Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

Time is like a ghost, fleeting and silent.

Zhou Qingfeng focused intently on his cultivation in the White Bone Foundation Building Tower, rapidly increasing his cultivation level.

In the Turbid Realm, under normal cultivation conditions, without any assistance, one can cultivate one qian of mana in six or seven days solely based on their own talent. This is already an extremely high level of cultivation talent.

Even when cultivating with drugs, it takes half an hour to refine the medicinal power in order to increase one coin of magical power.

Upon reaching the Calamity-Eating Realm, one must rely solely on their own talent to extract the essence of the Three Calamities from the boiling turbid energy of the evil world, thus increasing the difficulty of cultivation tenfold.

Only by consuming pills specifically designed for cultivators who suffer from disasters, such as Plague Pills, Blood Pills, and Five Organs Pills, can one rapidly increase their magical power. Alternatively, by cultivating in places abundant with disaster energy, one can maintain a high-speed cultivation state.

Zhou Qingfeng is currently in a place teeming with calamity energy, which is seven times more concentrated than the outside world, further enhanced by a speed boost of three times and the aid of calamity-grade pills.

Zhou Qingfeng worked tirelessly day and night, squeezing every last drop of time into his cultivation, before he was able to cultivate seventy-three coins of magical power. This was an astonishing cultivation speed that outsiders could only dream of.

Moreover, Zhou Qingfeng is exceptionally talented and incredibly resourceful. To enhance his own strength, he can relentlessly pressure others, just as he can relentlessly pressure himself. Once he starts doing something, he will devote himself entirely to it.

On May 20, 1082, Emperor Gengshi's magical power suddenly increased by 2190 coins.

By June 20th, another full month had passed, and his magic power had surged again by 2190 coins.

Until July 20th, Zhou Qingfeng's magical power accumulation increased by another 2190 coins.

Such rapid advances are like a ship breaking through the waves, forging ahead with unstoppable momentum.

The barrier of ten thousand coins' worth of magical power was nothing to Zhou Qingfeng; he easily broke through it.

Having reached this point in his cultivation, Zhou Qingfeng paused for the moment, did some calculations, and pondered: "Judging from the time, there are only 70 days left until the opening of the Heavenly Pride Tournament on September 30th."

"At the current cultivation speed, it will only increase my mana by a maximum of five thousand coins, which is not very meaningful."

"Instead, it would be better to start cultivating physical skills, refine the 'Great Sage Who Devours Thieves' as soon as possible, and enhance one's own combat power."

'The Great Sage Who Devours Thieves' is the number one strongest physical technique in the Disaster-level category, created by the Unlimited Path Demon Lord.

This technique steals the life force of heaven and earth, nourishing itself by consuming all things.

To prolong life, maintain youth, and strengthen the body through diet.

They can also use the supernatural powers and techniques of cultivators of the same level to replenish their physical bodies.

Alternatively, the consumed spells and supernatural powers can be released back intact.

The past six months have been spent on a treasure hunt.

Zhou Qingfeng frequently peruses this manual on body techniques and has become thoroughly familiar with it.

The reason I haven't started practicing is because it's a bit too difficult.

To become the Great Sage Who Devours Thieves, there are several essential conditions that cannot be met on the journey.

First, the fresh blood of 20,024 people is needed. From the fresh blood, a large amount of the power of devouring thieves is extracted. Then, the power of devouring thieves is used to repeatedly refine the physical body 990,000 times, thereby refining the sacred body of devouring thieves.

However, these fresh blood have requirements. Ideally, they should be the blood of cultivators at the Calamity Realm or Calamity-level monsters. Once the power of devouring thieves is extracted, they can be used immediately without secondary processing.

The next step is to extract the power to devour thieves from the blood of mortals. This requires repeatedly washing away the contamination with one's own magic power before it can be used. This process is time-consuming and complicated, but it is relatively easy to do.

Most importantly, fresh blood loses its activity within half an hour after leaving the body, meaning that the power to devour the thief contained in the blood will disappear completely.

"For cultivation-related issues, I'll consult my master first to avoid wasting time." Instead of solving the problem himself, Zhou Qingfeng immediately got up and left the White Bone Foundation Building Tower, heading directly to the courtyard where Qiu Chengde lived.

After all, having a mentor can save you from many detours, so you should ask for advice when necessary.

The past is the past, and the present is the present.

He used to be a servant, now he's a master and apprentice.

It is perfectly normal for a disciple to ask their master questions about cultivation, for the master to guide the disciple through difficulties in cultivation, and for the master to help solve those difficulties.

There's no need to think you're smart enough to forgo shortcuts and insist on solving problems on your own.

That's not proving your ability, that's being stupid.

After inquiring with the servants along the way and confirming that Qiu Chengde was busy with official business in the study in the small courtyard, Zhou Qingfeng felt relieved and went there. He soon arrived at the study and bowed with his hands clasped in greeting.

"Disciple pays homage to master."

"Hmm? You've finished your seclusion?" Qiu Chengde was sitting behind his desk, organizing and calculating accounts. When he heard that Zhou Qingfeng had arrived, he looked up and was somewhat surprised.

Zhou Qingfeng smiled slightly: "Yes, Master, improving one's cultivation level is not something that can be done overnight. I think that while there is still time, I might as well cultivate physical techniques, which can also increase combat power quite a bit."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Chengde understood perfectly. He knew that his disciple had come to ask for guidance on a cultivation problem. So he put down his brush for a moment, stroked his beard, and smiled, "Disciple, have you encountered a problem in your physical cultivation?"

Zhou Qingfeng took out a physical technique manual and handed it to the desk: "Yes, Master, please teach me. The cultivation materials recorded in this manual are a bit demanding, and I don't know where to start for the time being."

Qiu Chengde glanced at it, pondered for a moment, then stood up and said, "I don't have it, but someone else does. Come with me."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng knew it was all right, and immediately bowed and clasped his hands, saying, "Yes, Master."

Qiu Chengde led Zhou Qingfeng out of the city lord's mansion quickly. Qiu Chengde didn't say where they were going, and Zhou Qingfeng didn't ask either. He just followed along peacefully. A moment later, the master and disciple arrived at the Ma residence.

Qiu Chengde first had a servant in his mansion inform Ma Dalang, and then waited with Zhou Qingfeng where they were.

A moment later, Ma Dalang came out barefoot, without even putting on his shoes, and went up to Zhou Qingfeng with a big hug, laughing heartily: "Oh my brother, you've finally decided to come to my house!"

Zhou Qingfeng looked bewildered, somewhat reserved and at a loss for what to do.

Ma Dalang patted Zhou Qingfeng's arms and said excitedly, "Brother, you have no idea how much I've been thinking about you day and night, hoping you'd come and have a drink with me. Today you've come to my house, so you must drink until you're drunk."

Seeing this, Qiu Chengde coughed twice and said, "Young Master Ma, I didn't bring Silang here to drink today, but to ask you for a small favor. You two can arrange to drink another time."

Upon hearing this, Ma Dalang suddenly remembered that Qiu Chengde was also there. He was so excited that he jumped three feet high when he heard the servant report that Zhou Qingfeng had come to visit. He ran out without even putting on his shoes.

Now that he had regained his senses, Ma Dalang returned to his composure and said with a smile, "Then please come inside and we'll talk."

Qiu Chengde nodded slightly and led Zhou Qingfeng into the Ma residence.

Ma Dalang walked barefoot in front, and his servants stood on both sides, bowing and showing the utmost respect.

Upon arriving at the banquet hall, Ma Dalang invited the master and apprentice to sit down and talk, and ordered servants to serve Zhou Qingfeng various flavors of chilled tea, such as lychee black tea, mint lemon tea, and honey watermelon tea.

Ma Dalang smiled and reached out his hand, saying, "Fourth brother, I know you love milk tea. I was worried that you might come to my place one day and have nothing to drink, so I've prepared all of this for you. In this hot summer, drinking some iced fruit tea will make you feel more refreshed."

"Thank you, Brother Xie." Zhou Qingfeng picked up a cup of mint lemon tea, smiled and took a sip, but he was a little scared by Ma Dalang's enthusiastic face. After all, there is no such thing as kindness without a reason.