Chương 76: Chapter 75 – In Search of More

As Ren soared through the air, he could feel his blood coursing through his veins. For months, he had been making advances in the Marrow Cleansing Realm, but now that he had completed it, he could feel a surge of improvement. While most of the changes as he progressed through the realm were reflected in the increased strength of his skeletal structure, Ren was now seeing a whole new aspect of improvement. It was his blood. The blood in his body was slowly being replaced.

And it only became more apparent as time passed. It had to be because of his improved bone marrow! The new blood was thicker and more rich in qi, which it carried all around his body, infusing his muscles and tendons. The burst of energy that he had previously attributed to entering the Organ Reinforcement Realm was actually due to the changes in his blood. Ren felt a little silly. How could he have already made improvements to his organs after just entering the realm?

He should have known that a demanding layer of body cultivation such as this wouldn't show immediate results. A joyous squeak from above his head reminded him he looked plenty silly already, and it served as a reminder not to take himself too seriously. It also made Ren wish for a singular body cultivation method. Such obvious gaps were because he was dealing with different manuals, unlike his qi cultivation. Even this current body realm he was in required another manual, one that he hadn't even decided on!

While he still didn't intend to pay for one in the coming months, Ren often had the intrusive thought of creating his own body cultivation manual, just like he was doing with his other cultivation. But as always, weighed against the risks of something going wrong, it never seemed worth it. Still, the increased power of his fleshly body made Ren eagerly anticipate the next spar with Hua. Ever since Bao Hua had returned from his expedition, he had been a little fragile.

But over time he had returned mostly to his previous jovial self. Ren and Mei Ling had played a large role in that. Even Xi Yuan had joined in once she returned from her own training journey. They increased the number of gatherings, and good food, wine, and company soon had Hua laughing his belly-shaking laugh. It felt like a return to their earliest days in the sect when they first forged their friendship. Yet even back then, Hua had never ceased his training or cultivation.

Beyond his training sessions with his new master, he constantly sought out battle. Ren usually fought beasts to hone his skills, but he had long since noted the need to practice his skills against a human opponent, so he had accepted. Ren recalled those spars with a certain fondness. Ren had allocated a few times a week to indulge his brother's calls for spars in the days since his return. Those first duels had been particularly fun when neither of them knew the other's capabilities.

Ren had deployed 27 flying swords, which rotated all around him in mysterious, hypnotic patterns. Hua would wield a spare sword and try his best to approach. At first Ren used the Turning Seasons Sword Array to dominate the battle. After all, he had plenty of practice from his many hunts. It had been all Hua could do to defend. But then Ren looked on with shock as his brother started to make rapid adjustments. Hua displayed an intuitive understanding of the patterns meant to confuse and trap prey.

The tides began to change as he started to advance. He had a strange, focused look in his eyes, and his sword only picked up more speed as he entered a meditative trance. To this day, whenever Hua got that look in his eye, Ren felt a chill. Hua still lost in the end, but each such spar that pushed him only made him more eager for future battles. Ren was forced to adapt unless he wanted to reveal all his cards and be forced into a corner.

Ren began to utilize all his skills during spars and immediately started uncovering flaws beyond his sword arts. He learned he was unable to utilize his body cultivation to the limit without appropriate techniques. His techniques for movement and close combat were only able to draw out half his strength. Fortunately Ren had begun to earn large amounts of money, which he invested in techniques.

Ren had accompanied him for many spars where he tried out all his various techniques even as Hua deepened his understanding of the sword. He would occasionally catch Hua by surprise, sometimes with his powerful body, sometimes when he used a pill to recover qi mid-spar, leaving Hua with a miserable loss. Ren had leaned into his various interests and hobbies and was still in the process of tying all of them into one interlinked system.

Hua, on the other hand, would strive to peel apart the imperfectly chained techniques and reach Ren, even using talismans to cover certain weaknesses, allowing him to focus entirely on his sword. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. They always stopped before getting truly serious yet walked away from each spar with some new lesson. They had only fought seriously once. It had been a week after Ren had forged Hua's new blade, the 'Storm Tyrant'.

After getting accustomed to his new blade, under his master's advice, Hua requested an unrestrained battle until first blood. Now, all Ren could say was that he was glad they had fought on neutral ground. His little mountain would have been decimated otherwise! Still, Ren was glad he had fought back then. It had been an eye-opening battle and a testament to just how far they both had come in the years since they became cultivators.

Ren roused from his thoughts when he arrived at the scene of the first challenge trial. This time instead of interacting with the trial takers, Ren cycled his qi along the complex pattern of Twilight Shade, his stealth technique. His silhouette blurred and darkened until he appeared as a shadowy form. It was a technique best suited to the night, but it was very effective camouflage in many different types of terrain. And quite usefully, it even stretched to include the small tortoise on his head.

Without approaching, Ren used the 3rd layer of his Sky Piercing Divine Sense technique to boost his divine sight and perceive the distant, crowded grounds of the 1st challenge. It was almost unrecognizable from its initial days. There were small stalls set up all around selling things from food to equipment. Oddly, there were no gamblers selling odds on victors. He wondered how the small formation had enough power to deal with so many prospective trial takers.

The formation needed time to gather ambient qi, and at this rate, it would have been impossible to accept so many disciples. Even the sect elders he had seen last time were no longer around. That meant they were no longer providing any spirit stones to externally power the formations. Their absence also raised questions.

"Are the Elders no longer monitoring the challenges? It could mean they have given up on finding me or, far more likely, they found me and didn't wish to pursue the matter. Perhaps the sect even approves and left it to the disciples of the sect to handle?!" If they had traced the challenges to him, Ren couldn't help but greedily wonder if they might be willing to grant him points or deem it a meritorious deed. So far he had earned 3 meritorious deeds, which was an exemplary achievement by many disciples' standards.

2 had been awarded for growing a vital herb that an elder needed urgently, and one had been earned working with a team of disciples to repair a magical artifact. The elders had been particularly generous with all involved, even someone like him who had only assisted some seniors in small repairs. The connections he had formed had allowed him to join the team, but they weren't enough to permit him to fully examine the artifact.

Ren hadn't refused the easy reward but couldn't help but be curious about why that large sword artifact had been so important. Wasn't it just a larger than normal flying sword? At least Ren had put those meritorious achievement rewards to good use! Back at the site of the first challenge, Ren watched carefully until he learned the new order of things. An unofficial organization had taken responsibility for regulating the number of participants, and they held secondary competitions to fight for slots.

This way they didn't overwhelm the array and also gave everyone an opportunity for combat and improvement. Done with his observation, Ren flew toward the other trials where he saw more of the same. The same organization and regulation surrounded all the other challenges. It was pleasing to see how an entire subculture had evolved around the trials. The turmoil he had introduced to the sect had finally stabilized, possibly with the sect's blessings.

No doubt all that good karma it earned him had played an enormous role in the smooth and steady progress Ren had experienced in his cultivation. He was proud of his achievements because a foundation establishment realm cultivator rarely had such an impact on so many lives within a few short years. It was reassuring to know how well suited he was to follow his dao. Ren made his way from the 1st to the 7th challenge. They had all been discovered and showed the same level of organization.

Naturally the later trials were less crowded as the restrictions in the required cultivation realm grew. From the 7th onward, there were usually only 30 or so disciples present. The 8th and 9th challenge trials that Ren had set up had also been discovered. The trial seekers were not to be underestimated, as they regularly organized searches. He had tried his best to follow the theme he had in mind and wanted to see if it had been well received.

POV Change: Within half a year, Zi Shui's entire life had become unrecognizable even to himself. He couldn't believe how much his life had changed at times. The root of most of those changes could be traced to one inciting factor. Now, if there was one figure who held the highest position in his heart, it was the Challenger. Since Zi Shui had finally entered the inner sect, a whole new set of challenges had become available! He had already attempted the first and had since recovered.

He was glad he followed the recommendations to prevent mental scars. The memory of that bone-chilling killing intent no longer made his heart palpitate. It was the perfect time to attempt the 2nd challenge of the inner sect, the one said to improve the trial takers' qi manipulation. Then, he would be free to seek the other trials he knew were already out there waiting for him!