Mastery

The night was deep and quiet, the light rain having stopped.

Inside his own room, Du En was diligently cultivating.

Because his accumulation was already sufficient, breaking through was only a matter of course.

He had integrated, comprehended, and thoroughly understood all aspects of the Yellow Earth Technique, achieving a complete, systematic, and in-depth understanding.

This was Mastery!

The circulation of his Magic Power subtly changed.

There were no radical shifts, just a quiet consolidation of the earth, solidifying what was already there before sensing and refining spiritual energy into new Magic Power, which was then used for further consolidation.

The earthy yellow color grew richer and more refined, beginning to exude a powerful aura. Both quantity and quality rapidly increased during this cultivation session, while also strengthening his physical body, generating vitality, and fostering robustness.

Creak~

The wooden bed beneath him couldn't help but let out a soft groan.

The weight it had to bear had increased too much in a short period.

Du En, if he didn't restrain himself, would now weigh over a thousand catties.

Yet, outwardly, he appeared even leaner than before tonight.

"Consolidated earth" was the best description.

The wooden bed didn't actually break, as Du En opened his eyes, ending his cultivation session. With a casual retraction, he returned to his normal state.

A panel appeared in his vision.

[Age: 19/98]
[Spiritual Root: Low Grade]
[Cultivation Level: Early Qi Refining (49/100)]
[Cultivation Technique: Yellow Earth Technique (Mastery 0/300)]
[Spells: Earth Bullet Technique (Proficient 18/50), Sand Raising Technique (Minor Accomplishment 81/100), Breath Concealing Technique (Proficient 43/50)]
[Divine Abilities: None]
[Hundred Arts: Gather and Appraise (Initial Glimpse 0/20), Cuisine Cooking (Initial Glimpse 10/20)]

"Breaking through the cultivation technique to Mastery added twelve points to my cultivation accumulation and five years to my lifespan."

"Still Early Qi Refining..."

Although the basic efficiency of his cultivation had increased by another ten percent on top of the previous foundation, and the number of cultivation sessions per night was limited by time to fifteen, his overall progress was nearly forty percent faster than before.

But he was still in Early Qi Refining.

According to his calculations, it would take another year and a half to break through to Mid-stage Qi Refining. He had only been cultivating for over half a year, which in the eyes of others made him a mere novice. Only here, among the Corpse Buriers, could he be considered somewhat experienced.

But he was still in Early Qi Refining.

"At this rate, I'll break through soon."

Du En's mood was calm.

Bang bang bang!

The sudden knocking on his door made Du En, who had intended to seize the moment and cultivate one more time before dawn, turn his head in surprise.

He got out of bed, went out, and opened the courtyard gate.

The one knocking was Xu Ran, the Corpse Transporter.

His face, which was above average in appearance, was now pale. His nearly eight-foot-tall frame was slightly hunched, and his surprisingly slender hands trembled uncontrollably, looking utterly terrified.

Du En glanced behind him, seeing no one else, nothing else.

"So, this isn't about burying a corpse this time?"

"No, Du En, it's still about burying a corpse."

"Did you accidentally kill someone and want me to help you bury the body and cover it up?"

Hearing Du En's calm words, Xu Ran couldn't help but freeze. The others who had been awakened and were peeking out now silently withdrew their heads.

We didn't hear anything. You do your burying, the boss's opinion is our opinion.

Xu Ran glanced at this scene and gave a wry smile. "Why would I kill someone for no reason?"

"That's hard to say. You Corpse Transporters can at least get some leftovers. Fights over unequal distribution of spoils within your ranks have happened before; in fact, that's the main reason for your personnel reduction."

"..." Faced with Du En's bluntness, which felt like he was stripping away their underwear, Xu Ran was momentarily flustered, but quickly regained his composure. "You almost got me sidetracked, but after that, my emotions have calmed down quite a bit."

"Then what exactly is going on?"

"Urgent job!"

Xu Ran's expression was very serious, his pupils trembling slightly with apprehension. "Simply put, an Evil Cultivator has made a move again. Although it's not dawn yet, the Foremen don't dare to delay, just in case. They're reporting to the Steward while ordering us to bury the bodies as quickly as possible!"

Thus, Xu Ran, who was familiar with the leader of the Corpse Buriers, was sent to knock on his door and call him.

Regardless, this corpse-burying job couldn't be rushed or taken by just anyone; that would be overstepping on colleagues!

"You Corpse Transporters only think of us when it's like this."

"Haha, doesn't that show how professional you guys are?"

Xu Ran felt awkward, his eyes darting away, not daring to meet their gaze.

Du En didn't say anything further, turning to look back.

The other Corpse Buriers had already gathered their tools and were ready to go.

"Boss, let's go together, we'll face it together!"

"That's right! We want to share your burden too!"

"Boss, you know me, I'm usually the most diligent worker. Hearing about this now has really fired me up!"

"Me too!"

"Ahem... Naturally, we should. Let's just consider it starting our day a bit earlier today."

Facing their unified attitude, Du En simply nodded lightly, not saying much else. He went back to change his clothes and was about to lead the team out.

Xu Ran watched with great emotion, envy in his eyes.

Over in the Corpse Transporter group, there was no such atmosphere.

When faced with any situation, they preferred to push responsibility onto others. If there was a chance to profit from a corpse, they would scheme against each other, and internal conflicts could erupt at any moment.

Just as Du En had said, the casualties among Corpse Transporters were basically a result of this.

As he was shaking his head and sighing, he saw a figure flash past him.

Gently shaking his head, he snapped back to attention and found Wei Ming, who was trailing behind, locking the door.

"What are you still standing here for? Either lead the way or go back."

He said casually, then turned and followed closely.

Xu Ran scratched his head, not surprised by this. He just turned and shouted, "Come with me, we'll get in the cart at the intersection, it'll be faster that way."

After saying that, he hurried out, pointing the way and taking a shortcut.

Weaving through alleys and gaps, it was a straight line between two points.

Du En and the others, carrying their tools, squeezed through and arrived directly at the main road.

A corpse transport cart was parked here. The Green-skinned Water Buffalo pulling the cart looked somewhat agitated, its tail flicking constantly as if it had something foreign on its body.

But upon closer inspection, there was nothing foreign on it, and it looked exceptionally clean.

This situation sent a chill down their spines. Their already tense hearts tightened even further.

However, looking again, there were no corpses on the cart.

Wei Ming and the others immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing how terrified Xu Ran had been earlier, they thought he was transporting the corpse himself.

Given the urgent situation, having to ride with a corpse truly made them tremble at the thought!

Although they had acted tough in front of Du En, they were still scared!