The days flowed peacefully in the valley. In the blink of an eye, a month passed.
Lin Qin's injuries are mostly healed, and Saint Power has recovered to 50-60%, and can already move normally and perform some non-strenuous exercises. However, his damaged origin still needs a longer period of warm-up.
In the early morning of this morning, Lin Qin finished a night of adjusting his breath. When he opened his eyes, he saw Aileen with her back to him, carefully controlling the water flow with magic at the edge of the pool, cleaning a few freshly picked wild vegetables with dew. She was very focused on her movements, and the hem of the blue mage robe was stained with some mud, but she didn't care.
"Are you awake?" Aileen noticed the movement and turned around with a warm smile on his face, "I found some edible wild vegetables and will make some soup later."
Lin Qin looked at her side face that was gilded by the rising sun, and her eyes that were extraordinarily bright due to her busy work, and her heart moved slightly. During this period, if it weren't for Aileen's meticulous care and protection, his injuries would never have recovered so quickly.
"Yes." He responded, stood up, and stretched his somewhat stiff muscles. "Your magic power seems to have improved a lot."
Aileen put the washed wild vegetables into a clean earthen jar, which she found in a corner of the valley. It might have been something left by a hunter in the past. She lit a fire and said, "Well, I feel like I am about to break through to the eighth level. I practice meditation here, and the effect seems to be better than in the Magic Guild."
She was telling the truth. Without the distractions from the outside world, she was immersed in practicing and taking care of Lin Qin. Her heart became extremely peaceful, and her understanding of the water element became even more profound.
Lin Qin walked up to her, looked at the water and wild vegetables rolling in the earthen pot, and asked, "Are you used to eating these all the time?"
Aileen stirred the soup with a clean branch and smiled, "It's pretty good. In the past, although the food at the Magic Guild was exquisite, it always felt that it lacked a bit of fireworks. Now, by doing it yourself, it is more practical." She paused and looked at Lin Qin, "On your side, your injury is not fully healed and you need more energy. Unfortunately, there is no meat here."
"It doesn't matter." Lin Qin looked at her cheeks that were red by the fire, "That's fine."
The soup was cooked quickly and tasted very light, with only the umami flavor of the wild vegetables. The two of them sat on the stone by the pool and ate quietly.
"How are you feeling today?" Aileen asked, this is a question she asks every day.
"Much better. After a while, you should be able to try restorative battle practice." Lin Qin replied. He looked at Aileen, "You have been stuck at the peak of level seven for a while. Where is the bottleneck?"
Aileen put down the bowl and thought about it seriously, "I feel... I don't understand "Water Form" enough. Water can be a gentle treatment, a violent attack, or a pervasive penetration. But I always seem to be stuck in a certain form and cannot transform it as I want."
Lin Qin nodded: "Your problem lies in "deliberateness". Water has no shape and follows the trend. Don't always think about "controlling" it to become a certain way, but "guiding" it and feeling the direction it wants to flow."
He condensed a ball of earth elements at will, changing various shapes in the palm of his hand, sometimes turning into a shield, sometimes turning into a spear, sometimes scattering into sand and dust. "The form of power depends on your "intention", not fixed moves. You have enough mental strength, but what you lack is the penetration of this "intention"."
Aileen looked thoughtfully at the changing earth element in Lin Qin's palm, as if he had captured something.
After a simple breakfast, Aileen packed up the earthen pots and walked to the other side of the pool to start her daily magic practice. She did not deliberately perform a specific magic, but closed her eyes, stretched out her hand, and gently touched the pool water, feeling its coldness, flow and tolerance.
Lin Qin walked to the open space in the middle of the valley and began to slowly perform a set of unknown boxing techniques. The movements were very slow, but they contained a certain unique rhythm, faintly resonating with the earth under his feet. He was reorganizing and consolidating his understanding of the mysteries of "Earth Element" through the most basic method, while at the same time nourishing the damaged meridians and origins.
It was very quiet in the valley, except for the subtle splashing sound made by Aileen's occasional guidance of water, and the sound of breaking the air caused by Lin Qin's fist wind.
At noon, Aileen would make lunch with the wild fruits she had picked and the dry food she had stored previously. In the afternoon, she would sometimes continue to practice, and sometimes she would take out the books she had purchased previously about the history of the Yulan Continent and the World of Warcraft Illustrated Book to read, and occasionally read some interesting content to Lin Qin, who was adjusting her breath with her eyes closed.
Although Lin Qin is silent most of the time, he will listen quietly. These seemingly useless knowledge can sometimes bring some unexpected enlightenment.
In the evening, Aileen will once again reinforce the warning barrier in the valley. Then the two of them will sit by the pool, watching the sunset dye the sky into brilliant colors, and occasionally chat a few words, mostly about their insights on cultivation or some speculations about the situation on the mainland.
"Dark Church suffered heavy losses this time. It should be quiet for a while, right?" Aileen said, looking at the sunset on the horizon.
"Not necessarily." Lin Qin said with deep eyes, "They have been planning for a long time and will not give up easily. Silence may mean that a bigger storm is brewing."
"Then we..." Aileen was a little worried.
"Strength is the foundation of everything." Lin Qin interrupted her, "Recover first, then improve. Only when you are strong enough can you cope with everything."
Aileen nodded and clenched his fists. "I will break through level eight as soon as possible!"
As night fell, the valley was shrouded in the light of the stars and the moon. Lin Qin continued his breath control, while Aileen meditated aside, absorbing the relatively active water element at night.