Seeing the unwelcome guest, Yi Yun frowned. This intruder was the person who they had previously got into a conflict with during the ration distribution.
Yi Yun also knew his name, Zhao Tiezhu.
"What do you want?" Seeing Zhao Tiezhu barge in, Jiang Xiaorou tensed up. Her hands surged under the blankets and secretly grabbed the arrow hidden underneath them.
"Hey, little girl, what are you nervous about? I'm here on business today. Young Master Lian has already isolated himself for training. He will be isolated for three months, preparing to attain the level of Purple Blood Warrior in preparation for the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's warrior selection. The Patriarch has ordered that the entire tribe head to the mountain to pick herbs, which will be used by Young Master Lian to soak in! Each person has to hand over up to 8 oz of herbs daily!"
"Pick herbs? Soak?" Yi Yun recalled that his past self had fallen off a cliff, to his "death", while picking herbs.
So it seems the picked herbs are for the warriors to soak in.
It was pathetic, to pick herbs at an early age for others and fall to his death while doing so, without any compensation. Even their rations were withheld.
"8 oz of herbs per person a day? How is that even possible?" Jiang Xiaorou thought furiously. "Besides, if they were to pick herbs, where would they find the time to make arrows? Without the weapons, how were they going to exchange for rations with the big tribes? Won't we starve to death then!"
"Hahahaha! You are still thinking about exchanging for rations? When Young Master Lian reaches the level of Purple Blood Warrior and gets chosen by the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, you don't even need to exchange for rations anymore. We will all move into the city, and I guarantee you that you will have enough to eat and drink!"
The man said sarcastically while looking covetously at Jiang Xiaorou. This little chick is a beauty; in time to come, with better nutrition, she will definitely become even prettier.
"My brother hurt himself previously while picking herbs. His feet aren't nimble yet, yet you insist he has to pick herbs, do you really want his life?" Jiang Xiaorou said with a trembling voice. Yi Yun had originally fallen to his death, but having just come back to life, his body was still weak. Sending him back to pick herbs was the same as sending him to his death!
Furthermore, picking herbs gave them no benefits. All the herbs were given to the tribe without compensation!
The man listened to Jiang Xiaorou's words and disdainfully laughed, "How can a person's life compare to the entire clan's glory!" As long as Young Master Lian reaches the level of Purple Blood Warrior and gets chosen by the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, he will benefit generations to come and protect our clan for hundreds of years. The clan's history books will record all of your meritorious deeds!"
"Such a blessing for generations to come, yet you are haggling, you sure don't appreciate it!"
"Besides, the Patriarch has ordered it. To strengthen your body and to make you more energetic, all the herbs remnants will be given back to you after they have been brewed. You can then use it to soak in. In the past, these remnants were only reserved for the warrior preparation camp."
As the man said this, Jiang Xiaorou only gripped the arrow in her hand more tightly, till her fingers went white. "What if we can't make the quota?"
"Can't make it?" The man's face turned cold. "Humph! The tribe doesn't rear trash; if you can't pick herbs, what rights do you have to eat? If you can't make the quota, your rations will be confiscated. Many others are still waiting for that food!"
The man said and glanced over at Yi Yun who was lying in bed. He recalled Yi Yun causing him trouble in front of the crowd. Lian Chengyu had later reprimanded him for being incompetent during the distribution of rations.
Zhao Tiezhu's heart immediately burned with rage, "Kid, stop pretending to be dead. I heard that you were injured, let me see exactly where you are injured!"
The man thrust out his hand to grab Yi Yun!
He was deliberately trying to make Yi Yun suffer, so his thrust was extremely strong.
Yi Yun wanted to dodge the man's sudden attack, but Yi Yun suddenly felt as if the world slowed down in front of his eyes. The fierce look of that man and his actions were all clearly reflected in Yi Yun's eyes.
Including Jiang Xiaorou's worried face, Yi Yun saw the arrow in her hand under the blanket.
It felt like time had frozen. Sounds and the air itself seemed to have become a part of his own body, everything was clearly perceived by Yi Yun.
With everything slowed down, a cool and clear feeling was felt coming from the Purple Crystal.
Purple Crystal?
The cool feeling from the Purple Crystal shook Yi Yun's body!
Yi Yun felt that in that instant, he could dodge the man's grab, snatch Jiang Xiaorou's arrow, raise his body and thrust the arrow into the man's throat, killing him!
The feeling was extremely intense and the images of his body doing the movements perfectly played out in his mind, giving him the urge to give it a try.
But in the end Yi Yun decided against it, it wasn't yet the time for him to turn the Lian tribal clan against him.
Just stirring the crowd led to the Lian Chengyu's killing intent. If he were to kill or beat up a tribal warrior, the consequences would be more severe. How could a kid, who originally was weak as a fly, kill a member of the warrior preparation camp? Wouldn't this gain the attention of the upper echelons of the tribe? There was no way he could explain the source of his power!
He looked as Zhao Tiezhu's grab approached him, and retreated without a trace. Zhao Tiezhu only managed to scrape his skin and seize his clothes.
Zhao Tiezhu originally wanted to beat Yi Yun up, but he didn't expect to miss when Yi Yun shrank backward!
If he were to grab another time, Zhao Tiezhu would lose face, so with a grunt; he lifted Yi Yun up before throwing him back down onto the bed.
"Looks like this monkey isn't hurt! Tomorrow at sunset, hand over the herbs. For every ounce missing, ten pounds of rations will be confiscated!" Finishing his sentence, Zhao Tiezhu walked out and left.
"Yun'er, are you alright?" Jiang Xiaorou asked worriedly. But Yi Yun did not say a word.
What was that feeling a moment ago?
A well-trained Zhao Tiezhu had moved as slow as a tortoise in front of him, making him vulnerable to Yi Yun's killing intent.
If it wasn't because Zhao Tiezhu suddenly got Alzheimer's… could it be that my speed had increased?
Could it be… my body?
"Sis Xiaorou, what male tier am I again?" Yi Yun seemed to have realized something and impatiently asked Jiang Xiaorou.
"Why are you asking about this suddenly? Yun'er, in the past you weren't even at a tier. Even the weakest tier five male can lift fifty kilograms. Yun'er, you could only lift fifteen kilograms…"
"Fifteen kilograms huh…" Yi Yun was speechless, but in the Lian tribe, they had to lift a rock over their heads. Fifteen kilograms was similar to a bag of rice; a weak child would have trouble lifting that.
"Where are the tribe's rock weights stored?" Yi Yun asked.
"Behind the village, at the training grounds. Why do you ask this Yun'er?"
"Nothing," Yi Yun said with a smile. "Sis, sleep early tonight. We still have to pick herbs tomorrow."
In the middle of the night, the dark sky was filled with numerous bright constellations.
This era didn't have any streetlights and the poor were unwilling to use their oil lamps. So the entire Lian tribe village was pitch black.
The training grounds behind the village was a wide field. The members of the warrior preparation camp normally trained there. A dark shadow sneaked into the training grounds, looking around him tonight.
"Found it!" Yi Yun was delighted. As Jiang Xiaorou described, there were rows of rock weights arranged on the training grounds.
From 10 kilograms to 150 kilograms, there were even 250-kilogram millstones and a 500-kilogram stoneroller.
Yi Yun was here today to test his strength! He wanted to know what changes his body had experienced…
The training grounds were empty. Due to the moisture at night and because of the cold weather, a layer of dew had covered the rock weights, speckling them white.
All of these rock weights were made out of azure steel. They were not worn down by the elements bearing down on them for centuries.
In this wilderness, people used catties, picul and cauldrons as measurements of a martial artist's strength.
The measurement of catties was similar to that of Earth, which was half a kilogram. A picul was a hundred catties. A cauldron weighed ten piculs, so it weighed a thousand catties, or five hundred kilograms.
Seeing that the place was empty, he went and stood in front of the row of rock weights and chose a fifty catty rock weight, or twenty-five kilograms. He wiped the dew off the rock weight and lowered his body. Rise!
The rock was lighter than Yi Yun expected. He could lift it using one hand!
Yi Yun was delighted; it was as he guessed!
Following that, Yi Yun chose a fifty-kilogram rock weight.
This time, it was a bit tougher to lift it with one hand. With both hands however, it was easy once again.
Taking a deep breath, Yi Yun stood in front of a hundred-kilogram rock weight. He squatted down and placed both of his hands under the rock weight, he then tightened his muscles as strength arose from his hip to his feet.
"Rise!" Yi Yun gritted his teeth and lifted the hundred-kilogram rock weight above his head!
"I've raised it!" Yi Yun was delighted. He held it up for about three minutes before he threw the rock weight on the floor.
To be able to lift a hundred-kilogram rock weight, which was about three times the weight of a twelve year old boy, it would be something mind-blowing on Earth.
His strength had increased exponentially overnight!
And strength wasn't the only thing; the increase in his speed was even greater!
As a child, strength was his main weakness, and it was much worse than adults. However, his speed was comparable. Previously when he faced Zhao Tiezhu's attack, Yi Yun was convinced that his speed was at least twice that of his opponent's!
His body had undergone a tremendous change!
Thinking back about when he vomited black blood and the dirty sweat, that was probably the legendary marrow cleansing.
His body, which had a terribly poor foundation, had undergone a tremendous increase in both strength and speed after the marrow cleansing!
The transformation was without question a result of the Purple Crystal. However, why did the Purple Crystal bring about such a change to his body?
Yi Yun tried touching the Purple Crystal by his chest but found nothing but emptiness.
"Huh!?" Yi Yun was alarmed and hurriedly unwrapped his clothes.
The Purple Crystal had disappeared…
However, the cool feeling in his chest had never decreased one bit.
What is this?!
Yi Yun lowered his head and lightly touched his chest where his heart would be. He had a strange feeling that the Purple Crystal was there all along and had never left him.
With every heartbeat, the Purple Crystal vibrated, as if the Purple Crystal and his heart had merged into one.
That faint coolness also spread throughout Yi Yun's body with every vibration by meandering through his veins.
Yi Yun raised his head and saw the tiny dots of starlight in the sky fly towards him, or more accurately, to the Purple Crystal.
The starlight entered his body and disappeared.
Yi Yun had a couple of hypotheses for the various phenomena the Purple Crystal had exhibited.
The Purple Crystal could absorb energy!
In this world, in this Universe, energy was the building blocks of everything!
From the large spinning galaxies, star formation and supernovae, to the small ants building nests or the wilting of grass, nothing could escape the need for energy.
From the physics Yi Yun learned on Earth, the entire Universe began from a particular point consisting of infinite energy.
Energy could convert into matter, turning into life, turning into everything.
And in this strange world, the Qi cultivation of experts was naturally also a form of energy.
The Purple Crystal had a natural affinity with energy.
It could absorb starlight as well as other forms of energy. The two attacks by Lian Chengyu were also a form of energy. That form of energy must be a form of "Qi" that Lian Chengyu cultivated.
The Qi had hidden in his body, causing his whole body to go numb. However, when that energy reached his heart and touched the Purple Crystal, the Purple Crystal absorbed it!
It was also obvious where the energy the Purple Crystal absorbed went.
That coolness that flowed within his veins was a manifestation of energy. The energy the Purple Crystal absorbed spread throughout his blood flow and nourished his body. With every heartbeat, Yi Yun could feel his body grow a little stronger.
Thinking back to his body's marrow cleansing, it must have been a result of energy entering his veins.
Energy could change the composition of every element; it could give life to people, giving them power and strength!
His strength had grown from being able to lift fifteen kilograms to a hundred kilograms. This change could be considered a complete metamorphosis.
What energy could have caused this?
Just the tiny bit of starlight, or the energy Lian Chengyu left in his body couldn't have been enough to cause such a fate-defying change.
The answer was undoubtedly the piece of desolate bone!
When the rations were being distributed, Lian Chengyu had opened the wooden box holding the desolate bone. Yi Yun then saw many light dots fly from the desolate bones and into the Purple Crystal. The Purple Crystal had then absorbed them all.
Desolate bones were the most precious part of a desolate beast. All of its essence was in its bones, and they were worth a lot more than desolate beast meat!
The essence refined from the desolate bones could cause a warrior to make a breakthrough, it would allow a genius like Lian Chengyu to breakthrough to the Purple Blood Warrior level.
The value of desolate bones was unbelievable!
A weak child like Yi Yun, without any foundation and a weak body to boot, had no reason not to metamorphosize after taking in the tiny amount of energy from the desolate bones.
After figuring this out, Yi Yun felt enlightened.
He breathed in deeply and calmed himself down. The Purple Crystal was no doubt a great treasure. It had combined with his body, and with every heartbeat, the Purple Crystal would inject energy into his body through his veins, raising his power!
For his power to increase with every heartbeat and for him to cultivate himself with every heartbeat, the Purple Crystal's effectiveness was fate defying.
Even with such a treasure, Yi Yun's expression did not betray his tremendous joy.
Conversely, Yi Yun's face grew serious. Having lived through two lives, even though his first life was limited in experience, Yi Yun had already undergone several mental changes thanks to his reincarnation.
When he first entered this strange world, Yi Yun was confused. However, after acclimatizing, he turned calm.
With such a treasure, he couldn't be too greedy, nor be without any desires. He knew that if he got carried away and flaunted his treasure, it was very possible that it would be seen through, and that would lead to trouble!
Yi Yun knew that he could not reveal the secret of the Purple Crystal to anyone.
In this strange world, Yi Yun could only trust his sister, Jiang Xiaorou. However, if one less person knew about it, there would be less danger.
The treasure had no owner. If Jiang Xiaorou, a weak and easily hurt girl knew too much, it could cause her harm.
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