Spirit Cultivation

Among the Shadow Guards who were still present in the hall, there was one particular member who was restlessly watching the whole situation. That person was the leader of Shadow Guards called Wuying. Liu Xiaobei tried to name her under the surname Liu, but she tactfully rejected the offer and stayed as Wuying.

She thought that Xuefeng only likes cute and elegant women, so she hid the fact that she belonged to the Shadow Guards. It was well known that they were natural born killers. What if he discards her after knowing she had killed many people already? Wuying shuddered to the thought of Xuefeng leaving her.

She was having a mental battle within herself, while Xuefeng was receiving the last two lightning bolts. She wanted to help, but she didn't know how. If she could, she would even receive the lightning for him, but Heavenly Tribulation didn't work like that.

Even if she tried to block the lightning he would still be hit.

'I will help him afterwards if he is injured. I don't care about exposing myself anymore.' She ultimately decided.

Everyone held their breaths as two bloody red Thunderbolts descended on Xuefeng's Body. This time, not only was his soul targeted but also his physical body. The moment he was hit, he felt like his organs were crushed. He spat out a mouthful of blood as he kneeled on the ground.

"Xuefeng!" Mu Lan and Wuying called out simultaneously and jumped to the stage to help him. The black clouds were finally retreating so they knew that the heavenly tribulation was over.

Hearing familiar voices, he said "I'm fine" as he tried to stand up. His mother and a Black shadow appeared on his side and helped him by throwing his arms around their shoulders.

Feeling with their Spirit Qi that his injuries weren't that serious, they sighed in relief.

Xuefeng smiled bitterly. He underestimated the tribulation. He thought that he can make it out without any injuries, but apparently, you can't get benefits without sacrifices.

The rewards for enduring a heavenly tribulation were enormous. The girls didn't notice yet because they were only concerned about his condition, but after absorbing some Lightning Essence, he broke through another wall in his dantian.

He also produced what he called Lightning Qi in his dantian. He hasn't read anything about Lightning Qi in the books about cultivation. The reason he thought of was simple. Who would be crazy enough to absorb lightning while undergoing a life and death tribulation?

"Son, I'm proud of you. Take this healing pill and go rest, we will talk later." Liu Xiaobei came to them and gave Xuefeng a round white pill.

"Thanks, dad." He took the pill and swallowed it. It instantly melted on his tongue and the cooling liquid went down his throat. The blood taste in his mouth disappeared which brought him relief.

"Wuying, take him to his courtyard so he can rest, we will take care of the aftermath." Mu Lan said gently to the Shadow Guard who was helping.

"Wuying?" Xuefeng asked in surprised as he looked at the head covered in a black hood. Before he could see anything underneath, he vanished from the stage.

"Call someone to clean the mess up on the stage. Tell everyone that the ceremony will end now. We will continue with the second part tomorrow." Liu Xiaobei said to Elder Ming.

"Yes, clan leader." Elder Ming heeded the command and left.

The whole hall was a big mess with dishes and debris from the ceiling lying around everywhere. When the duo returned at the main table, various clan leaders offered their congratulations. They knew that their daughters now had no chance with Xuefeng, so they didn't bring up the topic. They had to admit. He now deserved someone better, according to his talent which was now Black.

"To think that your son forcefully increased his talent from Red to Black. Do you maybe know how he did it?" the Lu Clan leader asked the question everyone wanted to know.

"I actually have no idea. If I knew, I wouldn't invite all of you here, and instead used that method on all my clan's youngsters. Don't you think that makes much more sense?" Liu Xiaobei smiled.

Hearing his answer, they nodded with understanding, because his words made sense.

"Anyway, if you get the method from your son, the Lu Clan will definitely purchase it for a high sum." the Lu clan leader proposed.

"We will buy it as well!" the other clan leaders simultaneously exclaimed.

"En, if my son really knows a method like that, I will definitely share it with the world, but I don't think it exists." Liu Xiaobei agreed.

"Liu Xiaobei might be right." A female voice confirmed Xiaobei's hypothesis. It was Manager Wu's voice.

"I once heard a legend of a Six Petals Lotus Flower which can help a cultivator increase his talent by six stages. And that's exactly what we saw here. It's an extremely rare herb that only grows randomly around the world. There would usually be only one to have grown every hundred years. For most people, it's useless as it only works on people without any cultivation." She continued.

Although the clan leaders had a hard time believing the story, they didn't have a choice.

"As the ceremony is over, I will take my leave. I will come tomorrow to propose cooperation between the Trade Union and Liu Clan. We would love to deepen our relationship." She said before graciously walking out of the hall.

"The Liu Clan sure is lucky today. First a purple talent, then a black one, and now they even have a chance to collaborate with the biggest trading firm." One clan leader commented.

Looking at Emperor Shang, the look on his face was really dark. At first, he only planned to use his daughter as bait to fish in the Liu Clan's waters, but now, he had to rethink his plans because of the events that happened today.

'Why isn't my son that lucky, damn… And now with the Trade Union's protection, they might even compete with the Royal Family for various resources.' Emperor Shang thought irritated.

"We are also going then. Thank you for your hospitality." Emperor Shang decided to leave as soon as possible and make a report ready to send to the kingdom.

He stood up and Zhen Ping followed unhappily. He knew that he lost this small battle.

When they arrived by the exit, they felt something was wrong. There were only two of them.

'Where is Zhen Shan?' They both thought and turned around to see her still sitting by the table.

"Zhen Shan? We are going back." Emperor Shang called out. He thought that maybe she didn't hear him.

"I'm not going." She said in a sweet, modulated voice. It was the first thing she said since she stepped into the Liu Clan's territory.

"Liu clan leader, may I stay in your clan for some time? I won't be a burden." She asked Liu Xiaobei directly.

"No problem, we have enough rooms to spare." He answered calmly.

"Shan, you decided to stay for that nobody?!" Zhen Ping asked angrily.

"If he is a nobody, then who are you?" She said without even looking at him.

That angered him even more but before he could say anything, he was stopped by his father. Emperor Shang looked at his daughter speechlessly after hearing his daughter's decision, but there was nothing he could do.

He thought for a moment and nodded.

"I hope you can take good care of my daughter then." Emperor Shang said to Liu Xiaobei before dragging his son out.