Hearing Qiu Qing’s soft sound of surprise and seeing the man’s gaze fall upon him, Zhao Xuanqi’s heart sank. He had a bad feeling.
The strange occurrence also drew the eyes of others nearby.
’I couldn’t hide it? Am I exposed? But his Primordial Qi probe didn’t go deep into my acupoints. Logically, I shouldn’t have been discovered. Could there be something wrong with my cultivation technique?’
Zhao Xuanqi thought to himself, a multitude of ideas flashing through his mind in an instant.
Meanwhile, after his little exclamation, Qiu Qing probed even more meticulously with his Primordial Qi inside Zhao Xuanqi’s body. He only withdrew it after a good while.
Qiu Qing showed no strange expression. Instead, he put on the kindly smile of an elder looking at a junior, nodded at Zhao Xuanqi, and said, "You’ve only been with the sect for a little over a month, right? Yet you’ve accumulated such abundant Primordial Qi. To have made this much progress with your cultivation technique is truly remarkable."
’So that’s what it was about?’
Zhao Xuanqi breathed a small sigh of relief. Although he had spent the entire night achieving a preliminary grasp of the Hundred-Star Pill Battle, he could only restrain the majority of the Primordial Qi in his body. The remainder, while not particularly strong, was still an extremely considerable amount by the standards of a New Disciple who had just joined. It was inevitable that he would draw some attention.
"Thank you for your praise, Elder."
Zhao Xuanqi lowered his head slightly and spoke in a low voice.
"Keep up the good work. The future of the Red Heart Sect rests on your shoulders."
Qiu Qing smiled, nodded, and then moved on to inspect the next disciple.
Hearing Qiu Qing’s words, the other disciples all turned to look at Zhao Xuanqi. Some were surprised, others envious. Beside him, Shen Hong and Peng Lin also stared at Zhao Xuanqi in astonishment.
They hadn’t expected this Zhao Xuanqi to have quietly progressed to such a degree.
One had to understand that the Elder-level figures in the sect were all Innate Martial Artists, practically Immortal Gods in the eyes of ordinary people. Earning praise from such a person was no simple matter.
Before long, Qiu Qing had inspected all the Blood Strengthening realm disciples but seemed to have found nothing out of the ordinary. This made him frown slightly, feeling rather puzzled. However, he didn’t say much more. After finishing his inspection, he slowly walked back to the high platform and gave a slight nod to the Steward in charge.
"Alright, that’s all for today’s inspection. The Ghost City incident is over for now, but we can’t rule out the possibility of it flaring up again. If you encounter anything else unusual, report it immediately."
The Steward presiding over the event understood. He immediately addressed the crowd in a deep voice, then waved his hand, dismissing everyone.
Ignoring the disciples who were leaving one after another while murmuring amongst themselves, Qiu Qing and the other high-ranking members of the Red Heart Sect returned to the main hall.
"Master, did you find anything?"
The moment they entered the hall, He Xijun eagerly asked Qiu Qing, a trace of anticipation on her face. The other sect higher-ups also looked over inquiringly.
"I found nothing unusual. Logically, if this person really is a Blood Strengthening realm disciple, it would be impossible for them to hide from my Primordial Qi probe. Furthermore, according to the intelligence, this person used power beyond their realm during last night’s operation and should have suffered extreme damage. An injury like that couldn’t possibly heal in such a short time; there should be some traces left."
Qiu Qing shook his head, his eyes also showing confusion.
"Could it be that this person isn’t a Blood Strengthening realm disciple at all? But a Refining the Internal Organs realm disciple who stumbled into the Ghost City by mistake?"
"Could it be some kind of special Concealing Breath Technique?"
"That’s impossible, isn’t it? What kind of Concealing Breath Technique could achieve something like that? Allowing someone in the Blood Strengthening realm to evade an Innate Expert’s Primordial Qi probe? I’m afraid only those few legendary, lost Concealing Breath Techniques would have that potential."
"This person can actually hide so deeply? If not for the multiple disciples confirming it at the same time, I would almost suspect this person was fabricated out of thin air."
"..."
Upon hearing this, the sect’s high-ranking members couldn’t help but start whispering among themselves.
Based on the initial intelligence, this person should be right here in Guming County, yet they couldn’t find a trace of them. It was truly a strange affair.
But the more this was the case, the more curious they became about this person’s identity.
"It is indeed very strange. Forget it. Since he is hiding his identity like this, he must have his reasons. Judging from all his actions, he is still on the side of our Red Heart Sect, so it wouldn’t be right for us to press him too hard. Let’s leave the matter here. He can hide for a while, but not forever. The truth will come to light eventually."
Qiu Qing shook his head and spoke to the group with a solemn expression.
"I suppose that’s all we can do."
The others were also somewhat resigned; they couldn’t force the issue.
"The Ghost City matter has come to a close. From now on, things will proceed as planned. Before the new City God arrives in Guming County, we must ensure no more problems arise here. Everyone, be on high alert. We can’t afford any more trouble. The Red Heart Sect cannot withstand another disturbance."
"Although we ultimately succeeded in the Ghost City incident, it was a very close call. Moreover, we once again lost many Blood Strengthening realm disciples, some of whom were even the best among their peers. The loss is by no means small, and it grieves me deeply. The matter of cultivating new disciples must be taken seriously."
Qiu Qing said to the group, then looked at one person in the crowd and spoke, "Steward Hua."