One of Maki's eyes turned into a black eye again.
Count Lewis and Baron Chris hit it off immediately. After a friendly discussion and consulting the parties involved, they agreed to hold Jie Ning and Arannis's wedding in Tieling Town during next year's War God Festival.
Count Lewis stayed in Tieling Town for a week.
During that time, Jie Ning cut back on his training to accompany Aslannie as she toured Tieling Town. Their relationship steadily grew warmer.
A week later, the Lewis family departed.
After Arannis reluctantly bid Jie Ning farewell and left, Jie Ning's life returned to its usual rhythm.
Two months after Arannis left, Tieling Town saw its first snow of the year.
"Phew~" Jie Ning was still dressed only in a thin training uniform.
Standing in the courtyard, Jie Ning finished a set of Tai Chi. Ward off, roll back, press, push, pluck, split, elbow strike, shoulder strike—the core of every part of his body began to warm slightly.
"Tai Chi truly deserves its reputation as one of the best ways to nourish the body." Jie Ning felt thoroughly refreshed. "No matter what kind of martial art it is, its core principle is strengthening the body and keeping it healthy."
"When one holds a sharp weapon, the urge to kill naturally arises. Once the body is strong and healthy, a certain force naturally arises in the heart. If one does not cultivate the mind and calm one's nature, it can easily turn into a foul rage."
"Of course, the nature of that force itself is irrelevant. As long as one follows one's heart, anything is possible."
"When I first learned martial arts in my previous life, I paid far too little attention to such things. I accumulated a tremendous amount of foul rage, and in the end, I used that rage to charge into the Grandmaster realm."
"But as I grew older and experienced more, I gradually came to see such things more lightly."
"To gain emotion and forget emotion, like the Supreme Forgetting of Emotion—not heartlessness, but emotion so true and pure that it remains unchanged through generations. It seems heartless, yet is truly like water, close to the Dao."
"The body is a bodhi tree, the mind a bright mirror stand. Polish it diligently at all times, and let no dust settle upon it. Daoism and Buddhism share the same principle, after all."
"Back to the point, I no longer wish to nurture that foul rage. Naturally, Tai Chi is the most suitable martial art for my daily practice. Practicing martial arts is itself a way to calm the mind."
"Still, I had thought Internal Family Boxing had no room left to improve me at my current level. I never expected this unexpected gain."
Jie Ning waved a hand, and a ball of Battle Qi appeared in his palm. "I never noticed before that circulating Battle Qi while practicing martial arts could bring such benefits."
He could clearly feel part of the Battle Qi's energy merging into his body, while the strength of his body slowly increased.
"I should have thought of this earlier. The power of this world itself has an excellent strengthening effect on the body. From the highest-grade Primordial Qi to ordinary natural elements, all of them have this effect."
"Even if mages do not deliberately train their bodies, the nourishment of magic power still gives them decent physical fitness."
"And the energy one comes into contact with differs according to one's level, so the effects differ as well."
"My realm now meets the requirements of the Saint Realm. In fact, after I reached Level 9, the Battle Qi inside my body had already begun gradually transforming."
"The energy of my previous level had indeed reached its limit in strengthening my body, but now that my Battle Qi has begun transforming, it can strengthen my body again."
"In theory, as long as a Saint Domain Magic mage lived long enough, the energy in his body would passively strengthen him step by step until his body's absorption reached its limit."
"But that would be an extremely long process."
"Instead, many God-level powerhouses do this. They use their divine power to actively strengthen their Sanctuary Main Body."
"And while practicing Internal Family Boxing, the surging qi and blood throughout my body instinctively make me actively devour Battle Qi to strengthen myself."
"Once my body becomes stronger, my Battle Qi cultivation will speed up as well. Perhaps the time it takes me to become a Saint Realm powerhouse will be even shorter."
Am I climbing to heaven by stepping on my own feet? Jie Ning thought happily.
"It seems there are still five months until my wedding with Lannie. Perhaps I can give Lannie a little surprise."
Time flew by.
Another three months passed in the blink of an eye. Jie Ning and Arannis had not seen each other for nearly five months, but Arannis had left him a Sound Transmission Box before she departed.
The two could use their Sound Transmission Boxes to speak to one another. As long as they infused it with magic power or Battle Qi before speaking, their words would be sent to the other person.
There was still some delay—it took about an hour for the message to reach the other side—but it was far faster than sending letters through merchant caravans.
However, Jie Ning vaguely noticed that when the wind blew in the same direction as the recipient, the message traveled faster.
This was the exclusive creation of Master Kimir, the Dinar Empire's wind-element Saint Domain Magic mage and great alchemist. Only Master Kimir himself could make them, and they were outrageously expensive, once reaching a state where they were available in name only.
Only after Master Kimir established the Kimir Merchant Guild and made the Sound Transmission Box its flagship product did their numbers on the market increase. Even so, they remained beyond the means of ordinary people.
At this point, Jie Ning was also preparing to set off for Kading City. After all, he needed to go and bring his bride home first.
As for Tieling Town, he left it in the care of his mother, Ms. Melinda.
In Kading City, Count Lewis looked at his daughter, who was grinning foolishly in the courtyard, and shook his head helplessly.
Ever since she had received Jie Ning's message from the Sound Transmission Box saying that he had set out to pick her up, the girl had worn that silly grin nonstop.
Step by step, Jie Ning traveled down the road as though shrinking the earth beneath his feet.
Countless people along the way cast awestruck looks at him.
But Jie Ning had no time to care about any of that now. Almost there, just a little more.
At that moment, Jie Ning's eyes gleamed like brilliant pearls.
He could feel that the Battle Qi within his body had vaguely reached a limit.
In a daze, Jie Ning seemed to hear the sound of Battle Qi coursing through his meridians like rivers flowing into the sea.
Pop~ It was as though something had been pierced. Jie Ning only felt his Battle Qi undergo a complete transformation.
So this is the Saint Realm? Feeling the changes inside his body, Jie Ning could describe his current feeling with only one word: powerful. He was powerful in a way completely different from before, as though they belonged to two different worlds.
When he looked at the world again, Jie Ning felt that his five senses had evolved to a higher level, and the world itself had changed enormously.
It was as though a veil that had once covered the world had now been lifted away.
Earth-walking Technique.
With a thought, Jie Ning vanished from where he stood and appeared an immense distance away in the next instant.
It was utterly incomparable to when he had forcibly used it at Level 9. There was none of that awkwardness or discomfort; it felt as natural as instinct.
Jie Ning excitedly tested his various abilities after breaking through.
Only after a long while did his excitement slowly settle.
Finally, Jie Ning thought, "There is only one last thing left to test."
"Phew~" Jie Ning instantly took to the air.
"Ha ha ha ha..." Jie Ning could not help bursting into hearty laughter.
As his laughter faded, he looked at his hands, then glanced around him.
After determining the direction of Kading City, he flew straight toward it.
Any tickets? Any tickets? Please, I'm begging you.
Before you continue