Immortal Refiner

A clear and loud crowing of a rooster woke Li Qing up from his deep martial arts practice.

The sky was getting light and the fire was gradually dying out, but Li Qing didn't feel the cold at all.

After practicing for a whole night, he was surprised to find that there seemed to be a strange feeling in his meridians.

As his mind urged, it flowed through his body like a warm current, but this feeling was very subtle, as thin as a gossamer, and it was almost difficult to detect if he didn't feel it carefully.

After trying several times again, Li Qing finally confirmed a fact.

"I have cultivated internal force!"

Internal force!

The iconic thing of internal martial arts, being able to cultivate internal force is equivalent to starting this internal martial arts.

Li Qing was surprised and happy to realize the existence of internal force, and he couldn't hide the smile on his face.

Unlike external martial arts, internal martial arts actually pays attention to talent. Many people may not be able to cultivate internal force even if they have obtained a superior internal martial arts.

This is also the reason why Li Qing temporarily gave up the Turtle Breathing Technique. It was indeed because his progress was too slow. He could not make any progress for a long time, and he could not even enter the door. He wanted to work hard but could not find the direction.

What he never expected was that this Turtle Breathing Technique, when practiced at the same time with the Golden Body Technique, actually produced a complementary effect, allowing him to practice the internal force in just one night.

Of course, this must have been the result of Li Qing's previous hard work.

But even so, if it was spread that Li Qing mastered two external and internal martial arts that could be practiced at the same time, the whole martial arts world would probably be crazy about it.

"This secret must be kept. If people know it, I'm afraid even those masters of internal strength will be restless!"

He didn't want to become a public enemy of the martial arts world and live in a day of being hunted by a bunch of masters.

...

After practicing the internal force, Li Qing, who was refreshed, went out early in the morning with an unshakable smile on his face.

"Master Li, good morning, would you like a bowl of wontons?" The owner of the wonton shop next door said with a smile.

Li Qing smiled back and said, "Okay! Bring me two bowls of wontons, add more oil and chili!"

Soon, two bowls of steaming wontons were served, sprinkled with red oil and chili, the aroma was fragrant, and it was very appetizing.

"Master Li, why didn't Xiao Qi come today?" The wonton shop owner asked casually.

Hearing this, Li Qing was slightly stunned, and then he remembered that Qi Kang had left last night, and he still subconsciously ordered two bowls of wontons.

"He, it seems that he said that there is something going on in his hometown, and he will not return to Shengtian in a short time." Li Qing's tone was slightly calmer, and he started to eat.

Seeing this, the boss just smiled, casually put the rag on his shoulders, and left on his own.

Just as Li Qing was concentrating on eating two bowls of wontons, someone at the next table suddenly shouted excitedly:

"Cease-fire! Cease-fire! The court will not fight Liang State anymore!"

This excited shouting attracted some people's attention at first, but was soon ignored by other diners.

For the people in Shengtian, no matter how fierce the border battle was, as long as Shengtian could not be attacked, it would not affect their mood.

In their view, although the army of Liang State was strong, it was still far behind the Wu Li Army composed of warriors of Feng Dynasty, and they had great confidence in the court.

Li Qing thought about it for a while.

The cease-fire was within expectations, and both sides should not have plans to fight again in the short term.

In today's cold winter, the horse thieves on the grassland have disappeared, and neither side can do anything to the other. There is not much meaning in fighting again except for increasing casualties.

The fact is just as Li Qing thought. As the wind and snow became stronger, the horse thieves on the grassland no longer participated in the war between Liang State and Feng State.

The Liang State and the Feng State finally reached an agreement to stop fighting in this cold winter.

Before that, the Liang State had used the three-bow crossbow to blast open the gate of the border city more than once, but unfortunately, under the Wu Li Army's stubborn defense, they could only break the gate but could not capture the city.

After a long stalemate in this protracted war, the two sides finally chose to stop fighting and make peace.

Both sides paid a heavy price. The Wu Li Army had 18,000 soldiers. After the war, the total casualties exceeded 6,000.

In order to capture the city, the Liang State suffered heavy losses, with more than 10,000 casualties!

However, most of the people on the Wu Li Army side were warriors. Nearly 20 centurions of external force warriors died, and even a centurion of internal force masters was killed on the battlefield.

These battle reports made the commander of the Wu Li Army feel heartbroken, and the court felt quite painful.

"Even the masters of internal strength died on the battlefield. The battlefield is really terrible..." Li Qing looked at the battlefield intelligence he had just collected and couldn't help but sigh.

For the common people, perhaps these casualties are just some numbers.

But Li Qing knew that these casualties were not just numbers, but real costs, and quite heavy costs.

The court spent a lot of money to train each soldier of the Wuli Army, especially those external and internal strength warriors, each of whom was very expensive.

And these soldiers who died on the battlefield had to be awarded generous pensions, which was another heavy price, and it had to be paid and could not be avoided!

"Anyway, the war is over after all." Li Qing slowly put down the intelligence from the border and sighed.

Without Qi Kang by his side, Li Qing would basically have to collect information in person in the future.

This made him feel a little uncomfortable, and suddenly he missed Qi Kang.

In the next few days, Li Qing worked in the blacksmith shop to earn life for himself, and at the same time he did not forget to practice martial arts.

Occasionally, he would visit the inn on the next street and find out some recent things that happened in the rivers and lakes from the mouths of the drinkers.

Finally, a piece of news about Xiaocuiling came out.

"Someone died! Someone died over at Xiaocui Mountain!"

Hearing this, some people in the rivers and lakes who were drinking at the scene had their pupils shrank.

Obviously, many people have already known about the recent events in Xiaocui Ridge, and it is no longer a secret.

"Brother, can you tell us in detail?"

"Yes, yes, tell us what happened in Xiaocui Ridge. After so long, there is finally news."

Facing the questioning of the crowd, the person who first threw out the news kept a mysterious look on his face and was not in a hurry to speak.

However, the innkeeper was obviously good at handling things. Seeing this, he immediately said: "Sir, I will pay for the wine today. Tell everyone about the events in Xiaocui Mountain."

As soon as these words came out, the man showed a satisfied look.

"Hahaha, it's not a secret. I guess you will know it in a few days if I don't tell you."

"Then Xiaocui Ridge..."

..