Chapter 59 - Fourth Stage Training (1/2)

”Of course, just this. As I have said, it's for them, not for me. I think one dozen buffaloes would be enough.”

So Hei let go of the possibility of an unexpected gain. He instead asked for compensation for the buffaloes that lived with him.

Although in the eyes of any martial artist, it was absurd and crazy to do such a thing, Hei didn't care. They had been his companions for some time now, and since they would do the work, it was obvious that the reward was also theirs.

”Sect leader, if you want, I can also employ bees for the parade. Of course this under some compensation. ”

Upon hearing his words, the sect leader smiled slightly and answered.

”All right, let's hear then. What do you want to use bees for the parade, other bees?”

”Well, the bees have their own system and are well organized. Introducing other bees can be counterproductive, especially if there is a queen bee with them. Let's do this, could you give me some rare flowers already in bloom. If we transfer them and transport them, there should be no problems with the flowers, right?”

Hei had thought to ask for the seeds, but considering that it was a reward for the bees, it was better to have something that they could use immediately.

”Rare flowers? There are no problems. I will pick up some more from my personal collection. Honestly, considering the size of the event, you might very well ask for more. Although I appreciate your not wanting to be shameless and asking for huge rewards, it doesn't even seem right to me not to reward you directly. Let's see, I've decided. You and Lian will have the option of taking a book from the library for a month without contribution point costs. You can choose at any time when to use it, is it ok for you? ”

”Yes, sect leader. We thank you for your generosity. ”

”Alright, I think that I said everything I needed to tell you. You have a month or so before we leave. I hope by then you have reached the fourth stage.”

”Don't worry. We won't disappoint you at all.”

With this, Hei and Lian bowed again to the sect leader and came out of her residence. Once outside, Hei could see an intense look dwell on them. Turning around, he saw the personal disciple of the sect leader looking at them emotionless.

Hei, therefore, made a small nod with his head as a greeting and went up with Lian on the back of Shui, they quickly ran home to continue training.

Initially, they planned to cultivate and gather little by little the necessary amount of spirit power needed to overcome the bottleneck, but now it was no longer required. With the third level spirit stone supplied by the sect leader, they no longer had that need. Besides, they also had the Explosive Blood Pills that they would take once they consolidated their foundations after reaching the fourth stage.

But the thing that excited him most about reaching the fourth stage was learning new techniques. Aside from learning the spear intent, the fourth stage contained the most considerable number of techniques provided by Bao Bei for Hei - Snake Fang, Spider Bite, Chameleon Tongue, Beast Claw, Spider Carapace, Snake Hair.

He was curious to begin his training as soon as possible, also because this time, except for Spider Carapace and Snake Hair, which were defensive moves, the other four were all attack moves.

*

Once they arrived, Hei and Lian immediately went to meditation. They sat cross-legged and held the third-level spirit stone in their hands. Then they immediately began to circulate their spirit power while slowly absorbing that of the stone.

The effects were immediately evident as the spirit stone was like fuel to keep them meditating without getting tired and raising their maximum quantity. In a couple of hours, the gap that needed to be filled to move to the fourth stage was filled with the energy of the spirit stone, and the two youths officially moved to the fourth stage of spirit apprentice.

But even when they broke the bottleneck, the two of them didn't stop their cultivation. Advancing one stage using external objects always required an adjustment time depending on how much pills or other objects the user had utilized. It was possible to disregard this and continue as if nothing had happened, but it would have created problems in the future.

It took another couple of hours before Hei and Lian stopped meditating. Both were tired and covered in sweat, but there was a bright smile on their faces. They had finally moved to the fourth stage!

'Yes, hurray. Nice job, big brother, Lian.' The two little spirit beasts, Ye and Xing, ran towards them with excitement. Even though they were tired, Hei and Lian went along with their enthusiasm and started playing with them a little, while slowly seeing their improvements.

Bao Bei let them play a little before calling them. In front of her was a pile of wooden bottles.

”Mother, what are these bottles?” Hei asked in a questioning tone.

'They're for the next phase of your training. The bottles contain different special liquids created by us divine beasts to accelerate and harden parts of the body. Unfortunately, the main ingredient is a very rare plant that grows only in a place that is far from here. I don't even know if it still exists.' Bao Bei said in a regretful tone.

The place she spoke of was nothing but the vast forest in which the highest number of divine beasts had lived. It was also the dominion that her companion once had ruled.

Seeing her become a bit depressed, Hei tried to change the subject.

”And what should I do now? What techniques will we start first?”

Listening to the words of her son, Bao Bei recovered from her thoughts and returned to focus on the topic in question.

”We'll start with Beast Claw, Snake Fang, and Snake Hair, but your body is not suitable right now to learn these moves. We need some change. Take off your shoes, my little one.”

With those words, Bao Bei waved 20 small spider web strings that went to stick on Hei's fingers and toes.

”Listen to me, my child. It will hurt. So, clench your teeth and try to endure, okay? I will do everything in one fell swoop, you only think of resisting pain and standing still.”

Hei nodded his head while for safety, he sat on the ground. Next to him were Lian and his little sisters worried about what was about to happen.

Seeing her son ready, with a strong tug, Bao Bei pulled the 20 spider web strings. They flew towards her at full strength. At the end of these wires, something was hanging in the air.

Hei immediately groaned in pain that he tried to suppress as his hands and feet began to bleed.

Right, the thing that was swaying on the ends of the spider web strings were nothing but Hei's fingernails and toenails that didn't resist being dragged and broke away from the skin.

”Claws Beast requires a cycle of destruction and restoration of the nails. Thanks to the special liquid, they will heal again briefly and then be extracted again. You must repeat this cycle until you reach a degree of resistance such that your nails don't come off with a single tug of mine.” Bao Bei explained as she trembled slightly with her eight legs.