Wang Qi left Divine Capital with nothing. But when he returned, a precious jade of inestimable value hung from his waist, yet nothing else had changed—unfortunately, this was just Wang Qi's wishful thinking.

At least in Divine Capital, no one would consider a cultivator who obtained the Seeking Dao Jade ordinary.

The day Wang Qi returned, Liu Yunxiang, along with all the Outer Disciples of Divine Capital, came to welcome him. Judging by their arrangement, if they had enough people, they would have even prepared a welcoming procession.

In the following days, Wang Qi began to miss Bao Xiaoya terribly. This single-minded fellow was particularly calm in the face of all sorts of sophisticated matters. Initially, when Wang Qi was exploring the functions of the Seeking Dao Jade, every time he discovered a new feature, she would calmly remark, "Ah, my uncle/grandfather had one that could do that too," or "Oh, I've seen a similar calculator at home."

In contrast, the fellow disciples at Divine Capital Station were far too enthusiastic! Wang Qi had to endure their relentless attention, whether he was eating, drinking, bathing, or relieving himself. Moreover, these fellows would run to him with their mathematical problems, regardless of whether it was Wang Qi's area of expertise. At first, it was tolerable, even slightly flattering for Wang Qi, but over time, it became unbearable.

Fortunately, Chen Feng still had some vacant rooms. Overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of his fellow disciples, Wang Qi moved next door to Chen Youjia before the New Year.

As the most elite cultivators, Chen Feng and Chen Youjia were relatively indifferent toward the Seeking Dao Jade. Although living there still meant being treated like a rare animal by the outer disciples from Tianling Ridge, it was still better than staying at Wanfa Sect.

By the lunar New Year, many practitioners from Chen Feng's Empirical Department applied to go home for the holidays. Chen Feng's research was difficult to continue, and recruiting new empirical proofworkers would require training, which was not worth the effort. He decided to give a long vacation, and nobody needed to come back before the twentieth of the lunar month. With no large-scale experiments to conduct, Chen Feng began to hole up in his study writing papers. He planned to write up his current research as a preliminary report during the New Year holidays.

To Wang Qi's surprise, Chen Youjia also showed no signs of going home for the New Year.

This was just as well, as the three unwelcome people could gather in Divine Capital and quietly spend the New Year together—unfortunately, this was still just Wang Qi's wishful thinking.

As soon as the third day of the lunar month passed, unexpected visitors disrupted his peaceful life.

Whether it was because they had heard of Wang Qi beating numerous True Inheritors of Wanfa Sect near Divine Capital or because they heard he had won the Dao Artifact Award, the local cultivators of Divine Capital suddenly warmed up to Wang Qi. Taking Du Bin for example, this young master seemed to have completely forgotten how badly Wang Qi had treated him in the Immortal Institute and now behaved as if he and Wang Qi were old school friends, visiting him every other day. After figuring out the preferences of the three, he went so far as to bring countless gifts, presenting Chen Feng with a pile of ancient books and giving Chen Youjia a variety of snacks from different places.

It was unclear if it was the influence of the pile of ancient books Du Bin brought, but Chen Feng surprisingly did not show any disdain for such "Intermediate Skill Cultivators" and even politely invited him into the yard. Other Divine Capital cultivators also sent their calling cards and gifts through Du Bin.

Wang Qi was perplexed by this phenomenon. Logically speaking, neither Chen Youjia nor Chen Feng was weaker than him; why were they so enthusiastic towards him alone?

Regarding this, Chen Feng saw it very clearly, "They won't pay attention to the core circle of the Modern Immortal Path, and even if they did, they wouldn't understand. In their eyes, you are still that banished Immortal with a heaven-defying talent, and the higher your physical properties are on the Modern Immortal Path, the more they will only feel pity for you."

This explanation left Wang Qi speechless. He really didn't understand what the standard for being a Banished Immortal was, why it had such a powerful restrictive force, able to make people sure that someone like him, a great mathematical scholar, couldn't achieve the Primordial Spirit. He had even asked Chen Feng to check his soul, but Chen Feng, a fellow cultivator from Yangshen Pavilion, felt that Wang Qi's soul was peculiar but not to the extent that it was inhuman. As long as one could extract the formulas corresponding to one's soul, achieving the Primordial Spirit should not be difficult. After all, even the Demon Clan, whose souls are far different from the Human Clan, had the opportunity to achieve the Primordial Spirit through the Modern Cultivation Method.

Could this be a nasty joke from Yangshen Pavilion's Carefree, or a special trial given by the Wanfa Sect?

Wang Qi did not know that the answer to this question would soon present itself in a very direct way.

On the ninth day of the first month, Du Bin suddenly approached him, saying that he hoped Wang Qi would meet someone. Wang Qi initially wanted to refuse. Pretending to play house with an elder who deigned to lower himself was one thing, but how could he waste his precious time attending a social banquet? However, the worthless old grandpa inside Wang Qi's ring suddenly insisted, urging Wang Qi to take a look at the circle of Ancient Method Descendants in Divine Capital. Wang Qi couldn't tell if the old man thought he had an illegitimate child or just wanted to mock the descendants of his fellow cultivators. Nonetheless, the old man had some use, so Wang Qi agreed to his request.

Du Bin took Wang Qi out of the courtyard and they boarded an Iranian horse-drawn carriage that had been parked at the gate for a long time. Wang Qi didn't quite understand why they had to ride in such an uncomfortable vehicle—although the horses pulling the carriage were treasured breeds and the carriage was made of precious wood, its simple structure inevitably meant limited shock-absorbing capabilities. However, since Divine Capital did not restrict flying and there were many people, moving on foot was greatly restricted, and running there might not be faster than traveling by carriage, so Wang Qi did not suggest running himself.

After about twenty minutes in the carriage, Wang Qi disembarked and found it was a restaurant. The restaurant was luxuriously decorated. There were few guests, but each one was either rich or noble. Wang Qi asked Du Bin, "Are you treating me to a meal?"

"No, no, Brother Wang, there are actually a few friends who really want to meet you," Du Bin replied with a very humble attitude. He led Wang Qi into the restaurant and directly upstairs to the third floor, "A few great … ahem, senior brothers have already reserved a spot, and they said they'd like to meet you."

The two reached a private room on the third floor. Du Bin gently knocked on the door and said, "Gentlemen, I have brought Brother Wang Qi here." After he spoke, he stepped back automatically.

When the door opened, it revealed a stout man about seven feet tall. His whole person resembled granite eroded by wind and sand, rugged and heavy yet fiercely destructive, especially his fists, which were covered with intricate patterns, the keratin layer resembled the scales of a reptilian member of the Demon Clan.

And his cultivation …

"Modern, Golden Core Perfection," Zhen Chan reported quietly, the opponent's cultivation level, then confusedly said, "This guy, clearly is practicing the very pure Modern Cultivation Method, so why do I feel that he is completely different from you?"

"I am completely different from most Modern cultivators, currently, I am the only one cultivating so many mental methods," Wang Qi replied to Zhen Chan in his mind, while he made a polite inquiry aloud, "May I ask who this is…"

"Brother, we've been waiting for you for a long time!" Before Wang Qi could finish asking, the unattractive burly man grinned and pulled Wang Qi into the private room. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to cast your votes of recommendation and monthly tickets on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com