Cultivation by Trial and Error

Less than a mile from Wuyang Town Middle School, within the Qian family's small villa,

Hou Donggui had only just returned here when Qian Feng and his wife Xiaocui respectfully invited him to sit on the sofa and poured him a cup of hot tea.

"Master, how did it go? Would that person agree to let my Xiaobing off the hook?"

With trepidation in her heart, Xiaocui was visibly nervous as she began to inquire.

"Rest assured, sister-in-law, that person is quite reasonable."

"The main reason he played some tricks on Xiaobing is that Xiaobing provoked him first."

"After I spoke to him, he agreed to give me face. He won't trouble Xiaobing anymore."

"However, your son Xiaobing is a bit restless. You'd better change his school to avoid him unintentionally provoking someone again!"

…

With a gentle smile on his face, Hou Donggui spoke up.

"That's a relief, that's a relief!"

Hearing this result, Xiaocui finally breathed a sigh of relief.

For ordinary people, transferring schools close to the college entrance examination might be troublesome.

But for their family, it was not a big deal at all; at most, it would be settled over a meal and a drink.

"Donggui, if it wasn't for Xiaobing's incident this time, I wouldn't have known that there are hidden dragons and crouching tigers in our Wuyang Town, and that such a person existed."

"Could you tell me more about that person's identity?"

"That way, I can be better prepared!"

Pulling out a pack of cigarettes, Qian Feng handed one to Hou Donggui and tentatively asked.

He had learned of the conflict between Qian Bing and a classmate from his son.

However, he hadn't given it much thought.

He also never connected the student who had a conflict with his son to the accomplished Tao Cultivator who had taught his son a lesson.

Regarding this matter, his son Qian Bing was also clueless; all he knew was that something kept bothering him.

"Old Qian, people who have achieved some success in Cultivation often have peculiar personalities and many taboos."

"If that person doesn't want to expose his identity, you'd better not pry too much."

"If you accidentally violate his taboos, who knows what kind of methods he might use on you."

"You're lucky this time, as I happened to be in Liuyuan County."

"Otherwise, your son's current situation might have lasted for ten to twenty more days. With weaker mental fortitude, who knows, he might have been driven mad!"

"Wish to know that person's identity? Whether it's for revenge or to make acquaintance, I advise you to dispel that thought."

"Who knows what kind of abilities a truly accomplished cultivator possesses? If he decides to kill you, you wouldn't even know how you died!"

Turning around, Hou Donggui looked Qian Feng up and down. He smiled, offering words of caution.

Chen Hai is just a student after all, and his top priority must surely be the college entrance examination.

Without having to think, Hou Donggui knew that Chen Hai wouldn't want to draw attention and be disturbed by others.

His warning to Qian Feng was also for Chen Hai's sake.

"Knowing that he truly has abilities, I would certainly stay away and wouldn't dare to entertain thoughts of revenge."

"I wanted to learn his identity from you, Donggui, simply to see if there was a chance to make his acquaintance."

"But since you say it's inconvenient, let's leave it at that!"

He chuckled awkwardly as Qian Feng hurriedly explained.

Hou Donggui was a very busy man, and it was commendable that he made a special trip to Wuyang Town after receiving a call from Qian Feng. It showed great face.

After some idle chatter, once it was confirmed that Qian Bing, Qian Feng's son, was mostly fine except for some listlessness in spirits,

he did not linger in Wuyang Town and hurried back to the county.

As for Chen Hai, he began to regret it as soon as Hou Donggui left.

"Qian Bing and his crew have been causing me trouble, annoying me endlessly and holding up a lot of my affairs."

"They used a honey-trap to lure me out of school and then jumped out to surround me, giving me a fright and causing me severe mental trauma."

"How did I forget to bring up the issue of compensation with Hou Donggui just now?"

Muttering to himself, Chen Hai repeated similar words at least four or five times along the short distance back to school.

"Forget it. Hou Donggui is a decent person. Since he stepped forward to make peace, I'll give him that respect!"

"Also, in the little conflicts with Qian Bing and the others, it doesn't seem like I suffered any major losses."

He kept admonishing himself in his mind until the afternoon class bell rang, which slightly alleviated the regret in his heart.

For a while, Chen Hai's life finally calmed down.

Zhang Yong, Li Ming, and the others seemed to fear him whenever they saw Chen Hai.

Even if they didn't go out of their way to avoid him, they kept their distance.

As for Qian Bing, he never appeared at Wuyang Town Middle School again.

Rumors had it that his family pulled some strings to transfer him to a middle school in Liuyuan County.

Chen Hai believed this to be true.

After all, Hou Donggui would not have just made empty promises in front of him.

Time began to fly by peacefully.

In terms of studying, Chen Hai was still the same as ever.

He would nod off as soon as he picked up a textbook, but thinking about Taoist skills would revive him completely, making him bristle with energy.

After the Night Tour Realm, it was the Day Tour.

Setting foot in this realm allowed one's soul, after departing the body, to roam freely under daylight.

Being such a poor student, even if he studied hard for twenty-four hours straight without sleep, the chance of getting into college was still virtually nonexistent.

In Chen Hai's opinion, rather than wasting time on studying, it was better to continue with the arduous cultivation to step into the Day Tour Realm quickly.

Once he could let his soul roam during the day, was he worried about not performing well in the college entrance examination?

With this mindset, Chen Hai spent almost all his time and energy on cultivation in the following days,

because he felt that the only hope of getting into college was to strive strenuously to enter the Day Tour through cultivation.

From time to time, he could clearly feel that his strength was making progress.

At the beginning, traveling fifty meters during a soul separation would leave him exhausted and nearly depleted.

But now, turning into a huge leech after soul departure, he could move several miles without feeling the slightest fatigue.

His soul's power was evidently much stronger than when he first entered the Night Tour Realm.

Unfortunately, the breakthrough into the next level, the Day Tour Realm, was still far off.

Before he knew it, it was May Day, and after the holiday, it was the monthly home leave.

Every time he went home, Chen Hai felt nervous.

Still, he packed his things and headed for his home in Chenjiaping.