The Crazy Son-In-Law

Judging from the momentum and the gaze of Arcane Vigor that Lei Zhenting is showing at this moment, Qiu Zhan believes that the other party’s cultivation is on par with his own.

“Are the practitioners from Riverdale that powerful? Today, they casually sent three experts, one of whom is at the same level as a Veteran practitioner. What about the other two who haven’t made a move yet…”

As she speaks, Haitang’s gaze has become horrified. She stares motionlessly at Ciyun and Changsheng, who have yet to make a move.

According to custom, the first to make a move is definitely the weakest in cultivation. After all, practitioners like to hide their incompetence and no one will reveal their cards right away. Moreover, the challenge itself starts from the bottom up, so if Xiao Shun wants to challenge someone more powerful, he can only prove himself step by step.

While Haitang is lost in thought, Qiu Zhan slowly speaks up, “It’s not entirely accurate to say that.”

Haitang waits for the next words, full of puzzlement.

Qiu Zhan does not directly explain the connection to his trusted assistant, but instead looks up at the several experts from Riverdale and then softly says, “While in the eyes of many, the Old School Society is the largest force in control of Wradeogon, the reality is not that simple. There are areas where even our influence cannot spread, and that is where the Hidden Sects are located.”

“The Hidden Sects are something that I’ve heard Veteran mention, but I don’t know what kind of existence these forces are?” Haitang eagerly looks at Qiu Zhan.

“These are forces that are so powerful that even Marshal fears them deeply. They can easily destroy our Old School Society!” Qiu Zhan says with emotion.

Although in the eyes of many, the Old School Society is strong enough, it’s only on the surface. Because within Wradeogon, there are organizations that are countless times stronger than them, and no one can resist these forces. These forces are collectively known as the “Hidden Sects.”

However, these sects remain hidden and unknown to the world.

After hearing Qiu Zhan’s words, Haitang is puzzled and can’t help asking, “If that’s the case, why do they watch us in the Old School Society control countless resources?”

“Resources?” Qiu Zhan chuckles. “Hehe, the resources we value are nothing but trash to those existences.”

Haitang’s eyes widen in disbelief.

Seeing this, Qiu Zhan pats Haitang’s shoulder. “Don’t be surprised, what I’m saying is all true. Before reaching the ‘Anterior’ state, you wouldn’t know the secrets of these. Even I, despite my cultivation, still have only a partial understanding. Only when one reaches the ‘Consolidation’ stage, like Marshal, can one come into contact with these bigwigs.”

Consolidation?

What kind of state is that?

Two questions suddenly come to mind, and Haitang has only heard of “Anterior” before. She’s never heard of the stages beyond that.

“You have a long way to go to reach that legendary state. Even with Marshal’s exceptional talent, he spent a hundred years at the Anterior stage before breaking through the illusion and entering the legendary ‘Consolidation realm’!” Qiu Zhan speaks with a mournful expression.

After all, his talent is limited, and reaching the Anterior stage five times over is already his limit in this life. He doesn’t dare to hope for “Consolidation.”

“In my opinion, achieving the Anterior state is already as difficult as ascending to the heavens, let alone another realm above it. How powerful must those practitioners be?” Haitang’s eyes twinkle.

Qiu Zhan smiles slightly. “When Marshal mentioned this realm to me back then, I was also as surprised as you. But Marshal told me something that I still don’t completely understand.”

“If not even Veteran can fathom it?” Qiu Zhan is slightly surprised.

In terms of strategy, his intelligence is definitely unmatched by brutes like Nie Jiuchong. He is undoubtedly the foremost among the four Veterans.

“At the time, Marshal said to me, ‘There is no end in this world. Everyone’s level and the roads they can travel are different. The places that are end-points for you may just be starting points for others.'”

Qiu Zhan speaks absentmindedly, as this statement has yet to fully register with him. Perhaps it’s because of his own level being insufficient, and his perspective is not broad enough.

“Could it be that Marshal meant ‘Consolidation’ is the starting point for some people?” Haitang wonders aloud.

Qiu Zhan nods. “That should be the idea, but I can’t understand why Marshal would say this is the starting point. How many people can stand at the starting line at such a high level?”

Haitang cannot provide any answers to this question, as her current level is even lower than Qiu Zhan’s.

Just as Haitang is silently determined to diligently cultivate in the future, Qiu Zhan remembers something else.

A long time ago, he witnessed Marshal demonstrating a technique. At first, he didn’t feel anything wrong, but as time passed, he gradually noticed some unusual changes. In the end, he tied these changes to Marshal’s Arcane Vigor.NôvelDrama.Org content.

It may not be accurate to say this, as the internal energy the other party was using had completely transcended the scope of Arcane Vigor at that time. It was a kind of higher and purer natural energy, a type of energy that Qiu Zhan had never seen before!

At this point, a lightning bolt suddenly flashed through his mind, and he had an instant guess.

Could this natural energy be the key to the “starting point”?

This thought, like a vine, spread through Qiu Zhan’s mind and quickly occupied his entire consciousness. Unlike the Arcane Vigor of most practitioners, this is a whole new concept of cultivation.

There must be a subtle connection between these two things!

Although Qiu Zhan doesn’t dare to confirm if this guess is accurate, it is the only guess that can link all the events together at the moment.

In reality, spiritual energy is what “Consolidation” practitioners can come into contact with. It permeates the world, colorless and formless but omnipresent. Only when a practitioner’s body gives birth to a “spiritual vein” can it be absorbed into the body, not like before, using meditation to restore their Arcane Vigor.

Spiritual energy and Arcane Vigor are fundamentally different, with great distinctions in actual use as well. This is also the true difference between cultivation and Ethereal Ascension.

But Xiao Shun is an exception because his body contains an “Anterior realm spiritual vein.” Even without reaching “Consolidation,” he can already begin to absorb spiritual energy. This is also the reason why, despite being at the same level, Xiao Shun is nearly invincible.

These things were never explained to him by the Daoist Monk Moyan. So now, Mr. Xiao is also in the dark about this!

Since childhood, he has followed his master’s teachings and has never told anyone about his possession of spiritual energy, not to mention that most practitioners cannot distinguish the difference between Arcane Vigor and spiritual energy.

So this secret has been kept until now.