by Fat Bread
Compared to it, his body had an even bigger problem.
*Crackle!*
Countless electrical currents rapidly flowed in Yun Xi's body. The exhaustions, fatigues, and side effects, as the aftermath after he fought a hundred and twenty-one rounds with the Green Hippo, followed with the deathmatch and fleeing from Hua Huo, finally bursted out in one breath.
It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!
From his fingertips to the tip of his toe, from the top of his head to the furthest part of his spinal bone, all of his muscles and nerves were howling, wailing, twisting, and convulsing.
"Master, take a deep breath quickly." Mei'er's small paw reluctantly carved a fainter and hollow character; it was as if using this ability would consume her spiritual force greatly.
"Huuff... haa..."
"Huuff... haa..."
Following Mei'er's guidance, Yun Xi began to apply the Sword Art's Seed and using the breathing method he learned from Hua Huo.
At first, merely keeping his breathing rhythm like this was extremely difficult.
Had Yun Xi only relied on his half-completed breathing rhythm that his eyes and ears learned from Hua Huo's breathing method, he would definitely have failed halfway.
Fortunately, what Yun Xi learned now was a true and genuine Sword Art's Seed that carried along with it other methods of which he didn't know how many levels higher compared to his half-completed breathing method was. It was maybe closer to a secret and perfect Mortal Grade breathing method.
"Huuff... haa..."
"Huuff... haa..."
The rhythm was that for each breath he inhaled, he must exhale twice. Due to every part of his body being in pain, along with each breath taken, his organs absorbed his body fluids, which would then be dissolved in his chest and abdomen.
Afterwards, a strand of warm heat slowly flowed and spread out from his stomach and chest, healing the distorted nerve network and muscles in Yun Xi's body.
For each breath he took in, Yun Xi could feel that the balance in his body became more splendid. Even his life force was strengthening.
This was without a doubt, the highest Mortal Grade breathing method and the most secretive amongst them too. In the trial, he had tempered himself and experienced a hundred and twenty deaths before he was finally able to fully adapt to the situation. Had it been Hua Huo, she would have fully adapted within several breaths.
The huge disparity in natural talent between people could sometimes really make a person despair.
However, after receiving the star seed from Hua Huo, he had at the very least about one-tenth of Hua Huo's talent right now.
Even if it was only one tenth, it cannot be underestimated, since the talent condensed in this star seed was Hua Huo's sensibility toward the sword arts, her mastery over combat skill, as well as that unfathomable God's Sword Skill: Heavenly Flying Sword (Beginner Level).
After he had swallowed the Green Hippo's soul, his physical strength was enhanced to the that of a 1st-ranked swordsman. And Hua Huo's seed was absolutely a giant treasure trove that was momentarily waiting for his growth.
If he could completely fuse with this Sword Art's Seed from Hua Huo, it would be equivalent to being in the same sword realm as her.
He only needed to absorb enough physical attributed souls to improve, then his battle efficiency would have a tremendous leap after one year.
Hua Huo was a 3rd Ranked swordsmaiden. However, she was not your ordinary 3rd Rank. She was like the most invincible and tyrannical 3rd-ranked swordsmaiden to have ever existed. Even though the Green Hippo was also a 3rd-ranked beast; even if Hua Huo was alone, she could kill ten of them!
"Amazing... it's truly worthy of being Hua Huo's seed!" After a hundred breaths and having adjusted his body, Yun Xi felt that he was finally able to move.
Even though he could only stand creakily and was quickly drenched with his own sweat, Yun Xi felt like he just obtained a new life.
1st-ranked Swordsman Level. Should he be enlisted into the army, he would have jumped over the recruit rank and directly became a platoon leader.
No matter who it was in the God's Domain, a promotion was extremely difficult for people who took on a professional soldier's career.
Just take the Sword God's Domain for example. Most male martial artists/cultivators/swordsman were always practicing sword arts all year round and sometimes, out of 100 people only one person was able to become a 1st-ranked swordsman before they turn 30-years-old and become an officially ranked swordsman.
And now, take The White Lotus Sword Domain where Yun Xi lived for example. The first requirement when recruiting disciples to enter the Sword Palace was that one must enter the 1st Rank before they reached 18. Disciples who could not achieve this threshold would be expelled from the Sword Palace directly.
A 16 year old 1st-ranked swordsman. Although Yun Xi was not on par with such a peerless genius like Hua Huo, if he were to be compared to other mortals, he could also be called a genius. At least in this small village, only a few youths could achieve this standard in the same generation.
As for 2nd-ranked swordsmen, they were the ones who took leadership in the army. They were the core of the military force and it was certain that they would at least be a captain.
If one were still young and had great potential, he could even directly become a regiment commander. After gaining sufficient experience and skills in strategy and tactics, the General's position would not be a dream anymore.
And the last rank of the Mortal Grade, which meant a 3rd-ranked swordsman like Hua Huo, could even fight a thousand enemies.
No, if it was Hua Huo, she could definitely battle against enemies numbering in the tens of thousands.
Even if she were to be surrounded by such a mighty force, she could fly out using that Heavenly Flying Sword (Beginner Level) skill and then strike back and forth to kill and kill again. She could advance and strike seven times and then escape easily like there was no one on the battlefield.
Even the strongest person in the Mortal Grade Level probably cannot be compared to a Hero Rank and a peerless genius such as Hua Huo.
Yun Xi was standing in the bathroom as he received massive information from Hua Huo's seed while cleaning the filth off his body.
It seemed that because Yun Xi had absorbed the Green Hippo's spirit and used it as a shortcut to enhance his physical fitness, strength, and toughness, the phenomenon when he was breaking through into the 1st Rank was much more violent than normal. All the muscles in his body were twitching and suffering under extreme convulsions.
After washing and cleaning his body, Yun Xi carried the star spirit - Mei'er - in his bosom and washed her body from top to bottom.
"Aaah! Woof!" Mei'er, who was being touched and brushed by Yun Xi's hands, voiced out shy and happy voices. Her smooth golden fur was unlike that of ordinary dogs which became unsightly after being soaked, it became more bright and shiny instead.
"It's truly a Star Spirit..." Looking at the water dripping from Mei'ers' golden hairs, Yun Xi was somewhat dazed.
Yes, this was not a dream.
The occasionally twitching muscles he had, as well as the feeling of embracing this cute little golden retriever clearly told him that this was not a dream.
Ever since the night that he dreamt of that falling star, his life changed and became completely different from the past.
He had inherited the legacy left by his previous reincarnation. But he at the same time also had to bear the consequences of his past lives' pack of lies. There was a dreadful 7th-ranked Apostle that had already descended to the Sword God's Domain and might have started to search for him all over.
Once he was discovered by that 7th-ranked Apostle, he would fall into a situation beyond redemption.
This was absolutely not the same as tempering himself in that simple trial, of which he could be resurrected again. Just thinking about what he saw in his dream; those four powerful ex-girlfriends in the starry sky, made h
im shiver. He didn't dare to imagine how miserable he would be if he were to fall into their hands.
"Mei'er, I... what will happen in the future?" As he lifted the star spirit with his hands, Yun Xi sighed deeply.
"Woof!" Mei'er, who was unable to speak but instead stretched out her small tongue and licked Yun Xi's wrist and let out a crying voice.
"Well... since you believe in me, I must believe in you too."
"If I truly am the Starchild, then, I'm the only who can change my own destiny." While looking at Mei'er's bright-pure big eyes, Yun Xi set firm his resolve and embraced the puppy star spirit, wrapping it with a bath towel and then went out of the bathroom.
"Good, I will start practicing! Upgrading..." Yun Xi had not even started to practice when his bedroom's door sounded with a "Bang" from being kicked open.
"Little Xi, get up quickly!" A sword qi flashed and Yun Xi's blanket flew into the air.
This move was the perfect fusion between speed and motion trajectory of sword’s blade. Had Yun Xi still been under the blanket, he wouldn't even find out that this was done by a sword.
For someone who practices sword arts, this move had already reached the peak and was beyond the limit of an ordinary person’s.
Well it was very obvious. To be the one who can produce such a move, that would be none other than his childhood sweetheart - Hua Huo.
"Err... Hua Huo, what made you visit my home so early this morning?" Speaking while embracing Mei'er, Yun Xi spoke with a trace of guilt at his childhood sweetheart who was standing at his door.
Mei'er didn't say anything about this. The trial was guided by the stars and the scenes in that special dream world were unlikely to be related to the outside world, right?
As long as the trial was over, the people that were involved in the trial would naturally get out of that dreamland. Then like spring dreams, there should be no traces left, right?
Then again, seeing the menacing looks from his childhood sweetheart; could it be that she was aware of it?
Chapter 17: Precious Mei'er
"Little Xi!" Hua Huo found that Yun Xi wasn't on his bed and turned around immediately. Then, she saw Yun Xi who was half naked and only wrapped in a bath towel.
"Alas!" Hua Huo was taught to be a lady of the sword since her childhood. She had no immunity in face of such a sudden impact.
"Hua Huo, wait!" Yun Xi understood his childhood sweetheart too well. He hurriedly found his clothes beside the bathroom, held Mei'er in his arms and ducked into the bathroom to change clothes.
After hearing Hua Huo's scream, several neighbors raised their heads and found that the sound was coming from the second floor of the bread shop. They showed both funny and annoyed expressions.
"That couple is squabbling again."
"Oh, it's a pity. They are such a perfect couple but will have to break up."
"Several young boys of our village have quietly cried several times."
"If it's possible, I want to see little Yun Xi's and Hua Huo's wedding."
****
Hua Huo brandished her long sword in front of Yun Xi. She showed her fantastic sword skill to cut down an unlucky mosquito's legs.
"What should I... explain?" Yun Xi's eyes followed Hua Huo's sword up and down. In the past, he didn't understand it, but now he found that Hua Huo's control over the force of her sword had already reached its peak.
If she wanted to cut down the mosquito's legs, she would never touch the mosquito's wings. When Hua Huo cut down the mosquito's slender legs, it was still flying.
"Buzz?" When the mosquito found that something was wrong, it had flown several meters away and knocked into the wall.
"Hum, you betcha. Of course, I mean those several foxes who dared to attract you!"
"I had a dream. I don't remember it clearly but you became a playboy in it, Yun Xi!"
"No! It was just a dream, Hua Huo!" Fastening on the stars as his shield, Yun Xi lied fearlessly.
To be precise, it wasn't a lie. For Hua Huo who was unintentionally involved in his first trial, it was just a dream.
So in truth, a lie was the best explanation.
Unfortunately, as his childhood sweetheart, she knew him more than himself. Besides, she had a god-like talent called the "Jealousy Radar", which wasn't able to be explained.
"No! There must be something wrong! I won't have a dream for no reason. Tell me, who is she? Where is she from? How many people are there?" Hua Huo blocked Yun Xi's way in a threatening manner. Her expression showed that she wouldn't give up until he told her the truth.
"You've got it all wrong! There is only this little dog staying with me." Yun Xi had to lift up Mei'er as his shield to defend Hua Huo's homicidal eyes.
"Woof!" Mei'er showed a pitiful look as she was lifted up by Yun Xi. It wasn't a play. It was her true feeling.
Compared to Yun Xi who knew nothing about famous dogs, Hua Huo's knowledge had a broader range. So after she looked carefully at Mei'er in Yun Xi's arms, she showed a look of disbelief.
"Little Xi, when did you start to care for a dog? Especially such a rare dog. To my knowledge, it's a special Royal Golden Retriever from the Western God's Domains, and it would never grow up."
What Hua Huo didn't say was that such a golden dog was a priceless good in the Western God's Domain and often had none for sale.
In the entire Western God's Domains, only several royal families with the longest history had this kind of special, never-growing golden dogs. Every year, there would never be over twenty of these dogs on sale and sometimes, there were only eight or nine dogs on sale. Their total amount had never exceeded a thousand.
It wasn't contempt, but even if Yun Xi were to sell his whole bread shop and land, he would still be unable to buy a toe of this pure-blood royal golden dog.
It was said that there were special blessings inside this kind of golden dogs' blood. They would give special luck and fortune to its master. So normally, they wouldn't train it.
In the highest circles of the Western God's Domains, these never-growing golden dogs were always a symbol of a high status. They were more precious than any diamond or gem.
Every year, countless princesses, princes, and dukes wanted one of these but they never succeeded no matter what their method or relation was.
"No, I just found this homeless little dog last night on the roadside. Doesn't our village also have dozens of golden fur dogs?" Yun Xi looked at Mei'er in his arms as sweat beads dropped down from his forehead.
"A homeless little golden dog?" Hua Huo's expression looked like she was saying ‘Don't kid with me!’.
Would any homeless golden little dog have such pure golden fur? It looked like real gold, the symbol of fortune and luck.
Would the dogs in the village have such a pair of pure, black gem-like addicting eyes? Some stupid big yellow dog would never have such a special charm that could catch everyone's eyes naturally.
Maybe the local people of the Sky Sword God's Domain didn't know it, but how would she misjudge it? This royal golden dog was known as a "Golden Fairy", a fantastic creature everyone dreamed of in the Western God's Domains.
Putting it bluntly, ten of these small towns weren't worth the little golden dog in Yun Xi's arms.
If this kind of fantastic dog could be found on the roadside, perhaps in the Western God's Domains, countless of people would wander around rivers, parks, and the wild to try to catch this kind of fantastic golden fairy.
As Hua Huo knew, in the entire Western God's Domains, this kind of fantastic dog was always on the verge of extinction.
Every year, many people worried about the amount of these cute fantastic creatures and for this, they showed no hesitation to use some taboo methods to produce descendants in order to save this race.
‘Yun Xi! You picked this dog on the roadside? It is equal to picking up a gold hill on the roadside!’
Something was wrong. There must be something wrong!
"Eh? Wait... this smell..." Hua Huo sniffe
d. Last night's indistinct dream suddenly became clear.
The milky aroma, sweet and intoxicating. She didn't have this odor. A strange odor.
It was not from Milei, El'phyllis, or Ye Li. It was a more sweet, heart-warming odor.
"How can it be... It's from this little dog?" By following the smell, finally, Hua Huo found the suspect who made her unable to sleep until early morning.
"Yes, it's from Mei'er. You must be misunderstanding something." This time, Yun Xi was so thankful that Mei'er was in his bed in the form of a little golden dog.