Chapter 27: [Three Thousand Li Moon] (Please add to favorites! Please keep reading!)

Shaoheng's understanding of basic spells had long since advanced to a new level.

Through discussions with Zhao Tang, she had confirmed what she had previously suspected: the key to spellcasting lay in "frequency."

As long as one was sufficiently skilled and possessed a deep enough understanding to achieve resonance between the internal mana and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, one could bypass the steps of chanting incantations and forming hand seals, achieving instantaneous spellcasting like she was doing now.

She swept her gaze over the other six and said coldly, "If you truly want to know what Elder Zhao told me, step onto the combat arena. If you beat me, I will tell you everything I know without reservation. All seven of you can come at me at once."

"Fine!" A large-framed youth named Ding Feng replied immediately, his tone indignant.

*Ah!*

Gu Yusui let out a silent scream in her heart.

*Fine my foot!*

Gu Yusui's eyes bulged like copper bells. She shook her head like a rattle, her ponytail whipping back and forth with a loud *thwack*, and said timidly, "S-Senior Sister Shaoheng, I was being presumptuous! I will make amends another day! I'll take my leave first so as not to disturb you!"

She spoke at lightning speed, and ignoring the condemning glares from those beside her, she bolted.

"That was probably the Wind-Blowing Spell. Currently, when I use it, I can only swirl up things that aren't too heavy, but it's nowhere near the level of Shaoheng just now, where she sent a person flying. Even my elder sister, who has condensed nearly two hundred cauldrons of mana, didn't achieve such an effect when demonstrating spells to me!"

"On the combat arena, as long as you don't die, you can fight like you're trying to kill them. Senior Sister Shaoheng's spells are already at this level... My heavens, how many lives does Ding Feng have to be so cocky?!"

Gu Yusui had long regretted following these people here to "reap easy benefits." The more she thought about it, the more panicked she became, and the faster she ran until she vanished from sight.

Shaoheng snapped her fingers.

A sphere of water materialized out of thin air, rapidly froze into ice, and formed into a tripping rope. With a *splat*, Gu Yusui fell flat on her face.

Even so, she did not look back. With a few whimpers, she stifled her tears, scrambled up, and ran even faster until she disappeared from everyone's view.

For the past three months, Shaoheng had immersed herself in cultivation. She only visited the lecture hall to consult Zhao Tang when she encountered doubts, rarely appearing in public and always remaining solitary.

Therefore, even though they knew her speed of absorbing Qi was quite fast, they had never actually seen her cast spells. Naturally, they didn't believe she could truly pull ahead of them in strength within just three months of cultivation.

The previously blustering Zhao Chuanzhen had long since shut his big mouth, his eyes darting around guiltily.

Lu Shaojing, however, remained "brave"—maintaining his original intention and his usual stupidity. He rushed forward as if to strike her, shouting loudly, "Lu Shaoheng, you..."

*Bang!*

With a wave of her right hand, following Qin Ji, Lu Shaojing was also swept up by a violent wind and thrown to the ground, leaving bloody scrapes.

She went further and struck him with a Silence Curse to prevent him from continuing his "dog barking."

The remaining few saw it even more clearly. Shaoheng could cast spells instantaneously; their faces filled with terror, losing their courage before the fight had even begun.

"If it weren't for the sect rules forbidding disciples from killing one another and requiring them to settle disputes on the combat arena, do you think I would tolerate you barking at me like dogs?"

The group stood speechless, intending to leave. They took a step forward.

"Did I say you could leave?"

Shaoheng reached out and clenched her hand. A violent wind surged, lifting the five of them into the air before slamming them violently onto the ground.

Bruised and aching, Zhao Chuanzhen shouted angrily, "Shaoheng, you dare to act violently against us in front of the Hall of Profound Methods! Sect rules do not allow fellow disciples to harm one another!"

Enduring the pain, he formed hand seals, and a ball of flame shot toward the girl.

But in the blink of an eye, water condensed into a massive net that ensnared the fireball, producing a loud sizzling sound and a large cloud of steam.

Shaoheng raised her hand to form a seal, a smile appearing on her face. "Oh? Weren't you the ones coming to ask me for guidance on spells? I am merely demonstrating them according to your wishes."

"And strictly speaking, you all gathered to block me, and Lu Shaojing and you attacked me one after another. This is clearly a mutual exchange."

The spell she had cast took effect. The white mist continued to condense until it finally transformed into the shape of a dragon, which lashed its long tail across each of their faces one by one, leaving whip-like welts that tore the skin.

For Qin Ji and Lu Shaojing, who had been thrown earlier, she granted them two extra lashes.

However, after thinking it over, Shaoheng decided that since they were "brothers," they should be treated equally, so she gave Lu Shaojia two extra lashes as well.

And considering he hadn't said a word, she thoughtfully added one more lash as a "reward."

By the time the water-mist dragon dissipated, everyone was sprawled on the ground, pinned down by a Gravity Spell.

"How is it? Comfortable?"

Shaoheng curled her lip into a smirk.

She had nothing to fear.

After all, both Lu Shaojing and Zhao Chuanzhen had made the first move, though she had countered them in time. According to the rules, this could only be defined as a mutual brawl.

As long as no lives were taken or cultivation foundations damaged, even if the Law Enforcement Pavilion were called to adjudicate, they would likely just issue a standard fine of a few spirit stones to each party.

Shaoheng had long-term ways to acquire spirit stones and didn't care about such trifles, but could these six people afford to ignore such a loss?

"Go ahead and report me to the Law Enforcement Pavilion. Every time you report me, I'll beat you once. None of you will escape."

With her hands behind her back, Shaoheng walked away with a swaggering, confident stride.

There were always many disciples passing by the Hall of Profound Methods. Seeing the six of them pinned to the ground, they merely glanced at them before going about their business.

Compared to the Inner Sect, which selected only the best, the Outer Sect had a massive number of disciples with new recruits arriving every year. With such high numbers, disputes and conflicts were common sights; over time, it had become nothing to find strange.

By the time the spell wore off fifteen minutes later, Yan Ning scrambled up immediately, tears streaming down her face and a snot bubble forming at her nose.

"I... *hic*... I told you we shouldn't come find her. *Sob*... She speaks so meanly, and she's so wicked..."

Yan Ning wiped her tears and covered her face, running away while sobbing.

The others remained indignant. Lu Shaojia, who had received the most lashes from the mist dragon, clutched his bloodied face, his breathing heavy and ragged.

Though the wounds on his flesh were painful, they had not damaged his bones or tendons. Setting aside the fact that Spring Revitalization Powder—which could be swallowed without affecting one's rank—worked instantly, even normal meditation and nourishing with mana for a few days would restore him to normal.

But the humiliation in his heart was impossible to erase!

He clenched his fist and struck the ground heavily.

...

Shaoheng headed toward the spirit fields. As soon as she stepped into the white mist, a small golden-furred monkey came hopping toward her.

"Ying ying!"

After more than two months, Duobao still looked like a small monkey; its physical size hadn't seemed to grow at all, though its fur had become smoother and denser.

Shaoheng stroked its head and said with some confusion, "The disciples at the Beast Garden previously said Duobao was a hybrid, the offspring of a golden-furred monkey and another species."

"Logically, golden-furred monkeys reach adulthood in ten months and grow very quickly. Even for a hybrid, the growth pattern shouldn't differ that much. I've also bought first-grade pills like Beast Spirit Pills and fed it with [Azure Emperor] spiritual liquid. Duobao's mana is increasing, but its body hasn't grown a bit."

She used two fingers of her right hand to part the golden fur on Duobao's forehead. She could see that the skin there was pale blue, with a silver vertical stripe running through the center.

Shaoheng wasn't sure if this was the effect of the [Azure Emperor] spiritual liquid or a manifestation of other monkey bloodlines in its body, because when she checked its body upon the initial contract, this stripe hadn't been there.

She played with Duobao for a while, fed it two crimson berries, and then took a chair from her storage ring to sit on the ridge of the field.

Shaoheng then took out the jade slip given to her by Zhao Tang and read it with her spiritual sense.

[Low-Grade Immortal Art: Three Thousand Miles of Moonlight]

[Move the spirit as if through emptiness; move the Qi as if through a rainbow. This technique is a top-tier escape art. Once mastered, one can hide their tracks using light and shadow, or breathe in moonlight to condense an illusionary body. When a cultivator reaches Great Success, their body becomes like flowing light, capable of a single escape spanning three thousand miles.]

After Shaoheng gained a rough understanding of the information regarding this immortal art, she couldn't help but smile. "Elder Zhao Tang is truly afraid I'll die in the Profound Moon Secret Realm, wasting her Moon-Inquiry Token."

"However, this method of absorbing moonlight recorded in the general principles... is quite interesting. To think such a technique exists. I already saw the Lunar Star during the phenomenon; if I absorb enough moonlight, could it also activate this latent part of my talent?"

Thinking of this, her heart surged with excitement.