Chapter 159 - Would You Like to Go on a Date?
Up in the lightning zone, two souls could be seen showering amidst lightning. Zhong Yue and Qiu Jin'er were refining their souls and psyche, while Grandmother Lu guarded their bodies in the cave dwelling. The deer monster was loyal to Qiu Jin’er and never left her side.
The two souls in the lightning zone held hands, exposing themselves to the lightning, accepting the baptism of the thunder as they rose higher and higher. They gazed at the changes in the lightning, watching them as they morphed into the shapes of the dragons, phoenixes, flowers and grasses. Beneath their feet were just thin clouds, hovering above the mountains.
That year, Zhong Yue was sixteen; Qiu Jin’er fourteen.
Both of them have learned the【Lightning Refining Soul Art】, not only they do not feel uncomfortable showering in the lightning, they felt a certain joy and comfort in it. Zhong Yue explained to her the【Sun Moon Prodigious Emanation Art】, he then taught her the ways of sculpting while Qiu Ling’er taught him the wood style skills she knew along with some of the Lei Hu Clan’s totem patterns.
Once Qiu Ling’er received the 【Sun Moon Prodigious Emanation Art】, her weak body would start to improve. The lack of blood essence had restricted her movements, and therefore by cultivating the【Sun Moon Prodigious Emanation Art】, her mortal body will improve gradually.
Other than that, the sculptings would enable her to perceive different types of totems more efficiently.
The holder of the Wood Innate Spirit Body could grasp the wood style skills easier than ordinary Qi Practitioners, hence, the knowledge she passed on to Zhong Yue was her own secret arts not even the Swords Gate possessed.
And the lightning totem patterns she taught Zhong Yue originated from the Lei Hu Clan, their understanding towards the lightning totem were one of a kind.
My psyche ocean will turn into a lightning pool after a few more days.
Zhong Yue and Qiu Jin’er cultivated for half a month. He was delighted to discover that his psyche had absorbed the lightnings, and his psyche ocean was gradually becoming smaller and more condensed after getting refined by the lightning. The rate of shrinkage of his psyche ocean was decreasing these few days, indicating that his psyche ocean was transforming into a lightning pool.
Transforming the psyche ocean into a lightning pool was a rare achievement, even an Awakening level Qi Practitioner could not necessarily transform their psyche ocean into a lightning pool, and yet, he was now only a fine line away from it!
It was only possible as he possessed the beast god inner core that could supply him with an endless stream of essence. In addition to the refinements from the【Sun Moon Prodigious Emanation Art】, along with the aid of the jade liquids of the saint spirit, he was able to improve by leaps and bounds!
If he succeeded in transforming his psyche ocean into a lightning pool, he would see a tremendous boost in his psyche quality. Regardless whether it was skills, weapon forging, or even placing array formations, they will all be enhanced dramatically!
His soul would also become nourished from his psyche. And with his higher the rate of improvements, the speed at which he can cultivate his Yuan Shen to the extreme peak would be significantly expedited!
The most crucial thing of all is that, he could then engrave totem patterns on the Fang Blade, turning it into a real soul weapon to gain full control of it!
Not only that, he could also brand totem carvings on his bones, allowing his body to receive an exceptional improvement!
Qiu Jin’er’s cultivation speed was slightly slower, but she was not far from transforming her psyche ocean into a lightning pool as she had an innate spirit body. The Wood Innate Spirit Body was equivalent to a beast god inner core in nature, and it was also inherent with a great deal of advantages, granting her a cultivation speed a few times faster than others.
Other than that, the fact that she was perennially riddled with ailments since young forced her mother to steal the【Lightning Refining Soul Art】from the Lei Hu Clan a long time ago. She then cultivated this art day and night over an extended period of time, tempering her psyche to a point far beyond normal people!
This time, as she cultivated alongside Zhong Yue, she had received the【Sun Moon Prodigious Emanation Art】from Zhong Yue; hence, her cultivation speed received an additional boost. The【Sun Moon Prodigious Emanation Art】was not purely a physique refining art, it also refined the psyche. In addition to the lightning refinement, she should be able to achieve double the results with only half the effort!
Soon, Qiu Jin’er parted ways with Zhong Yue and returned to the Yang God Palace. However, their souls would still have a rendezvous high up in the lightning zone, to continue from where they left off.
One day, someone approached his door and called for him, Zhong Yue recalled his soul and answered the door —— it was Elder Pu who was standing outside. He quickly invited the elderly man inside.
“Is there anything you seek from me, Elder Pu?”
Elder Pu took in the surroundings of the cave dwelling and laughed, “I thought you would cause a ruckus to claim the first place on the Tiger and Dragon Challenger Board after returning from your trip. Who knew that you would stay low for half a month without any actions. Those on the Tiger and Dragon Challenger Board, especially Yu Zhengshu, were waiting day and night for you to challenge them. I bet he won’t have much patience left to wait for your return and will take the initiative to seek you out soon!”
Zhong Yue invited the elder to take a seat and he laughed, “I’m not particularly interested in the Tiger and Dragon Challenger Board. Senior Martial Brother Yu Zhengshu won’t be able to secure his first ranking for long, he stands no chance against Junior Martial Sister Qiu Jin’er and Shui Qingyan. So there is no point in challenging him. ”
Intrigued, Elder Pu inquired, “I see. Then who do you think should be first on the Board?”
“Shui Qingyan.”
Zhong Yue said flatly, “Even I dare not say that I can defeat her. But if she is going to represent the Swords Gate to duel against the Xiao Mang Celestial Race, I will definitely step in to eliminate her!”
Elder Pu nodded and said, “I heard she was your lover, but then you two had an argument, turning that love into hate….”
Zhong Yue’s face turned speechless the veins on his forehead bulged, Elder Pu quickly added, “Let’s not talk about that, the old geezer wants to see you, follow me!”
“Old geezer wants to see me?”
Zhong Yue was surprised, he stood up and followed Elder Pu out of the cave dwelling. Elder Pu then led him up to the mountains.
Suddenly, Zhong Yue halted. Elder Pu was curious and shifted his gaze towards where Zhong Yue was looking and saw dozens of Qi Practitioners chatting and giggling. The crowd was huge, but among them, there was only one highlight; a charming and elegant young lady — Shui Qingyan. The one who commanded the center of attention amidst the congregation of Qi Practitioners.
“Senior Martial Brother Zhong”, ‘Shui Qingyan’ made her way through the crowd and greeted Zhong Yue with a smile.
“Junior Martial Sister Shui”, Zhong Yue returned the formality and greeted back.
“I’ve heard that you came back long ago and wanted to look for you, but little sister couldn’t because as I was afraid others would gossip about it.”
‘Shui Qingyan’ looked at Zhong Yue deeply and laughed softly, “I wanted to have a chat with you and talk about some recent events, such as the death of Junior Martial Sister Xiao Chuqing and the upcoming duel with the Xiao Mang Celestial Race. Do you have the time? Why don’t we arrange a date? ”
“Since junior martial sister has invited me to, certainly, why not? ”
Zhong Yue’s eyes twitched, he was certain that she suspected him as Xiao Chuqing’s murderer, aiming to use this as a means to blackmail him. He smiled and said, “When and where do you want to meet, junior martial sister?”
‘Shui Qingyan’ chortled coquettishly, “How about tonight during the moonrise, at my cave dwelling?”
“Sure.”
Zhong Yue nodded. Just as he was about to leave, ‘Shui Qingyan’ suddenly said, “Senior martial brother, you have yet to make a move, so you should have no interest in challenging the the Tiger and Dragon Challenger Board, right? What would you do if I were to contend to become first place on it? ”
Zhong Yhalted and grinned brightly, “If you decide to compete, then I will step in too. Obtaining first place on the Tiger and Dragon Challenger Board should be a piece of cake for you and I, but we should keep a low profile and allow the others a chance, right?”
‘Shui Qingyan’’s eyes shone with vigilance. After a while, she nodded and agreed, “You’re right, we should give others a chance, as for the details, we will discuss them further when we meet.”
Zhong Yue was about to leave when someone yelled at him, “Zhong Yue of the Zhongshan Clan!”
Zhong Yue halted once more. He looked towards the source of the voice and found a furious and young Qi Practitioner staring at him. He smiled and said, “May I help you, senior martial brother?”
The young Qi Practitioner stepped forward and said, “Junior Martial Sister Shui is gifted and intelligent, you could say that it’s a piece of cake for her to win the first place , and that's because she’s earned it through her skills! But how dare you say the same for yourself? Your words show your disdain towards all of us, the senior martial brothers and sisters on the Tiger and Dragon Challenger Board. If you have the audacity to make such claims, then you’ll have to prove it with your strength! I am Nan Tian from the Nan Lu Clan, ranked fifth on the Tiger and Dragon Challenger Board. Zhong Yue, why don’t we have a duel today, and let’s see if you have the strength to match your words!”
Zhong Yue praised, “The spirits of the inner hall disciples have indeed changed since I left. The inner hall Qi Practitioners now have the heart and will to strive for excellence, I’m very gratified about this fact, however….”
He said apologetically, “In my eyes, all of you are like poultry for sale on the market. Your hearts are weak and your wills are feeble. Once the butcher's knife is raised, you would only withdraw your heads and mourn in sorrow and fear. How could you possibly be deserving of my interest, much less my attention? Senior martial brothers and sisters, you will have to go through more life and death experiences to develop that indomitable aura of a warrior, unwavering against a bloody battlefield; only then, may you challenge me.”
“You!”
Nan Tian marched forward, clawing for Zhong Yue. Lightnings flashed and thunder rumbled in the air, there were giant mountains and lightning emerging. The mountains were like dragons plunging down from the skies, as if a mountainous dragon king was clawing over — it truly was a shocking scene!
“Let’s go, Elder Pu.”
Zhong Yu strode forward and left with Elder Pu. As he walked away, a huge dragon turtle emerged abruptly beneath his foot with a Teng Snake that soared on its back. It fluttered its wings as it raised its head up and clashed with the claw that Nan Tian sent over, obliterating his attack in its entirety!
“Trying to run? Not on my watch! You think you can stop me merely with a Xuan Wu totem? You’ve underestimated me!”
Nan Tian released a battle cry as he cast his skill and launched another salvo of attacks. Mountains plunged downwards, one after another, with a flick of fingers. The Xuan Wu dragon turtle and Teng Snake marched on their feet, quaking the ground with each step. The dragon turtle roared and the Teng Snake soared into the sky as they easily crushed the visualized mountain into scattered detritus.
Nan Tian kept on attacking, and despite having launched another dozens of strikes, the Xuan Wu was still left unscathed. Anxiety engulfed him and he became soaked in sweat, whereas Zhong Yue and Elder Pu were already a distance away, eventually vanishing into the woods.
The dragon turtle and Teng Snake of then Xuan Wu totem remained placid and unruffled, hindering his path and stopping him from pursuing Zhong Yue. Even after a hundred bouts, Nan Tian failed to make any headway, and his face flushed red with shame.
“Senior Martial Brother Nan Tian, you may stop now. ”
‘Shui Qingyan’ flung her wrist, sword rays flitted over and crushed the Xuan Wu into bits, she said, “His psyche is incredibly strong to the point that it was cusp of completely transforming into a lightning pool. You are simply unable to break off his skills.”
Nan Tian’s face flushed with embarrassment, he yelled in frustration and turned away.
‘Shui Qingyan’ lifted her head and look towards the direction Zhong Yue vanished to and thought, Cultivating such an incredibly powerful psyche in such a short period, is he also a god?
“A date to meet at moonrise in her cave dwelling….”
Elder Pu gave Zhong Yue a measured look and laughed, “A love-hate relationship … you youngsters sure have a lot up your sleeves, we surely didn’t have these tricks and shows back in my days.”
Zhong Yue responded laughingly, “Elder Pu is making fun of me, there is indeed hate, but as for love ... that might not necessarily exist between us.”
It did not take long before they reached the Swords Gate golden summit. They strode across the great hall, and suddenly, Elder Pu smiled, “I’m pretty sure you don’t know the true identity of old geezer, his name and reputation may even frighten you to death. Let the old geezer tell you on his own, I’m sure you’ll be shocked to the point where you piss your pants….”
Zhong Yue was between laughter and tears, he thought, I have known his identity for a long time now, Senior Martial Brother Gu Hongzi had also mentioned that the old geezer is the Swords Gate headmaster, too bad Elder Pu doesn’t know about it.
An old and hoarse voice sighed in disappointment and resonated throughout the golden summit, “Well, I did initially plan on scaring him a bit, but it seems he has already found out about my identity. Now my plan is ruined….”
Zhong Yue reached the courtyard behind the golden summit palace, the old geezer and Elder Feng Shouzhu were having tea in the gazebo while cordially chatting away. The old geezer waved his hand and dismissed Elder Pu when he saw them approaching.
After Elder Pu was dismissed, Feng Shouzhu took a look at Zhong Yue and sighed, “Brother, Shi Buyi’s closed-door disciple is an outstanding and formidable opponent, it is very difficult to find youngsters as talented as him in the Swords Gate. What more, the Xiao Mang Celestial Race also has someone on par with that Long Yue. Our Swords Gate cannot guarantee a surefire win against the Xiao Mang Celestial Race! I have come to you today to say: We have Zuo Xiangsheng, Tian Yanzong, Fang Jiange and the others who can contend with the higher level combatants of the celestial race, but we can’t make a decision on the lower-end combats — The Qiu Tan Clan member has difficulties with her legs, the one from the Shui Tu Clan doesn’t look like one of the good kind, not to mention the difficulty of finding any outstanding individuals in the Spirit Nurturing level! Selecting generals from a bunch of crippled disciples and bringing them to battle, I’m afraid I don’t have any hopes.....”
“Don’t worry.”
The old geezer smiled at Feng Shouzhu and said, “Shouzhu, I want you to meet this young man from the Zhong Shan Clan. He has another identity — Long Yue of the Eastern Sea”.
Feng Shouzhu was in the middle of lifting his cup, attending to his tea, but when those words graced his ears, he choked on his tea. He asked quickly, “Long Yue of the Eastern Sea, closed-door disciple of Shi Buyi? Big brother, you are not joking, are you?”