Chapter 105: Progress of One Month (1)

  A week later.

  The warm glow of the sun gently enveloped Xu Mo’s meditative figure in his courtyard. Sunlight filtered through the canopy of newly growing leaves as winter slowly receded and summer approached. But the peak of Hidden Dragon was still cloaked in snow.

  “Huu…”

  Sixth Level of Qi Condensation.

  Xu Mo had finally managed to break through to the next minor realm of Qi Condensation after a week of continuous Qi absorption.

  His Qi reserves had grown larger—but that quote really resonated with him today: The world is balanced, and if someone tries to tilt that balance, then the world will automatically correct the tilt.

  The Head Elder had made him soak in medicinal baths, and his veins had grown larger. Only now had he managed to reach the Sixth Level.

  Xu Mo was unaware that even now, he was ahead of 90 percent of the cultivators in the sect. A disciple with truly ordinary talent—like someone else—might have only reached the Fifth Stage of Qi Condensation after three years of relentless effort. But there was no one around to tell Xu Mo this. He sat here, disappointed in himself after reaching the Sixth Stage.

  ‘Show me my status.’

  [Status]

  Name: Xu Mo

  Title: True Successor of Hidden Dragon Sect

  Cultivation: Sixth Level of Qi Condensation (1%)

  Physique: None

  Skills:

  Grey Wind Step (42%), Soft Bark Palm (18%), Quiet Sheath Form (33%), Thread-Tread Technique (57%), Mist Breather’s Chant (64%), Stoneweed Binding Grip (21%), Flick Pulse Sense (29%), Vein Drift Slip (36%), Still Root Meditation (75%), Whispered Thread Marking (12%)

  Xu Mo rubbed his chin, and a proud smile spread across his face. Before he had started comprehending any of these techniques, the skill section had been blank. Now, he had managed to fill in ten survival skills in just one week. Many of them were even approaching full mastery.

  He had been quite overjoyed when he first saw this feature of the system. It helped cultivators stay motivated while also allowing them to keep track of their progress. Even in percentages, it was incredibly helpful—he could tell if he was veering off-track just by observing whether a technique’s progress increased during the initial stages of training.

  It was largely thanks to his own comprehension talent, though his selection of techniques had also played a vital role in his swift progress.

  However, these techniques were primarily focused on helping him survive the secret realm.

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  Shadow Sentinel had revealed some information about the secret realm to him before finally being laid to rest.

  Xu Mo had been quite emotional upon learning that Shadow Sentinel’s body had been damaged beyond recovery. The people who had provided information about its demise were forced to bury it where it was first found, as the smell of the decaying corpse had become too much. Even villagers from a distance couldn’t handle the stench any longer. Shadow Sentinel was someone he had known—albeit briefly. He had seen it breathe, walk, spar with him, and even offer some guidance. And now… it was gone, just like that.

  But by now, he had grown mostly immune to the pain of loss. It felt like fate wouldn’t allow him to become dependent on anyone—except fate itself.

  Please bless me… as compensation for making me depend on you.

  He hadn’t tested his strength for quite some time. Now that he had grown stronger, perhaps he should visit the Head Elder and ask to train on the thick metal sheet once again. Maybe this time, a miracle would occur, and he’d find a weak point that would help him break the stone.

  “Here. You can practice here to your heart’s content. This is my personal training area,” Long Bai said, gesturing proudly. “It’s been customized for all four technique types—attack, defense, agility, and stealth.”

  Xu Mo had asked him to find a place where he could unleash his full strength. After training, the two would spar. The Head Elder was like a boss monster—but far more dangerous and intelligent than any profound beast.

  ‘I should begin with those.’

  Xu Mo stepped toward the wooden training dummies, arranged like a field of flowers across this section of the training area.

  They were placed so close to one another that without using a technique, he would’ve been unable to pass through the area without colliding into a few of them.

  He closed his eyes, imagining the wooden dummies as the pack of wolves he had encountered on his first mission to collect the Ironbark Flower from Readsack Woodland.

  ‘Wolf, wolf, wolf…’ Xu Mo muttered under his breath.

  Grey Wind Step!

  Xu Mo’s feet blurred into motion. Dust kicked up, and a foot-sized hole formed beneath him as his soles repeatedly struck the same spot.

  He had to be extra cautious. If he lost control and crashed into something, he’d end up damaging the Elder’s training ground. He was more concerned about harming the Elder’s property than himself.

  The Head Elder watched with an intrigued expression. It wasn’t the fact that Xu Mo was using Grey Wind Step that caught his eye—it was the way he activated the technique. Not a single strand of Qi leaked out. If one hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, it would seem as though his legs had turned to wind. Even more curious, there wasn’t a sound. Not even the rustle of rapid movement—only the silence of a falling needle could be heard.

  Xu Mo’s body began to flicker as he rushed toward the dummies. They were arranged in a triangle, its pointed end facing him. Dodging the first dummy was simple. Then came two. Then three. The pattern continued, increasing in difficulty.

  By the time Xu Mo reached the center of the triangle, confusion began to set in. All around him were dummies—no, wolves.

  He minimized his leg movement and slipped past again—like wind, unstoppable.

  It may have seemed like a long time had passed, but in truth, only a few seconds had gone by. As cultivators, their ability to calculate multiple trajectories simultaneously had reached a level that mortals could never dream of.

  Sigh—

  I did it.

  Xu Mo wasn’t panting, but his clothes were soaked in sweat. Though he had become the wind, he was still the one generating it. The concentration required to pull off such a feat was nothing to scoff at. One misstep, and he would have crashed into the dummies like a wild bull.

  The dummies, while lifeless and stationary, were packed so tightly that the path grew narrower the further he went—making it even more difficult.

  Yet, he had passed.

  Safely.

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