Chapter 62: Chapter 61: Man Is Sword

Cry out, go on, cry out!

Chu Huaixu thought it would be pleasing to hear.

But this demeanor and words made the youth in the water feel like his senior brother was mocking him.

“Is this truly how insignificant I am in my senior brother’s eyes?” He lowered his eyelids slightly, teeth clenched, his heart filled with indignation.

That rebellious adolescent defiance was thoroughly ignited.

He no longer even uttered a muffled groan of pain, his whole body trembling with agony, yet he suffered silently, feeling as if he were being cut by a thousand blades.

“Oh! Still quite stubborn!” Chu Huaixu thought to himself.

Actually, he himself was also a stubborn person, otherwise he wouldn’t always be wrestling with the Refining Sword Formulas.

The same couldn’t be said for Han Shuangjiang, who lived next door.

Now, it was effectively three stubborn people living together.

He looked down at Xu Ziqing and said, “As soon as you’ve fully absorbed the Body Tempering Liquid, come out immediately, don’t linger in the water, do you hear?”

“Yes!” the youthful boy responded loudly, his voice resonant.

“Why are you shouting so loud?” Chu Huaixu was displeased again.

But he soon understood; it was obvious that he couldn’t hold back the pain, and while he could speak, he just shouted to vent.

With a smile at the corner of his mouth, he stopped provoking Xu Ziqing under the water.

“When you come up, the first thing you must do is cultivate, understood?” Chu Huaixu gave him yet another chance to shout.

“Okay!” Xu Ziqing shouted again.

In any case, the requirement to pass the third checkpoint was to stay underwater for 30 minutes. If Chu Huaixu allowed Xu Ziqing to come ashore early, then the test would be a failure.

He could just go down again later, and more Body Tempering Liquid would overflow.

Chu Huaixu had previously stayed underwater for 30 minutes, purely to enter the secret chamber to see if he could exploit a bug and claim the instance clearance reward again.

Time passed, and in just over the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the Body Tempering Liquid in the water was completely absorbed.

Truly, Xu Ziqing was an Innate Medicine-Striking Saint Body, exceptionally bizarre.

The youth climbed out of the water, his entire body shivering, his face ghostly pale.

He had intended to rest before cultivating the Refining Sword Formulas.

But when he saw Chu Huaixu watching him, he immediately remembered the messages in the second Brocade Bag and his senior brother’s string of mockeries.

—He was agitated.

The ragged clothes of Xu Ziqing settled into a cross-legged position and immediately began to circulate the energy.

As Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi surged toward him, the sensation of being crushed by a heavy object returned once more.

The youth steadied his mind, warning himself not to give up halfway.

Chu Huaixu sat on the ground in front of him, not afraid of getting his clothes dirty, as he knew the young boy would wash them.

He watched Xu Ziqing with a hint of expectation in his eyes.

He could sense that the youth’s body seemed to be becoming increasingly stiff.

Even his lips trembled slightly, unable to stop.

Yet, in the midst of this torment, Xu Ziqing’s heart bloomed with an endless joy!

The acupoint that was previously blocked felt somewhat loosened now.

As if he only needed to gather his strength and it would break open!

The grievances accumulated in the youth’s heart found a release at this moment.

He continued to circulate his energy, and finally succeeded in breaking through the first acupoint!

“Breakthrough?” Chu Huaixu sat on the ground, constantly observing him with Information Detection.

He wasn’t the least bit surprised at Xu Ziqing’s breakthrough.

The trace of expectation in his eyes did not dissipate.

It seemed Chu Huaixu was still waiting for something.

Finally, Xu Ziqing let out an uncontrolled, heart-wrenching scream, identical to Chu Huaixu’s from that night!

Immediately after, his body fell backward, and the youth fainted from the pain.

“Feels much better now.” The Dead Fox’s face showed a smile, immensely satisfied.

“I knew it wasn’t my problem!”

…

…

Pain! So much pain—!

After a long time, Xu Ziqing gradually came to.

“Awake so soon?” Chu Huaixu felt slightly surprised.

It seemed he had fainted so many times in such a short span that he had become a proficient practitioner.

Never did the youth expect that the pain of breaking through realms would be even more terrifying than his usual cultivation!

Primarily because it all came so unexpectedly.

He had been immersed in an abyss of joy, utterly unprepared mentally.

Upon waking, Xu Ziqing’s vision was slightly blurred.

He could vaguely make out a figure in a Black Robe, but he couldn’t see clearly.

The delicate youth, half propped up on the ground, shook his head forcefully before he could see clearly again.

He finally recognized the person in front of him, of course, it was Chu Huaixu.

But for some unknown reason, he felt that his senior brother gave off a different vibe.

Having finally gotten a foothold in the Refining Sword Formulas, he inexplicably thought: “Senior brother seems like a sword!”

It wasn’t that his aura was particularly sharp like a sword.

Xu Ziqing didn’t quite know how to describe this feeling.

He just felt that his senior brother resembled a sword.

Yet not the kind of sword that flaunts its sharpness.

But rather… a sword that conceals its edge?

Previously, Xu Ziqing had never had this perception.

He just thought of his senior brother as tall and handsome, and envied him for being so lovely…

“Why do I have this illusion?” Xu Ziqing wrestled with this thought but ultimately chose not to express it to his senior brother, considering it too disrespectful.

Simultaneously, Chu Huaixu was also observing Xu Ziqing.

For him, he relied on the system to level up, but the other person was different, making them a perfect reference point.

However, after watching for a while, he still couldn’t discern anything remarkable.

Xu Ziqing remained Xu Ziqing, with nothing notably different.

After observing a bit longer, Chu Huaixu rose to leave.

“Typically, when one opens an acupoint, the body needs a short period to adjust, don’t rush to submerge in the medicinal bath, take time to sense your changes first.”

“When you do soak again, remember to come up immediately after fully absorbing the Body Tempering Liquid, I will take my leave now.” He advised.

“Okay, I’ve noted it down, senior brother.” Xu Ziqing replied.

After Chu Huaixu left, he began to stretch and feel the changes in his body.

After a while, he even used his fingers as a sword, practicing a set of his family’s swordsmanship.

Xu Ziqing could clearly feel that his physique had strengthened.

“This is the magic of cultivation.” He couldn’t help but marvel.

Finally, all the torment had borne fruit.

The shadows in his heart dissipated somewhat.

He looked upward again, thoughts turning to his deceased relatives: “Did you see? I’ve finally taken the first step in my cultivation journey.”

The youth’s eyes were rimmed red.

But soon he began admonishing himself.

“Xu Ziqing, don’t get conceited! You need to learn to face yourself!”

In his heart, he knew that his senior brother and Senior Sister Han had only entered a few days before him.

Yet look at their cultivation speed; they had already reached the Sixth Acupoint.

And judging by this momentum, it seemed they were maintaining a rhythm of breaking through an acupoint a day.

Xu Ziqing knew well that without the mysterious pool and his senior brother’s assistance, he absolutely could not have made today’s breakthrough.

This realization brought a sense of defeat once more to this once incredibly proud youth.

Once upon a time, he paraded grandly, enjoying unmatched prominence within the family…

It felt like all his efforts, even serving as a servant to enter the Daoist Sect, were ultimately just to… realize his mediocrity?

The huge gap overshadowed the joy of the breakthrough.

Xu Ziqing moved his gaze to the pool, seeing his belongings placed nearby.

Before entering the water, he had taken everything off and placed it on the shore.

The last Brocade Bag was among them.

“Senior brother said to open the third Brocade Bag when I achieve Minor Success.”

“Opening the first acupoint should count as an Initial Glimpse, right?” Xu Ziqing pondered.

But regarding the message inside the Brocade Bag, he didn’t hold much hope.

He even suspected it might contain more mocking words.

The youth felt he was beginning to understand his senior brother a bit.

But then again, when someone is so far ahead, while he was cultivating so slowly, how could he expect any respect?

He opened the Brocade Bag with force; there were more words on the slip than in the previous two bags.

After reading it earnestly, Xu Ziqing couldn’t help but look up towards the direction Chu Huaixu had left, a warm current flowing from his heart, his lips trembling as he murmured: “Senior brother…”

The paper slip said:

“Flowing water does not compete to be first, but it seeks to flow endlessly.”

…

(ps: Second update, seeking monthly tickets at the end of the month!)

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