,” Zhou Danqing said with his head lowered, not daring to look directly at Zhou Yin, “Master only instructed us not to let you interact too much with other reincarnated powerful beings, as it may affect your further awakening, and it might even relate to the fate of the entire Zhou Family.”

“Is that all?” Zhou Yin asked indifferently.

“That is all, my lord.” Zhou Danqing replied.

“Good,” Zhou Yin nodded slightly and said sternly, “You may leave now, I would like to be alone for a while.”

“My lord, the Master doesn’t mean to restrict your freedom, please do not misunderstand, it’s just…” Zhou Danqing tried to explain.

“Get out!” Zhou Yin suddenly looked up, his eyes wide open, and he cut off Zhou Danqing’s words.

“Yes…” Zhou Danqing shrank back in terror, quickly bowed in a salute to take his leave, “Call for me if you need anything, my lord.”

Soon.

This hall was left with only Zhou Yin.

Alone.

A self-deprecating smile suddenly formed on the corners of his warm face, as he shook his head and mused quietly:

“What do you mean ‘affect my awakening’?

“`

“Will I revive, can I revive, do I have anything left to revive, don’t you already know?”

“My dear father.”

“Did you really think I couldn’t feel it all these years?”

“Do I need to contact other ‘kindred’ before I could realize it?”

“Saint reincarnation?”

“Heh.”

…

Since Zhou Heng, Cheng Jianjian, and Zhu Zhenzhen were all disciples of the Pure Yang Palace and held invitations from Yan Shouyi, their accommodations had been arranged in a manor.

But by the time Zhou Heng arrived, Cheng Jianjian and Zhu Zhenzhen had already been there for a few days.

However, he didn’t see the two junior martial sisters when he arrived at the manor, until the sun set and evening fell when Cheng Jianjian and Zhu Zhenzhen finally returned.

They both carried a sweet fragrance on them.

This was the scent of sugar.

It seemed that these two girls, one older and one younger, might have spent most of the day indulging in sweet treats outside.

“Having martial arts really is extraordinary,” Zhou Heng remarked as he sat on a rocking chair in the courtyard, rocking and laughing, “How you can eat sweets and never get fat.”

“Huh? Little Uncle Master, when did you get here?” Zhu Zhenzhen lit up upon seeing him, her little legs pitter-pattering as she ran over, “Did you bring me any delicious treats?”

Smack!

Zhou Heng flicked the little girl’s forehead, scolding with a laugh, “Still want to eat? Haven’t you and your sister Cheng had enough outside? Go practice; otherwise, I’ll tell your master when we get back to the mountain.”

“Ah??” Zhu Zhenzhen rolled her eyes and chuckled, “Little Uncle Master, telling my master won’t do any good. Haven’t you seen, he can’t control me either, hehe.”

“Alright, Zhenzhen, I have a bottle of osmanthus wine here for you,” Cheng Jianjian took out a bottle of wine, and immediately a fragrance wafted through the air, “Take this and go back to your room first, I have something to discuss with Little Uncle Master.”

“Ow~~?” Zhu Zhenzhen laughed upon hearing this and, with a clever glance, took the bottle, heheing, “Sister Cheng, you’re the best, you dote on me the most.”

No sooner said than done, she ran off like a wisp of smoke, as if afraid that Cheng Jianjian would change her mind.

Thus, only Zhou Heng and Cheng Jianjian were left.

“Jiang Jian, what did you want to talk to me about?”

Zhou Heng was puzzled; he had no idea what was going on. Why did Cheng Jianjian look so serious as if she had something very important to say?

She even sent Zhu Zhenzhen away purposely.

What was she planning??

“Young Master Zhou,” Cheng Jianjian looked soberly at Zhou Heng, slowly walked up to him, crouched down gently, and sighed, “You’ve really had it tough these past days.”

“Eh??” Zhou Heng was baffled; what on earth was she talking about?

“Actually, you don’t have to hold it in by yourself; it’s not good for you,” Cheng Jianjian said earnestly, looking into Zhou Heng’s eyes, “If you ever feel your spirit unstable, I can cast a spell to suppress It. As you know, I have the appropriate teachings.”

The Southern Dipper controls life, while the Northern Dipper governs death.

In the inheritance of the North Star Officer, there are corresponding spells that can suppress the will of a past life that has passed, delaying the awakening process, and to some extent, soothing the spirit of the current life.

“Eh? What??” Zhou Heng was still a bit confused.

But he quickly came to his senses.

Cheng Jianjian must have misunderstood something, thinking that the will of the great being from his past life was further awakening within him, causing him to be in a constant state of mental vigilance against his past life’s will.

“You think I’ve been fighting against the will of my past life recently?” Zhou Heng suddenly laughed.

“Isn’t that so?” Cheng Jianjian was startled by his words. Had she guessed wrong? But if not that, then how could she explain the immense leap in Zhou Heng’s strength in just half a year?

“Of course not. In fact, my mental state has been quite stable recently.” Zhou Heng stood up from the reclining chair and said with a light laugh, “Don’t worry about it.”

“Young Master.” Cheng Jianjian also stood up, shaking her head earnestly, “You really don’t have to overexert yourself. I understand that you don’t want others to see your vulnerable side, but I can truly help you.”

“You’re really overthinking it.” Zhou Heng said with a bitter smile, then after a thought, he added, “Is it because I recently killed two Secret Sixth Rank that you think my spirit is unstable?”

“That’s part of it, and your rapid progress in cultivation… it’s really…too fast.” Cheng Jianjian nodded, but at this point, her worries had lessened considerably.

After all, whether one’s spirit is stable can usually be judged through conversation. She had been paying attention to Zhou Heng’s words and demeanor from the start and found that they seemed to be quite normal.

Am I overthinking it?

Or has he already successfully suppressed the will of his past life?

“Haha, so that’s what it is. Actually, isn’t this the method you told me about?” Zhou Heng started to laugh.

“Me?” Cheng Jianjian tilted her head in confusion, her stunning face full of perplexity.

“Yes, you’re the one who told me.” Zhou Heng nodded with certainty, “That as long as I cultivated quickly enough and progressed through realms swiftly, I could suppress the awakening of my past life’s will more effectively.

“The reason why I’ve been advancing so swiftly in my cultivation is that I’ve always aimed for this, never daring to slack, and that’s why I’ve made such progress in six months.”

He began to talk utter nonsense.

After all, he couldn’t exactly tell the truth and say he had been cheating, could he?

“…” Cheng Jianjian’s expression became even more puzzled; she stood dumbfounded for quite some time before finally speaking with some astonishment, “That works too? Half a year from Entry Rank to the Peak of the Seventh Rank…”

“That seems about normal to me.” Zhou Heng said with a smile.

“Normal??” Cheng Jianjian looked confused.

“No one really thinks martial arts training is that hard, do they?” Zhou Heng said shamelessly.

“…” Cheng Jianjian was rendered speechless.

“Actually, my cultivation breakthroughs have all gone smoothly along the way. It was only the construction of the Inner Qi ‘Cave Sky’ that had me stuck for two or three months.” Zhou Heng further explained earnestly, “That part was somewhat challenging.”

“Alright, I get it now. There’s nothing wrong with your spirit, Little Uncle Master.” Cheng Jianjian covered her face and bowed her head; at this moment, she realized that her previous worries were completely unnecessary.

However, this also relieved her somewhat.

Zhou Heng’s hodgepodge explanations were, of course, not to be taken seriously, but she had no intention of delving into it.

No matter how Zhou Heng had made such advancements, as long as his mental state remained stable, not suppressed by the will of the past life, not succumbing to the madness of inner conflict, then it was all good.

“Ah ah!! Sister! Senior Sister Cheng! Cheng Jianjian!!”

Just at that moment.

From a nearby room came a high-pitched scream filled with fury—it was Zhu Zhenzhen’s voice.

Followed by a loud bang, she burst through her room’s door and charged out.

“Why is this just peach juice with a hint of wine flavor ah! This isn’t the genuine Peach Blossom Brew!!”