Chapter 73 Level-Seven of Qi-gathering (1/2)

This was the second time in Wu Jingtao’s life that he had been to the Chu royal city. On his first visit, he had felt a sense of curiosity and yearning.

But this time, he felt a sense of release.

“Young Master Donghuang, we’ve reached the Chu royal city… I, am I allowed to return to Guangling prefecture?” Wu Jingtao asked uneasily, stopping the carriage outside the gates of the Chu royal city and looking back over his shoulder at the cabin.

In the cabin, Fu glanced at the youth in white who was completely absorbed in practicing, and seeing no response, he pulled aside the curtain and walked out. “My Young Master is still practicing, if you want to go, then go. From now on, just leave the carriage to me.”

Fu sat beside Wu Jingtao, taking the reins from his hand as he spoke casually to him.

Wu Jingtao breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Fu’s reply. He got out of the carriage immediately and leaped onto the ferghana horse following the carriage, turning it around and galloping off without a backward glance.

Just as though he were fleeing.

Wu Jingtao had brought along the ferghana horse that he was riding, intending all along to use it for the return journey.

After Wu Jingtao left, Fu drove the carriage leisurely to the gates of the Chu royal city.

The Chu royal city was the largest city in the Western Ridge of the Chu King, sprawling across the vast land like a giant beast, giving one a sense of majesty and vastness.

And this was also something special that other cities in the Western Ridge of the Chu King did not have.

Young Master has not yet awoken from his practice, I’ll enter the Chu royal city first and find an inn to rest… When Young Master has awoken, we’ll see his plans are.

Fu was now no longer the ignorant young man from a small town that he had been in the past, and after following Zhou Donghuang for such a long time, he had matured and became much steadier under his influence.

A carriage drawn by the three ferghana horses was not an uncommon sight even in the capital of an intermediate-level prefecture. Naturally, it did not attract any attention in the Chu royal city.

Within an hour, Fu saw many carriages similarly drawn by three ferghana horses in the unceasing flow of traffic in the Chu royal city.

…

Night was falling by the time Zhou Donghuang, who had been sitting cross-legged in the cabin of the carriage, woke from his practice.

The carriage had stopped in the parking area of an inn, and although Fu had already readied the guest room, he nevertheless stood guard outside the carriage, deeply afraid that someone would inadvertently disturb his young master’s practice.

“Fu, where’s Wu Jingtao?”

Zhou Donghuang saw only Fu when he stopped practicing and walked out of the carriage. There was no trace of Wu Jingtao.

“Young Master, when we were outside the Chu royal city, that Wu Jingtao stopped the carriage and asked you if he was allowed to return to Guangling prefecture… You were practicing at that moment, so I took over the carriage and let him go back,” Fu said.

“What’s the hurry to go back?”

Zhou Donghuang squinted as the corners of his mouth curled up in a mocking smile. “I originally planned to give him a third-grade sword technique for the four months he spent as our driver before I let him go back… looks like I won’t have to anymore.”

Fu was momentarily stunned and could not help shaking his head with a smile. “If that Wu Jingtao knew Young Master’s intentions, he would turn green with regret!”

“Young Master, I’ve already prepared your guest room, let me show you in,” Fu said to Zhou Donghuang as he led the way in, showing Zhou Donghuang to the guest room he had already prepared.

“Fu, rest early tonight, we’ll be going out tomorrow morning,” Zhou Donghuang told Fu as he stood outside the door.

“Yes, Young Master,” Fu replied respectfully.

He waited until his young master had shut the door before returning to the adjacent room.

After shutting the door, Zhou Donghuang did not continue practicing. Instead, he lay on his bed staring at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts.

As I guessed, even practicing The Lord of the Four Supremes without distraction, the rate of practice cannot be increased without limit.

Continuously practicing The Lord of the Four Supremes without distraction for two months has increased the rate of practice almost to its limit.

However, over the last two months, on account of the maximum rate of practice that I achieved… my level of practice has increased, and I have smoothly attained level-seven of Qi-gathering, just as I had guessed.

Seven days earlier, Zhou Donghuang had smoothly attained level-seven of Qi-gathering and became a level-seven adept with the strength of seven bulls.

Four months earlier when he was in the capital of Guangling prefecture, he had still been a level-five adept.

In four short months, he had two consecutive breakthroughs and become a level-seven adept.

After attaining level-seven of Qi-gathering, I can freely demonstrate second-grade techniques, and with some difficulty, I might even manage to demonstrate some of the powerful first-grade techniques.

To Zhou Donghuang, advancing to level-seven of Qi-gathering was not simply about increasing his qi.

He could only demonstrate even more powerful martial art techniques if he had enough qi.

In the thousand years of memories from his previous life, there were countless martial art techniques demonstrated by adepts at the stage of Qi-gathering. Therefore, he had no lack of techniques.

What he now lacked was only the ability to demonstrate these martial arts.

…

Early the next morning, Zhou Donghuang left the inn with Fu and joined the traffic thronging the streets of the Chu royal city.