Dragon Emperor, Martial God

Ling Yun glanced at the small river. It was roughly seven to eight meters wide. He then raised his leg and took a light step towards the river. That’s right. Instead of running or jumping, he took a slow and steady stride towards the river. With a single step, Ling Yun had crossed to the opposite side of the river, covering more than ten meters of distance in a step.

“So this is the peak of Physique Tempering Stage Level 3. What a nostalgic feeling!”

Ling Yun turned around and looked at the Shichiyou herbs on the now opposite riverside. Even though it was a moonless night, he could see the herbs clearly. He could, in fact, now see things far clearer than a normal person in daylight!

Having reached the peak of Physique Tempering Stage Level 3, one could see things clearly in the night and hear across a thousand meters. Basically, one’s five senses and awareness of the surroundings would gain a drastic boost! Now, just by standing there, Ling Yun could sense the thin traces of spiritual energy from the Shichiyou herbs across the riverside entering his body!

“Even though it’s slower as compared to training in Cultivation World, it may also be the reason why each rise in level feels so real and clear. Furthermore, the power gain at each level is clearly greater than in Cultivation World!”

Having realized the advantages of training on Earth, despite the long time he took to finally reach the peak of Physique Tempering Stage Level 3, he was no longer as disappointed.

Ling Yun stared at where the Shichiyou herbs were rooted and pondered on how to go about placing an energy gathering spell around the herbs. This was to allow all the traces of spiritual energy in the air to focus on one spot for physique tempering.

To break past his limits and enter Physique Tempering Stage Level 4, simply having sufficient spiritual energy was not enough. In fact, the spiritual energy within Ling Yun at that moment was more than enough to reach Physique Tempering Stage Level 4. However, the process was not as simple.

This was the same logic as why a person might be able to sprint for a hundred meters for multiple times with a timing of under ten seconds. Yet, no matter how hard he or she sprints, he or she would be unable to reach under 9.8s.

Therefore, before Ling Yun could attempt to overcome his first great challenge and reach Physique Tempering Stage Level 4, he had many preparations to make. Firstly, he needed to accumulate a large amount of explosive energy to allow him to break into Physique Tempering Stage Level 4 in an instant! Not only did he require the aid of spiritual energy storage amulets as well as spiritual energy gathering spells, he needed to utilize favorable geographical and meteorological conditions to achieve his goal!

“If only I have ready-made pills…” Ling Yun mumbled while shaking his head. With a light stride, he had crossed the river once again. Picking up his stuff, he used the Thousand Miles Godly Steps, creating a few after images before disappearing from sight.

Having reached home, he took a quick shower before resting on the sofa. He took out the fur brush and started analyzing it. Knowing that this was no ordinary fur brush from the moment he received it from Liu Li, he had never left it out of his sight.

The weight of the fur brush caused it to sink slightly into Ling Yun’s palm as he held it. However, for Ling Yun, it’s weight was no different from that of a feather. Again, he used his thumb to gently stroke the tip of the brush only to once again feel a sharp pain like that from a knife.

“God d*mn, is this really fur? Why the hell is it sharper than a knife?” Ling Yun spoke to himself, his face a mixture of curiosity and disbelief.

“What’s more, if this is really the case, Liu Li and her family should have noticed it long ago. Unless this hardening effect occurred right after the brush absorbed my immortal spiritual energy.”

At that point, making full use of his strength at the peak of Physique Tempering Stage Level 3, he activated the maximum effect of the Dayan Great Star Technique. Once activated, he pressed his thumb down on the tip of the fur brush!

“Let’s see how sharp you really are!”

The answer was obvious, all Ling Yun can feel was a piercing pain as his thumb was stabbed and fresh blood spilled forth. Yet, instead of dripping down his hand, the blood entered the tip of the brush rapidly! From how Ling Yun saw it, the blood did not flow into the brush tip, instead, it had been sucked into the brush!

What was shocking was the fact that the show was not over yet!

Sensing something amiss, Ling Yun tried to release the fur brush but it was too late. The fur brush was now sticking like superglue to his thumb! No matter how hard Ling Yun pulled the brush, he could not remove it from his thumb! To make things worse, Ling Yun could actually feel the blood in his body flowing towards his thumb! The brush was rapidly sucking his blood!

“Don’t you f*ck with me! First, you suck me of my immortal spiritual energy, now you want to suck me dry of my blood!”

Ling Yun could no longer restrain the foul side of his character. Even though he was aware that this was his new treasure’s way of recognizing it’s new master, he could not stop the vulgarities!

The snow-white tip of the fur brush gradually turned blood red. The color was pretty and alluring. After a few more moments, even the undecipherable word carvings on the stone handle of the brush began turning crimson red! Each wording seemed to come alive as they gradually turn red!

Despite his foul mouth, Ling Yun was very calm. He knew that by absorbing his immortal spiritual energy and fresh blood, this brush had undoubtedly become his! Forget about using it, others would not even be able to detect it’s peculiarities!

Even though he felt happy, his expression was melancholic. Ling Yun stared at the brush sucking his blood. He was determined to see just how much blood this brush intended to take!

Now, he had released his grip on the fur brush, simply letting it suck his blood freely. All Ling Yun could do was to wait for it to drop after having its fill of blood.

After half an hour, Ling Yun was turning more and more astonished! The fur brush was sucking his blood greedily like an infant sucking milk. Wanting more with each intake, it continued to suck away his blood. Now that they were connected, Ling Yun could easily sense the greed within the brush!

“God d*mn it! Haven’t you sucked enough? Just for a recognition ritual, why do you need so much blood?”

Now, the entire brush was blood red. It almost seemed like it had just been taken out from a pool of blood. A thing of horror! However, for Ling Yun who had been through training to Tribulation Stage, he had seen all sorts of abnormalities. Thus, this sight was no big deal to him.

Indeed, the brush had sucked enough blood for the entire brush to turn to the darkest red. That being said, as it continued to suck, the alluring red started to gradually lighten!

After another half an hour, due to blood loss, Ling Yun’s face had turned slightly pale. Suddenly, the brush stopped it’s gluttonous intake of blood and finally dropped towards the ground. The ever-alert Ling Yun caught it in his palm midair.

Now, the fur brush had reverted back to its original state. The stone handle of the brush was now greyish white again. Similarly, the tip of the brush was now snow white again. It was as if nothing had happened to the brush in the first place.

Once again, Ling Yun held the brush in his hand. This time, he could clearly feel a deep connection bounded by blood between him and the brush. It was a mystical sensation. It was as if the brush was one of his fingers. It could feel Ling Yun’s emotions and vice versa.

Just by holding the fur brush, Ling Yun could feel his spiritual energy surrounding and enveloping the brush. They were connected as one.

Sensing dissatisfaction from the brush, Ling Yun smiled.

“Only want immortal spiritual energy huh? For the time being, you can forget about it. For now, just be satisfied with spiritual energy!” Ling Yun exclaimed, his tone similar to how one would humor his or her child.

Now, Ling Yun was dead sure that this brush was a class above normal spiritual tools. It was a tool that actually possessed its own spiritual consciousness! However, he did not possess divine sense at the moment. Thus, he was unable to communicate directly with the brush’s consciousness, at least not until he reaches the Qi Cultivation Stage. Thus, for now, he could only resort to such communication with his brush.

Now, he tried to touch the tip of the brush once again. This time, the tip was exceptionally soft and firm. It was much smoother than brushes made from wolf’s fur. It was also a thousand times stronger! With the change in will, the tip of the brush complied and became hard and sharp. Its sharpness was sharper than any sword and it was as if there was nothing it couldn’t cut.

The brush could be used to draw talismans. With a tip finer than a needle, it could be used to carve spells on spirit jade or similar objects. Against aggression, it could even be transformed into one of the sharpest weapons. It was indeed a great treasure!

Ling Yun could not help but feel a sense of gratitude. Indeed, with good deeds comes good karma. Thus, he decided inwardly that if he ever saw a good person in need, he should lend a helping hand…

Ling Yun got up and found a piece of old newspaper. Using the brush, he tried to quickly draw a spiritual energy storage talisman on it. Seeing how well the writing turned out, he was delighted.

Of course, he had drawn it on a whim. It was useless and naturally couldn’t be used as an actual talisman.

To make an actual talisman, he would need wolf’s fur, talisman paper, cinnabar and demon’s blood. An old newspaper fails as talisman paper. With only the fur brush in his possession, he still needed to prepare the rest of the materials.

However, before he became master of the brush, he had already had a hunch that at the peak of Physique Tempering Stage Level 3, he would already be able to craft the lowest grade talisman.

With the aid of a talisman, Ling Yun’s strength would skyrocket. Be it self-defense or curing illnesses, new possibilities would open up for him.

Standing up, Ling Yun looked at the brush in his hand and grinned.

“Looks like, at the very least, you have good judgment of people! From today onwards, let’s train together. Don’t worry, you will only benefit from it!” Ling Yun exclaimed towards the brush.

After keeping the brush in his pocket securely, he returned to his own room. Once there, he decided to try to meditate once again. He sat cross-legged with palms facing upwards in a meditation posture. This was totally different from meditating to absorb spiritual energy from the Shichiyou herbs. This was true meditation!

Before reaching Physique Tempering Stage Level 4, Ling Yun had been solely training his physical body. There was, in fact, no need for meditation. However, now that he was at the peak of Physique Tempering Stage Level 3, he was able to meditate while trying to stimulate the flow of spiritual energy in his body. From Physique Tempering Stage Level 4 to 6, it could be considered as the mid-stage of Physique Tempering Stage. These levels mainly focused on mastering the flow of spiritual energy from its origin, the point below the navel. To do that, one naturally had to meditate.

However, just as Ling Yun was about to break past his level, he reached a standstill. As he tried once again to meditate and break his limits, the overflowing amount of spiritual energy refused to obey him. Eventually, dawn arrived and he was still unable to control the flow of spiritual energy. Thus, he remained in Physique Tempering Stage Level 3.

“Ah, just a bit more…”

It was half-past five in the morning. Ling Yun ended his training, shaking his head helplessly. With a long way to go, he decided to take things as they were and try another day.

Looking outside, the sky was getting brighter. Ling Yun got out of bed and took a quick shower. Bringing what he needed, he left the house and ran straight for the riverside. Being at the peak of Physique Tempering Stage Level 3, he was able to activate the Dayan Great Stars Technique fast. Furthermore, there was no way he would miss out on the precious opportunity to train at dawn. Only when the sun had risen to the sky and its rays shone heavily down on the earth did Ling Yun decide to leave the riverside. Ling Yun then ran straight to school. After all, he had promised his sister to not skip any more lessons unless there was an urgent matter.

Only when he reached the road leading to school did he start to slow down. He was now only two hundred meters away from school.

Today was Monday and this timing was the peak period where students nearby went to school. The moment Ling Yun appeared on the road, a commotion erupted!

“Wow, it’s Ling Yun! The one who had a fiery embrace with Cao Shanshan last Saturday. It’s really him!”

“You saw that picture too? I saw it too. That move was so cool!”

“Ha! A photo is still just a photo, I, on the other hand, saw the whole incident with my own eyes…”

…

Tang Meng was right, Ling Yun had indeed become famous!