Chapter 11: Visitor

An hour later, Wang Yu felt his head sink, and

"Not bad, not bad! To be able to persist for so long during your first time practicing is quite acceptable; you are only slightly inferior to Qingfeng. Remember, breathing in spiritual Qi consumes spiritual sense. If your spiritual sense is insufficient, you will be unable to sense the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth and will have no way to continue practicing. With your current spiritual sense strength, one stick of incense worth of breathing time per day is the limit; continuing further will not have much effect. You can wait until the next day when your spiritual sense has recovered before practicing again." Master Chongyun said with a smile when he saw Wang Yu exit his practice.

"Master, how long did Brother Qingfeng practice for the first time?" Wang Yu rubbed his head, feeling dizzy and unable to sense the spiritual Qi in the surroundings for the moment, so he couldn't help but ask with a grimace.

"Qingfeng's first time persisting was only one-third longer than yours, but after your bloodline is fully awakened, the time you can spend breathing should increase somewhat. Although you awakened a physical bloodline, it will certainly be of slight benefit to your spiritual sense as well." The Daoist thought for a moment before replying.

"So that's how it is. I wonder how much longer it will take for this disciple to fully awaken this 'Iron-Eating Crocodile' bloodline." Wang Yu asked tentatively.

"As long as you persist in taking the Blood-Refining Decoction, and once I find a way to get you a body-tempering technique, this time should not be too long. From now on, come to me every three days to drink a bowl of Blood-Refining Decoction, and practice breathing the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth for one stick of incense worth of time every day. According to your aptitude, it should take about a year to break through the first level of the Yin Water Art and enter the second level." The Daoist said slowly.

"Many thanks for your guidance, Master. This disciple will take his leave first." Wang Yu felt his head becoming increasingly dizzy and had to take his leave of the Daoist.

"Hmm, your current condition is indeed not suitable for staying here long. Go back and rest. By the way, when you feel the Blood-Refining Decoction taking effect, don't be too surprised; practice that set of Gale Sword Art more, and you should have some gains. Additionally, do not contemplate that cloud pattern on the 'Bai Yun Scripture' for now; save your energy to practice the Yin Water Art first." The Daoist gave a final, meaningful exhortation.

Wang Yu agreed and exited the quiet room.

On the way back, he saw Du Xiaohong sweeping the plaza. As soon as he saw Wang Yu walk out of the main hall, he immediately rushed over, clutching his broom.

"Qiuye, I heard from the Li Li Shixiong that the Temple Master has taken you in as an official disciple. Is it true?" The little fatty lowered his voice and asked repeatedly.

"The Temple Master did indeed take me in yesterday. It was the Li Li Shixiong who told you, right?" Wang Yu replied with a smile.

"Yes, the Li Li Shixiong said that from now on you only need to focus on practicing and don't need to sweep the Daoist temple anymore. Congratulations, Junior Brother. Since the Temple Master has taken you as his disciple, he will teach you spells sooner or later. Sigh, it's a pity I have no spiritual sense and cannot enter the sect. Otherwise, if I could learn a thing or two, I could also become an immortal master." Du Xiaohong said, beating his chest and stamping his feet.

"Brother Du Xiaohong also knows about spiritual sense and spells?" Wang Yu blinked, appearing somewhat surprised.

"Of course I do. Otherwise, my family in Huang Shi City is considered a small wealthy family; why would I run to such a far place to donate so much silver? It's just a pity I have no talent, but even if I just serve as a Daoist boy at the Bai Yun Temple, my family can be considered to have a connection with the Temple Master, so this silver isn't spent in vain." Du Xiaohong rolled his eyes and said.

Wang Yu was somewhat speechless upon hearing this.

Afterwards, only after being forced to agree to the request that he must demonstrate the spells to the other party as soon as he learned them, did he return to his residence under Du Xiaohong's envious gaze.

At night, in the martial arts practice field behind the Daoist temple.

Wang Yu held a wooden sword, practicing the Gale Sword Art with a flushed face. Each move and stance whistled with wind.

At this moment, he felt as if the blood in his entire body had been ignited; his physical strength was incomparably abundant. Many movements he previously couldn't perform were completed with great ease in one go. The first seven moves of the Gale Sword Art were quickly performed over and over again. The moves changed from being unfamiliar and slow to gradually becoming proficient, and his movements also became faster at a speed visible to the naked eye. He threw himself heart and soul into the sword practice, completely forgetting the passage of time...

The next morning, on the grass beside the martial arts practice field, Wang Yu slowly woke up while clutching a wooden sword, only to discover that he had unknowingly practiced sword techniques for most of the night, yet his body had no soreness or discomfort whatsoever.

This surprised him greatly. After thinking for a moment, he walked back onto the martial arts practice field. He held the wooden sword horizontally in front of him, bowed his body slightly, and suddenly shot forward. The wooden sword in his hand made a "chi" sound, turning into a sword shadow as he thrust it straight at a nearby small tree.

"Bang"

The sword tip burst and shattered against the small tree, leaving only a shallow, small hole in the tree trunk.

Wang Yu held the sword with one hand in front of the tree, remaining motionless in the thrusting posture, but he was both shocked and delighted in his heart.

This thrust was an imitation of the sword strike Master Chongyun used to pierce through the small tree that day. Now it seemed they were far from comparable, but he faintly felt that as long as he persisted in practicing, it was not impossible to reach the level of Master Chongyun's sword strike in the future.

He didn't know if it was the effect of the Blood-Refining Decoction or because he had awakened his physical bloodline, but when practicing sword techniques last night, not only did he feel his physical strength was incomparably abundant, but his body's flexibility and coordination also seemed like a different person. When practicing the Gale Sword Art, it was even more handy, as if he had divine help. In just one night, he had actually mastered the first seven moves.

Moreover, his strength was now immense. Every sword move he performed was fast and ruthless, something an ordinary person could never achieve.

It was just a pity that he couldn't stay in this world for much longer, so no matter how well he practiced this sword art, it wouldn't be of much use.

Thinking of this, Wang Yu felt a great sense of regret.

Just like that, in the following days, Wang Yu spent his days either breathing and practicing the Yin Water Art or dancing with his sword to practice the Gale Sword Art. Every day when eating porridge, he would eat some medicinal meat, and every three days he would go to the Daoist to drink a bowl of Blood-Refining Decoction and listen to the Daoist explain some of his confusion regarding practice.

It seemed that because he had already awakened half of his bloodline, the effect of the medicinal meat quickly became negligible, but the Blood-Refining Decoction still maintained a startling effect. Every time he finished drinking it, he could feel his body strengthening further, and his height was also increasing bit by bit. The Gale Sword Art was also becoming more and more proficient, and he even learned the remaining six moves of the Gale Sword Art from the Daoist.

The Daoist still had no intention of teaching him spells.

According to his explanation, most of the spiritual Qi absorbed during the first level of the Yin Water Art was used to nurture the spiritual seed, and only the small amount remaining could be converted into magic power. Therefore, he couldn't learn spells now. Only when he practiced the Yin Water Art to the second level and accumulated a certain meager amount of magic power in his body could he barely learn the non-ranked trick spells.

Wang Yu also learned from Master Chongyun that Qingfeng had already practiced the Yin Water Art to the third level and had successfully condensed a spiritual root. Next, as long as he practiced this level of the technique to perfection, he could advance to the fourth level of Qi Refinement and become a true cultivator.

As for what level the Daoist himself had practiced the Yin Water Art to, he didn't reveal a single bit, and Wang Yu naturally didn't have the guts to ask.

However, under his pestering, Qingfeng did tell him that the Yin Water Art had a total of twelve levels and even demonstrated a trick spell called "Firefly" in front of him. It turned out that only after chanting a string of incantations could a small flame appear on his fingertip, which made Wang Yu greatly disappointed.

As for Du Xiaohong, ever since he found out he had become a disciple of Master Chongyun, he became even more enthusiastic. Not only did he forcibly stuff all the remaining medicinal meat to him, but he also patted his chest and guaranteed that he would cover all the medicinal meat needed in the future, which made Wang Yu feel quite embarrassed.

Just like that, in the blink of an eye, ten or so days passed.

At noon on this day, Wang Yu went to the quiet room behind the main hall to find Master Chongyun as usual. But as soon as he entered, he discovered that his master was actually entertaining an outside guest, a middle-aged man in a yellow robe with a pale face.

This man seemed to be arguing about something with Master Chongyun, his expression slightly agitated. But as soon as he saw someone enter, he immediately stopped talking. Instead, he used a surprised gaze to look the youth up and down several times and asked, "Fellow Daoist Chongyun, is this your newly accepted disciple?"

"Qiuye, come over and pay your respects. This is your Uncle-Master Huang." Master Chongyun said indifferently.

"Greetings, Uncle-Master Huang." Wang Yu suppressed the curiosity in his heart and hurriedly bowed to greet him.

"Fellow Daoist Chongyun already has Junior Nephew Qingfeng. To think you would still accept a disciple into the sect at this time. It seems Junior Nephew Qiuye must have some extraordinary qualities." After the yellow-robed man waved his hand at the youth, he also asked in surprise.

"Hmm, Qiuye's aptitude is indeed not bad, but it was also fate that I accepted him into the sect. Fellow Daoist Huang, have you brought the things I wanted?" The Daoist seemed not to want to mention more about Wang Yu's affairs and replied casually before asking back.

"Of course I brought them. This item should satisfy your requirements, Fellow Daoist. However, are you really not going to reconsider the matter I mentioned earlier? What our Huang family promised is absolutely true; I can guarantee this." The yellow-robed man took out a wooden box from his bosom and handed it to Master Chongyun, unable to resist persuading him again.

"Let's forget about joining the Huang family. I have become accustomed to being idle and scattered; I only wish to cultivate my character here." The Daoist shook his head and replied.

"Sigh, since Fellow Daoist Chongyun is unwilling to accept, then forget it. But the agreement between you and our Huang family remains the same. I still have many things to do in Huang Shi City, so I will take my leave first." The yellow-robed man sighed, could only say his farewells with regret, and turned to leave the room.

Master Chongyun held the wooden box in one hand, watching the yellow-robed man leave with an expressionless face, and did not speak for a long while.

Wang Yu was confused listening from the side and did not dare to speak casually.

"You come here. Let me see your practice progress during this period." The Daoist suddenly ordered Wang Yu.

"Yes, Master." Wang Yu hurriedly took two steps forward and walked over.

The Daoist pressed one palm against the youth's abdomen. Immediately, a chill rushed into his dantian, but after circling once, it quickly returned to the Daoist's palm along the original path.

"The spiritual seed has only grown a tiny bit. According to the current progress, if you cannot increase the amount of spiritual Qi breathed in daily, I'm afraid it will really take more than a year to break through the first level of the Yin Water Art. Now that the situation has changed, I'm afraid it's a bit too late." The Daoist said with a slight frown.

"Master, what is too late?" Wang Yu couldn't help but ask.

"Naturally, time is running out. You had best break through to the second level of the Yin Water Art within half a year and learn a few trick spells to have basic self-preservation strength. How about this, come with me." The Daoist thought for a moment, seemed to have finally made up his mind, tucked the wooden box in his hand into his bosom, and beckoned to the youth.