Directly questioning the elder like he did was extremely disrespectful, but being ranked ninth was an extremely painful to be in, as he was so close to qualifying for the tournament and anyone else in his position would be furious too.Furthermore, Yao Yun was a petty person and had already treated Yao Chen as his hateful enemy.
“The results for the competition this time round was determined by elder Yao Wan Huo, anyone who does not accept the results may take their complaints to him.”
Yao Wan Huo was the grand elder of the clan and was held in incomparably high esteem as he was well known to be fair and impartial, and no one said anything more since the grand elder had spoken.
The crowd slowly dispersed and Yao Chen declined the various invitations offered him as there was nothing more important to him than getting home.
Under a tree by the entrance of the alleyway was a beautiful and elegant figure that looked towards them
Yao Chen’s eyes shined and for reasons unknown, his nose started to run and his eyes became moist.Originally he thought that the only value in being crowned the champion in the school competition was the qualifications for joining the tournament and that everything else was meaningless but now, upon seeing the earnest look on his mother’s face he felt that there were many things that he wanted to tell his mother.
“I’m back.”
Yao Qing smiled faintly, the gentle look in her eyes seemingly able to encompass everything in the world.
Finally, Luo Shu couldn’t take it any more and exploded.
As the walked along the alley, returning home, the courtyard in front of their houses was already brightly decorated and Luo Shu’s family was still bustling with activity at the gates , stopping only when they saw them as they walked towards Yao Chen.
Yao Bing slapped his shoulders forcefully, his eyes shining as he probably recalled his past with Yao Chen’s father ,however, when his gaze fell onto Luo Shu his smile turned bitter. Back then, Yao Huo and Luo Bing were such glorious figures in the school, Luo Shu oh Luo Shu, could you try to not be an embarrassment?
“Aunt Qing, aren’t we going to have a big feast to celebrate Yao Chen becoming the champion?”
“Alright, you’re pretty good at such petty tricks, if only you could apply it to your cultivation….”
More than half of what was spoken was trivial and inconsequential though Yao Chen did not mind and remembered them all, though no matter how much was said, the events two years past was never mentioned.
There was still a month before the tournament, and while the time left was neither long nor short, time flows like water and if Yao Chen wanted a good showing at the tournament, he could not let himself relax even for a moment.
“Chen-er, being the champion is good but…..remember what your father said. The arrow hits the first bird, remember not to get complacent.”
“En, wait.”
“The current medicinal formula is unable to let you advance to a martial master in just the one month that we have, and if you aren’t a martial master, regardless of how exquisite your refining techniques are, it would be hard to use them in the tournament.”
Yao Chen blinked his eyes.Though time was short, if he gritted his teeth and gave it all he had, there was still a chance that he would be able to advance to a martial master in a month.
Yao Qing bit her lips and said viciously.
Yao Chen smiled, he would have added an additional portion even if his mother had not told him to.
Yao Chen had only a whiff of the smell before his body instinctively reacted and his body involuntarily shook.
Yao Chen took a deep breath,removed his clothes and took out a pale azure pill, placing it in his mouth causing an intense bitterness to overwhelm his senses. It was a bitterness that would be able to revive the dead, however, Yao Chen was used to it and he bit the pill and slowly chewed it. Although the simple be swallowed, the effects of the pill was best absorbed by taking it slowly.
It was only after several minutes when the pill had dissolved in his mouth before Yao Chen stepped into the bath.
A faint roar could be heard as the liquid in the bath seemingly came to life, forming waves that resembled insects as they rushed into Yao Chen’s body as if they were drawn by the medicine that Yao Chen had just ingested.
Even if he had already experienced this at least a hundred times,Yao Chen was unable to bear it, even more so now that he had added an additional portion of medicine and he screamed out involuntarily even as he tried to endure.
However, the agony was not the worst part of the ordeal, what was even tougher was that Yao Chen had to maintain a state of calm clarity while separating the medicinal energy entering his body and imbue it with his dou qi before circulating it throughout his body, five viscera,four limbs, brain,dan tian…...and this was not the end as he still had to use his dou qi in conjunction with the medicine to strengthen his body.
Yao Chen tried to control the enormous power than entered his body but no matter what he did, the power seemed to have disappear like mud in an ocean, without a trace of it to be seen.Contrary to his expectations however, it brought upon Yao Chen an even fiercer surge of agony and his eyes dimmed and he almost lost his consciousness amidst the pain. Yao Chen hurriedly gave up trying to control the power and focused his consciousness and continued absorbing the medicine essence ; Once he loses his consciousness, the medicine bath would go to waste, and given how destitute Yao Chen’s family is, any form of waste of unacceptable.
Yao Chen picked up one of the five altar sized canteens of water to the side, tilted his head and gulped down all the water till not even a drop was left.However, the water that had just entered his body was expelled from his body as turbid sweat.He took up another canteen and gulped the water down but it was once again transformed into turbid sweat and was expelled from his body as perspiration.Yao Chen continued with the third,fourth canteen….. it was only till he had reached the last canteen that he stopped sweating.
Crossing this thin line was all it took to advance to the martial master realm though it was easier said than done.It was not just the normal restrictions from the martial practitioner realm that was holding him back, two years ago Yao Chen’s mother sealed the dou qi in him, in addition to his power making it even more difficult for him to break through.At this moment, the dou qi circulating in Yao Chen’s body formed a cyclone, however, the cyclone was weak and unstable, flickering in and out of existence as if it was incorporeal, and was unable to take shape.
Just like that, the night passed quietly.
Yao Chen got out of bed, filled a bucket with spring water drawn from the side of the room, took a shower and changed his clothes before leaving the room.
Yao Chen knew without even looking at it that his mother had gone to the mountains behind the clan to pick herbs.Yao Chen’s daily cultivation necessities required far more than what the clan gave them and the amount given had decreased in the past two years, half of the items needed for Yao Chen’s medicinal bath was personally picked by his mother and this was why he was able to endure the agony of the bath no matter how painful it was.
As he was pondering how he should practice his cultivation for the next few days, he heard the little fatty’s voice outside.
Luo Shu’s face turned green, the situation was not good as his lips trembled
Yao Chen smiled as he nodded.
Luo Shu’s green face turned ashen as he nodded his head in a daze.
“Haha… My mother left this braised pork for you, if you aren’t greedy, it should be enough for you.”
Luo Shu snatched the pork and rushed out happily, if he was late, there wouldn’t even be mantous left in his house.
Though the medicine bath was a shortcut, it was also a double edged sword.Currently, without the medicine bath, the Tri Flower Concentrating technique’s progress was frustratingly slow and though his dou qi was circulating, it was only a solid foundation and had no indications of breaking through to the next realm.
The difficulty was expected and Yao Chen was not in a hurry. After having had the medicinal bath for the past two years,a terrifying power lay dormant in his body and truthfully, not even Yao Chen knew how strong the power was as he only had a vague feeling that if he wished to break the barrier and step into the martial master realm, all he had to do was draw this enormous power out and he would be able to break his old dou qi method and the seal that was laid two years ago, and form the cyclone of a martial master.
In this half month, Yao Chen’s mother only came once to formulate the powder for the medicine bath before leaving without uttering even a single word to Yao Chen who was currently in closed cultivation.