by Translator: Pokka; Author: 我本纯洁 (I Am Pure); Licensed From: Migu
Hearing Xia Liuhui’s careful explanation of the outer court, Xiang Shaoyun gained a general understanding of the situation. Only the top 10 outer court disciples were entitled to hold a jade plate. If others wanted to get ahold of a jade plate, they would have to get a place in the top 10. With a jade plate, they would be able to earn points. Only with said points would they be able to dine anytime they wanted at the restaurant.
Apart from that, Xiang Shaoyun now knew more about the usefulness of the jade plate. Points could also be exchanged for weapons at the Weapon Hall as well as herbs at the Medicine Hall. Basically, so long as one had enough points, one could get almost everything they needed within Martial Hall Palace with the jade plate.
Furthermore, as part of the top 10 outer court disciples, they would have the freedom to go out of Martial Hall Palace. This was the highlight for most outer court disciples. They were all restless youths whose mindsets had yet to mature. Nobody wished to be perpetually stuck cultivating. What a joy it would be if they were able to freely enter and leave Martial Hall Palace as they liked!
“How does one become one of the top 10 outer court disciples?” Xiang Shaoyun asked Xia Liuhui.
“Simple. If you challenge and successfully beat any one of the top 10 disciples, you’ll take over their previous ranking,” Xia Liuhui replied.
“Heh heh, not bad. That top 10 spot is going to be mine soon!” Xiang Shaoyun confidently chuckled.
“Boss, do you not understand even after I’ve repeated myself so many times? All the top 10 outer court disciples are at ninth-stage Basic Realm. You…you’re only at the third stage! Even if you are a heavenly genius, you still wouldn’t be able to beat any of them! Boss, one needs to be realistic when doing things,” Xia Liuhui seriously warned Xiang Shaoyun.
“It’s fine, I know what to do. You just wait to be the glorious sidekick of one of the outer court’s top 10 disciples.” Xiang Shaoyun did not bother explaining himself to Xia Liuhui. Right now, he was not merely at the third stage, but rather at the peak of the sixth stage, with the capability to break through to the seventh stage at any given time. Most importantly, his combat prowess was equal to that of a ninth-stage Basic Realm cultivator.
Outside Martial Hall Palace, at a luxurious mansion where the head of Wu Town resided:
“Greetings, father.” A youth bowed and greeted a middle-aged man.
If Xiang Shaoyun was around, he would’ve definitely noticed that the youth was Wu Mingliang. The middle-aged man was thus naturally his father, Wu Hongxi.
Wu Hongxi seemed no older than forty and was currently at the peak of his life. Not only was he a Transformation Realm expert, he was also the head of Wu Town, holding the topmost position in all of Wu Town.
“Rise.” Upon seeing his beloved son, Wu Hongxi could not help but let out a tender smile. He had seven sons with varying amounts of talent. His seventh son was the one he had the most hopes for. This son, however, was still slightly unruly. This wasn’t a huge matter, though, since it would go away with age.
“Father, why did you call me back here?” Wu Mingliang asked.
“It’s like this. The day before yesterday, I noticed a bright light being emitted from your Martial Hall Palace, one that is similar to the five stars illuminating the sky phenomenon. Do you know who it was that triggered it?” Wu Hongxi asked.
“So father also took notice of that!” Wu Mingliang replied. With a smug expression, he then said, “He’s a new disciple who has just joined Martial Hall Palace, merely at third-stage Basic Realm. I had even thoroughly bullied him yesterday! He’s mere trash.”
“Third-stage Basic Realm? Good, very good!” Wu Hongxi laughed loudly before saying, “Son, do you have any means of luring him out of Martial Hall Palace?”
Wu Mingliang guessed, “Does father wish to make him a servant of our household? Fantastic! He will know what I can do when he becomes our servant.”
Wu Hongxi merely replied, “You do not need to bother about what I intend to do with him. As long as you’re able to lure him out of Martial Hall Palace or get him to leave of his own accord, inform me at once. This matter was ordered by your grandfather; failure will not be tolerated. Do you understand?”
“Grandfather? He actually caught grandfather’s attention? Then I’ll go back to make some arrangements. I hope he isn’t dead yet,” Wu Mingliang said as his tone turned grave.
“What?! He’s going to die?” Wu Hongxi asked, completely shocked.
Wu Mingliang gave a brief recap of what had happened between him and Xiang Shaoyun before proceeding to say, “With his little strength, trying to stay in the first room of the Hall of Limits for even half an hour is difficult, much less a whole hour. I’m afraid he really might have died!”
“He won’t die. How can Martial Hall Palace bear to let a genius of his calibre perish like that?” Wu Hongxi said with certainty after he’d finished listening. Waving his hands, he then said, “You’d best go back quickly. If you’re unable to accomplish it alone, wait for your two elder brothers to come back from their expedition and get them to help.”
“Father can be at ease. Your son will not fail you,” Wu Mingliang replied with absolute confidence.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Within those three short days, news of the upcoming match between Xiang Shaoyun and Wu Mingliang at the arena had spread like wildfire throughout Martial Hall Palace.
After another four days, the two would settle their grudges in the sparring arena. Nobody was optimistic for Xiang Shaoyun’s chances, given their preconceived notion of him being a low-leveled Basic Realm cultivator. Everybody thought he was digging his own grave.
In those three days, Xiang Shaoyun constantly cultivated in the Hall of Limits during the day. At night, he would practice his battle techniques in his own courtyard. As such, his cultivation improved by leaps and bounds.
Whenever Xiang Shaoyun meditated, he would circulate his cultivation, causing ripples in the stars within his body. As energy pulsed through him, his 365 acupoints would light up brilliantly like a starry lake, making him seem like a sacred being.
This was something that normally only peak Basic Realm practitioners would be able to achieve. However, Xiang Shaoyun managed to achieve it while he was merely at the peak of the sixth-stage Basic Realm.
Normally, as long as one’s acupoints were full of energy, one would then be able to convert them into astral energy and awaken their natal stars. However, Xiang Shaoyun’s physique was too extraordinary. His natal stars had naturally awakened at birth, so he did not need to take such a step!
This was the benefit of being a monstrous genius. Strength coursed through his meridians like a lake as his acupoints constantly flashed brilliantly. Unable to be suppressed any further, the energy within him burst out.
Seventh-stage Basic Realm! Xiang Shaoyun’s breakthrough took little to no effort at all. With his current strength, breaking through yet another stage would not be an issue at all. However, he chose to yet again suppress the raging energy, choosing to use the remaining time to further consolidate his foundations.
Chapter 17: I’ll Remember This Whip!
Xiang Shaoyun managed to break through smoothly into the seventh stage of the Basic Realm. Yet not a trace of joy was on his face. In his eyes, this strength was way too low. His expectations were extremely high; these were only minor stages that he had to cross for now.
Rushing Qi Fist!
Standing up, Xiang Shaoyun thrust his body forward. Shaping his fist like a rock, he extended his arm, flying his fist forward. The resulting punch was so fierce even hitting pure air resulted in violent reverberations. The strength contained in that one punch was not something a seventh-stage Basic Realm cultivator could block. As he threw his second punch out, there seemed to be movement of qi within his arm meridians, unleashed via the power of his punch.
“Come out!” Xiang Shaoyun shouted. The stars in his body shone brightly, his acupoints all agitated as the qi flew thro
ugh the meridians like a river before swiftly rushing out of his body.
Pow Pow Pow!
Within the span of a single breath, Xiang Shaoyun unleashed three consecutive punches, each punch containing his full strength, giving him the highest momentum possible. The very moment he released his fourth punch, a staggering burst of qi flowed out from his meridians. The qi was like a fog, but its sheer power was enough to startle people.
Pow!
This particular fist caused a vibration even stronger and more violent than before. Astral energy turning into qi, unleashing qi outwards. This was usually a symbol of one being in the Astral Realm.
After unleashing that punch, Xiang Shaoyun’s strength grew even more terrifying than before, as if he had turned mad. He sent out ten consecutive punches—each and every punch was accompanied by qi, leaving a very oppressive feeling lingering in the air after every punch. A sturdy old tree nearby was hit by a blast of his qi, leaving a deep hole outlining the blast of the qi. Unable to support itself anymore, the tree fell.
Only now did Xiang Shaoyun stop throwing out punches. By then, he was thoroughly exhausted, panting heavily, buckets of sweat dripping down his face.
“Fantastic…this feels so awesome! HA HA HA!” Xiang Shaoyun tossed his head back and roared with laughter. Able to get qi to form attacks externally as a brand new seventh-stage Basic Realm cultivator? This was simply upturning the heavens and creating a new path!
Throughout all Wu Town and even Cloud Margin City, not one person could be said to have accomplished such a heaven-defying act! Even Xiang Shaoyun himself was happy beyond belief.
“I can only release half a meter of qi with my fists, but it’s more than enough for me to take care of anyone within the Basic Realm! As for those in the Astral Realm, there still is quite a gap between us. There won’t be any after I reach the peak of the Basic Realm, though!” Xiang Shaoyun muttered to himself. Shortly after, he once again pondered, “It’s time to train with weapons!”
On the second day, Xiang Shaoyun absorbed purple qi at the start of dawn as per usual. This time, however, he managed to absorb thrice as much as he did previously due to his increase in cultivation. That being said, even as he took in thrice as much as he previously did, the purple qi still failed to cause a single ripple when absorbed into his nine great stars. His nine stars were like a bottomless abyss. Nobody knew just how long it would take to fill them.
Standing up, Xiang Shaoyun left his compound and headed for the Weapon Hall. As an outer court disciple, it was initially not possible for Xiang Shaoyun to skip training sessions. However, he’d been in the Hall of Limits for the past three days! Others may not be privy to this information, but the outer court officer naturally knew all this.
Since this was the case, Xiang Shaoyun was not required to stay in the outer court for training like the rest of the outer court disciples. He was similar to the top 10 disciples in this regard. As for the battle between Wu Mingliang and himself, he had long thrown the matter to the back of his mind. In his eyes, Wu Mingliang was merely a hopping clown not worthy of a second glance.
The Weapon Hall was situated within the inner courtyard, which happened to be where most of the inner court disciples were. The inner courtyard was not like the outer courtyard, which was a vast empty space equipped with simple training tools. Here, there were numerous cultivation rooms built for inner court disciples to self-cultivate in. There was also a large martial field, where elders would hold external lessons at every half a month, speaking about various cultivation techniques, battle techniques, and etc.
Every single inner court disciple was allowed to enter and leave Martial Hall Palace as they liked. Hence, the faces that were seen in the inner courtyard were never constant. As Xiang Shaoyun stepped into the inner courtyard, he saw various heroic and imposing youths riding on different demonic beasts.
“When I have the chance, I should get a mount too. Only then will I be eye-catching,” Xiang Shaoyun mused to himself. At that moment, a young lady dressed in fiery-red attire and riding a scorching flame cat rushed straight for the inner court exit.
“Move aside!” the red-clothed lady bellowed at the dazed Xiang Shaoyun.
The inner court exit was large enough that it would be able to fit 10 mounts simultaneously going in or out of the area. Yet this red-clothed lady seemed to be going straight for the still Xiang Shaoyun. This was an obvious disregard of him, and she had decided to brute force her way through. Xiang Shaoyun was unable to get out of her way. The scorching flame cat was simply too fast, closing the gap in what seemed like the blink of an eye.
“Oh no!” Xiang Shaoyun cried out in alarm.
At this critical moment, the red-clothed lady managed to barely control the scorching flame cat, avoiding Xiang Shaoyun by the skin of its teeth.
“Bastard! You dare to block Li Hong’er’s path?!” The red-clothed lady herself was in shock. The long whip in her hand viciously shot for Xiang Shaoyun.
Pa!
The whip was stunningly fast. Within the blink of an eye, it landed on Xiang Shaoyun’s delicate face. A red wound appeared, traces of fresh blood dripping from it.
It hurts!
A burning pain immediately spread throughout Xiang Shaoyun’s body. Not only that, he felt a sense of humiliation that he had never felt before. His handsome face had been ruined!
“This is to teach you a lesson. Good dogs don’t block the road!” the lady called Li Hong’er coldly spat before swiftly riding the scorching flame cat out of the inner court.
“Bastard, stop right there!” Xiang Shaoyun came to his wits and yelled in sheer anger at the faraway Li Hong’er. She could’ve hit him anywhere else but had chosen to specifically hit his deviously handsome face! That was taboo! Sadly, by then, the lady was long gone. How was he to catch up to a mid-tier demonic beast with his speed?
“I’ll remember this whip!” Xiang Shaoyun bellowed in the direction of the red-clothed lady.
“Junior brother, you seem very unfamiliar with this place. Are you not aware of who senior sister Li Hong’er is? You even dare to hold a grudge against her,” a passing inner court disciple asked, completely surprised.
Shaking his head, Xiang Shaoyun said, “This young one is a new disciple here, so I’m not acquainted with any such vicious females. I ask for senior brother’s enlightenment.”
“She’s the daughter of the thirteenth elder, Li Xuemeng. If you dare to go against her, the thirteenth elder might just kick you out of Martial Hall Palace!” the inner court disciple kindly said to Xiang Shaoyun before hurriedly walking away.
So she’s the daughter of the thirteenth elder! No wonder she’s so cocky, Xiang Shaoyun thought to himself. Eyes flashing with killing intent, he said, “Even if it were the palace master’s daughter who hit my face, she would still die!”
Xiang Shaoyun, who was initially planning to visit the Weapon Hall, headed straight for the Medicine Hall to seek herbal medicine to heal himself, lest a scar would be left on his face. The Medicine Hall was not far from the Weapon Hall. As he drew closer, the scent of herbs drifted by.
Xiang Shaoyun hurriedly entered the premises and asked the overseer inside the hall, “Great overseer, do you have the spirit medicine blood-clotting grass for the stopping of external blood flow and the healing of wounds?”
“The blood-clotting grass is a high-tier spirit medicine from the legends! Kid, are you here to get a laugh out of our Medicine Hall?” The overseer angrily harrumphed.
Chapter 18: Concocting Medicinal Solutions!
Tier-1 to tier-3 medicinal herbs were also known as old medicines. The age of these herbs were at least 100 to 300 years old. If the herbs used were 400 to 600 years old, the produced medicines would be known as spirit medicines. Any older than 600 and the result would be known as king medicines.
The blood-clotting grass was a tier-6 spirit herb, which also meant to say that it needed to grow for at least 600 years before it reached maturity. As a high-tier spirit
herb used for healing wounds, it was extremely uncommon. Normal people would rarely chance upon such a herb, which grew in vast, dangerous forests where high-tier demonic beasts abounded.
Martial Hall Palace was merely a cultivation ground in a small town. Even if they had several Transformation Realm experts, wanting to get the high-tier blood-clotting grass would be no easy feat.
“Overseer, how could I be here to make fun of your hall? You yourself can see what has happened to my face! If you don’t have the blood-clotting grass, give me your best spirit herbs for healing wounds! I need them now.” Xiang Shaoyun was dumbfounded. It was only then that he considered that for a place as small as Martial Hall Palace, getting high-tier spirit herbs would be no easy task. Even if they had any, the elders would surely keep it for themselves and not bring it to the Medicine Hall to sell.
Seeing the wound on Xiang Shaoyun’s face, the overseer no longer pursued the matter of him making fun of them and replied, “We don’t have high-tier spirit medicines here, but we do have a low-tier spirit medicine here—reconciliation flower!”
“Reconciliation flower? The medical efficacy of this 400-year-old spirit medicine is a far cry from that of the blood-clotting medicine! But it’ll do for now,” Xiang Shaoyun replied, slightly unhappy.
“Kid, you sure talk big! The reconciliation flower is on that shelf over there. Go take a look first.” The overseer was left utterly speechless at Xiang Shaoyun’s choice of words.
Hastily walking over, Xiang Shaoyun caught sight of a sparkling, dark green flower placed in a transparent jade box. This was, without a doubt, the reconciliation flower used for treating wounds.