Chapter 16: Meeting of Rivals (1/2)

Chapter 16: Meeting of Rivals

Translator: YHEditor: Pranav

The faint silver glow gently lingered around Ai Hui as smoke-like spirals, gradually transforming into hazy, sword-shaped forms that flitted about. Suddenly, everything vanished with a flash.

Ai Hui was entirely immersed in his cultivation, completely unaware of what had just occurred.

An hour later, he finally opened his eyes, which were filled with an incomparable joy. He had never experienced such a marked improvement in his past three years of arduous practice. Ai Hui could barely contain his excitement; after all, he had persevered for three years before now finally glimpsing the light.

What else could make one happier?

Although he ultimately absorbed only five percent of the metal elemental energy, the total elemental energy within his body had been tripled; an unimaginable improvement for him.

Even though Ai Hui had a low absorption efficiency, it did not particularly concern him, as this shortcoming could be overcome with persistent practice and perseverance. To him, any visible improvement—no matter how little—was an achievement. He was most afraid of staying utterly stagnant despite practicing for many years.

Ai Hui carefully reflected on his training. Lou Lan's soup had fulfilled a crucial function; without it, Ai Hui would not have been able to absorb such a relatively large amount of metal elemental energy. Without its aid, however, Ai Hui did not know how much energy he could have absorbed, but he sensed that the result would have been drastically different.

Ai Hui shook his head and banished these distracting thoughts to the back of his mind.

The wealthy had their own practice methods, but the less-affluent had theirs too.

While the metal elemental energy that was infused into his body was exceedingly harsh, it was, at the same time, much more condensed and pure. Although Ai Hui could only absorb a tiny fragment of the energy, it was countless of times purer than what the average novice could achieve. Because he was aware of this, Ai Hui did not stop cultivating the elemental energy, even when most of it had already dispersed.

Most students pursued a higher cultivation level and hence vigorously strived to strengthen their elemental energy. Ai Hui, who had an abundance of combat experience, had encountered all types of powerful individuals. He had come across many elementalists who had similar cultivation levels but vastly different fighting strengths. Ai Hui had long since comprehended that the purer the elemental energy, the easier it was to manipulate, thus allowing one to have greater efficacy in their attacks.

Ai Hui had also understood that although the silver of elemental energy in his body was weak, it was extremely pure, and because it was also highly versatile in his hands, this elemental energy had repeatedly saved his life. Several of his tricks had even been praised by elder elementalists.

Powerful weapons are no match for those readily on hand!

When Ai Hui stepped out of the room and saw a pristine, completely clean training hall, he was shocked.

Noticing Aui Hui's expression, Lou Lan explained, “I had some spare time on my hands and so conveniently cleaned up the place. If you aren’t happy, though, I will not do it again.”

“You did a way better job than me,” Ai Hui stammered with embarrassment. The hall looked as if it was thoroughly washed clean, and even the remote corners were totally free of dust. Ai Hui had always claimed that he was a hall-cleaning specialist; never did he imagine that there would be someone who was several times better.

When he received the praise, Lou Lan was obviously elated, and he cheerfully remarked, “I am a sand puppet, and we are better at such things.”

Who would remember a sand puppet?

Ai Hui wondered why this phrase had suddenly popped into his mind. He glanced at Lou Lan, and then said out of the blue, “Thank you for the elemental energy replenishing soup. It was very useful.”

Ai Hui rarely praised people in the same way; in fact, towards others, he was usually much more guarded and distant. In front of Lou Lan, however, he was evidently much more relaxed. Was it perhaps because Lou Lan was a sand puppet? It certainly seemed to be the case.

When he heard that his soup was effective, Lou Lan felt even more pleased. Suddenly, his eyes started to glow with a rather demonic yellow light as he earnestly began to scrutinize Ai Hui.

Ai Hui felt his hair stand on end.

“The bruises and swelling require some time to recover, but the muscle damage has largely healed,” Lou Lan unexpectedly reported, as the glow in his eyes disappeared.

After listening to Lou Lan's report, the uneasiness that Ai Hui was feeling had completely vanished. He also started to feel that Lou Lan, with his unusual set of abilities, was becoming stranger by the day. Lou Lan was proficient in preparing meals, brewing soup, cleaning and even appeared to be well-versed in medical treatment. Just what kind of combination was this?

“I am going off to practice,” said Ai Hui, as he prepared to leave. He planned to make necessary preparations and purchase a few things before heading back to the Suspending Golden Pagoda.

“I should head back to work too, then. Goodbye, Ai Hui,” Lou Lan replied as he waved farewell. Immediately after, his body transformed into a pile of sand, before seeping into the ground and completely disappearing from the training hall.

Duanmu Huanghun occasionally scanned the crowd as he marched alone on the streets. Ai Hui had not attended class for the past several days, leaving Duanmu Huanghun with no choice but to bring himself outside and try his luck in finding him. He knew that trying to find someone like that was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. However, if he was to tell Teacher Xu that he wanted to give up, that would be very embarrassing for him.

Just thinking about that scoundrel, Ai Hui, made him tremble with anger.

His devilishly charming yet refined, good looks attracted the attention of many who passed by.