After harvesting all the cabbages and redroot vines, Wang Lang neatly stacked them in the cellar behind the manor.
Old Wang had built this cellar from special cold stones years ago. It was basically a low-end refrigerator.
Watching the once-lush vegetable patch turn empty, then looking around at the silent manor where only the wind could be heard, Wang Lang felt as though a piece of his heart had been hollowed out too.
When Old Wang had still been around, he often went out to uphold justice, but he would either take Wang Lang along to see the world or wander back on his own within a few days at most.
Back then, Wang Lang's life had been highly regular: cultivate the Basic Body Tempering Art, wait for the old man to return, then listen to his endless nagging.
Now, the one who nagged was gone, and the manor felt especially large—and especially quiet.
He shook his head, forcing down the emotions that had risen within him, then walked over to the crude homemade barbell in the courtyard.
He continued repeatedly lifting it overhead at his limit, trying to squeeze every last drop out of his body and accumulate wisps of intent.
Afterimages flashed one after another, and the air tore apart with a mournful howl, yet the wisps of intent he accumulated were nearly nonexistent.
"This thing's basically just a warm-up now. The efficiency's too low." Wang Lang felt helpless.
But without better equipment, even a mosquito leg was still meat.
The main bulk of his cultivation still depended on the automatically circulating Innate Qi.
That afternoon, while cultivating, Wang Lang suddenly felt a faint yet continuous tremor rise from within his body.
It was as though invisible hands were combing through and tightening his tendons. With a thought, he summoned his personal panel:
[Body Refinement Realm: Body Tempering Realm (Third Level · Tendon Tempering)] [Qi Refinement Realm: Qi Induction Realm (Second Level)]
His realm had broken through!
Having entered the tendon-tempering stage of the Body Tempering Realm, Wang Lang carefully experienced the changes in his body.
He felt as if the great tendons throughout his body had been woven anew, becoming more resilient. When he exerted force, they tightened like drawn bowstrings.
He tried throwing a punch through empty air, and the sound of it splitting the air was noticeably sharper.
As for Qi Refinement, his Qi Induction Realm had risen by one level, and the righteous qi within him, born from the Song of Righteous Qi, had grown considerably stronger as well.
This aura was pure, gentle, and upright. As it circulated through his body, it gave his already burly frame an added bearing as deep as an abyss and as steady as a mountain.
It made him look... especially upright, especially cultured.
Along with that, he felt that his mind had become much clearer. Many poems and songs he had crammed into his head for exams in his previous life—
things that had long since blurred in his memory—now surfaced with startling clarity.
Standing in the courtyard with his hands behind his back, gazing at the evening hues over the distant mountains, an inexplicable literary—and slightly pretentious—air welled up inside him. He recited aloud:
"On and on the cold mountain path, by and by the chill stream bank.
Chirp and chirp, birds are ever there; still and still, no one is found."
The poem came from "On and On the Cold Mountain Path," by Hanshan of the Tang Dynasty in his previous life.
Its profound, desolate stillness faintly matched his present life of solitude.
After reciting it, even he froze for a moment, then shook his head and laughed.
"Tsk. Sure enough, strength affects one's temperament. Even I'm starting to put on airs."
Time flowed quietly like water.
Aside from the Changle Gang coming to stir up trouble once, none of the other people he had expected to covet Listening Waves Mountain Manor ever appeared.
Wang Lang was happy to enjoy the peace, and his daily life became extremely simple and regular.
There were only two main things in his day. The first was cultivation.
The second was that whenever he felt tired, he would burrow into Old Wang's study and browse through the books he had once found unbearably dull.
Back then, he had lacked strength and been restless at heart. Now, even his breathing made him stronger. With the pressure drastically reduced and his mind relaxed, he could actually read these books.
Wang Lang attributed this change in mentality to having too much free time to fart around.
After all, when survival was no longer the foremost problem, people had to develop some spiritual needs, didn't they?
These books covered a vast range of subjects, but at their core, they were much the same as the Four Books and Five Classics from the ancient world of his previous life—mostly Confucian classics, historical records, and political essays.
As Wang Lang read, he could not help sighing. "Confucianism in this world is the absolute model answer too!"
He learned that this world had once seen clashes among the various schools of thought as well.
But as dynasties rose and fell, rulers discovered that Confucianism was still the most beneficial for consolidating their rule.
What surprised Wang Lang even more was that, as he gradually delved deeper into these classics,
the more deeply he understood their subtle words and great principles, the faster the Song of Righteous Qi seemed to circulate.
"Strange. The technique's description never said that reading could speed it up." Wang Lang stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Though he could not figure it out, it was a good thing.
Thus, his days cycled through accumulating minute wisps of intent through body tempering, reading to accelerate Qi Refinement, reciting poetry for amusement, watching the moon, and sleeping.
This life, regular to the point of near monotony, gradually captivated Wang Lang, and he forgot the passage of time.
At the same time, he fell into a peculiar state of clear and empty consciousness.
In a daze, a year quietly slipped away.
Until one day, a notification before his eyes jolted him awake from that mysterious state:
[Congratulations, Host, for independently comprehending Righteous Qi · Blue. Reward obtained: Trait Equipment Slot +1]
Wang Lang abruptly came to himself. Looking at the system notification, his mind failed to process it for a moment.
Independently comprehending? Traits could be created by oneself?
Although the system randomly gave him a trait every year on his birthday, independently comprehending a trait and even receiving Equipment Slot +1 was unprecedented since the dawn of creation!
But now was not the time to celebrate. The key was understanding the principle behind it.
"What are the conditions for comprehension?"
"Does one need to understand a certain principle or rule to a sufficient depth?"
He pondered it, feeling as though he had touched the edge of the system's hidden mechanism.
Wang Lang casually opened the trait repository to take a look.
Sure enough, aside from the blue trait [Righteous Qi] he had just comprehended, and the completely useless [Super Saiyan Hairstyle · Blue] he had synthesized earlier, which was good for nothing except looking handsome,
there was also a white trait quietly lying in the repository, randomly gifted by the system this year:
[Weak Point Strike · White: When attacking an enemy, there is a 1% chance to see through one of their minor, nonfatal flaws.]
"A 1% chance is truly touching. Into the cold palace it goes, to wait for synthesis." Wang Lang thought.
Then his gaze returned to the blue trait he had comprehended:
[Righteous Qi · Blue: Effect One: After equipping, possess Grand Righteous Qi, greatly enhancing one's personal bearing and persuasiveness invisibly. Others will easily feel trust and admiration toward you. You possess a certain natural deterrence against sinister and filthy things.]
"Hmm... it doesn't directly increase attack or defense, but it can enhance bearing and trust. It's a pretty decent utility trait."
Compared with the hairstyle and Weak Point Strike, this [Righteous Qi] was far more practical.
Wang Lang equipped it directly.
Next, he opened his personal panel:
[Name: Wang Lang] [Physique: Mortal Flesh and Blood (Undergoing Transformation)] [Body Refinement Realm: Body Tempering Realm (Ninth Level · Aperture Tempering)] [Qi Refinement Realm: Qi Induction Realm (Ninth Level)] [Techniques: Basic Body Tempering Art, Song of Righteous Qi] [Equipped Traits: Ageless and Undying · Red, Innate Qi · Orange, Intentional Blast Punch · Purple, Righteous Qi · Blue] [Trait Repository: Click to view all traits...]
"Physique, mortal flesh and blood undergoing transformation?" Wang Lang's heart stirred.
He carefully sensed his body. Sure enough, after reaching the ninth level of the Body Tempering Realm, the aperture-tempering stage, and linking the acupoints throughout his body,
he could indeed sense that some deeper transformation seemed to be brewing within the depths of his body.
His blood and qi surged like mercury, his organs were tough as iron, and his bones gleamed with a lustrous sheen, as though invisible power was hammering them over and over, removing the dross and preserving the essence.
"That's right. Although the Basic Body Tempering Art is merely a common, widely available technique, when cultivated to its ultimate ninth level, opening all the acupoints throughout the body and washing the flesh with blood and qi is itself a process of shedding one's mortal shell.
Could it be... that this is preparing to condense a body of stone?"
In one year, not only had he reached the ninth level of Body Tempering, his Qi Induction Realm had reached the ninth level as well.
Wang Lang was not anxious about the fact that neither of his two main cultivation techniques had any follow-up methods.
With Innate Qi, it was like possessing underlying code with limitless possibilities. Sooner or later, quantitative change would trigger qualitative change.
Perhaps one day he would directly skip past the limitations of cultivation techniques and establish his own system? He had considerable confidence in that.
It was already late at night, yet Wang Lang had no desire to sleep.
At the ninth level of Qi Induction, his spirit had already undergone initial tempering, and sleep was no longer necessary.
The reason he had slept every night over the past year was more out of habit, because he was immersed in that peculiar state of comprehending the Dao.
He walked into the courtyard and felt the changes brought by the ninth level of Body Tempering. Casually clenching his fist, he did not use any wisps of intent. He merely condensed his physical strength into a single point and threw a punch.
Where the fist passed, the air actually gave off a deep explosive boom, and a circle of transparent ripples could faintly be seen spreading outward.
The sense of solidity brought by his increased strength made Wang Lang's state of mind grow ever more tranquil.
He looked up at the starry sky and saw a brilliant moon.
Clear moonlight spilled down. His poetic inspiration rose again, and just as he was about to recite a poem, a rapid knocking suddenly came from the manor's front courtyard, breaking the night's tranquility.
"Old Master Wang! Old Master Wang! Are you there? Something terrible has happened!"
Wang Lang raised an eyebrow slightly. His figure moved like a breeze brushing past, and in moments, he had arrived at the front courtyard.
He did not open the main gate immediately. Instead, he first opened the small observation window beside it.
Under the moonlight, the visitor wore the standard uniform of the Demon Subduing Division of the Limitless Dynasty.
Wang Lang knew quite a bit about the governmental structure of this world:
Every province in the Limitless Dynasty had a prefect who held overall authority over military and civil affairs, usually a highly accomplished cultivator of the Confucian path of Qi Refinement.
Below each province were many cities, and each city had a City Lord's Mansion.
As for the vast rural regions, they lacked city-level defenses. The Demon Subduing Division mainly dispatched personnel to patrol regularly and deal with matters such as spirits, monsters, and evil entities causing trouble.
Judging by the fluctuations of the man's aura, he was only around the first level of the Qi Induction Realm, one of the Demon Subduing Division's low-level personnel.
Wang Lang had a vague impression of him. He seemed to be called Li Si, the patrolman responsible for this region.
"Looks like it's urgent." Wang Lang made his judgment and no longer hesitated. He reached out and opened the gate.
By moonlight, Patrolman Li clearly saw the face of the person opening the door. In particular, when he saw the calm, upright aura unconsciously radiating from the other man, he froze for a moment before hurriedly asking:
"You... are you Young Master Wang Lang, grandson of Old Master Wang Xiaoyao?"
"That would be me. Patrolman Li, what brings you here so late at night?" As Wang Lang spoke, he stepped aside and invited him into the main hall.
Patrolman Li followed him inside, too anxious for pleasantries, and said urgently:
"Young Master Wang, I came seeking Old Master Wang's aid!
A monster calamity has broken out in nearby Creek Stone Village. A troublesome monster is causing havoc and has already taken more than ten lives.
Yet I cannot even determine what it is or where it is hiding!
Remembering that Old Master Wang's cultivation was profound, I came specifically to ask for his help!"
Wang Lang poured him a cup of coarse tea and calmly said, "Patrolman Li, to be honest, my old man was laid to rest last year."
"What?!" Patrolman Li seemed struck by lightning and abruptly rose to his feet.
Dazed, he muttered, "Rumors... rumors said Old Master Wang was seriously wounded a year ago while assisting several of my colleagues in capturing a Heretical Cultivator outside... I... I never expected that he..."
Regret and apology appeared on his face. "Young Master Wang... my condolences. I was too presumptuous."
Wang Lang waved his hand. "It's nothing. The old man chose his own path. He died on the road of upholding justice; he sought benevolence and obtained it. It could be said that he... died where he should have."
Then he changed the subject. "Patrolman Li, tell me in detail about this monster in Creek Stone Village. Perhaps Wang can lend a hand or two."
He remembered the promise he had made to the old man: when he had the ability, he would protect this region.
Now that both his Body Tempering and Qi Induction had reached the ninth level, as long as he did not encounter some ancient monster, protecting himself and resolving ordinary trouble would not be much of a problem.
The confidence brought by strength had long since changed his mentality.
When I lacked strength, I acted cautiously. If I still cowered and hesitated after gaining strength, then wouldn't all this strength have been cultivated for nothing?
Of course, the prerequisite was assessing the risk first.
If that monster was absurdly powerful, he would definitely continue developing steadily. Even with the Ageless and Undying trait, he would never charge in headfirst.
Seeing Wang Lang's steady bearing and deeply restrained aura, Patrolman Li was doubtful that someone so young could possess much ability,
but remembering that he was Old Master Wang's grandson, perhaps he truly had some skill.
Moreover, he genuinely had nowhere else to turn. So he raised the teacup, took a sip, steadied himself, and laid out the entire matter.
It turned out that people in Creek Stone Village had begun disappearing one after another a month ago. Later, it was discovered that they had been dragged into the mountain forest outside the village and devoured. The scenes were too horrible to bear, confirming that a monster was responsible.
In a village of just over a hundred people, more than ten had already been killed, leaving everyone terrified.
His cultivation was weak. After investigating several times without finding anything, reporting it to the prefect's office and waiting for reinforcements involved cumbersome procedures and would take a long time.
He remembered that Old Master Wang Xiaoyao of Listening Waves Mountain Manor was an expert at the third level of the Qi Induction Realm.
So he had thought that if he could invite Old Master Wang to resolve the matter privately, it would count as a major merit, and his chances of earning a favorable year-end evaluation, promotion, and pay raise would be greatly improved.
"Therefore... I acted out of selfish motives and did not report to the prefect immediately. I had planned to report it at once only if Old Master Wang could not handle it."
Patrolman Li admitted somewhat awkwardly.
Before you continue