...
The cost of restoring the courtyard was an extravagant seven Spirit Coins because Yan Xiaobao insisted she swear a blood contract to never reveal that she had worked for him. However, he found the money well spent.
The next day, he purchased several target dummies crafted by a Master with tal and Wood elental affinities.
These target dummies were shaped like humans, adorned with inscriptions that gave them various functionalities. One was stationary, allowing cultivators to strike it repeatedly, repairing itself after each hit.
The second option activated another inscription, causing the target dummy to react to attacks. It lacked Qi but possessed enough capabilities to evade assaults.
The creation of the dummies and inscriptions was achieved through tal Affinity, while Wood Affinity was used for their continuous self-repair.
These dummies were undoubtedly worth their weight in Gold, though each ca at the steep price of five hundred Gold Coins.
Yan Xiaobao laughed again as he activated two dummies, gearing up for a training session. So far, Yan Xiaobao had been able to wield his dual blades actively for half an hour. For the next half hour, the sounds of combat echoed through the courtyard.
"Whew," Yan Xiaobao sighed before yawning, contorting his face. Having depleted his entire spiral of Qi, he had fought against the dummies for nearly three-quarters of the ti and felt unimaginably fatigued.
"Looking rather good," Lan Feng remarked appreciatively after observing the lee display. "You seem to have perfected your dual blades. Tomorrow, you can start experinting with another weapon."
Hearing this news, he perked up excitedly. He had long wanted to try a sword, but since Lan Feng insisted on perfecting one skill at a ti, he hadn’t yet experinted with one.
Yan Xiaobao was no longer the delicate, frail boy from when he first joined the Royal Art Academy. He was now a few centiters taller than when he had first arrived. On the other hand, the biggest change was that, while his face still retained its effeminate quality, it no longer resembled that of a girl but rather that of a feminine boy.
The more Qi Hui Yue he gathered, the more mature his aura beca. For now, the changes remained small and subtle, though Yan Xiaobao realized that once he broke through the bottleneck and reached the disciple level, his body would undergo significant transformations.
With every breakthrough, Yan Xiaobao could expect his body to undergo substantial improvents. However, the extent of these changes varied greatly from person to person.
It was important to understand, however, that Yan Xiaobao’s body was far from ordinary. The fact that he had opened the Chongmai ridian ensured that his body’s enhancent would no longer follow typical patterns.
Unsealing the Chongmai ridian generally required imnse spiritual power, and under normal circumstances, most Mage-ranked cultivators would focus their attention on this feat only after managing to break through to the Master Level.
The reason Master-ranked cultivators opened this ridian was usually to gain access to one of the additional eight ridians it granted.
Upon reaching the Master Rank, cultivators gained the ability to refine their Qi into spiritual energy. Therefore, most cultivators no longer had much use for their basic Qi, much like how lower-ranked cultivators viewed essence rely as a ans of acquiring higher, more refined Qi.
Essence was the energy of the world, absorbed by cultivators and rged into Qi. Every cultivator, regardless of rank, relied on this essence to gain strength.
However, for Master-level cultivators and beyond, essence was no longer the only factor they needed to improve. For those who had opened their Middle Dantian, they now possessed the ability to transform Qi into a stronger form of spiritual energy. This, in turn, made Qi vital to them, much like essence was to lower-ranked Dantian cultivators. As such, they generally avoided wasting it on fortifying their organs.
Lan Feng’s guidance of Yan Xiaobao’s training had propelled him far ahead of his peers. This also allowed him to fortify his organs and blood without exhausting his Qi, as it was part of his training regin.
Strengthening the organs and blood was beneficial for two reasons. First, it made these organs harder and more resilient, while being protected by Qi, making it more difficult for enemies to inflict internal damage. Second, the accumulation of Qi blood within the organs and blood could be used in ergencies; though, of course, the cost for this was extrely high.
When Qi entered the organs, it didn’t dissipate but instead gathered beneath their surface, forming a protective layer. Once this Qi was withdrawn, the protective layer vanished. If a cultivator wished to restore it, they would have to restart the arduous process of fortifying the drained organs.
This was a process that required several weeks for each organ, and having undergone this process for six months, Yan Xiaobao could deeply appreciate the effort it took to strengthen his organs. Losing it in the blink of an eye would be devastating. On the other hand, Yan Xiaobao was also acutely aware of the amount of Qi stored in his internal reserves. Given how this had been managed for half a year, if Yan Xiaobao relied on these reserves, he could undoubtedly elevate himself temporarily to the level of a three-star disciple.
Though achieving the strength of a three-star disciple didn’t sound overwhelmingly strong, the boost was so massive that it would undoubtedly provide Yan Xiaobao the opportunity to defeat opponents one entire realm above his own.
Nevertheless, for now, Yan Xiaobao had no reason to exhaust these reserves. He was realistic and knew his chances of winning the competition were slim, especially considering students like the Rong twins, who had formally broken through to the Physician level.
Follow curr𝒆nt nov𝒆ls on freew(𝒆)bnov𝒆l.(c)om
User Comments
0 comments from readers