Mage and Warrior in One

Spring passed into autumn, and in the blink of an eye, Fang Yu had been a disciple of Yellow Maple Valley for two years. During those two years, he had almost never left his cave dwelling.

The few times he had done so, the first was to borrow a fairly decent formation from Sect Master Zhong to guard his cave dwelling.

Especially the Spirit Eye Spring—once it was discovered, he would have no choice but to offer it to Lei Wanhe, the master he had only met twice.

The second time was when Yellow Maple Valley recruited disciples from cultivation families within the Yue Kingdom. Among them were the Murong brothers, who, like him, possessed thunder-attribute variant spirit roots. Lei Wanhe took them in as nominal disciples, promising to accept them as true disciples once they reached the Foundation Establishment Realm.

When he met his two junior brothers, he gave each of them ten talismans as a greeting gift and also told Sect Master Zhong of Yellow Maple Valley and Lei Wanhe about his being a talisman maker.

The two men shared the exact same attitude: focus on cultivation and reach the Foundation Establishment Realm as soon as possible. There was no need to concern himself too much with talismans; it was enough to have sufficient ones for his own use. If he lacked spirit stones, he should ask the sect for them!

Lei Wanhe had even specifically given Fang Yu another ten mid-grade thunder-attribute spirit stones for cultivation because of his talisman-making skills, making Fang Yu acknowledge this bargain-bin master of his a great deal more.

Naturally, without the slightest surprise, Fang Yu once again became a prominent figure among Yellow Maple Valley's Qi Refinement disciples. His popularity was so overwhelming that hardly anyone discussed the several outstanding new disciples anymore.

For instance, there was a Wang family descendant who possessed the "Profound Yin Eye." With such a special spiritual body, he could cultivate the Eye-Shaking Divine Light, which had been lost for centuries and could greatly restrain all yin souls and ghosts beneath heaven.

That reminded Fang Yu of Evil-Repelling Divine Lightning and the Soul-Crying Beast. Of course, he had no interest in that Wang family descendant—a ridiculously arrogant little brat.

Besides the three of them, Yellow Maple Valley had also accepted quite a few outstanding disciples this time, delighting Sect Master Zhong immensely.

Yet the limelight of all those disciples had been almost completely crushed beneath Fang Yu alone.

A thunder-attribute variant spirit root, along with a talisman-crafting success rate no less than that of a talisman master—either one alone was enough to cause no small commotion and stir up a storm, let alone when both were gathered in one person.

Thus, Fang Yu's fame among the seven sects of the Yue Kingdom was in no way inferior to that of Yan Ruyan, the little girl from the Moon-Covering Sect who possessed a heavenly spirit root.

Fang Yu did not care about any of this in the slightest. What he cared about was breaking through to the eighth level of the Fleshly Body Realm, the Divine Bravery Realm.

However, he had truly underestimated the difficulty of breaking through into the Divine Bravery Realm.

He also understood why the Eclosion Sect had only one hundred and eight true disciples of the Mystical Ability Realm.

It was simply too difficult. Of course, it was also related to the fact that his foundation and reserves were not sufficiently deep.

He was not Fang Han. He did not possess a heaven-grade medicinal pill like the Nine-Aperture Golden Pill.

His consecutive breakthroughs into the Breath Realm and the Inner Strength Realm had nearly exhausted the reserves he had accumulated over many years of cultivation. If he wished to break through to the eighth level of the Fleshly Body Realm, the Divine Bravery Realm, he naturally needed to accumulate his reserves anew.

Fortunately, a top-grade human-tier medicinal pill like the Foundation Establishment Pill was one of the finest nourishing pills for the Fleshly Body Realm. There was no need to worry about being unable to break through; it would merely take quite a long time.

Of course, a large part of the reason was also that he was doing four things at once.

His physical body, magical power, spells, and talismans all consumed a great deal of his mental focus and energy.

Likewise, the gains were enormous. He had reached the thirteenth level of Qi Refinement and cultivated five or six thunder-attribute spells, including two beginner mid-grade thunder-attribute spells.

Those two beginner mid-grade thunder-attribute spells had consumed considerable time and energy, but their power left Fang Yu exceedingly satisfied. He simply needed enough time to cast them.

They also made him both a warrior and a mage. While possessing a sturdy body, he could also unleash spells, perfectly making up for the shortcomings of both.

Boom!

That day, within the Spirit Eye bathing pool, Fang Yu let out a deafening low roar, like the cry of dragons and the roar of tigers.

At the same time, his aura suddenly surged severalfold.

The skin on his body continuously peeled away, like a dragon or serpent shedding its skin. The new skin was tougher and sturdier, with a thick membrane growing beneath it—an epidermal membrane!

His entire body brimmed with boundless strength.

Eighth level of the Fleshly Body Realm, Divine Bravery Realm!

Upon reaching the eighth level of the Fleshly Body Realm, one had reached another limit of the body.

The greatest difference from the seventh level of the Fleshly Body Realm, the Inner Strength Realm, was that a thick layer of flesh membrane grew beneath the skin, like cowhide, making one exceptionally resistant to blows.

Otherwise, how could it be worthy of the words "Divine Bravery"?

At the same time, his strength had more than doubled. Most importantly, in order to temper a sufficiently powerful foundation and prepare for future breakthroughs, Fang Yu had delayed his breakthrough into the Divine Bravery Realm, allowing himself to accumulate enough reserves.

The reserves he accumulated now were preparation for future breakthroughs, saving time. Otherwise, future breakthroughs would consume even more time. That was the benefit of having deep reserves—his potential would be greater and broader, and the future was worth looking forward to!

"I've finally broken through. It's time to go back as well."

Fang Yu left the Spirit Eye Spring. Then, with a circulation of his cultivation technique, his surging blood and qi, like scorching magma, instantly evaporated every trace of water from his body.

For a time, mist curled and billowed around him. Paired with Fang Yu's extraordinarily handsome face, he looked as though an immortal had descended into the mortal world.

Just as Fang Yu finished dressing and prepared to leave, his brow lifted slightly. He then left the inner chamber containing the Spirit Eye Spring and came outside the cave dwelling.

At that moment, two youths of eleven or twelve—or rather, children—were standing outside his cave dwelling.

The two had delicate features, fair and tender skin, and looked very much alike. Yet their lively eyes flickered with mischief, giving them the look of little sprites.

They were none other than Fang Yu's fellow junior brothers, the Murong brothers.

"Big Brother, do you think Senior Brother will agree to help us teach that guy a lesson?" the second Murong brother asked worriedly.

"Hehe, as long as we say a few nice words and beg Senior Brother, I'm sure he won't refuse. At worst, if he doesn't agree, we just won't leave. If it hadn't been for Senior Sister Nie Ying this time, we would have suffered badly. Senior Sister won't help us, so we can only beg Senior Brother."

"So much time has passed. Senior Brother has surely broken through to the thirteenth level of Qi Refinement by now. Master said Senior Brother's spirit root aptitude was the best he had ever seen. He must have reached the thirteenth level of Qi Refinement. He may even have reached the Foundation Establishment Realm already."

The eldest Murong brother furrowed his brow and analyzed the matter unhurriedly.

"If Senior Brother has reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, then he probably can't help us take revenge. That Lu bastard is utterly detestable—he actually relied on his twelfth level of Qi Refinement cultivation to bully us."

The second Murong brother spoke indignantly, filled with fury.

"So, someone bullied you two brothers, and now you've come to ask me to step in and take revenge for you?"

Suddenly, a soft chuckle sounded beside the brothers' ears. Then Fang Yu emerged from the stone doors of the cave dwelling with a faintly amused smile, lowering his gaze to stare at them.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Fang!"

The Murong brothers' eyes darted about. Their expressions became rather flustered as they hurriedly bowed and spoke respectfully.