Chapter 37: Ah’Zimiao and Demon Trait

Wang Qi stood up and stretched his waist. “I need to think this through. I ignored everything while I lost my mind, and I didn’t even notice the change.”“An outsider’s perspective is objective. Even I almost overlooked it, let alone you.”

Wang Qi shrugged. “And here I thought I was hard-boiled.”

Zhen Chanzi sighed, “Boy, it’s not about being unfeeling but stifling the panic. While composed in mortal danger, you’ll be impulsive wen it passes.”

“Probably along the lines of no matter how reckless, death still won’t come, ha-ha.” Wang Qi felt relief. “I need to fix this.”

Zhen Chanzi said, “Yes. As long as your pursuit is entertainment alone, caution is nearly non-existent outside of mortal danger.”

“There’s no use talking about it now.” Wang Qi walked out of the Arts Archive. “The situation won’t change through excuses like acting on impulse. You got to take responsibility for your actions, even under influence, no?”

Zhen Chanzi was sullen. “You call that an analogy?”

“How else am I gonna put it? Excitement got to your head and you flirted with girls, so now you have to look for a professional of the night to handle it.” 

“The creators of those cultivation methods would roll in their graves if they heard you.”

“Though, in all sincerity, I think I got the perfect solution to the problem.”

“And what would that be?”

Wang Qi slapped his head. “I totally know the solution, but I just can’t recall the precise way to do it.”

Zhen Chanzi was even more sullen. “You’re still like this?”

“You always say you find Divine Hexagram Computation familiar but never could point out where. It’s the same.”

“I’ve eaten more salt than you had rice. I’ve crossed more bridges than you have walked. It’s normal not to recall everything.”

Wang Qi cocked his head. “I thought an ancient cultivator’s fasting won’t kill him. The ancient system despises drinking and eating the mortals do, finding it annoying. For how long have you been eating salty dishes? And didn’t you prefer flying over walking? Why bother crossing bridges?”

Zhen Chanzi snapped, “That’s not the point!”

After dinner came the last class of the day, going on well into the night.

Finishing the day, Wang Qi went to meet Mao Zimiao to get back his overly stitched pillow. Since he was the first to arrive, he sat down and closed his eyes in thought.

[I’m just too green.]

[I only thought about entertainment in my every action, thinking that as long as I didn’t die, I could just have fun and act on impulse.] 

Wang Qi found this type of living to be dope. Since this wasn’t some story with brain-dead dignitaries going out of their way just to mock him, it would be quite challenging to go atop a mountain peak and scream at the top of his lungs, “Don’t look down on youth! Just wait and see!” Besides, the peak of Argent Mountain was a forbidden area of the Immortal Alliance. 

Then again, just having random fun could lead to issues. It was like watching an adult movie that lasted two hours. What was the fun in watching the rest of it when you were on a hair trigger in the first ten minutes?

“Which is why I need a plan for enjoying this world,” Wang Qi spoke to himself.

Zhen Chanzi said, “Just say you plan on changing your habits, ambition yourself, and work hard like a level-headed decent person.”

Wang Qi gasped, “Are you screwing with me? You make me look like some bum cooped up for twenty years in his room before finally coming to his senses and deciding to clean up his act.”

Zhen Chanzi chuckled, “The prodigal son’s return.”

“Shit, you’re not even denying it!”

Zhen Chanzi cut him off. “This is a good thing. Taking cultivation one step at a time will increase my odds of seeing daylight again.”

“Why do I get the feeling you’re screwing with me on purpose…”

Zhen Chanzi laughed, “You’re the one insisting on getting more power than anyone in your realm. It’s just a friendly reminder, not meant to mess with you. Weren’t you also trusting that Xiang girl when she said ‘Immortal Institute will cross out your mistakes?’ 

Wang Qi sneered, “Thinking about it, if it was just about persuading me, you could’ve just said ‘as this old man sees it, these cultivation methods are all great choices. Cultivating them together guarantees reaching a bright future towards Dao.’ Then I would have been skeptical due to my experience with the ancient way and thought it over some more.” 

Zhen Chanzi jeered, “With your previous nature, you’d have gone with ‘let’s go wild, since I’m here to make mistakes anyway.'”

As the two bickered, a soft voice called out, “Litte Qi, nya!”

Wang Qi jumped, “Hell’s bells! When did you get here?”

As a Qi Refining cultivator, he had sharper senses than mortals, so much so that it didn’t dull even when talking with Zhen Chanzi. He would’ve definitely heard any incoming footsteps. 

The girl with orange hair and cat ears jumped as well. “What an intense reaction, nya.”

“You try not jumping out of your skin when someone calls out to you from right behind you. And what’s with that calling? Don’t go using nya this, nya that when calling someone. Ugh, now I’m doing it.” 

Mao Zimiao gapped, exclaiming like she found a huge secret. “Little Qi, you’re scared of ghosts?”

Wang Qi deadpanned, “Being at a disadvantage in times of danger is a death sentence. Have some awareness.”

Mao Zimiao looked around, skeptical, “Isn’t this Argent Apex? There are no enemies here.”

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“It’s called vigilance.”

Zhen Chanzi chuckled, “You’re still back to those mortal habits, kid? Ha-ha, I bet that if I were a dark cultivator instead, you’d have been scared to death.”

[Oh ha, ha, very funny. Those scared of ghosts should play in the cemetery ain’t new.] Wang Qi reacted.

In the case of a real ghostly encounter, Wang Qi would not hesitate to fire magical arts like a fanatic until the thing was nothing but dust. Most people didn’t fear ghosts per se, but the unknown. 

Since Wang Qi didn’t want to talk about it, Mao Zimiao didn’t tease. She offered a bag. “Here’s your pillow, nya.”

Wang Qi opened it and looked at the horrible thing hardly resembling a pillow, taking joy in the fact that it was intact for the umpteenth time. “Thanks a bunch.”

“Little Qi, you should stop practicing in your room, nya.”

Wang Qi scratched his head as he gave a wry smile. Training in Grand Ripple Enigma required solving the wave-particle duality topic, beyond any Immortal Institute disciple could accomplish. So he never said to anyone that he got it. 

“And stop drooling in your sleep. I felt sick when stitching it, nya.”

“Ha-ha.” Wang Qi glanced around. “Thank you anyway, Ah’Zimiao, especially for covering for me.” 

Mao Zimiao shook her head, feeling awkward. “It’s just embarrassing holding such a shabby pillow.” 

“Ha-ha, still, thanks for stitching it every time…”

Mao Zimiao pointed at her eyes. “Anyone else would find stitching a waste, but I’m a demonborn, born with sharper eyes. As well as walking without a sound, nya.”

“Oh, that’s so convenient, Ah’Zimiao.”

“The more you say my name, the stranger it sounds, nya.”

“How come, Ah’Zimiao?”

“It’s how those evil cultivators in children’s books call their spiritual beast, nya…”

“Yeah, I always get beaten up by those short guys in blue from Myriad Arts Sect.”

“It must be pitiful, nya.”

Seeing Mao Zimiao unable to restrain her twitching ears, Wang Qi was sensible not to open that can of worms. He had been playing this game for a long time and wasn’t fun if the other party figured it out too soon. His eyes drifted from her ears to her feet, “But I have to say, not even in Qi Refining Stage and can already fight one and win.”

Zhen Chanzi butted in, “That’s a demon trait, being born with it. Human cultivators might be stronger than demons overall, but they could never beat them in their field advantage. Girl, do well to develop your traits. In the future… why are you guys looking at me like that?”

Wang Qi teased, “And you said you weren’t messing with me. You just love teaching.” 

Mao Zimiao was vague, “Sir, your experience is a bit, nya.” 

Zhen Chanzi was clueless. “What?”

“You were totally daydreaming in history class.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

Wang Qi roared, “I planned on taking you to the exam with me! When one mind fails, another makes up! You’re such a disappointment!”

“What do you take me for?”

“A convenient cheat sheet.”

Mao Zimiao noticed Zhen Chanzi was about to flip and placated, “Sir is actually afraid of hurting my feelings, nya.”

It didn’t have the expected effect, Zhen Chanzi howling, “I’m not some sentimental sap!”

Wang Qi sneered, “Come on, old man, playing hard to get is cute on girls but nauseating on old guys. Are you sure you can handle it? Let me fill your history gaps.”

After Transcendent Newton led the modern system destroy Divine Province continent’s ancient cultivators, modern cultivation moved on mowing down demons. All demons and beasts known for eating and harming humans were executed, leaving only the young members of those groups thrown into a sealed ‘protected area’.

The result was a plunge in demons’ numbers in Divine Province, becoming endangered. Nine demon kings stood up and the only way for them to protect their power was by becoming idols, uh, demon kings, yes. Thanks to a demon king’s popularity, they gathered significant support. The very first to do it was a plateau tree demon, a one-legged bird with fire essence, and a hornless dragon coming from the deepest and coldest seas. These guys hated leaving their crib, but one couldn’t enjoy dining on humans and drinking their blood without proper attendants now could they? Soon after, six more great demons joined them. 

Zhen Chanzi clicked his tongue. “All of these demons lived for hundreds of thousands of years. In my days, they were all renowned great demons.”

“Those huge demons died with regrets.” Wang Qi snickered at their misfortune. 

Zhen Chanzi said, “It’s not hard for modern cultivators to snuff them.”

“The tree demon, expert in wood magical arts and turning his vitality into poison, ended up as fertilizer for Morel King Pasteur. Heavenly Sword had nothing to do with his demise. They say the tree demon was covered in mushroom when he died, Senior Pasteur’s fungus sucking up his very life out of him.”

“What about that one-legged bird with fire essence or the deep sea dragon?”

“Both died from Searing Heaven Manor’s Unfettered.”

Zhen Chanzi cried, “The one-legged bird’s fire is out of this world, while the deep sea dragon is the opposite, the coldest in the world. Even Great Ascension cultivators can’t take them on. Yet they all died from fire cultivators?”

“Recall that Celestial Entropy’s character isn’t fire or ice, but temperature. Its power isn’t about igniting, but heating.” Wang Qi was thorough in his explanation only when backtalking. “The fire essence one-legged bird had strong flames, but with just a few extra degrees of push, the bird couldn’t take it and was burned alive by its own fire. The deep sea cold dragon, on the other hand, was frozen solid by his own icy energy from his blood being just a few degrees cooler. Searing Heaven Kelving was more than enough for both of them.” 

“Innate traits make you invincible? Ha! How strong can someone get when you can’t even understand how your trait works?”