Ninth In the World

Fei Qi did not leave the Apricot Lake Hall. He knew that leaving in broad daylight would increase the risk of getting caught, but most importantly, if he were to leave now, he could get caught by Bi Zhengsheng’s men and get Di Jiu in trouble.

As soon as Di Jiu arranged for Fei Qi and Shi Jinshan to stay in another room, he took out the Major Conduit Internal Records.

“As a major conduit to the Heavenly Cycle, you can sense the entry of Spirit Qi into the Baihui Meridian. This could take you from one night up to an entire month. Channeling for 108 breaths is also known as half a Minor Heavenly Cycle…”

Suddenly, a crisp, clear feeling permeated Di Jiu’s Baihui Meridian and revolved around him for one cycle. It took him no more than 30 breaths to complete one cycle, so he certainly did not need 108 breaths to complete half a cycle. Feeling the Spirit Qi only took him a few breaths. Why would he need one night?

After just one cycle, his whole body already felt very different. It was as if something had been cleansed out of him, and something unexplainable had happened to his body.

It turned out that immortal cultivation absorbed Spirit Qi, so this cultivation technique was really good indeed. Di Jiu stirred up, clutching the Major Conduit Internal Records tightly in his hands. He had originally wanted to memorize the entire cultivation technique, but he decided to wait until he came back from the club and saw Shi Jinshan and Fei Qi off before he deliberated over this matter again.

When he started cultivating, he forgot about everything else, so he went on to train until 7pm before he finally stopped. He packed up his things hurriedly to go to Su You’s birthday party, as he had promised Tan Yueyue. It was an event that he had to attend.

The dance party started at 8pm, but when Di Jiu arrived at the Rising River Building, it was already past 8pm. He did not mind, as his mission was to just hand over the gift and leave. It would not matter, even if he were late.

Security was tight at the Rising River Building. The moment Di Jiu took out his invitation, someone escorted him straight to the club at the top of the building.

“You must be Yueyue’s cousin, Di Jiu. You just came back from America, right? I’m Su You.” Di Jiu had barely walked through the door, when he heard a crisp voice drift over to him.

He turned and saw a beautiful young lady with long hair. Her eyes were wide as she looked at Di Jiu with a smile. Her clear, white skin and limpid gaze made her look like a porcelain doll that people loved as soon as they met.

“That’s right, I’m Di Jiu. This is Yueyue’s gift for you. She is wishing you a happy birthday.” Di Jiu smiled as he handed Su You a box. Tan Yueyue had given it to him, but he had no idea what was inside.

“Thank you. Go in and have a seat.” Su You accepted the box happily. Then she paused for a while before she said wittily, “Oh, Jiu. This is Yueyue’s present. You didn’t bring me a present from America?”

Di Jiu, who showed no sign of awkwardness, replied with a witty comment of his own as he sighed, “I wanted to be your present myself. Who knew that you would disregard me like this? This is so awkward… I guess I better get going.”

Even though it was meant to be a joke, Di Jiu truly wanted to get back immediately and start practising the Major Conduit Internal Records again.

“Don’t go. Can I still accept your gift?” Su You held back a laugh by covering her mouth as she pulled Di Jiu back inside. “Oh, Jiu. I am the same age as Yueyue, so if you’re Yueyue’s younger cousin, then you shall be mine as well…”

Di Jiu was left speechless. No matter how one looked at it, it was obvious that he was older than the two of them. Wasn’t it?

Before Su You could pull Di Jiu inside and take a seat, someone pulled her away. Su You was the star of the show that night, so if Di Jiu had not been representing Yueyue, she would not even have had the time to come out to the door and welcome him.

Di Jiu found a corner to sit down. This was a birthday party, so he could not leave as soon as he arrived.

As the lights brightened, the noise in the main hall softened. A middle-aged man with a big smile on his face walked to the stage up front. Su You was standing next to him.

“Tonight is my daughter Su You’s 20th birthday. I would like to thank every guest for gracing this event with their presence. I hope that everybody will have a good time…”

Su You’s father attracted a round of heated applause with his words. When the applause died down, he said, “I would also like to announce some other happy news. My daughter will be entering the Swallow Capital University’s Institute of Martial Arts.”

Another round of applause rang throughout the room.

Su You had apparently not graduated from university, but if she could enter the Swallow Capital University’s Institute of Martial Arts, then it would not matter whether she had graduated or not.

Ever since the appearance of the Fairy Planet, everybody had started thinking that it would only be a matter of time before they would all relocate there. There were even rumors circulating that, if there were immortal cultivation skills to be found on the Fairy Planet, the rumor that it was possible to live for a millennium, which had been spreading around China, would be true.

…

Su You’s party was held at the top floor of the Rising River Building. The underground boxing ring was not too chaotic that night. There were no boxing matches scheduled, so even though there were a lot of guests, most of them were there just to enjoy a romantic time with their loved ones.

Bi Zhengsheng’s face was a little dark. Standing in front of him was a man dressed in brown, who was bowing in respect. There were also people on his right and left. Sitting on his left was a man in his 60s, and on his right was a lady with a scar on her face. Bi Zhengsheng had just heard the latest update, which was that He Shan had disappeared for more than 12 hours. There had been no trace of him whatsoever.

“Brother Sheng, could He Shan have disguised himself and run away?” the woman with the scar on her face suddenly suggested.

Despite the scar on her face, she was still very beautiful. One could imagine how pretty she would be if she did not have that scar.

Bi Zhengsheng waved his hand around as he said bitterly, “Looks like I’ve underestimated Fei Qi and the woman who carried him away. If I had not guessed wrong, He Shan would have been dead by now…”

“I’ve got some news, Master Sheng!” an impatient voice said from the door as a long-haired young man walked in hurriedly.

Zhengsheng’s face darkened as he stared coldly at the young man and said, “Get out.”

The young man, who was trembling in fear, stumbled back and knocked on the door carefully.

“Come in.” Zhengsheng’s face returned to its original calm expression, as if he had not just asked the young man to get out of the room.

The long-haired young man entered the room carefully and bowed before him with utmost respect. “Master Sheng, we’ve found He Shan. This morning at almost 6am, we captured on one of the surveillance cameras at the Wan Ba District a young man throwing He Shan’s body into a trashcan. He Shan’s body is being brought back as we speak.”

“Good, good… Someone actually dared to kill one of my men. The man must have some guts!” As Bi Zhengsheng said the word “good” twice in a row, his tone seemed to harden into a block of ice.

“This is his picture from the surveillance camera.” The long-haired young man handed Zhengsheng a picture.

The camera’s resolution was not very high, so only the person’s profile was visible in the photo.

“This is not Fei Qi or Shi Jinshan. Actually, this person seems quite young,” the woman said in astonishment after she looked at the picture.

“Hey!” an old man exclaimed in surprise. Then, he added before Zhengsheng could ask him anything, “I think I saw this man today. That’s right! This young man went up to the club at the top floor. He did not look very old. In fact, he looked just like the man in the photo.”

Zhengsheng took a deep breath before he said slowly, “I’d rather be safe than sorry. Let’s see what’s happening at the Bi An Club.”

“Yes!” one of the men standing on the sidelines replied before quickly retreating to the corner and pulling a wooden table back. Several rows of intricate control buttons were revealed.

The words “Bi An Club” were written clearly on the side of one of the buttons. The man opened the projector and then pressed the button, causing a clear projection to appear on the wall right across Bi Zhengsheng.

The projection was showing exactly what was happening at the club. One could even see the wine glasses as clearly as the people attending the party.

As Zhengsheng monitored the club, Di Jiu stood up. He suddenly felt a wave of discomfort hit him, as if somebody was watching him in secret.

“I can see him, Brother Sheng. That’s him! The man who just stood up in the corner. He looks very similar to the guy in the picture Hairy brought back.” The woman with the scar immediately pointed to Di Jiu, who was holding a glass of juice.

Bi Zhengsheng’s gaze landed on a lady instead. “Who is this girl?” he asked.

“She is the birthday girl. Her name is Su You. She is Su Minyu’s daughter. She has a small company in Luo Jin that mainly produces clothing,” the man on Bi Zhengsheng’s left told him.

“This girl looks like she belongs on a picture scroll. Bring her here, along with the man who looks like the one in the picture!” Bi Zhengsheng said with a nod.

Although that girl was not the prettiest one on the planet, she looked like the ladies painted on picture scroll. She had a clean vibe about her that made Bi Zhengsheng’s heart rumble with a wave of ruthlessness.