Chapter 4 - The Footwork of the Flying Dragon (1/2)
Proofread by Nie Qiao
Day in and day out, five days have elapsed quickly. For these five days Yuan Feng has almost never moved an inch away from his room, spending all the time in cultivating.
“My young Childe, this is the last time. Uncle Liang said that these are all the tonics you can get this month. If more is needed, you must ask for permission from the patriarch. Waner cannot fetch them for you anymore.”
In the room, Waner still holds a big tray packed with all types of magical plants. But obviously, whether the quantity or the quality of the magical plants this time has shrunk compared with the previous ones.
“Ha-ha, it doesn’t matter. These are enough for the time being. Waner, thanks a lot for all you’ve done these days. You can leave and have a rest.” Glimpsing the magical plants on the tray, Yuan Feng feels fairly content. In spite of the lower quality and quantity, these are presumably sufficient.
The Yuan family is a big clan with fixed disciplines and rules. Such tonics and magical plants as these are surely not available for anyone without limits. He, as the son of the patriarch, has enjoyed a pretty preferential privilege.
“Hehe, you don’t need to be so courteous to Waner, my childe.” Smiling sweetly at Yuan Feng, she lays down the tray incidentally. “If there is nothing else, I’ll be going. Take a good rest!” She does a shallow curtsy while speaking, and then leaves happily.
Owing to the contacts over the past few days, Waner apparently senses the change of Yuan Feng and gets a better impression of him. The previous Yuan Feng had a lazy disposition and capricious moods. When has he ever been so mature and genial like these days?
“Hu, I’ve eaten so much good foodstuff. I guess I will be able to attain the third level of Ning Yuan Realm next time!”
Looking at the magical plants, Yuan Feng slowly beams with smile.
In the last five days, he would eat like a horse once a day and then relentlessly cultivate.
After the Qi of his body increases, he needs more practice of running skills to be familiar with and master it. Day after day, his Qi multiplies. This speed is proper in that excessive speed will cause danger. It is obvious that if Qi is suddenly elevated too much, yet with a lagged realm of cultivation method, Qi is likely to get out of control, which may lead to the devastation of meridians, and what’s worse, death.
Consequently, even with the sky-swallowing martial spirit, Yuan Feng mustn’t hurry to a goal by one step. “Haste makes waste” is also true for Yuan Feng.[1]
Sitting cross-legged and consuming the magical plants one after another, Yuan Feng directly eats up the whole plate of these plants, then cultivates the Soul-fostering Skill.
The cultivation methods and martial skills are various in this world with some being good and others bad. And the Yuan clan’s Soul-fostering Skill is a cultivation method of yellow layer which is not the top level, but could still be counted rare. All the lineal descendants of the Yuan clan cultivate the Soul-fostering Skill that is divided into nine levels from low to high, respectively corresponding with the nine levels of Ning Yuan Realm just like other skills.
The higher the level of a cultivation method is, the better the result of the cultivation will become. However, it is pitiable that cultivation methods all over the continent are relatively precious and few and far between. Those of yellow layer are extremely difficult to acquire, not to mention the martial skills and cultivation methods beyond yellow one.
Some large sects and schools, with a long history and rich resources, could possibly have senior cultivation methods and martial skills which, however, are not accessible to everyone. It is certainly beyond question that the cultivating speed and fighting capacity of those who cultivate the senior methods and skills are better and more powerful than those of the people who cultivate the junior ones.
Yuan Feng is trapped in the second level of Soul-fostering Skill for a long time. Yet with the gluttony and tireless cultivation in the past five days, he has accumulated and condensed sufficient Qi which is enough to break through the third level of Soul-fostering Skill.
He slowly controls the circulation of Qi in his meridians so that the radiance of Qi can merge into the core of Qi step by step. Now, the Qi in his meridians has been more than a dozen fold than that a few days ago.
It is hard to say when Yuan Feng recites the incantation of the third level of Soul-fostering Skill to himself after a few circulations of Qi. Among the nine levels of Soul-fostering Skill, the higher one is more profound and opaque than the lower one. He has learned the second-level method thoroughly by heart, so the crucial task now is to run the third-level method successfully. If he is able to master the incantations of the third level, he will attain the next one and become a third-level warrior.
“Hum! Clatter!”
An impalpable broken sound comes from the depth of his heart. At the same time, the Qi’s circulation suddenly speeds up, and moreover, wisps of Qi’s radiance appear out of nowhere, expanding the original core of Qi instantaneously.
“Done!”
Yuan Feng has a delighted expression with eyes closed. He has broken though the third level in a breeze.
Based on an elevated level, Yuan Feng can sense that the Qi in his meridians, from quantity to quality, has obviously been enhanced. The third-level Soul-fostering Skill is enough for him to cultivate a lot of martial skills.
“Ha, trapped in the second realm of Ning Yuan Realm for two years, I have made it at length!”
With an improved strength, Yuan Feng is elated, and filled with thousands of sensations. With the help of the sky-swallowing martial spirit, he has made up the gap of over two years in a few days. Such speed of cultivation cannot be measured by usual means.
Of course, the breakthrough of Qi is just one cause of his joy. What makes him happier is the improvement of his talent.
“Hehe, eating so many magical herbs, my meridians have been a dozen fold larger than before. At this moment, my talent for martial arts must surpass all people in the Yuan clan, even in the whole Mukden county.”
The expansion of his meridians speeds up his speed of Qi’s circulation, which is directly related to the learning and use of martial skills. From this perspective, although he hasn’t learnt martial skills yet, he has transcended others a lot in terms of foundation.
“It’s time to select a martial skill.”
Smiling slightly, he jumps out of his bed, directly walking towards the Wuji Pavilion (the name of the pavilion storing martial skill volumes). Compared with the breakthrough of Qi, he aspires to learning martial skills more. Only when he learns the martial skills, can he be regarded as a true warrior.
The Yuan clan’s Wuji Pavilion is located in the depth of the mansion house. As one of the three largest clans in Mukden, the Yuan clan’s Wuji Pavilion is designed in a presentable and grand shape—-square and upright stone pavilion with two guards of the Yuan clan guarding the gate just like straight javelins.
“Third childe!”
When Yuan Feng comes into the pavilion, two guards greet him tepidly. However, Yuan Feng friendly nods his head, directly entering the building.
“Eh? Why does the third childe come to Wuji Pavilion? Does he come to select martial skills?”
“Yeah, one who does not attain the third level of Ning Yuan Realm is not in the position to cultivate martial skills. Did he actually make a breakthrough?”