69 Chapter 68: The Nine Spirit Engraved Pillars (1/2)
Inside my room, I practiced the Heavenly Draconic Meteor Sword techniques, while trying my best not to wreck the interior. Easier said than done, given that even a slight miscalculation while swinging would cleave my bed in half, and most likely get me in trouble with my mom. Furniture didn't come cheap, after all, even if I hardly used it because I spent most of my days in the Wu Ling Academy dormitory.
Most people were under the impression that cultivation involved sitting around and doing nothing as they revolved their qi inside their bodies or some bullshit like that. You know, like how Qin Lie would sit on top of a small glacier and meditate. Or how Xiao Yan would just sit around and meditate to cultivate his essence flames or something instead of, you know, actually executing them? While I recognized that cultivating the esoteric essence of qi and inner strength was vitally important, most authors went off to the other extreme end and totally forgot about training actual martial arts. At least Li Fu Chen went around chopping black ore rocks with his meteor sword everyday or something.
Anyway, I was pretty pleased when I saw wisps of qi taking on the forms of black dragons as I executed a swing with my ice sword. As usual, when forging an ice sword out of thin air, I made sure to practice inscribing the Heaven and Earth Spirit Engraving into the frost weapon, so as to ensure my skills didn't grow rusty.
If this was any other xianxia or wuxia story, I would be launching into a longwinded rhetoric about what stage I had reached, what realm I had attained, or what level I broke into, but all these weird levels and numbers meant nothing to me, so you guys can be grateful if I skip all that bullshit. Honestly, who cared what realm I was in? It meant nothing except to rank me against other people, and all the rankings in the world didn't matter when I get into actual battle. If I was fighting in reality, then the only question that mattered wasn't what level or realm or stage I had attained, but whether I was stronger or weaker than my opponent.
That was all.
I need to go to the training room in Wu Ling Academy…
After studying the manual from front to back, I was impatient to actually practice the techniques. It was fine and all reading and learning the theoretical principles from the text, but it was quite another thing altogether to practice those techniques in reality. I needed to do both in order to successfully master it. And my practical ability had always been worse than my theoretical skills.
Unlike Li Fu Chen, I didn't have a godlike, cheat perception, and unlike Xiao Yan I didn't have an actual master guiding me every step of the way. Even Qin Lie had Qin Shan leaving stuff for him…then again, I couldn't deny that Master left some stuff with me, even if it was the most basic techniques of Heaven and Earth Formula.
He was right about one thing, though. All I needed were the basics of Heaven and Earth Formula. I had to adapt the techniques to my own style and improvised accordingly. The problem was that I still hadn't developed my own style yet, which was why I was relying on previously learned techniques such as Shadow Steps and the Lunar Rabbit's kicks, as well as trying to find more martial arts such as the Heavenly Draconic Meteor Swordsmanship.
Gr…
The serpentine black dragons that were coiling around my frost blade seemed to take on a life of their own, growling aggressively as I swung it forward, simultaneously carrying out the techniques and attacks as specified in the manual while taking the utmost care not to damage anything in my room. Nearby, spread open on my desk, the Heavenly Draconic Meteor Swordsmanship manual throbbed with power, dark wisps of qi swirling around it.
Thanks to the martial arts manuals being spirit artifacts, they actually helped the user to understand more innately and instinctively the content inscribed within their pages. I wasn't sure how to describe it, but it was as if there was an intelligent entity (or artificial intelligence) supervising me while I practiced, implanting ideas directly into my mind in the form of intuition, and influencing my movements so as to correct whatever mistakes I made while trying to learn from the manual. It might not be as straightforward or skillful as an actual human teacher, but the spiritual artificial intelligence dwelling within the manual was clearly the next best thing.
”Oi, Wu'er!” Mom shouted from downstairs. ”What are you doing in your room, making such a racket?”
Crap, I was making too much noise. I immediately halted my practice.
”Sorry! Just practicing martial arts!”
”If you want to practice martial arts, go outside and do it!” she hollered from outside my room. ”Don't do it in your room! Otherwise you'll break something!”
”Yes…”
To be honest, I wasn't very enthusiastic about practicing outside where everyone could see me. We had a garden, and despite the low fence, there weren't many visual barriers to stop people from spying on whatever I was doing. I preferred practicing in an enclosed space, which was why the training rooms in Wu Ling Academy were a godsend. Not to mention, it was pretty awkward and embarrassing to be swinging my sword and practicing martial arts alone in front of everyone who walked by. If it was a dojo (and even dojos had practices take place in enclosed space that were barred from the view of outsiders), I wouldn't mind blending in with the crowd and practicing with everyone else, but alone, it just felt weird.
Or maybe that was the attitude and mentality I brought over from my original timeline, and no one would be as hesitant to practice in the open as I was.
Whatever the case, Mom had a point, so I stopped and went downstairs. As if he timed it perfectly, Dad returned home.
”Let's go out for dinner!” he announced happily as he stepped through the door. ”Everyone, get ready!”
”Eh? We're going out to eat?” I asked, confused. Dad nodded with a big grin on his face.
”You're going to Tushan City tomorrow, aren't you? You won't be home in a while, so I'll treat you to a farewell dinner!”
”I won't be long gone,” I reminded him. ”I'll be back for the New Year holidays.”
”That's over a month away!” Dad replied dismissively. ”We'll have another feast then!”
”Uh…okay…”
Since I got to eat delicious food, I had no complaints. So I just looked forward to having a dinner with my family, which, now that I thought about it, was becoming quite a rare occurrence and something I had taken for granted back in my original timeline.
*
The next day arrived, which meant that my three days were up, and I brought along whatever clothing and necessities I needed to Tushan City. As always, I took a train, and then a bus to the remote part of the Great Zhou Empire. Upon reaching the gates of Tushan City, I caught sight of a familiar face standing guard outside.
The heavily muscular Shou was standing with his arms folded across his broad chest, wearing an equally wide grin on his tanned face as he watched the flow of people entering and exiting the huge gates of Tushan City.
”Oh, it's you again! Um…”
”I'm Fei Wu,” I reminded Shou. To be fair, I had actually forgotten his name at that time, having met so many people three days ago. It was only later when I spent more time in the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect that I eventually remembered his name.
”Oh, right! You're support to report in today! I heard that you passed the outer sect disciple exam! Congratulations!”
Chortling heartily, Shou smacked my back, almost causing me to double over and hit my face against the floor.
”Good, good. Well done, lad! As expected of the man that Qi Hong brought back!”
”Uh…” I couldn't help but sigh. Why was everyone already assuming that I was Tang Qi Hong's boyfriend or something? Whether she liked me or not, she hadn't actually made any move or confessed to me, so we weren't officially going out. And that fact meant that our relationship could go either way. I wasn't taking anything from granted, especially from previous experience…I mean, the experience of a friend of a friend.
”Oh, wait. What's your number again?”
Shou scratched his head as he consulted his tablet. Figures. Of course they would sort us out by numbers rather than name.
”Two hundred and forty-four.”
”Yeah, that's right!”
Shou nodded fervently, and then he suddenly chuckled. Trying to suppress his mischievous grin, he gestured for me to pass through the gates.
”Go ahead. Someone will bring you to your room later.”
”Yes, sir. Thank you very much!”
I bowed gratefully and stepped through the gates.
I didn't have to wait long. Before even five minutes passed, an outer sect disciple appeared and gestured for him to follow me. Since he was obviously the guide that Shou was referring to earlier, I followed him obediently. The outer sect disciple escorted me past grand, impressive-looking buildings that were crafted elegantly and stylishly, and toward the foot of the Flame Volcano. Wait, what? Was it really called Flame Volcano?
Whatever.
Anyway, as we reached the foot of the volcano, I noticed a beautiful sight somewhere outside the row of clustered buildings built further into the white rock. Rows of functional, blocky buildings ringed a huge lake that spread leisurely across the space of the foot of the volcano. In the middle of the lake was a platform that was connected to solid ground only by a thin, long bridge. Surrounding the platform were nine marble pillars that sported exquisite designs and elegant patterns across their smooth surface. I couldn't help but stop to admire the magnificent sight.
I wasn't the only one who was awestruck by the magnificence of the exquisite marble pillars. Gathered across the circular platform were many outer sect disciples who were scattered around the pillars that ringed the platform. Their admiring gazes were focused intently on the beautiful patterns and intricate diagrams inscribed onto the stone pillars, and they were trying their best to copy such patterns into their digital tablets with their styluses.
”Do you mind if I go take a look?” without waiting for an answer, I was already wandering toward the platform, enraptured by the sight of the nine marble pillars. I swept my gaze over the symbols inscribed into the smooth, pearly surface of the pillars, trying to decipher them. It didn't take me long to recognize them. ”Whoa! Those Spirit Engravings…!”
”What are you looking at?” the outer sect disciple demanded impatiently as he caught up to me. His eyes narrowed in scorn when he saw what I was studying. ”Do you even understand any of the patterns engraved on the Spirit Engraved Pillars in the Lake of Fire?”
What makes you think I don't? I scoffed inwardly, but was too politely to say that out loud to a senior. So I stayed silent instead. Good thing I did, for the outer sect disciple lost his expression of ridicule, which was replaced by one of reverence as he gazed in the direction of the Nine Spirit Engraved Pillars.
”Those Spirit Engravings were personally inscribed by the founder and the first sect leader of the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. they possess profound meaning and power behind them. Only those with the necessary talent and intelligence will truly be able to decipher the profound meaning concealed beneath those mystical diagrams.”
Uh…what? Did you seriously expect me to buy that BS?