Improvement

Shi Feng had seemed so relaxed while being punished yesterday. His strength was surely no small matter. And in the system's virtual space, Shi Lan hadn't even been able to see his movements before he cut her down.

Shi Feng's strength had clearly surpassed the Body Tempering Realm.

Shi Feng hesitated briefly, then nodded. "I really do have only Xiantian Realm strength."

"Then can you take me up into the sky?" Shi Lan asked expectantly. After seeing Lu Yueqing's graceful flight on her artifact, she too had begun to dream of going up and taking a look.

She was only at the first level of the Body Tempering Realm. The Xiantian Realm was still a distant prospect, so if she wanted to go up into the sky, she would have to think of another way.

"If the young master wants to go up into the sky, of course I can take you. But right now, the head of the household has you confined. Once your confinement is over, I'll take you up. How does that sound?"

Shi Lan nodded, somewhat disappointed.

After Shi Feng left, Shi Lan continued practicing the Jade Forging Art.

Before long, dusk fell. Aside from Zique bringing her a medicinal meal once along the way, no one else came by.

Shi Lan put the last ginseng rootlet into her mouth and smacked her lips. A faint warmth surged through her, then vanished in an instant.

Ever since Shi Lan had entered the first level of the Body Tempering Realm, the Blood Ginseng's effects had faded so much they were almost visible to the naked eye. Even after eating half a root, all it did was give her a little more strength. Its effects were nowhere near as obvious as before.

After finishing her evening medicinal meal, Shi Lan practiced the Vajra Divine Fist once more. Then she bathed, changed, and lay down on the bed, her consciousness entering the system's virtual space again.

Nearly an hour after Shi Lan had lain down,

Click. With a barely audible sound, the door lock slid open.

Shi Feng pushed the door open and soundlessly walked to the bedside. He lightly touched Shi Lan's right shoulder with a finger, sending a thread of Xiantian True Qi into her body.

He still couldn't put his mind at ease. He was worried that Shi Lan's body might not be able to handle the nourishment.

After a thorough examination, the feedback from his True Qi left Shi Feng's eyes filled with disbelief.

Not only was there nothing wrong with Shi Lan's body, it was unbelievably strong.

The day Shi Lan had fainted while practicing her fists in the courtyard, he had circulated her blood and qi for her. Back then, she had clearly been an ordinary woman, so weak she couldn't even lift a chicken.

How many days had it been? Shi Lan's physique had already surpassed that of an average first-level Body Tempering Realm martial artist. Her rate of growth was simply astonishing.

Shi Feng himself was exceptionally talented. Yet when he first began practicing martial arts, it had taken him nearly a month to go from an ordinary person to a martial artist—and he had been only eight years old then, at the ideal age to train.

Shi Lan was nearly twenty now, and her bones had long since finished developing. Practicing martial arts should have been far more difficult for her than it was for a child. How could she have improved so astonishingly fast?

Shi Feng withdrew his Xiantian True Qi and glanced at the desk. When he saw that the remaining half-root of Blood Ginseng was gone too, he couldn't help frowning, his expression puzzled as he tried in vain to make sense of it.

A hundred-year Blood Ginseng could indeed turn an ordinary person into a martial artist. But how had Shi Lan managed to absorb all that medicinal power and make it her own in just a few days?

After turning it over and over in his mind, Shi Feng still couldn't grasp the answer. He quietly left the room. Whatever the reason, Shi Lan's improvement was a good thing.

After leaving the room, Shi Feng went straight out of the courtyard and headed to Shi Tianlu's room. He told Shi Tianlu everything about the changes in Shi Lan.

After a long silence, Shi Tianlu took out the key to the household's storeroom and handed it to Shi Feng. "Take whatever medicinal ingredients Ah Lan needs from the storeroom. Keep a close eye on her, and tell me at once if anything seems wrong with her health."

Shi Feng accepted the order and left.

The next morning, Shi Lan had just opened her door when she spotted Shi Feng standing outside. He was carrying a large bundle.

"When did you get here? Come in and let's talk."

"Not long ago," Shi Feng replied. He entered the room and set the bundle on the desk.

Shi Feng untied the bundle. Inside, more than a dozen wooden boxes of various sizes were stacked one atop another.

"This is a Bloodnet Fruit."

"This is a Golden Sun Grass."

"Red Star Vine."

Shi Feng opened the boxes one by one and gave a brief introduction to each ingredient. He had meant to explain how much she should take each time, but when he remembered the teeth marks on the Blood Ginseng, he fell silent.

Shi Lan gazed at the various spiritual fruits on the desk, her eyes blazing. Suddenly, she seemed to remember something. Her expression changed, and she asked with some hesitation, "Shi Feng, how much do all these cost?"

Shi Lan's monthly allowance wasn't exactly poor, but she couldn't call herself rich either. Judging by Shi Feng's reaction yesterday, these things probably weren't cheap.

"Don't worry. These medicinal ingredients aren't worth much. They didn't cost much silver."

"How could that be? Didn't you say yesterday..."

"You misunderstood what I meant, young master. These ingredients aren't carrots, but... they're about as valuable as carrots. They're not worth much." Shi Feng lied without batting an eye.

Shi Feng knew what he was doing. From what Shi Lan had said the day before, she had no idea what these ingredients were actually worth. A little bluffing would be enough to get him past this.

The dozen or so medicinal plants were worth more than Shi Lan's meager savings could afford. She probably couldn't even buy a single one.

"Really?" Shi Lan asked doubtfully.

"Really." Shi Feng nodded with a serious expression.

Shi Lan couldn't spot any cracks in his expression. Then she thought it over. If these ingredients really were worth a fortune, a mere guard like Shi Feng wouldn't have been able to get hold of them.

Shi Feng was only a guard, after all. He probably didn't have much money.

"Thank you, Shi Feng."

"You don't need to thank me, young master."

Shi Lan shook her head and said earnestly, "When I'm rich and living the good life, I won't forget you."

"Uh... Thank you, young master." Shi Feng felt a little strange. Why did those words sound so odd coming from Shi Lan?

"You can't eat too many of these medicinal ingredients at once. At most... just a small bite." As Shi Feng was leaving, he saw Shi Lan pick up a Bloodnet Fruit, wipe it on her sleeve, and bring it to her mouth. He couldn't help reminding her.

He could see what was coming. Shi Lan was probably going to bite right into it anyway.

Over the next few days, Shi Lan never left the house. She devoted herself to training during the day, then entered the system's virtual space at night to hone her combat skills. She kept at it around the clock, going all out.

Before long, seven days had passed.

Inside the virtual space...

Shi Lan stamped hard on the ground, stretching every muscle and bone in her body as she gathered all her strength into a single point. Then she slammed a fist into the mirror image's chest!

"Crack—"

A crisp sound of breaking bones rang out. A fist-shaped dent nearly an inch deep appeared in the mirror image's chest. It staggered back more than ten steps before finally collapsing to the ground and slowly fading away.

Shi Lan slowly lowered her fists and let out a long breath. She had gone from being at a disadvantage to barely holding her own, and then to defeating it. Now, she could kill the mirror image in thirty moves!

Her progress had been nothing short of tremendous.