Chapter 48: The Master of Great Synthesis

Perhaps it was the arrival of Ren Li to take up his post that made the evil cultivators sense some ominous sign, or perhaps it was the subsequent fanning of the flames by Du En that made the situation murky, or perhaps it was a combination of both, acting in concert.

In any case, over these past six months, up until now in early October, the evil cultivators have not committed any more crimes, and everything has gradually tended toward calm.

Bully gangs like the Green Clothes Gang have also returned to their old ways, collecting protection fees as they should, though they are somewhat timid, and their methods are no longer overly brutal.

Although the "evil cultivators" probably wouldn't go around killing people because of this, what if they did? Who would dare to gamble on that!

Here, in the stable situation, Du En naturally accumulated his efforts day by day, and as things reached fruition, he moved past the stage of fully understanding his cultivation technique to a brand-new stage of self-taught mastery, natural clarity, and spontaneous insight.

To "achieve great synthesis" refers to integrating the thoughts, doctrines, styles, techniques, and so on of various schools, thereby forming one's own system or style.

"Boss!!!"

Amidst the screaming, a wooden plank came with the wind and slammed fiercely into his face, stunning him so that he subconsciously let go.

Donning this Earth Armor—which primarily blocked rain, secondarily protected against debris, and tertiarily added weight—he finally pushed the door open and stepped out into the heavy rain.

Breaking through again tonight.

He never expected that he wouldn't die from the work of burying corpses, nor from human disasters like the oppression of gangs, but would instead die in such an apparently "ordinary" natural disaster.

Accompanying the first wooden plank being torn away, the other roof planks quickly followed suit.

A typhoon is passing through!

However, the problem is not significant, because his mastery of the Breath Concealment Technique is enough to completely deceive even Ren Li, this parachute supervisor with quite a background; it is even more impossible for the others in this shanty town to notice.

Wei Ming shouted excitedly, struggling to widen his eyes in the gale, only to see various debris being carried by the wind and violently striking Du En, yet he remained unmoved, and the Earth Armor on his body did not even crack a single thin seam.

He stood up silently; this time, there was no sudden surge of power, and thus no slight loss of control.

The reason he was in such a sorry state was naturally because it had been drizzling since the afternoon, and he had needed to resist the infiltration of lingering evil spirits, so his magic power had been basically drained and he hadn't been able to recover it in time.

"Ahhhhh! Boss, help me!"

The small courtyard had long been ravaged by the storm, and the houses of the other corpse-buriers were the same; their roofs had all been torn to shreds.

It was impossible to even hear his words clearly; all that filled his ears was the roar of thunder or the howling of the gale.

【Hundred Arts: Appraisal (Entry Level 0/20), Culinary Arts (Proficient 0/50)】

It's over!

The others were slightly better off, but only slightly; at this moment, they were unable to look after themselves and had no way to offer help.

【Spirit Root: Low Grade】

Wei Ming came to his senses, feeling miserable in his heart.

In the rickety wooden house at night, sitting cross-legged on the damp, water-seeping ground, Du En was racing against time, practicing his technique.

Crack, crack, crack~

The mournful cries of the roof planks became the catalyst that broke the mysterious atmosphere.

"Ahhh... I don't want to die..."

Du En, having finished his practice, calmly opened his eyes; a faint trace of yellow appeared in his pupils, only to vanish the next moment.

The next moment, lightning flashed, illuminating the earth.

Du En's figure did not move; amidst the pouring rain, he silently cast a spell to block it.

That calm person also appeared under the light, wearing thick armor, looking dignified and awe-inspiring, as if a god had descended; he raised his hand to grab Wei Ming's arm, pulled him down fiercely, and brought him back from the gale.

【Cultivation: Qi Refining Early Stage (83/100)】

Because the time for practice each night was limited, even though the efficiency of each session had improved after his technique broke through, and the time required had clearly shortened, he still couldn't increase the number of sessions too many times.

His cultivation accumulation had increased by fifteen points, and his other earth-attribute spells also influenced each other, each seeing an increase, which led to the current situation.

Calculating it, it hadn't even been two years since he officially began cultivating immortality, and he was about to break through to the middle stage of Qi Refining; this was clearly not a speed that someone at the bottom could normally possess.

A person who can achieve this is a master of great synthesis!

Boom~

【Divine Ability: None】

【Spells: Earth Bullet Technique (Small Success 1/100), Sand Raising Technique (Mastery 200/300), Breath Concealment Technique (Mastery 93/300), Earth Armor Technique (Small Success 91/100)】

Like an old stone in the mountains, unchanging for ten thousand years, it is the silent earth, consistent from beginning to end.

The thing Du En had considered at the beginning of the year did not arrive in the summer, but instead arrived fashionably late in this late autumn and early winter.

The intensity was terrifyingly high; it had to be at least level seventeen!

Earth Armor Technique.

Thunder roared, and the gale howled.

In his mind, the various thoughts, schools, and tricks regarding the Yellow Earth Technique were all clear to him now; he had completely mastered them and further derived his own unique school.

That was the final mournful cry of someone elsewhere being carried away by the typhoon in a desperate situation.

Amidst the thunderous roar, it was like a divine dragon baring its fangs and brandishing its claws, letting out one roar after another.

Seventeen times; that is the most appropriate number now.

Crack! Snap!

Just as Du En was pondering, the roof planks finally could not hold on; with a shrill, shattering sound, they were torn apart by the gale and flew into the deep, dark night ravaged by the storm.

The heavy rain finally had no obstruction and fell directly with a splash.

The yellow earth beneath his buttocks seemed to resonate with him at this moment, as if they had become one.

A layer of yellow earth armor, one finger thick, began to cover his body, fitting tightly and appearing hard and well-formed.

Before long, the entire roof had vanished.

Yellow earth thick and restrained, magic body and accumulation combined...

He could see his own panel in his eyes.

The basic cultivation efficiency was still about ten percent higher than the original foundation.

It was only at the entry level.

【Cultivation Technique: Yellow Earth Art (Mastery 0/500)】

This made Du En stop thinking about it, shift his attention away, and look at the night sky where dark clouds, gale-force winds, thunder, and heavy rain had all gathered.

The valuable items in the house, especially his private savings, had naturally been hidden and secured early in the evening when he sensed something was amiss, so he was not afraid of them being blown away now.

A new prototype had already taken shape.

The water stains that had originally been seeping through the ground were now being silently pushed away.

Thick, yellow gaseous mana shuttled through the meridians and radiated into the flesh, forming a circulation trajectory that appeared different from before.

Listening to these screams, Wei Ming became even more terrified.

"Of course, it is not necessarily required to hide it..."

Occasionally, it was mixed with a series of extremely miserable cries.

【Age: 19/106】

"Compared to before, the overall efficiency has increased by another twenty-five percent. At this speed, I will break through my cultivation realm before the cultivation technique breaks through again; the time will be about five months..."

The most unlucky one, Wei Ming, was even blown away; he was currently clutching the broken edge of a wall, like a catkin drifting in the wind, and if he dared to let go, he would vanish without a trace.

He just calmly raised his head, looking at the heavy rain, dark clouds, thunder, and gale-force winds.

Many hardworking people from the lower classes were, at this moment, mixed in with pieces of debris and various sundries, being dragged and swallowed by this typhoon; their fate was self-evident.

(End of this chapter)