Li Qing successfully diverted Wu Xingxing’s attention from his nocturnal outings with another matter.

But constantly paving the way with lies is ultimately no small matter.

Now that he also had some capital to settle down, Li Qing was considering that it seemed about time to set up a home outside.

He should find an opportunity, when the time is right, to let Mengru know about it as well.

After loitering around the convenience store with Wu Xingxing for a while, Li Qing mounted his flashy tricycle and headed back into town.

He called Dian Chunqiu on the way.

Dian Chunqiu gave Li Qing the address of a noodle shop.

Li Qing had a hard time finding the noodle shop, whose sign was nearly invisible due to being smoked over.

"Here, I didn’t know what you like to eat, so I just ordered something random."

Dressed in a suit, Dian Chunqiu was sitting in a corner, waving at Li Qing.

Li Qing looked around at the somewhat messy surroundings of the noodle shop, then at Dian Chunqiu’s crisp tie and white shirt, and felt a moment of disconnect.

He was truly out of place in this environment.

He belonged in a brightly-lit western restaurant, elegantly swirling a wine glass in his hand.

"Senior, this place you’ve found doesn’t seem like somewhere you should come," Li Qing sat down and said with a laugh, "This kind of dive is more for people like me who peddle tricycles."

"Doesn’t it hurt your heart to say that?" Dian Chunqiu chided with a smile, "A man worth tens of millions riding a tricycle all day, what right do you have to feel that it’s odd for me to dine here? My net worth isn’t as high as yours."

"In essence, I’m just a farmer," Li Qing laughed.

The plainly dressed woman behind the counter threw a glance at Li Qing, her expression somewhat perplexed.

She thought these two were like pretentious braggarts.

Yet, seeing Dian Chunqiu’s outfit that clearly belonged to the elite class, she felt it wasn’t quite right.

Whether it was Li Qing or the words spoken by Dian Chunqiu, none of it seemed reasonable to her.

The real elite class most certainly wouldn’t dine in her place.

And definitely, a person worth tens of millions would not be riding a tricycle.

Unless the world had turned upside down.

"Let’s eat. Try the noodles and you will understand why I come here," Dian Chunqiu said with a smile.

The noodles were a simple bowl of minced pork noodles, but after just one bite, Li Qing instantly grasped the meaning behind Dian Chunqiu’s words.

The noodles were truly delicious.

The minced pork was very flavorful, and the noodles were incredibly chewy.

Although Li Qing only identified these two benefits, it was rare for a bowl of minced pork noodles to accomplish even that much.

Especially the chewiness of the noodles, which can’t be achieved simply by kneading the dough more.

The quality of the flour was most important.

Only flour from high-altitude regions with plenty of sunshine could reach such a level.

"Boss lady, another bowl for me, please."

Li Qing wolfed down a bowl of the minced pork noodles and waved the owner over, calling out.

"Now you understand the reason? Good wine needs no bush," Dian Chunqiu said with a laugh.

Li Qing nodded emphatically, "You really are a true gourmet!"

"I was born and raised in Tongcheng, and I didn’t even know Tongcheng had such delicious minced pork noodles. You’ve only been here a few days, and you’ve found them so quickly."

"I have no other hobbies; my one passion is good food," Dian Chunqiu laughed, "What do you think I’ve been eating these days? I’ve nearly tried all the restaurants and hotels in Tongcheng, big and small."

Li Qing was truly impressed.

This was indeed something only a real gourmet could accomplish.

After slurping down three bowls of noodles with minced meat sauce, Li Qing left the small noodle shop satisfied with Dian Chunqiu.

When they came out, he made sure to take a careful look at the name on the sign.

In the future when he returned to the county, he seemingly would no longer have to worry about what to eat.

"Just leave your tricycle here, the place we’re going next, that thing won’t be able to get there," Dian Chunqiu said.

Li Qing nodded, feeling a bit rejected.

"Get in the car!" Dian Chunqiu opened the door of a luxury car parked on the roadside and called out to Li Qing.

By the noodle shop’s counter, the plainly dressed proprietress watched Li Qing and Dian Chunqiu get into the car, her expression immediately turned peculiar.

This was indeed a sight to behold.

The cheapest such car must be worth at least three to five hundred thousand, right?

Has the world really turned upside down?

Poor people driving luxury cars, while the rich pedal tricycles?!

Dian Chunqiu drove Li Qing northward, the farther they went, the more desolate the surroundings became, directly passing through the mining area.

This place, Li Qing had been here before, having fought a major battle with the Qi Family.

It wasn’t until they were in an uninhabited area that Dian Chunqiu stopped the car and led Li Qing up the mountain.

Although Li Qing was curious, he didn’t ask too many questions.

The more remote and uninhabited the place they went to, the bigger the task he was likely going to face.

These people, with a casual move, could perform earth-shattering feats, not being seen by others would save a lot of trouble.

"Do you see anything different about this place?"

Standing on the summit, Dian Chunqiu pointed at the undulating mountain range ahead and asked.

Li Qing looked carefully again and again, but couldn’t see anything different; it was just a very ordinary place.

Ordinary, barren, crisscrossed with ravines, in this season, it was hard to spot even a blade of grass.

"I can’t tell any difference," Li Qing said as he shook his head.

He had looked very carefully, but it was just a desolate mountain like any other around it, nothing unusual.

"You should have already sensed the existence of ’True Qi,’ right?" Dian Chunqiu asked.

Li Qing nodded, gathered True Qi into his fist, and fiercely chopped forward with his hand.

Instantly, a surge of qi rolled out, lifting up a ditch more than a foot deep in the ground ahead.

"This is all I can do for now," Li Qing said. "I feel like I’ve been training very hard, but it’s just too difficult."

Dian Chunqiu looked at the ditch, over a foot deep and nearly thirty feet long, and his mouth twitched slightly.

"Do you know how long it takes most people just starting Cultivation to reach your level?"

Li Qing shook his head, then asked uncertainly, "Others should be faster than me, right?"

"I took almost a month to barely sense the True Qi, and even then the circulation wasn’t very smooth."

"At least half a year!" said Dian Chunqiu with a hint of speechlessness, "And that’s for those with exceptional talent, who can reach this level in half a year."

"You really are spoon-fed by the heavens. In less than a month, you’ve managed to circulate True Qi freely, and even shape it with your qi, leveraging True Qi to strike and create this ditch. Comparisons between people can really be disheartening!"

"You know, the beginning is the hardest part in cultivation, and the initial difficulty is even more pronounced. Countless people are trapped at this step for their whole lives, forced to resort to minor paths and crooked ways."

Li Qing listened, his eyes wide and his mouth agape. Was he actually considered fast?