Chapter 38: Misfortune and Fortune

She did not know how long she had cried. Her eyes were swollen, and her voice had become hoarse.

Some residual Thunder Fighting Qi within Lei Qing’s Qi Sea, which had seemed completely dead, gradually revived.

Out of instinct, it began to circulate difficultly and slowly through the meridians in his body.

Wherever it passed, the biting cold inside him gradually disappeared.

Like a heart that had been frozen in ice, it gradually regained heat and began to thump thump as it beat.

Fighting Qi is an extremely mysterious power with countless wonderful uses.

It can stimulate every vital factor in the body by continuously circulating through the meridians, eventually leading to a transformation that makes the practitioner stronger.

It can also be used to kill enemies or save lives.

As the Fighting Qi in Lei Qing’s body circulated faster and faster, the vital factors inside him continuously absorbed the solid energy stored in his body, converting it into pure Bronze-rank Fighting Qi.

This energy then gathered into a trickle and flowed smoothly through the meridians.

It seemed that to resist the ownerless Ice Fighting Qi within his body, Lei Qing’s own Fighting Qi was constantly strengthening.

As a result of this internal battle, his body swung between hot and cold.

“Huh?” Zuo Qianqian, while crying, noticed the changes on Lei Qing’s body. Her face, which was smeared with tears like a little calico cat, showed a look of unexpected joy. “Brother Lei is not dead yet. That’s great. Ah, it seems he is sick. Boo hoo~” Her emotions were in chaos, crying and laughing without knowing why. She was unfamiliar with Fighting Qi and could do nothing to help with the changes happening inside him. After thinking for a moment, she could only cover him with his cotton-padded jacket and, in a panic, went to boil him some hot meat soup.

She understood some basic pharmacology, so she boiled soup using bones from the One-Horned Tiger, minced meat, and various nourishing herbs she had collected along the way. The soup was very nutritious, extremely beneficial for replenishing energy and healing injuries. Moreover, the hot soup could dispel fatigue and make one feel energetic.

All she could do now was this: wait for him to wake up and give him a bowl of hot nourishing soup.

At this moment, Lei Qing was unintentionally using his body’s instinct to employ Fighting Qi to battle the ice-cold aura within him, fighting on and on.

Vital factors were continuously synthesizing new Fighting Qi.

The Ice Fighting Qi that had frozen Lei Qing was thick and pure, but as time passed, it was gradually being dispelled by Lei Qing’s endless stream of newly generated Fighting Qi.

After this battle lasted for nearly two hours, Lei Qing’s Thunder Fighting Qi finally achieved a comprehensive victory.

His consciousness gradually became clear.

However, he remained cautious and did not move, keeping his eyes closed and carefully thinking over the events before he lost consciousness. He remembered that the last thing that happened was Leng Yuewu slapping his chest with her palm, causing Ice Fighting Qi to surge into his body.

Did Leng Yuewu really want to kill him? He felt a chill in his heart.

But soon, he began to deny this thought. What kind of person was Leng Yuewu? She was the renowned Ice Sword Saint, and her control over her Fighting Qi cultivation was so profound that it had reached the extreme.

If she had truly wanted to kill him, that slap would have likely shattered his heart directly.

Huh? The smell of meat soup drifted to him. It was very familiar; it must be Qianqian. Lei Qing parted his somewhat dry lips and called out to her.

“Brother Lei, you’re awake?” Zuo Qianqian hurried over with a bowl of hot soup. She supported his upper body and rested his back against her thighs, which she was kneeling on. Her dirty little face was full of concern. “Are you feeling better? Is there anywhere else that feels uncomfortable? Drink some hot soup first to warm your stomach.”

Lei Qing looked up and saw her face was dirty as if she were a little flower cat, with obvious tear stains still wet. Warmth surged in his heart. “Qianqian, thank you for your trouble.”

Zuo Qianqian smiled sweetly but said nothing. She began to feed him the soup. She had done this job many times before and was very skilled at it.

After a moment, after Lei Qing drank the bowl of meat soup, he felt his spirits improve significantly. His stomach felt warm, and much of the chill around his body was dispelled.

“Brother Lei, what exactly happened?” Zuo Qianqian asked with concern. “How did you suddenly get into such a mess?”

“Don’t worry, everything is fine now.” Lei Qing reached out and stroked her hair, comforting her with a smile. “Everything is over. Once I rest for a while, I can set off for the Free Alliance.”

However, he thought inwardly: Leng Yuewu indeed did not really want to kill me. Otherwise, since she agreed to my three conditions, why didn’t she take Qianqian away? Why didn’t she take the Jade Pendant from my chest?

For a moment, Lei Qing felt a sense of relief, as if a heavy stone had been lifted from his heart.

But then, what did that slap mean? Did she just want to knock him out? Or was she just venting her frustration?

Although Lei Qing liked to think he understood women’s minds somewhat, at this moment, he could not guess Leng Yuewu’s true intentions.

Well, never mind. Someone as lofty and high-and-mighty as her was from a completely different world than him. This encounter probably meant they would be separated for the rest of their lives, never to see each other again. Thinking about it more was futile. In short, the trouble had passed, and he was alive, which was the greatest blessing.

Just thinking about it made him afraid. He and Zuo Qianqian had been involved in the struggle between two Holy Rank peerless experts. It was truly true that with a slight slip, one would be crushed to pieces. To survive was already a heaven-sent fortune.

Lei Qing inwardly observed his aura. His Fighting Qi seemed even purer now, and the newly generated Fighting Qi was denser and thicker than the residual Fighting Qi in his body.

Immediately, his heart burned with excitement. He thought to himself: This must be a sign that he had broken through a bottleneck and that his body was evolving and growing stronger again.

He had only been training for about two months since reaching the Mid-stage Bronze.

“Qianqian, guard me. I need to enter a meditative state and cultivate.” Lei Qing forced himself to calm his excitement, sat cross-legged, and began to cultivate according to the Lei Family’s hereditary mental art, the “Three Changes of Heavenly Thunder,” circulating the Fighting Qi in his body and continuously tempering every part of his body.

Zuo Qianqian nodded and then began to set up some traps around them.

This time, Lei Qing’s cultivation lasted for several hours.

As he used his Fighting Qi to travel through his entire body, he stimulated the vital factors by burning the Fighting Qi.

The old vital factors withered and died, and were expelled from his body through his pores.

At the same time, new vital factors were continuously born and joined the tissues of his body.

These newly born vital factors were healthier and stronger than the original ones. At the same time, his ability to absorb the solid energy in his body and convert it into Fighting Qi had also enhanced.

Not only was the speed of synthesizing Fighting Qi increased, but the newly generated Fighting Qi was also purer and thicker than the original Fighting Qi.

When Lei Qing opened his eyes, it was already midnight.

Zuo Qianqian had already lit a bonfire and was carefully guarding him beside it.

At this moment, Lei Qing felt his whole body filled with powerful strength, with an endless reserve of energy.

“Pa~” He casually threw a punch. His fist burst the air, making a loud crack. Both his punching speed and strength had obviously improved.

He rotated his Fighting Qi, tapped the ground with the tip of his foot, and lightly jumped forward. Light as a swallow, he darted forward nearly two zhang without any effort.

“Haha, I have reached the Bronze Peak.” Lei Qing was filled with joy, which showed clearly on his face.

For anyone who cultivated Fighting Qi, one of the greatest pleasures in life was taking another step forward on the difficult path of cultivation.

Advancing meant that he had become stronger. In this world where strength was supreme and danger lurked everywhere, his ability to survive had increased by another chip.

His social status would also surge.

“Congratulations, Brother Lei.” Zuo Qianqian was also happy for Lei Qing. She smiled and went up to him. “However, Brother Lei, you should quickly go take a bath. You are dirty and stink.”

“According to Fighting Qi theory, that is called metabolism.” Lei Qing did not mind at all. Although every advancement made him look a mess due to the intense metabolism in a short time, any person in this world would welcome such things happening.

Lei Qing jumped into the mountain stream, his mood excellent as he began to scrub his body.

Reaching the Bronze Peak was not just an enhancement of comprehensive strength.

It also meant that he had the qualification to attempt to break through to Silver-rank.

……