At Golden Bull Ridge, Zhang Tielin's two followers supported him as they slowly made their way to his quarters.
"Hahaha, Zhang Tielin, how did you get hurt?"
An Outer Sect Disciple of Golden Bull Ridge saw Zhang Tielin's injuries and laughed at his misfortune.
Though they were all Outer Sect Disciples of Golden Bull Ridge, they fought one another both openly and in secret.
The disciple mocking Zhang Tielin had clashed with him before, and their relationship was poor. Seeing him injured now delighted the man.
Zhang Tielin ignored him. Swallowing his anger, he let his two followers help him back to his quarters.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Zhang Tielin could not stop coughing. Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth again, and waves of stabbing pain from the wound beneath his left ribs made the muscles in his face twist.
"Brother Tielin, how do you feel? Should we go to the Medicine Hall?"
The follower, who was as skinny as a monkey, spoke up. His name was Zhang Qining. He had a Three-Attribute Mixed Spiritual Root and had become an Outer Sect Disciple three years ago, but he had only reached the Third Layer of Qi Refining. Like Zhang Tielin, he came from Green Ox Town.
The other follower was tall and thin as a bamboo pole. His name was Zhang Xu, and he also came from Green Ox Town. He too had a Three-Attribute Mixed Spiritual Root. He had become an Outer Sect Disciple four years ago and was likewise at the Third Layer of Qi Refining.
They were all from the same hometown, and Zhang Tielin had helped them when they first entered the outer sect. That was why they followed his lead.
"I'm fine. There's no need to go to the Medicine Hall!"
Zhang Tielin endured the pain from his wound and shook his head slightly. The people at the Medicine Hall had hearts blacker than the last. If he went there, they would open their lion's mouths and demand an outrageous price.
Zhang Xu said, "Brother Tielin, Fang Chen killed A Niu. Are we just going to let it go?"
Killing intent flickered in Zhang Tielin's eyes. Through gritted teeth, he said, "How could we? He killed A Niu. I'll find a way to kill him!"
Zhang Xu frowned. "But that brat has Li the Half-Blind protecting him. If he hides on Dog Head Ridge, there's nothing we can do!"
"Hmph! He can't hide forever!"
Zhang Tielin sneered, then looked up at Zhang Qining. "A Lin, go to the Merit Hall and find Senior Brother Li Muyu for me. Tell him I'm inviting him to Tingfeng Tower for drinks tonight!"
"All right!"
Zhang Qining nodded and immediately left the room.
Half an hour later, on Dog Head Ridge.
Fang Chen sat on the ground, gasping for breath. His legs would not stop trembling.
This Misty Turtle Step is too hard. If I keep training like this, my legs will be ruined. I'd better stop for now and go chop things instead!
Fang Chen thought it over. Chopping things with the Floating Immortal Sword could steadily improve his strength. Even if he trained in no Combat Arts, sharpening his reflexes would make him stronger.
Tian Hu and Zhang Tieniu, for instance, had clearly trained in martial arts. Fang Chen had never practiced any fighting skills, yet he had killed them both.
It was like a Great Emperor: even without using any ultimate moves, a casual flick of his finger could destroy heaven and earth.
At that thought, he stood and staggered up the dirt-and-stone path toward the mountain.
After returning to his quarters, Fang Chen went to the slope behind his courtyard. Trees grew thick across it. He summoned the Floating Immortal Sword and began chopping.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Each time the Floating Immortal Sword struck a tree, a cool current flowed into Fang Chen's body. When it reached his mind, he felt his spirits lift.
As he chopped, Fang Chen unconsciously began circulating the Glazed Qi Refining Art.
"Hiss, hiss..."
Fang Chen felt the Spiritual Qi around him being drawn into his body without pause.
Looking within, he saw white and blue-green points of light flowing along his Meridians into his dantian.
The white points were Spiritual Qi he had absorbed from his surroundings. The blue-green points were Spiritual Power flowing into him from the Floating Immortal Sword.
After the blue-green points entered his body, some were absorbed by his Meridians and muscles, while the rest joined the white points in his dantian.
Within his dantian, the vortex of True Qi turned slowly. The walls of his dantian absorbed some of the white and blue-green points; the rest were drawn into the vortex and refined into pure True Qi.
Fang Chen kept swinging his sword, and cool currents kept flowing from the Floating Immortal Sword into his body. As they entered his mind, he felt more and more alert, his thoughts growing keen. The method for cultivating the Misty Turtle Step surfaced unbidden in his mind.
The Misty Turtle Step's Cultivation Mental Method and diagrams of its movements flashed through his mind, faster and faster.
At the same time, Fang Chen felt the Spiritual Qi from his surroundings entering his body more quickly.
Sensing the change, Fang Chen's gaze sharpened. He murmured, "It seems that mysterious current from the Floating Immortal Sword is helping me absorb energy from my surroundings faster!"
The discovery thrilled him. He swung his sword with renewed vigor, felling tree after tree.
Half an hour later, the True Qi in Fang Chen's dantian had grown considerably.
He noticed things gradually vanishing from his sight. First the towering trees disappeared, then the low shrubs, then the wild grass, and finally the dead branches and leaves on the ground.
All he could see was a bare hillside.
Just then, countless rays of golden light gathered before him and formed a golden Silhouette. Its body was translucent. As it moved swiftly across the slope before him, Fang Chen could see the True Qi coursing through its Meridians with every motion.
The sight made everything click into place for Fang Chen. His body instinctively began following the Silhouette, while the True Qi within him surged along his Meridians toward his legs.
The Silhouette's movements grew more nimble and graceful. Faint rings of ripples appeared wherever its feet touched the ground, like a drop of water falling into a still lake.
This went on for about ten breaths. Then the Silhouette vanished.
Fang Chen came back to himself and found that, at some point, he had rushed up the slope. Trees surrounded him.
"What happened?"
He frowned at once, recalling what he had just seen.
He tried the Misty Turtle Step, lightly tapping the ground with his toe.
Whoosh!
Fang Chen shot forward. Just as he was about to crash into a large tree, he instinctively lifted his leg and lightly touched the trunk with his toe.
Whoosh!
His body darted up the tree. It felt as easy as walking on level ground.
One step, two steps, three steps...
In the blink of an eye, Fang Chen reached the treetop. He flipped over and dropped toward the ground. Just before he landed, he tapped the ground lightly with his toe. A faint ring of ripples spread beneath it. It felt as though he had stepped on cotton, and he floated gently to the ground.
"Incredible! Have I mastered the Misty Turtle Step?"
Fang Chen stood still and looked down at his feet. Recalling what had just happened, he felt a surge of wild joy.
He slapped his own face. It did not seem to be a dream, so he used the Misty Turtle Step again, weaving swiftly through the woods like a phantom.
A little later, Fang Chen burst from the woods and leaped high toward his courtyard. As he neared the roof, he brushed it with his toe, light as a dragonfly skimming water, then landed softly in the courtyard.
"I really did it! With my movement and speed now, I wouldn't have to fear even a cultivator at the Second Layer of Qi Refining, would I?"
Fang Chen was beside himself with excitement. When he had first started practicing the Misty Turtle Step, he had thought the Footwork far too difficult. He had never expected to master it so quickly after chopping trees with the Floating Immortal Sword for a while.
Fang Chen recalled what had happened and mused, When I chop trees, the current flowing from the Floating Immortal Sword makes me more alert and my thoughts more active. In the end, I seemed to enter some kind of enlightened state. That must be how I mastered the Misty Turtle Step so quickly! The Floating Immortal Sword is incredible. I wonder if I can use this method to practice other arts?
"I'll find Uncle Li and ask him to teach me a few more secret arts. Then I'll see if I can master them the same way!"
Fang Chen immediately used the Misty Turtle Step and ran down the mountain.
With the Misty Turtle Step, Fang Chen quickly made it from halfway up the mountain to its foot.
Li Yanshan was chopping firewood outside his house.
Fang Chen rushed straight up to him.
Li Yanshan looked up at Fang Chen's excited face and raised an eyebrow. "You look pleased. What, did you find more Spirit Stones?"
Fang Chen shook his head vigorously. "No! How could there be that many Spirit Stones lying around? I came to ask if you have any more powerful manuals, Uncle Li. Lend me a few!"
"Manuals?"
Li Yanshan frowned. "If you bite off more than you can chew, you'll master nothing. Didn't I give you the Misty Turtle Step? Learn that first!"
"I've already mastered it. Watch, Uncle Li!"
With that, Fang Chen used the Misty Turtle Step, darting and dodging before Li Yanshan. His movements were graceful, nimbler even than a rabbit's.
"This..."
Li Yanshan stared, dumbstruck.
The Misty Turtle Step was powerful, but extremely difficult to cultivate. Otherwise, it would never have ended up in his hands.
He had obtained it more than thirty years ago and practiced it for just as long, yet he had only reached the minor mastery stage. The Misty Turtle Step Fang Chen had just displayed was far more powerful than his own. It had reached at least the major mastery stage.
Li Yanshan stared at Fang Chen, thinking he must be seeing things. Less than one One Hour had passed since he had given Fang Chen the Misty Turtle Step, yet Fang Chen had already brought it to major mastery.
He reached up and touched the wound on his shoulder. A piercing pain shot through him, making him grimace.
"It's no illusion!"
Li Yanshan snapped back to his senses. He fixed his eyes on Fang Chen, a faint gleam in them, and could not help exclaiming, "A genius!"
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