Both spurred their horses full speed, and went out of town.
They travelled half the day in a breath and rested in the woods in the afternoon.
Chu Li was calm and composed. He looked as if he had no inner energy, but the spiritual energy from the plant was nourishing his body. He was not tired at all, due to him having strong mental vitality.
Zhao Ying has the protection of her inner strength, which prevented her from feeling fatigued as well. However, the two horses have been running for more than half day, they needed to rest.
It was not suitable to prolong the journey as the sun was too strong.
The two of them sat in a pagoda in the woods. The pagoda itself was quite worn it, it must have been deteriorated by the wind and rain. It was used as a resting place for workers during the construction of the imperial household.
"Chu Li! I'll be practicing Swallow Reversal."
Zhao Ying pulled out her sword in haste.
"Please assist me!"
"Alright, let's see here.."
Chu Li sat down leisurely.
Zhao Ying rolled her eyes over at Chu Li and positioned herself in the middle of the pagoda. She swung her sword, immediately filling the pagoda.
Chu Li nodded as if he was thinking about something.
Zhao Ying sheathed her sword and looked towards Chu Li.
"...Brother Chu?"
Even though Chu Li looked like he was spacing out, he was actually going through every single movement Zhao Ying had made in his mind, picking apart every movement. He remembered all the movements. He planned on repeating all of them.
"Chu Li?" Zhao Ying called out.
Chu Li looked lost in thought to Zhao Ying. She got mad, believing that Chu Li pthought her swordsmanship was not worth his time.
Chu Li recovered from his thoughts and smiled.
"Chu Li, what's wrong with my swordplay?"
Chu Li stood up and held out his hand.
Zhao Ying handed him her sword. Chu Li felt the warmth, the mild delicate fragrance from her blade.
He flourished the sword.
"Zhao Ying, I believe that you still haven't gotten the trick to the Swallow Reversal yet, not even close."
"Then you'll guide me!" Zhao Ying rolled her eyes.
She had trained very hard for it, she was already very skilled in it. But Chu Li said it in such an arrogant tone.
Chu Li gently wielded the sword. The speed was unnaturally fast. He swung the blade once more. It looked so natural when he wielded it; it looked as if it was a streak of light, like a graceful swallow gliding past the lake, lightly touching the surface of the lake, naturally and easily altering its speed.
Zhao Ying followed every inch of the sword's movement. She was already incredibly familiar with Swallow Reversal, allowing her to quickly grasp the idea.
Chu Li seathed the sword.
"Do you get it now?
"The tempo.."
Zhao Ying murmured.
Chu Li smiled.
"Very comprehensive, you are. The tempo is the essence to Swallow Reversal. It is indeed fast, but you can't always maintain such a speed. You have to slow down to achieve more."
"Have you learnt the Swallow Reversal before, Chu Li..?"
Zhao Ying furrowed her brows.
"What I learnt was the Delusion Split."
Chu Li shook his head.
"Is that what Zhuo Feiyang is learning?"
"Hmm. I had learnt it because I heard that he was studying it. It splits through deception and goes straight for the heart. The level is extremely high."
Chu Li smiled.
"Well, aren't you mean!" Zhao Ying sounded unhappy.
Chu Li chuckled and returned her sword.
Zhao Ying took the sword and practiced. Her beautiful face was glowing brighter and brighter, she was getting excited. She never would have thought that such a small tip from Chu Li would propel her Swallow Reversal into another level.
He was right. She was not even close to mastering Swallow Reversal. This was merely its true form.
It was a shame that Zhuo Feiyang had not noticed this during their training sessions together. The same went for herself for not noticing it; She could have challenged The Tower of Ranking. With this level of skill, there was definitely hope for her to pass the rank eight challenge.
Chu Li looked around for any spirit herbs. Every ounce of aura from the trees within a hundred meter radius fused with his. He arched his eyebrows and walked out of the pagoda, and moved towards a small grass.
The small grass within the bushes looked just like the common weed, nothing special about it. But if someone had paid enough attention, they could tell that it is slightly more green and was spread evenly. Chu Li sighed in surprise. Was his day really on its way?
"What is this..?"
A pleasant smell came from the plant. Zhao Ying got closer to it out of curiosity.
"What is this?" A pleasant smell can me smelled, it i Zhao Ying that got closer to have a look out of curiosity.
"The Tendon Clearer."
Chu Li said.
"Lend me your sword for a bit."
He held out his hand.
Zhao Ying handed him her sword.
The sword flashed, the grass was picked. It had long roots and it rested on Chu Li's hand.
He cautiously looked at the grass and smiled, returning the sword to Zhao Ying.
Zhao Ying cleaned her sword with a white silk handkerchief.
"What is this for?"
"To strengthen your meridians."
Chu Li shook his head as he sighed in surprise.
"This is very rare! With this, the time needed for me to build my foundation will decrease dramatically!"
"Really?"
Zhao Ying stopped wiping her sword.
"It can really help one in building their foundation?"
If that was the case, then the value of the Tendon Clearer is very high!
"But it must be matched with another herb."
Chu Li replied.
"So by consuming this, you can build your foundation, Chu Li?'
Chu Li smiled and did not say a word.
"Never thought that this little thing could be such a miracle..."
Zhao Ying investigated the grass, full of curiosity. The grass itself is thin but its roots were thick and long.
Chu Li smiled.
"We'll split them in half. After it's extracted, I'll give you one of them."
"I decline!" Zhao Ying waved her hand.
"It can strengthen your meridians and boost your training."
"Is it really that great?"
"If your meridians are stronger, wouldn't it be easier for you to train?"
"Of course." Zhao Ying nodded.
"If one's inner power is coarse, it'll break the limit of their meridians. They can only transfer energy until a certain limit, if they cross it, their meridians will break."
If one's meridian was stronger, they could train for a longer amount time, allowing one to improve faster.
"So do you want it?"
Chu Li smiled as he asked.
"No!"
Zhao Ying hesitated. She rolled her eyes at him and replied with anger.
Chu Li laughed. He no longer replied. He wrapped the grass and put it closer to him, nourishing it with his aura. The medicinal powers of the grass would weaken if it were dying.
"Let's go and look for Land's Dragon when we reach the next town. There should be one."
"Hmm."
They left quickly. As the day was closing into an evening, they reached a small town — The Town of Clouds.
They found the tavern and requested for a small courtyard.
Chu Li let Zhao Ying rest for a bit as he went to the medicine shop to look for Land's Dragon. Zhao Ying was curious and wanted to follow.
Both of them changed into more casual clothing, and walked out of the tavern.
The sun went down, and the small town was covered by the red clouds.
The two of them were just relaxed walking amid the restless crowd.
Zhao Ying looked around out of curiosity, none of her mission allowed her to be this carefree. She stopped and looked around a few vendor's stalls.
Chu Li bought everything that seemed to catch her eye. He already had two bags full of things after a short amount of time.
"Chu Li..I suggest you don't buy anymore things. Your salary is.."
"Ah..so you're still unaware of my rank?"
"Aren't you rank nine?" Zhao Ying looked confused.
Chu Li gestured six with his hands.
"Seriously?"
Zhao Ying widened her eyes.
Chu Li smiled.
"You will know when you get back to the Public House."
"How…?"
Zhao Ying could not believe it; She was staring at Chu Li with her watery eyes.
"I ranked up with all my achievements, is it that weird?"
Chu Li said. He had also noticed something in the background.
"Watch out!"
He suddenly grabbed her left arm, dragging her out of the way of two children running around with no care of the people around them.
Zhao Ying' body stiffened and she quickly pushes Chu Li away. She blushed as she stared at Chu Li.
"Let's go and have a look at the medicine shop, then."
Chu Li said, pulling back his hand.
"Hmm."
Zhao Ying nodded.
Two of them walked into a huge medicine shop. Chu Li asked Land's Dragon
There were actually Land's Dragon stocked in the medicine shop. Chu Li bought it without a second thought and returned to the tavern.
Zhao Ying slept in the west room while Chu Li slept in the master bedroom.
Zhao Ying played with all the things Chu Li bought her. She cracked a smile every now and then.
Chu Li was in the living room extracting the two herbs, mixing them and adding a spirit herb. The made them into juice while mixing with honey. He had made four honey pills.
Zhao Ying was practicing her sword skills the next morning. The Swallow Reversal she practiced was really light, the reflection of the sword brightened up the area. Chu Li pushed the door open and walked out. He stretched and took in the fresh air, relaxing his alveoli.
Zhao Ying wore a lake green robe which accentuated her elegant body figure. She looked valiant.
Chu Li sat next to the stone table.
After a while, Zhao Ying kept her sword with her face all red, looking tender and sweet.
"Bother Chu Li, did you sleep well? "
She sheathed her sword into its scabbard.
"Yeah." Chu Li took a porcelain bottle and tossed it over to Zhao Ying.
Zhao Ying looked amazed.
"You extracted it..?"
Chu Li nodded.
"A total of four pills. Each of us gets two. Now eat it before its effects weaken."
"I refuse!" Zhao Ying shook her hand and held out the porcelain bottle.
Chu Li would not accept her answer.
"Just take it! Because I said so!"
"I RE—FUSE!" Zhao Ying said.
It was his greatest regret to not be able to train his inner strength. This medicine was a godsend, and she rejected it?
Chu Li helplessly sighed and took the bottle. He opened the plug, and poured out two dark green pills that are as small as a pinky nail. He hit Zhao Ying on her back right after and sealed her acupoints. Zhao Ying immediately became paralyzed and unable to move. She widened her eyes as she stared at Chu Li, opening her small mouth.
Chu Li put the two pills in her mouth and hit her at the back of her neck, then walked backwards.
Zhao Ying regained her movements and tried to cough out the pills but to no avail. The pills dissolved in her mouth and became two different fragrance flowing in her body. In a mere second, it had cycled around once and worked as a medicine.
"Brother Chu —!" Zhao Ying called out angrily as she stared daggers at Chu Li.
Chu Li slapped his hand and smiled as he said.
"Okay, It's done!"
Zhao Ying continued to stare at him, unsatisfied.
"Stare a little bit more and your eyeballs will fall out of their sockets!"
Chu Li said.
"That was just too much!"
Zhao Ying was clearly furious.
"It'll be fine. Quickly channel it, don't waste its effects!"
Zhao Ying glared at him and walked into the house.
Chu Li smiled and walked back into the room to channel the effects of the medicine.
The Torso Refiner — an ancient technique. But it had lost transmission because of the rarity of Tendon Clearer.
Tendon Clearer only exists through the process of mutation in weeds. It can not be reproduced, and looks no different from weeds. No one can tell them apart.
Chu Li's aura is able to intersect with plants because of the Scripture of Life and Death, which allowed him to find the Tendon Clearer in the first place. He believed that there are many more out there in the world, just that no one can find them.
After downing the two pills, he could feel the difference immediately. His meridians began to stabilize and the flow of his inner strength became faster. Truly a magical medicine!