Chapter 483 - 21: The Present Inferior to the Past? The Past Inferior to the Present?

"A lab rat isn’t a Demon Beast... but forget it, that’s not important. You’re right, though—we’ll only know how effective it is once we’ve tested it." Song Changsheng’s eyes shifted, and he quickly thought of a suitable candidate.

He stood up, tidied his appearance a bit in the Copper Mirror, and then pushed open the door to walk out of the courtyard.

Song Changsheng was headed for the Wind Language Hall. As the clan’s intelligence agency, it had been over twenty years since its founding by Song Luyao.

Despite a significant investment, its development period was still too short. To date, the Wind Language Hall had only trained forty-three spies.

A small number of them were Song Clan Members, but the majority were children selected from subordinate factions who had undergone isolated training in the Wind Language Hall from a young age.

Some had already infiltrated hostile forces through various means. The identities of these spies were kept absolutely secret within the Song Clan, known to no more than a handful of people.

In addition to these homegrown spies, the Wind Language Hall had also bribed over a hundred outside informants. These people had no loyalty to speak of, and the intel they provided was low in both reliability and importance.

In short, it lacked people, money, and time. Such was the current state of the Wind Language Hall.

Song Changsheng arrived before a large, reinforced steel gate embedded in the mountainside. He took out his Clan Leader Token to deactivate the Restriction and passed through a long corridor into a massive, brightly lit space.

Two black-robed Cultivators with obscured faces immediately approached him. One of them blocked Song Changsheng’s path and said in a low voice, "Token."

The voice was androgynous, making it impossible to discern their gender.

Song Changsheng complied, handing over a small White Jade Token.

The other person took it and inspected it carefully. After confirming its authenticity, both dropped to one knee and said in unison, "Greetings, Lord Clan Leader!"

"There’s no need for such formalities. Is the Foreign Affairs Elder inside?" Song Changsheng asked warmly, helping them to their feet.

"To answer the Clan Leader, the Elder has gone to the Moon Viewing Marketplace. She is not currently in the hall."

"I see. Continue your watch. I’ll just look around on my own," Song Changsheng said with a slight nod.

Song Luyun was arguably the busiest person in the clan at the moment. Not only was she responsible for managing the family’s industries, but she also handled all matters concerning foreign trade. It was safe to say she never had a moment of rest, so it was perfectly normal for her to be absent.

After taking back the token from the guard, Song Changsheng first reviewed the intelligence gathered over the past period. The Daqi Cultivation World was surprisingly peaceful, with no major incidents reported.

Instead, it was a rumor from the Lu Country Cultivation Realm that caught his attention.

’A Golden Core Master’s grotto has emerged in the northern Lu Country Cultivation Realm, sparking a fierce conflict? A Golden Core Master even made a move, causing heavy casualties?’

Song Changsheng clicked his tongue in disbelief. He had long heard that the Lu Country Cultivation Realm was chaotic, but he never imagined it would be this bad. A Golden Core Master had personally entered the fray just to compete for some relics—something that would be nearly impossible anywhere else.

For some reason, his thoughts turned to Song Qingxing.

’It’s been more than three years... I wonder where that damn kid has gone. I just hope he’s not getting in over his head.’ Song Changsheng felt a pang of worry.

There were many outstanding Cultivators among the clan’s younger generation—Song Qingxi, Song Qinghong, Song Qingxia, and Song Qingshi, for example, were all excellent. But the one he worried about the most was still Song Qingxing.

His personality destined him to a life lived on a knife’s edge.

Upon reading this piece of news, he was struck by a strong premonition: Song Qingxing was most likely in the Lu Country Cultivation Realm.

He might even be involved in the fight over the Golden Core Relics.

"Sigh..."

"Someone," Song Changsheng called out, placing the Jade Scroll in his hand onto a nearby shelf.

A black-robed figure quickly and silently entered, bowing their head to await his command.

"Pay closer attention to any intelligence regarding the Lu Country Cultivation Realm from now on."

"As you command." The black-robed Cultivator acknowledged the order and departed.

Song Changsheng sat dazedly in a wicker chair for a while before getting up and moving to a spacious area. There, thirty-two youths of various ages were undergoing systematic training.

Each of them wore a special black robe that completely shrouded their body. Neither their instructors nor their peers knew their faces or their real names.

Here, they only had codenames. They ate and rested in solitude, gathering only briefly for group instruction.

The lesson currently in session was titled "How to Discern the Authenticity of Intelligence."

The instructor was a Clan Elder of about eighty, lecturing with great passion from the front. The trainees below were all listening with rapt attention.

But Song Changsheng noticed at a glance that a tall trainee near the corner wasn’t paying attention; his mind had clearly wandered.

Song Changsheng did not interrupt. Instead, he waited until the lesson was over, then found the instructor and had the trainee summoned.

"Follow me." Song Changsheng put on a stern expression, clasped his hands behind his back, and led the way to a private room.

He sat down at the table and glanced at the tall youth’s chest, where the name "Ding Qi" was embroidered. It was his codename.

"Ding Qi, do you know why I’ve called you here?"

"Reporting to the Lord Clan Leader, it is because I wasn’t listening to the instructor’s lesson, and you noticed," Ding Qi replied, kneeling on one knee, his voice perfectly calm.

"Take off your hood."

"Clan Leader, the hall’s rules forbid it," Ding Qi said, hesitating.

Song Changsheng couldn’t help but chuckle. "You won’t listen to the instructor’s lesson, but now you want to talk about rules? There are no outsiders here. You can take it off."

At these words, Ding Qi removed his hood, revealing a plain and unremarkable face. He looked boyish, perhaps thirteen or fourteen years old, but his eyes were as deep as a placid pool.

Song Changsheng was taken aback for a moment. The boy’s face looked familiar. He couldn’t help but ask, "What was your name before?"

"Replying to the Clan Leader, I am one of the children you rescued from White Wolf Mountain. I had no name. After I came here, I was named Ding Qi," he responded respectfully.

Realization dawned on Song Changsheng.

Back then, the Song Clan had wiped out the Thunder King Hall’s stronghold on White Wolf Mountain, rescuing over a hundred thousand mortals. Among them were more than ten children who possessed Spirit Roots. Song Changsheng had tossed them all into the Wind Language Hall to be trained. Several years had passed, and they had all grown up so much.

’They are all ill-fated children.’

Song Changsheng’s gaze softened. He gestured for the boy to sit. "Why weren’t you listening attentively? These lessons are the very foundation of your future survival."

"What the instructor is teaching is too simple. It’s beneath me to learn it." Ding Qi’s reply was arrogant, yet it conveyed an inexplicable confidence.

"What about the other courses? Do you not study them either?" Song Changsheng asked gently, looking at the boy with growing interest.

Ding Qi clearly hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. "I learn some of them."

Song Changsheng mused for a moment, then said with a faint smile, "I recall that you have a required Magic called Traceless. If you can hide from me for five breaths—without me using my Divine Sense—I will not only forgive your transgression today, but I will also grant you permission to skip these lessons. How about it?"

"Do you really mean that, Clan Leader?" Ding Qi asked, pleasantly surprised.

"Of course. Begin," Song Changsheng said, closing his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, Ding Qi had vanished without a trace. Song Changsheng could not sense the slightest hint of his presence. Even without using his Divine Sense, this was quite extraordinary, considering Ding Qi was only at the second layer of Qi Refining.

The five breaths passed quickly. Ding Qi voluntarily revealed his form—he had been standing less than a zhang to Song Changsheng’s left the entire time.

Song Changsheng nodded, satisfied. "Excellent. You’ve already grasped the essence of this Magic. It seems you haven’t been wasting your time after all. Since you’re unwilling to take those courses, then study this instead."

Saying this, he took a brand-new Jade Scroll from his robes and placed it on the table. He looked the boy in the eye and said earnestly, "This is the *Qi Refining Introduction*. I’ve made some improvements to it, making it far more profound than the original version.

I want you to switch to this Heart Method and help me refine it even further. While you do, you will receive a special resource allowance.

I’ll be honest with you: I’m not entirely sure about the results of this Heart Method. My modifications might have made it better, but they could also have made it worse.

The choice is yours. If you cannot accept the risk, you are free to turn and leave right now."

...