Journey Cultivation

No words were spoken that night. The next morning, after tidying up and cultivating his primal energy and telekinetic force, Yin Congyang continued hunting monsters in the county. Sometimes he practiced his axe techniques, sometimes he used flying knives to train his Controller methods as a Spiritual Master, and sometimes he honed his Illusionist skills...

After training in County 0316 for a few days, Yin Congyang returned to the Supply Base. He sold the monster materials he'd gathered, restocked some wilderness survival essentials, and bought a map to the Southeast Military Region. To get there from the Southwest Base City, he'd have to pass through Jiangnan Base City.

After careful thought, Yin Congyang decided to set out from the Southwest Base City and take the land route to Jiangnan Base City. Of course, the map could only serve as a reference, pointing out the general direction—after all, whether highways or ordinary roads, they'd long since fallen into disuse.

Though trains existed, since he'd chosen the path of training in the wilderness, he would treat the journey to Jiangnan Base City as a cultivation exercise, to see what level of achievement he could reach by the time he arrived!

Following the map, heading east...

Relying on his own two legs, walking and training all the way, a month and a half later, he slowly reached the area of what used to be Zhangjiajie City.

During that month and a half, Yin Congyang encountered several life-or-death crises, but he always managed to escape using his Spiritual Force. The most dangerous time was when he ran into a huge flock of Red-Bellied Cloud Swallows. After mutation, these swallows were several times larger than ordinary ones, led by a high-level Beast General. Yin Congyang didn't dare rely on his Spiritual Force to fly; he could only use his telekinesis to propel himself forward at top speed. Finally, he found a waterfall and hid in the pool beneath it for half a day, waiting until the flock of Red-Bellied Cloud Swallows finally gave up and left.

After a month and a half of training, Yin Congyang's physical fitness had reached the peak of the mid-level War General tier. His punching force had now exceeded 30,000 kilograms, while the standard for a high-level War General was roughly 32,000 to 64,000 kilograms.

His Spiritual Force had also plateaued at the level of a newly advanced high-level War General. If he encountered that flock of Red-Bellied Cloud Swallows now, a single spiritual shock would probably kill a large number of them—back then, he hadn't dared to stop and use Illusionist techniques. If he stopped for even a second, they'd catch up, and in no time, they'd peck him down to a skeleton. While running, he had to split his attention between choosing an escape route and using flying knives to kill monsters that got too close, leaving no spare energy to cast illusions!

His axe techniques and movement skills, however, had improved rapidly. This was due to the sheer number of battles during this period—some he swept through easily, some were evenly matched, and some he fled from in disgrace. Both his axe techniques and movement skills had broken through the Perfect Level and barely entered the Conception Level.

Because his physical fitness had greatly improved, the power of the Thirty-Six Heaven-Opening Axes was also growing. Yin Congyang dissected and ground down the force techniques embedded in the axe forms bit by bit, repeatedly pondering, practicing, and refining. Under this training, his body's force output had reached five times, allowing a single full-power strike to deliver a massive 150,000 kilograms of force. Moreover, the more he practiced the axe techniques, the more he felt the Thirty-Six Heaven-Opening Axes were infinitely profound, as if they were elucidating some ultimate truth!

What delighted Yin Congyang even more was that, as his physical fitness improved, the subtle fluctuations in his dantian seemed to strengthen as well. He could vaguely sense that the increase was proportional to the improvement in his physical fitness, which made his cultivation speed faster and faster.

A month later, beside the Enshi Grand Canyon.

A group of Long-Armed Demon Apes swarmed over the mountains, surrounding a young man. Suddenly, the young man stomped the ground and leaped over ten meters into the air. With no support, he used his telekinesis to condense the air into a solid brick, as if adding a step beneath his feet, then bounced another seven or eight meters higher. He placed the shield from his back under his feet and, laughing heartily, flew far away...

Half a month later, at Tianmen Mountain.

A young man wielding an axe chased after a giant bear seven or eight meters tall...

A few hours later, he was eating bear bile and roasting bear paws...

Two months later, at the foot of Mount Huang.

An axe-wielding young man faced off against a mid-level Lord Grade Golden Wind Demon Leopard. Around them were two early-level Lord Grade Green Scale Wolves, dozens of high-level Beast General monsters, and even more mid-level Beast Generals. But all of them only surrounded him with fear in their eyes, none daring to approach. The ground was littered with the leopard's fur and entrails, and its blood had splattered across a hundred meters in every direction...

Yangzhou City, one of the eight satellite cities of Jiangnan Base City.

A young man in combat gear, carrying a huge backpack, walked along the streets of Yangzhou. Though his combat suit was torn and tattered in many places, his face remained calm and his eyes clear.

This young man was naturally Yin Congyang, who had spent over half a year traveling from the Southwest Base City to Jiangnan Base City.

"Finally back in human society. My mouth has been practically tasteless for months. I need to find a place and have a good feast first," Yin Congyang thought, his face calm but his heart eager. "Good thing I brought enough seasoning before I left, otherwise..."

Suddenly, he sniffed, glanced down at his clothes, and gave a wry smile. "Forget it. I'd better find a place to stay first, take a shower, and change clothes before I go. Otherwise, the waitress probably won't even let me in!"

An hour later, Yin Congyang sat in a private room at Chaotian Residence, greasy-mouthed, gnawing on a pork knuckle while holding a chicken leg in his other hand...

After eating and drinking his fill, Yin Congyang shouldered his backpack and headed toward the Limit Dojo. Inside the backpack were his gains from the past half year—actually far more than one backpack could hold, but who told him to only bring one? In the end, he'd picked and chosen, keeping only materials from mid-level Lord Grade monsters and above, and only those that didn't take up too much space.

By now, both Yin Congyang's body and Spiritual Force had reached the peak of the mid-level War God tier. In another ten days or half a month, he should be able to step into high-level War God. His axe techniques and movement skills had both reached the peak of the Conception Level, and his body's explosive force could now deliver eight times the normal output. He could kill high-level Lord Grade monsters with just a few casual axe strikes!

Half a day later, in the main urban area of Jiangnan Base City, at the towering and magnificent Limit Dojo headquarters, Yin Congyang stepped through the main entrance and walked straight to the front desk. He said to the receptionist, "I want to sell a batch of materials. It might be worth over ten billion. Please contact a purchasing agent for me."

The front desk receptionist was a delicate young girl. After clearly hearing Yin Congyang's words, she widened her eyes, took a careful look at him and the backpack behind him, and revealed a hint of surprised smile. "No problem, sir. Thank you for choosing our Limit Dojo. I'll contact someone for you right away. Please wait a moment..."

She picked up the red phone at the front desk and dialed a number. "There's a gentleman here who wants to sell materials worth over ten billion... Yes, at the front desk... Alright, I'll bring him up right away..."

After hanging up, she looked up at Yin Congyang with a bright smile. "Sir, our director happens to be in. I'll take you to the 30th floor. Please follow me..."

She thought to herself, "I haven't gotten such a big order in over half a year. Finally, a big one. This commission should be enough to buy better medicine for Mom..."

Yin Congyang followed the girl into the elevator to the 30th floor. As soon as they stepped out, a middle-aged man in his thirties, beaming with a warm smile, came up to greet him. "Sir, I'm Li Gengju, the purchasing department director. I'll be handling your business."

He waved at the front desk girl, signaling that he would take over. Turning around, he led Yin Congyang into a spacious office. While preparing to brew tea, he asked with a smile, "May I ask your surname, sir?"

"My surname is Yin," Yin Congyang said flatly. "Manager Li, no need to be polite. Let's take a look at my goods first."

"Of course, of course," Li Gengju readily agreed. "Then please, Mr. Yin, take out your items, and I'll inspect them..."

Yin Congyang opened his backpack and took out the monster materials one by one.

"This, this is the hide of a Golden Wind Demon Leopard? And these are the claws of a Blazing Tiger? All, all Lord Grade..." Excited, he turned to fetch a specialized testing instrument and gestured to Yin Congyang. "Mr. Yin, may I test them?"

Yin Congyang nodded and slightly raised his hand, indicating he could test freely.

Li Gengju took a deep breath, steadied himself, and began testing each item one by one. The more he tested, the more shocked he became. Almost all of these materials came from high-level Lord Grade monsters, except for one Cloud-Soaring Phoenix wing, which was mid-level Lord Grade. The Cloud-Soaring Phoenix was a flying-type monster, extremely difficult to kill, so its price was much higher than ordinary mid-level Lord Grade materials. The rest were all high-level Lord Grade.

After testing all the materials, Li Gengju smiled broadly at Yin Congyang. "Mr. Yin, the inspection is complete. We'll take all of these materials. Well, all together, I can offer you 60 billion. What do you think?"

Yin Congyang glanced at him calmly. From his spiritual fluctuations, the price Li Gengju offered wasn't too low—basically the market rate. But over the past half year or so, due to the earlier Golden Horned Behemoth incident, quite a few Planetary Level fighters and War Gods had died, so monster materials had actually been rising in price. Still, he didn't plan to call it out, because he had another goal.

"Let's set the price aside for now. I have a favor to ask of you, Manager Li. If you can do it, I'll accept this price."

"May I ask what you need my help with?" Li Gengju asked cautiously. After all, the young man in front of him was at least a high-level War God. He didn't know what he could possibly help with.

"I've been wandering the wilderness for over half a year. I'm a bit tired and want to settle down in Jiangnan Base City for a while. But I don't know anyone here, so I'd like to ask you, Manager Li, to help me buy a house," Yin Congyang said with a slight smile, looking at Li Gengju. "I used to have a teacher who lived in Bright Moon Residential District in Yangzhou City. I hope you can help me buy a villa there..."

"Ah... so that's how it is." Li Gengju breathed a sigh of relief and broke into a smile. "I won't boast about anything else, but buying a villa in Jiangnan Base City is something I can manage. The main urban area has some with even nicer surroundings. What do you think, Mr. Yin...?"

"No, I prefer peace and quiet. The main urban area has too many people."

"But..." Li Gengju looked troubled. "Bright Moon Residential District is only for martial artists of our Limit Dojo... and there's no right to sell it..."

He lowered his voice. "Even though the rules aren't as strict now because the Dojo Master, uh, can't manage the dojo temporarily, this involves so many martial artists in the district. I'm not sure I can..."

"Relax," Yin Congyang interrupted him. "I'm also a martial artist of Limit Dojo!"

He pulled out his martial artist credentials. "This is my proof. I previously joined the Limit Dojo in Southwest Base City."

"Ah, that's fine then. Mr. Yin, please wait a moment. I'll make a few calls." With that, he took out his phone and stepped aside to call.

Ten minutes later, Li Gengju returned with a pleased expression and said to Yin Congyang, "Mr. Yin, I've made the arrangements. As it happens, there's a vacant villa in Yangzhou's Bright Moon Residential District right now—a standalone one, perfect for your preference for quiet. However, since you weren't previously a martial artist of Jiangnan Base City, there's an additional fee required. What do you think..."

Yin Congyang gave a faint smile and waved his hand. "Fine, money isn't an issue. Just deduct it from this payment. When can we go through the procedures?"

"Mr. Yin, it's a bit late today. Stay one night in the main urban area, and we can handle the procedures tomorrow. I guarantee it'll be done in a single day. You can move in tomorrow evening."

Yin Congyang nodded, gave his bank card number, watched Li Gengju transfer the money into his account, left his contact information, and walked off directly.

Li Gengju saw Yin Congyang out of the building before turning back.

The next morning, Li Gengju came to pick up Yin Congyang and headed straight for Yangzhou City. In just half a day, all the procedures were completed. Yin Congyang couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

Li Gengju personally escorted Yin Congyang to the entrance of Bright Moon Residential District, repeatedly urging him along the way to contact him first if he had any materials to sell next time. Yin Congyang gave a faint nod in response.

Standing at the gate of Bright Moon Residential District, he lifted his head slightly to look at this martial artist district etched deep in his memory, took a deep breath, and stepped through the entrance.

This chapter incorporated suggestions from two readers, changing the material-selling location from HR to Limit Dojo. Many thanks to those two readers. Please feel free to offer more opinions or suggestions. Thank you!