The first month of the year passed by in a blink of an eye and Wang Luâs daily life once again became like in the past two years: studying at Misty Peak during the day, and going back to the Non-Phase Peak to refine his bone in the evening. A simple yet fulfilling life.
After experiencing the grueling ordeal of training the first layer of the Non-Phase Sword Bone, the experience became less and less painful. At least, it was not on the level of wishing-oneself-to-die pain.
However, according to his respectable Masterâs argument, the Non-Phase Sword Bone had a side effect. After cultivating the first layer, one would become more tolerant to pain the more one repeated the process. Several layers later, the tolerance of pain would reach such an alarming level that even the process of âdestroying the old body and creating the newâ would only feel like a mosquito bite. It was so much that if one was asleep and someone cut their p*nis, then they wouldnât even feel it!
Hearing this explanation, Wang Lu and little Wang Lu suddenly went into shock! If he lost the ability to feel pain, wouldnât he be like a bull terrier? But on the bright side, he wouldnât have to feel like he was having daily menstrual pain every time he practiced this body training method. However, when he practiced it the third time, Wang Lu discovered another 'side effectâ.
There was no positive side effect!
Properly speaking, this kind of lower level body refining method to reach the Foundation Establishment Stage ought to increase the bodyâs capability compared to those mortal worldâs martial arts. After reaching the third layer in a week, not to mention the divine power of Dragon and Elephant, Wang Lu should, at least, be as strong as an Ox and could run like the wind. But the result of his week-long training was actually⊠nothing. To make things worse, his running speed seemed to have slowed down a little!
When he asked his Master, her sincere reply was that this Non-Phase Sword Bone was broad and profound; it was impossible for it to bear fruit in the time between. She advised him to take a long-term view, and in ten years, he would definitely understand her painstaking effort.
Painstaking effort my ass!
Thus, Wang Lu âran away from homeâ that night and changed his allegiance to the Lady Boss.
In response to this, the Lady Boss gladly accepted him. In her own words, to train a rare martial arts prodigy was a temptation that any martial arts master could never resist.
âDonât worry, I will impart you all of my lifeâs skills. Although I donât understand about things regarding cultivation, even if my skills are just mortal worldâs martial arts, it would be enough for you to reach the Foundation Establishment Stage.â
Wang Lu had also heard about this point. The legendary top martial artists of the mortal world could defeat Qi Cultivating Stage cultivators. However, before one reached the Foundation Establishment Stage, formed the Jade Mansion core and connected the magical power inside and outside the body, mortal worldâs Martial Arts were basically ineffective⊠But even for a top sect like the Spirit Sword Sect, it would need three to five years from forging the body to the Foundation Establishment Stage. Therefore, he would also need around three to five years of training with the Lady Boss before it could be effective. Furthermore, even if he did succeed in reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage, it would still be very difficult for mortal worldâs martial arts to be effective; however, this common knowledge still had some grain of truth in it.
So, when he started to practice again, he still performed the Divine Skill of Subduing the Dragon. After all, it was a basic skill that the Lady Boss highly recommended for him. It was said that it could strengthen oneâs overall physique. As long as he could learn through the first layer, he could have the strength of a tiger or leopard, and he could be comparable to a common great martial arts master.
Thus, after three days of hard training, Wang Lu finally reached the first layer of the Divine Skill of Subduing the Dragon. On the day of his success, the Lady Boss purposely made a whole pot of trotters sauce for Wang Lu to celebrate.
However, when he was eating the trotters together with the Lady Boss in between his training time, a problem suddenly arose.
âLady Boss, according to your estimate, by now, I should be as fast as Cheetah, strong like Tiger and tough like Bison⊠right?â
Lady Boss nodded. âYes, this is the standard result of reaching the first layer of the Divine Skill of Subduing the Dragon, whatâs wrong?â
Wang Lu went silent for a long time before replying with, âI feel like I didnât change at all.â
The Lady Boss was taken aback. âImpossible! I can clearly see that you have reached the first layer through the energy in your dragon vein. How could there be no effect, unlessâŠâ
The Lady Boss suddenly thought of something, causing her eyebrows to deeply furrow.
âI think I understand whatâs going on. This is called the cover phenomenon.â
âCover Phenomenon?â
The Lady Boss reluctantly explained, âThis is not difficult to understand; a top rank martial art has a cover effect over a low rank martial art. For example, if you first practice Six Yang Melting Snow Skill, and over a period of time you also practice the even more profound Nine Yang Divine Skill, then your internal energy will reflect the characteristic of Nine Yang Divine Skill; The Six Yang Melting Snow Skill is already being covered by the Nine Yang Divine Skill. But now⊠while the Divine Skill of Subduing the Dragon is the closest martial art to the Immortal Cultivation art, but the Non-Phase Sword Bone is, nevertheless, a genuine Immortal Cultivation art, which means it covers the Divine Skill of Subduing the Dragon.â
Wang Lu nearly vomited blood upon hearing this; the Non-Phase Sword Bone was really a rip-off! âOh, Master, I have to give it to you. Youâre the only person in the world who can create this kind of âwonderfulâ skill!â
The Lady Boss bitterly smiled. âDonât dwell too much on it. Although I donât understand much of the Non-Phase Sword Bone, I still do know some of it. Although it does have shortcomings at the beginning, it deserves its name as an Immortal Cultivation Skill, not something that Divine Skill of Subduing the Dragon can match.â
âLady Boss, rather than consoling me with this nonsense, you might as well advise me to masturbate by fantasizing my Master being gang rapedâŠâ
Seeing that her sympathy talk was invalid, the Lady Boss immediately said, âItâs okay if you canât practice this Divine Skill of Subduing the Dragon. In any case, itâs just a basic body refining method; we can still practice the fighting method⊠and I happen to have several sets of sword skill that are suitable for you.â
Wang Lu shook his head. âJust let it be, my Master has a set of Non-Phase Sword Knack waiting to rip me off.â
â⊠Em, yeah, youâre right. How about this, letâs practice your footwork! This will not be a problem because Wang Wu consistently ignores this kind of skill; there are no such thing as lightness skill in her Non-Phase Method. So letâs practice this!â
âFootwork? Dodging and breaking away?â Although this skill would be useless once he succeeded in Immortal Cultivation in the future, but prior to Foundation Establishment Stage, even those Inner Court Disciples wouldnât know how to fly.
âItâs enough if I can use this until I reach the Foundation Establishment Stage. Oh, Master Lady Boss, please accept my respect once again!â
Wang Lu then paid obeisance to the Lady Boss.
The next few days, Wang Lu spent his time practicing his footwork under the Lady Bossâs guidance. Strangely, the footwork was neither the legendary âGraceful Steps Upon the Wavesâ [1], nor was it the âGhost Shadow Stepsâ which could use afterimages to confuse the opponent. Instead, it was the âWinding Stepâ, which needed amazing balance and toughness to cast out, and could even be called as uncanny and fantastic footwork.
As the name implied, the main feature of Winding Step was the word âwindingâ. As soon as the person with this Winding Step wound around the opponent, the opponent wouldnât be able to break away no matter what, like a chewing gum stuck on someone. This skill didnât emphasize on dodging nor the ability to break away; instead, in a one-on-one combat, it could work wonders.
Wang Lu was unclear on why the Lady Boss purposely taught him this footwork, but unlike his real Master, she never tried to cheat him. Thus, he paid attention to her teaching, seriously learning this Winding Step.
And so it went, Wang Lu began his triple training of the Cultural Education, Non-Phase Sword Bone and Winding Step. Every day, after finishing his morning long distance running, he soaked himself in the super dosage medicinal concoction and trained the Non-Phase Sword Bone. At noon, he would go to the Misty Peak to attend the Cultural Class to earn sect credits. After the lesson, he would go down the mountain to look for the Lady Boss and train the Winding Step. In the evening, he would go back to the Non-Phase Peak to rest.
Two months later, he had mastered the Winding Step. Although he couldnât fly nor create afterimages, after he grasped the essence of this footwork, he didnât think that it was less amazing than those footworks.
As it happened, there was a situation where Wang Lu could fully display the ultimate power of this miraculous footwork. This situation happened when, in the past, Wang Lu failed to climb the Non-Phase Peak when he tried to look for herbs or plants. Previously, when he looked for herbs or plants at the Non-Phase Peak, Wang Lu would often have to turn around and run away with his tail between his legs when he was bullied by wild monkeys, hare or pheasant, wild boar or wolf and so on. Now, equipped with this Winding Step, although he still hasnât learned any offensive martial arts and his Masterâs Non-Phase Sword Bone was especially deceptive, he would still have a chance to put out a fight even when encountering a ferocious beast.
In order to prove himself, on the third day after he mastered the Winding Step, Wang Lu went into the deep wilderness area of the Non-Phase Peak to find his two years old nemesis: the One-eyed Black Bear.
For two years, whenever Wang Lu went into the wilderness to look for herbs, the most hateful thing for him was this damn bear that occupied the area where the spirit grass grew. The other party was not some kind of high level monster who could control forces of nature, but it was one lazy, stupid clumsy bear. However, due to animalâs sensitivity on the convergence of the spiritual energy on the Spirit Sword Mountain, the stupid bear instinctively knew the growing spot for the spirit grass and its benefit. Thus, everyday, the stupid bear would behave like a gardener who patrolled the mountain to protect the spirit grass from being taken away by Wang Lu who would then sell them for money. Therefore, this stupid bear became Wang Luâs sworn enemy.
Over the past two years, whenever he encountered this stupid bear, Wang Lu could only turn around and run away. In any case, he could always come back later. Plus, relying on his dexterity and endurance, he wasnât afraid that he wouldnât get the spirit grass or be eaten by the bear. Nevertheless, his money making plan had been repeatedly blocked. But now, with his newly mastered Winding Step, Wang Lu had the confidence to subdue that bear. Furthermore, since he had the heart to take revenge, he wouldnât want to wait until a chance encounter with the stupid bear; he wanted to crash into that black bearâs cave.
That day, Wang Lu set off on his mission very early in the morning when the sky was yet to brighten up. The black bear was sleeping inside his cave with mouth dripping with saliva; it mustâve been having a good dream. Without any preamble, Wang Lu directly kicked its nose!
Growl!
The black bear wailed because of its bleeding nose which gushed out like a fountain. Oddly, this made Wang Lu incomparably happy. The black bear clutched its bleeding nose as tears and saliva flowed down mixed with the blood; rays of hate came out of its bloodshot eyes.
You motherf*cker! Two years! Havenât you had enough!? Every weekday you would come and steal my spirit grass, but now, you even came to my home to plot against me!? Curse you! F*cking go to hell!
Roar!
The black bear viciously snarled, blowing a gust of foul smell as it brandished its claws. A single strike from this beast could crack open a gold deposit. However, Wang Lu was not in a hurry; he shifted a step back and swung his upper body like a pendulum, deftly evading that pawâs sweep.
Although the black bear seemed to be a clumsy animal, but in truth, his kind was faster and more flexible than ordinary humans. Once it missed its first strike, it immediately launched a precise second strike using its other paw and also threw its huge body forward with it to reduce the opponentâs space to maneuver. However, Wang Lu had just taken a step back, and his upper body was still tilting backward; as such, his center of gravity wasnât stableâhe had no way to dodge.
But in the next moment, he took advantage of the black bearâs forward momentum and, like a ghost, he climbed its back and landed behind it in an instant.
The flexibility requirement of the Winding Step was vividly showcased here. The essence of this footwork was that, when needed, the user could make it seem like he was far away even though he was clearly at the reach of the opponentâs fingertips.
After two successful dodges, Wang Lu had already found the ins and outs of the other party⊠Thus, the last trace of worry completely disappeared from his heart. He was certain that just by virtue of this set of footwork, even if the cave was such a small space, he did not need to be afraid of this wild beast.
The only problem was, although he could keep himself from being injured, Wang Lu didnât learn any fighting method; it was impossible for him to hurt this plump bear with its rough and thick furry skin⊠In the end, without any other choice, Wang Lu had to rely on his amazing endurance; he didnât believe the bear would win in the contest of endurance with him!
Four hours later, when Wang Lu was feeling a bit hungry, the black bear, after fruitlessly spending its energy on vain attacks, finally couldnât hold it anymore and fell down exhausted with a thump.
This affected-by-spirit-grass-which-make-it-a-bit-intelligent black bear had been thoroughly worn out by Wang Luâs ability to dodge all of its strikes! When it wanted to run away, he would always closely follow behind him and, from time to time, would use some kind of miraculous maneuver to trip it, making it stumble like an idiot. He then would seize this opportunity to kick its nose.
After four hours of almost continuous nose kicking, the black bear had turned mushy as it fell in the middle of the cav; its whole body was covered in mud, battered and exhausted. As for Wang Lu, he was still calmly standing on its back.
RoarrâŠ
The black bear feebly wailed loudly as it finally stopped fighting back with great reluctance. Upon hearing this wail, Wang Lu came down from its back. The black bear then managed to brace itself and slowly crawl back to its cave. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, it managed to pull out a piece of white cloth and slowly waved it with its paw.
âThe hell, this bear actually knows how this sign work!?â
This scene truly shocked him; he mused, âImmortal Cultivation Sect is indeed Immortal Cultivation Sect, even idiot animals know how to communicate through sign with humans; this fellow actually knows how to use the white flag!â
âAll right, since youâve admitted your defeat, I will not destroy you. Letâs just get along like a neighbor.â
Wang Lu patted the bearâs head, turned around and walked away. His proud figure reflected in the tear-filled eyes of the black bear.
ââ
Upon returning triumphantly back to his hut, Wang Lu was surprised to find that his retard Master, who usually spent her time drunk all day long, had been sitting in the living room reading a book! âJindan technique?â
âMy lord! This retard is actually literate! She isnât holding the book upside down! And itâs a genuine Immortal Cultivation Book and not some kind of porn magazine or something! Oh, my dear Master, your previous shameless rogue image in my heart has collapsed!â
Likewise, his Master was also surprised upon catching Wang Luâs figure. âHey, why is your face full of smiles? Did you just come back from a brothel?â
âBrothel my ass!â
âHmm, youâve trained hard these past few days. Although I firmly believe that mortal worldâs martial arts are purely waste of time, fortunately, you didnât delay your Non-Phase Sword Bone cultivation, which is good,â his Master said as she put down that book. âBy the way, I also have a good news for you. Congratulations! You have almost succeeded in practicing the Non-Phase Sword Bone and pass the last hurdle to refine the energy.â
Wang Lu raised his eyebrows. âPass the last hurdle?â
âThatâs right, after finishing the eight layer of Sword Bone, you can begin cultivating the qi [2]. Oh, thereâs also another thing. Didnât you often complain that this Sword Bone is a rip off, a skill that has no positive effect? In fact, the change by this Sword Bone has long been imperceptibly happening. Itâs just that youâve been completely ignorant about it. However, after you pass the eight layers, you will feel a significant improvement. Unless your heart is truly black and your eyes are blind, otherwise, you will never complain about this Sword Bone again.â
Wang Lu was stupefied by his Masterâs confident look; it was as if all she said was a matter of fact.
âWell then, letâs just wait and see. Iâve just finished the seventh layer, so weâll see the outcome in a week. Whether this Sword Bone a peerless method or a pure rip-off, weâll know it by that time.â
âHow could it be so easy?â his master coldly said. âTo complete this Non-Phase Sword Bone, you donât just endure the suffering.â
Wang Lu asked, âWhat else then?â
His Master began to count with her finger, âFirst is the medicine pill. Starting from the eighth layer, cultivating Non-Phase Sword Bone has to be supplemented with a medicine pill. A daily cultivation requires a daily dose of Bone Strengthening Drug, which must be taken without break. The second is spirit stone. To succeed, you need to be able to gather the surrounding spiritual energy into your meridians. However, using the fundamental aggregate array alone to gather the spiritual energy is not enough. You need a few pieces of low rank spirit stones. And lastly, a famous Master. You need a famous Master, like myself, to make sure that everything is foolproof. Amongst these three conditions, I can easily provide you with the last two. However, regarding the medicine pill, that is entirely up to you. To refine the Bone Strengthening Drug, you need one Cinnabar Fruit. I donât have this thing and I canât afford it either⊠Sorry, even if you scold me or berate me, I still canât afford it. Nowadays, itâs discounted price for Elders is three thousand spirit stones per piece. Even if I could afford it, I still wonât buy it. Do you understand now?â
Wang Lu was surprised. âThree thousand spirit stones per piece is not that expensive. Itâs not even strange even if itâs priced ten times outside. The problem is, usually, Immortal Cultivators only need medicine pill when they reach Foundation Establishment Stage. Yet, I already need that three thousand spirit stones supplement when I am still in the body refining stage!?â
His Master wryly smiled but didnât explain it to him; she just continued, âThere are actually a lot of this Cinnabar Fruits on the Clear Sky Peak; they grow there. However, that place is the sectâs strategic resource reserve point. Even the Sect Leader canât just pick the herbs there at will. The only people who are not restricted from going there are low-level disciples you who has just started cultivating. Needless to say, you should know the reason to that, right?â
It was indeed not difficult to understand the reason behind such restrictions. It was to encourage the young disciples to explore and challenge their limits.
âAs it happens, in several days, the Misty Peak and Carefree Peak will organize their newcomers to do experiential learning at the Clear Sky Peak. You should go together with them and think of a way to harvest a few pieces of Cinnabar Fruit and then Iâll help you refine the Bone Strengthening Drug.â
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âIf I fail to harvest any?â
His Master thought for a moment and then said, âActually, itâs not that big of a deal. Even if there is no Bone Strengthening Drug, we can still use similar but low-level drugs. However, your practice speed will be at least ten times slower. So, thereâs a trade-off that you need to choose.â
âWhat is there to chose? Of course, I am going to go there! As a matter of fact, I want to go there right now!â
[1] Ling Bo Wei Bu from Jin Yongâs Demi God and Semi Devil.