Chapter 19: A Generous Gift

The fight ended in the blink of an eye. The demonized beast died even before Luo Ling could see a cultivator’s means. He was not surprised with the flying sword that beheaded the maneater. If these cultivators could step on it and fly, then they could very well use it to kill from a distance.

What he wanted to see were the ‘spells’ he heard so much about from the villagers and Li Hong.

Luo Ling spared a thoughtful glance at the beast’s bisected remains.

From their brief clash, the transmigrator realized that the failed demon's strength nearly rivaled that of a Stage-3 Martial Master—just a step away from reaching the Grandmaster level. That is to say, perhaps, even a Grandmaster was not enough to make Lord Ping reveal some of his cards.

“Hey! What’s up with you?”

Luo Ling nearly slashed with his knife before he realized the hand wrapped around his neck belonged to Li Hong. He breathed a sigh of relief and returned the knife to its rightful place.

“Li Hong,” Luo Ling chewed his words through gritted teeth. “Please warn me when you are around. Don’t startle me like this.”

The youth laughed it off with a shake of his head. “Sure sure, I will. By the way, Master is amazing, isn’t he?”

Luo Ling, displaying his exasperation, shook his head and begrudgingly accepted the shoulder hug. He was also secretly amazed at the youth’s strength. He tried to move away from the necklock discreetly but failed to do so even after using all his strength.

“What is Lord Ping’s cultivation realm?” Luo Ling asked after giving up resistance. Since he could not fight it, might as well accept it.

The cultivation realms, according to Li Hong’s knowledge, were: Prenatal Breathing, Foundation Establishment, Qi Refining, and Core Formation. There were more stages, but he knew up to these.

He wondered what stage the middle-aged cultivator had achieved to command such awe-inspiring strength.

“Master… probably have broken through to Core Formation realm.” Li Hong’s answer was full of uncertainty. “He never reveals his tail, like a cunning fox.”

Before Luo Ling could respond, the youth beside him cradled his head and screamed in pain. He could swear there was a comical lump growing on the forehead of the raven-haired boy.

“Ouch!! Master, can you not eavesdrop on your disciple? It’s breaching my privacy.”

“Then stop messing around.” Lord Ping revealed himself from behind a tree, his hands folded behind his back. “As for you, Luo Ling.”

Luo Ling perked up when his name was called.

“You’re valiant for a mortal without any cultivation.” The middle-aged cultivator’s eyes flashed with approval.

“Thank you, Lord Ping.” Luo Ling bowed.

Martial artists respect the strong. Lord Ping had shown his extraordinary prowess by beheading a beast on which he could barely leave a scratch. Granted he was only a 2nd-rate martial warrior now, a far cry from the peak power he achieved in his previous life. But Luo Ling liked to live in the present.

Lord Ping was deserving of his respect.

“Initially, I promised a Blood Refining pill as a reward for this task,” Lord Ping said, drawing closer. “And I also offered to double that reward if you agree to my plan.”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

His words flow naturally, and Luo Ling wondered where he was going with this. Patient; he waited for him to finish because the cultivator seemed like he had more to say.

“But, your display of courage pleased me.”

Lord Ping once again dipped his hand into his sleeves, rummaging around, as if looking for something. Luo Ling was half convinced the cultivator had a hidden pouch in his sleeves. He had already witnessed the man take out things from inside twice.

“Here,” he said, handing out a brown hard-covered book and a small palm-sized clay bottle. “Take it as a gift from me.”

“Wow! Master, is that a cultivation technique?” Li Hong exclaimed dubiously. He leaned over Luo Ling’s shoulders and nudged at him. “Ling, open the book.”

Luo Ling suppressed his excitement. Even though he led matters of cultivation to rest after discovering his low potential, he still harbored thoughts about embarking on this illustrious path. Longevity and immortality, who would not want it?

He had the confidence to find a way to upgrade his talent after achieving Martial Transcendent but that’d probably take a few years. Distant waters can’t quench immediate thirst.

Luo Ling opened the book, welcomed by the pleasant scent of fragrant ink. The name of the book was revealed in glaring, bold, and artistic calligraphy.

Art of Meridian Mending – Vol 1

“Oh, it’s this technique,” Li Hong sighed, sounding like a deflated balloon.

“What this about?” Luo Ling had already gotten a good grasp on the youth’s personality. He was talkative and may appear friendly, but not many things could enter his eye.

Take the corpse of the demonized beast, for example. Although Luo Ling didn’t know if it was edible, he was still planning on skinning it and taking the carcass for sale. At the very least, it’d fetch a couple of Bronze Marbles.

A bronze marble was not a small amount. An average family of three could live a month in lavish: buy new clothes every week, have meat in their every meal, and still have some spares to go about. If they lived frugally, that family could sustain themselves for years.

In the Five Fragrance Village, those hunters could kill to get their hands on this carcass. Yet, the two cultivators had not shown a shred of interest in it. He could understand Lord Ping as the man could easily produce a Blood Refining Pill for reward, which according to Daluo, costs ten times the hide of the red-eared rabbit he sold. But why’d this Li Hong also show such disdain towards it?

His mannerisms matched that of a scion of an affluent family.

Secretly, he was glad he didn’t have to share this money. The current him needed all the money he could get. He could upgrade his gears, and even afford those expensive herbs for a medicinal bath.

“This technique comes under the category of body forging and has three volumes. Practicing every volume to its perfection would upgrade your meridian coil by one level.” Li Hong explained, shaking his head. “But, even though it’s a body forging manual, it doesn’t provide any strength boost. And it's really hard to master. In my opinion, it’s a complete sham.”

Luo Ling filtered out the later parts of the youth’s speech. His focus stayed on the first half. The technique could upgrade meridian coils? Wasn’t that what he needed the most?

Why did he decide to shelve the idea of cultivation for later? Wasn’t it because he possessed a low-mortal-grade meridian coil, deeming him ineligible for the Fragrant Crown Sect?

Although Luo Ling had yet to figure out the connection between the grade of a meridian coil and their cultivation potential, he understood the importance of having a better talent. A technique that upgrades the said talent, how could he not treat it as a treasure?

Luo Ling offered a respectful bow to the middle-aged cultivator. “Thank you for the generous gift, respectable lord.”

The man had given him exactly what he needed most at that moment. Luo Ling didn’t concern himself with the demerits or limitations of the technique. He had his martial arts, and if Li Hong’s words held any truth, as a Martial Transcendent, he’d be able to stand toe-to-toe with a Qi Refining stage expert. That was more than enough for now.

The scholarly-looking cultivator acknowledged his bow with an approving nod. “You are sensible, unlike my disciple. But what he said is true. This body forging technique will not provide you with any additional strength or fitness. However, it will give you what you need the most.”

Li Hong pulled his face into a mask of displeasure but was ignored.

Luo Ling could tell the man had more to say, so he kept quiet to listen. No one liked to be interrupted in the middle.

“I’m giving you a chance, Luo Ling,” he said. “If you can master this first volume within six months, I’ll give you both the second and third volumes for free. But if you can’t, then no need to approach me.”

His words thundered in Luo Ling’s ears. It was a challenge and might be a veiled test for him.

“I’ll do it, Lord.” Luo Ling announced with brimming confidence.

With [Records of Toil] aiding him, if he could not master first of the three halves of a technique within three months, he might as well just give up on getting stronger and start farming.