8 Change (1/2)

”Gasp!”

Shi Li breathed in loudly as he opened his eyes. The part where his head was squeezed was just too realistic for him, even if he felt no pain. Gradually, he breathed slower and deeper, returning to a calm state.

He looked around and saw that nothing changed. He stood up and saw that the pearl on the bedside table was gone.

'So it seems the pearl entering my eye wasn't a dream, huh.'

He walked around his courtyard and saw that everything was fine. Even the windows showed the beautiful outside world.

But just to be sure…

'Yep, I feel it. It hurts.'

He pinched himself.

He then let out a sigh of relief as he knew he wasn't stuck in a dream anymore. But there was another agenda at hand.

'Is there any trail of blood under my left eye?'

Little by little, he walked towards the mirror as he closed his eyes. And then…

He opened it.

Surprisingly, there were no trails of blood under his left eye. If that was the case, then it would seem like that nothing happened, expect for the fact that his robe from last night was still drenched in sweat.

He noticed this and took a quick bath to change into a new robe. Afterwards, he came close to the door and slowly opened it.

'Don't let it be pitch black…'

And there was none at all. If else, it was extremely bright and colorful. The trees were swaying in the wind, the people were working silently and the birds were chirping harmoniously.

Letting out another sigh in relief, he headed towards the open space in his courtyard and practiced the first 12 movements of [Dance of Earth and Skies].

…

A few minutes has passed. Shi Li's mastery of the movements grew significantly these last few minutes. Every movement was similar to the movement of nature, it was as if the movements were created by Shi Li himself.

After ten more minutes, Shi Li stopped and took a short rest as he pondered.

'My mastery of the first 12 movements is growing quite fast. I even feel that if I practiced the technique for about an hour or so, every movement in my daily life would probably have those movements incorporated.'

'I can also feel that I'm extremely close to reaching the peak of the first stage. Is this some sort of hallucination?'

Since he didn't know the answer to his question, he shrugged his shoulders as he continued to replicate the movements.

…

Huang clan, Verdant Breeze Town.

A man who exuded a majestic aura sat on a throne in the middle of a large hall. The man's hair was light yellow in hue, it was curled up in many places too, looking like yellow rice noodles. The man's irises were yellow as well, showing the man's experience and decisiveness within one glance. This man was the Huang clan's patriarch, Huang Tiankong.

”Tell me the latest news about the town,” Huang Tiankong commanded the attendant in front of him.

The attendant bowed down before respectfully replying, ”Answering Patriarch, the prices of meat has been increased by 3 gold coins, with chicken and beef even being raised by 5 gold coins.”

”I don't care about mundane matters,” Tiankong waved his hand. ”Tell me the latest news in terms of cultivation.”

”Is that so? Sorry for not being able to fulfill your orders earlier, patriarch,” The attendant respectfully bowed, fearing that he would be punished. Tiankong waved it off, signalling that it was fine.

Lightly coughing, the attendant changed the news he gave.

”As of now, the Leng clan patriarch's eldest son has reached the 7th stage of Tempering, officially entering the Organ Tempering realm. If he were to create life energy, he would stand out at the top of the Verdant Breeze Tournament.”

Tiankong frowned for a bit before replying, ”Send the Leng clan a gift. Make sure it's either a High Human martial technique, Grade 1 cultivation pills, or a Low Human weapon.”

”I shall do what the patriarch says,” the attendant replied.

Tiankong nodded. ”Is there any other news?”

”The branch of Red Dawn Pavillion is selling a Grade 2 cultivation pill that allows someone at the Half-Ascended Mortal realm to have at least an increased chance of 30% when breaking through to the Ascended Mortal realm.”

Tiankong's eyes lit up when he heard this. ”Oh? How much does it cost?”

The attendant sighed as he shook his head. ”Sorry for disappointing you, Patriarch. This attendant has only received the news yesterday when the Red Dawn Pavillion publicized it.”

Tiankong sighed as well before saying, ”Well, I don't blame you. Just have someone keep an eye on the price. Is there any other news left?”

The attendant nodded. ”I just received this news not too long ago, but the Shi clan patriarch's son, Shi Li, has started cultivating.”

Hearing the phrase Shi clan made Tiankong frown, but he didn't let it show. ”What stage has he reached?”

”Answering patriarch, Shi Li has only reached the middle of the 1st stage yesterday,” the attendant respectfully replied.

'With that brat Shi Li's cultivation realm, it shows that the Shi clan is trash. I wonder if they could even send a participant qualified enough for the tournament 5 months later,' Tiankong sneered.