Han Xing returned to the inn to rest, taking out a manual that his father had just given him. Unlike other manuals he received, this one seemed new. The smell of ink and the unfaded colour of the cover and papers inside made Han Xing know his father got this recently from somewhere or he wrote it himself.
"Mirrored Stillwater Returning Martial Arts…"
The manual contained the general explanation and the sub techniques could be mastered once Qi can be mobilised. But the Mirrored Stillwater technique was the backbone of the technique.
"To guide force through oneself… changing direction of attacks, reducing their power, disperse their power through the body, spirit, and Heaven and Earth… using their own attack against them, and creating gaps in the opponent's movements, attacking where they are weak and dealing decisive strikes."
Han Xing opened his eyes, turning his head to his father who was already asleep in the distance.
He felt his father deliberately gave him this. He could tell this technique had no 'edge' or overwhelming power to it. Cultivators would prefer the kind of techniques that give absolute force to crush their opponent. Feeling his father's acceptance over his personality that wasn't so strong made him feel ashamed but also grateful.
He could tell his father might have wanted him to be a little bit more 'daring'. However, he has not overcome the hurdle to use force against someone that did not deserve it. He knew it would hurt if he punched too hard. And as much as he disliked pain, he would not cause pain to others too.
The new technique his father gave him let him defend himself through skill and control instead of power. Han Xing brought the manual close to his chest, promising himself to practice this one to perfection.
I will become strong enough to protect myself.
He did not desire to sweep across all realms or step on others to show off his skills. He just wanted to live peacefully, accompanying his father as long as they could remain. Learn more about the world, dive more into his passion for Puppetry Arts.
His desire and heart turned clear at the moment. A sense of lightheartedness enveloped him, and the flow of Qi inside of him became smoother and faster by a step. A clear Dao Heart was already in his chest, knowing his own purpose and direction.
The following day, Han Xing headed to the 1000 Beasts Mountain to hunt beasts again. This time using them to get into the entry level of Mirrored Stillwater Technique.
A peak level tier 1 snake, Black Venom Python became his first opponent to gain experience and learn the new martial arts. Its poisonous fang could not penetrate his skin. And even if it did, other than pain, its poison was useless against his non-human flesh.
Han Xing took a deep breath, his mind and heart still like a serene lake.
He watched as the snake lunged. With a calm step, he moved just a few inches, then used the back of his left hand to redirect the lunge to miss his face.
The snake was furious, it hissed and used its tail to smash onto his body right after. Han Xing could not dodge but blocked it with both his arms.
Bang!
He did fight the force, instead the force was guided and spread throughout his entire body, to the ground, and to surrounding, as he let himself be sent back across the air and landed gracefully a flip.
The snake did not believe it and rushed forward to strike him again and again. Trying to entangle and tie him up, but Han Xing always had a way to move out of the way and render his attacks powerless. After countless rounds, the snake kept a distance from him, assessing his prey to figure out what exactly was going on. But despite delivering his strongest of attacks, the person was not harmed in the slightest. The once visible scratches he managed to make too already disappeared like he never did land any hit.
Hiss! The snake made a decision to turn around and just ran away, not wanting to waste his time and energy any further.
Han Xing let it go, in his heart he appreciated the snake for helping him train on the technique. He searched through the mountain for beasts to fight continuously, drilling the techniques of Mirrored Stillwater into his very bones without spilling a single blood.
Only at the end of the day did he kill them decisively through Domineering Sword Technique in a single decisive strike. But he used the technique only to give mercy and the least of pain to them.
A few days passed, countless foes were fought and repelled. His mastery over Mirrored Stillwater Technique reached minor mastery in just a short time. His realm too crossed right into 9th level of Body Tempering.
Han Xing continued to fight for the next few days, treating the demonic beasts he met as sparring partners. But he noticed there were less monsters around as if they knew of his presence and avoided him. And the last few beasts he did find actually turned away and ran as if they knew him.
To find more opponents, he moved deeper into the mountains. He was not afraid given he had few trump cards. As he moved, his presence eventually reached the ears of a Peak level Tier 2 demonic beast, the leader in the East mountain, the Mad Grey Wolf, Kuang Lang!
The 3 meters tall giant grey wolf received information from his subordinate, a black crow that had been keeping an eye on Han Xing.
"Boss, that weird human kid has come again! Kaw!" The black crow came over and reported.
He growled in annoyance hearing that human were still here. "Damned human! He treated our grounds like his own backyard! He already walked past the boundary, how come he has not been eaten yet? What are they doing!" The wolf growled, feeling ashamed that his territory casually strolled in by a mere Body Tempering cultivator.
"Kaw! Boss, Da Zhu and Da She had gone to deal with him. They should be back soon."
Just then, the trees around shook, the leaves rustled, and two demonic beasts appeared with bruises and beaten expressions. They opened their mouths, pouring their grievances.
"Boss! You need to make a move! He is strange!" Da She, a green Steelscale Python of 10 meters length shouted in indignation. Few of his scales were missing, one of its fangs broken, and his throat felt dry from spitting so much venom that was useless towards Han Xing.
"Boss! His flesh is as tough as mine! And he's more slippery than Da She!" Da Zhu the boar added while squealing out from his snout, also supporting the snake.
"Useless!" The Mad Wolf growled, slapping his paws to the two of the beasts in one swipe. The two beasts were sent flying, crashing into trees leaving dirt and dust upturned.
"You two are already comparable to early Qi Gathering humans cultivators! How come you could not crush a mere ant at Body Tempering! And a kid at that!"
Kuang Lang released his aura, causing the temperature to drop by a degree. The two minions shook in fear, afraid they would get eaten the next second and bowed their heads. The Big Snake opened his mouth, wanting to explain.
"Boss… we were about to defeat him but- but he suddenly broke through in the middle of the fight! He is weird boss! Da Zhu even broke his arms, I heard the crack of his bones too and that kid was about to cry from pain! But then…!"
The Wolf growled lowly, his eyebrows tightening. "And?! Finish your words!"
"His arms healed again in just a few breaths! And suddenly that kid broke through! He became stronger and we could not fight him…" The snake continued.
The boar nodded frantically, supporting the story.
"Waste!" Kuang Lang roared, blasting the two beasts from the roar alone.
The wolf stood up from the ground and let out a loud howl announcing his own majesty, shaking the entire mountain. Birds and beasts cowered from his presence, the leaves rustling from the wind, birds chirping filled the mountain for a second.
"It's been so long since I tasted human meat. Those humans have been cowards for so long… Now, food is delivered here. Crow, lead the way." He licked his lips, his brown eyes flashed with hunger. The Martial Alliance had made an agreement with the Demon King of the 1000 Beasts Mountains to allow growth and survival on both sides and established a set of rules.
Han Xing unknowingly broke one of the rules and stepped onto areas where Tier 2 demonic beasts roamed freely and could make their moves. The wolf with power comparable to Peak of Qi Gathering moved swiftly like the wind, wanting to get there before the human boy could run away.
Meanwhile…
Han Xing was resting under a pine tree, running his cultivation technique to recover his Qi after a long fight against two opponents comparable to Early Qi Gathering realm at the same time.
"I finally broke through the Qi Gathering realm! Even dad would not expect this right?" The fight against an opponent one realm above him gave him more challenge. But also more injury. There was an added benefit of tempering his body rapidly through repeated beating of Qi into the flesh and continuous healing.
His body of Sacred Heart Willow contained a powerful regeneration capability that he just discovered. Though he could feel his Qi was drained to heal his own body. The pain still sucked though, but at least it was worth fighting those two beasts seeing his result. No wonder those protagonists in stories were always crazy to fight, he thought.
Qi now gathered in his dantian instead of being absorbed into his flesh and tissues entirely. This marks the breakthrough of Body Tempering. Inside his dantian, the Seed had sprouted, creating a shoot with one budding leaf. Based on the Verdant Path Sutra, each leaf represented one minor realm in the Qi Gathering realm, and each leaf would improve the speed of cultivation by aiding in absorbing Qi from Heaven and Earth.
Qi gathered as golden mist around the shoot, growing a single leaf from them. In a minute, a strand of Qi condensed with more purity and power, filling Han Xing with a sense of power and security.
While Han Xing was testing the use of the condensed strand of Qi, suddenly he heard a howl from a kilometer away. Followed after, sounds of birds chirping scattered across the mountain.
Chill crept up on Han Xing, feeling some ominous feeling. The forest went eerily quiet afterwards, as if all creatures were hiding. Han Xing quickly stood up and jogged back to where he came from, feeling uneasy.
Thud…
Han Xing's ears picked up a slight tremor on the ground. Was it just my imagination?
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Han Xing's eyebrows knitted, his ears focused more clearly,
THUD, THUD, THUD!
Han Xing's eyes contracted, his heart beating faster as he became aware of a strong beast approaching him from behind.
Han Xing breathing became faster, his body shaky from thrill and fear, as if a monster was right behind him. As the sound of rushing footsteps became louder and louder, suddenly the surrounded turned silent.
He kept running for seconds, but he felt it was even more eerie that it was so silent and tried to run faster, his entire system taut in panic, ready to respond at any moment.
Then suddenly, a faint glint of moving shadow appeared at the corner of his eye. As he turned to look-
WHOOSH!
A giant wolf of 3 meters height was already lunging at him, his giant claw was raised high, and was already coming down to smash Han Xing to pieces.
Han Xing instinctively mobilised the strand of Qi in his dantian, raising both his arms and used the Mirrored Stillwater Technique almost instantly.
The strand of Qi flowed along his arms and created a layer of current, rippling like a disturbed surface of a lake. The claw swiped down meeting with the layer of protection, tearing them apart, and pierce through the defense reaching his body!
"Ah!" The claw pierced inches deep from his shoulders down to his chest, sending Han Xing backward ten meters away from the force! Red blood gushed out of the wound, wetting the claw of the wolf.
The wolf was shocked inside, not expecting his claws could not dissect the kid in half after he gave a serious strike to kill him.
Han Xing fell on his back, grunting in pain. His eyes were already wet with tears of pain, but to live he stood back up and already reached out to his spatial pouch to grab an Escape Talisman. Without leaving the wolf even a second longer to think, Han Xing activated it and disappeared instantly.
Han Xing re-appeared right in the inn where he stayed, breaking space to escape. His breathing heavy and rapid, his body trembling slightly from the encounter. He wiped the sweat from his face as he looked around the space, to confirm his safety.
Han Yang was sitting cross legged on the other side, his expression not disturbed in the slightest. He opened his eyes, looking at his good son's face that had an expression as if he just met a ghost.
"Xing'er, you met the wolf, didn't you?" Han Yang seemed to already know what happened.
"Huh? Ha… yeah… He almost killed me…" Han Xing felt it was really unbelievable he was alive, his voice carried tremors from fear.
Han Yang rolled his eyes inwardly. What is Han Xing's body? Even if he was beheaded, he would not die. And Han Yang already put a protection layer over Han Xing's Heart, his most important part. He really had no worry about his injury.
"Tell me your experience." Han Yang wanted to know so he could point out anything Han Xing could have done.
Han Xing recalled how he already heard that howl, and the mountain turned creepy so he started running to get back home. He described almost vividly, waving his hands around as tell the story of the wolf that was going after him.
"That wolf suddenly appeared right beside me! Thankfully I react in time, otherwise maybe I would have been dead…" Han Xing felt like crying, aggrieved from the traumatic experience.
"And yet you are alive. Your injuries are not deep either. Your body is tough like a body cultivator, like that of demonic beasts. Your constitution allowed your flesh to heal, your blood stopped within breaths. You could have observed a little more, pushed your upper limits before retreating. You have not used the 9 Life Burning Shackles technique, the talismans that could boost your speed and strength temporarily are not used, and the spirit sword I gave you, that's an Earth grade spirit weapon. In your hands, you could injure even a Tier 3 demonic beast. Xing'er…" Han Yang let out a weary sigh at the end.
He did not know what to say. He knew his son was a careful person. But in his expectation his son had abilities to fight across realms if he utilised everything he had.
"Dad…" Han Xing rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes looking downward feeling a little guilty. He could feel the expectation from his father, and how he expected he reacted differently. The wound on his shoulders already closed up and visibly healed while his dad was talking.
Silence stood between the two for moments. Han Yang's eyes softened as he saw his expression. His head and shoulders drooped, his body showed slight tremor from fear. Han Yang realised he always forgot that Han Xing was still a boy. Han Xing acted more like a youth with energy instead of just a boy and had always been so smart.
He felt guilty, wondering if he might have an unreasonable expectation from him.
"... But, you did it right to run immediately against opponents you feel you cannot fight." Han Yang spoke to break the silence.
"Without courage, you will not go far. But without caution, you will perish early, no matter how much of a genius one is. Only those who survived are remembered and become someone people look up to. And being alive is more important…"
Han Xing turned to look at his father. His heart swelled with relief that his father was not disappointed in him entirely.
Han Yang came close and patted the boy's head. "Let's have dinner outside. You broke through the Qi Gathering Realm, this is a good occasion for a small feast."
Hearing that, Han Xing smiled. His eyes were a little moist as he nodded. Han Yang casually waved his hand to clean the trace of blood on Han Xing's body and bring him to eat.
***
Meanwhile, in the mountains.
Kuang Lang sniffed the blood on his claws, then licked it. His eyes widened in confusion, then shock and bewilderment. He felt his old injuries were actually tingling, as if it was healing albeit very slightly.
And the blood did not taste nor smell like human blood, at all. It had scents and tasted like certain wood and plants, a little on the bitter side.
"That kid is not a human… even a special body constitution would not entirely taste entirely different… and the medicinal power of his blood… could he be…!"
The wolf's eyes turned ferocious, saliva dripping from his mouth as greed filled his heart as a thought concluded in his mind.
"A transformed plant spirit…! His body is a treasure! If I eat and refine his entire flesh and blood, I could break through and form my Demon Core…! I can control the East of this mountain fully!"
But his greed subsided as confusion crossed his mind again. Transformed plant spirits were such rare existences they were practically myths in the lower realm. That they needed hundreds if not thousands of years to form spirit, and another ten of thousand of years to be transformed. A transformed plant spirit would gain a body but had to cultivate from the very beginning again… could it be, the plant spirit came to the lower realm deliberately to cultivate more safely?
Even Kuang Lang could not believe his own assumptions.
"No matter! As long as I eat him, I can break through…!" The wolf stopped thinking of such worthless thoughts. He already planned next time the boy appeared, he would make sure to eat him even if he broke the rules.