AFK While Soaking

Seeing the two leave, Li Linliu could not help but say, "Senior Brother, you... actually took both of them as disciples!"

He had originally thought that his senior brother would only take Chen Fan.

Dong Guzhi said, "Feng Yuancheng has a strong foundation. He has mastered two first-rate manuals, which is rare even in all of Yan Capital City. Among my five disciples, two are not even his match."

Naturally, this meant that among his five disciples, three had even stronger foundations than Feng Yuancheng!

"As for Chen Fan... if what you said is accurate, then not only is his foundation even more formidable, but his comprehension is also peerless. So long as his innate physique is not excessively poor, he may one day inherit my legacy..."

Li Linliu narrowed his eyes and nodded. Then, as if recalling something, he said, "But Senior Brother, you cannot be completely at ease. Talent and character are equally important. If you raise another rebellious disciple like Tao Xian, it would be better not to teach him at all!"

Dong Guzhi gave a bitter smile at those words, knowing exactly what Li Linliu was referring to.

"Xian... don't blame him. I am the one who let him down. I came from a sect, after all. Though I have left the sect now, I am destined to remain unable to grow close to the imperial court or the martial academies... It is a good thing that he has higher aspirations."

Li Linliu sighed. "The sect's requirements are so harsh... If you ask me, Senior Brother, you are simply too kind. Back then, it was clearly the sect that wronged you..."

"Junior Brother, say no more!"

Dong Guzhi shook his head and raised a hand to cut Li Linliu off, his expression complicated. "The sect never wronged me. I simply lacked the ability to protect the White Cloud Peak that Master passed down to me..."

Li Linliu sighed and said no more.

The two fell silent for a while.

Then Dong Guzhi changed the subject. "Junior Brother, your journey of experience has ended. You will be returning to the sect soon, won't you?"

Li Linliu sighed softly and nodded. "My worldly training is over. I must leave within three months. After this parting, I do not know when I will see you again, Senior Brother..."

Dong Guzhi smiled and shook his head. "You have already comprehended the Realm of Unity and can communicate with the power of heaven and earth. Before long, you will step into the Transcendent Realm. Once you continue tempering yourself and make another breakthrough, reaching the tenth level of martial arts, you will be able to lead a peak of your own. That will be true freedom!"

A flicker of longing and anticipation crossed Li Linliu's face. "Once I become a peak master, I will definitely bring you back to the sect, Senior Brother. It is just a pity that I do not know when that day will come."

While Li Linliu and his senior brother spoke, Chen Fan had already bid Feng Yuancheng farewell and arrived at the main academy's library.

The library had three floors in total.

The first floor mostly contained strength-training arts and foundational martial arts. Starting from the second floor, one could choose true cultivation arts and martial skills. The third floor contained true cultivation arts and martial skills of an even higher level.

Different disciples had different levels of access.

As the academy master's disciple, Chen Fan had unrestricted access. With the token his master had given him in hand, he could freely enter even the third floor.

However, Chen Fan was in no hurry to head to the second floor and choose a true cultivation art.

Instead, he remained on the first floor.

He browsed through strength-training manuals.

Strength-training manuals were used to lay one's foundation, nourish one's blood and qi, and build a solid base.

Chen Fan's "talent" was special. Not only did he cultivate extremely quickly, but his blood and qi had clearly not yet reached their limit. Naturally, he wanted to push himself to that limit.

The White Cloud Martial Academy in Flying Spirit County had only thirty-three strength-training arts, but this place had far more—at least sixty or seventy!

There were even five first-rate strength-training manuals!

Chen Fan was rather surprised. The branch academy cannot compare to the main academy, but surely even their foundational martial arts manuals should be shared? The branch academy only has one first-rate manual, the White Cloud Pine-Crane Palm. Why is that? Is it to make branch academy disciples focus on a single art, or because the branch academy is too weak to safeguard the manuals?

Setting those doubts aside for the moment, Chen Fan immediately borrowed every first-rate manual other than the White Cloud Pine-Crane Palm. He went to the main academy's exclusive training room and began practicing them.

When he fought Yan Lincu, he had practically broken through every manual that could be improved. However, those arts had generally been of mediocre grade.

In less than a month, he would finish AFK training all of them.

He had already prepared himself mentally. At worst, he would train for another year or two. Once his foundation became incomparably solid, he would begin cultivating true cultivation arts.

After practicing each of the arts once, he found that these first-rate manuals truly were extraordinary. Even for Chen Fan, they required a long time to AFK train.

The longest one required even more AFK time than the White Cloud Pine-Crane Palm, while the shortest still needed four months!

Unfortunately, he had no open slots for the time being, so he could not start AFK training them immediately.

After completing the demonstrations and unlocking the martial arts, he wandered around and familiarized himself with the various places in the martial academy.

As the academy master's personal disciple, Chen Fan could receive medicinal pills and decoctions for cultivation every month.

Since Chen Fan had yet to begin cultivating true cultivation arts, the pills he could receive for free were Stamina Pills, as well as a special herbal pack called the Blood-Nourishing Herbal Pack. As its name implied, it could be steeped in water for bathing to nourish one's blood and qi!

He could also collect medicinal soup here. It was likewise a secret medicinal soup of the White Cloud Martial Academy, but its effects were better than the kind he had drunk at the branch academy.

It could be considered an enhanced version of the White Cloud Secret Decoction.

Chen Fan drank a bowl on the spot. His AFK training efficiency increased even more, and the effect lasted longer as well.

By his estimate, drinking one bowl could save him at least three days of cultivation progress!

He could collect and drink the medicinal soup whenever he wished.

Unfortunately, it also contained toxins. After drinking a bowl, he still had to wait a certain interval before drinking another.

The Stamina Pills and Blood-Nourishing Herbal Packs, however, were much better.

They had almost no significant side effects on the body, and they could be collected in advance.

After collecting the pills and medicinal soup, the sky had grown darker still.

Chen Fan went to the cafeteria reserved for core disciples and ate dinner.

Then Chen Fan returned home and took out the Stamina Pill he had just collected.

Back in Flying Spirit County, Chen Fan had heard Bao Tianyou say that He Hongshan took a Stamina Pill every day to stay energetic, reducing the amount of sleep she needed.

Chen Fan immediately swallowed one. At once, he felt invigorated, and he could barely sense any mental fatigue.

"What good stuff!"

Chen Fan was brimming with energy as he looked at the special panel before him.

Yet he discovered that the Stamina Pill could not help Chen Fan improve his AFK training efficiency...

The delight on Chen Fan's face quickly froze.

Though this thing was good, it was useless to him!

My strength increases almost entirely through AFK training. My own cultivation is not that meaningful. Even if I stayed awake for all twelve double-hours of the day, my AFK training efficiency would not improve in the slightest...

Without taking Stamina Pills, the time he had left was already more than enough for him to seek opportunities for enlightenment or spar with others.

"Unless there is some special circumstance, I do not need this thing at all!"

For ordinary people, this item could almost double their cultivation efficiency. For him, however, it was of little use.

Shaking his head, he put away the Stamina Pill and began testing the effects of the herbal bathing pack instead.

There was a dedicated bathing room in his house, with a large wooden tub inside.

Chen Fan heated a pot of water and poured it into the tub, then tossed the herbal pack in. Before long, the clear hot water began to turn red, while a strong herbal scent rose from it!

Chen Fan drew a deep breath, removed his clothes, and stepped into the tub.

"Hiss... this feels amazing!"

Surrounded by warm water, Chen Fan was so comfortable that he cried out.

At the same time, he felt his blood and qi stir within his body, continuously surging and growing stronger.

Though it could not compare to when he had taken the Blood-Nourishing Pill, it far surpassed the slow gains he received from eating!

More importantly, the herbal pack could increase his cultivation efficiency!

And the effect was not bad at all!

Runes flickered before Chen Fan's eyes.

While soaking, the AFK training efficiency of all his arts increased fivefold. Unfortunately, it could not last forever. After roughly one double-hour, perhaps because the medicinal power in the bathwater had been completely absorbed by Chen Fan, the AFK training efficiency of his arts slowed once more!

Chen Fan's eyes lit up, and he immediately heated another pot of water.