Novel Full Chapter 60: Earth Element? Qi Sensing?
Chapter 60: Chapter 60: Earth Element? Qi Sensing?
"Oh, and those three hundred mu of land are now permanently exempt from taxes. Our family is also excused from corvée labor and other service levies."
Fang Yue was more than happy to play along, satisfying his mother’s slight desire to show off.
With every sentence Fang Yue spoke, the surrounding aunties and neighborhood women let out a collective gasp, clearly stunned by his words.
As for his mother, Ms. Chen, the smile on her face grew ever wider.
Her gaze, brimming with pride, swept across the crowd to each of her neighbors. Her eyes seemed to say it all: ’Look, everyone! This is my Zhi’Er! Isn’t he amazing!’
"Also, now that I’m a Martial Scholar, the Government Office will give me a monthly subsidy of two taels of silver. It’s not a lot, but they’ll give it to me every month for three years," Fang Yue continued.
While two taels of silver meant nothing to him, it was a government stipend. To ordinary people, that was an incredible perk.
Two taels of silver could buy a lot of meat, after all.
"No wonder, no wonder so many boys in the village have been clamoring to learn martial arts this year."
"So this is how amazing being a Martial Scholar Master is!"
"Fang Mu’s family, you’re all so fortunate now."
"I know, right? I’m dying of envy. My husband’s aunt is from the next village over, Zhou Family Village, and her youngest daughter is..."
The women nearby showered Ms. Chen and Fang Yue with praise.
Inevitably, someone brought the conversation around to Fang Yue’s marriage prospects. After all, with someone as outstanding as Fang Yue, who wouldn’t want their daughter to marry into his family?
Even if their own family didn’t have a suitable daughter, a relative’s would do. As long as they could become in-laws with the Fang Family, how could their future not be bright!
"Hold on, hold on. My Zhi’Er is going to marry a heavenly fairy."
Thankfully, just as Fang Yue was getting extremely embarrassed, Ms. Chen stopped the enthusiastic women.
Though, in her heart, she was also eager to arrange a marriage for Fang Yue so the Fang Family could carry on its bloodline and be blessed with many descendants.
But, of course, she kept in mind what Fang Yue had told her before.
No talk of marriage before the Martial Examination.
But the praise and envy from the crowd kept a constant smile on Ms. Chen’s face. Even after they got home, she was still beaming for quite a while.
"Dear, what’s the happy occasion?" Father Fang asked.
"Hmph, what are you just standing there for? Can’t you see Zhi’Er is back? Hurry up and start the fire, I need to cook for him."
~~~~~~
Before long, a meal made specially for Fang Yue was served.
The meal was very sumptuous, with four dishes and a soup.
Two of them were even meat dishes.
Of course, they were all made from dried, cured meat—jerky preserved from the game Fang Yue had hunted himself.
After all, this was a relatively remote countryside.
It wasn’t like families slaughtered a pig every day; getting your hands on fresh pork was actually quite difficult.
While he ate, Ms. Chen watched from the side, asking if this dish was tasty or if that one was too salty. Every word dripped with care and affection.
In the end, Fang Yue somehow managed to eat every last bite himself.
"Mom, I’m hungry too."
Apparently, watching Fang Yue eat had stirred up his older brother Fang Cheng’s appetite.
"Eat what? You already ate four flatbreads for dinner, more than our ox eats! What more could you possibly eat? Can’t you see how fat you’re getting?!"
Ms. Chen shot him a glare, scaring Fang Cheng into swallowing the rest of his words.
~~~~~~
Night fell. Inside Fang Yue’s room.
An oil lamp was lit.
The window was half-open, and a gentle evening breeze drifted in.
It had rained a few days prior, and the fresh scent of damp earth hung in the air. The chirping of crickets rose and fell, punctuated by the occasional bark of a neighborhood dog.
At this moment, however, Fang Yue was looking through the beast-skin booklet in his hands.
’Primordial Qi...’
’Sensing... Qi Vein...’
’Congregate to become Earth Qi...’
As Fang Yue looked through the Secret Manual, the Earth Element True Skill, the more he read, the more his eyes filled with shock and doubt.
This Cultivation Technique was completely different from the White Tiger Fist he was currently practicing.
This technique started with Sensing a strange power called the Power of Primordial Spirit, gathering it through the Qi Veins all over the body to form Earth Qi, and then using this Qi to refine one’s body into an Earth Body.
’Isn’t the Qi Sensing realm supposed to come after Marrow Transformation, when your blood and energy are so vigorous they can be refined into Qi? That’s how you reach the Qi Sensing realm.’
’But this Cultivation Technique has you start with Qi Cultivation right away. And it’s not derived from blood and energy, but directly refined from some strange power in the void called Primordial Spirit Qi?’
At this thought, Fang Yue’s heart began to pound.
Because some of the descriptions in this Secret Manual—Qi Veins, Power of Primordial Spirit—sounded an awful lot like the Spirit Roots he had read about in the novels of his previous life.
Could it be that this Secret Manual was actually a manual for immortal cultivation?
Or perhaps, this was just how the Qi Sensing realm always was.
Maybe he was just making a big deal out of nothing. After all, Fang Yue had never even seen a Qi Sensing Secret Manual before.
And he had never met a Martial Artist in the Qi Sensing realm either.
So, he couldn’t be sure what this Cultivation Technique really was, though his instincts screamed that it was anything but simple.
’Still, if ’demons’ might exist in this world, then perhaps immortal cultivation is real after all!’
Although Fang Yue had his Golden Finger, a person’s lifespan was limited.
Therefore, if he could achieve longevity, he would be able to make even greater use of his Talent’s ability.
’But it’s too early to draw conclusions. Maybe I’m just ignorant, and this is simply how cultivation works in the Qi Sensing realm in this world.’
Fang Yue gradually calmed down and studied the Secret Manual carefully.
Once he had memorized the contents of the Secret Manual so thoroughly he was sure not a single detail was forgotten...
...Fang Yue lit the beast-skin booklet on fire. It burst into flames and burned easily, quickly turning into a pile of ash.
’Either way, I’ll know once I try.’
After clearing all the stray thoughts from his mind, Fang Yue began to attempt cultivation according to the instructions in the manual.
~~~~~~
Several hours later, a faint golden shimmer appeared on the horizon.
Before long, the sun leaped over the mountain peak, revealing a sliver of fiery red.
’HUFF... It’s no use. Still not working. It seems my Talent isn’t good enough to meet the minimum requirements for this Cultivation Technique.’
Fang Yue shook his head in disappointment. He had tried a total of seven times.
But without exception, absolutely nothing had happened.
He couldn’t enter the state of ’Sensing,’ so naturally, he couldn’t sense the so-called ’Power of Primordial Spirit,’ which meant he couldn’t continue cultivating.
The thought caused even someone with Fang Yue’s mental fortitude to feel a pang of discouragement.
But he quickly snapped out of it.
’I can’t cultivate immortality now, but perhaps it’s just because I haven’t met the conditions yet.’
’My Talent isn’t high enough, or my Cultivation Realm is too low.’
But as long as he had time, Fang Yue believed he would definitely succeed in mastering this Cultivation Technique.
After all, his Talent was increasing every single day.