Chapter 161: Three Months!
Chapter 161: Three Months!
After Tang Jinbiao saw Jia Longwu off, he did not go directly back, nor did he go to the dormitory, nor did he look for Zhang Tianyi. Instead, he once again headed to the market within Divine Wind Academy.
The market in Divine Wind Academy was primarily concentrated along one street. Nearly everything required for cultivation was sold here, ranging from artifacting materials and elixirs to all kinds of peculiar and unusual items.
However, those were not what Tang Jinbiao needed, and he lacked sufficient funds to buy those unnecessary things anyway. What he required now were some elixirs that could advance his cultivation level, along with a great deal of common knowledge.
At this moment, Tang Jinbiao was desperately in need of mental replenishment. Although he was already at Body Refining Third Tier, his understanding of this world was still far too limited.
Upon arriving at the market, Tang Jinbiao showed no hesitation at all; he plunged straight in, entering and exiting shops one after another.
Two hours later, Tang Jinbiao emerged from the market with an excited expression on his face, though a trace of sadness was mixed in with the excitement.
“Ah, it really looks like idleness drains all resources. But these elixirs should be sufficient for me to cultivate for two months. As for raising my cultivation level, that’s probably impossible, because advancing each level now is extremely challenging. Without some stroke of luck, I doubt I can reach Middle Third Tier within three or five years. But that isn’t my immediate concern now. I should focus on boosting my own strength. My current cultivation level is just a hollow display—it can’t stand up to any real test!”
Tang Jinbiao covered his storage pouch with his hand, feeling very pleased. This time, he had nearly spent all his savings. Of course, those spirit stones were the reward Chu Zhongtian had given him earlier. Though it amounted to tens of thousands of spirit stones, they couldn’t withstand such careless spending.
A short while later, Tang Jinbiao reached the terminal, hailed a beast carriage, and rode out of the city.
……
Three hours later, as it was about to get dark, Tang Jinbiao returned to his residence.
“What?”
However, upon coming back, he saw from a distance that the barrier on his dwelling had lost its effect, and a flicker of panic appeared on his face.
……
“Whew, it’s alright—it’s just that the spirit stones were exhausted. I thought I had been attacked!”
Moments later, Tang Jinbiao returned to his temporary cave dwelling, gasping softly in relief after the potential disaster.
Crack!
After entering the cave, Tang Jinbiao discovered that the array had failed due to the spirit stones being fully consumed, not because his place had been looted as he feared, and he felt a slight easing in his mind.
“Hmm, it’s about time to start cultivating. I’ll train physical abilities during the day and practice divine sense at night. Even though I already have Spirit Eyes, giving me an absolute edge, learning more can’t hurt.”
After replacing the spirit stones, Tang Jinbiao sat down cross-legged and retrieved a jade slip from his storage pouch.
This jade slip contained a body refiner’s technique on how to train divine sense. Since he sought to rise, it was natural to learn whatever he could.
Placing the jade slip on his forehead, he read it slowly. After reading for half an hour, Tang Jinbiao put away the jade slip, quietly closed his eyes, and began his cultivation.
……
The days passed one by one like this.
Every day, Tang Jinbiao just cultivated, cultivated, and cultivated some more. He trained so arduously for three full months that he could personally feel a major change in himself.
Although it was only three months, he was different from before. If three months earlier he had been all flash and no substance, now he was a true Body Refining Third Tier cultivator. He had attained such capabilities and strength. If there was any shortcoming left, it was his lack of combat experience.
Thump!
Clenching his fist, he felt the surging Qi energy flowing within his body, and Tang Jinbiao could clearly perceive the movement of that power.
“This day is finally coming!”
Tang Jinbiao slowly stood up and gazed in the direction of Divine Wind Academy, a determined glint in his eyes as he murmured to himself.
Buzz buzz buzz!
At this moment, Tang Jinbiao took out the token from his Storage Pouch. As before, a red glow still emanated from its surface.
Tap!
He gently pressed it, causing the red light to drill into his ear as Jia Longwu’s voice sounded.
“Tomorrow at noon, meet at Thirty-Mile Slope outside the city!”
Whoosh!
“Alright, received!”
After understanding, Tang Jinbiao responded dispassionately before storing the token away.
Snap!
He walked to the center of the cave, carefully removing the Spirit Stone from the Compass Disk set on the ground for the Formation. The Barrier immediately deactivated, leaving the entire cave exposed once more. He then collected the small array flags.
Swish!
After a final glance to ensure nothing was amiss, he transformed into a streak of blue light and vanished from the cave.
However, Tang Jinbiao didn’t leave outright. Instead, he returned to the edge of the Deep Pool, staring silently at its surface.
Plop!
His right fist gently struck towards the water’s surface. A surge of yellow Qi Energy shot forth, impacting the water. Yet, instead of the usual colossal explosion, it merely created a soft plop, like a small stone dropping in.
Hiss!
A small splash kicked up, sending ripples expanding quickly towards the banks.
Swish… swish… swish…
The leaves floating on the water followed the current, drifting steadily towards the shore again. However, some leaves didn’t retreat; they merely bobbed up and down in place.
“Whew, it seems the God of War’s Stride truly isn’t an ordinary Martial Technique. Even with my Spirit Eyes, I could only grasp a superficial imitation — the ‘flower shelf’ — completely failing to comprehend its true essence. While I can mimic its imposing momentum, I can’t recreate that tangible, crushing pressure. Looks like my only option is to find a way to get it directly from Wei Wuya himself!”
Gazing at the disturbed water, Tang Jinbiao still felt uneasy.
Boom!
Yet, only after about a dozen breaths passed did the Qi Energy strike he had unleashed finally detonate deep underwater, causing the very ground to tremble.
Gurgle… Gurgle… Gurgle…
Moments later, countless bubbles surged upwards from the depths.
“Hmm… Penetrating force with delayed explosion is also coming along. Cultivating Divine Sense certainly has its benefits. Now, I can just about scan my surroundings within a hundred zhang. Combined with the Spirit Eyes, as long as an opponent isn’t overwhelmingly powerful, I shouldn’t face too much danger.”
Watching the stream of rising bubbles, a faint smile finally appeared on Tang Jinbiao’s face.
This excessive level of caution Tan Jinbiao exhibited bordered on timidity — a survival skill ingrained in him from his past life, perhaps even an innate trait.
If others played an RPG game, they might challenge a level 10 boss around level 7 or 8. He differed. He’d rather waste time, grinding his character to level 20 first, ensuring an effortless victory, than suffer repeated, brutal defeats against the boss. This was his brand of caution, almost cowardly in its fervor.
For he firmly lived by a principle: Life is not a game. Games allow restarts after failure, but life grants only one chance. A single misstep could lead to lifelong regret. Therefore, he chose cautious conservatism over recklessness.
Perhaps, someday, he would realize this philosophy was flawed?
…
One hour later.
“It’s about time. I should head over first and wait for her.”
Having conducted various tests here to ensure everything was secure, Tang Jinbiao stored away the Frost Silver Spear in his hand.
“With my current strength, even facing Wei Wuya should give me a fighting chance!”
After pondering for a moment and confirming no issues, Tang Jinbiao transformed into a streak of blue light, racing toward the Divine Wind Academy.
…
A day and night passed in the blink of an eye.
When the next day arrived with three suns hanging high in the sky, casting the smallest shadows on the ground, a white figure emerged from the forest.
“She’s here!”
As the figure approached within a hundred zhang distance, Tang Jinbiao slowly opened his eyes, which had been closed, and stood up.
Within a few breaths, a woman clad entirely in form-fitting white travel clothes appeared before him.
She had sword-like brows and star-bright eyes, eyebrows thick and intensely black as if painted on. Her large, luminous eyes resembled pools of clear spring water, while her square-jawed face exuded steady gravitas. A straight, upturned nose and thin, fish-like lips complemented her head of dense, jet-black hair that just covered her ears, giving her an artistic aura. Yet, the white travel attire added to her striking, spirited, and efficient air.
Undeniably, her most conspicuous feature was her shapely, curvaceous figure. Previously, she’d always worn loose, blue, male-style robes, concealing her shape. Now, the tight-fitting clothes created a startlingly impressive visual.
This was Jia Longwu. Since meeting Tang Jinbiao, she’d always dressed like a tomboy, but this time she appeared decidedly more feminine.
“Eh?”
Seeing this unexpectedly womanly side of Jia Longwu, Tang Jinbiao was momentarily stunned.
“Heh heh, what are you looking at? Haven’t seen a handsome guy before?”
Seemingly noticing Tang Jinbiao’s astonishment, Jia Longwu teased him with a smile playing on her lips.
“Well, well, well. Never thought our ‘little dragon’ was such a beauty! Curves in all the right places—not bad, not bad at all. Gotta be at least a seven out of ten!”
A slightly lecherous, pig-brother-like smirk spread across Tang Jinbiao’s face as he countered her tease.
“Pah! None of you men have any decency!” Jia Longwu spat lightly, appearing to realize her attire might be drawing undue attention. She swiftly retrieved an ordinary set of blue robes from her Storage Pouch and pulled them on over her clothes.
“The place I discovered is quite far. First, we’ll take a portal to a nearby city, bringing us roughly a thousand li out, near the edge of the Hundred Thousand Mountains. From there, we’ll proceed on foot. Once we reach the Demon Beast’s lair, we’ll follow the plan!”
Once the blue robes covered her form, Jia Longwu outlined their course.
“Mmm. Alright. I’m just along for the ride, the ‘spectator faction,’ after all. I’ll follow your lead completely. But let me say this upfront—don’t you dare run off when the time comes!”
Tang Jinbiao, seeing no major flaws in the plan, nodded and spoke.
“Pah! I’m the one who should worry about you making off with the spirit herb alone! How about this—you distract the Demon Beast, and I’ll pick the herb!”
Jia Longwu retorted with a dismissive scoff, feigning indignation.
“Hehe, no, no, no! I’m young and clueless—never even laid eyes on a Demon Beast before! The noble and arduous task of distraction is best entrusted to our great beauty, Jia Longwu!”
Having grown quite familiar during their recent time together, a comfortable rapport—even a touch of ambiguity—existed between them.
Naturally, neither chose to address or define this ambiguous tension, letting it simply evolve.
“Hmph. Can’t be bothered to argue with you. Let’s move out!”
Waving off further debate, Jia Longwu turned and sprinted toward the forest ahead.
“Beauty Jia Longwu, surely you don’t mean to get there by running the whole way?!”
Seeing her genuinely commit to running, Tang Jinbiao’s face darkened with visible black lines. He didn’t follow immediately, instead calling out to question her.
“Nonsense! Thinking of slacking off already and flagging down a Flying Chariot? Dream on! That’s for later! Right now, seize the chance to get your limbs moving! If something unexpected pops up and your body’s gone sluggish, you’ll be collecting your own body parts!”
Jia Longwu cast Tang Jinbiao a flat glance over her shoulder, her voice tinged with exasperation.
“Fine, fine! Looks like I’ll traverse the world on my own two feet then!”
Resigned, Tang Jinbiao had no choice but to follow and run alongside Jia Longwu through the trees.
…
After they departed, quiet settled over the place once more.
However, one hour after they left, seven or eight shadowy figures emerged at the spot they had occupied earlier. They lingered there briefly before turning and quietly trailing after the two who had vanished.