My Cultivation Has a Progress Bar

Ruan Chunzi pointed at the Go stone in Wang Ping’s hand and said, "It’s your move."

Wang Ping looked at the white stone in his hand, then at the black and white stones crisscrossing the board. He heard Ruan Chunzi say, "You’re overthinking things. If you don’t focus, you’re going to lose this game."

CLICK.

Wang Ping placed the stone from his hand.

Ruan Chunzi, however, did not continue their previous conversation.

A little over an hour later, the game ended with Wang Ping’s defeat. Ruan Chunzi studied the board state they had just created and said, "When you play Go, you have to play seriously. Otherwise, you’ll lose badly."

He smiled with a bit of pride, his mind completely immersed in the game, seemingly unconcerned about the situation on True Yang Mountain.

The game had also helped calm Wang Ping’s mind. He smiled and said, "You’re not a player in this game, so of course you can be carefree and at ease. I’ve been in the game for two hundred years. Everything I have now, I got by playing."

This was his attempt at an emotional appeal.

Ruan Chunzi raised his eyelids to glance at Wang Ping, then took out a blank bamboo scroll. While recording their recent game, he said, "You can’t trust Chang Jing’s words. He can’t even trust himself. No one in our sect trusts him either, because his hands are tied—just like yours are now."

As he spoke, the brush in his hand moved quickly. He kept one eye closed as if comparing something, while his other eye occasionally flicked toward Wang Ping. "I just came to deliver a message. The message has been delivered. Now, let’s talk about some of my own business."

"What business? Are you looking to defect?" Wang Ping guessed what Ruan Chunzi wanted to say and subconsciously cracked a joke.

"We can talk about defecting later. If the True Yang Sect really does fracture, and if I manage to survive the chaos, I’ll definitely come join you right away. Of course, you have to survive, too." Ruan Chunzi put down his bamboo scroll and met Wang Ping’s gaze. "My word isn’t like that bastard Chang Jing’s. I keep my promises."

Wang Ping raised his wine cup and said, "I’ll hold you to that."

Ruan Chunzi also raised his cup and clinked it against Wang Ping’s. "Haha, don’t worry. I never go back on my word." After speaking, he drained his cup in one gulp. As he set it down, he lowered his voice and said, "I plan to use this chaos to get rid of Chang Jing. I’m going to read his memories!"

Wang Ping put on a surprised expression, then said with sudden understanding, "You still can’t let it go?"

Ruan Chunzi silently picked up the wine jug and poured himself another cup, then drained it before speaking. "This is my chance. The two Lords are nowhere to be found, Great Monarch Leiyang seems to have lost interest in True Yang Mountain, and our peers from the other three sects also want to stir up trouble here. This is the perfect opportunity for me to go into the depths of True Yang Mountain and see what it is we’re *really* cultivating!"

Wang Ping drank a cup of wine with Ruan Chunzi and smiled. "What do you want me to do? And what do I get out of it?"

"I’ve heard that you seem to have connections with both ’First Heaven’ and the First Sect. If you can facilitate this cooperation, the Fire Control Banner on Chang Jing will be yours."

"You’re very generous, but the Fire Control Banner is useless to me."

The Fire Control Banner was a symbol of the True Yang Sect’s Sect Leader, a treasure of the same class as the Pocket World Mirror in Wang Ping’s hands and the Earth Cave Sect’s Mountain-Suppressing Tower. Although the artifact was valuable, to Wang Ping, it was nothing but a hot potato.

"What do you want?" Ruan Chunzi asked directly.

"Your intelligence. Information like what you just gave me."

"As it happens, I do have a piece of information you’ll most likely be interested in."

Ruan Chunzi left him hanging. After speaking, he picked up the wine jug, filled his own cup, and then topped off Wang Ping’s. Only when he raised his cup did he say, "You remember Ren Kong, don’t you? His senior sister, Xin Shi, seems to have a connection with someone close to you. Their target is most likely Hu Yin, because Xin Shi and Hu Yin have always been at odds."

Wang Ping raised his cup and took the initiative to clink it against Ruan Chunzi’s. He smiled, "This is exactly the kind of information I want. Is there more?"

Ruan Chunzi drained his cup and said, "Chang Jing and Wen Yang are at odds. This time, Chang Jing might use the chaos to make a move against Wen Yang. Therefore, Wen Yang has the same idea. It was Wen Yang who proposed dealing with Chang Jing this time."

He only spoke after confirming there was a Sound Insulation Barrier around them. Then, he lowered his voice again. "Chang Jing’s helpers are also people close to you, and there’s more than one. But I haven’t been able to find out who!"

"Is there more?"

Wang Ping stared at the wine in his cup, but he was in no mood to drink it.

Ruan Chunzi shook his head, then stood and took out a Communication Jade Slip. He said, "If you decide, contact me in ten days. We can discuss the specifics then. When I get back, I’ll also keep an eye on the movements of the other six. If there’s any other news, we can talk about it when we meet again."

"Alright. Take care."

Wang Ping stood and cupped his hands in a farewell gesture.

Ruan Chunzi smiled, then transformed into a streak of light and flew toward True Yang Mountain.

Wang Ping didn’t watch Ruan Chunzi leave. He stared at the finished game on the board and poured himself another cup of wine. The wine went down, but the burning sensation was suppressed by the Spirit Vein in his body before it could even rise.

Then, he sank into thought.

He was lost in thought, and before he knew it, the sky had grown dark. The war drums above the front-line battlefield had fallen silent. A cool breeze swept in with the night, carrying the faint, almost imperceptible scent of blood.

Wang Ping turned his head and looked toward the other Dao Fields behind him. His Primordial Spirit Consciousness spread out rapidly, and he soon found the auras of Wu Quan and Ganxing. Then, he sent them a voice transmission, summoning them over.

By the time the two arrived at Wang Ping’s side, he had already replaced the Go board with a tea set. Light generated by Wood Spirit Qi illuminated the area as brightly as day.

"Fellow Daoists, surely you haven’t forgotten our alliance?" Wang Ping planned to start with these two.

"Of course not!" Wu Quan’s reply was crisp.

"Fellow Daoist, why do you suddenly bring this up?" Ganxing asked in return.

"I’ve received word that someone wants to collude with people on True Yang Mountain to act against our own." Wang Ping was direct. He knew that if these two intended to hide something, nothing he said would matter.

Hearing this, the two exchanged a glance. It seemed there really was something going on.

Then, a silence fell among the three of them.

This silence was a tacit admission from Ganxing and Wu Quan. In other words, both of them were involved.

The silence lasted until Wang Ping finished brewing the tea. Ganxing was the one to stand up, cup his fists, and say, "I won’t hide it from you, Fellow Daoist. Wen Yuan is an acquaintance of mine. She invited me to help ambush Fellow Daoist Huaimo, and I, in turn, approached Daoist Wu Quan."

Wang Ping’s brow twitched upon hearing this. He frowned at Ganxing and said, "Do you have any idea whose guest Huaimo Taoist is?"

Ganxing shook his head, quite decisively. "I really don’t know about that. I only know that he was cultivating on Hai Zhou Road before this and hasn’t interacted with anyone for five hundred years."

He picked up his teacup and asked, "Is there something more to it?"

"He is a guest invited by Fellow Daoist Zi Luan!"

"This..."

Both Wu Quan and Ganxing were stunned.

Ganxing swallowed the words he was about to say—inviting Wang Ping to deal with Huaimo Taoist with them. He exchanged another glance with Wu Quan and asked, "Fellow Daoist, what do you intend to do?"

Before Wang Ping could answer, Wu Quan added, "I have something to report as well. Three days ago, Sect Leader Chang Jing invited me to help ambush Daoist Wen Yang from the opposing side. I thought it would be beneficial to us, so I agreed."

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