After successfully refining the purple qi, Yu Yan keenly noticed that the growth of his spirit power had decreased.
Absorbing the same amount of purple qi had increased his spirit power by four percent at Rank 7, but only by three point five percent at Rank 8.
After observing the internal state of his body for a moment, Yu Yan understood exactly what was happening.
The total amount of spirit power required to rise from Rank 7 to Rank 8 is not the same as the amount needed to go from Rank 8 to Rank 9; it is an incremental process.
As for the specifics of how it increments, Yu Yan had only just advanced one Rank and couldn't yet summarize the pattern.
The spirit power needed for each Rank is slightly more than the previous one, which is the fundamental reason why the higher a Spirit Master's Rank, the stronger their combat power.
The gap widens with every Rank until, after Rank 95, each Rank is a natural chasm, a completely different world.
Ending his cultivation, he saw Xiao Wu nearby, who was also cultivating.
Yu Yan did not disturb Xiao Wu. He stood up, moved to the side, and began practicing Tai Chi Fist under the morning sun to strengthen his body.
Xiao Wu withdrew from her cultivation shortly after. The spirit power in the surrounding environment had returned to normal levels, and continuing would not be of much help to her.
Opening her eyes, Xiao Wu saw Yu Yan practicing a set of slow, sluggish fist techniques.
"Yu Yan, your punches are so slow. It looks really weird."
After watching closely for a while and seeing nothing special, Xiao Wu, confirming that Yu Yan wasn't doing anything serious, voiced her confusion.
"This isn't meant to be some powerful martial art. It's mainly for strengthening the body, stretching the muscles and bones, balancing the mind and body, and improving flexibility. From that perspective, my Tai Chi Fist is actually quite excellent."
Yu Yan answered Xiao Wu's question while methodically performing the Tai Chi Fist movements.
"For real? It has that many benefits?"
Xiao Wu, who originally thought it was just a normal set of punches, was somewhat shocked after hearing Yu Yan's answer.
"Well, that's what the person who taught me said."
He wasn't sure if these effects were real or not; that was just what his teacher had told him.
"Then let me try practicing it."
Bored from sitting, Xiao Wu stood up, walked over to Yu Yan, and began following his movements to practice Tai Chi Fist.
Xiao Wu's physique and flexibility were already very strong. Even though this was her first time following Yu Yan in Tai Chi, aside from some lack of fluidity in the transitions and some minor details, there weren't many major flaws to find.
After following Yu Yan through two sets of Tai Chi Fist, Xiao Wu was shocked to find that these slow movements actually had some substance. For one thing, she could definitely feel her body loosening up.
"Wow! This technique called Tai Chi Fist really is something. Did someone in Yu Village teach you? Can I go visit that Senior?"
Yu Yan was a child who grew up in Yu Village, so Xiao Wu naturally assumed that the person who taught him Tai Chi Fist was from the village.
In Xiao Wu's view, anyone who could create such a technique must be a top-tier master of hand-to-hand combat. If she could learn even a move or two from them... "Forget it. The person who taught me Tai Chi Fist isn't in Yu Village."
Seeing Xiao Wu starting to fantasize, Yu Yan spoke heartlessly to interrupt her daydreams.
"Grandpa Yu said you've never left Yu Village. If you didn't learn this Tai Chi Fist from someone in the village, who could you have learned it from?"
"I learned it in my past life."
"I'm not a three-year-old child. Past life? Who are you trying to fool?"
Seeing Yu Yan come up with such an absurd excuse, Xiao Wu was so angry she wanted to go up and give him a few punches.
"Right, right, right. You're not a three-year-old child; you're a six-year-old child."
Since Xiao Wu didn't believe the truth, Yu Yan chose to steer the conversation elsewhere to make her forget the topic.
"Aren't you also a six-year-old child?"
"I'm clearly much more mature than you."
"So you're not a child then?"
"I am, but I'm more mature than you."
Amidst their bickering, Yu Yan and Xiao Wu walked down the mountain together.
In her anger, Xiao Wu almost wanted to blurt out that she was a Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Beast turned human to prove to Yu Yan that she wasn't just a six-year-old child, and that she, Xiao Wu, was far more mature than the childish Yu Yan.
This mood vanished into thin air after she ate the breakfast Yu Yan prepared. Yu Yan might be a bit annoying when he spoke, but his cooking was truly delicious... In the afternoon, after waking from a nap, Xiao Wu saw Yu Yan repeatedly punching a wooden dummy.
Yu Yan might be a bit annoying when he spoke, but his cooking was truly delicious... In the afternoon, after waking from a nap, Xiao Wu saw Yu Yan repeatedly punching a wooden dummy.
"Yu Yan, what are you doing?"
Unable to understand why, Xiao Wu chose the simplest method: asking directly.
"Practicing combat techniques."
To be honest, Yu Yan didn't know if punching a wooden dummy was useful, but the problem was that he couldn't find anyone to fight with to gain actual combat experience.
In the past, he could still fool one or two kids from the village into fighting him, but as Yu Yan grew stronger and better at fighting, the children of Yu Village realized they couldn't gain any advantage against him and stopped fighting with him for fun.
Out of options, Yu Yan could only make this wooden dummy based on his memories and practice against it every day.
Hearing that Yu Yan was practicing combat techniques, Xiao Wu suddenly perked up as a good idea popped into her head.
"Hehehe." Xiao Wu approached Yu Yan with a mischievous grin. "Yu Yan, what kind of combat techniques can you learn from a piece of wood that doesn't move? Why don't you spar with me instead? I'm actually quite good at fighting."
Xiao Wu was still the same simpleton who wore her thoughts on her face. Yu Yan threw a straight ball: "You just want to take the chance to hit me, right?"
"Ah?"
"How... how... how did you see through me?"
Having her thoughts exposed, Xiao Wu shrieked and looked at Yu Yan as if he were a monster.
"You have your thoughts written all over your face. How could I not see through it?"
Xiao Wu, somewhat unconvinced, went over to the nearby water vat and looked at her reflection in the water. She really couldn't see anything.
"Stop looking. You can't even guess your own thoughts, so looking is pointless." After teasing Xiao Wu, Yu Yan gave a light sigh. "Come on, let's have a practical sparring session."
Rather than facing someone with lethal intent in a real battle later, it was better to take a few punches from Xiao Wu now, treating it as tuition for learning from her.
Xiao Wu's combat ability was very strong, evidenced by her ability to suppress Tang San in combat during her first appearance. Sparring with her would definitely teach him a lot; it wasn't a losing deal.
"Didn't you see through my plan?"
Xiao Wu looked at Yu Yan strangely. He had exposed her little scheme but then agreed to her request anyway. She couldn't understand what Yu Yan was thinking.
"Seeing through it is one thing; agreeing is another. I only pointed it out because I wanted you to go easy on me."
While speaking, Yu Yan had already assumed a combat stance.
"Don't worry, I'll definitely go easy on you."
With a bright smile on her face, Xiao Wu lunged forward and charged straight at Yu Yan.