Not What It Used to Be

##DONE## Chapter 31: Not What He Used to Be

The autumn wind blew gently, bringing a touch of coolness to the increasingly dry air.

It was another morning, and Li Dingguo, who had woken up early as usual, finished washing up and walked with Ai Nengqi along the exquisite corridor of the inner courtyard towards the main compound.

Along the way, he looked at the plants in the courtyard, his eyes heavy.

Not a single drop of rain had fallen since he had transmigrated and been reborn.

It was only early autumn, and most of the various plants and flowers in the inner courtyard garden, left untended, had turned yellow, some even withered and died. This gave him a sense of how severe the drought was in this vast region of the Great Ming Dynasty's northwest!

Even the water level in the old well they used daily for fetching water and washing had dropped.

If the situation was this bad in Dingbian County, which was close to the Wuding River, one could only imagine the vast areas far from rivers and mountains.

Li Dingguo didn't need to think to guess that those places must have become a living hell!

The problem was, corruption in the various levels of the imperial court's government was worsening, while exorbitant taxes and levies were increasing.

This year's autumn harvest in the entire three northwestern provinces was destined to see many places with no yield at all. How could ordinary people bear the layers of exploitation by the government?

"Sigh!"

"What's the use of thinking so much?"

Li Dingguo shook his head and sighed inwardly, "The imperial army coming to encircle and suppress us is getting closer."

"First, let me survive this ordeal and save my own life."

Half a month had passed since he became a Martial Artist.

During this time, because he didn't lack cultivation resources, and his own talent was exceptionally good, coupled with diligent practice of martial arts skills and Cultivation Methods day and night, and learning various cultural knowledge, he was no longer what he used to be.

Host: Li Dingguo

Age: 10

Realm: Body Tempering Realm First Layer Late Stage Peak (Vitality and Blood Limit Break three times)

Physique: 30 (Physique includes comprehensive physical attributes like strength, speed, agility, etc.)

Spirit: 10

Talents: Innate Divine Strength+ (Intermediate), Spirit Beast Affinity+ (Primary), Photographic Memory (Cannot be upgraded)

Skills: Tiger Roar Fist+ (Proficient), Horsemanship+ (Minor Accomplishment), Archery+ (Proficient), Thunderbolt Spear Technique+ (Proficient), Medical Skill+ (Proficient), Stealth Technique+ (Major Accomplishment), Breath Concealment Technique+ (Major Accomplishment)

Cultivation Method: Circumstellar True Scripture+ (Skilled)

Fortune: 15 (Fortune value of zero will inevitably lead to disaster)

Star Destiny: Army Breaker (Not activated)

His current attribute panel had undergone tremendous changes.

Because his martial arts cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds, only one step away from breaking through to the Body Tempering Realm Second Layer, his various attribute values had greatly increased, and the skills and Cultivation Methods he practiced had improved by at least two realms.

Especially the Stealth Technique and Breath Concealment Technique, which he had been diligently practicing, had reached the Major Accomplishment realm.

This allowed him to break through his cultivation with confidence in the future, without worrying about outsiders discovering his true cultivation level through changes in his Vitality and Blood and aura.

During his cultivation in the Body Tempering Realm First Layer, every time he broke through a minor realm, he gained a Qi and Blood Limit Break and Marrow Cleansing and Tendon Transformation. Now, his Physique attribute had reached an astonishing thirty points.

Even his own spiritual power had passively doubled to ten points today.

Most gratifyingly, his Fortune Value, which he had thought would be difficult to increase naturally, had also increased by three points.

Although compared to Zhang Xianzhong, he was still a weakling, because of Li Dingguo's skill and talent bonuses, an ordinary Body Tempering Realm Second Layer Rebel Army leader was no longer his match.

Ai Nengqi, walking beside Li Dingguo, had just broken through to the Body Tempering Realm First Layer Late Stage yesterday and was full of vigor.

Yesterday afternoon, after seeing Ai Nengqi break through, Li Dingguo also followed closely, releasing his hidden Vitality and Blood and aura, displaying the same cultivation aura of having just broken through to the Body Tempering Realm First Layer Late Stage.

Because Li Dingguo's true spiritual power was much stronger than Ai Nengqi's, the progress of each of the various Cultivation Methods and skills he practiced was at least one level ahead of Ai Nengqi.

Even without relying on the suppression of cultivation realm, at the same cultivation level, he could easily defeat Ai Nengqi within ten moves.

Ten or eight ordinary Rebel Army soldiers would also not be Li Dingguo's opponents.

Only the dozen or so Body Tempering Realm Second Layer and Body Tempering Realm Third Layer Rebel Army leaders, even in a one-on-one fight, Li Dingguo knew he still couldn't beat them.

Especially the few major leaders of the Rebel Army, they could easily crush the current Li Dingguo. The two sides were not on the same level.

There was nothing he could do. The gap between each major realm in martial arts was very difficult to overcome, even among Body Tempering Realm Martial Artists.

Although among the current Rebel Army, Li Dingguo should be able to defeat those ordinary Body Tempering Realm Second Layer minor leaders and Veteran Camp soldiers in a one-on-one fight, he definitely couldn't beat Body Tempering Realm Second Layer genius Martial Artists.

He looked back again and saw Liu Wenxiu and Zhang Huier, somewhat dejectedly walking quickly towards the main compound with the other twelve youths, without saying a word.

Liu Wenxiu and Zhang Huier had good luck and talent. When they broke through to the Body Tempering Realm First Layer Middle Stage earlier, they also gained a Qi and Blood Limit Break and Marrow Cleansing and Tendon Transformation.

But at that time, Li Dingguo and Ai Nengqi had already broken through to the Body Tempering Realm First Layer Middle Stage two days ahead of them, and also gained a Qi and Blood Limit Break and Marrow Cleansing and Tendon Transformation.

Just as they were desperately trying to catch up and were about to reach the opponent's cultivation realm, yesterday, Ai Nengqi and Li Dingguo once again took the lead and broke through to the Body Tempering Realm First Layer Late Stage, and similarly gained a Qi and Blood Limit Break and Marrow Cleansing and Tendon Transformation.

These successive blows almost made Liu Wenxiu and Zhang Huier withdraw into themselves on the spot!

If they knew that Li Dingguo had already quietly broken through to the Martial Artist First Layer Late Stage several days ago, they would probably be so devastated that they would doubt life itself!

Fortunately, Li Dingguo's Stealth Technique and Breath Concealment Technique had already reached the Great Accomplishment realm several days prior due to his dedicated hard work. This prevented everyone, including Zhang Xianzhong, from knowing his true cultivation level, saving him a great deal of trouble.

As for the other twelve talented youths behind him, before the half-month deadline arrived, they had all broken through to the early stage of the Body Tempering Realm at least two or three days in advance, officially becoming Martial Artists.

After breaking through and becoming Martial Artists, and after nearly ten more days of intense training, the highest cultivated among these twelve talented youths had reached the peak of the early stage of the Body Tempering Realm, just one step away from the middle stage.

They had finally lived up to Zhang Xianzhong's expectations and had not wasted the large amount of cultivation resources and effort he had invested, achieving a result that everyone was satisfied with.

However, no matter what, Ai Nengqi and Li Dingguo, who were currently walking at the very front of the team, had already left them far behind.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, it was no longer possible for them to catch up in this lifetime.

This was the reason for the somewhat heavy atmosphere among this team of talented youths.

There was nothing they could do; when comparing people, and especially when comparing geniuses, there would always be differences, let alone this kind of comparison that left one sighing in admiration.