[Chen Qinglin] Lifespan: 14/120 Realm: Mid Inner Qi Realm Martial Arts: Archery (Perfection), Iron Wire Fist (Perfection), Iron Sword Art (Perfection), Origin Returning Art (Minor Accomplishment 3564/4000), Wind Riding Sword Art (Perfection 12792/40000), Divine Wind Leg (Perfection 20000/20000), Moon Treading Steps (Proficient 2107/3000) Sword Skill: Ride the Wind Slash (First Layer of Wind Intent) Intent: Wind Intent/One-Tenth (6081/10000)
In just one short month, Chen Qinglin had actually brought Wind Riding Sword Art and Divine Wind Leg to Perfection. The boost from Wind Intent was terrifying.
Even more astonishingly, as Chen Qinglin practiced Wind Riding Sword Art and Divine Wind Leg, his Wind Intent grew along with them.
And the growth of his Wind Intent, in turn, propelled his wind-attributed martial arts. It was a virtuous cycle.
Over the past month, he had also gotten a rough idea of the proficiency required for low- and mid-grade Human Tier martial arts.
A low-grade Human Tier cultivation method required twice the proficiency of a Mortal Tier method.
A mid-grade Human Tier cultivation method required four times the proficiency of a Mortal Tier method.
A high-grade Human Tier cultivation method required six times the proficiency of a Mortal Tier method.
At least martial arts proficiency didn't increase exponentially.
So a top-grade Human Tier martial art would require eight times as much or more. After all, he'd heard that some top-grade Human Tier martial arts could approach the power of Earth Tier martial arts.
But Chen Qinglin only needed mid-grade Human Tier proficiency to practice Wind Riding Sword Art.
With the sword art at Perfection, the added boost from Wind Intent had brought it to the brink of top-grade Human Tier sword arts.
The final technique of the sword art, "Wind Dissipates Clouds," had already reached the power of a top-grade Human Tier sword skill.
The progress of Origin Returning Art and Moon Treading Steps was less impressive, but it reflected the actual pace of his martial arts training at the moment.
What he hadn't expected was that the Moon Treading Steps his master, Fu Shenxing, had given him was actually a high-grade Human Tier martial art.
His current martial arts ranks were:
Mortal Tier: Archery, Iron Wire Fist, Iron Sword Art.
Human Tier: Origin Returning Art (mid-grade), Wind Riding Sword Art (mid-grade), Divine Wind Leg (low-grade), Moon Treading Steps (high-grade).
At his normal training speed, he could only bring a high-grade Human Tier martial art to Proficient within a month.
He could go faster if he focused all his effort on it, but he still had other martial arts to train. This was already his limit.
Still, if he made this training speed public, it would surely leave everyone stunned.
After a month spent practicing just one martial art, most people would probably still be at the Initiate level.
Unlike him, who was practicing several martial arts at once and watching them all shoot upward.
Thanks to Origin Returning Art's continued breakthroughs, the surge in his True Qi had now opened the seventh meridian in his body. He had broken through to the Mid Inner Qi Realm, catching up with Senior Sister Ling Ling.
Although they were both in the Mid Inner Qi Realm, Chen Qinglin wasn't bragging when he said he could take on ten Ling Lings without a problem.
If he kept training this hard, he would break through to the Late Inner Qi Realm once Origin Returning Art reached Perfection, thanks to the surge in his True Qi.
After that, though, his progress would slow. Like everyone else, he would have to grind away over time to open all the meridians in his body and reach Inner Qi Realm Perfection.
To advance through the Inner Qi Realm, one had to open the Eight Extraordinary Meridians. In the early stage of the Inner Qi Realm, one opened the first through sixth of the Twelve Regular Meridians; opening the seventh brought a breakthrough to the mid stage.
Once all Twelve Regular Meridians were open and the cultivation method circulated through a Lesser Celestial Circuit, one reached Perfection in the Mid Inner Qi Realm. Opening one of the eight vessels other than the Conception and Governor Vessels brought one to the Late Inner Qi Realm.
After opening the Conception and Governor Vessels, True Qi circulated through the body in a Greater Celestial Circuit. That was Inner Qi Realm Perfection.
At that point, one could begin considering a breakthrough to the True Essence Condensation Realm.
Now that Origin Returning Art had reached Minor Accomplishment, his cultivation speed had improved somewhat.
But increasing his True Qi reserves still required resources.
Chen Qinglin decided to check out the Mission Hall and take some missions to earn resources for his martial arts training.
Although he had a little fighting strength now, he was dirt-poor. The only Spirit Stones he had were the hundred Ning Jingyuan had given him earlier, as an apology for Wu Cheng's mess.
For the sake of the Spirit Stones, Chen Qinglin hadn't held it against him and had easily resolved their previous conflict.
As for Ning Jingyuan's wish to rely on him, Chen Qinglin had tactfully refused. He had no intention of establishing a faction right now.
Ning Jingyuan could only sigh and leave.
It seemed the Mutual Aid Society had been founded by Ning Jingyuan, but if his cultivation couldn't keep up, he might end up making a wedding dress for someone else.
Chen Qinglin couldn't be bothered with any of that.
The rest of his belongings consisted of a dozen or so bottles of Body Tempering Pills, but those pills were no use to him anymore.
He'd save them and take them back for Brother Qingshi and the others.
He arrived at the Mission Hall and browsed the missions on the board.
[Hunt down Shen Dingyuan: Shen Dingyuan is suspected of practicing demonic arts. He first slaughtered the Shen Clan, then went on to wipe out three villages in Yulin Commandery, Yunzhou. He is now suspected to be active in Shanmen County, Linbei Commandery. Early Inner Qi Realm. Reward upon completion: 60 Merit Points.]
After accepting the mission, Chen Qinglin rented an Azure Scale Horse from the sect, descended the mountain into Qingfeng City, and went to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion to buy a low-grade Human Tier Storage Ring.
Only then did he leave the city at a leisurely pace.
After dripping blood on the Storage Ring to bind it to himself and covering it with his consciousness, he suddenly felt a cubic meter of space appear in the void.
He put all his belongings inside, rode out through the city gates, and headed for Linbei Commandery, Yunzhou.
Clip-clop! Clip-clop!
The sound of hooves grew nearer, gradually becoming clear.
A Green-robed Youth galloped past on a fine horse.
"Whoa! Whoa..."
"After three days on the road, I've finally reached Linbei Commandery." The man who had arrived was Chen Qinglin.
On the first day, Chen Qinglin hadn't even known how to ride a horse. Fortunately, this was a spirit horse raised by the sect, and it had a touch of human understanding.
Otherwise, he really would have struggled to make the journey at first. But after two days of practice, he had gotten the hang of riding.
A Low-grade Azure Scale Horse could travel three thousand li a day. After reaching Linbei Commandery, he planned to ask someone for directions to Shanmen County and stop in the city to restock.
Leading his horse into the city, he made his way to an inn.
"Waiter, bring me a table of dishes. And take my horse to be fed while you're at it."
"Certainly, honored guest. Please come inside. I'll take your horse and have it fed."
The moment the waiter saw him, he knew this was a sect disciple traveling the jianghu.
In this line of work, with people constantly coming and going, one had to keep a sharp eye out.
Chen Qinglin sat at the table, waiting for the food. He called the waiter over to ask for directions to Shanmen County.
"Waiter, do you know which way Shanmen County is?" He set a piece of silver on the table and asked.
"Honored guest, you've come to the right person. My wife is from that area." The waiter pocketed the silver, his eyes lighting up as he spoke.
"Honored guest, you really shouldn't travel to Shanmen County right now. I hear a dangerous outlaw has appeared along the road between Linbei Commandery and Shanmen County. If he catches you, he'll take both your money and your life!" The waiter tried to dissuade him.
"Oh? Wasn't he there before?" Chen Qinglin asked.
"There were bandits before, but as long as you paid them, most of them wouldn't take your life. This new road bandit is no easy target. Plenty of heroes have gone after him and vanished without a trace. They're probably dead."
"Is it really that bad?" Chen Qinglin narrowed his eyes. Something about the situation seemed suspicious, and he decided to go take a look after he finished eating.
"That's right, honored guest! If you have something to do, why not wait a while? Just wait for a sect disciple or the imperial authorities to send someone to deal with it."
"Thanks, waiter. I'll wait and see, then." He thanked the waiter, who went to the kitchen to fetch the food.
He ate quietly, listening to the diners in the common room as he went.
"I wonder when the bandits blocking the road between Shanmen County and Linbei Commandery will be dealt with. I can't get my goods back."
"Exactly. If this keeps up, I'll miss the right time for this business and take a loss."
"Ah, a loss is a loss. But Brother Shen insisted on going to Shanmen County, and I heard the people from the Shen Family Merchant Team were all killed two days ago. The scene... sigh!"
"Have you heard? The Patrol Division put out a mission to investigate and deal with the bandits on the road between Shanmen County and Linbei Commandery. Someone has already accepted it."
"Really? I wonder who took the mission."
"Looks like the road between Shanmen County and Linbei Commandery will be back to normal soon."
"..."
"Waiter! The bill!" Once he'd finished eating and drinking his fill, Chen Qinglin paid, led his horse out of Linbei Commandery's city, and rode away.
Before you continue