章 47: Agreement
Han Lingyun's parents were fascinated by the strange cultivation world he described. They weren't satisfied of only hearing though, they wanted to see!
Han Lingyun had to demonstrate flying with the sword, and breaking a boulder with his hands. Today, he felt great pride showing off some basic skills. This last demonstration made Han Xue reconsider putting her little baby girl in the hands of her boy. He obviously could control his strength to an incredibly precise degree but that was still frightening.
What impressed her most was his ability to merge with his surroundings. It seemed that the light was bypassing Han Lingyun to show what was behind him. He wasn't completely invisible though as an observer that looked in his direction would see a slightly morphed scenery following a vague human shape.
Han Feng on the other hand, demanded to fly with his son. Han Lingyun had to warn him that he hadn't learned to fly for long but Feng didn't budge on his request. He had seen Han Lingyun swirl around in the skies and wanted to feel it too.
Han Lingyun relented and brought his father for a ride over the forest. Han Feng absolutely loved it. They weren't any planes or technologies capable of flight on the Edera continent so this felt like a heavenly experience for Han Feng and moved him to tears. That wasn't Han Xue's cup of tea though and she absolutely refused to fly, the prospect terrified her!
Han Lingyun cultivated and enjoyed his parents and baby sister's company for three days. He couldn't remember feeling so happy and fulfilled in his two lifetimes.
By gaining memories from a past life one year ago, Han Lingyun was forced to mature up fast but deep down, he was still a young boy. Plus, his previous life never had the warmth of a loving family.
Good things couldn't last though and Han Lingyun had to kiss his parents' goodbye to return to a more suitable cultivation environment. He had the opportunity to one day reach great heights and he would not let it slip. There was still so much exploring to do.
Han Lingyun wanted to promise he would visit one per year but it was hard to predict what the future might entail. Who knew where he would be in a year's time?
He had to comfort his mom before leaving and reassure her again he would stay safe. In truth, that was an impossible promise, it didn't depend solely on his will at least!
As Han Lingyun came back to the sect, he realized another reason that cultivators separated from their families. The temptation to be satisfied with one's level and settle down for a normal life was very high when reuniting with those you cared for.
Han Lingyun still had his goals though. In an environment where his life was not constantly threatened, it was the cultivator's responsibility to build for himself a positive sense of urgency.
Those that succeeded to rise up from the large number of low-level cultivators all had a strong determination and solid dao heart.
In this expression, dao was referencing the path, the way. A dao heart is the determination to always strive forward, to persevere in cultivating and stay true to your principles while facing adversities, or while not facing any adversities too.
Han Lingyun didn't have mortal enemies, he wasn't in any life-threatening danger, but still he continued to advance with all his strength. That was perhaps even more difficult than being pushed to progress by external factors. And that resumed Han Lingyun's mentality well, he wanted to avoid trouble but at the same time his distant objectives didn't allow him to ever become complacent or satisfied with his current state.
Just like when he consumed the Bone Eating Flower: he didn't have to, and he didn't have to push against the pain. But even though this was the worst moment of his life, Han Lingyun still inflicted it willingly to himself to get slightly closer to his goals.
Before settling down to a new cultivation schedule, Han Lingyun still had something to do.
He arrived in front of a slightly isolated house in the 2nd year's complex and knocked at the door.
"You can come in."
Han Lingyun opened the door and formally bowed. "Good after noon miss Yimo. I hope that my visit doesn't disturb you. I came by to inform you that I reached qi condensation."
Wang Yimo was seated in a lotus position on a prayer mat. She tucked some strands of hair behind her ear. "Oh? That was fast, congratulations disciple Lingyun. Hum, I don't have any tea to serve you, if you will please excuse me."
"A there is no need, no need. Hum so if you ever find an interesting mission, don't forget that I could accompany you without being a burden, okay?"
"I'll consider it the next time I leave for a mission." She responded playfully.
"Perfect. Then that's all for me. Hum, cultivate well miss Yimo." Han Lingyun was going to leave as he couldn't find anything more to add.
But Wang Yimo didn't let him off that easily. "By the way disciple Lingyun, what are you planning to do with your ranking for the monthly ranking update in 3 days? Now that you are at qi condensation, you couldn't possibly consider keeping the same rank, right?"
Han Lingyun had completely forgot about the ranking competition; he accorded it so little importance. Now he should at least take a place in the first bracket, the question was:
'Should I challenge Yu Tao for 3rd?'
Han Lingyun realized that perhaps he had an unreasonable apprehension of that over confident young man. But still, his gut feeling was telling him to stay away from any conflict with him. Perhaps he had read too many novels in his memories.
"I think I will take 4th place back…" Han Lingyun hesitantly replied.
Wang Yimo crossed her arms, she seemed a bit disappointed. "Why not get out of your comfort zone a bit and challenge Yu Tao, Wei Muchen or me?"
"Because I don't see the point. I have nothing to gain by doing this except a short-lived honor or something. I would have to reveal all my cards for what? To me those ranks are more like childish games or ego comparators. Actually, issuing such a challenge would be going against my philosophy. If there was an incentive to do so, if a higher rank would increase my chances of reaching core formation and further, then sure, I would be challenging those.
Isn't it the same for you, why have you never challenged Wei Muchen? I'm 80% certain you would beat him."
Wang Yimo smiled. "You got me here. But at least I'm not scared of him."
Han Lingyun felt slightly triggered by the comment. "It's unnecessary. And Yu Tao has been hiding his strength since his defeat against Wei Muchen to prepare for a shocking revenge. With his personality, his pride would not allow to admit defeat and forcing him to a fight that would reveal his cards might create an additional grudge."
Wang Yimo shrugged. "You are not wrong for Yu Tao, but I would gladly watch you two duke it out and reveal what both of you are truly capable of, hehe."
Han Lingyun shook his head and laughed, that wouldn't happen. He suddenly had an idea. "If you want to train your true combat effectiveness, how about organizing duels in the wild?"
Wang Yimo raised an eyebrow. "Hum? That sounds promising. But disciple Lingyun, why do I have the impression that you are asking me to train with you in the forest?"
Han Lingyun scratched his head. This wasn't his intention and he was only speaking casually, but it's true that his comment could be easily misinterpreted. "*Ahem*. Then, what do you think about having a true duel with me in the forest, miss Yimo? We could even place some large bets to raise the stakes."
The young girl smacked her lips. "I agree. I'll have my teacher ensure our safety and be the judge. Don't worry, she won't show me any favoritism."
"That's acceptable." Han Lingyun responded.
The two started to get excited at the prospect of an all-out fight without having to hide their capabilities.
Wang Yimo clapped. "As for the bet, how about 1000 Ps?"
"Hum, that doesn't interest me much, I already have the Ps I want."
In fact, Han Lingyun wasn't in need for anything right now and didn't know much about special resources that were suitable at qi condensation. Actually, Wang Yimo was in a similar case. That was the struggle of the best disciples.
Wang Yimo proposed. "Then, let's forget about the bet for now, I'll talk about it with my elder and she'll think of something suitable. Coming back to the duel. Should we settle it in one round, or several?"
Han Lingyun had another peculiar idea. "In the real life, you don't get any second chances, so the bet should only be on the first round. But while we are there, we could train our martial arts with more rounds, right? And perhaps introduce a smaller bet for the one winning the most matches before we decide to stop or something."
The pair agreed on the details. It was decided that the duel would take place in 10 days. Wang Yimo argued that any earlier and she would have an unfair advantage with her qi manipulation. Han Lingyun also learned that Wang Yimo's teacher was Elder Zhang from the protection department. She would see with Elder Wen if politically there wasn't any conflicts between them, and to get his advice on the bets.
Han Lingyun finally left and closed the door. Usually, he wasn't much of a sly talker when the topics were not science oriented but he felt more at ease around Wang Yimo. She seemed to have a similar approach to cultivation as himself.
From an objective standpoint, having a real duel would without doubt increase his fighting capability and could even have beneficial effects on his cultivation, especially with such a powerful opponent. His interest would also depend on what the bet would be about. All in all, it was a format he much more preferred than the arena in front of thousands of spectators.
But now, the closest milestone was the ranking updates.
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