"Li Zhiming!"
The sudden voice made Li Zhiming jump. He hurriedly put away the scroll and turned around.
The person who came was the patrol guard assigned to him. He stepped in and took a look around. "Good work. You can take an early break."
"Right, Senior Brother Qin from the Inner Sect asked me to bring this to you."
Li Zhiming took the storage pouch from the patrol guard and glanced inside.
Inside were five Vitality Pills, along with some healing medicine and spiritual stones used for cultivation.
"Many thanks."
Li Zhiming took out a Vitality Pill and a spiritual stone, handing them to the Patrol Disciple.
Seeing what Li Zhiming was handing over, the young man was momentarily stunned. Then he turned to scan his surroundings, and seeing no one about, he quickly took the items.
"My name is Zhao Ming. If you need anything in the future, just come find me," the guard said with a warm smile, his attitude having undergone a complete transformation.
"There are nine sectors in this First Level of Xuyuan Prison. A few of my fellow apprentices and I manage the ninth sector. Since you're under my command, you can wander around Sector Nine however you please. If anyone gives you trouble, just drop my name."
"It'll save you a lot of trouble," Zhao Ming said, already acting quite familiar with Li Zhiming.
"Then I'll thank you in advance," Li Zhiming said with a cupped-fist salute.
"Alright, I'll continue my patrol. You can go back and rest, or walk around if you like."
"Remember, you still need to keep a low profile if you leave Sector Nine. Also, make sure you don't get anywhere near the entrance to the Second Level. The Yin Demonic Dead Qi around there is much stronger than anywhere else, and it's certainly not something you can handle right now."
Zhao Ming offered this specific warning before leaving.
Seeing Zhao Ming walk away, Li Zhiming put away the storage pouch.
The Senior Brother Qin the man had mentioned was Qin Chuan, his fellow disciple from the same lineage in the Inner Sect.
The Inner Sect of the Zhenyuan Sect had many different lineages. Disciples who entered the Inner Sect had the right to choose freely; as long as the master of the lineage agreed, they could enter it and become registered disciples.
Naturally, those with exceptional talent would become direct disciples, and above direct disciples were personal disciples.
Li Zhiming was a direct disciple of Qingluan Peak, and his status and standing were not low at all.
Qin Chuan was his senior brother and had always treated him well.
As for Tian Yaoyao, she was a direct disciple of the neighboring Baihua Peak.
That woman had originally put on such a delicate, white-lotus act, calling him "Elder Brother Zhiming" at every turn, completely charming him.
Looking back now, everything she did was just a disguise to get close to him!
"Tian Yaoyao, the real show is just beginning!"
A cold glint flashed in Li Zhiming's eyes. He pulled his thoughts back, hoisted the corpse onto his back, left the cell, and tossed it into the Xuyuan abyss.
Instead of leaving the cell area, he continued walking deeper into Sector Nine.
Xuyuan Prison was carved directly into the stone walls, and the interior passages were intricate and complex, though each sector had directional signs so he wouldn't get lost.
Li Zhiming turned into a passage and saw a young man with a blood-stained face walking toward him, leaning against the wall.
Over the young man's other shoulder rested a hemp rope, which was tied to a corpse. He was pulling it forward with all his might, panting heavily.
This young man was the prison guard whose eyes had been gouged out by Tian Yaoyao earlier.
Without strength or backing, one misstep in Xuyuan Prison could lead to disaster.
Hearing someone approaching, the young man turned his head toward Li Zhiming.
He was already blind, but fortunately, his hearing was sharp enough to place people by sound, preventing him from losing his ability to function.
"What's your name?" Li Zhiming asked.
"Who are you...?"
"I am Li Zhiming."
"So it's Senior Brother Li."
"My name is Zhang Zibo."
The young man nodded numbly. After having his eyes crippled, his heart was as dead as ash, and he had lost all hope for life.
"Your eyes are injured. Let me handle this bit of work; you go back and rest."
Li Zhiming pressed a hand on Zhang Zibo's shoulder.
Zhang Zibo froze in place.
Did he hear that right?
In this Xuyuan Prison where everyone looked out for themselves and walked on thin ice, someone actually cared about him.
And the other party was even a former Inner Sect disciple, though demoted to a prison guard for making a mistake.
Still, a starved camel is bigger than a horse; he understood at least that much.
"What, you don't want to?"
"No, it's just... sob."
Before Zhang Zibo could finish speaking, he began to choke back sobs, though he didn't dare cry out for fear the pain would cause him to pass out.
"Do you know Wang Zi?" Li Zhiming asked suddenly.
"Wang Zi... seems to be a guard in the eighth sector. He's used to acting tyrannically. Anyone who has stayed in the First Level of Xuyuan for long should know him."
"Help me find out what his background is and who's backing him."
"Can you do it?" Li Zhiming asked again.
"Gathering information? With all due respect to Senior Brother Li, that's my specialty. I've been in Xuyuan Prison for two years and know quite a few people. It shouldn't be a problem," Zhang Zibo replied.
"Good. Go back and rest. Leave the three cells over here to me."
Li Zhiming took the hemp rope from the young man's shoulder and patted him on the back.
"Many thanks for your help, Senior Brother Li."
"I'll bring you the news tonight," Zhang Zibo said, cupping his fists with a deeply grateful expression.
"No rush. Go back and get some rest first."
Li Zhiming waved a hand.
After Zhang Zibo leaned against the wall and left, Li Zhiming pulled out a tattered piece of cloth and simply wrapped up the man's corpse.
[Collected corpse of a Rank Nine evil cultivator: Lifespan +5, Qi and Blood +1999, True Qi value +2000, Enhancement Point +2]
Li Zhiming could clearly feel his strength and cultivation improving.
This feeling of growing stronger rapidly was simply fantastic!
Half an hour later.
Li Zhiming left Sector Nine and returned to his living quarters.
He cleaned up three more cells and gained some rewards.
However, those three prisoners had been Rank Nine martial artists before their deaths, so the rewards weren't large.
Even so, he had accumulated seven Enhancement Points, and his realm had stepped into Late Rank Nine Martial Dao.
Li Zhiming sat cross-legged on the bed, the movement martial art manual appearing in his hand.
[Youyun Dance: upgrading requires eight enhancement points.]
As it happened, the seven points this time plus the one left over gave him a total of eight Enhancement Points.
Without hesitation, Li Zhiming applied the points directly.
[Youyun Dance +1]
[Youyun Dance is currently being comprehended.]
[Congratulations, Host. Youyun Dance has reached the Entry level!]
In barely a minute, Li Zhiming felt a massive surge of information and cultivation experience flood into his brain.
It felt as though he had practiced day and night for countless times.
Scenes of cultivation flashed through his mind, and these experiences fused into a part of him.
Li Zhiming snapped his eyes open, and a vortex of wind surged around his body.
Youyun Dance, a wind-attribute movement technique. Once mastered, one's speed was as fast as a gale, and one's figure became unpredictable, drifting like clouds in the sky.
When proficiency reached the Mastery level, it would leave behind afterimages almost indistinguishable from the real body.
Once proficiency reached Perfection, executing it could conjure fake bodies; although they could only exist for a brief moment, it was enough to fool an enemy's eyes.
"A High-grade Mysterious movement technique—truly powerful!"
Li Zhiming ran a couple of laps around the room, his speed so fast that only a blur could be seen darting back and forth.
Ever since he came to this world, he had never felt cultivation to be so simple and wonderful as it was today.
Li Zhiming let out a long breath and sat down on the bed.
With a thought, his attribute panel floated before his eyes.
[Host: Li Zhiming]
[Realm: Late Rank Nine Martial Dao]
[Age: Sixteen]
[Lifespan: 130]
[Charm: 96]
[Fortune: 89]
[Enhancement Points: 0]
[Martial Arts: Youyun Dance (Entry), Falling Flower Palm (Unpracticed), Burst Fist (Unpracticed), Chaotic Shadow Step (Unpracticed)]
[Cultivation Method: Qingyang Manual (Unpracticed)]
[Secret Technique: Taichu Heart Sutra — Fragment (Entry)]
Through the Qi and Blood and True Qi accumulated from his previous corpse collections, his realm had reached the late Ninth Rank.
It shouldn't be long before he stepped into Rank Nine Perfection, and recovering his former strength was only a matter of time.
Next, what Li Zhiming needed to do was continue cultivating.
He would practice his former martial arts all over again.
With his previous experience, he was now treading a familiar path.
In just three hours, he re-cultivated the Qingyang Manual up to the Entry stage.
The same went for Falling Flower Palm, Burst Fist, and Chaotic Shadow Step.
Li Zhiming looked at his palms.
What is a sense of security?
Possessing strength is possessing a sense of security, just like right now.
"The complete recovery of my strength is getting closer and closer."
"Now that I've cultivated the Taichu Heart Sutra and Youyun Dance, once my realm returns to the Seventh Rank, my battle prowess will be incomparable to before, and fighting across ranks should be a breeze."
Li Zhiming muttered inwardly, quite satisfied with his current situation.
"Senior Brother Li, are you in?"
A series of knocks sounded from outside the door.