Chapter 79 - Ten Days
Chapter 79 Ten Days
There was a dense forest by the river.
“It’s been a while since the two of us had a good chat.”
Wang Bowen and Chen Yiming strolled along the riverside. They were surrounded by a dense forest that hid their figures completely.
The two of them had calm expressions on their faces, seemingly unaffected by the announcement of Lin Yixuan’s promotion to the next head of the school.
“Junior Brother Chen, what are your plans from now on?” Wang Bowen asked calmly.
“Senior Brother Wang, what do you mean?” Chen Yiming asked.
“The Mantis Snake Sword School is actually under the control of the provincial city, behaving like its door to the outside world. The school was established as an external organization in East Lake City specially for selecting young people with potential,” explained Wang Bowen.
“No wonder I couldn’t understand why there were only young core disciples in the school, while the martial arts experts from the school’s head’s generation were never around.
The library also contains the martial arts books left behind by the seniors.” Chen Yiming nodded. “The Mantis Snake Sword School and the East Lake Martial Arts Academy are essentially the same type of organization. You can treat it like a normal school. If you can’t be promoted to the next grade, the previous generation of core disciples will be considered as graduates and have to leave the school,” Wang Bowen said with a sigh. “Unfortunately, not long after you became a core disciple, you encountered the switch from the old school head to the new one. You didn’t obtain enough resources to develop yourself.”
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Only core disciples and core disciple candidates could receive free cultivation resources from the school. Chen Yiming had only become a core disciple candidate less than a year ago.
“What did the core disciples from the previous generation do after that?” Chen Yiming asked. He only wanted to move along with the flow and cultivate steadily to reach the warrior realm.
“It’s said that they came up with their own paths. Some joined large corporations, some recruited people to form their own sects, and those like me will return to their own clans,” Wang Bowen explained.
The two of them walked to a protruding platform by the riverside.
The platform was built by the fishermen. The two of them walked straight up to the platform and enjoyed the breeze.
“How much longer can core disciples like us stay in the school?” Chen Yiming asked again.
“It’s not easy to judge, but we can definitely stay for at least a month or two.
If Lin Yixuan really wants to become the head, he needs to break through to the warrior realm first, and then get the approval of the board from the provincial city,” Wang Bowen replied.
“Will the board agree to it? Will they send someone else to take over the school instead?” Chen Yiming asked.
Wang Bowen said in a low voice, “Lin Yixuan also has another identity as an external disciple of the provincial city’s board. Coupled with the recommendation he received from the previous head, no one can compete with him.”
“I see. Did Senior Brother Wang lose because he didn’t want to marry into the clan?” Chen Yiming asked curiously.
As soon as he finished speaking, the solemn atmosphere was broken.
“This is my personal matter, so I won’t trouble you about it. Let’s talk about your plans. If there’s nothing you have in mind, do you need my help?” Wang Bowen’s expression tightened as he asked bluntly.
“I haven’t thought about it yet. We can talk about it later,” Chen Yiming replied.
“Alright, let me know if you need any help,” Wang Bowen said with a smile.
He was about to lose the protection of being a core disciple of the Mantis Snake Sword School after he left the school.
Chen Yiming had never thought about whether to go to the provincial city with a bigger stage or to stay in East Lake City.
Three days had passed since Lin Yixuan returned from the military camp. During this time, Chen Yiming was informed that the distribution of the eggs of the gold-eating bug was stopped. At the same time, he was no longer allowed to buy dried mutant beast meat from the supplies department.
However, he did not mind. Perhaps because his Level-2 swordsmanship talent had exceeded the disciple realm by too much, the eggs of the gold-eating bug were not of much help to his cultivation.
The eggs that he brought home every month for more than half a year had been eaten by Chen Yingying instead.
Although the person who had informed him didn’t mention whether the library was still open to former core disciples like him, Chen Yiming no longer cared about sword techniques below the level of the warrior realm.
He did not even go to the martial arts school and found a remote place to train alone.
One night, Chen Yiming received a call from Shi Changyi telling him that the matter regarding the purple lightning stone had been settled.
In a valley in the forest, Chen Yiming found a spot on the city’s wall where the security was weak and leaped over it.
He was extremely fast, and under the cover of the night, only a shadow could be seen.
It didn’t take him long to reach the address Shi Changyi had provided.
As soon as he landed, he saw Shi Changyi, who had been waiting for a long time.
There were two subordinates standing beside Shi Changyi. When the two of them heard the commotion in the darkness, they waited anxiously, ready to attack at any moment.
The wilderness was different from the city. If news of this got out, they would soon be surrounded and killed by others. No one would know even if they died outside.
In addition, there was a problem with the origin of the purple lightning stones that Shi Changyi had obtained. If others found out about it, they would be in big trouble.
“It’s Brother Chen, we’re on the same side,” Shi Changyi said when he saw who it was.
The two subordinates beside him heard this and relaxed. They stood to the side and waited for further orders.
“Why did you choose this place? Is there some issue with obtaining the purple lightning stone?” Chen Yiming asked directly.
“It’s said that there are new developments in the research of weapons specially designed for the otherworld. The purple lightning stone was suddenly classified as a prohibited item,” Shi Changyi explained.
“Will it be difficult to obtain it from now on?” Chen Yiming nodded and asked.
“I don’t have any concrete information on this yet, but it’s probably going to be very difficult to obtain,” Shi Changyi said in a low voice.
Before Chen Yiming came, he had felt that something was amiss. Why would he suddenly choose to meet in a valley in the wilderness?
However, he felt that Shi Changyi was not a threat to him, so he still brazenly went to meet him. If anything happened, he could directly kill and silence him.
“The two of you, go patrol the surroundings to prevent anyone from coming close,” Shi Changyi instructed his two subordinates.
After his two subordinates left, Shi Changyi took out a wooden box from a bush.
“The purple lightning stones are inside.”
Chen Yiming squatted down and untied the cloth around the wooden box. He lifted the wooden lid, revealing half a box of purple lightning stones.
Each stone was the size of a fist. From time to time, purple sparks of electricity would jump out, illuminating their figures in the darkness.
“Be careful. This is a truly dangerous item. It can electrocute and kill people,” Shi Changyi reminded him.
“Thank you.” Chen Yiming covered the wooden lid and tied it up with the cloth again.
It was very difficult to create a fake of something as dangerous as the purple lightning stone. One could tell whether it was real or fake at a glance. Chen Yiming had no intention of testing it on the spot as he wanted to prevent any accidents from happening.
“What’s the price?” Chen Yiming stood up and asked.
“I really want to be friends with you. Who knows, I might need your help one day. In the future, we can watch out for and help each other,” Shi Changyi said frankly.
“Alright, call me if you need anything.” Chen Yiming nodded. Shi Changyi had probably been busy secretly transporting the box of purple lightning stones over the past few days. He had not received any news that Chen Yiming was about to lose his status as a core disciple of the Mantis Snake Sword School.
Now that the purple lightning stone was already listed as a prohibited item, he did not know the price he would have to pay if he wanted to obtain it again in the future. Furthermore, he urgently needed these purple lightning stones to break through to the warrior realm.
Therefore, he didn’t care if Shi Changyi felt that he was trying to trick him after he went back and heard about the news.
Ten days later, about ten kilometers east of East Lake City, by a pond in the deep woods, Chen Yiming was sitting cross-legged on a huge rock with his eyes shut. Blue sparks of electricity continuously appeared all over his body. The blue sparks moved along the surface of his body like snakes swimming in water, sometimes entering his body and sometimes jumping out. This was the result of Chen Yiming using the purple lightning stones to temper his body over the past ten days. He had successfully broken through to the warrior realm. These electric sparks were the internal energy that he had cultivated. If he utilized the internal energy, they would become the internal force.
Previously, he had created a small current of electricity, and this current was already at the level of the internal force, even though it was only a small amount.
Therefore, when he used the purple lightning stone to aid in tempering a single part of his body, he focused the small current of electricity he had created into part of his body that he was tempering.
Doing so would cause minimal harm to his body, and he could move forward without any worries.
On the rock, Chen Yiming suddenly opened his eyes.
There was a flash of lightning in the air a meter ahead, and a loud crack sounded.
“Is this creating electricity from the air?”
Chen Yiming stood up and focused the electrical energy in his body on his sword. Suddenly, a blue electric current shot out from the end of his finger and flowed along the sword, turning back at the tip of the sword before flowing along the blade and returning to his finger.
“It seems that internal force can only be attached to physical objects.”
Chen Yiming tried a few times, but the blue electric current couldn’t leave the sword. At most, it would jump a few centimeters away from the tip of the sword.
At this moment, a group of birds in the forest suddenly flew up into the sky.
“My internal force, which contains the power of lightning, is causing too much of a commotion. If I use it, I can’t hide it from others,” Chen Yiming thought in surprise.
The Mantis Snake Sword Technique that he had mainly cultivated previously had a certain shielding effect. Coupled with the fact that the movement caused by his muscles exerting force was minimal, he had the advantage in strength and also in launching repeated sneak attacks.
“Let’s test its power!”
Chen Yiming threw his longsword at the pond.
A blue current ran along the surface of the sword as it transformed into an arrow and shot toward the pond.
With the enhancement from the internal force, the speed of the sword’s movement was several times faster than before.
In a fight, having a speed 10% faster than an opponent was already not a small advantage. If he was 30% faster, his opponent would not even be able to touch the edge of his clothes. If he was several times faster, he would completely crush his opponent, making it impossible for his opponent to react to his attacks.
“Boom!”
It was as if a bomb had been thrown deep into the pond. A deafening sound echoed deep in the mountains, and the mutant beasts hiding in the forest were so scared that they ran away from the direction of the commotion.
The water was blown into the air by more than ten meters. The water splashes carried traces of electric sparks, and a small amount landed on the surrounding trees. The electric sparks instantly caused an explosion.
The areas that came into contact with it instantly turned black, and some of the branches and leaves started to burn.
In addition, electric sparks were dancing on the surface of the pond for nearly a minute before they disappeared.
“No wonder all the martial arts practitioners in East Lake City yearn to join the factions led by warriors who use the internal force.
As a core disciple of the Mantis Snake Sword School, one is sure to be respected wherever he goes,” Chen Yiming muttered.
He instantly recalled many incidents from the past. Previously, he could only vaguely sense it, but now he understood.
The difference between the disciple and warrior realms, and between the external force and internal force, was like the difference between heaven and earth. They could not be compared.
If his previous attack had been aimed at a group of people in the disciple realm, no one within a radius of several meters from the sword would have been able to withstand the explosion caused by the electric sparks.
Chen Yiming swept his gaze across the forest that had been destroyed by the destructive power of lightning. He leaped up and jumped into the pond.
“Splash!”
He plunged straight into the water and quickly found the sword that had been plunged into the bottom of the pond. “The internal force seems to have some protective properties.”
Chen Yiming returned to the rock and examined the longsword carefully. He found that it was intact and undamaged.
He guessed that the power of lightning was an expression of the internal force, which possessed a high defensive ability. Otherwise, given how quickly it had struck the bottom of the pond, even with the water resistance, it was impossible for his sword to not have a single dent in it.
The sky had just turned light, and it was another sunny day.
Early in the morning, Chen Yiming left the city to meet up with Liu Wanqing’s team at Yongluo Town.
During the ten days that he had been cultivating outside, there had been no changes in the Mantis Snake Sword School. This caused Chen Yiming to heave a sigh of relief.
Ever since the day Lin Yixuan returned, he had not entered the Mantis Snake Sword School. After all, he was close to Wang Bowen, who was once Lin Yixuan’s rival.
Chen Yiming didn’t want to cause any conflict. After all, this was the place where he had started his martial arts journey, so he wanted to leave with a good impression.
Upon entering Yongluo Town, he discovered that there were quite a few changes compared to his previous visit.
The streets were full of pedestrians and the shops were busy with customers. The bars were packed with people and it was bustling with noise.
Other than that, people were raising recruitment signs on both sides of the only street in the town.
The content on the signs indicated the fee for hiring martial artists of different levels to enter the mountains to hunt mutant beasts.
“It looks like the war at the lake in the west involved most of the forces in East Lake City. There weren’t so many people recruiting temporary hires the last time.” Chen Yiming sighed.
The environment in the lake to the west of the city was not suitable for disciples to engage in combat, and the forest environment in the Nuhe Mountain Range was much better. Many people who had returned from the battlefield had come here to hunt mutant beasts.
Chen Yiming didn’t stay for long. He walked into the town and found a small restaurant called ‘Unforgettable Taste’.
As soon as he entered the restaurant, Chen Yiming saw Liu Wanging and three other men chatting around a table.
At this moment, Liu Wanqing was wearing a tight-fitting white robe, which was missing the seductive allure of the gown.
With her long black hair tied into a ponytail, she looked fresh and capable.
Of the three men, one was clearly different from the other two. He was handsome, and his facial features had some resemblance to Liu Wanqing’s.
The remaining two men were dressed in martial arts training robes from the
Tongbeiquan School and the Divine Wind Martial Arts School.
“Chen Yiming, come over quickly,” Liu Wanqing waved at him when she saw him enter the restaurant.
“I came here by foot, so I’m a little late,” Chen Yiming apologized as he walked over to the only empty chair at the table and sat down.
As soon as he finished speaking, he sensed the curious gazes of the three men scrutinizing him.
“This is my third brother, Liu Daoyuan. This is Meng Tai from the Tongbeiquan School. This is Zhao Yifeng from the Divine Wind Martial Arts School.” Liu Wanqing introduced them with a smile.
“I’m Chen Yiming from the Mantis Snake Sword School.” Chen Yiming introduced himself.
The atmosphere at the dining table was a little awkward. Meng Tai and Zhao Yifeng seemed to be looking down on Chen Yiming.
Liu Daoyuan’s expression darkened when he heard Chen Yiming’s introduction.
Only Liu Wanqing maintained her smile, as if she had not noticed the attitudes of the other three.
News that the Mantis Snake Sword School was about to change to a new head had clearly spread among the upper echelons of East Lake City.