Chapter 62: Secrets of the Floating Mountain

Bang!

A vampire bandit's head flew high, the fangs in his mouth shattered, and a blood-red bead flew out from his head.

It was a blood demon core.

The vampire bandit who just died was a sixth-stage "Soldier Qi" realm practitioner.

In the outskirts, amidst a heavy snowfall, a group of tens of thousands of vampire bandits had just plundered a village. Yang Qi, Hua Yinhu, Li He, He Jili, and Liang Dong caught up with them and began to clear them out.

Yang Qi had broken through to the Qi Master realm in the ancient city last night.

Now he was a genuine ninth-stage expert, possessing the strength of fifteen ancient elephants. With one palm, he could tear apart a small mountain with true qi.

They did not return to the Heaven Position Academy but continued to search for bandit traces on the northwest plains.

To earn more merit points.

With Yang Qi, this expert, leading the charge, the vampire bandits were no longer a challenge.

On the northwest plains, there were many groups of vampire bandits, sweeping across the land. The vampire bandit Yang Qi killed in the ancient city yesterday was just one of these groups.

Yang Qi rested in the ancient city last night and set out early the next morning with everyone to search for the bandits. They finally found the traces of the vampire bandits in a village hundreds of miles away.

"Capture them, Dragon Seizing Crane!"

Hua Yinhu clenched his hand, conjuring true qi, and shattered a seventh-stage vampire bandit, extracting the blood demon core from his head.

In the end, the five of them surrounded a ninth-stage Qi Master vampire bandit leader.

This vampire bandit leader, although a Qi Master, was not as powerful as the one in the ancient city. It seemed he had just ascended. Seeing his subordinates all killed, he retreated, but was blocked by Yang Qi's true qi.

"Monster, speak. How many vampire bandits are there on the northwest plains? Where is the highest leader? Is there any Death Realm expert?"

Yang Qi surrounded the Qi Master vampire bandit but did not kill him immediately, wanting to ask some questions.

"Ha ha ha ha ha, you kill me, Lord Wu Xue will avenge me." The ninth-stage Qi Master bandit leader roared madly: "Wait and see, we are under the command of the Floating Mountain, trained in the Blood Demon Cave of the 72 Demon Kings."

"Floating Mountain?"

Yang Qi had heard this name many times.

The first time he heard it was in the Black Corpse Mountains, from his father.

His mother, whom he had never met, was a noble figure of the Floating Mountain. She was not human but a demon, and the Floating Mountain was said to be in another world.

Now, he had heard several times that under the Floating Mountain, there were 72 Demon Kings.

The Blood Demon Cave, ranked last, could create such a large disturbance. If it were the true Floating Mountain, what would it be like?

"Die! You!"

In the instant Yang Qi was stunned, the Qi Master bandit leader's qi skills went wild, and countless streams of blood shot out, about to explode.

Yang Qi moved, and immediately his hands waved, forming a huge qi shield that enveloped the bandit leader.

Everyone saw the qi shield tremble, and a massive explosion occurred inside, with blood splattering all over the transparent shield.

"Blood Shadow Disintegration Great Qi Skill, both enemies die. A Qi Master expert using it has great destructive power. I didn't expect it to fail to break Yang Qi's qi shield. How powerful is Yang Qi?"

The other four felt Yang Qi's depth was unfathomable the more they interacted with him.

A fist-sized blood-red bead fell into Yang Qi's hand: "Good bead, this demon core is of high quality. It should be worth more than one merit point."

"Correct, this demon core of Yang's can exchange for at least three merit points. However, the other demon cores require dozens or even hundreds to exchange for one point. The academy stipulates that only eighth-stage qi skill demon cores can exchange for one merit point."

Li He said: "Now, should we rest for a while or continue to search for and kill bandits? I heard that on the northwest plains, many bandit groups respect a leader called Lord Wu Xue, who is a Death Realm expert. I think Chu Tiange came out this time to kill this person and gain great merit."

"Right, I just arrived and don't know what the Floating Mountain is?" Yang Qi asked: "You have lived in the academy for many years and have great insight. Do you know about the Floating Mountain?"

"The Floating Mountain is said to be a divine mountain created by the invincible demon sages of the ancient era, where demon ancestors reside. Now, the entire Fertile Continent, and even some neighboring continents, must obey the Floating Mountain's orders. It is said that there are 72 Demon Kings and 36 Demon Lords, a total of 108 major forces, and countless smaller demon countries." Liang Dong, who had been silent, spoke, seemingly very knowledgeable about demons: "Many academies have once united to oppose the Floating Mountain, but to no avail."

"The Floating Mountain is actually a mythical place?"

Yang Qi was startled.

Hearing these things, he felt they were very ethereal and unreal. For him now, it was indeed too distant, let alone going to the Floating Mountain to find his mother.

"Right, Yang Qi, I saw you defeat Song Haishan yesterday with incredibly powerful true qi. Did you really take the Sky Absorbing Grass? It is said that the Sky Absorbing Grass also comes from the Floating Mountain." Liang Dong changed the subject.

"I occasionally obtained a plant from my family and took it. Combined with being struck by lightning, I unintentionally refined the divine medicine." Yang Qi smiled.

"Yang, you indeed have great fortune. This time, after advancing to the Qi Master realm, if you hunt more blood demons to exchange for merit points, you can advance to the outer academy and even practice some of the Heaven Position Academy's techniques." Li He said enviously: "I don't know when I will advance to the Qi Master realm."

"No problem, when my qi skills are deep enough, I will definitely help you achieve your wish." Yang Qi patted Li He's shoulder.

"Indeed, you are my good brother." Li He smiled: "Yang Qi, if you need any help in the future, you can find me. But with your profound cultivation, I don't think I can ever help you."

"Not necessarily." Yang Qi thought: "I heard you have great influence in the Holy Ancestor Dynasty? Are you a noble? My family is in the remote Yan Capital, and we are currently facing war. Can you use your family's power to help my Yang family move to the Holy Ancestor Dynasty?"

"No problem. However, my family is a large one, but I am just a member with little say." Li He looked at Yang Qi hopefully.

"Ha ha ha, when you advance to the Qi Master realm, your say will be higher. Of course, I'm not asking you to do it immediately." Yang Qi smiled: "It's when my family is in dire straits and can't hold on that you will help. Now, my family is still in its prime, full of vigor."

As he spoke, he sent a stream of true qi into Li He's body, forming a seed deep in his dantian qi sea. "Refine this seed of true qi, and there is a chance to quickly break through and advance to the Qi Master realm."

The other three saw this and felt envious, but they didn't speak, as it was Yang Qi expending his true qi.

"What? Do you three brothers also want my true qi?" Yang Qi asked, his eyes shifting.

"Yang Qi, your qi skills are profound. If you can help us, we will be grateful. From now on, the Yang family's affairs will be our affairs, and we will share the same fate." Hua Yinhu immediately spoke up.

"Good, very good. We have become brothers through this experience." Yang Qi said: "I will make an exception and help you improve your cultivation, purify your body, and make a name for ourselves in the Heaven Position Academy. Who says we miscellaneous students are useless? We can also form alliances."

In the Heaven Position Academy, many disciples formed alliances, creating various large and small forces.

Although it is said that "a gentleman associates but does not form cliques," in the vast Heaven Position Academy, interpersonal relationships are complex. To survive better, one must form alliances and join various factions to compete for cultivation resources.

"Let's form a party." Liang Dong's eyes flashed: "Let Yang Qi be the leader of our new party. Now, the most powerful force in the Heaven Position Academy is the ***, followed by the Divine Skill Party, the Truth Party, the Five Thunder Party, the Sun and Moon Party, and even the Gentleman Party. We can start from the bottom and gradually grow our strength. In the future, we might be able to command the wind and rain, achieving great things."

"Oh? I didn't expect there to be so many forces in the Heaven Position Academy?" This was the first time Yang Qi heard about it. Although he had been in the academy for some time, his status was too low, and he rarely interacted with anyone.

"Yes, Chu Tiange is a member of the ***, so he acts without restraint. Even some teachers in the academy can't do anything about him."

"I also heard that the leader of the ***, the mysterious Crown Prince, is a highly esteemed saint in the academy."

"These people's status is too high. Think about it, elite disciples must be Death Realm experts. What kind of experts are the core disciples and saints above them?"

I didn't expect there to be so many factions in the Heaven Position Academy.

"Alright, what should our new party be called?" Yang Qi saw the potential benefits of this situation.

"Our Heaven Position Academy has a motto, 'Inner Sage, Outer King.' A strong person is a sage, and only a sage can be a king. Cultivate inner virtue and respect outer kings! Be powerful, protect the country and its people, and let millions willingly submit. Govern with virtue, select the virtuous and capable, and everyone will have a role to play, naturally earning the respect of millions and genuine admiration. Let's call our party the Sage King Party."

Liang Dong suggested.

"Inner Sage, Outer King..."

Yang Qi silently repeated these four words, finding them profound. After a long time, he smiled: "Good, we five will form the Sage King Party. I hope we can stand out in the vast academy. I will take the liberty of being the first leader of the Sage King Party, and you will be the first batch of Sage King Party elders and core members!"