txolops Chapter 10 'Acquaintances'
Chapter 10 'Acquaintances'
After a moment of contemplation, Zhou Qing gathered his thoughts.
Golden talent and colorful talent are too far beyond his reach.
Zhou Qing also had an urgent matter to consider.
That means that two years from now, the Fourth Prince will take Emperor Qian hostage and purge the Zhou family.
The Zhou family were close associates of the eldest prince and held high positions of power. The head of the family, Zhou Shizhong, even commanded the imperial guards.
Such a figure was undoubtedly a thorn in the side of the fourth prince, who was preparing to usurp the throne.
Unless Zhou Shizhong is willing to surrender to the Fourth Prince in advance.
But based on Zhou Qing's understanding of Zhou Shizhong, the latter would not surrender even if he were to die or witness his wife and son being beheaded.
The Zhou family had been deeply favored by the emperor for generations, and Zhou Shizhong had grown up with the eldest prince since childhood. His loyalty to the emperor was ingrained in his bones and could not be changed.
Therefore, they wanted to change the fate of the Zhou family in the simulation.
There are only two ways.
One option is to confront the Fourth Prince head-on.
Zhou Qing immediately rejected this idea.
Even after one simulation, Zhou Qing's strength has greatly improved.
But he was only a Qi Refining Level 5 cultivator.
The fourth prince has been biding his time for many years and is suspected of having connections with the barbarians. He also has cultivators under his command.
Zhou Qing had no confidence in a direct confrontation.
The second option is to run away.
There are still two years until the incident, as long as Zhou Qing can escape Qian Kingdom with his whole family.
They should be able to escape the Fourth Prince's purge.
He should escape with his family first to save his life, and then return to take revenge after he has gone through a few more simulations and gained enough strength.
However, for the second option, Zhou Qing needs to determine something else first before considering whether to use it.
Zhou Qing composed himself and looked at the illusory characters below his line of sight.
Name: Zhou Qing
Race: Human
[Strength: Qi Refining Level 5]
[Skill Level: Mid-Grade Alchemist]
Age: 16
[Talent: Eliminator of Erysipelas]
Number of simulations: 0
Zhou Qing's gaze fell on the column for "Number of Simulations".
A virtual countdown appeared.
【02:56:13:42:16】
"A two-year and fifty-six-day cooldown period?"
Zhou Qing frowned.
Based on previous experience, when the countdown reaches zero, a simulation opportunity will be "refreshed".
"Um?"
As Zhou Qing focused on the countdown, another piece of information flooded into his mind.
"Can the countdown be shortened by being in an environment rich in spiritual energy?"
Zhou Qing thought to himself.
Simply put, the richer the spiritual energy in your environment, the shorter the countdown.
"I still need to go to Wushan Market."
Zhou Qing had already made up her mind.
Wushan Market is built on a second-tier spiritual vein, and the concentration of spiritual energy within the market far exceeds that of the outside world.
Of course, other cultivation gathering places are also built on spiritual veins, but Zhou Qing is most familiar with Wushan Market and knows every major event that will happen in Wushan Market in the next sixty years.
For Zhou Qing, Wushan Market was safer than the Zhou residence.
"Da Chun!"
Zhou Qing immediately stood up and called out.
"Young master."
Da Chun rushed in again, scratching his head with a憨厚 (honest and simple) expression.
"Young master, I feel you are different from before."
Da Chun blinked and said.
"You're mistaken..." Zhou Qing glanced at Da Chun.
After inheriting all the cultivation from the simulation, he immediately activated the Qi Concealing Technique to suppress all his aura.
Unexpectedly, Da Chun still noticed something was wrong.
"Da Chun, I'm going to take you to travel the world."
Zhou Qing made up an excuse at random.
Since we've decided to go to Wushanfang Market, we can't just leave on a whim.
Traveling the world is a good excuse.
The reason for bringing Dachun along was simply to put my parents at ease.
As the third young master of the Zhou family, if he were to leave the Zhou mansion alone to travel the world, it would definitely keep his mother up at night.
"Huh? Travel the world?" Da Chun's eyes widened.
"My mind is made up."
Zhou Qing immediately wrote a letter and left it in the house. In the letter, he wrote that he was taking Da Chun away from the Zhou family to travel the world.
Then I went outside.
"Young master, wait for me..."
Da Chun immediately followed.
......
the next day.
"lady......"
A maidservant, her face pale, brought a letter to Madam Zhou.
"Ah Qing..." After reading the letter, a hint of panic appeared on Zhou's face.
How could his own youngest son be so bold as to travel the world on a whim?
This incident caused quite a stir in the Zhou family, and the head of the family, Zhou Shizhong, paid attention to it immediately.
"With Da Chun around, A Qing shouldn't encounter any danger?"
Zhou Shizhong frowned, then finally relaxed.
He knew his own family's situation well; he was aware of Da Chun's strength and his keen perception.
If it were only Zhou Qing who left the Zhou residence, then he would definitely spare no effort to search for Qian Kingdom and find out where his son was.
But Da Chun followed... Zhou Shizhong didn't think Zhou Qing could encounter any danger.
At most, they'll suffer a little.
"Alright, Aqing is sixteen now. It's good for her to go out and see more of the world."
Zhou Shizhong looked at his wife.
......
half a month later.
Zhou Qing had already arrived at Wushanfang Market.
As for Da Chun, he was naturally assigned to the foot of the mountain.
This time, Zhou Qing will not abandon Da Chun at the foot of the mountain for decades as in the simulation. Instead, he plans to settle down in the market and then bring Da Chun over.
After entering the market, Zhou Qing went straight to the Danmeng outpost.
Within Wushan Market, the places with the richest spiritual energy are naturally the cave dwellings and inns.
However, whether it's a cave dwelling or an inn, spirit stones are required to stay there.
However, Zhou Qing did not have any spirit stones on him. Not only did he not have any spirit stones, he also did not have a pill furnace, which is essential for alchemists.
With his experience from the simulation, Zhou Qing naturally knew how to move into the cave dwelling in the market and settle down as quickly as possible.
That means joining the Dan Alliance.
In the simulation, Zhou Qing joined the Pill Alliance under the introduction of Master Yun Dan and learned a lot about the organization's power.
Strictly speaking, the Dan Alliance is not a faction and has very little binding force on its members.
However, the treatment and benefits are quite friendly. As long as you join the Dan Alliance, you can live in the cave dwelling within the alliance for free.
Of course, the threshold for joining the Pill Alliance is extremely high. Even a low-grade alchemist must pass numerous tests to join. In the simulation, Zhou Qing was able to become a member of the Pill Alliance in a short period of time thanks to the recommendation of Alchemist Yun.
In reality, Zhou Qing did not receive an introduction from Master Yun Dan; however, given his skill level as a mid-grade alchemist, he no longer needed an introduction.
Although there is only one level difference between a low-grade alchemist and a mid-grade alchemist, their status is completely different.
The Pill Alliance has no shortage of low-grade alchemists, but it craves the addition of mid-grade and higher-level alchemists.
soon.
Zhou Qing then arrived at the Danmeng's outpost in the city.
A female cultivator in the mid-stage of Qi Refining looked at Zhou Qing and said softly, "Fellow Daoist, are you here to join the Pill Alliance?"
"Um."
Zhou Qing nodded.
"May I ask what level of alchemist you are, my friend?"
A female cultivator in the mid-stage of Qi Refining asked the question.
"Medium grade".
Zhou Qing answered.
"A mid-grade alchemist?"
The mid-stage Qi Refining female cultivator was secretly shocked. She had originally thought Zhou Qing was just a low-grade alchemist, since there were only a handful of mid-grade alchemists in Wushan Market.
"Fellow Daoist, if one joins the Pill Alliance as a mid-grade alchemist, one needs to pass a pill-refining test. During the test, the furnace fire must be sourced from within the alliance. Is this acceptable?"
The female cultivator in the mid-stage of Qi Refining asked cautiously.
"no problem."
Zhou Qing nodded.
"Fellow Daoist, please follow me."
The mid-stage Qi Refining female cultivator immediately led Zhou Qing to the assessment room.
Not long after.
Zhou Qing then arrived at a stone gate.
The female cultivator in the mid-stage of Qi Refining formed a hand seal, and the stone door slowly opened.
"Master Yun, this mid-grade alchemist needs your assessment."
The mid-stage Qi Refining female cultivator spoke towards the stone door.
"Oh?"
"A mid-grade alchemist?"
A gaunt-looking man came out.
"Master Yun Dan?"
Zhou Qing also looked at the other person, at this "acquaintance" with whom she had a close relationship in the simulation.