I run a casino in the immortal realm.

Back home, Zheng Yifei fed his father a Rejuvenation Pill.

Zheng Dashan's complexion was much better than it had been two days ago. At least he could sit up and drink porridge on his own. Although he still couldn't move his legs, his wounds had begun to heal and were no longer bleeding.

"Xiao Fei, why are you so late today?"

"Manager Zhao made me work overtime and gave me an extra ten spirit coins."

Zheng Yifei gave a casual reply.

After dinner, he locked himself in his room and bolted the door.

He took out three Spirit Gathering Pills from his pocket and placed them on the bedside table.

I must break through to the second level of Qi Refining tonight.

After refining three pills yesterday, the barrier to the second level of Qi Refining has loosened. If I infuse three more pills today, I should be able to break through.

He sat cross-legged on the bed, swallowed the first Spirit Gathering Pill, and began circulating the Five Elements Technique.

With all five meridians activated simultaneously, the medicinal power of the elixir surged within the body, greedily devoured by the meridians.

The spiritual energy in the dantian became increasingly abundant, and the boundaries of the dantian continued to expand outward.

Two hours later, the first one was refined.

Then the second one.

Half past midnight, the medicinal power of the second Spirit Gathering Pill had been completely refined, and his dantian was already sore from being swollen.

The Qi Sea expanded from the thickness of a little finger to the thickness of a thumb. The barrier of the second level of Qi Refining was within reach, like a thin sheet of paper, just one breath away from being pierced.

Without hesitation, Zheng Yifei swallowed the third pill.

As the medicine was infused, all five meridians trembled simultaneously.

"Buzz—"

A muffled sound came from deep within the dantian, and the barrier shattered.

A torrent of spiritual energy surged into the Qi Sea, which was originally the size of a mung bean and instantly expanded to more than three times its original size. The total amount of spiritual power in the body increased dramatically, and every meridian was swollen with the abundant spiritual energy.

Qi Refining Level 2.

Zheng Yifei opened his eyes.

He clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking.

The sense of power is completely different now.

When he was at the first level of Qi Refining, he was not much different from an ordinary person. The spiritual power in his body was not much thicker than a hair. Now it is at least as thick as a thread.

Although this analogy is crude, it conveys the most direct feeling.

He stood up and stretched his limbs in the small room.

My muscles felt as comfortable as if they were soaking in warm water, every pore was open, and spiritual energy circulated continuously in my meridians.

However, he did not rush to get excited, but instead closed his eyes to feel the residual erysipelas in his body.

The saleswoman had said that low-grade Spirit Gathering Pills contain toxicity, and if someone takes six pills in six days, there will definitely be residue in their body.

However, the fact that there are no symptoms at present indicates that the erysipelas is still under control and there is no need to worry for the time being.

Once I've saved enough money, I can buy a few detox pills to cleanse my system.

It was still dark outside the window, and my mother, younger brother, and younger sister were all asleep in the next room.

Zheng Yifei quietly opened the door and went into the courtyard.

The night breeze was cool, and a waning moon still hung in the sky.

He stood in the center of the courtyard, feet shoulder-width apart, and slowly raised his hands.

Taizu Changquan (Emperor Taizu's Long Fist).

One of the most basic and practical boxing styles in the martial arts of Blue Star China.

In his previous life, he studied with that retired special forces system for three years and knew all 108 techniques by heart.

Begin with a lunge stance and a punch.

In my past life, when I practiced this style of boxing, I relied purely on muscle power, which was limited in strength.

But now it's different. The spiritual energy flows spontaneously in his meridians. The moment he throws a punch, a surge of spiritual energy flows from his arm to his fist.

"hiss--"

The fist shattered the air, and a sharp sonic boom echoed through the silent courtyard.

Zheng Yifei was stunned for a moment.

He looked down at his fist, then looked ahead. A withered leaf on the ground was whipped up by the force of his punch and flew more than two meters away.

Is this only the second level of Qi Refining?

He tried another punch, this time deliberately increasing the amount of spiritual energy he poured in.

"hiss--"

The sound of the air exploding grew louder, and the force of the punch brought a strong gust of wind, scattering the fallen leaves in the yard.

Zheng Yifei's breathing quickened, not from exhaustion, but from excitement.

He got it.

The fighting techniques of Blue Star emphasize physical skills such as power transfer, weight shift, and using an opponent's force against them.

In the world of cultivation, cultivators fight by brute force with spiritual energy, without any skill involved.

When Blue Star's fighting skills are combined with spiritual power, the effect is far greater than the sum of its parts.

Spiritual energy adhered to the surface of his fist and was released along the optimal power exertion path trained in his previous life. Every bit of spiritual energy was used precisely on the blade, without any waste.

When an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator throws a punch, the utilization rate of spiritual energy may be less than 30%, with most of it dissipating during the transmission process.

In other words, even though he is at the second level of Qi Refining, the actual power of his punches may be close to or even exceed that of an ordinary fourth level Qi Refining cultivator.

Zheng Yifei quickly finished a complete set of Taizu Changquan. When he finished, a thin layer of sweat appeared on his forehead, but his breathing was steady and long.

He was confident he could withstand the magical attack from a Qi Refining Level 3 cultivator.

With the addition of two Vajra Talismans and two Swift Travel Talismans, he would be confident of escaping unscathed even if he encountered a cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refining.

After finishing work, Zheng Yifei returned to his room, where the first rays of morning light were already streaming in through the window cracks.

After breakfast, Zheng Yifei, as usual, took his younger siblings to school.

However, today he didn't take his usual route. Instead, he took a long detour from the south of the shantytown to enter the market, deliberately avoiding the intersections where rats might be lying in wait.

After entering the market, he went straight to the rented room in the east alley.

Close the gate and bolt it.

He took out the dark blue cardigan and the magic-grade mask of the square-faced middle-aged man from the hidden compartment under the bed.

Change clothes, put on a mask, and tie your hair up again.

He glanced at his reflection in the water vat and saw a middle-aged rogue cultivator in his thirties, with a dark complexion and a thin build, looking at him.

Zheng Yifei pushed open the courtyard gate with satisfaction and strode into the street.

He first headed towards Zhao's gambling den.

It's not an adventure, it's a test.

Whether the mask can fool acquaintances or not, we must test it out today.

If we can't even recognize mice, our movements in the market will be much safer.

At the entrance of Zhao's gambling den, two waiters were talking to a gambler who was entering.

There was a pillar to the right of the threshold, where a mouse was squatting and eating sunflower seeds while looking towards the market street.

He was waiting for Zheng Yifei.

Zheng Yifei slowed his pace and walked past the mouse at a leisurely pace, keeping a distance of less than three feet.

The rat's gaze swept over him, lingered on his face for less than a second, and then moved away, continuing to look towards the street.

Nothing happens.

They didn't even glance at it twice.

Zheng Yifei's heart skipped a beat, but his steps remained unchanged as he walked straight into the gambling den.

It became.

On the first floor of Zhao's gambling den, there were still the same three tables and the same faces.

Zheng Yifei squeezed into the gambling table where people guessed big or small, and found a spot slightly to the left of the middle. Last time, he always squatted in the corner, but now that he was in a different position, he should change his stance. Details determine success or failure.

"It's starting, put your hands down."

The dealer shook the dice cup, making two loud "clang" sounds.

The instant Zheng Yifei closed his eyes, his ears caught the frequency of the dice bouncing and rolling inside the cup, and at the same time, his right hand took out twenty spirit coins from his pocket.

Big.

"Banker win! Four and five, nine points, big win!"

Twenty spirit coins were deposited into the account.

Next round, fifteen spirit coins, small. Win.

Next round, eight spirit coins, big win. Loss.

He wins two hands and loses one, with the amount he bets on each hand varying greatly, making him seem like an ordinary gambler whose luck fluctuates.

In half an hour, he had eight hundred spirit coins.

Zheng Yifei stepped back from the gambling table, dusted off non-existent dust from his clothes, and walked expressionlessly toward the door.

As I passed by the mouse, the guy was still eating sunflower seeds, leaving shells all over the ground.

His eyes were fixed on the street outside, and he was muttering something to himself.

Zheng Yifei pricked up his ears and caught a few words:

"...That kid didn't come today, was he scared yesterday...?"

Zheng Yifei didn't stop. He went out of the gambling den, turned left, and merged into the crowd.

After walking two streets and making sure there were no tails following him, he went straight into Wang's Money Exchange.

"Shopkeeper, I'd like to exchange for spirit stones."

The old shopkeeper looked up at him and asked, "How much?"

"Exchange all eight hundred spirit coins for spirit stones."

"Eight hundred spirit coins minus handling fee, exchanged for seven low-grade spirit stones, sixty spirit coins in change."

Seven low-grade spirit stones were stacked on the counter. Each stone was three centimeters long, wide, and high, and was grayish-white with a faint spiritual light flowing across its surface.

Zheng Yifei stuffed the spirit stones and change into his inner pocket, patted his chest lightly, and turned to leave the money exchange.