Although the Quicksand Art was listed as the most fundamental earth-element spell, it had no inherent cap on its power. At the first layer of Qi Refining, one could conjure a whirlpool of quicksand the size of a washbasin. By the second layer, it could expand to half a zhang in circumference. The higher the cultivation, the greater the power, naturally.

Ordinary mortals and wild beasts, once caught within, found it nearly impossible to escape being buried alive.

However, Ye Qin easily discovered two significantly impractical aspects of this earth-element spell. The first was the extensive casting time; the formation of the spell was excessively slow. By the time the spell was fully materialized, the enemy would likely have vanished without a trace. The second was that once cast, its position was fixed, and its aura was glaringly obvious, making its presence unmistakable to any discerning observer.

If two cultivators were fighting, seeing the opponent cast this spell, they certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to run into the quicksand vortex. Therefore, despite its great destructive power, comparable to other basic offensive spells, its utility was minimal, leading it to be classified merely as an auxiliary spell, used to impede an enemy’s movement, rather than an offensive one.

After roughly mastering the Wind Riding Art, Wind Binding Art, and Quicksand Art, Ye Qin enthusiastically attempted the Earth Evasion Art, Water Evasion Art, Wood Evasion Art, and Entangling Art.

The Earth Evasion Art, Water Evasion Art, and Wood Evasion Art belonged respectively to the earth, water, and wood elements. They required different environmental conditions for casting, yet their function was identical: they were all evasive techniques allowing high-speed movement through earth, water, or forest cover.

Once the caster initiated the spell, they could vanish from their spot in a single breath, tunneling into the soil, water, or wood, and reappear dozens of zhang away. In contrast, Wind Riding Art could only cover a few zhang in the same duration, lagging more than tenfold behind the escape distance of the evasion arts.

Of course, to bore through mud and water, the Earth Evasion Art and Water Evasion Art consumed significantly more magical power than the Wind Riding Art. A cultivator at the second layer of Qi Refining could exhaust their spiritual energy after casting either evasion spell only a few dozen times consecutively.

Thus, they were generally reserved for the most perilous situations, used solely for preserving life.

The last one was the Entangling Art, a wood-element spell. Magical power was channeled into vines and creepers, controlling them to constrict and restrain an opponent’s movements. The spell's efficacy depended not only on the caster's magical reserves but also directly on the resilience and toughness of the initial seeds and the vines themselves. Using common wild seeds yielded an Entangling Art effect that was far from impressive.

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Ye Qin maintained a secluded existence. Daily, he shuttled between the Herb Gathering Hall and his small private courtyard, diligently practicing the cultivation methods for the second layer of the Zuo Wang Jing · Zuo Wang Wu Wo and the few spells he had recently learned.

During this period, as the Medicine King Sect’s Herb and Medicine Trade Assembly drew nearer, the number of martial artists within Zhuqi County surged.

Brawls and disturbances in taverns and inns became commonplace, often resulting in premises being smashed. Occasionally, these escalated into bloody vendetta killings when old martial rivals encountered each other, drawing blades in public.

As the local host, the Herb Gathering Hall bore an undeniable responsibility. They repeatedly issued several edicts prohibiting armed clashes, dispatching disciples to mediate the frequent martial disputes erupting across the city. The workload for the Hall’s disciples grew heavier by the day.

Even a young disciple like Ye Qin, known within the Hall for having notoriously poor martial arts and maintaining an extremely low profile, was assigned to various strenuous tasks maintaining the county's public order.

Despite these measures, fights and brawls continued unabated in the county. The Hall simply lacked the manpower to mediate every incident. For clashes involving established martial arts masters, the Hall’s disciples often couldn't even intervene.

To curb the private fights, disturbances, and destruction within Zhuqi County, the leadership of the Herb Gathering Hall decided to establish a massive martial arts training ground near the trade market in the northwest sector of the city, providing a venue for public sparring, friendly matches, and challenges among the martial community. The Hall organized a security patrol composed of younger disciples to maintain order at the venue, arrange matches, and provide emergency treatment for the injured.

Whether it was an official contest, a private duel, or settling a score, participants were directed to compete at the training ground, and the Herb Gathering Hall would no longer involve itself in the outcome.

This move by the Herb Gathering Hall was overwhelmingly welcomed by the martial community.

The hot-blooded martial artists causing trouble throughout Zhuqi County flocked to the training ground for public contests.

These fighting enthusiasts were predominantly young martial heroes. Most sought merely to establish a reputation in the Jianghu, hoping to build prestige during the Medicine King Sect’s assembly, which was why they engaged in armed altercations.

The Hall’s decision naturally catered to their desires.

In an effort to build their own prestige, young disciples from various gangs across Pingzhou province stepped onto the dueling platforms, issuing challenges to disciples from other factions for matches and sparring. Having trained their martial arts for over a decade, they were often the elite within their respective groups, possessing high self-regard and being at that fiery age where they craved recognition in the martial world.

True top-tier masters, along with many established veterans and elder experts, often considered the public staging of platform fights beneath their dignity. Defeating younger novices carried the taint of an unfair advantage. Conversely, losing would shatter their standing and prestige, making them extremely cautious.

As an apprentice of the Herb Gathering Hall, Ye Qin was naturally obligated to comply with the arrangements made by Steward Zhang.

He was frequently assigned to the security patrol detail around the training ground to maintain order, or tasked with menial, heavy labor.

However, whenever he performed security duty, Ye Qin was always the most low-key and silent one. He never actively approached a brawl nor revealed any hidden capabilities. Even when people fought violently right in front of him, Ye Qin would immediately step far back and watch coldly, showing no intention of intervening. As for manual labor, he was the most diligent, never complaining about the difficult or arduous tasks assigned.

This conduct inevitably led to some contempt from others within the Hall, who perceived it as cowardice.

Nearly all disciples in the outer and inner courts knew he practiced some kind of strength-enhancement technique, possessing no real combat skill. Behind his back, they mocked him, saying he practiced the "Ox-Pulling Art," useful only for plowing fields and utterly useless otherwise. They believed preventing county brawls required the intervention of martial arts experts like themselves.

Given Ye Qin's usual diligent performance of chores, fetching water, and diligently completing menial tasks, no one deliberately made things difficult for him.

Ye Qin’s apathy toward these brawls stemmed from a deeper reason. Since mastering the power of immortal spells and experiencing their formidable might firsthand, Ye Qin’s perspective had broadened considerably. He genuinely lacked interest in interfering with these rather unsophisticated clashes.

He preferred spending his time quietly contemplating the newly learned spells while doing odd jobs, rather than wasting energy on these hot-blooded youths who seemed to fight simply because they had nothing better to do.

As for the sneers and taunts from his fellow disciples, he ignored them completely.

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