New Talent [Sword Control] (Requesting Follows Monthly Tickets Recommendation Tickets)

"Chop!"

"Chop!"

By the time the three returned home, Li Ru was chopping beast meat in the courtyard.

It was a large slab of ordinary Horned Ox meat, weighing several dozen jin at least.

A Horned Ox's muscles and sinews were exceptionally tough, and Li Ru was already sweating profusely from chopping.

Normally, Zhou Shan handled this work.

But Zhou Shan had gone out to invite some friends and had yet to return.

Li Ru was eager to chop and marinate the beast meat so the flavors could better soak in.

"Mother, let me do it!"

Zhou Ling set the basket beside the threshold and spoke to Li Ru.

"Ling'er, what are you carrying?" Li Ru asked curiously.

The Brewing Furnace was wrapped in burlap, so Li Ru could not see it clearly.

"Nothing much—just a piece of equipment from the Workshop that needs repairing!" Zhou Ling said with a smile.

He wanted to give his parents a surprise once the Brewing Furnace had been inscribed.

So for now, he did not want them to know.

"Hello, Aunt Ru!"

"Hello, Aunt Zhou!"

Wang Xin and Yuan Hu, standing behind him, also greeted Li Ru politely.

"You're here! Come sit inside!"

Li Ru wiped her hands with a towel and greeted the two with a smile.

"Ling'er, go entertain them. I'll cut this beast meat myself!"

"Mother, they're all familiar faces. What's there to entertain?"

Zhou Ling took the meat cleaver from Li Ru's hand.

Yuan Hu had long become familiar with Zhou Ling's family. After the journey here, his throat was dry and parched. Once he had greeted Li Ru, he entered the hall, poured himself a bowl of tea, and gulped it down greedily.

"Aunt Ru, I-I came so suddenly this time and didn't bring any gifts."

"These are a Youth Preserving Pill and a Qi Gathering Pill. Consider them m-my gift!"

Wang Xin took two exquisite Pill Bottles from her Storage Pouch and handed them to Li Ru, a faint flush rising on her face.

She had mostly stopped stammering, but the slightest nervousness made her start again.

"These are far too precious." Li Ru froze for a moment, then repeatedly tried to refuse.

Li Ru knew that even a First-Grade Low-Rank Qi Gathering Pill cost seven or eight Low-grade Spirit Stones, while a Youth Preserving Pill was even more expensive!

When she had gone shopping with Zhou Shan before, she had seen them at Hundred Herbs Hall. Out of curiosity, she had asked about them.

A single pill cost more than thirty Spirit Stones.

And such pills were not commonly found on the market. Whenever they appeared, people often rushed to buy them.

After all, a Youth Preserving Pill could preserve one's youthful appearance for a period of time.

What woman would not be tempted?

Even though Li Ru was the gentle, virtuous, household-managing type, she was no exception.

"I refined them myself, so they aren't expensive!"

Wang Xin blinked her clear, springwater eyes and said softly.

"Mother, Xin'er is an Alchemist. She has plenty of pills, so just accept them!"

Zhou Ling took the Pill Bottles from Wang Xin and handed them to Li Ru.

"This..."

Seeing Wang Xin's crimson cheeks, Li Ru knew it would not be appropriate to refuse.

Only after washing her hands in the basin did she accept the Pill Bottles. Smiling, she said, "Xin'er, thank you!"

"Go have some tea in the hall first! Once Auntie finishes up here, I'll entertain you properly!"

After tucking the Pill Bottles into her robes, Li Ru placed the chopped beast meat into a small wooden basin and sprinkled it with various spices.

Wang Xin's face lit up with delight. "Aunt Ru, I'll help!"

"Alright, then wash that cilantro and Spirit Rice!" Li Ru nodded.

Wang Xin stood beside Li Ru, bent down, and picked up the cilantro to wash it.

Zhou Ling placed the meat on the chopping board, arranged it properly, raised the cleaver, and brought it down hard.

"Chop!"

Chop!

Though beast meat was tough and sinewy, Zhou Ling had now nearly reached Mid First-Tier Body Tempering. Chopping up a few pieces of beast meat was still easy work for him.

Under Zhou Ling's fierce chopping, the meat was soon reduced to a pile of small chunks.

Li Ru then placed it in a wooden basin and sprinkled it with various spices to marinate.

[Growth Talent, Sword Control: Able to control spell swords and enhance their power. Requirements: practice the sword one hundred times—cleaving, lifting, chopping, and so on.]

At that moment, a prompt appeared on the panel.

"[Sword Control] talent!"

Zhou Ling's eyes lit up as he looked at the panel.

He had cultivated at the Dao Academy for several years, yet he had never learned any offensive spells.

At present, his only means of combat was still the Great Yang Fist.

With this [Sword Control] talent, paired with a sword technique in the future, it could not have been more fitting.

Zhou Ling thought to himself.

Then, with another rise and fall of his knife, he chopped up the rest of the beast meat.

[You are chopping beast meat. Sword Control +1]

[You are chopping beast meat. Sword Control +1]

After chopping the beast meat, Zhou Ling washed his hands and carried the large basin of spice-coated meat into the Kitchen.

Only then did he go into the hall, drink a bowl of tea, and sit down in a chair.

He calculated that when he returned to the Dao Academy the day after tomorrow, he could exchange for some spells.

Normally, once one reached the Qi Condensation Second Layer, one could begin cultivating spells and techniques.

But Zhou Ling's time had been limited. Every day, cultivating the Spirit Flame Art, practicing Artifact Crafting, and training the Great Yang Fist had already filled up his cultivation time.

Now, however, his Physique was quite good. It might not have been exceptionally formidable, but it had already surpassed that of ordinary cultivators.

So from now on, he could squeeze out some time to learn other spells.

After all, he would soon be ten years old. He needed to learn some offensive and protective spells as well.

Before long, Zhou Shan arrived one after another with several friends from the Medicine Seeking Team.

Zhou Ling also got up and poured tea for the guests.

Li Ru had stewed the beast meat in a large pot, then stir-fried some vegetables, tofu, Spirit Chicken Eggs, and other dishes.

She filled three large tables to the brim.

The small hall was somewhat crowded and could not fit all three tables.

They could only move one table out into the Courtyard.

Once nearly everyone had arrived, the banquet began.

Most of the guests were Zhou Shan's friends from the Medicine Seeking Team. On their behalf, Chu Xing presented Zhou Ling with several spirit herbs.

They congratulated him on entering the Fourth Layer of Qi Condensation, while also thanking him for regularly repairing the brothers' Magic Artifacts.

Master Lu arrived with Liu An and gave Zhou Ling a First-Grade Mid-Rank Cloud Pattern Spirit Brush artifact blank as a congratulatory gift.

As for the engraving, Zhou Ling would have to inscribe it himself.

Zhou Ling was delighted. In his eyes, Master Lu had always been a complete miser.

He was, after all, an Inscription Master of the Workshop, yet every time he went over, Master Lu served him nothing but poor-quality tea.

He could not even bear to part with a cup of Spirit Tea.

This time, he had actually been generous!

But he still needed to find a First-Grade Mid-Rank Spirit Gathering Engraving. It seemed he could only exchange for one at the Dao Academy as well.

Other than the Spirit Wine and spirit rice, the food at this banquet was all ordinary meat and vegetables, but it was still far better than what they usually ate.

And Li Ru's cooking was exquisite; every dish was perfect in color, aroma, and taste.

Everyone ate with great delight.

Zhou Shan, in particular, drank to his heart's content, frequently raising cups with his friends.

The lunch lasted nearly half a shichen before the guests gradually took their leave.

Wang Xin and Yuan Hu stayed behind to help Li Ru clear away the tables, chairs, and dishes.

Zhou Shan brewed some Spirit Tea and drank it at his leisure.

The summer sunlight cast threads of scattered shadow and light through the hall, and motes of dust dancing in the air were plainly visible.

The little courtyard was full of the warmth of daily life, and time seemed to drift by slowly in that moment.