In just a short month, Li Mugui made another breakthrough!
What terrifying talent he possesses!
As everyone knows, the path of martial arts becomes increasingly difficult as one progresses.
Take Li Mugui's father, Li Tai, as an example. After breaking through to the early stage of the Wanxiang realm, he made no progress for a whole decade.
Everyone in the hall was momentarily at a loss for words.
They didn't know what to say to express their shock.
Even Shen Bing, who came from a prestigious family and the Qianzhu Chamber of Commerce and had seen and heard many things, had never encountered such a monstrous individual!
After a long silence, Zhang Ji was the first to regain his composure and exclaimed loudly, "Lord Li is a dragon among men, a genius among talents. A scoundrel like Liu Yu is not worth mentioning. I was just overthinking it."
These words brought Shen Bing and Zhu Yan back from their shock.
"That's right! With Lord Li's extraordinary talent, Liu Yu is nothing but a mere speck of dust. No matter how much he schemes, he can never cause any real trouble!" Zhu Yan quickly chimed in.
Shen Bing, however, remained silent, staring fixedly at Li Mugui.
She looked at the myriad phenomena surrounding him, the sharp sword intent, and the terrifying dragon and tiger.
She spoke slowly, "Lord Li, you have once again exceeded my expectations."
"Soon, the position of the number one genius in Dongshan Prefecture will belong to you."
She paused for a moment before correcting herself, "No, a place as barren as Dongshan Prefecture cannot hold onto someone like you."
"A genius like you belongs in Zhongzhou, Nanlu, or Xichuan."
Her tone was filled with emotion.
Zhongzhou, Nanlu, and Xichuan were the three places where martial arts flourished the most in the Dacheng Dynasty.
They were home to countless martial arts masters and unparalleled experts, truly a gathering of hidden dragons and crouching tigers.
Any genius who pursued martial arts would eventually go to one of these places to train.
After hearing this, Li Mugui just shook his head with a chuckle and said, "I won't go. I will stay here."
Of course, he wouldn't leave!
He knew his own situation.
His current realm was all thanks to the special effects system's disguise.
In a remote place like Dongshan Prefecture, he could still bluff his way through.
But if he really went to places like Zhongzhou, Nanlu, or Xichuan, where geniuses abounded, he would be exposed in no time if someone challenged him to a sparring match.
He might not even know how he died.
Naturally, he wouldn't say this outright.
Looking at Shen Bing's surprised expression, Li Mugui explained with a smile, "I grew up in Feiying City. Every blade of grass and tree here, as well as the people, are deeply engraved in my heart."
"Besides, my father gave his life for Feiying City. How could I possibly abandon it?"
Everyone was moved by his words.
"Lord Li is truly noble-hearted!" Zhu Yan said with reverence.
It was only then that she realized how vast the young lord's heart was.
Zhang Ji, however, hesitated to speak.
As an old servant of the lord's mansion, he had watched Li Mugui grow up and wished for him to go to a bigger world and develop his talents.
But now, Li Mugui wanted to stay in Feiying City.
What a waste of time!
Li Mugui saw through Zhang Ji's thoughts and said, "Mr. Zhang, there's no need to say more. I have made up my mind."
Zhang Ji opened his mouth, looked at Li Mugui's determined expression, knew he couldn't persuade him, and let out a sigh.
Shen Bing blinked and looked at the heroic man before her, staring into his bright eyes, momentarily at a loss for words.
In all her life, she had never met anyone like Li Mugui.
The geniuses she had encountered before were all arrogant and pretentious.
But Li Mugui was different.
He was willing to give up for the sake of protecting the people of this city.
Shen Bing recalled Liu Yu's attempted coup and Li Mugui's impassioned speech.
What a chivalrous and noble-hearted man!
No wonder he possessed such a sharp and magnificent sword intent.
She suddenly admired Li Mugui very much.
"Lord Li, I truly admire your character!" Shen Bing praised sincerely.
Li Mugui smiled slightly but didn't reply.
In his heart, however, he was reminding himself to be cautious.
Not to be distracted by the allure of the outside world.
To recognize reality.
He was relying entirely on the special effects system to prop up his image. Without the system's enhancements, he was just an ordinary second-realm martial artist.
He would have been easily defeated by Liu Yu with a single slap.
"Cultivation! Realm! Strength! Only these are real, everything else is false!" He repeated this mantra in his mind.
...
After everyone dispersed, Li Mugui returned to his room with the Tongyuan Lingyu presented by Zhu Yan.
Staring at the glistening golden-veined jadestone in his hand, he could sense the vast energy contained within.
Without hesitation, Li Mugui placed the Tongyuan Lingyu in his mouth and quickly activated the "Golden God Internal Breath Technique" to fully refine the Lingyu essence within the jadestone.
Instantly, a cooling sensation rushed from his throat down to his dantian, spreading like water throughout his body.
It gradually penetrated his limbs, viscera, muscles, bones, and even the tiniest corners of his body, covering every inch with pure and powerful Lingyu essence energy.
"Hoo—"
A euphoric feeling instantly spread throughout Li Mugui's entire body, causing his pores to open and take in a deep breath.
This feeling was exquisite.
He could clearly sense that every inch of his skin, muscles, blood vessels, and even meridians were undergoing further refinement.
Black smoke and sludge slowly emerged from his body.
Li Mugui knew that the Tongyuan Lingyu was helping him eliminate impurities from his body.
The Tongyuan Lingyu jadestone was truly worthy of its reputation, and its effects were immediately apparent.
His meridians became more resilient, his flesh more refined, his internal organs more active, and his blood purer.
It was like being reborn!
No wonder so many powerful individuals in this world would shut themselves away for years or even decades of cultivation.
Li Mugui now understood the joy of immersing oneself in cultivation.
The thrill of feeling oneself become stronger with each passing moment.
It was truly intoxicating.
After refining all the Lingyu essence in the jadestone, Li Mugui didn't stop there.
He took advantage of the momentum and began absorbing the residual yuan force contained within the jadestone.
Although this yuan force was just a remnant from the formation of Lingyu, its quantity was still considerable.
Especially for someone like Li Mugui, who was only at the mid-stage of the second realm in reality.
Now that his body had undergone further refinement and enhancement thanks to the Tongyuan Lingyu essence, his aptitude had improved even further.
If he could fully absorb and assimilate this yuan force, his newly broken through realm would be solidified, greatly benefiting his future cultivation.