Gale Art, Ironback Bear

Early morning, the sunlight was just right.

Ge Changyuan and Wife had gone out to scrape together money to pay Su Qing's exorbitant treatment fees.

Although Su Qing had already explained that Ge Ling's Spirit Lotus Legs were an experimental creation, and that they did not need to pay any additional crafting fee beyond the necessary costs.

Even those costs were not something Ge Changyuan and Wife could easily afford.

"Dear, Immortal Su said this batch of Spirit Crystals doesn't need to be repaid urgently. Wouldn't it be fine to gather more after we sell the spirit rice? Do we really have to sell the Mighty Ox? Without it, how will you plow the fields in the future?"

The woman speaking was Ge Changyuan's wife, Yuan Ailan. Plain-looking, she repeatedly stroked the Mighty Ox's neck. The old ox seemed to sense something as well, gently rubbing its horn against her chest.

Seeing this, Ge Changyuan could not bear it either.

In the eyes of most cultivators, a Mighty Ox was merely a type of demonic beast raised for meat, but to Spirit Planters, they were their most trusted companions.

Tilling fields rich in spiritual energy required the Mighty Ox's strength.

The Mighty Ox was equally dependable when hauling goods.

Even when danger arose in the fields, having a Tier 1 Mighty Ox around gave Spirit Planters far greater confidence.

And a Mighty Ox worth several thousand Spirit Crystals was not something every Spirit Planter could own. Most could only rent someone else's Mighty Ox when the need arose.

The one in his home had been accumulated through more than ten years of toil, racing beneath the stars and moon.

With its help, he had been able to tend more spirit fields these past few years, and life had visibly grown more prosperous. He had even planned to save up Spirit Crystals for a few more years and send Ge Ling to a shop in the city to learn a trade. Whether talisman crafting or artifact refining, even becoming an appraiser would be more promising than becoming a Spirit Planter like him.

If Not For utter necessity, Ge Changyuan would never have considered selling the Mighty Ox.

His gaze fell on Su Qing, who was leading Ge Ling through rehabilitation exercises, and Ge Changyuan hardened his heart.

"Fellow Daoist Su is a good man, and we can't fall short ourselves. Fellow Daoist Tang's hiring fee and the material costs for the Spirit Lotus Legs were all advanced by Fellow Daoist Su. And Fellow Daoist Su worked so hard, yet only asked for cost price. Can we really give him only the cost price?"

With that, Ge Changyuan tugged the reins and led the Mighty Ox out of the Ge Family home in great strides.

Yuan Ailan watched the man and ox recede into the distance, then looked at Ge Ling, who was lifting her legs and running about joyfully. Her earlier reluctance turned into deep gratitude.

Being driven back into poverty by illness was certainly hard to accept, but the fact that her daughter could continue cultivating was already a great blessing. What more could she ask for?

"The running and jumping functions seem fine. Try circulating your mana and see how it differs from before."

Su Qing called out to Ge Ling, who had run far away, and spoke with a smile.

Although the system had already recognized the Spirit Lotus Legs as a mature Tier-1 Mid-Grade Puppet, so there should not have been any problems.

Still, this was the first Puppet Su Qing had independently refined. He chose to observe it for a few more days, treating it as after-sales service for the Spirit Lotus Legs.

That service was only incidental. Tang Wanqing, the part-time Monster Hunter, had yet to return, and he was somewhat uneasy about returning to the Living Area alone.

Fortunately, he had brought enough materials in his Storage Bag. During the day, he led Ge Ling through rehabilitation, while at night his pace in refining Demoness Puppets had not fallen behind.

Shopkeeper Liu's order had already been fully completed. The three Puppets Tang Wanqing had commissioned, along with the high-grade Puppet that served as his hiring fee, had also been refined.

The Proficiency of the Passion Puppet was about to fill up, leaving Su Qing with enough spare time to custom-make a Passion Puppet for himself. He named it Teacher Sanshang, fulfilling a small wish from his previous life and temporarily curbing his urge to spend money at Red Sleeve Pavilion.

"Brother Su, can I use Gale Art? If I apply it to my legs, I can run really fast!" Ge Ling's little face was flushed red from running as she raised her head to ask.

Her rehabilitation had gone smoothly over the past two days. She had already completely forgotten the pain of losing her legs. To her, these legs were no different from her original ones.

Other than waves of tingling itchiness at the connection between her legs and body every night, she could barely even feel that she had ever lost a pair of legs.

"You've already mastered Gale Art? I didn't expect you to be a Daoist Art genius. Go ahead and try it. There shouldn't be any problem!"

Su Qing watched as Ge Ling casually summoned a wisp of wind and applied it to her legs. Carried aloft by the wind, she floated and swayed above the fields like an elf.

Su Qing felt the faintest trace of envy.

In the Celestial Origin Realm, Dharma cultivators learned Daoist Arts to defend the Dao, while Body Cultivators practiced combat techniques to protect themselves.

Both Daoist Arts and combat techniques were divided into four ranks: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. Qi Refining Stage cultivators and Tier 1 Body Cultivators could at most practice Yellow Grade Daoist Arts or combat techniques.

Gale Art was a Yellow Grade Lower Rank Daoist Art. It could enhance speed and allow brief flight, making it one of the Daoist Arts every Rogue Cultivator knew.

Yet it was rare for someone like Ge Ling to skillfully cast this Daoist Art at the first layer of Qi Refining. It showed that she possessed considerable talent in Daoist Arts.

With high Daoist Art talent, she could in the future serve Major Powers as a War Cultivator or escort cultivator, or strike out on her own as a Monster Hunter or Robber Cultivator. Her prospects were somewhat brighter than those of a Spirit Planter.

Compared to Ge Ling, Su Qing's own talent in Daoist Arts was difficult to put into words.

He had yet to master even Gale Art, such an essential life-saving Daoist Art, despite already reaching the Mid Qi Refining Stage.

This makes no sense. A Mid Qi Refining Stage cultivator should be able to learn a Yellow Grade Lower Rank Daoist Art at a glance and use it at will. Why was I utterly baffled when I looked at it and a complete mess when I tried to learn it?

Su Qing watched with a bitter expression as Ge Ling played all sorts of tricks with Gale Art. The little girl could even compress the wind into a blade shape, already touching upon the essence of Gale Slash, the superior Daoist Art to Gale Art, a Yellow Grade Mid-Grade Daoist Art!

I must have been cursed by the panel. To make me focus on the Dao of Puppetry, it stripped me of my aptitude in cultivation, body techniques, Daoist Arts, and everything else!

What a sinister system!

Unwilling to admit that this body of his was hopeless in every aspect except for having a bit of talent in the Dao of Puppetry, Su Qing silently shifted the blame to the panel.

"Brother Su, run! A demonic beast is coming! It's the demonic beast that hurt me that day!"

Ge Ling's panicked cry interrupted Su Qing's wild thoughts.

When he raised his head to look into the distance, he could only see the vague outline of a massive object several miles away, slowly moving in their direction.

Ge Ling flew high and saw far. The moment she spotted that colossal shape, her body trembled violently, and she nearly failed to maintain the wind beneath her, almost falling from midair.

Though frantic, she did not forget to descend beside Su Qing, driving the wind to apply Gale Art to him, intending to flee with him.

"It's an Ironback Bear! It was the one that ate my legs that day! It's as big as a small mountain, and when it runs, the heavens and earth shake. Even with Gale Art on me, I couldn't outrun it!"

Ge Ling's little face had turned deathly pale. Seeing Su Qing stand motionless, she hurriedly warned him, wanting him to understand how terrifying the demonic beast was.

Su Qing had been somewhat flustered as well. With his current abilities, it was hard to say that he would be any more useful than Ge Ling against a Tier 1 demonic beast.

After all, none of the Puppets he had refined excelled in combat. Of the two Daoist Arts he knew, Pathfinding Art would at most keep him from getting lost while fleeing, while the Yellow Grade Lower Rank Gold-Wood Saber would only make the demonic beast more excited.

But once he switched to the vision of the Wood Spirit Servant buried nearby, he was no longer worried in the slightest.

"Don't be afraid. That Ironback Bear is already dead as a doornail. The big sister who came with me the day before yesterday killed it, and she's dragging it over here now!"

Su Qing patted Ge Ling's little head and comforted her.

"Is it that sister with the especially huge chest? She's really amazing." Ge Ling vividly remembered the enormous things before Tang Wanqing's chest.

"If you say they're huge, then they're huge. Yes, it's her. Cultivate properly, and you can become just as formidable as her someday."

"Can't I become just as huge as her?" Ge Ling sounded somewhat disappointed.

"You're still so young, yet you're always thinking about useless things!" Su Qing could not help but give her a light smack. Then he turned to watch Tang Wanqing dragging an Ironback Bear, which gradually became clearer in his vision.

The massive beast, three zhang tall with hide like iron plating, made one's heart seize merely as its dead body approached. It was difficult to imagine the ferocious might it possessed when alive and kicking.

Tang Wanqing was unharmed and looked relaxed, yet she had easily dealt with such a demonic beast. Her strength once more overturned his understanding.

"This Fellow Daoist is a little too strong!"

Su Qing was not surprised that Tang Wanqing could hunt demonic beasts. To operate a special business in White Cloud Market Town, one either had to be able to fight or have someone powerful backing them. Tang Wanqing clearly belonged to the former group.

But being able to solo a Tier-1 High-Grade demonic beast was simply absurdly strong!