They are Back

After having reached the Disciple rank as well as having his cultivation technique evolve into a copy of himself, Hui Yue’s speed of refining qi was many times quicker than it had ever been before.

The Rong twins, on the other hand, had not managed to progress as smoothly. Because their qi was of lower purity, it had only broken through a few stars during the final half year.

Rong Ming had broken into the two star Practitioner rank while Rong Xing was now a three star Practitioner. Both of the twins relied heavily on Hui Yue’s unlimited supply of medicinal pills. They ate Qi Refining pills as though they were candy.

These pills allowed for the just-above-average purity of their qi to turn pearl white. Although it lacked luster and shine, it still was more than enough to allow them to break into the Master rank later on.

Although Hui Yue’s cultivation technique was nothing like he had ever experienced before, it still did not compare to the one Gao Yan was using when it came to cultivation speed.

Gao Yan’s cultivation technique, much like Hui Yue’s, relied on one of the zodiacs. This specific technique sacrificed some purity for rapid advancement. Yet, the purity of Gao Yan’s technique was still considered high when compared to the average cultivator’s results of this world.

Relying on this cultivation technique, Gao Yan spent the final half year absorbed in constant cultivation which led to him breaking into the Practitioner rank after such a short time.

Seeing that Gao Yan had managed to pass the entire Student rank within such a few short months caused Hui Yue almost to vomit blood. His ten years of hard work suddenly seemed as though they had been wasted.

Had it not been for the slight difference in purity of their qi pools, Hui Yue would have spent time figuring out a way to beat up Lan Feng for introducing him to such a slow and painstaking technique.

Ma Kong managed to reach the nine star Disciple rank within these months. He had been gifted with a box of medicinal pills by Hui Yue in the hope of helping him break through to the Practitioner rank before the lot of them set out towards the Magical Forest.

Officially, Deng Wu was also at the nine star Disciple rank, and he had been gifted a box of mixed pills. Some were Qi Congregating Pills while others were Qi Refining Pills.

While everyone expected Deng Wu to be breaking into the Practitioner rank, he was in fact on the verge of breaking into the Master rank. He would be the first among them all to turn into a cultivator who could unlock the middle dantian.

Hui Yue had reached the third star of the Disciple rank, and during this period he had perfected Transforming Weapons, sword style.

Although Hui Yue had perfected the sword style, it was impossible for him to be compared to a sword master. His skills were not bad, and he continually improved by training with the sword movements that he had been taught in his previous life.

Hui Yue had no intention of training more weaponry skills, yet after hearing that the six of them were to enter the Magical Forest together, he quickly picked up Transforming Weapons, bow style.

One day had taken another, and suddenly the trip was about to commence. Hui Yue had gone to Riluo City in search of the necessities that he would need for such a long journey. His first stop was a high-end memory stone store.

Hui Yue purchased two large capacity memory stones. These large capacity memory stones were the size of a fist, but their weight was as light as a feather. Each stone was embedded within a small pouch which was created to be hung on a belt to allow for swift access.

Hui Yue quickly hung one of these memory stone pouches on his belt before he continued his shopping expedition through town.

One memory stone was quickly filled with meat of all varieties - fresh, cured, salted and smoked. Sacks of grain and wheat were stored in large quantities, with some of it barley and rice. Fabrics of various qualities followed the food, and finally, some drinks were added - rice wine, barley beer, and fruit wines.

At the very end of his shopping, Hui Yue entered a bank where he purchased a coin storing memory stone into which he placed three thousand gold coins as they were by far easier to use than spirit coins. Then he deposited the coin memory stone into the first memory stone he had purchased.

This stone was then stored within the memory stone inside the pouch that Hui Yue had placed on his belt. A content smile appeared on his face.

The first stone he had filled up was a present to his family and the village. Although Hui Yue had been away from home for a long time, he still knew where his home was. Using the money he had gained from Lan Feng plus adding to it the cash from the Deng family, Hui Yue felt that this memory stone gift was the least he could do for the ones who had spent ten years raising him.

Having finished selecting gifts for his family, Hui Yue finally started to pick up items for himself.

Unlike his family, he only bought dried food for himself. Dried strips of meat, biscuits which were made as rations for the army and could last for a long time, as well as dried fruits and berries.

Since Hui Yue was allowed to buy his own drinks, the first thing he bought was a canteen so that he could store water on his trip. Apart from that, he bought quite a few bottles of fruit wine and weaker types of alcohol.

Food was not the only thing Hui Yue prepared. Blankets were purchased, enough to cover every one of his friends. Those, together with some blankets so large that they could be used to create a tent for them to sleep under were also purchased, should the warm and cloud-free weather not last.

A wide array of tools was bought. Some of these tools were for the sake of starting a fire should Hui Yue run out of qi making him unable to use Fire Spark. Other tools purchased included those for cooking or digging. Rope was bought together with a hammer and some nails.

Although Hui Yue knew that the majority of these things would not be needed, he also knew that it was best to plan for any eventuality. He packed anything which he would usually have taken on a camping trip in his old world.

Packing as though he had no cultivation base caused his storage memory stone to be completely filled with things, yet Hui Yue had no regrets. He would rather be safe than sorry.

Just as Hui Yue was on his way back to the academy, he was stopped by Ma Kong who came rushing towards him. Everyone had gone shopping for their own items, and they had planned to meet up at the east city gate in Riluo two days from now.

“Hui Yue!” Ma Kong called in a high pitched voice, uneasy as his heart was beating erratically. “The old manager has asked if you would like to dine with us tonight,” he continued as he caught his breath slightly. “You still have not met the other elders of our family, and they have a gift to give you as a token of appreciation for introducing us to the concept of insurance.”

Hearing this Hui Yue chuckled slightly. Although the Ma family was grateful for the insurance business idea, it was highly likely that they wished for Hui Yue to have a positive attitude towards them due to the secret teacher who was backing him. Not that he actually cared.

After contemplating for a few minutes, Hui Yue quickly agreed and followed Ma Kong back to the Ma family compound.

On the way, Hui Yue and Ma Kong needed to pass the City Lord’s mansion. Just as they walked past, Hui Yue felt a shiver run through his body. A feeling of impending danger was upon him, and he quickly looked around as the red mist started to activate within his lower dantian.

With great difficulty, Hui Yue managed to suppress the red mist. He could not help but let out a gasp from his lips as he saw seven black-cloaked men making their way into the City Lord’s mansion.

These seven black-cloaked men spoke to no one, nor did they see anyone. They walked with determined steps, and every servant seemed to rush out of their way. The guards did not stop them. Instead, they instantly opened the mansion gates for them.

These seven men were the same ones that Hui Yue had seen almost one year ago when he had sold the two high-ranked attack skills at the Black Market Auction House. The seven men who had tried to surround him, but did not fight with him.

Ma Kong looked at Hui Yue. It was evident that he noticed the change in the younger boy, but as he saw the coldness flash within the blue eyes, he quickly decided not to say anything.

Hui Yue made a mental note to ask Gao Yan to activate his network of beggars and servants within Riluo City. Hui Yue would pay well for any information which was available concerning those seven black-cloaked men. He needed to know if they were here to catch him, or rather to catch the unknown expert that went by the name of Li Fen.

Dinner at the Ma family exceeded all expectation. Hui Yue was acting as an adorable and slightly naïve eleven year old child. All the elders gained a favorable impression of him.

The only ones who knew what Hui Yue was truly like were Ma Kong and the manager who had attended the tournament. Neither of these two felt as if they should tell the rest of the elders about this particular trait, as it did not influence their work with the young child.

“Young master Hui Yue,” the manager said respectfully. Hui Yue was no young master, yet the manager did not know what else to call him as his importance far exceeded that of a young master. “We heard that you are about to embark upon a risk-filled journey with your friends. We would like to gift you an inscribed item to increase your chances of a bountiful harvest.”

Having said this, the manager clapped his hands, and a servant rushed to his side. In the servant’s hands was a pillow. On this pillow was a long and black knife.

This knife was made from a black metal which Hui Yue did not know. Upon looking at it, one could tell how incredibly sharp it was. Within the middle of the blade was a circle of some kind, an inscription, being lit up with a silvery light.

“This is a knife created from black iron,” the manager said with reverence in his voice. “It is inscribed by a Duke ranked metal affinity expert. The inscription ensures for the knife’s edge to never dull. It will forever be a sharp weapon which will take life after life in the hand of a cultivator.”

Hearing this amazement arose within Hui Yue. Currently, he only possessed one inscribed item, which was the armor that he had won at the tournament. This knife was mesmerizing!

“Thank you,” he said with a muffled voice. Hui Yue’s eyes were shining with excitement as he picked up the knife. As he sent his qi inside, he felt a shocking change within his dantian cave.