Dual Body Cultivation

by A P Gore

  Jei worked in a raw talisman making workshop. It provided him 10 silver per day, but the work done was more dangerous than what normal people did. Handling poison always resulted in a couple of accidents every month, so not many people joined the workshop. If the news got out that Jei had 1000 gold, people would start trying to rob him.

  Hands shaking, Jei glanced at the other items. There were plenty of them, including a couple of jade slips. When he pulled one out, the senior put a drop of his soul power in it. Pages of content spread in front of Jei's eyes.

  How can it be?

  A mere few inches of jade slip contained this much information. Unbelievable. He had read the jade slip given to him by Master Hei, but it only contained a page filled with a couple of diagrams and text. This jade slip—Basic Manual of Empire Mage (Gold Level)—contained heaps of information, multiple diagrams and so on.

  Jei quickly scanned the information; it contained spell diagrams used by all 5 types of 1st level mages. Each element type had 3-4 spells. The jade slip also contained some special spells in it. Reading just the introduction page made Jei's mind go crazy. The difficulty to become a mage was overwhelming. Especially the cultivation requirements.

  Jei shook his head. He was happy with being a body cultivator.

  The second jade slip had a soul cultivation method—for mages.

  "Josh, you cultivate Soul Cultivation art. Is this the same?" Jei asked, remembering seeing the senior doing a sort of cultivation before. When he’d asked, the senior said it was soul cultivation technique.

  "I do, but I only gain fifty percent of the benefits. The remaining fifty percent goes to your fucking soul. So unreasonable." The senior fumed.

  "That's interesting. But why is that? I could understand that with Body Cultivation I’d get fifty percent of the benefits, as you don't have a body. But why soul?" Jei couldn't think of a reason. The connection he and the senior had was something unknown, and he might never truly grasp the depth of it.

  The senior sighed. "I don't know. I was supposed to take over your body, and here I am living inside a fucking soul palace. When that overseer bitch told me about the deliciousness I'd find on this continent, I believed her." His voice turned emotional. "Anyway, don't worry too much about it. At the end of the day, our soul power is already good compared to others in your realm, and we are both getting benefits from this arrangement."

  "But these spells? Why are they in your spatial bag? Didn't you say you'd get something useful for you to cultivate? Were you supposed to be a mage?"

  "Yes, isn't it obvious? The overseer said she had chosen the best technique for me to live long. When I first went through this same cultivation method, I found it very easy to understand and cultivate, but when I first tried cultivating Poison Body it was damn hard. It was so intricate to move the essence through the different points in your meridians. It took me six hours to understand it."

  Jei found himself dumbfounded. What was difficult about Asura Body - Poison Body? When he read it for the first time, he understood it clearly, but since the senior was going to perform it, he focused on the Fiendgod Body Cultivation method.

  "Josh, does that mean we can triple cultivate?"

  "No, we can't. First, we don't have a third soul here to simultaneously cultivate it. Right now, you can't divide your attention with other things. You've only got a few hours to learn the 1st level of the Drunken Master so you’d better focus on that. Plus, we don't know your body's aptitude for the specific element. Like water or fire. Without knowing that, how can we delve into the specific spells?"

  Jei nodded. There were so many spells and different elements. Just seeing a little of it made his brain go fuzzy. For now, he had to focus on the Drunken Master Tiger divine art's 1st level. If he couldn't learn the Angle of Fist in a few hours, he would miss out on the chance to learn other levels.

  He dropped those jade slips back in the spatial bag and focused his attention on the other things. There was a green pearl, two red flowers, a key, a map, a bottle with tier 2 healing pills, and a small dagger. The dagger was made of some kind of black metal and had sharp edges that easily cut into Jei's finger. Considering Jei body's toughness had increased multifold after cultivating Poison Body and opening the first gate, breaking his skin would be difficult for any normal dagger. So, this dagger had to be exceptional.

  "Josh, you are correct. I shall focus on the Drunken Master Tiger divine art." Jei closed his eyes and started going through the battle he’d fought. When he went through the whole battle in his mind, his comprehension of the technique increased a bit. He had accidently activated the punch, but remembering that exact same feeling proved to be hard.

  He needed to train hard and see if he could re-achieve that feeling.

  After putting the spatial bag in his pocket, Jei slipped into his soul palace. A sense of tranquility spread over his mind as he entered the calm atmosphere. Looking at the scene holistically made him realize how much work the senior had done with this place. It was built for training. Peaceful training.

  Jei went straight to his wooden house and started practicing in front of a tree.

  Punch after punch, he tried to replicate the exact movement he had achieved in the fight. Yet, even after dozens of punches the feeling didn't come. So, he sat cross-legged and circulated natural essence through his body, focusing on the sensation of the essence passing through his meridian. While in the soul palace, he could easily sense his body and essence while mediating, much easier than when he meditated in his real body. Also, meditation done here was ten times more efficient than what he achieved outside.

  Again, and again, the battle sequence played out in his mind like he was watching it from outside. Sitting under the tree, observing his own moves slowly.

  No. I need to feel it from inside. Right now, I'm watching it like an outsider. There is no feeling, just the air passing out.

  Jei repeated the battle scene again, but this time he was in his own body. Feeling the dark murky night, smelling the dead corpse odor secreted by the green dome lilies, sensing the cold wind rubbing against his hand, hearing the cursing from Wei Shu. Then suddenly a little rage slipped inside his mind, and the essence around his fist changed. It exploded with an unknown power.

  Yes, the essence changed when I felt fear and anger. But why? I was breathing as per the manual the whole time. Why did it change? Was it because of the emotions? Let me try it again.

  He jumped to his feet and started practicing. First, he tried to punch using just the breathing technique from the Drunken Master Tiger manual, but the pressure he exerted remained the same as usual.

  Then he called upon the anger and fear residing in his heart and punched voraciously. The pressure remained same. Even after one hundred punches he failed to achieve the effect.

  Sweat slicked his real body as his punching intensity rose in the soul palace. Yet he failed.

  What's wrong? Do I need to fight to learn this? No, I can't go battling unnecessarily just to learn the feeling. I must remember it.

  Jei once again sat cross-legged, pondering the battle scene.

  First, the breathing.

  Second, the feeling of rage toward Ning.

  Third, the tranquility.

  Yes, there was another feeling after the emotions. The sudden feeling of calm. But why was I calm before I activated the punch? Do I need to achieve that calm to activate the power? Let's try this again.

  Jei practiced for a hundred more punches. As he focused on calming his mind, he slowly moved toward the same feeling of the punch he exerted in the fight. On his 98th punch, the essence around his fist changed. It swirled around his hand, and his power exploded. A sharp force emerged from his punch and went straight into the tree next to him. The tree shuddered and broke apart. When the upper part of the tree lost its connection with lower part, it dissipated into tiny energy particles that surged in Jei's soul body.

  "That's it!" Jei cheered. "I did it!" He once again threw a punch, and t
his too surged with the same power. He had succeeded in mastering the first level.

  "Damn, kid, you don't give up, do you?" The senior's voice echoed from behind him.

  Jei turned and almost clasped his hands. That would've attracted more curses from the senior, so he instantly straightened his spine.

  The senior wore a red robe today. He surely liked to change his clothes. Now Jei could too, if he bought some clothes with the money from the spatial bag. "Josh, greetings. Did I wake you?"

  The senior waved his hand. "Nah, I don't actually need to sleep. I just do it out of habit. Now go, it's already noon, and your sister must be hungry."

  "What? Is it noon already?" Jei's mind filled with guilt. He should have brought lunch by now. Jei slipped out of his soul palace and walked to his house.

  Xue lay on her bed, her eyes focused on Jei when he opened his eyes.

  "Big brother, how are you?" She wore a beautiful smile.

  Jei jumped to his feet and helped Xue get up. "I'll run to the market and get some food. Don't worry, I'll be back in half an hour. Please endure." Guilt filled him. He must not forget about his sister while training.

  "Don't rush, brother. I'm not that hungry." She tried to smile, but the growl emanating from her stomach gave her away.

  "I'll be back." Jei wanted to slap his own face. How could he be so irresponsible with Xue'er? He dashed out of his house toward the market with such haste, he forgot to take his spatial bag with him.

  KI NING

  At the same time, a duo was heading to Jei’s house. Ning had a huge bandage wrapped around his leg and limped a little while walking.

  "Brother Pang, that's the house of that bastard who broke my leg."

  "Aha." The giant’s eyes shone with a sinister light. "Let's kill him then." Pang, who looked like a giant, roared.

  Chapter 31

  Ki Pang

  Ki Pang walked with long strides toward Li Jei's house. The bastard broke his brother's leg. Insolent. He deserved to die. When Ning'er told him that a 17-year-old brat had broken his leg with a single punch, he couldn't believe it. Then he saw how Wei Shu looked. He was worse than Ning'er.

  As soon as the clan's doctor fixed his brother's leg, Ki Pang decided it was time for the kid to die. The flame of hatred burned inside his heart.

  "Brother Pang, he is too strong. I'm guessing he ate some treasure to gain that strength. Just few days back, I almost killed him with a single punch. There's no way he could get this strong in a few days. There has to be a treasure."

  "Ning'er, you just watch."

  Ning'er smirked. "Yes, big brother. You're the dragon among men. You're the first one to join a sect in our whole clan. Once you kill the brat, just use the treasure and you'll cross the bottleneck of level four. You may even surpass the Chu clan patriarch’s son."

  "Silence." Ki Pang smiled. Though he would love to be stronger than Chu Son, he couldn't say that in the open. Chu clan managed the whole town, and their patriarch’s son was considered to be the strongest youth in the whole town. At just the age of 15, he was at Qi Condensation level 5 and chosen by the Purple Cloud Sect branch leader Master Yu as a disciple. He’d specially groomed Chu Son, and there was a rumor that he was preparing special medicine for Chu Son to break through to level 6 soon. "He may be a tough guy, but don't forget Sister Yu is better than him in all ways. If not for that bastard dying early, she would have taken our clan to the capital by now." He sighed. Their elder sister Ki Yu was a dragoness among all, and she had reached Qi Condensation level 5 when she was just 16. If not for her emotional setback, she would have already been at level 7 or maybe 8. "And don't forget she also got backing from Master Yu. She was his most favorite disciple back then."

  Compared to Chu Son, who had all the assistance from a sect's branch head, Pang was like an ant. He had no assistance, nor any resources to break through. So, for the last few months he’d been stuck at level 4 of Qi Condensation. Despite eating spirit mushroom—a low level spirit medicine provided by the sect—for three straight months, he couldn't break through. Now other disciples of the sect started saying Pang would remain at level 4 his whole lifetime.

  Pang was afraid of that. If he got stuck here, he wouldn't be able to become his clan's patriarch in the future and wouldn't get his hands on the beautiful girl of the first elder. How could he let that happen? He had followed her since childhood. How could he let her slip out of his hands?

  I, Ki Pang, will show everyone how talented I am. Once I eat the treasure Li Jei has, I'll certainly break through.

  His eyes shone with a bright energy as he thought about the treasure. It would let him break through to level 5 or maybe level 6. Once that happened, the first elder might even offer him his second daughter as well.

  That would be spectacular. I might even get my hands on the Chu Xi, the heavenly beauty of the Cloud Dragon Town.

  "Brat, come out!" Ning'er roared once they reached the small dirty house at the end of Poor White District's last lane. The house was made of loose stones; even the Ki family's servants had better houses than this.

  Disgusting.

  How can a filthy beggar get his hands on a treasure? It belongs to me.

  "Let's barge in." Pang couldn't control his excitement anymore. He needed the treasure as soon as possible. He punched the loose door and stared in. "Li Jei, you'll die today."

  But there was no man in the house, only a girl lying on the bed. A beautiful girl with fair complexion and small twin peaks that heaved through the sheet she pulled over her. Pang's eyes burned with lust. The brat had hidden a beauty in his house. No more. Pang would get a taste of this beauty today.

  Pang was so busy making his plan, he missed Ning silently putting the spatial bag lying on the ground in his pocket.

  Chapter 32

  After buying food, Jei rushed home. The fragrance of spirit rice wafted around him, making his stomach growl in hunger. His green robe fluttered on the air as he increased his speed when the town's stone-paved roads turned into a dust trail. A surge of energy exploded from his cells as he utilized his full speed. With Poison Body and Gate of Healing acting together, his speed could easily reach a level that was humanly impossible. It was a breeze to run like this, without worrying about his fragile body. Well, of course, after his power increased his muscles became toned and his body resembled a fragile stick no more, yet he was still a skinny youth.

  Xue'er is going to love this rice.

  Xue'er had already been hungry when he left, and until she ate the delicious spirit rice, he’d bought for 20 silver, his heart wouldn’t be at ease. Today he had lots of money, so he decided to go overboard and buy the spirit rice he had only eaten a few times in his seventeen years of life. Spirit rice was ten times better than normal rice and provided enrichment to one’s cultivation. Though Jei and Xue couldn't cultivate qi, they would still benefit from the vigor it provided. More than that, he wanted to see the happy smile on his sister's face.

  When he reached his alley, he found his front door open. Had Aunt Bei propped it open? No, she never did that. Then who?

  His forehead wrinkled as he surged forward.

  Something is wrong. Please don't let anyone hurt Xue.

  "Kid, there are two men,” the senior said, his voice thick with anger. “One is at the door, and the other is trying to force himself on our sister.”

  Forcing Xue'er!

  Jei's fingers clenched into a fist. His speed increased even further as he dashed through the door.

  A giant half-naked man was leaning over Xue's body, trying to snatch her robe. Tears flew from her eyes like a waterfall; she was trying hard to push away the giant with her fragile, thin hands.

  Jei leaped forward, elbow pulled back. Natural essence swirled around his hand, forming a vortex of energy.

  The giant raised his hand to slap Xue, but a moment before his filthy hand reached Xue's pure skin, Jei's punch slammed against his forearm, forcing it away. The giant stumbled backward, his eyes tur
ned wary of the force, and jumped away before Jei's second fist could hit him.

  Jei's fist swiped through empty air. His expression darkened as he failed to injure the giant.

  "Ning'er, is this the one who broke your leg?" The giant asked, rubbing his left hand. He gave Jei a strange look. He surely had felt the impact of his punch.

  "Yes... Brother Pang," Ning replied, his body shivering slightly.

  Jei glared at Ning. "I should have killed you. I won't repeat my mistake twice. Today, you won't walk out of this house."

  "Killing my brother... ha-ha, you must be dreaming!” Ki Pang laughed. “The one who will die is you. If you kneel to me and lick my hand, I might serve you a clean death. Otherwise, I'll break your legs and feed them to my dogs. And then I'll enjoy your sister in front of your eyes.”

  Jei’s heart flipped over. This was all because of his soft nature. If he had killed Ki Ning and Wei Shu at the forest patch yesterday, this day wouldn't have come. He glanced at his sister. She shivered in fear, tears running freely down her face.

  "Xue'er don't worry. Even if I have to die today, I'll kill these two." And Jei leaped with his full force toward Ning, his fist ready to break his ribs and put a hole in his chest.

  But before he reached Ning, Pang zipped forward and deflected Jei's fist with his own arm. Jei felt like a hammer collided with his fist. A sharp pain originated from his fingers and traveled back up his arm, but a calming sensation shot toward his hand and eased the pain. Gate of Healing sprang into action, healing small internal injuries in his hand.

  Jei jumped back, avoiding another punch aimed at him.

  "You are fast, brat." Pang rubbed his hand. "You took a punch from my Breaking Fist martial skill and still your hand is not broken. If only you were borne inside Ki clan! Unfortunately, this is as far as you walk. Today I'll make you kowtow and hand over your sister to me."