Grand Master

Whether it was Ren Li's arrival and taking office that alerted the Evil Cultivator to something ominous, or Du En's subsequent instigation that made the situation increasingly confusing, or perhaps a combination of both, acting together.

In any case, half a year has passed, and now in early October, the Evil Cultivator has not committed any more crimes, and everything has gradually returned to peace.

Gang-like organizations such as the Green Robe Gang have also reverted to their old ways, collecting protection fees as usual, though they are somewhat more timid now, and their methods are no longer as brutal.

Although the "Evil Cultivator" probably wouldn't kill people for this reason, what if they did? Who would dare to gamble?

With Du En in a stable situation, he naturally accumulated knowledge over time, leading to a natural progression. He moved past fully understanding the Cultivation Technique and achieved Mastery, entering a new stage of self-teaching, natural understanding, and sudden enlightenment.

Mastery refers to integrating various schools of thought, theories, styles, techniques, and so on, thereby forming one's own system or style.

A person who can achieve this is a Grand Master!

Rumble~

Thunder roared, and the wind howled.

In the precarious wooden house at night, Du En sat cross-legged on the damp, water-seeping ground, seizing every moment to cultivate.

In his mind, he now clearly understood all the various thoughts, schools, and tricks related to the Yellow Earth Technique. He had completely mastered them and further developed his own unique style.

"Thick Yellow Earth, comprehensive magic and body..."

Thick yellow gaseous Magic Power flowed through his meridians and spread throughout his body, forming a different circulation path than before.

A new prototype had been established and taken shape.

The water that had been seeping through the ground was now silently pushed away.

The Yellow Earth beneath him seemed to resonate at this moment, as if they had become one.

Like ancient stones in the mountains, unchanging for millennia, it was the silent earth, always consistent.

Creak, creak, creak~

The groaning of the wooden planks on the roof became the opportunity to break the mystical atmosphere.

Du En, ending his cultivation, calmly opened his eyes. A faint yellow hue flickered in his pupils before disappearing.

He rose silently to his feet. This time, there was no sudden surge of power that led to a slight loss of control.

He could see his status panel in his eyes.

[Age: 19/106]
[Spiritual Root: Low-grade]
[Cultivation Level: Early Qi Refining (83/100)]
[Cultivation Technique: Yellow Earth Technique (Grand Master 0/500)]
[Spells: Earth Bullet Technique (Minor Accomplishment 1/100), Sand Raising Technique (Mastery 200/300), Breath Concealing Technique (Mastery 93/300), Earth Armor Technique (Minor Accomplishment 91/100)]
[Divine Abilities: None]
[Hundred Arts: Gather and Appraise (Initial Glimpse 0/20), Cuisine Cooking (Proficient 0/50)]

He had broken through again tonight.

His Cultivation Level accumulation increased by fifteen points, and the other earth-element spells mutually influenced each other, contributing to the current situation.

The basic cultivation efficiency remained about one-tenth higher than before.

Since he only had a limited amount of time for cultivation each night, even though his cultivation efficiency improved and the time required was significantly reduced after the breakthrough in his Cultivation Technique, he couldn't increase the number of cultivation sessions too much.

Seventeen times was the most suitable number now.

"Compared to before, the overall efficiency has increased by another two and a half tenths. At this speed, I will break through my Cultivation Level before the Cultivation Technique breaks through again. It should take about five months..."

He calculated that it had not even been two years since he officially started cultivating immortality, and he was about to break through to Mid-stage Qi Refining. This was clearly not the speed achievable by a normal person from the lower strata.

However, it was not a big problem, because with the Breath Concealing Technique at Mastery, even Ren Li, a foreman with a significant background, could be completely deceived. The others in this shack area would be even less likely to notice.

"Of course, I don't necessarily need to hide it..."

Crack! Snap!

As Du En was thinking, the wooden planks on the roof finally couldn't bear the strain. With a sharp cracking sound, they were torn apart by the wind and flew into the deep, stormy night.

The heavy rain finally had no obstruction and poured down.

Amidst the thunderous roars, it was like a ferocious dragon, letting out roars.

This made Du En stop thinking and shift his attention to the night sky, which was filled with dark clouds, strong winds, thunder, and heavy rain.

A typhoon was passing through!

What Du En had considered at the beginning of the year did not arrive in the summer, but instead, it was belatedly arriving in this late autumn and early winter.

The intensity was exceptionally terrifying, at least level seventeen!

As the first wooden plank was torn away, the other roof planks quickly followed suit.

In no time, the entire roof had disappeared.

The valuable items inside the house, especially his private savings, had naturally been hidden and secured in advance when he sensed the signs in the evening, so they were not afraid of being blown away now.

Du En remained still, silently casting spells to block the rain as it poured down.

A one-finger-thick layer of Yellow Earth Armor began to cover his body, fitting snugly and appearing rigid and well-formed.

Earth Armor Technique.

It was only at the Initial Glimpse level.

After putting on this Earth Armor, which was mainly for blocking rain, secondarily for resisting impacts, and lastly for added weight, he pushed open the door and stepped out into the heavy rain.

The small courtyard had already been ravaged by the fierce wind and rain, as were the houses of the other Corpse Buriers; their roofs had been torn apart.

The unluckiest was Wei Ming. He had even been blown away and was now clinging tightly to a broken section of the wall, like a tumbleweed in the wind. If he dared to let go, he would vanish without a trace.

"Ahhhh! Boss, save me!"

The reason for his miserable state was that it had been drizzling since the afternoon, and to resist the pervasive Yin Evil, his Magic Power had been almost completely drained, and he hadn't been able to recover in time.

The others were slightly better off, but only slightly. They were struggling to save themselves and had no way to offer help.

He couldn't even hear Wei Ming's words clearly; his ears were filled with the roar of thunder and the howling of the wind.

Occasionally, a supremely tragic scream would be mixed in.

That was the final cry of despair from people elsewhere who had been swept away by the typhoon.

Listening to these screams, Wei Ming became even more terrified.

He never expected to die not from the work of burying corpses, nor from man-made disasters like oppression by gangs, but from such a seemingly "ordinary" natural disaster.

"Ahhh... I don't want to die..."

Amidst his screams, a wooden plank flew by in the wind and slammed into his face, dazing him. He instinctively let go.

It's over!

When Wei Ming came to his senses, his heart filled with despair.

The next moment, lightning flashed, illuminating the earth.

The calm person also appeared in the light, clad in thick armor, exuding an imposing aura as if a god had descended. He raised his hand, grabbed Wei Ming's hand, and yanked him down, pulling him back from the fierce wind.

"Boss!!!"

Wei Ming shouted excitedly. In the raging wind, he struggled to open his eyes wide, only to see various debris being carried by the wind, violently crashing and striking Du En. But he stood unmoving, his Earth Armor not even showing a single crack.

He simply looked up calmly at the dark, rain-filled clouds, the lightning, and the wind.

Many laborers from the lower strata were now mixed among the debris and various objects, being dragged and swallowed by this typhoon, their fates obvious.