Chapter 58 Qi Ocean Realm

Looking at the curious and gossipy expressions of the women, Gao Wu found the situation quite amusing.

Therefore, he recounted everything Li Xingyun had told him, embellishing the details as he shared it with them!

"Oh, if any man were to swear that he would never marry anyone else and would take care of me for the rest of his life, I would be willing to marry him!"

"Don't be fooled by a man's sweet words. Men are all hypocrites; they are sweet-talking to you right now, and the moment they turn around, they can go lick up to other women."

Miaochengtian and Zhong Xiaokui both looked at Zhou Zhiruo with admiration, feeling that she seemed to understand a great deal.

At the mention of sweet talk, Gao Wu suddenly interrupted, "When I woke up this morning, I discovered I had broken through!"

"You just broke through by sleeping?" Miaochengtian was also in the Qi Sea realm. Back when she advanced from the Qi Induction realm to the Qi Sea realm, she had gone through a lot of trials and tribulations. How could Gao Wu advance to the Qi Sea realm just by waking up from a night's sleep?

"Yeah, I don't know what happened either!" Gao Wu wore a punchable expression of utter superiority, radiating massive flex energy.

However, apart from Miaochengtian, the other four women were all in the Innate realm, so naturally, no one cared about his flexing.

Gao Wu suddenly bringing up his breakthrough was actually a reminder to the three women that he could now summon another heroine. He wondered which major celebrity was about to hit the jackpot.

Could it be that popular young actress named Mi Mi?

Liu Yifei, however, shook her head and said calmly, "I do have a somewhat immature idea."

"You two continue eating your melons over there; the rest of us will go discuss this!"

Miaochengtian and Zhong Xiaokui were left at the courtyard entrance. Watching the others turn and walk toward the small courtyard where Liu Yifei and the others lived, Miaochengtian asked with burning curiosity, "Xiaokui, what do you think their relationship is? Lady Long stayed in Young Master Gao's room last night, too!"

Zhong Xiaokui's pretty face turned slightly cold, her slender eyes sweeping over Miaochengtian. "You'd better stay out of their business, or you won't even know how you died when the time comes!"

Miaochengtian stuck out her tongue. "Xiaokui, don't scare me, I'm timid!"

"All three of them are at the peak of the Innate realm, and now they are all entering the Seven Stars Tower to fight for a quota to enter the secret realm. Not a single one of them is easy to deal with, so don't be fooled by their appearances!"

Inside Liu Yifei's room, the decoration was extremely simple and elegant.

"Yifei, if you have any ideas, just speak your mind!"

"I suggest you don't rush to summon anyone just yet. Based on our current situation and deductions, the next person summoned will still be at the peak of the Innate realm. Instead of summoning them now, it would be better to wait until you enter the secret realm before summoning them out. That way, you can also save a secret realm quota!"

Gao Wu was stunned. Can it be done like this?

"Is that even possible?" Yingbao was equally shaken by Liu Yifei's train of thought.

"It's worth a try!" Zhou Zhiruo expressed her support for Liu Yifei.

"But once I advance to the Innate realm, reaching the peak of the Innate realm will probably still take a very long time. Are we just not going to summon anyone during all this time?"

"Furthermore, since the secret realm has a set quota, there must be a reason for it. If I summon someone directly inside the secret realm when the time comes, wouldn't it cause errors and lead to a failed promotion?"

Gao Wu still had lingering concerns regarding Liu Yifei's proposal.

"However, if we summon someone right now, we'll still have to fight for a secret realm quota, which will bring endless trouble as well!"

This argument was also valid. Secret realm quotas were infinitely precious and fiercely contested. Some people, even if they had not yet reached the peak of the Innate realm, were already making preparations to fight for them.

Regardless of everything else, the secret realm was the crucial point.

Without ever seeing the secret realm, one could never make the most accurate judgment.

Beyond the Qi Sea realm, a virtual sea of Qi had already formed within Gao Wu's body. This virtual sea contained boundless energy and served as the source of martial artists' internal power.

At this stage, martial artists needed to constantly cultivate and expand this virtual sea so that it could accommodate more Qi, thereby enhancing their own strength.

With the formation and expansion of the virtual sea, martial artists began to come into contact with the power of the laws of heaven and earth, gaining a preliminary comprehension of them.

Of course, if one failed to comprehend them, they would remain stuck in the Qi Sea realm forever.

At this level, some practitioners focused on the Dao of the saber or the sword, while others comprehended the Dao of water and fire, allowing them to unleash greater power during combat.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Gao Wu had to rush back to the yamen for work.

Over the past two days, Li Xingyun and Ji Ruxue had been clinging to each other like glue, and the air in the Li residence was thick with the scent of hormones.

Going to work was actually a relief, saving him from being force-fed dog food every day.

"Brother Feng, Happy New Year!"

"Good, Happy New Year!" Cheng Qingfeng absentmindedly acknowledged the New Year greetings from his colleagues.

"Brother Feng, is something on your mind? Were you caught visiting the Moon Fragrance Pavilion by your good wife?"

"Get out of here, how could I, Brother Feng, possibly be afraid of your sister-in-law?"

Feeling as though his sore spot had been poked, Brother Feng immediately raised his voice in protest.

"Hehe, Brother Feng, you're acting suspicious—very suspicious!" Cheng Qingfeng's reaction was far too intense. In the past when such jokes were made, Brother Feng would at most smile without a word and maintain a mysterious aura.

This time, however, he seemed a bit too eager to refute it.

"Alas, Brother Feng is in for a miserable time this time!" Seeing that his secret had been seen through by Gao Wu, Cheng Qingfeng stopped hiding it and began to recount how he had spent this Spring Festival.

Previously, after Cheng Qingfeng led Gao Wu and the others to crack the martial arts school massacre case, there were not only official merit rewards but also monetary rewards.

Cheng Qingfeng alone received two hundred taels, but instead of turning the money over to his family, Brother Feng had used it to keep a courtesan outside.

Men remain boys until the day they die, and Brother Feng was no exception.

"Brother, you tell me, what should I do now that your sister-in-law has found out about this?"

"What did sister-in-law say?"

"What else could she say? Back then, your sister-in-law was also a renowned heroine in our Yueyang Sect. So now, she insists on a divorce!"

"Then why aren't you hurrying over to coax sister-in-law? Women always need to be coaxed!"

"Alas, I can't even get past my own front door right now, so how am I supposed to coax her?"

Gao Wu shook his head. Family matters were the hardest things to sort out. He was truly being an idiot—why did he pick up on that conversation thread in the first place?

With sister-in-law's anger still peaking, the only thing to do at a time like this was to temporarily avoid her sharp edge and wait for that anger to slowly dissipate.

Just then, Brother Chun swished his long whip, walked into the Spring Wind Hall, and shouted loudly, "Everyone still in the hall, get out here and assemble!"

Gao Wu and Cheng Qingfeng exchanged glances. Something major must have happened.

The courtyard filled up in no time, with basically everyone from the Spring Wind Hall gathered there.

"On the day of the Spring Festival, a thief sneaked into the imperial palace, stole a secret treasure, and frightened the Empress Dowager. Starting today, everyone is to patrol the streets for three consecutive days. Make sure you find that thief!"

What did the person look like? Man or woman? Height and weight?

Nothing was specified, yet they were just told to go out onto the streets and search. Wasn't this making things difficult for everyone?

Even though everyone harbored a belly full of grievances, no one dared to question the superiors' orders to their face.

This order probably didn't even come from Brother Chun himself; it might have originated from Eunuch Cao or even the imperial palace.

On the very first day of work, they had to do fieldwork. Their luck was truly fantastic.

Remaining inside the Spring Wind Hall meant having to read through case files, whereas fieldwork offered much more freedom. Brother Feng's squad tacitly understood each other and split up to act on their own. After quickly changing back into casual clothes, the group soon reassembled at the Moon Fragrance Pavilion.

"Boss Feng, long time no see!"

"Oh, isn't this Young Master Wu? It's been quite a while!"