"Haaa… haaa… haaa…"
After half an hour of practicing her movement technique with Xiao Hua, Meixiu collapsed on the ground in an exhausted manner.
It's been a very long time since she's experienced such exhaustion. The only time she can recall feeling this tired was after training with her mother when she was still in servant training.
As for Xiao Hua, she looked completely calm and nonchalant, almost like she has been sitting in the shades this entire time.
"Are you okay?" Xiao Hua asked her a moment after she laid on the floor.
"Yes… thank you… for helping me…" Meixiu said to her.
"If you want more training, just call Xiao Hua," she said to Meixiu before walking back to sit beside Yuan.
After her training, Meixiu took a seat at a nearby tree and enjoyed the shades. The wind would sometimes blow, carrying the refreshing air from the lake and sweeping the area with it.
Once she'd rested for a couple of hours, Meixiu would ask Xiao Hua for help again with her training. Even though it was tiring, Meixiu enjoyed practicing the movement technique that allowed her to move very quickly, and it felt very satisfying whenever she perfectly dodged the sword.
Yu Rou managed to learn one of her two Heaven-rank techniques three days after Meixiu learned her movement technique.
Once she got the notification, Yu Rou retrieved her treasure fan and stood before the lake.
She then took a deep breath before waving the fan at the lake.
Whoosh!
The wind in the middle of the lake began to twist, and in just a moment, a tornado appeared, swallowing up the water.
Three seconds later, the tornado grew so large that it lowered the water in the lake by a dozen inches.
Yu Rou panicked when she saw how big the tornado was getting, so she quickly stopped it.
Countless drops of water began raining from the sky a moment later despite the clear blue sky, soaking everybody except Xiao Hua and Lan Yingying with water, as they'd protected themselves by covering their body with a layer of spiritual energy that reflected the water.
"I-I'm so sorry!" Yu Rou apologized to them afterward.
"It's okay… I'm not that wet." Xia Jingyi said with a smile on her face.
"That's the technique you had chosen? Creating a tornado? This is my first time seeing such a unique technique," said Yuan.
"I thought it was a pretty neat technique and would complement my Wind Blades well, so I picked it." Yu Rou nodded.
"What about your second technique?" Yuan then asked.
"Uhh… It's also a wind technique, and it allows me to control the wind around me, allowing me to fly," she said.
"Fly? You can do that just by reaching Spirit Grandmaster or Spirit Master if you're lucky," said Yuan.
"Just by reaching Spirit Grandmaster? Are you listening to yourself right now, brother? Do you think everybody is talented like you? Don't make it sound so easy. It took the majority of the playerbase two to three months to reach Spirit Warrior, much less Spirit Grandmaster. It'll probably take us another 2 to 3 years if not even more to reach Spirit Grandmaster. Even if it'll take less than a year for me to reach Spirit Grandmaster, I think it's still worth learning this technique, since it will let me fly right after I learn the technique, which definitely won't take me a few years to learn— I hope…"
"I see… that makes sense." Yuan nodded.
"Anyways, Jingyi is still studying her technique, so let's wait until she finishes before we decide what we want to do next." Yu Rou said a moment later.
"I'm sorry for holding you guys back… You don't have to wait for me if you don't want to," she sighed.
"Nonsense! We started this together, so we're going to finish it together!" Yu Rou said, and she continued, "In the meantime, I will try to study my second Heaven-rank technique, so take your time."
"You don't mind right, brother? Meixiu?" Yu Rou asked them.
"I don't mind. I am still studying my technique as well." Yuan said.
"I also don't mind it. It just means I get to practice my movement technique even more." Meixiu said.
"Alright. Then it's decided."
Sometime later, Yuan, Yu Rou, and Xia Jingyi returned to their technique while Meixiu continued to practice with Xiao Hua.
As for Lan Yingying, she sat beside the lake with a Fiery Lotus floating on her palms and her eyes closed, almost like she was experiencing enlightenment, but in reality, she was just focused on keeping the Fiery Lotus from disappearing for as long as her spiritual energy allows.
They continued this for another five days until Xia Jingyi finally learned her technique.
"I did it!" Xia Jingyi exclaimed in an excited voice when she saw the notification.
"Hm? Did you finally learn the technique?" Yu Rou stopped studying her technique and turned to look at Xia Jingyi, who was sitting right beside her.
"Yes!" Xia Jingyi nodded.
"Congratulations. What kind of technique did you learn?" Yuan asked her.
"Oh, it's just another zither technique." Xia Jingyi said as she retrieved her zither that was an Earth-grade treasure.
After taking a deep breath, Xia Jingyi pulled on a single string from the zither.
Ting!
A crisp noise resounded, and a single arc of light that resembled Yu Rou's Wind Blade technique flew from the zither before flying towards the water in the lake.
Whoosh!
The water in the lake separated into two halves for a good second, looking like someone had created a path in the lake with a sword.
"Wow! What a powerful attack!" Yu Rou said. "So one of your techniques damages enemies internally and one slices them like swords?"
"Yes, pretty much." Xia Jingyi nodded.
Sometime later, Yu Rou asked everyone, "Now that we have new techniques, what should we do? I kind of want to test out these techniques on some magical beasts. Let's go do some quests again."
"I don't mind." Xia Jingyi nodded.
"I'm also down," Yuan said.
"Me too." Meixiu also said.
"Then let's go!"
Thus, they began making their way back to Seashell City for more quests.
Meanwhile, a few hundred thousand miles away from Yuan's location, Feng Yuxiang approached a large temple that was located at the peak of a large mountain.
"Who are you? And why have you come to our Mount Hua Temple?"
A group of bald monks approached Feng Yuxiang when they saw her approaching figure.
"I heard that my good friend Li Shizhen is currently here, so I am here to visit him," said Feng Yuxiang.
The bald monks had a look of surprise on their faces for a split second before they frowned and said, "There is nobody named Li Shizhen here! Please leave!"
However, Feng Yuxiang stayed there with a calm look on her face and said, "The person who gave me this information wouldn't dare to lie to me, or he'd risk eating a sword with his ass. I know Li Shizhen is inside. I can even smell the scent of medicine from here."
The bald monks exchanged looks with each other before retrieving the staff strapped to their backs and pointing them at Feng Yuxiang.
"Leave!"
These bald monks all emitted the power of Spirit Masters. However, in the face of a peak Spirit Grandmaster like Feng Yuixang, the pressure they emitted was nonexistent.
Feng Yuxiang sighed and said, "I will give you one last chance to call Li Shizhen out for me. I don't want to cause any trouble for my Young Master, but he needs to see a doctor, and I promised him that I will find the best one for him."
"I know the Mount Hua Temple has a million-year history in the Lower Heavens, but if I have to tear down this place to get to Li Shizhen, I will do it."
However, the bald monks remained adamant on keeping Feng Yuxiang out of the temple.
"Leave! The person you are looking for is elsewhere! Even if you are heaven itself, you will have to leave!"
Feng Yuxiang raised her eyebrows.
The monks at Mount Hua Temple are usually very reasonable and calm. Why are they acting so suspicious?
Feng Yuxiang pondered for a moment and then came to a realization.
"Oh, I know. One of your top monks must be in some sort of life-or-death medical condition, and Li Shizhen is healing that person right now. Whenever he is healing someone, he forbids anyone from disturbing him until he's done. Is that why you're not letting me disturb him?"
"This is…"
The monks were speechless, as Feng Yuxiang's guess was spot on!
"How long do I have to wait? If you don't tell me, I will be mad," she said to them a moment later.
However, Li Shizhen was not only healing one of their valued monks but he also instructed them to keep his location a secret no matter what.
And they rather listen to Li Shizhen, who has the sick monk's life on his hands.
"We will not repeat ourselves! Li Shizhen is not here!" One of the monks suddenly said.
"Is that so?" Feng Yuxiang mumbled in a low voice before she closed her eyes.
After a moment of silence, Feng Yuxiang snapped open her eyes that had turned golden.
She then released her Spirit Grandmaster cultivation before shouting in a booming voice that shook the entire mountain.
"Li Shizhen! How long do you plan on making this pitiful young lady wait out here in the cold?! My body is freezing! If I die from hypothermia, I will definitely haunt you for the rest of your worthless life!"
The bald monks were speechless, but before they could even react, the doors to the temple opened in a forceful manner, and a handsome middle-aged man could be seen standing there with a terrified look on his face.