Chapter 40: Minor Success in Magic

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Minor Success in Magic

The next morning, the scenery of the back mountain gradually awakened as Liu Chen rose.

Liu Chen walked out of the bamboo house and yawned, shaking off the last vestiges of sleep. As his vision cleared, he saw a Wooden Sword on his desk.

After a brief moment of stunned surprise, Liu Chen walked over and picked up the Wooden Sword. The unique, fresh scent of Cyan Bamboo washed over him. To be precise, this was a Bamboo Sword, and one that had been made very recently.

He tried out the Thrusting Sword Technique a few times with the Bamboo Sword, then placed it on the desk and bowed in his master’s direction.

Afterwards, Liu Chen began his daily cultivation. He consumed a stalk of Purple Bamboo Grass to complete one session of Body Tempering, then headed to the kitchen.

Body Tempering took an hour with Purple Bamboo Grass, but only half an hour without it.

This extra half-hour, however, gave his two junior sisters something to do: gather the Bamboo Shoots for breakfast. Liu Chen just needed to go to the kitchen and cook.

"When I woke up this morning, there were two more Bamboo Swords in the Bamboo Garden. Senior Brother, do you know what our masters’ intentions might be?"

After breakfast, Ye Linglong couldn’t help but ask. Although she could have ignored it, she figured that since their masters had sent the Bamboo Swords, they must have a plan. She wanted to prepare in advance to avoid being caught off guard.

"You two can try them out in your spare time. Perhaps in a little while, Master and Mistress will teach us Swordsmanship."

This was just Liu Chen’s guess. ’If only I had received a Bamboo Sword, it would mean Master saw me practicing Swordsmanship yesterday. But since all three of us got one, he must be planning to teach us all.’

"Ah—"

Ji Suyao suddenly lost her appetite. When she used to practice with a sword, her elders would correct her at least five times a day. It felt like every time she so much as held a sword, she’d be told her posture was wrong.

"Of course, that’s just a guess."

Liu Chen shook his head. He could tell that, unlike Junior Sister Linglong who was happy to go along with plans, Junior Sister Suyao did not like being told what to do.

However, Liu Chen couldn’t really comment on the matter. ’If Master really does teach us Swordsmanship, I’ll be thrilled,’ he thought. ’But if he doesn’t, that’s fine too.’

In any case, Liu Chen’s schedule was already packed. Any disruption would throw off the balance of his concurrent training.

"Do you really have no intention of teaching them Swordsmanship?"

In the Bamboo Garden, Bai Qiulan put down her bowl and chopsticks and glanced at a pile of Bamboo Swords in the corner. Mo Xuan had made them yesterday so that Liu Chen could practice his Swordsmanship, but feeling he couldn’t show favoritism, he had sent one to each disciple.

"I didn’t, originally."

Mo Xuan sighed helplessly. ’Other than Liu Chen, the other two disciples haven’t even reached the Beginner stage of Body Tempering, let alone Swordsmanship or any of the Magic they’re supposed to be learning.’

’But now that Liu Chen has brought it up, if I don’t teach them Swordsmanship, how can I explain the Bamboo Swords? Am I supposed to tell the other two that I only gave them swords so they wouldn’t get jealous of Liu Chen?’

’I might as well just teach them Swordsmanship.’

「Two days passed in a flash.」 Other than a visit from Senior Brother Yang, during which Liu Chen asked about the letter and the Spirit Stones, everything else went according to plan.

Night fell once more. Liu Chen sat by the stove, quietly boiling water. In front of him lay a common weed, one of the items he used to practice the Recovery Technique.

As a verdant green light bloomed in Liu Chen’s hand, the weed seemed to spring to life, its rootlets even attempting to burrow into the ground and grow.

A wondrous sensation washed over him. The network of Life Force—the veins and nodes he could always see—began to organize itself in his mind, eventually merging into a single, relatively complete system.

Bolstered by this new understanding, when Liu Chen looked at the weed again, he could clearly "see" its most fatal node. With a single touch of his finger, he caused the weed to Wither, expending even less Spiritual Power than before.

’The Withering Skill and the Recovery Technique are complementary. When one Skill has a breakthrough, the other receives a corresponding boost.’

Liu Chen muttered to himself, then glanced at the Proficiency notification he had overlooked.

[Recovery Technique: Minor Success, 0/1000]

This was the second of his Magic to reach Minor Success. The Recovery Technique, once the most difficult of the three he was learning, had leapfrogged the Purification Technique after his breakthrough with the Withering Skill. The synergistic bonus was significant.

While there were no disciples in Purple Cloud Valley who focused all their Magic towards becoming a Spirit Plant Master in the truest sense, Liu Chen felt his own Withering Skill and Recovery Technique were likely on par with those of a real one.

’Still, I’ve never met an actual Spirit Plant Master, so it’s probably best to remain modest about it.’

After delivering the hot water, Liu Chen returned to the Bamboo Garden. He completed a session of Body Tempering, then used the Purification Technique to clean the garden while his body recovered.

While his Recovery Technique was progressing quickly thanks to his Withering Skill, the Purification Technique was the Magic he used most often in his daily life.

As the last stream of water landed on the open ground outside the Bamboo Garden, Liu Chen had a vision, seeing a montage of all the times he had used the Purification Technique.

The most frequent scene wasn’t cleaning dishes or tidying the Bamboo Garden, but cleansing his own body. As the vision in his mind grew more intense, his sight seemed to magnify dozens of times, allowing him to clearly see minuscule specks of grime that would normally be invisible.

The images in his mind faded. Liu Chen opened his eyes and surveyed the Bamboo Garden. It normally looked decent enough, and having just been cleaned, it should have been spotless. But to his newly enhanced perception, it was now full of flaws.

[Purification Technique: Minor Success, 0/1000]

’Twenty-something days of practice, and I’ve only gotten three Magic to Minor Success. Cultivating Magic really isn’t easy.’

Liu Chen muttered to himself. His two junior sisters had been here for ten days. Adding the half-month he had trained alone before that, it would be a full month in another five days. Right now, Liu Chen felt like a total weakling.

’Forget about the other Inner Sect Disciples or even the True Disciples. Senior Brother Yang alone is enough to put me to shame. Without any Proficiency system, relying purely on Talent, he reached Body Tempering Great Success in half a year and is already approaching Perfection.’

’And according to Senior Brother Yang, his own Talent was only rated as ’high-grade’ when he was tested at Purple Cloud Valley. There were others with Top Grade Talent who became Inner Sect Disciples right away, not to mention those with special physiques rumored to be naturally attuned to a specific cultivation path.’

’Just how fast must people like that cultivate?’

SIGH—

Liu Chen sighed helplessly. Once he felt his body had mostly recovered, he completed his final session of Body Tempering for the day.

After his Body Tempering, a stream of water washed over him. Under Liu Chen’s deliberate control, the cleansing was very slow this time. When it was finished, however, he felt a distinct lightness, as if even the hidden grime deep within his skin had been washed away.

[Purification Technique Proficiency +10]