Chapter 18: Reaching Rank 6

"Hnng!" I was strengthening my core with the power I wouldn't dare use even if I'd constipation.

'This damn pill better work!' I groaned internally.

My eyes were closed. Beads of perspiration covered my forehead, like early morning dewdrops resting on grass blades. They fell down one by one, onto my laps and my tightened fists.

Hot. My body was hot all over. I could feel the energy coursing through my veins and enveloping my bones. Gripping, breaking, and reforming them.

I breathed in and out; quickly at first, like a runner out of breath. Then I slowed down; taking deep breaths, like a sleeping baby.

I channelled the energy through my blood. It was an experience I'd rather not have a second time. Cultivation, even though I wanted it to be painless, was limited by my resources.

If not, why would I use such a potent pill to break through a minor rank? It WAS meant for breaking through a bottleneck, but not at once. I had to use it's energy over a period of two months and slowly refine all my bones.

However, what I was doing could hardly be considered slow. It wasn't suicidal but definitely dangerous.

'I'm going to have to modify this Copper Pagoda Body technique. It's too painful. Whoever cultivates in such a way is a pure masochist. I'm not going to accidentally kill myself by being reckless,' I vowed not to do such a thing in the future.

When the last of my bones were refined, I waited for that euphoric feeling to come; the feeling that would tell if I had broken through.

I waited for minutes and more minutes; it didn't come. Frustration was slowly gnawing my composure.

I knew it... This pill wouldn't work if I used it at once. Was there too much energy? Did it escape from my body? I didn't quite know what went wrong. I sighed and opened my eyes.

My body was tense and sweaty. Slowly, I moved my hand, then my left chest. The vibration reached to my right, going towards my other hand. A different vibration formed as I moved my legs. It went up, towards my belly and disappeared.

"Hah!" I moved my neck and suddenly, sounds of joints cracking resounded simultaneously.

And it came, like a sudden enlightenment, like when you do something the right way. I knew then and there, that I had broken through.

"Rank 6, this was faster than I'd expected. Whoever made this pill is an expert!" I meant to mumble but my voice came out loud. Loud enough that the person waiting for me outside started asking if I was alright.

I stood up and picked up my sword from the floor. Nonchalantly, I unsheathed it and looked at it's edges. There were spots of rust already. Cheap thing, it didn't even last a month. I'd bought it just two weeks ago from a random shop for half a gold.

Shiiing!

I sheathed it back. After another week, it would surely become unusable. They could've at least wiped the blood from it after they brought me here...

I needed a new weapon.

"Master Fang! Master Benfang, is there something wrong?" the young man outside had already started shouting.

"No, it's fine."

I opened the door and he got my view of how I looked. I was wearing white robes this time. My hair had grown long, but as I hated tying it up, I'd left it as it was. Now, individual strands of it stuck to my sweaty forehead.

I needed a barber as well.

My body was wet and hot, as if I'd taken a bath with my clothes on. Hah, I'd sweated too much. Within these few weeks, I'd rapidly grown muscles. My chest now had firm pecs and the outline of six packs had formed on my core. This was one of the perks of being a practitioner.

You are reading story Chronicles of Daoist Fan at novel35.com

"Master Wei told me that he wanted to meet you in the evening," said the young man. His stunned face was reflected on my brown irises.

Oh, Gang Wei got something for me? I raised my eyebrows. Him and that old fogey won't let me be at peace... I needed to quickly take care of them.

"Say, what is your name?" I asked as I started walking towards the compound. The young men walking off had just finished their morning training.

"He. Fu He is my full name," walking beside me, he answered. His voice was deep and manly.

Hands clasped behind my back, I gave him a side glance. Tsk, I could no longer deny it. He was... taller and more handsome than me. However, his head was clean shaved and he wore ragged clothes. Something told me he wasn't treated well in this family.

"Since when did you start working here, Fu He?" I came before a short staircase and placed my hands on it's railings.

"I was... bought as a slave 10 years ago," he answered. I noticed his shaking hands, no matter how expertly he tried to hide them. His ears became red as he looked down.

Maybe I shouldn't have asked him...

Slaves. There would always be slaves in any world. Although under different labels, there were two things they all are subjected to: discrimination and mistreatment.

It was the same with Fu He. His cultivation, I noticed, didn't exceed rank one even though he looked to be in his mid twenties.

Even kids who just hit puberty would be able to beat him. In a world where martial prowess was valued highly above all, this was a great shame he had to bear everyday. Such an age was for youthful romance and grand ambitions, not for slavery. Ah, what a pity...

"Go back to your room. You're dismissed," I said, stepping on the barren ground. I didn't want to bother ordering him around now. Poor man was too skinny for my use.

As a slave, he knew better than to ask after being ordered. He quietly took his leave.

'I could've given him a silver... Eh whatever, I'll throw him one when I see him next time,' Although I sympathised with him, I wasn't going to explicitly help him. He had 10 years to think about escaping from these people, what did he do? Heck, if I was a slave here, I'd have already plotted Gang family's demise.

Sure, it wouldn't have been easy, but I'd rather lick someone's boots for cultivation resources than rot here for years.

With those unnecessary thoughts, I reached below an old tree. This was the same tree on which Ling'er had leaned while watching the young men practice.

It was a large tree. I stroked its trunk and,

"Hah!", suddenly punched it.

A large chunk of dark of brown tree bark fell as I withdrew my hand. There was a visible fist mark on it, the mark of my might. Indeed, I'd grown more powerful-

'Ow... ow... My fingers...'

Well, that didn't end well. This damn tree was tougher than steel!

'How the heck? I'm sure it's a demonic tree that feeds on the evil qi of this world...' I gave it a middle finger and started looking around. No one saw me. People in the Gang family were usually busy early in the morning.

Now that I was officially above rank 5, I could also practice a movement technique other than the basic body tempering. Mobility had always been my weak point when I'd taken those rookie missions.

Finally, I could improve my movement. I had already chosen which technique to use.

The name was Silver Snake Movement, quite old fashioned in my opinion.. The thing that fascinated me about this technique was the balance, other than the quick bursts of speed it provided when executed.

You can find story with these keywords: Chronicles of Daoist Fan, Read Chronicles of Daoist Fan, Chronicles of Daoist Fan novel, Chronicles of Daoist Fan book, Chronicles of Daoist Fan story, Chronicles of Daoist Fan full, Chronicles of Daoist Fan Latest Chapter