Chương 32: Making Steady Progress
Yaan left Ghu Nadda's corpse-filled basement some time later, returning to his temple whilst lost in thought. Although Nadda hadn't explained any of his clan's real secrets, he was still able to learn more about the nature of this demonic clan.
An extremely demonic clan, where only 1 in every 1,000 members born into the clan would survive to the age of 20. Every year, tens of thousands of clansmen were born, but at the age of 9, they were taken to a massive arena and forced to fight to the death, until their numbers were reduced from 1,000 down to 100.
This was only the very first stage of the brutal process that was used to cipher off those who lacked the heart to pursue the demonic path. Only those children with an extreme resolve would be able to survive to maturity in the Ghu Clan.
According to Ghu Nadda, the Fiend Transformation technique was freely available in the Ghu Clan's mortal children settlements. It was taught to anyone who wanted to learn it before the age of 9. The technique wasn't transmitted directly into their minds like how Yaan acquired it from Rui though. Instead, they needed to study the texts and comprehend the technique for themselves. Apparently, only one in every hundred children was able to do this, and very few of those would even go through with using it.
Generally speaking, nobody would use the Fiend Transformation technique unless they were truly on the verge of death. Undergoing this transformation was accompanied by a high chance of death. Since there were many safer techniques that they could choose from later on, were they to pass the Ghu Clan's extreme selection process, nobody would take this risk unless they had no other choice. The chance of succeeding with the transformation was actually greater if you were on the cusp of death, meaning that it was only when they felt their life slipping away in the initial large scale battle, that any of the young Ghu Clansmen would actually attempt this dangerous feat.
Besides the fiend race, members of the ghoul race and vampiric race were also present in the Ghu Clan. These demonic race members were created using the Ghoul Transformation technique and the Vampiric Transformation technique respectively.
The ghoul race cultivated by devouring human flesh, whilst the vampiric race drank human blood to grow stronger.
Yaan was beginning to understand why there was so much enmity between righteous Qi masters and demonic race members. Righteous Qi masters relied on talent to cultivate via the orthodox route, refining spiritual energy into their own Yuan Qi, steadily and over a long period of time. Demonic race beings were the opposite of this. Demons disdained the concept of talent, throwing away their supposed 'fate' whilst taking cultivation into their own hands. Killing and stealing were normal parts of their cultivation. Demonic race members were the embodiment of the demonic path itself.
Six days later, Yaan returned to the Bloody Arena at the agreed time. He flashed his title plate towards the guards, and with a single glance, they stepped aside and allowed him to pass through.
Within the basement, Ghu Nadda was waiting for him with twelve corpses laid out on separate tables in the centre of the basement.
Yaan was shocked when the ghoul stated that the total value of these corpses should be around 110 Rank 3 recovery pills, but it made sense when it was explained that three of these corpses were at the 1st Layer Qi Temple realm. If someone were to refine one of these corpses into a corpse slave or a puppet, they would have the power of an additional 1st Layer Qi Temple realm Qi master at their disposal.
"Deliver this spatial ring to the shopkeeper…you can bring back the payment next week…" Ghu Nadda smiled eerily. Whilst his smile was visually jarring, Yaan felt the good intentions behind it.
Yaan blinked in surprise. He realised that Ghu Nadda was trusting him to keep the full payment for an entire week, until their next meeting at the same time the following week. This was probably Ghu Nadda's way of showing his trust to develop their relationship. Well, in Nadda's eyes, simply lending the value of a spatial ring and postponing a single week of payment was well worth it to develop a friendly relationship with someone like Yaan. Even if Yaan were to take the money and run, he wouldn't see it as too big a loss anyway. Rather than trusting Yaan, it was more of a calculated risk.
Most Qi Temple realm Qi masters could afford a spatial ring, and Ghu Nadda was no ordinary person. He was well versed in business and had accumulated plenty of wealth over the years. A single spatial ring was nothing to him.
Of course, Yaan wouldn't spend the money…because he couldn't even open the ring. His dantian was crippled and he was unable to produce any Yuan Qi, so all spiritual treasures were totally useless in his hands. Still, he appreciated the sentiment and clasped his hands in thanks before leaving.
It wasn't a problem that he was unable to operate the spatial ring, because he didn't need to. Ghu Nadda placed the corpses into the ring, then the shopkeeper removed them after Yaan presented the fat slob with the ring.
The shopkeeper evaluated the corpses at 112 Rank 3 recovery pills. As per the agreement, Yaan accepted the shopkeeper's price on the spot, since it was higher than Ghu Nadda's asking price. If the shopkeeper had stated a lower price, then Yaan would repeat Nadda's asking price and they would go from there.
The following week when Yaan returned the spatial ring that now contained the 112 Rank 3 recovery pills and no corpses, Ghu Nadda showed an expression of surprise. He looked up at Yaan and stared at him, not hiding the confusion from his gaze.
"Is something wrong?" Yaan asked uncertainly.
"I didn't expect you to return more than my asking price…I wouldn't have known if you had taken the extra 2 pills…honestly, I didn't even say that you couldn't do this…two Rank 3 recovery pills should be worth a lot to you, right…?"
Yaan sighed bitterly. Indeed, two Rank 3 recovery pills was a large sum to him right now. Seeing Yaan's odd expression, Ghu Nadda felt even more confused.
"Could it be that you don't know how to use spiritual treasures..?" He asked doubtfully.
Yaan choked…did Nadda really think that he was so ignorant? Yaan was about to deny this and brush it off as a 'complicated matter', but as he thought of something, he hesitated.
It was a slim chance, but what if this Ghu Clansman knew a method to restore his crippled dantian? Yaan felt his heart thump at this possibility. He didn't want to reveal this weakness of his, but if it paid off, then…
It was worth the very minor risk.
"My dantian is crippled." He looked at Nadda seriously and just stated his problem bluntly.
Ghu Nadda's tired eyes widened slightly, but he quickly calmed down and showed a thoughtful expression.
"Mind if I check..? I know that some pills can recover damage to the dantian…maybe I can fix it…"
Yaan, now unable to control his racing heart, swallowed slightly and nodded. After pulling apart his robe, he allowed the ghoul to place his pale palm onto his stomach. Nadda closed his eyes and injected a slither of dark Yuan Qi into Yaan's dantian. He opened his eyes a moment later with a sigh, apologising to Yaan as he realised just how serious the damage truly was.
"Your dantian isn't only slightly damaged, it's completely obliterated…if it wasn't for your strong body, you wouldn't even be able to live like this…sorry, there's nothing I can do…"
"It's fine." Yaan sighed, fixing his robe up as he shook his head gently. He had somewhat expected this already, but it was still disappointing. If there was such an easy method of recovery, then Rui probably would have mentioned it.
"Your fiend race really is something though, cultivating the body alongside Yuan Qi…even without Yuan Qi, you still have the power of a True Yuan Qi realm Qi master…" Ghu Nadda wasn't an expert in these things, but he understood that there were multiple different routes of cultivation. Most Qi masters at his level would be ignorant to this fact, but as a Ghu Clansman, he was quite knowledgeable in various matters relating to cultivation.
He didn't think any less of Yaan now that he was made aware of Yaan's injury. In fact, he felt even more admiration towards him, impressed that Yaan was able to persevere through something like this. Many would have lost heart upon suffering from such a debilitating injury.
The righteous admired talent and background, but the demonic admired resolve and wit.
And so, Yaan settled into his new job quickly. Transporting corpses wasn't as grim as he had expected. After he became accustomed to spending time in the morgue, it was only a matter of delivering a spatial ring to the shopkeeper, then bringing the payment back to Ghu Nadda the following week.
The number of corpses that he delivered varied week by week, as did their overall value. The corpses were always at the True Yuan Qi or Qi Temple realms, with the latter being worth many times more than the former.
Now that he was earning a wage of 12 Rank 2 recovery pills each week, Yaan was able to spend more on the resources needed to enhance his body. He didn't overspend though, he actually only spent around half of his income on ordinary materials like demonic beast hearts and bone marrow, whilst saving up for a certain pill that would be of great use to him right now.
Progress was slow but steady. Yaan also continued to practice his Agile Sword Arts, and finally reached mastery in the 1st stage, four months after his arrival in North Ghu City.
Whoosh!
In his temple, Yaan's body seemed to move slowly, yet he covered the distance of ten feet with a single step. His figure was a blur, making it difficult to keep track of his actual position along his path.
Swoosh! Whoosh!
He repeatedly moved at strange angles, turning smoothly yet suddenly every couple of seconds. His body was like a leaf in the wind, whilst his sword stabbed out like a sharp thorn.
Chi!
A sharp sound echoed as the sword pierced the air. Yaan came to a stop and smiled to himself, very content with his current ability.
Despite the fact that his dantian was crippled, meaning that he could only rely on the power of his body, Yaan had finally caught up to the level of power that he possessed back in the inter-sect tournament, before he was crippled and lost his Yuan Qi. Back then, Yaan had the ability to defeat Mid True Yuan Qi realm Qi masters and could hold his own in a battle against those at the late stage. He was now very close to reaching the Late 2-Star realm, and his sword arts allowed him to make up for his lack of spells.
Back when he possessed both a demonic body and Yuan Qi, defeating people at higher stages was only normal. Now though, Yaan's cultivation held no advantage over any other Qi master. It should also be remembered that unlike Qi masters, he couldn't use spells or spiritual treasures. As a body cultivator, he could only rely on his talent in sword arts to match up to their spells and treasures.
Sword arts were often split up into stages, though it depended on the quality of the art. The Agile Sword Art was one of the Heavenly Path Sect's highest level martial arts, it would remain effective even for Spirit Core realm Elders. There were three stages to this art, whilst Yaan had only practised the very 1st stage. With that said, mastering the 1st stage at just 12 years of age was completely unheard of in the Heavenly Path Sect!
Unfortunately, Yaan was never taught the 2nd stage. He had no teacher and no manual to assist his practise now. From here on, he would be forced to practice based on his own intuition. It was possible to deduce the latter stages of a martial art based on mastery of the 1st stage, but something like this was extremely difficult and very few people were able to do so.
Yaan knew this, but he was determined to at least try. He knew that his talent in sword arts was quite good. Yaan felt that so long as he was diligent and put in the work, he would definitely succeed eventually!
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