Chapter 15: Torso Refiner
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The pair spurred their horses at full speed out of town.
After half a day's travel, they stopped to rest in the woods in the afternoon.
Chu Li was calm and composed. He might have looked as if he had no inner energy, but the spiritual force from the plant was nourishing his body. His strong mental vitality meant that he was not tired at all.
Zhao Ying had the protection of her inner energy which prevented her from feeling fatigued as well. However, the horses had been running for half a day straight and needed rest.
A prolonged journey would prove unsuitable, as the weather in that time of day was no less than scorching.
The two of them sat in a pagoda located in the woods, the scars it bore against the wind and rain evident in its worn structure. It had once been a resting place for workers during the construction of the imperial household.
"Chu Li! I'll be practicing the Swallow Reversal." Zhao Ying pulled out her sword in haste. "I need your assistance!"
"Alright, I'll have a look…" Chu Li sat down leisurely.
Zhao Ying rolled her eyes at Chu Li. She then positioned herself in the middle of the pagoda and swung out her sword, going through her maneuvers.
Chu Li nodded as if he were thinking about something.
Zhao Ying sheathed her sword in its scabbard and looked towards Chu Li.
"...Brother Chu?"
Even though Chu Li looked like as if he was spaced out, he was actually going through every single movement Zhao Ying had made in his mind, picking apart every move. He remembered all the movements as he planned on repeating all of them.
"Chu Li?" Zhao Ying called out.
Chu Li looked lost in thought in Zhao Ying's eyes. She got mad and believed that Chu Li thought her swordsmanship was not worth his time.
Chu Li recovered from his thoughts and smiled.
"Chu Li, what's wrong with my swordsmanship?"
Chu Li stood up, held out his hand and Zhao Ying handed him her sword. He felt the warmth and the mild, delicate fragrance left on her blade.
He flourished the sword. "Zhao Ying, I believe that you still haven't gotten the trick to the Swallow Reversal down yet, not even close."
"Then you'll guide me!" Zhao Ying rolled her eyes. She had trained very hard, and was quite skilled at it. However, Chu Li had criticised her in such an arrogant tone.
Chu Li gently wielded the sword, his speed unnaturally fast. He swung the blade once more, and it looked so natural in his hand; as if it were a streak of light one moment, and like a graceful swallow gliding past a lake the next, easily altering its speed.
Zhao Ying followed every inch of the sword's movement. She was already incredibly familiar with Swallow Reversal so it allowed her to quickly grasp the idea.
Chu Li sheathed the blade. "Do you get it now?
"The rhythm…" Zhao Ying murmured.
Chu Li smiled. "You're very observant. Rhythm is key for the performance of the Swallow Reversal. It is indeed a fast skill, but you can't always maintain such speed for long periods of time. You have to slow down to achieve more momentum."
"Have you learned the Swallow Reversal before, Chu Li?" Zhao Ying furrowed her brows.
"What I learned was the Delusion Split." Chu Li shook his head.
"Isn't that what Zhuo Feiyang is learning?"
"Well, I learned it because I heard that he was studying it. It splits through deception and goes straight to the heart. Its level is extremely high." Chu Li smiled.
"Well, aren't you mean!" Zhao Ying sounded unhappy.
Chu Li chuckled and returned her sword. Zhao Ying took it and continued practicing. Her face glowed brighter and brighter from the excitement, she would never have thought that such a small tip from Chu Li would propel her Swallow Reversal to another level.
He was right. She was not even close to mastering Swallow Reversal. This, however, was its true form.
It was such a shame that Zhuo Feiyang had not noticed her flawed performance during their training sessions together. The same went for herself for not noticing it; she could have challenged the Ranking Tower if she had.
With this level of skill, there was definitely hope for her to pass the rank eight challenges.
Chu Li looked around for some spirit herbs. The trees within a hundred meter radius around him provided spiritual force to his system. He arched his eyebrows and walked out of the pagoda, moving towards a small patch of grass.
The small grass within the bushes looked just like any common weed. However, if someone were to pay close attention, they could tell that it was slightly greener than other grass, and was spread more evenly than other plants. Chu Li gasped in surprise. Was this his lucky day?
"What is this?" A pleasant smell came from the plant. Zhao Ying got closer to it out of curiosity.
"The Tendon Clearer," Chu Li said as he held out his hand. "Lend me your sword for a bit."
Zhao Ying handed him her sword.
The sword sliced through the grass, and the plant was collected. On Chu Li's palm, the plant had visibly long roots.
He cautiously looked at the grass and smiled, returning the sword to Zhao Ying.
Zhao Ying cleaned her sword with a white silk handkerchief. "What's this for?"
"To strengthen your meridians." Chu Li nodded his head and was still surprised. "This is very rare! With this, the time needed for me to build my foundation will decrease dramatically!"
"Really?" Zhao Ying stopped wiping her sword. "It can really help one build foundation?"
If that was the case, then the value of the Tendon Clearer is very high!
"But it must be matched with another herb," Chu Li replied.
"So by consuming this, you can build your foundation, Chu Li?'
Chu Li smiled and held his tongue.
"Never thought that this little thing could be such a miracle..." Zhao Ying investigated the grass, full of curiosity. The grass itself was thin but its roots were thick and long.
Chu Li smiled. "We'll split them in half. After it's extracted, I'll give you one of them."
"I don't want it" Zhao Ying waved her hand.
"It can strengthen your meridians and boost your training."
"Is it really that great?"
"If your meridians are stronger, wouldn't it be easier for you to train?"
"Of course." Zhao Ying nodded. "If one's inner power is coarse, it'll break the limit of their meridians. They can only transfer energy until a certain limit. If they cross that threshold, their meridians will break."
If one's meridian were stronger, they could train for a longer amount of time. Allowing an individual to improve faster by leaps and bounds.
"So do you want it?" Chu Li smiled as he asked.
Zhao Ying hesitated, but eventually rolled her eyes at him and replied with anger, "No!"
Chu Li laughed and stopped pestering her. He wrapped the grass and put it closer to him, nourishing it with his spiritual force. The medicinal powers of the grass would weaken if they were left out to dry.
"Let's go into next town we reach. There should be some Land's Dragon there."
"Mm."
They then left in a hurry. As the day was closing into the evening as they reached a small town — Cloud Town.
They found the tavern and requested for a small courtyard. Chu Li let Zhao Ying rest for a bit as he went to a nearby medicine shop to look for Land's Dragon. However, Zhao Ying was curious and insisted she followed.
Both of them changed into more casual clothing and exited the tavern.
The sun continued its descent, and the small town soon was covered by red clouds, hence the name Cloud Town.
The two of them were relaxed walking amidst the restless crowd.
Zhao Ying looked around out of curiosity. None of her previous missions allowed her to be this carefree. She stopped and looked around a few vendor's stalls.
Chu Li bought everything that seemed to catch her eye. He was seen carrying two bags items just for a short period of time.
"Chu Li… I suggest you stop buying stuff for today. It might drain you salary and..."
"Ah… So you're still unaware of my rank?"
"Aren't you rank nine?" Zhao Ying looked confused.
Chu Li gestured six with his hands.
"Seriously?" Zhao Ying widened her eyes.
Chu Li smiled. "You will understand when you get back to the Public House."
"How?" Zhao Ying could not believe it; she stared at Chu Li with glassy eyes.
"I ranked up with my achievements, is it that weird?" Chu Li smiled. "Watch out!"
He suddenly grabbed her left arm, and pulled her out of the way of two children. Recklessly, they ran and mucked about without a care for the people around them.
Zhao Ying' body stiffened as she quickly pushed Chu Li away. She blushed and stared at Chu Li.
"Let's go and have a look at the medicine shop, then," Chu Li said, pulling back his hand.
"Mmm." Zhao Ying nodded.
The two of them walked into a huge medicine shop, where Chu Li asked if they had any Land's Dragon
Fortunately, the Land's Dragon was recently stocked up in the medicine shop. Chu Li bought it without hesitation and returned to the tavern.
Zhao Ying slept in the west room while Chu Li slept in the master bedroom.
Zhao Ying played with all the things Chu Li had bought for her. She cracked a smile every now and then as she was examining them.
Chu Li was in the living room extracting the two herbs, mixing them and adding the spirit herb. The concoction was mixed with honey and he made them into four honey pills.
Zhao Ying was seen practicing her sword skills the following morning. The Swallow Reversal seemed more graceful and the reflection from her sword brightened up the area. Chu Li pushed the door open and walked out, stretching his back as he went out for a breath of fresh air.
Zhao Ying wore a lake-green robe which accentuated her elegant body figure for the day. She looked rather valiant.
Chu Li sat next to the stone table.
After a while, Zhao Ying put away her sword. Her face blushed from the exercise.
"Chu Li, did you sleep well?" She sheathed her sword into its scabbard.
"It was alright." Chu Li took a porcelain bottle and tossed it over to Zhao Ying.
Zhao Ying looked at him in amazement, and said, "You extracted it?"
Chu Li nodded. "A total of four pills. Each of us gets two. Now eat it before the effects weaken."
"I refuse!" Zhao Ying shook her hand and held out the porcelain bottle.
Chu Li would not accept her answer. "Just take it! Because I said so!"
"I RE—FUSE!" Zhao Ying said. "You have more need for it."
Not being able to train his inner energy was his greatest regret. This medicine was a godsend, and she would reject it?
Chu Li helplessly sighed and took the bottle. He opened the plug and poured out two dark green pills that were as small as a fingernail. He hit Zhao Ying on her back and sealed her acupoints. Zhao Ying immediately became paralyzed — she was unable to move. She widened her eyes as she stared at Chu Li. He opened her small mouth gently.
Chu Li put the two pills in her mouth and hit her on the back of her neck. He then walked backward.
Zhao Ying regained her movements and tried to cough out the pills but to no avail. The pills dissolved in her mouth and the elixir traveled into her body. In a mere second, it had cycled around once and worked as a medicine.
"Chu..." Zhao Ying called out angrily as she gave Chu Li a death glare.
Chu Li clapped his hands and smiled. "Okay, it's done!"
Zhao Ying continued to glare at him.
"Stare a little bit more and your eyeballs will fall out of their sockets!" Chu Li said.
"You're just too much!" Zhao Ying was clearly furious.
"It'll be fine. Quickly channel it, don't waste its effects!"
Zhao Ying glared at him and walked into the house. Chu Li smiled and walked back into the room to do the same.
The Torso Refiner — an ancient technique. However, it had lost transmission because of the rarity of the Tendon Clearer.
Tendon Clearer only existed through a mutation in weeds; it could not be reproduced and looked no different than regular weeds. No one could tell them apart.
Chu Li's spiritual force was able to intersect with plants because of the Life and Death Scripture, which allowed him to find the Tendon Clearer in the first place. He believed that there were many more out there in the world, just that no one could find them.
After downing the two pills, he could feel the difference immediately. His meridians began to stabilize and the flow of his inner energy became faster. Truly a magical herb!
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone