True Martial World - Chapter 15: Thunder Occurring in the Nine Clouds, Surprise Bow Drops Flock

Lian Tribal Clan's training grounds.

Thirty strongmen were training in the middle of the ground, causing a tiny sandstorm.

They were the members of the Lian tribe's warrior preparation camp. Instructing them was the Lian tribal clan's Instructor, Yao Yuan. He was one of the three warriors besides the Patriarch and Lian Chengyu who had reached the fifth level of Mortal Blood.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The punches roared into the sky. Each of these members of the warrior preparation camp had been groomed arduously by the tribe.

It was near winter; it was cold and windy in the vast wilderness, but each and every member of the warrior preparation camp was sweating bullets from their practice!

Up on a platform, Instructor Yao Yuan, who was overseeing them, frowned and shouted "Stop!"

Yao Yuan's roar was as loud as thunder!

The practicing warriors immediately stopped.

"Let me teach you the 'Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist'. It is one of the basic skills handed down by the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom! This 'Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist' may only consist of eighteen stances, but each stance is filled with deep knowledge! You idiotic pigs have only learned the moves, but you do not understand the deep underlying knowledge. It's showy but of no use!"

Yao Yuan's words negated all of the hard work the men had spent cultivating themselves!

However, no one dared said anything because Yao Yuan had extreme prestige in the warrior preparation camp.

Lian Chenyu had high prestige because of his future. He could become a Purple Blood Warrior, or a level even higher than Purple Blood.

As for Yao Yuan, he had high prestige because of his past.

Yao Yuan was not a member of the Lian tribe. He was an outsider who had previously reached the level of Purple Blood. However he had been wounded while being chased by his enemies and fell back into the realm of a normal warrior. He entered the vast wilderness to seek refuge and found it in the Lian tribe where he then stayed for several years.

Although he had lost his powers, Yao Yuan still had his experience. No one was unconvinced of his ability to train the warrior preparation camp.

That was because Lian Chengyu was trained by Yao Yuan!

A youth like Lian Chengyu, having grown up in a small tribe like the Lian tribe, would he have been able to attained so much without a master expert's guidance?

“Do not look down on this ‘Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist’. In the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, the most precious skill would be the “Tai Ah Sacred Skill”, but you can only gain access to it after reaching a very high level. It’s of no use for those below Purple Blood! For those below Purple Blood, you have to practice the ‘Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist’! Even the royal family members of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom do so!”

"'Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist' is a top skill for training your body. If you want to measure its value, an entire city might not be enough! The Tai Ah Divine Kingdom wanted to strengthen the kingdom's strength by giving the poor an opportunity to learn martial arts and face the dangers plaguing the vast wilderness. As a result, they deliberately made 'Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist' a public skill. Being able to learn this set of skills is your good fortune!"

"To reach Mortal Blood's Qi Gatherer stage, you must go through the stages of Valiant, Vigor, Thunderous and Meridians! And to cultivate those, you will need to cultivate your strength, refine your muscles, your bones and your organs! The eighteen stances in the set of 'Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist' refine your muscles, organs and bones!"

"If you can truly understand the first six stances of the 'Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist', you will be able to lift a 500-kilogram cauldron. With one cauldron's strength, you can draw a nine-picul bow, and with an extended pull, the arrow shot out will be able to travel a thousand paces, and still be able to pierce through chain mail!" Yao Yuan instructed loudly and not a single word was missed by Yi Yun.

"Lifting a 500-kilogram cauldron, drawing a nine-picul bow..."

Yi Yun was fascinated. In this world, nine piculs was 450 kilograms!

"Listening to what Yao Yuan said, this 'Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist' is indeed a very good fist technique. To think that in order to strengthen the kingdom, the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom opened up this basic fist skill to the public. The monarch of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom has some qualities of a sage."

Without blinking, Yi Yun stared at the training grounds while holding his breath. He was here to secretly learn martial arts!

The fist stances Yi Yun had learned prior to tunneling through space-time were military boxing while he was doing his mandatory military education. It could only be considered street brawling and would not do in this strange world. Although his fitness had improved tremendously, he would be at a disadvantage against a real enemy without martial arts or techniques!

Without techniques, his cultivation would be much slower in the future.

The problem would be magnified the higher he went. If not, the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' wouldn't be so treasured!

"I'll do a demonstration for you first. Look carefully!" Yao Yuan's voice roared as Yi Yun paid close attention.

"This move is called 'Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain'. It's good for training the tendons!"

Yao Yuan stood in front of a wooden stake, and stretched his left foot forward. He grabbed his left ankle with his left hand before bending his right knee. With his body curved, his back was bent like a bow, emitting faint sounds.

This posture looked very weird, but it gave the impression of a bow being pulled. Yao Yuan's right fist, by his waist, was just like the arrow on the bow!

Suddenly, Yao Yuan moved!

His body straightened suddenly.

"Bam––"

Yi Yun heard a very clear loud sound from Yao Yuan's body.

Yao Yuan's right fist had moved like lightning, hitting the wooden stake!

"Boom!"

The wooden stake split apart!

The surrounding warrior preparation camp members let out a gasp.

"Instructor Yao is amazing!"

"Damn, it was such a thick stake, and he split it with a fist. Instructor Yao is teaching the way of the metal fist!"

The bunch of men started to suck up to Yao Yuan, but they were all truly in admiration. In the vast wilderness, the strong was always worshiped.

Yao Yuan's face was furious despite all the fawning he received from the men.

"All you saw was my fist?"

"Hmph! I said previously, this 'Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain' is a move to train your tendons! The reason my fist destroyed the stake was not because my fist was strong, but because I used the strength in my tendons!"

"Everyone's body is a treasure! Do you know that in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, there's a treasured bow named the Star Shooting Bow. Do you know what its bowstring is made of?"

The men were clueless when Yao Yuan asked. Having never heard of the Star Shooting Bow, how would they know what the bowstring was made of?

"Is it made of silk?"

"Is it the legendary ribs of a dragon?"

Yao Yuan shook his head saying, "The Star Shooting Bow bowstring is made of the tendons of the founding emperor of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom after he died!"

Yao Yuan's words left the men dumbfounded.

Human tendons as bowstrings!?

"That's right! The move I just used, 'Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain' was to stretch my entire body out. Using the bones as a bow and tendons as the bowstring, I 'shot' out my fist! Being able to perfectly exert one's tendon's strength is the crux of 'Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain'! So 'Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain' is a move used to train one's tendons, not fist!" noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

"Did you not hear the sounds my body made when I threw out the punch?"”

There was a very clear sound when Yao Yuan punched. Yi Yun had heard it very clearly and it was exactly the sound a bowstring produced when an arrow was shot.

"Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain“ is a skill that pulls your tendons, making them stronger and more elastic! At the peak of 'Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain', just the sound the tendons produce is enough to scare a goose flying in the sky! This is known as 'Surprise Bow Drops Flock'!"

"'Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist' has another move, 'Dragon Rising to Nine Skies', which is a move that trains one's bones. When this is punched out, the whole skeleton will crack loudly like a lightning-less thunder from a distance!"

“Thunder Occurring in the Nine Clouds, Surprise Bow Drops Flock. If you reach this realm, you can be considered to have mastered 'Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist'!"

After hearing Yao Yuan's words, the men stared agape. It had to be an exaggeration!

Could a person reach such a realm?

Seeing the men's expressions, Yao Yuan knew it was hopeless.

He carried on, "The realm of Thunder Occurring in the Nine Clouds, Surprise Bow Drops Flock can be quite a challenge for all of you. I do not expect that you will reach that realm, but if you were to cultivate your tendons to sound out like a bowstring, no matter how tiny; to cultivate your bones to create the skeleton cracking sounds, I would be satisfied!"

"In that case, you will have at least reached the third level, Thunderous."

As Yao Yuan was teaching the men, Yi Yun’s blood was sent pulsing through his veins as he heard this.

Thunder Occurring in the Nine Clouds, Surprise Bow Drops Flock!

Could he reach such a state?

Yao Yuan described the 'Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist' as something so valuable that "an entire city might not be enough". A city in this strange world was worth more than the cities on Earth. Each city in the vast wilderness had to withstand the test of the desolate beasts. Without many experts, it would not be possible to hold it down. To build a city, a staggering amount of blood had to spill!

It was obvious considering how many of the poor people supported Lian Chengyu's cultivation just from his simple promise of the city.

"I must observe this set of fist techniques well. If I were to learn it well, it would be a breeze during the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom warrior selection. I might even be able to get the title of 'Kingdom Knight'. When that happens, Sis Xiaorou will bask in glory together with me!"

Having come to this world, Yi Yun decided to make the best of it.

True Martial World - Chapter 14: Sucking it all dry

"This Purple Crystal can even absorb the energy of herbs? Yes! The herbs must contain some 'herbal essence' and it itself must be a form of energy."

"A warrior will become stronger after eating herbs. This is because their bodies will absorb the herbal essence, transforming it into energy."

Yi Yun felt enlightened. He had been doing numerous experiments for the past few days. He had used fire, hot water, static electricity from rubbing clothes, objects that Yi Yun felt "contained energy". However, the Purple Crystal could not absorb these "energies".

The known energies the Purple Crystal could absorb were starlight, desolate bones, herbal essence, and the Yuan Qi from Lian Chengyu's attack.

Thinking carefully, these energies, besides the weak starlight, were all highly relevant to this world's cultivation of martial artists.

Maybe even starlight was related to cultivation. This world might even have a cultivation technique that absorbed starlight.

As for the desolate bones and herbs, it was needless saying that they were good items that enhanced a martial artist's body.

It seems that the Purple Crystal could only absorb energies that aided in martial practice.

However, after the Purple Crystal absorbed the herbal essence in the Dan Guo, would the Dan Guo still be useful?

It's probably useless!

The Dan Guo still looked perfect, but it was in fact worse than herbal dreg.

Yi Yun knew that items like Dan Guo could not be eaten directly. A special procedure had to be done to brew it.

And the brewing procedure was only known by the upper echelons of the tribe.

Besides the Dan Guo, all the other herbs in the Lian Clan Herb Mountain would be poisonous when directly eaten. Not only did they lack any benefit, they would also be hard to digest, causing a person to bleed to death!

If not for that, the Lian tribal clan would not have so easily let the poor pick herbs from the mountain. If they had eaten the herbs for themselves, how would anyone ever know?

However, after the Purple Crystal absorbed the herbal essence of the Dan Guo, it nourished Yi Yun's body without causing any toxic effects. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

This was the magical property of the Purple Crystal.

It converted chaotic energies into energies ordinary people could absorb. It allowed Yi Yun to absorb all the herbs on the mountain without anyone knowing!

It was totally undetectable!

Upon realizing this, Yi Yun could not help but laugh.

"Yun’er what are you laughing about?" Jiang Xiaorou shouted. She was anxious over Yi Yun, worried that he would fall again. It would be a terrible outcome if he were to fall onto the rocks from such a high height.

"Sis Xiaorou, see what this is?"

Yi Yun plucked and threw the Dan Guo, which had lost all its essence, down.

"Dan Guo? It's huge!"

Jiang Xiaorou was pleased, but felt a sense of sadness. A twenty-year-old Dan Guo may be good, but her brother had no opportunity to use it. It would only be brewed by the old men in the tribe before letting Lian Chengyu soak in it.

With mixed emotions, Jiang Xiaorou stored the Dan Guo in the herb basket.

Their mission was to pick 8 ozs of herbs per person. The required weight was based on the lowest graded herbs. This twenty-year-old Dan Guo would be considered more. With the good luck they had today, they could keep their rations.

It was such a pathetic state. Risking her and her brother's life just to pick herbs, even if they had fate defying luck that allowed them to pick up all sorts of rare herbs, all of their hard work would be handed over to others for nothing.

"Yun’er, just do it adequately. Do not climb up any further."

Jiang Xiaorou shouted worriedly when she saw Yi Yun climbing more than ten meters high. The herbs won't be for themselves, so it was pointless to risk their lives.

Yi Yun pretended not to hear her because he had seen a light float above a tall pine tree nearby. There were herbs there!

Yi Yun easily climbed over, with one hand on the branch, he plucked off an umbrella shaped herb from the pine tree's roots.

"Black Fungus is more valuable than Dan Guo."

Yi Yun was delighted as he absorbed all the energy without reservation from the Black Fungus. That hearty feeling was felt once again. Yi Yun knew that the energy from the Black Fungus had entered his heart and traveled to every part of his body, nourishing his muscles. This feeling was so comfortable for Yi Yun.

After all, Yi Yun had been in a constant state of hunger for the past few days.

After his marrow cleansing, Yi Yun felt hungrier than ever before. Yi Yun's body was in rapid growth and it was desperate for energy, but he was not capable enough to hunt alone.

Eating large amounts of food could provide the energy he needed, but how could normal food compare to herbs? This Dan Guo and Black Fungus were timely assistance to Yi Yun!

Yi Yun noticed that, after absorbing the Black Fungus and a few rounds of blood circulation, the herbal properties of the Black Fungus had given him plenty of strength and improving his eyesight. He could see the head and the six legs of an ant about ten meters away.

Black Fungus could improve one's eyesight. Yi Yun wasn't well versed in pharmacology but he understood that low grade herbs such as these did not have such amazing results. The old fogies in the tribe would have to use large quantities of herbs when brewing medicine for it to have any effect.

Using the Purple Crystal however, the results were immediate and very notable.

This Purple Crystal might have increased the effectiveness of the herbs!

Yi Yun threw the "high grade herbal dreg" Black Fungus down to Jiang Xiaorou.

"Black Fungus! Yun’er, how could you have such good luck?!"

Jiang Xiaorou felt incredulous. Such a high grade herb might be picked once in the entire day, but Yi Yun actually managed to pick two. He was too lucky!

Yi Yun laughed without responding. With the Purple Crystal, as long as he neared the herbs, he would see light dots rise up, like a lighthouse, leading him to them. How could he not pick valuable herbs?

At this point, Yi Yun had already climbed more than ten meters high, After perfectly absorbing the herbal essence of the two herbs, he felt more energetic than usual, climbing more than ten meters was an easy task.

However, Yi Yun didn't want his actions to be too alarming, so he climbed back down again.

He changed locations and carried on picking herbs!

Yi Yun strategy of absorbing, picking and finishing the herbs was like a hurricane sweeping through. He discovered that this Lian Clan Herb Mountain was like his own treasure ground.

He had been starving for days, and had been worried that he wouldn’t have the strength to cultivate himself. However, this Lian Clan Herb Mountain had solved this big problem of his.

Yi Yun climbed up a cliff which was extremely high. Few could get up there and from Jiang Xiaorou's angle, she couldn't see what Yi Yun was doing.

"Yun’er, be careful!"

Jiang Xiaorou's voice came from the bottom of the cliff but it was distorted by the mountain winds.

"Sis Xiaorou, don't worry, I know myself."

Yi Yun was jumping up the rocks easily, even a four meter wall was overcome by Yi Yun with a single kick.

In his field of view, he noticed that a baby-fist sized light emitted from a boulder's cracks.

This light was ten times brighter than any of the light dots Yi Yun had previously seen!

"Oh? This is?!"

Yi Yun was shocked. To be able to emit such a bright light, the herb within the boulder must be extremely valuable.

Yi Yun pushed the boulder away and found a crooked Purple Jade Ginseng. It was well hidden at the top of a cliff few could climb. So it had grown for years without being discovered.

This was too good for Yi Yun.

Yi Yun made no reservations in sucking out the Purple Jade Ginseng's energy with the Purple Crystal.

The Purple Crystal was filled with purple light which gathered within Yi Yun's body. Yi Yun felt a surge of warmness spreading through his meridians, heating up his limbs before rising to his head. It made Yi Yun's five senses more keen and made his limbs feel like they were floating.

This feeling was the same as being drunk. Yet, his body was extremely warm. Yi Yun felt like he had infinite energy that now needed venting!

Yi Yun's body was itchy and uncomfortable. He looked up and saw a boulder that seemed to weigh 300 catties. Yi Yun felt as if there were millions of ants crawling on him, so he had to vent the overflowing strength.

He came to the boulder and lifted it up.

Once! Twice! Thrice!

After lifting the boulder more than ten times, his body broke out into warm sweat, but it now felt extremely content.

He didn't feel like it was thrilling enough and started carrying the rock to do deep squat jumps. After jumping for twenty times, his feet grew numb. The sweat on him had all evaporated.

It felt great!

Yi Yun moved his body and all his joints cracked!

When a martial artist practiced, he would consume desolate bones, soak his body in herbs to strengthen his mind and body!

After strengthening, by supplementing it with daily training, without the resources or willpower, it would be impossible to amount to anything.

Yi Yun didn't touch the Purple Jade Ginseng. Such a high grade herb would cause a commotion. Furthermore, he had already absorbed all of its medicinal properties and didn't want to cause trouble for himself by picking it.

A normal person, without rest, might not be able to pick 8 ozs of herbs, but with the Purple Crystal leading him, and his keen senses, he could see the herbs from afar. So in two hours, he had picked the required 16 ozs of herbs for both Jiang Xiaorou and himself.

Of course, all the herbs had been sucked dry by the Purple Crystal. Although they looked fine on the surface, they had already become herbal dregs.

Yi Yun passed the herb basket to Jiang Xiaorou, ordering her not to hand over the herbs too early to prevent suspicion.

"Yun’er...how did you do it so fast…?" Jiang Xiaorou felt that, regardless of anything, her brother had finished picking the herbs at an astonishing speed. “

"My luck was great. Sis Xiaorou, I will go down for something now. You just need to be here to act busy. I am leaving!"

With that said, Yi Yun tore down the mountain.

True Martial World - Chapter 13: The Unexpected Outcome of picking Herbs

Although the Lian tribe was located in the wilderness where living conditions were tough, the tribe owned a herb producing area, and that was the Lian Clan Herb Mountain!

The Lian Clan Herb Mountain was an area with a higher density of Yuan Qi, which was conducive for the growing of herbs. It could barely be considered a shrine.

Although said to be a shrine, it was only regarded as one by the poor Lian tribal clan. In the eyes of a large tribe, the Lian Clan Herb Mountain would be nothing. After all, in the vast wilderness, there were plenty of places with dense Yuan Qi.

A typical large tribe would choose to settle down next to rich wonderlands. Only such places were rich in production and beneficial for the cultivation of warriors.

The most important factor was that the strong desolate and wild beasts avoided these "shrines" for some unknown reason. This was most important as it ensured the safety of the tribes.

Of course there would be the rare occurrence of an injured or provoked desolate beast that would charge through and destroy a small tribe.

Everything had both advantages and disadvantages. While keeping out a large number of desolate beasts, the shrine also caused the number of animals in its vicinity to dwindle. Hunting was not an easy task as the rabbits or deer in its vicinity had been hunted clean early on.

As such, only Purple Blood Warriors had the ability to go into the vast wilderness to hunt.

The shrines in the vast wilderness were a highly sought after resource. The Lian tribe's herb mountain was considered to be of an extremely low grade, if not, how was the Lian tribe able to hold onto it?

Although the herb mountain was of a low grade, to the Lian tribe it was still highly treasured for it was the reason why the tribe was formed.

Every time the villagers were sent up the mountain to pick herbs, they would have to undergo a rigorous body search to prevent anyone from secretly hoarding herbs.

Yi Yun carried the herb basket and walked alongside Jiang Xiaorou, asking about the martial world's levels.

The lowest level of martial arts was called Mortal Blood, and warriors of the Mortal Blood level were called Mortal Blood Warriors.

Mortal Blood did not have a clear boundary for its levels, it was just a general term used by the martial arts community. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

Mortal Blood came from the fact that they were mortals with normal blood.

Mortal Blood Warriors was in truth just normal warriors. Although they practiced martial arts, they were not able to distinguish themselves from other mortals. They could not escape the fact that they were still mortals.

However, Mortal Blood Warrior were much stronger than normal people. They could tear a tiger apart and run as fast as horses.

The realm of Mortal Blood was split into five levels, first level – Valiant, second level – Vigor, third level – Thunderous, fourth level – Meridians, fifth level – Qi Gatherer.

The first level of Valiant was obtained through continuous weight lifting, running, piling, wrestling and nourishing one’s body through ginseng, antlers, meat and various treasured food. By slowly improving their body's constitution, their strength and speed would greatly improve!

Yi Yun's current level was considered Valiant. His strength had increased to about 300 catties and his speed was twice that of Zhao Tiezhu.

Yi Yun could be considered to be much stronger than most Valiant warriors as he was only twelve years old and his physical fitness was comparable to a fit male.

Strictly speaking, Valiant could not even be considered to be the first step into martial arts.

For Mortal Blood level two, Vigor would refer to a martial artist with greatly improved fitness, with extremely long breaths. A well trained Vigor could form an air arrow with one breath. This was known as "Breathes in like a Snake, Out like an Arrow". It was visually obvious in winter, and an air arrow could shoot as far as 5 feet away while piercing through paper!

A person at the level of Vigor would have a third of the heartbeat rate of a normal person. However, every deliverance of blood had lingering effects. Such a warrior could run as fast as a horse for an hour without panting or have his heartbeats increase.

Third level Thunderous referred to the body's perfection of circulation, muscle, fascia, and bones. Every part of the body could be perfectly coordinated. One could stay perfectly still and attack like a lion.

A Thunderous warrior, having perfected his body, would emit thunder-like sounds from his joints when he exerted strength, giving the level its name.

Fourth level Meridians referred to the clearing of the twelve meridians, as well as the conception and governor vessels, resulting in the perfect circulation of the meridians. Upon reaching this level, a martial artist could feel the world's Yuan Qi.

Fifth level Qi Gatherer supplemented the fourth level's Meridians. A martial artist could feel the world's Yuan Qi, and also absorb it into his body.

At the peak of Qi Gatherer, the world's Yuan Qi would transform the body, rejuvenating a person and result in him reaching a brand new state, Purple Blood.

Strictly speaking, the Purple Blood realm was the true beginning of martial arts training.

When a warrior cultivated his body to a certain stage, his body would undergo changes. The moment he breaks through into the Purple Blood realm, all of his blood will become as heavy as mercury. This blood will appear as being golden purple in the sun.

This gave the realm its name!

Warriors entering the realm of Purple Blood were very strong, and could, single-handedly, support a small tribe. Hence, a Purple Blood Warrior enjoyed an extremely high status in the wilderness.

A Purple Blood Warrior would be treated as an emperor in any small or medium tribe. Every member of the tribe would obey his instructions for he had vast control and he determined the life and death of the tribe. All the pretty women in the tribe were up to the Purple Blood Warrior's choice. All the women with the Purple Blood Warrior would also be honored, so even if she was the daughter of the Patriarch, she would gladly climb into his bed.

This was unavoidable. Which girl, leading a precarious life eating tiny amounts of porridge, would not embrace the appearance of a hero who could lead her to a better life?

In this age, people exalted the strong, especially females!

"Yun’er, I will climb up to pick the herbs. I will throw them down for you to pick up." Jiang Xiaorou said as she tried climbing up a vine. The Lian Clan Herb Mountain covered a vast area but it was an extremely dangerous mountain!

Most of the previous herbs grew on the cliffs, so they were not easy to pick.

Climbing the cliffs to pick herbs was an extremely dangerous task. It led to many deaths. Yi Yun had previously fallen to his death.

With Yi Yun revived, Jiang Xiaorou was adamant not to let Yi Yun climb the cliff again.

Yi Yun insisted on not letting Jiang Xiaorou take the risk. He said, "Sis, you pick the herbs at the bottom. Leave the top to me!"

"Yun’er, stop fooling around! You just recovered. How could you have the energy to climb..." Jiang Xiaorou said as she suddenly saw Yi Yun grab onto the vine and climb up nimbly like a monkey.

"Yun...Yun’er..." Jiang Xiaorou stared as she saw Yi Yun climbing up. He was climbing the vertical cliff as though it was flat ground. When did Yun’er become so agile?

Picking herbs off a cliff wasn't just about climbing high. It also required experience and to be familiar with the herbs and where they most likely grew.

For example, some herbs preferred the shade, while others preferred to be in the sun. Some herbs preferred it dry, while others preferred it moist.

Yi Yun had caught up on his herbal knowledge the day before, but his knowledge was still limited.

He was planning on using his agility to make up for his lack of knowledge, but he quickly learned that it wasn't required.

Just as Yi Yun reached a height of 8 meters, he saw light dots rise up from a boulder a short distance away.

The light dots remained in the air for a few seconds before they flew straight into Yi Yun's chest.

Following that, the Purple Crystal's faint coolness became more vivid, and energy flowed through his veins, making him feel extremely comfortable.

Without question, the Purple Crystal was absorbing energy.

"Could it be..."

Yi Yun easily climbed over and looked under the boulder and saw fiery red fruits the size of his fists!

Dan Guo was a low quality Purple Blood realm herb. Looking at its color, it was likely more than twenty years old.

Yi Yun was delighted. Just as he wanted to pick it, a light dot flew out from the Dan Guo and right into his chest!

A few seconds later, a third light dot, followed by a fourth.

The number of light dots increased. The Dan Guo's surface had a slight sheen, so without careful examination, it would have been missed.

The Purple Crystal could absorb the essence of the Dan Guo!

True Martial World - Chapter 12: Do you know about the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom

The next morning, Yi Yun woke up early to pick herbs.

Passing by the training grounds, Yi Yun saw that the members of the warrior preparation camp had gathered on the grounds. There was a huge pot centered amongst them. In it cooked something that smelled delicious!

It was the smell of meat!

Yi Yun recognized the smell immediately as he had been hungry for days.

After the marrow cleansing, Yi Yun realized that his appetite was tremendous. All the coarse rice porridge was cleanly digested the moment it entered his stomach.

Yi Yun understood that as his body got better, its appetite for energy would also grow larger.

Being a person in the early beginnings of martial training, he didn't have the ability to absorb "Heaven-Earth Yuan Qi". He could only rely on food as his source of energy.

However, the pathetic amounts of rice porridge he ate daily was utterly inadequate to replenish his energy!

Without food, how could he grow stronger?

All the elites in the tribe ate desolate beast meat daily. It gave them large amounts of high quality energy and it was worlds apart from the whole grain porridge he ate!

Yi Yun knew that if he starved himself for prolonged periods, it would cause adverse harm to his body. He was still in his growing years and he only had a tremendous improvement in his body due to having been rejuvenated through the marrow cleansing.

Just like when a bamboo reaches the jointing stage, if too little water is provided, it would lead to the inability of harvesting it. It would cause tremendous trouble!

In fact, Yi Yun's current capabilities could easily allow him admission into the warrior preparation camp, where he could enjoy better treatment. However, if he wanted to obtain everything as a young fledging, the secret of the Purple Crystal might be revealed. His rejuvenation overnight could never be explained.

Besides, Yi Yun was not amiable with the warrior preparation camp, or Lian Chengyu, so he had no plans to enter the warrior preparation camp. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

"It must be wild beast meat. They obtained it by hunting." Jiang Xiaorou said jealously.

Based on this world's customs, a normal person ate two meals a day. They wouldn't eat breakfast upon waking up at 5am, but would instead eat at 9am.

Only the warriors and the warrior trainees could have three meals a day. They could eat the moment they woke up as they needed the energy for training.

Because the members of the warrior preparation camp needed to train, they didn't need to participate in the manufacturing process. They would occasionally go hunting.

Due to the dangers of the wilderness, these warrior trainees obtained very little from their hunts. With the small amounts obtained, the food was eaten by themselves and none would be given the people. The reason being that they needed to eat meat for training and to grow strength. For the poor plebeians, all they did was handiwork, which didn't exhaust much energy, so grain would suffice for them.

When Yi Yun and Jiang Xiaorou passed by, the men from the warrior preparation camp saw them. Zhao Tiezhu whistled as he took a piece of meat, with the bone attached, and munched on it in front of Yi Yun and Jiang Xiaorou.

"This roe deer meat is so fragrant, hahaha!" Zhao Tiezhu laughed with a triumphant expression.

The meat was flame roasted with salt and spices, the juices oozed out with a fragrance!

Zhao Tiezhu ate messily while licking his lips and fingers, as if he was about to swallow his own tongue.

Besides doing that, he sporadically took out a goat hide container and sparingly drank from it.

It was alcohol!

In the Lian tribe, alcohol was an absolute luxury. With food being scarce, how was it possible to get grains to make alcohol?

The members of the warrior preparation camp could obtain a lot more rations, allowing them to use a small portion of their rations to make alcohol. They used the alcohol to warm their bodies during the winter mornings.

Even the remnants from the brewing were not wasted as they would distribute them to the poor. Although the remnants would have turned sour, it was still better than starving to death, so the remnants were never wasted.

As such, the tribal elders had never objected to the warrior preparation camp’s secret brewing.

"Hahaha, drinking alcohol and eating meat are great joys in life."

Zhao Tiezhu laughed loudly without a care in life.

It was only during such times that Zhao Tiezhu enjoyed the joys of life and the benefits of being a member of the warrior preparation camp bestowed upon him.

"These two beggars are really pitiful. Let's give them some of the leftover broth later."

The doe deer was roasted, so there was no broth. Jiang Xiaorou knew Zhao Tiezhu was deliberately teasing them. With a grunt, she grabbed Yi Yun's hand, ready to leave. However, at that moment, her stomach betrayed her by growling.

Because Zhao Tiezhu was further away, he did not hear it, but Yi Yun heard it clearly. Jiang Xiaorou blushed red from embarrassment.

Yi Yun watched by the sidelines, amused at her cuteness. To Jiang Xiaorou, having her stomach growl was beneath her status as an elder sister.

"Sis Xiaorou, in the future I will get you all sorts of delicacies, letting you eat the most delicious foods in the world!" Yi Yun said seriously while looking into Jiang Xiaorou's eyes.

Jiang Xiaorou was shocked to hear her brother say such words. She brushed it off as child speak, but was happy that Yi Yun was so thoughtful of her.

She tenderly touched Yi Yun on the head and, with a baby voice, said to him, "Sis is waiting!"

Being teased and touched on the head by a young girl, Yi Yun was speechless. Though, what could he do when he was shorter than her? "Sis Xiaorou, do you know about the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom?

Based on what Lian Chengyu had said, there would be a Tai Ah Divine Kingdom warrior selection in three months. Once chosen, the person will undergo a drastic change in status. That was why Lian Chengyu was so desperate on cultivating himself, and obtained a piece of desolate bone at any cost.

"Tai Ah Divine Kingdom..." Xiaorou's expression wandered into her memories. "The Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's is an ancient human kingdom. It has jurisdiction over 108 states and 24 wild lands!"

"Our present location is amongst the 24 wild lands, named Cloud Wilderness."

"The Tai Ah Divine Kingdom is very powerful and it has many experts in the capital. The kingdom's warriors mostly come from the 108 states. It's not that the wild lands' warriors are weak, but because of the low population in the 24 wild lands it requires a lot of logistics and manpower to organize a warrior selection, so the assessment costs are high.“

For the warrior selection process, the preliminaries will be done by people from the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom to select people from the tribes, or those young warriors would be going to their deaths by crossing the wilderness.

"However, this time, the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom choice of doing the warrior selection in the Cloud Wilderness is extremely odd. Regardless, it is a great opportunity for the numerous small tribes in the Cloud Wilderness. Lian Chengyu has eyed this opportunity and wants to soar to the top in one go, escaping this poor small village."

Jiang Xiaorou slowly explained to a surprised Yi Yun, "Sis, how do you know so much?"

Jiang Xiaorou's voice may still sound juvenile, but her insight and verbal ability was nothing like a child's.

"I heard all of this from my birth mother. I also read quite a lot about strange phenomena when I was young, so I know quite a bit. Yun’er, it looks like you do not remember a lot of things. I taught you how to read too."

"Oh..." Yi Yun rubbed his head and smiled sheepishly. Indeed, how could a kid from a poor family read?

It was all thanks to Jiang Xiaorou that he could read.

To be able to read since she was young, Jiang Xiaorou must have been born with a silver spoon.

"Sis Xiaorou, Lian Chengyu said that if he were to become a kingdom warrior of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, he would bring the entire tribe into the city, is that true?"

"Extremely difficult..." Jiang Xiaorou shook her head. "The Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's warrior selection has many rounds. There are things like the preliminaries and semi-finals. Many are eliminated each round. Those with exceptional results are bestowed with the title 'Kingdom Knight. That is an extremely prestigious title. The best amongst the Kingdom Knight will be able to enter the kingdom's capital and enjoy the kingdom's resources as well as learn the "Tai Ah Sacred Technique!”

"To bring the entire tribe into the city, not only does one have to pass the semi-finals, one has to have good results. Lian Chengyu might not reach that standard yet. Even if he were to reach that standard in the future, from his personality, it is unlikely that he will care about us."

"Yun’er, why do you ask? You cannot be hoping that Lian Chengyu will become a kingdom warrior and lead us to a good life, right?"

"I was just asking." Yi Yun said while touching his nose. He would be better off wishing that pigs could fly rather than count on Lian Chengyu.“

If that guy was to come out of isolation and see him alive, he might kill Yi Yun at the first opportunity!

Yi Yun was banking on that he would already have obtained the ability to protect himself by then. The identity of the destroyer was still up in the air!

"It seems like I could participate in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's warrior selection. That is definitely a quick way to ensure that the both of us can lead a good life!"

"For the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique’, it has to be some kind of cultivation manual. To practice martial arts in this world, manuals are a must. The Purple Crystal may be magical, but it can only rejuvenate myself. If I do not enter the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, where would I get a cultivation manual from?" Yi Yun made the decision while mumbling to himself.

He couldn't leave the Lian tribe just yet, for even though his strength had increased it was still foolhardy to cross the wilderness. He had to enhance himself while in the Lian tribe and pass the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's warrior selection. That was the best choice he had under his circumstances!

True Martial World - Chapter 11: The Reason for the Change

The training grounds were empty. Due to the moisture at night and because of the cold weather, a layer of dew had covered the rock weights, speckling them white.

All of these rock weights were made out of azure steel. They were not worn down by the elements bearing down on them for centuries.

In this wilderness, people used catties, picul and cauldrons as measurements of a martial artist's strength.

The measurement of catties was similar to that of Earth, which was half a kilogram. A picul was a hundred catties. A cauldron weighed ten piculs, so it weighed a thousand catties, or five hundred kilograms.

Seeing that the place was empty, he went and stood in front of the row of rock weights and chose a fifty catty rock weight, or twenty-five kilograms. He wiped the dew off the rock weight and lowered his body. Rise!

The rock was lighter than Yi Yun expected. He could lift it using one hand!

Yi Yun was delighted; it was as he guessed!

Following that, Yi Yun chose a fifty-kilogram rock weight.

This time, it was a bit tougher to lift it with one hand. With both hands however, it was easy once again.

Taking a deep breath, Yi Yun stood in front of a hundred-kilogram rock weight. He squatted down and placed both of his hands under the rock weight, he then tightened his muscles as strength arose from his hip to his feet.

"Rise!" Yi Yun gritted his teeth and lifted the hundred-kilogram rock weight above his head!

"I've raised it!" Yi Yun was delighted. He held it up for about three minutes before he threw the rock weight on the floor.

To be able to lift a hundred-kilogram rock weight, which was about three times the weight of a twelve year old boy, it would be something mind-blowing on Earth.

His strength had increased exponentially overnight!

And strength wasn't the only thing; the increase in his speed was even greater!

As a child, strength was his main weakness, and it was much worse than adults. However, his speed was comparable. Previously when he faced Zhao Tiezhu's attack, Yi Yun was convinced that his speed was at least twice that of his opponent's!

His body had undergone a tremendous change!

Thinking back about when he vomited black blood and the dirty sweat, that was probably the legendary marrow cleansing.

His body, which had a terribly poor foundation, had undergone a tremendous increase in both strength and speed after the marrow cleansing!

The transformation was without question a result of the Purple Crystal. However, why did the Purple Crystal bring about such a change to his body?

Yi Yun tried touching the Purple Crystal by his chest but found nothing but emptiness.

"Huh!?" Yi Yun was alarmed and hurriedly unwrapped his clothes.

The Purple Crystal had disappeared...

However, the cool feeling by his chest had never decreased one bit.

What is this?!

Yi Yun lowered his head and lightly touched his chest where his heart would be. He had a strange feeling that the Purple Crystal was there all along and had never left him.

With every heartbeat, the Purple Crystal vibrated, as if the Purple Crystal and his heart had merged into one.

That faint coolness also spread throughout Yi Yun's body with every vibration by meandering through his veins.

Yi Yun raised his head and saw the tiny dots of starlight in the sky fly towards him, or more accurately, to the Purple Crystal.

The starlight entered his body and disappeared.

Yi Yun had a couple of hypotheses for the various phenomena the Purple Crystal had exhibited.

The Purple Crystal could absorb energy!

In this world, in this Universe, energy was the building blocks of everything!

From the large spinning galaxies, star formation and supernovae, to the small ants building nests or the wilting of grass, nothing could escape the need for energy.

From the physics Yi Yun learned on Earth, the entire Universe began from a particular point comprising of infinite energy.

Energy could convert into matter, turning into life, turning into everything.

And in this strange world, the Qi cultivation of experts was naturally also a form of energy.

The Purple Crystal had a natural affinity with energy.

It could absorb starlight as well as other forms of energy. The two attacks by Lian Chengyu were also a form of energy. That form of energy must be a form of "Qi" that Lian Chengyu cultivated.

The Qi had hid in his body, causing his whole body to go numb. However, when that energy reached his heart and touched the Purple Crystal, the Purple Crystal absorbed it!

It was also obvious where the energy the Purple Crystal absorbed went.

That coolness that flowed within his veins was a manifestation of energy. The energy the Purple Crystal absorbed spread throughout his blood flow and nourished his body. With every heartbeat, Yi Yun could feel his body grow a little stronger.

Thinking back to his body's marrow cleansing, it must have been a result of energy entering his veins.

Energy could change the composition of every element; it could give life to people, giving them power and strength!

His strength had grown from being able to lift fifteen kilograms to a hundred kilograms. This change could be considered a complete metamorphosis.

What energy could have caused this?

Just the tiny bit of starlight, or the energy Lian Chengyu left in his body couldn't have been enough to cause such a fate-defying change.

The answer was undoubtedly the piece of desolate bone!

When the rations were being distributed, Lian Chengyu had opened the wooden box holding the desolate bone. Yi Yun then saw many light dots fly from the desolate bones and into the Purple Crystal. The Purple Crystal had then absorbed them all. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

Desolate bones were the most precious part of a desolate beast. All of its essence was in its bones, and they were worth a lot more than desolate beast meat!

The essence refined from the desolate bones could cause a warrior to make a breakthrough, it would allow a genius like Lian Chengyu to breakthrough to the Purple Blood Warrior level.

The value of desolate bones was unbelievable!

A weak child like Yi Yun, without any foundation and a weak body to boot, had no reason not to metamorphosize after taking in the tiny amount of energy from the desolate bones.

After figuring this out, Yi Yun felt enlightened.

He breathed in deeply and calmed himself down. The Purple Crystal was no doubt a great treasure. It had combined with his body, and with every heartbeat, the Purple Crystal would inject energy into his body through his veins, raising his power!

For his power to increase with every heartbeat and for him to cultivate himself with every heartbeat, the Purple Crystal's effectiveness was fate defying.

Even with such a treasure, Yi Yun's expression did not betray his tremendous joy.

Conversely, Yi Yun's face grew serious. Having lived through two lives, even though his first life was limited in experience, Yi Yun had already undergone several mental changes thanks to his reincarnation.

When he first entered this strange world, Yi Yun was confused. However, after acclimatizing, he turned calm.

With such a treasure, he couldn't be too greedy, nor be without any desires. He knew that if he got carried away and flaunted his treasure, it was very possible that it would be seen through, and that would lead to trouble!

Yi Yun knew that he could not reveal the secret of the Purple Crystal to anyone.

In this strange world, Yi Yun could only trust his sister, Jiang Xiaorou. However, if one less person knew about it, there would be less danger.

The treasure had no owner. If Jiang Xiaorou, a weak girl who was easily hurt knew too much, it could cause her harm.