Chapter 4

Qiangti Jue is indeed quite easy to cultivate. Even someone like Jifeng, who had never heard of such a cultivation method before, managed to enter the initial stage after cultivating for almost half a month.

*Bang... Boom!*

Feeling the overwhelming power in his body and seeing the thick tree trunk lying on the ground in front of him, Jifeng couldn't help but laugh heartily.

In just 17 days, Jifeng truly entered the first level of Qiangti Jue. With only 60% of his strength, he could fell a giant tree with a single palm strike.

Even the skin on his palm, which was broken by the tree trunk, healed automatically before any blood could seep out, and he only felt a brief pain for less than a second.

It must be said that the first level of Qiangti Jue was incredibly powerful. Not only did it have the ability to heal injuries automatically, but it also provided a strength of a thousand catties and the ability to move ten meters in any direction instantly. However, moving downward was impossible unless one reached the second level of Qiangti Jue.

Even so, Jifeng was already very satisfied. Although his martial arts skills were not great, the saying "strength overcomes skill" still held true. With the combination of speed and strength, ordinary people were no match for him. The only thing he lacked was combat experience.

Of course, if it were just cultivation, Jifeng wouldn't have achieved this in just over half a month. He ate a different fruit from the courtyard every day, even gnawed on a ginseng root as thick as a child's arm every day, and drank lake water when he was thirsty. This kept his energy high and allowed him to focus on cultivation, completely forgetting the woman who had hurt him.

It was during this process of pursuing the initial stage that the 17 days gradually passed. Otherwise, without anyone to talk to, the silence in the entire space would have driven Jifeng crazy.

Leaving the fallen tree in the forest, Jifeng hummed a cheerful tune as he walked back to the courtyard.

He walked around to the front of the hundred ginseng plants and saw that the ginseng he had pulled out had already sprouted new buds. He nodded slightly and smiled as he entered the hall.

On the fourth day, Jifeng discovered a new function. The plants in the space seemed to grow much faster. Although he didn't know when these ginseng plants were planted, a new sprout had already grown in the first hole he had dug, and in less than half a month, it had grown to over 30 centimeters tall. Jifeng couldn't help but admire the creator of the Divine Dragon Space, who was truly remarkable.

However, after searching for a long time, Jifeng couldn't find the origin of the space, so he decided to let it be. Since the Divine Dragon Space now belonged to him, he didn't need to study it in detail; he just needed to know what benefits it could bring him.

Back in the hall, Jifeng walked to the back door. This time, he didn't have to use much force to push it open.

Immediately, a noisy sound reached Jifeng's ears, and a scene resembling a market appeared before him.

"Are you Young Master Ji? Brother Ji hasn't been here for a long time."

While curiously observing the market, a voice suddenly reached his ears. Jifeng quickly looked in the direction of the voice and saw an old man in his fifties or sixties squatting on the ground, turning his head to look at him. In front of him was a stall filled with various herbs, but Jifeng didn't recognize any of them.

"Grandpa, my great-grandfather has passed away."

Hearing that the old man knew his great-grandfather, Jifeng quickly lowered his posture. Although the old man looked to be in his fifties or sixties, he was definitely a centenarian. Since his great-grandfather had died decades ago, calling him "grandpa" was not inappropriate.

"Ah, I didn't expect Brother Ji to be gone too. I thought so when I didn't see him open the door for so long. Come, Little Ji, since you are Brother Ji's descendant, Grandpa Tang will give you a small gift. Take this little thing to play with, as long as you don't mind its small storage capacity." Saying this, the old man took out a ring that was neither gold nor jade from his pocket and handed it to Jifeng.

Jifeng quickly took it and said, "Thank you, Grandpa Tang. I will do whatever you need in the future."

Grandpa Tang chuckled and said, "Little Ji, there's no need to be so formal. I was your great-grandfather's best friend back then. Otherwise, I wouldn't have set up my stall at your doorstep."

Jifeng looked around and indeed saw that this was the only stall nearby. Next to the stall was a door, which seemed to be a shop, and it was the only shop in the area. However, the door was tightly closed, and the lock was rusty, indicating it had been closed for a long time.

But since it was connected to the door he had come out of, Jifeng guessed it might have been his great-grandfather's shop. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been closed for so long.

After chatting with Grandpa Tang for a while, Jifeng decided to let him manage the closed shop as well, since he didn't plan to stay there for a long time.

After wandering around for over an hour and understanding the market, Jifeng returned to the hall. The market had everything from ancient times to the future, and there was nothing you couldn't buy.

Back in the hall, he calmed down and went to the bedroom on the left. He decided not to think about the things in the market for now. The items on the street stalls were enough to keep him busy for a while, and he had no place to store or use them anyway.

First, he needed to solve the island issue. Jifeng felt that this problem wouldn't be easy to solve. Many countries had invested heavily in these islands, and even if they belonged to him, getting them back wouldn't be a simple matter. There would be a lot of negotiations.

In front of a mirror in the bedroom, Jifeng stopped and looked at the dusty room. He hadn't cleaned it for a long time and couldn't help but smile bitterly. With a thought, he returned to reality.

This was a manifestation of reaching the first level of Qiangti Jue. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to return. Now that he had the first level, entering and exiting the Divine Dragon Space would be much easier.

He picked up the bag that had fallen to the floor and threw it on the sofa, then took a cloth to the bathroom to wash it, planning to clean his house.

The house was a three-bedroom, two-living room, two-bathroom apartment that his parents had bought after 2000, covering over 140 square meters. At the time, such a house was considered quite large.

After more than an hour, Jifeng had cleaned the entire house, but he didn't feel tired at all. Stepping on the warm floor tiles, he was a bit dissatisfied and stomped his foot, saying, "I'll replace you later."

He was used to the slightly cool stone slabs in the space, and the bedroom had wooden floors. Stepping on the old floor tiles at home, he felt a bit uncomfortable.

He took out his wallet from the bag and saw that there was only a few cents in cash, but he had several bank cards, which relieved him.

He hadn't earned much in recent years, but fortunately, his parents had left him a shop on a busy street, which brought in a good amount of rent each year. Since he didn't have major expenses, he had saved most of the rent, and now he had over 300,000 yuan in his bank account.

He put the wallet back in the bag and found that everything else was there except for his phone, which had been taken by the two robbers.

Shaking his head, Jifeng changed into clean clothes, threw the dirty ones in the washing machine, and took the bag out, carrying two large plastic bags filled with garbage, including some items from his ex-girlfriend.

He withdrew 2,000 yuan from an ATM near his neighborhood, hailed a taxi, and headed to the nearest mobile phone store. He had been missing for so long, and his friends must be worried.

Thinking of this, Jifeng slapped his forehead. He was so stupid; he could have used the computer at home to contact his friends first. Well, since he was out, he might as well buy a new phone first.

He bought a new Samsung S4 and a new SIM card at the store. After checking that everything was working, he paid with his card and left without hesitation, ignoring the lingering gaze of the salesgirl.

Unlike many of his peers who were Apple fans, Jifeng preferred Android. He often read novels and other things, so he was loyal to this large phone.

He had a quick meal at a small restaurant near his neighborhood and then rushed home to turn on his computer and log into QQ. Before he could click anything, he heard continuous beeping sounds, and the icons in the lower right corner were flashing.

After a few seconds, the computer finally responded. He opened the messages one by one and saw that many people were concerned about him, including his three best friends, Leng Wqing, Lin Enliang, and Mu Chuixue, as well as some colleagues who had asked why he hadn't been to the company and had been fired for a week of absence.

This concern made Jifeng feel warm and close. At least he wasn't forgotten, and someone still remembered him.

He replied to his colleagues with an excuse and then responded to his three best friends.

"Nothing, my phone was stolen. I just got back from a trip and bought a new number. Remember it and send me your numbers. Damn, I curse the thief who stole my phone to never be able to perform in front of his wife."

Just as he finished replying to his three best friends, he saw a reply from his colleague Peng Mingni. "Jifeng, don't tell me you tried to commit suicide because of a breakup. You always said, 'If this place doesn't want me, there are other places that will.' Besides, there are plenty of fish in the sea. Our company's Jiang Yu has always liked you. She just quit and is looking for you. How about you two give it a try?"

"Thanks, Sister Mingni. I wouldn't do something like that for a fickle woman. I got drunk, and my phone was stolen. I went back to the countryside for over half a month without going online. Jiang Yu is too young for me. I don't want to ruin her. I'll leave her to someone who suits her. I can't bear to do it."

"Alright, I was just saying. It's up to you. I'm getting married on National Day. Remember to make time for the wedding. I won't send you a separate invitation."

"When did you get engaged? To Brother Guo?"

"Of course, I can't just change husbands. We got engaged last week."

"Congratulations. Is it a shotgun wedding? There's not much time left until National Day."

"You're not an outsider. You guessed right. I just found out after you quit. I thought about having an abortion, but I'm not young anymore, and my family didn't agree. So, we decided to get married."

"Congratulations again. Don't worry, I'll be there on time. Take care of yourself and the baby. Stay positive."

After chatting with Peng Mingni for a while, Jifeng told her to rest. It was only 9 PM, but she needed to take care of herself since she was pregnant.

Looking at the flashing icons in the lower right corner, he took a soft cigarette from the pack on his desk, lit it, and took a deep puff.

She was getting married while he, the same age, had just been dumped by a woman in the same week. What a messed-up society. Although everything here was good, it was still a place that had hurt him. Even if he didn't have to worry about food and drink, he couldn't let the ancestral property fall into foreign hands. In the coming days, he would slowly reclaim his islands.

Thinking of the five huge islands, Jifeng felt excited. Any one of them was probably priceless. In the future, he could farm, raise livestock, and fish on them, living a life that even immortals would envy. He could also continue to cultivate the Qiangti Jue left by his ancestors, find a suitable wife, and have as many children as he wanted. He had to contribute to the continuation of the Ji family. He couldn't let the family line end with him, and he couldn't let the ancestral property fall into the hands of other countries. He couldn't disgrace his ancestors.