20demayo Chapter 554 - 521 Devotion 3
Chapter 554 - 521 Devotion 3
Wushan Prefecture.
Zhang Rongfang leisurely weighed the herbs behind the counter with a small scale, then wrapped them in paper, collected the payment, and handed them to the patient.
"This is enough for seven days. Hold onto it carefully, don’t spill it."
"Thank you, Pharmacist Zhang." The patient, a middle-aged man with a persistent cough and a sallow complexion, appeared well-off from his attire.
But it was unclear why he suddenly came here to get medicine.
Zhang Rongfang tossed the money into the drawer, suspecting that it might be his sister discreetly helping with the business.
But these trivial matters were of no concern.
After all, he was just running the shop as a diversion, a cover for his identity.
Ever since settling down in Wushan Prefecture, his mood had gradually relaxed.
No one was looking for trouble, there was no unrest, no fighting.
Every day was just the mundane routine of running the shop, eating, and sleeping.
However, Lu Meisha often came by for no apparent reason, seemingly looking for trouble.
For instance, right now...
Bam!
The shop door was forcefully pushed open, and Lu Meisha hopped over the threshold.
"Look at the Lightweight Skill I just practiced, how is it!?"
She put her hands on her hips proudly, then jumped out of the threshold, only to jump back in, out, back in, and out again....
Zhang Rongfang glanced dispassionately at the threshold, only a few centimeters high, and couldn’t tell if she was joking or genuinely asking for his opinion.
"Not bad."
He thought for a moment and replied concisely.
"Hehe, you answered so simply because you’re afraid I’ll surpass you? Don’t worry, I’m just a beginner. The expert I apprenticed under said that although I have great talent, it will take at least three to four years to reach a high grade." Lu Meisha said with slight pride.
"Three to four years?" Zhang Rongfang was speechless. Normally, geniuses are grateful to reach the third grade in three to four years.
But here she was... dreaming so grandly.
"Are you thinking it’s fake?" Lu Meisha beamed with greater pride. "I’ll tell you, I thought it was fake at first too, but then I carefully asked about the arrangements. That Martial Master told me that because of my exceptional talent and good family background, as long as I have ample herbs and materials, I can certainly surpass most people quickly.
After all, many herbs are incredibly expensive, and ordinary families can’t afford them without going bankrupt. So, it makes sense that I’m faster than ordinary geniuses."
This reasoning made a lot of sense.
Zhang Rongfang was speechless.
"Also, don’t underestimate how low my Lightweight Skill jump is. I’m still learning—it’ll get better and better!" Lu Meisha said earnestly.
"Then work hard." Zhang Rongfang closed his eyes and resumed meditation.
Lately, he vaguely sensed that there were experts around his sister. Most of these experts were below the ninth grade, but occasionally a couple of Super Grades would appear.
In a place like Wushan Prefecture, the appearance of Super Grades was unusual.
Super Grades weren’t like cabbages that any force would easily dispatch; many Super Grades were potential seeds for higher-level Martial Artists.
After noticing the growing strength around his sister, Zhang Rongfang slowly shifted his focus from the outside world to inside the prefecture.
He needed to determine what was going on with his sister and its connection to the Confucian Sect.
In the Confucian Sect, the easiest way to gather information was through the Eastern Castle.
Zhang Rongfang took a trip to the Eastern Castle, but Dongfang Mu’s response left him speechless.
This guy didn’t seem to know much either; he just said that Wushan was one of the gathering places for the Confucian Sect’s power, and he deliberately covered up, unwilling to elaborate.
So Zhang Rongfang directly sent his subordinates to investigate in the city.
"Hey, in a couple of days, a new Western store is opening in town. It was set up by a Western merchant who fled to Wushan. Want to go check it out together?" Lu Meisha asked from outside the counter.
"Not interested." Zhang Rongfang replied, "By the way, can I ask you a question?"
"What? Go ahead." Lu Meisha raised an eyebrow. Recently, she had gotten used to Zhang Rongfang’s taciturn responses. His proactive questioning felt refreshing.
"Do you have any plans for the future?" Zhang Rongfang asked.
"What?"
"I mean, you’re not that young anymore. What are your plans for the future? You can’t keep coming to my place all the time, right?" Zhang Rongfang said.
"....." Lu Meisha was taken aback.
After a while, she stood up and silently walked towards the door.
"Sorry for disturbing you."
Watching her leave, Zhang Rongfang shook his head slightly. He didn’t know what she was thinking.
But he didn’t have the leisure to ponder further; completing the Wish Girl still required constantly finding targets.
Immediately, he closed his eyes and re-entered meditation.
Time slowly passed, and in no time, more than a month had flown by.
His sister Zhang Rongyu was at the prefecture daily with her child, and his nephew’s little arms and legs were growing stronger, plump and fair, at last not unpleasant to look at.
The prefecture held a full moon lottery where the nephew was allowed to crawl on a large red cloth and grab anything at random.
As a result, the little guy grabbed a toy dagger and an introductory book for literacy.
Thus, the prefecture suddenly had two more teachers.
One was dedicated to teaching the little guy literacy, and the other was responsible for conditioning his body, laying the foundation for future martial arts training.
Without having started martial arts training, he was already subjected to various medicinal baths daily. Money flowed out like water, yet neither sister Zhang Rongyu nor brother-in-law Suda Heqi cared in the slightest.
And while his nephew was thriving, Zhang Rongfang received new attribute points once again and invested them all into life.
Every week, he had to challenge the Stone God once.
The ability to take the enemy by surprise can ensure that he is not hurt. In fact, frequent past encounters were merely to try to understand the full capabilities of the Residual God.
Over the course of more than a month, Zhang Rongfang had come to understand that with a Residual God like the Stone God, aside from divine suppression and immortality, the most challenging aspect was the Absolute Defense.
He couldn’t hurt the Stone God. Even the blood he once relied on could only inflict minimal damage on the Stone God. It couldn’t even break the skin.
Moreover, the opponent shared the same traits as him, possessing similar speed and self-healing abilities.
Just as an injury appeared, it immediately healed.
Aside from adopting a slow and steady approach, there was simply no way to fight.
Thus, Zhang Rongfang started sending people to inquire about the whereabouts of the magic weapon while searching for other methods to break the divine defense.
Unfortunately, neither the Reverse Time Society nor Dongfang Mu or anywhere else provided any clues.
It seemed there was only one way to deal with the divine, which was with the divine itself.
Time continued to pass.
Zhang Rongfang sent people to search while living peacefully in the city, visiting his sister to play with his nephew daily. Occasionally, he heard news from outside: A grand alliance led by the Great Dao Teaching was sweeping across small sects everywhere, undefeatable in the world.
In these calm and uneventful times,
his nephew finally learned to stand.
And Zhang Rongfang finally witnessed his renewed life value exceeding a hundred.
*
*
*
On the Human Immortal Platform.
In a Taoist robe, Zhang Rongfang’s demeanor was more composed than before, and his height gradually shrank back to one meter ninety.
With the increase in life attributes, he could now clearly feel his body seemingly expanding, growing larger and larger.
The Qi and Blood, as the attributes grew, increasingly resembled a bomb compressed within this small shell, waiting to be released.
This feeling was very subtle, as though his current physical form was gradually becoming a tool to bind him.
Phew...
Zhang Rongfang exhaled deeply.
His breath was long, extending beyond a meter, subtly forming a breeze that stirred and dispersed the thin mist ahead.
Chirp chirp...
A Little Red Bird descended from the sky, gently landing on Zhang Rongfang’s shoulder, tilting its head to groom its feathers.
This was the one he raised at the Celestial Treasure Palace, retrieved from there recently.
Beside the stream beneath the Human Immortal Platform, Qingsu and Ding Yu were herding cattle together; they had now begun collaborating to raise cattle and sheep in the Wish Girl Gorge.
Due to the mist covering Wish Girl, there was no concern about the cattle and sheep getting lost. Encountering the outer mist would cause them to return independently, making it a natural pasture.
As for feed, there was a large area of grassland available by the creek.
If not enough, more could be cut from outside by dispatching people.
"This is the life I wanted before... peaceful and calm. Without any disturbances," Zhang Rongfang sighed.
"Master." Behind him, Chang Yuqing, dressed in a gray-white training suit and with heavy steps, ascended the platform.
"Once again, the disciple is about to succumb to her ailment."
Her face was somewhat pale, feeling quite unwell.
"Did you complete what I asked of you previously?" Zhang Rongfang turned around to look at this disciple, whose aptitude and comprehension were among the strongest he had ever seen.
"Everything’s been completed. I’ve explained to the family, and I can now peacefully practice here." Chang Yuqing’s gaze dimmed.
She had merely returned to leave a letter for her parents, stating she decided to travel alone to fulfill her wishes.
After that, she stopped contacting them, staying in Wish Girl Gorge, assisting with the organization of Human Immortal Temple records daily, and performing some peculiar duties for children in Wushan Prefecture.
Although she didn’t understand what those tasks meant, as long as the Master requested, she would carry them out.
"How have you grasped martial arts?" Zhang Rongfang asked again.
"I’ve comprehended them completely. In previous sparring, focusing solely on moves, Brother Ding and the others are no longer my matches," Chang Yuqing replied solemnly.
"Attack me," Zhang Rongfang said.
"Yes!"
Chang Yuqing nodded, stepping forward to gently pull out a Soft Sword from her waist.
The sword glimmered as she gracefully executed a basic swordsmanship, using the Talismanic Skill foundation of Great Dao Teaching, blended with various other martial arts.
The silvery sword light slashed toward Zhang Rongfang’s upper body, but he sidestepped to evade it.
One attacked, the other defended. Although their moves weren’t quick, at the same speed and body technique, Chang Yuqing remarkably anticipated Zhang Rongfang’s evasion path like playing chess, positioning herself ahead.
In this way, she disrupted Zhang Rongfang’s response to her sword moves numerous times.
The more he fought, the more surprised Zhang Rongfang became.
Despite sharing the same body technique and speed, Chang Yuqing’s comprehension of moves and martial arts had already reached a basic level of taking the enemy by surprise.
This level of insight... was simply...
Many martial artists train for a lifetime and might not reach her level of proficiency in just a few months.
"That’s enough," Zhang Rongfang said, pinching the Soft Sword’s tip precisely.
"In terms of martial arts, you’ve learned well. Now, the final question. Martial arts contain realms, embodying the creator’s Essence, Qi, and Spirit intentions and insights.
But the martial art most suitable for us is one created entirely with our own Essence, Qi, and Spirit, uniquely belonging to us."
"You mean..." Chang Yuqing was startled. "Create your own martial art?"
"Not only that, but to delve deeper." Zhang Rongfang smiled, "The realm of martial arts is no different than battling physically, battling Qi, and battling Spirit! Known as the three aspects of Essence, Qi, and Spirit. Now that you’ve understood physical battling, next comes Qi battling."