My Cultivation Has a Progress Bar

Wang Ping met Guangxuan at a temporary Dao Field in the southern highlands of Moon Mountain.

Guangxuan looked the same as always, exuding an air of reliability and trustworthiness. He wore a blue, narrow-sleeved Daoist Robe with his hair fastened in a jade crown. His face was clean-shaven, and the jade token of Sanhe Temple hung at his waist.

He had brought someone with him: a disciple of Yue Ziyu. The man wore a cyan, wide-sleeved long robe with a magnificent jade belt. His hair was tied up with a single wooden hairpin, and he sported the long, beautifully trimmed beard popular among the Taoist Family. His features were northern, yet he also had the sharp contours characteristic of Western Continent People.

After Wang Ping and Guangxuan exchanged greetings, Guangxuan gestured to Elder Yue's disciple beside him. "This is Elder Yue's disciple, Wu Kuo. Fellow Daoist Wu..." he said, then gestured toward Wang Ping. "And this is Fellow Daoist Changqing of Qianmu Temple."

"This junior, Wu Kuo, greets Changqing Zhenren."

Wu Kuo performed the courtesy of a junior. Seniority in the Cultivation Realm could be messy; sect members usually addressed each other by their internal rank, but outside, cultivation level was what mattered.

For example, Sanhe Temple and Qianmu Temple had always been considered a single sect, so Guangxuan and Wang Ping were peers. Wu Kuo's cultivation was comparable to Guangxuan's—both were Second Realm Water Cultivators—so they addressed each other as "Fellow Daoist." But when facing Wang Ping, Wu Kuo certainly wouldn't dare take the liberty of calling him "Fellow Daoist."

"Is Fellow Daoist Yue well?" Wang Ping asked politely.

"He is well enough. It's just that the situation in Shangjing City is chaotic, and my master can only barely maintain his position."

As Wu Kuo spoke, he carefully retrieved a letter from an inner pocket of his robe, where it had been kept close to his body. "This is a letter my master asked me to bring to you, Zhenren," he said. "He also entrusted me to deliver it into your hands personally."

Wang Ping glanced at Guangxuan.

Guangxuan explained, "Elder Yue has already moved most of his assets to the south. Fellow Daoist Wu will be in charge of this portion. Also, he will take Elder Yue's place in the gathering."

Wang Ping raised an eyebrow at this. After giving Wu Kuo a serious, searching look, he opened the letter from Yue Ziyu.

The letter was written in the gathering's secret code. It didn't mention their plans in Shangjing City at all, only detailing the assets that had been relocated to the south.

"Your master wants you to find a famous mountain in the south, build a Daoist Temple, and carry on his legacy," Wang Ping said, looking at Wu Kuo. "Is Fellow Daoist Yue in some kind of danger?"

"To answer you, Zhenren, my master had not encountered any danger when I left. But it's also possible that my cultivation is too low, so he didn't tell me," Wu Kuo replied, clasping his fist.

"Did your master give you any other instructions?" Wang Ping asked.

"He told me that from now on, I am to follow Changqing Zhenren's orders," Wu Kuo replied with his head lowered. Once he finished speaking, he subtly lifted his eyes to sneak a glance at Wang Ping.

Wang Ping's expression remained neutral. He pondered for a moment, his gaze flicking to Yu Lian, who was playing with Guangxuan's Spirit Bird nearby. He then folded the letter, produced a Token, and handed it to Wu Kuo. "Go find my head disciple, Liu Shuang," he said. "She will arrange things for you."

"Yes!"

Once Wu Kuo had left, Guangxuan asked, "So Elder Yue ran into trouble in Shangjing City?"

Wang Ping turned and invited Guangxuan to a nearby stone bench. "There are many things in this world that are beyond one's control," he said. "He has likely run into one of them."

After a moment of thought, Guangxuan asked, "If Elder Yue was forced to choose Lishui Prefecture's side, your plans in Shangjing City..."

Wang Ping cut him off. "If we can confirm that Fellow Daoist Yue has definitively sided with Lishui Prefecture, we must eliminate him immediately. Then, we scrub the gathering clean of everything related to him."

Guangxuan's expression hardened, a flicker of unease in his eyes. After a long silence, he asked, "And Wu Kuo?"

Wang Ping took out a stove for brewing tea and countered, "What do you think?"

Guangxuan remained silent.

Wang Ping said no more. He took out his tea set and began to skillfully prepare the tea. When its fresh fragrance filled the air, Yu Lian gave up playing with the Spirit Bird. She came over using Tengyun and landed at Wang Ping's left side, while the Spirit Bird chirped away on Guangxuan's shoulder.

After a cup of tea, Wang Ping asked, "Who did you leave in charge of matters within the sect?"

"My head disciple, Lin Chen," Guangxuan replied. "He has already reached the first realm. Liu Chang is also there to assist. With the two of them, there shouldn't be any major problems."

"Are you in regular contact with the Eighth Prince?"

The Eighth Prince Wang Ping mentioned was, naturally, Liu Chang's father, Yang Shu.

Guangxuan nodded. "Rest assured. If this mission proves impossible, we can certainly use the Eighth Prince's connections in Lishui Prefecture to retreat toward the Eastern Continent."

This was the retreat route that Wang Ping had planned long ago.

"It's been a while since we played Go. Care for a game?" Wang Ping offered.

At this, Guangxuan set down his teacup and met Wang Ping's gaze. He could see that Wang Ping no longer wanted to discuss Wu Kuo, so he dropped the matter. He smiled and said, "All right. I've recently learned a decent opening sequence. You'd better watch out."

Perhaps from playing too often with a hopeless player like Liu Chang, his skill at Go hadn't improved much. By the mid-game, Wang Ping had crushed him utterly.

"Your skill is even worse than before!" Wang Ping teased. Around Guangxuan, he didn't have to overthink things and could speak more freely.

"I was just warming up! One more game."

"Alright!"

In the second game, Guangxuan's plays were noticeably more cautious. His skill had always been inconsistent, quite possibly because he played with Liu Chang far too often.

But he still lost in the endgame.

"Again!"

"Fine!"

The two played until the next morning, when Guangxuan finally won a game. It wasn't that Wang Ping threw the match, either. This was just further proof that Guangxuan had played so much Go with that hopeless player Liu Chang that his own strategic thinking had suffered for it.

"Want to go again?" Wang Ping asked.

Guangxuan shook his head decisively and met Wang Ping's gaze. "Let's have a proper get-together after this business in Shangjing City is finished."

Wang Ping nodded. He took out a Talisman and a jade slip inscribed with an Array Map. "When you reach Shangning Road, activate this Talisman," he instructed. "My puppet will find you. Cooperate with it to construct the array from this jade slip in a hidden location."

"No problem."

"Don't let too many people know about this."

"Right!"

The two of them stood up as they spoke. Guangxuan clasped his fist and met Wang Ping's gaze. "Take care!"

Wang Ping clasped his fist in return. "Take care!"

Afterward, Guangxuan tossed a token into the air. His figure was enveloped by Water Spirit Qi as he flew off toward the Northwest.

As Wang Ping watched Guangxuan's departing figure, his thoughts drifted back to their time exorcising demons in Shu County. Back then, Xia Yao had hated evil with a passion, Feng Miao had been the very picture of justice, and Cheng Ji had worn a perpetual smile. Wang Ping himself hadn't had so many worries.

Perhaps he sank too deep into his memories, for his human emotions stirred. In response, the Spirit Veins inside him resonated, causing spiritual energy to leak from his body.

'What are you thinking about?'

Yu Lian's voice rang out in his Spirit Sea, like a cool breeze on a hot day.

Wang Ping snapped out of his reverie. He sensed the probing Primordial Spirit Consciousness of Zhigong, Wu Quan, and others nearby. He offered a brief, cupped-fist salute to his surroundings before transforming into a streak of light and flying toward True Yang Mountain.

Upon arriving at True Yang Mountain, Wang Ping entered a state of meditative cultivation.

The next day, as he attempted to awaken the Spiritual Poison within the Purgatory Banner, something unexpected occurred.

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