Chapter 31: Musings
Luo Ling halted his swings and, with deliberate precision, mimicked the motion of returning a blade to its scabbard as he slid the wooden replica back to his waist. Though his face retained a calm, composed expression despite the sheen of sweat, the unsteady tremble of his legs revealed the depths of his exhaustion.
Steadying his breath, Luo Ling cast a quick glance at the sky, his eyes tracing the sun's position to determine the time. He had been at this since before dawn, and his stomach had already rumbled a few times to warn him about what he was missing.
Just then, the wooden sword slipped from his grasp and tumbled to the ground. Luo Ling couldn't even muster the strength to tighten his grip in time, his fingers betraying him at the last moment. As his gaze fell to the palms of his small hands, he was met with the sight of pinkish semi-hardened flesh. Unconsciously, the corners of his lips curved upward into a faint smile. Those callouses-in-the-making were more than mere marks—they were proof of his relentless effort, a quiet symbol of pride.
How many times had he swung his sword for his palms to become like this? In the past few days, he practiced the Sword Drawing so many times that he had already lost count. Luckily, something else did it for him. His consciousness drilled into the depths of his inner world and his probing gaze swept over the magical tablet—the only linkage left of Murim World.
[Iron Muscles Steel Veins Body Forging Exercise (Third Level)]— Proficiency: 45/999
[Archery (Houtian IV); Penetration (Rank 2); Weakness (Rank 1)]— Proficiency: 9,475/9,999
[Art of Meridian Mending Vol 1; Qi Refining Efficiency (Rank 1)]— Complete Mastery
[Meditation (Houtian II); Mental Force (Rank 1)]— Proficiency: 100,037/1 million
[Lightwheel Swordsmanship: Meditation (Martial Master Stage 1)]— Proficiency: 14/1000
[Lightwheel Swordsmanship: Sword Practice (Basics)]— Proficiency: 341/500
Many changes had occurred to the tablet, and a few new entries were also displayed.
First and foremost, he had finished mastering the Art of Meridian Mending and obtained a blessing— Qi Refining Efficiency (Rank 1). According to the tablet, at Rank 1, Qi absorption and assimilation efficiency improved by 10%.
This got Luo Ling thinking. Li Hong had mentioned that mastering this technique to perfection would elevate the level of his meridian coils. He had started with low-grade Mortal level meridian coils, a disappointing limitation. Now, having mastered the first volume, his meridian coils had risen to mid-grade Mortal level—a significant step forward. Yet, the improvement it brought was raising the efficiency of Qi refining by only 10% of the low-grade.
The difference between low-grade and mid-grade Mortal level meridian coils was a mere 10%—far less than Luo Ling had hoped. No wonder the sect didn’t accept cultivators with Mortal level meridian coils; the gap between low-grade and high-grade was too narrow. But now his thoughts turned to the second volume of the technique. If he mastered it, would it bring another 10% boost in efficiency, or perhaps something greater?
He couldn’t wait to try it.
Although he had yet to begin his immortal journey, from these numbers he guessed that it’d not be a smooth one. The essence of Immortal Cultivation lies in absorbing the Qi between Heaven and Earth to stimulate the evolution of both body and spirit. The goal was to fill up all the discrepancies in a mortal body to strive for divinity and achieve immortality.
This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Those were all Li Hong’s words. He had not done his own research on the subject yet. Had he not seen immortals in action and met Lord Ping before, he’d have taken Li Hong’s words as fictitious, void of substance. To a martial artist who understood their bodies better than their own children, talking about bringing evolution and striving for immortality was nothing more than tall tales.
Eventually, he would touch upon the secrets of immortal cultivation. It was one of his goals after coming to this world. He only hoped the Records of Toil would bring him as much help then as it was doing now.
The older entries in his proficiency list had all shown progress, with Archery teetering on the edge of reaching Houtian V. Luo Ling felt a surge of anticipation at the thought. Would it enhance the blessings he already possessed, sharpening his already impressive ranged combat capabilities to an even finer edge? Or perhaps it would bestow an entirely new blessing, unlocking abilities he had yet to imagine? Either outcome was worth the wait.
Further down the list, two new entries made his heart race in excitement.
The two sections of Lightwheel Swordsmanship—Meditation and Sword Practice—had successfully made their way onto the proficiency list. Unlike the body forging exercise, which appeared as a unified entry, these two sections stood separate, each claiming its own place on the list. This peculiar division was within Luo Ling’s expectations.
Despite coming under the umbrella technique of Lightwheel Swordsmanship, each section had a role to play with their own method of training. It was not a surprise that Records of Toil delegated them separate places on the list.
Luo Ling squinted his eyes at the two entries, especially at their proficiency points.
Lightwheel Swordsmanship: Meditation (Martial Master Stage 1) demanded an astronomical thousand points for progression. Yet, Luo Ling wasn’t particularly daunted; it felt manageable in comparison to his progress in [Archery], which required nearly ten thousand points and he was already on the verge of filling it up.
The process of accumulating points for Lightwheel Swordsmanship: Meditation, however, left Luo Ling scratching his head. To progress, he had to condense drops of inner breath, with each successfully condensed drop earning him a single point. Simply repeating the meditation method mindlessly wasn’t going to work this time.
With his current physical limitations, Luo Ling could safely condense just one drop of inner breath each day without risking harm to his body. Thankfully, the blessing of [Meditation], Mental Force (Rank 1), provided an additional drop daily, bringing his total accumulation to two drops per day. Although the pace felt painstakingly slow given the massive requirement ahead, it was safest.
Luo Ling had no choice but to abandon his naïve idea of blitzing through levels with the help of Records of Toil. This was something the tablet was unable to do.
“This is rather troubling,” Luo Ling mumbled, scratching his chin.
“What is?”
Xiao Ru’s soft gasps pulled Luo Ling from his thoughts, drawing his attention to the girl sprawled on the dirty ground. Her face was flushed, beads of sweat tracing paths down her skin as her chest rose and fell with each labored breath. She looked utterly spent. Nearby lay a sack of sand, its ropes worn from her relentless grip. Xiao Ru had been arduously following the spartan training plan Luo Ling had crafted for her. Despite all her incessant complaining, she never gave up and stuck to this exercise regimen. Needless to say, improvements could already be seen in her.
“Hmmm,” Luo Ling hummed, throwing a distracted glance at her. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it. Focus on your own things.”
“Cheap stake.”
Ignoring Xiao Ru’s weak retaliation, Luo Ling refocused on the matter at hand. Rapid accumulation of inner breath drops—and, by extension, proficiency points for Lightwheel Swordsmanship: Meditation—required a high-energy diet. Proper nourishment was crucial to sustain his body’s demanding needs and fuel the rigorous process of condensing inner breath effectively.
The food provided by the orphanage’s canteen was far from sufficient to meet Luo Ling’s escalating nutritional needs. Hunting in the forest might have been a viable alternative under normal circumstances, but the current tensions and the ominous atmosphere made it a dangerous gamble. If he were ambushed by a group of hunters, even if he managed to escape, he’d undoubtedly sustain injuries that would hinder his progress—a risk he couldn’t afford to take.
His only viable option was to rely on local eateries for meals, but that came with a hefty price tag. While the small fortune he had earned from selling the semi-demonized tiger’s hide through Daluo provided some financial cushion, it wouldn’t last long. At best, it could sustain him for a month, and after that, he’d need to find another way to fund his appetite.
“It’s money, huh? I miss being the favorite disciple of my master.”