I Cultivate in a Government Office

Tang Yuan’s figure vanished like a phantom. The next instant, he abruptly reappeared in front of Shen Zui, their noses nearly touching. Shen Zui’s pupils shrank, and the Spiritual Qi around his body instinctively tried to erupt and protect him, but it was too late.

SLAP—

The crisp sound of a slap was exceptionally jarring in the quiet corridor.

Then Shen Zui was lifted off his feet, his sapphire-blue brocade robe tracing a clumsy arc through the air. He slammed heavily into the opposite wall of the corridor with a THUD, then slid limply to the floor.

His left cheek visibly swelled and reddened. A trickle of fresh blood oozed from the corner of his mouth, his ears rang, and his face was a mask of incredulous horror and bewilderment. He probably never imagined the other man would actually dare to strike, let alone so quickly.

Tang Yuan’s expression was cold. He stepped over the private room’s threshold, preparing to advance again. That slap was for the humiliation of those twenty coins; the next blow would be to teach Shen Zui a lesson he’d never forget.

However, just as he raised his hand, his movement faltered for a moment.

Four figures were walking slowly from the end of the corridor. It was Zhou Moxuan and his retinue. The moment Tang Yuan prepared to strike again, the cultivator with the heavy, stable aura instantly locked onto him with his Divine Sense. He, too, was a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

While locking his aura onto Tang Yuan, the Foundation Establishment cultivator naturally took a half-step to the side, positioning himself perfectly between Tang Yuan and the dazed and disoriented Shen Zui on the floor.

Zhou Moxuan acted as if he hadn’t seen the conflict at the door, not even sparing a glance for the groaning Shen Zui on the floor. With a leisurely pace, he led the other two people straight past Tang Yuan and stepped nonchalantly into Tingxin Pavilion.

Upon entering the private room, his gaze immediately locked onto Yang Wenqing, who sat unmoving behind the low table.

Their eyes met.

A barely perceptible glint of appraisal and a veiled trace of disdain flashed through Zhou Moxuan’s eyes.

Yang Wenqing’s rise to power had followed a completely different trajectory. Zhou Moxuan had superior innate talent and had grown up steadily with the full backing of Bibo Prefecture’s resources—a so-called "academy-style genius."

Yang Wenqing, on the other hand, had scrapped his way up from the local level, an unorthodox path. It was said his innate talent was mediocre, yet he had managed to achieve Bone Marrow Cleansing before the age of thirty and, through sheer dumb luck, had even been acknowledged as master by a Blue-feathered Night Owl.

In the eyes of the academy-trained Zhou Moxuan, this was nothing more than a fluke and cheap tricks. Yang Wenqing’s foundation was surely shallow, built entirely on luck and external aids.

"You must be Yang Wenqing, Director Yang?"

Zhou Moxuan was the first to speak, his tone like that of a fellow practitioner who had long admired the other’s reputation. "I am Zhou Moxuan of Bibo Prefecture. I have long heard of Director Yang’s diligent governance in Lingshan. Seeing you today, you truly have an extraordinary air about you."

As he spoke, his gaze swept over Lan Ying on Yang Wenqing’s shoulder, then brushed past the silent Gao Zhen beside him.

"My disciple was impertinent and caused some offense just now, however..."

His tone shifted, his gaze falling back on Yang Wenqing. "The view of the plum blossoms from Tingxin Pavilion... I have truly admired it for a long time. I wonder if Director Yang would be willing to part with it and let me have the room?"

Before Yang Wenqing could answer, a man behind Zhou Moxuan said in a cold voice, "Senior Brother Zhou, you are far too courteous. But then again, for Director Yang to find time in his busy schedule to come enjoy himself in the Provincial Government, and even have a Spirit Pet for company, is truly enviable. It’s just that Spirit Pets are ultimately external aids. For cultivators like us, the foundation of our own cultivation is the one true path, isn’t it, Senior Brother Zhou?"

Hearing this, the smile on Zhou Moxuan’s lips deepened. He said to Yang Wenqing, "My junior brother is mischievous, Director Yang, please pay him no mind. However, his words may be coarse, but there is truth in them. With your complex duties, it is inevitable that your focus on cultivation is divided. To manage both to this degree is already difficult enough. You must not neglect the fundamentals for the sake of external aids."

His tone was earnest, as if he were genuinely offering friendly advice.

Lan Ying said with extreme dissatisfaction in their Spirit Sea, ’This man is so obnoxious.’ On the surface, however, she remained motionless, though her eyes shifted slightly as if she were contemplating how to get revenge on the three of them.

Facing this verbal assault of veiled barbs, Yang Wenqing stood up, his expression still calm. He made a vague gesture of invitation toward Zhou Moxuan, his voice smooth and level:

"Friend Zhou, you are too kind. Guarding my land and keeping its people safe is my duty. Cultivation is the foundation of my life. I dare not be negligent in either; it is merely a matter of diligence."

He glanced around the room. "As for this Tingxin Pavilion, we are in high spirits, and the view is at its best. We have no intention of relinquishing it. If you also admire this view of the snowy plum blossoms, Friend Zhou, perhaps you could find another elegant spot, or wait until we are finished?"

It was a direct refusal, leaving no room for negotiation.

The smile on Zhou Moxuan’s face faded slightly. He clapped his hands together lightly, as if unconcerned. "Director Yang is a man of frank words. In that case..."

"We are both cultivators, and we are also colleagues in public service. Since we are both insistent on the matter of this pavilion, a verbal dispute is beneath us and would only damage our cordiality. To avoid harming the relationship between our two prefectures, let’s settle this another way..."

"How about we have a little contest? The winner gets the pavilion, and the loser accepts defeat gracefully."

His gaze was blazing; his true intentions were finally revealed.

Yang Wenqing raised his eyes. His gaze, clear and calm, met Zhou Moxuan’s blazing, aggressive stare as he uttered a single word: "Agreed."

The word had barely left his lips, and before the confident smile on Zhou Moxuan’s face could fully blossom, the situation changed in an instant!

No hand seals, no incantations, no gleam of Spiritual Light from a Magical Artifact. The air around Yang Wenqing suddenly seemed to collapse inward for an instant, and then an immense, invisible pressure of Spiritual Qi erupted with the force of an awakened Fierce Beast.

This wasn’t Magic; it was the purest form of Spiritual Qi suppression, a raw torrent of power!

Zhou Moxuan’s vision darkened and his ears rang. He felt as if he’d been instantly plunged into the deep sea, but what surged toward him from all sides wasn’t water. It was Spiritual Qi, as viscous and heavy as a mountain.

It ignored the protective layer of Spiritual Qi that naturally circulated around his body, piercing him like countless icy steel needles, aimed straight for his Qi Sea and Sea of Consciousness.

’How is this possible?!’

Zhou Moxuan was horrified. ’The sheer intensity of this Spiritual Qi pressure is nearly on par with my own Third Transformation Cultivation.’

In a flash, Zhou Moxuan’s Qi Sea began to spin frantically. Spiritual Qi materialized into overlapping layers of protective Spiritual Light, and the surface of this new barrier shimmered as if made of flowing water.

BOOM—

The invisible tidal wave of Spiritual Qi slammed viciously against the azure spiritual barrier.

Zhou Moxuan’s body shuddered violently. The thick, plush carpet beneath his feet tore with a sharp RIP as he was forced backward, his feet plowing two shallow furrows into it!

His face paled. A metallic, sweet taste rose in his throat, but he forced it back down.

The force of the impact was far beyond his imagination. Even more terrifying, his opponent’s Divine Sense had him completely enveloped.

’He must be using some kind of Secret Technique to force this output. An attack of this intensity can’t possibly last long!’

Zhou Moxuan gritted his teeth and held on, his resolve hardening. He trusted his own judgment, and he trusted the profound heritage of Bibo Prefecture’s orthodox teachings. He firmly believed that if he could just withstand the first few, most violent waves of the assault, he could counterattack the moment his opponent’s energy was spent.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

The exhaustion he anticipated never came. The tsunami-like torrent of Spiritual Qi didn’t weaken; on the contrary, it continued to grow stronger!

Then, to his horror, Zhou Moxuan discovered that the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi from the entirety of Tingxin Pavilion, and even from the corridor outside, was converging on Yang Wenqing at a frantic, almost predatory, pace.

Veins bulged on Zhou Moxuan’s temples. His Qi Sea’s output was frantic, but it was as futile as a praying mantis trying to stop a chariot. The very breath he held in his chest began to shudder violently under the seemingly endless Spiritual Qi pressure, about to break.

His pupils contracted as a sliver of incredulous panic finally pierced his heart. ’A shallow foundation? This level of control over Spiritual Qi is simply terrifying!’

The very instant his mind reeled in shock—

A sharp glint flashed in Yang Wenqing’s eyes.

The steady torrent of Spiritual Qi suddenly transformed, condensing into a single, tangible impact. It was like an armor-piercing spike, and it slammed viciously into Zhou Moxuan!

CRACK!

The azure spiritual barrier around Zhou Moxuan shattered on impact.

Immediately following that, an immense, irresistible force slammed into him head-on, carrying with it a crushing weight and an indomitable will.

PUH—

Zhou Moxuan could no longer hold it back and violently spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, staining the lapels of his moon-white robes crimson. He was thrown backward like a kite with a snapped string, moving so fast he left an afterimage in the air.

WHAM!

His momentum unbroken, he continued flying backward. He landed with a heavy THUD on the cold, smooth, black jade tiles of the corridor, rolling twice before coming to a stop right beside Shen Zui, the man Tang Yuan had slapped just moments before.

As for Zhou Moxuan, his eyes were shut tight, and he had fallen completely unconscious. The blood splattered across his moon-white robes and the sorry state of Shen Zui’s sapphire-blue ones complemented each other perfectly.