Chapter 47: The Devourer
Silence filled the small courtyard. The famous external expert was reduced to nothing by the young man and his sword. Xu Min’s smile grew wider and wider –his sword reassuredly did not fail him.
After this unexpected scene, the internal expert gulped, realizing t though he had been injured, there was a big difference from forcefully breaking off an ability than being sucked dry. He understood, now, that this boy, although incredibly disliked, actually had the right to be arrogant. Looking at the sword, he surmised that this young man must have a very important background.
After helping the external expert sit down to meditate, Xu Min handed him a medicinal pill. He then examined the remaining experts. Some of their faces contained uncomfortable expressions. They feared Xu min enacting the same fate upon them as he did the external expert.
“Next, the Four-Star Internal Expert,” he called out. A rather slim looking young man sighed deeply and stepped forward. Again, the slim looking expert summoned an attack and awaited for Xu min’s sword to touch it. Upon contact, a shiver ran down the spine of the internal expert. However, this time the sword was absorbing energy far slower. So slow that it seemed almost impossible for Xu Min to empty this expert’s energy than the other two.
“Just cut it off now,” he commanded while waving at the internal expert.Additionally Xu min noticed that the suction forced diminished significantly as well after he cut the external four star expert. Now, he could cut the suction force just by removing the weapon from the wound.
Since the first moment of the expert’s appearance,, Xu Min frowned. . Comprehending the situation, Xu Min understood his sword though wonderful was not capable of miracles; there were limits.
The sword could still devour some energy of the Five-Star Expert. Nonetheless, it absorbed such miniscule amounts It did not matter. His attemptto absorb energy from the Six-Star Experts was nearly impossible,.
Finished with his experiments, the sign of hope within Xu min’s eyes disappeared..He was just testing the sword’s capability, but truly believing the sword effective against a high ranked Seven-Star Warrior was plain idiotic of him.. He shook his head and mocked himself for his stupidity.
With the experiments at an end, Yong Meilin quickly made all the experts swear never to tell anyone their experience in the courtyard and followed them back to the barracks.
While walking away, Yong Meilin kept looking back towards the courtyard. She anxiously pressed her hand on her chest, mirroring her worried facial expression. Seeing the fear in Yong Meilin’s eyes gave truth to the rumors the experts heard. They all sighed deeply,slightly disappointed, but deep down all wished the best for her.
Contrastly, Xu Min had already stopped thinking about the experts. His face seemed serious not so much because he was worried but rather from deep concentration.He was now cultivating and trying to absorb as much energy as he could. This would make his cultivation soar rapidly.. He needed strength but not just for his revenge. Soon, He would be participating in a tournament which he needed to prepare for. .
Taking deep breaths and releasing them, Xu Min completely cleared his mind for meditation.. The current cultivation would not be good if his emotions controlled him. However, the more Xu Min tried to be serene the more impatient he became in his goal to become patient. Forcibly collecting himself, he tried to enter into the state he had earlier that day, a state where his entire body had become one with the world around him.
Already succeeding once, Xu min entered the cultivation stance easier and managed to gain more energy than before. His immersion with the world even rivaled the medicinal pills he took before. Suddenly, exactly when Xu Min felt he was absorbing the energy, the sword in his hand started humming again. The heavens and the earth’s essence swirled around him like they were specifically drawn to Xu Min. The sword absorbed the essence similar to its absorption of thee Qi earlier. Xu Min was so surprised that he withdrew from his cultivation stance.. The energy from the sword that was pouring into his body had been perfectly refined into Qi. Yet, not just regular Qi, but refined from the heavens and earth’s essence acquired during his meditation.
Staring at his sword in disbelief but excitement, Xu Min finally understood the devouring ability was not solely meant for Qi. It contained unlimited possibilities. The energy absorbed from the sword was more powerful than his energy alone. Even if he were to cultivate for a full night, he still would not have possessed as much refined Qi as he had now with his sword.
Astonished, Xu Min slowly but surely stood up and started physical training. His body burst with energy. As soon as he imbued his hand with Qi, a white flame rose from his skin. The Qi was so powerful and vigorous that it turned into a flame. Normally, this did not occur until a was a Five-Star. However, it was happening with a Two-Star Warrior who did not specialize in internal strength but external, making it even more incomprehensible.
Even Xu Min was shocked. Just from holding the sword in his hand and summoning Qi to his body caused him to become numb. No matter where the Qi was gathered: arms, legs, or hands, the Qi kept transforming to flames. His strength was so outstanding that it could have easily rivaled that of Three-Star Warriors.
The Qi he collected also helped him to reach the peak of the Two-Star. The sudden boost in power was almost monstrous. Xu Min dared not believe it until he walked towards a set of large boulders placed within the courtyard. What their actual use was, Xu Min had no idea, but he quickly decided that their use was for the sake of training. With the white flame around his arm, he resolutely punched the boulder with all the force he could muster.
This Boulder was as tall as Xu Min himself and even wider than three of him standing together. With this image one can imagine how magnificent the Boulder was. Nevertheless, as soon as the flame covered palm landed on the surface, cracks appeared deep within the stone. Moments after, it shattered into a thousand pieces, a feat no other than a Two-Star Warrior could accomplish.
Contemplating for some time, Xu Min withdrew his energy once more. He took a stance he had repeatedly tried before; he wanted to see if there would be any change., A massive pearl white hand appeared in front of him. Thrusting his arm downwards, the pearl white arm replicated Xu Min’s movement.. WhileXu Min’s arm touched nothing, the pearl white hand slammed down directly onto the second boulder, causing a massive explosion. The ground trembled and the boulder, incapable of withstanding such pressure, turned into sharp stones shooting outwards. Some of them even grazed Xu Min, scratching and slighlty wounding him.
Xu Min grinned upon hearing loud voices outside the courtyard. One guard after another rushed towards the main house; they were wondering what caused such a loud tremor and if the Yong family was safe.. The attack was almost equivalent to a Three-Star Internal Expert. Feeling greatly satisfied, Xu Min decided not to cultivate any more tonight. He needed to stabilize his newfound strength. If he was too greedy, his hubris would come and take revenge, surely wanting too much would have its consequences.
A smile formed on Xu Min’s lips as he closed his eyes and entered his unconsciousness. Deep within, he found his Qi to call forth and train. Flames appeared and disappeared on one part of the body before reappearing on another. Xu Min was doing his best controlling the extreme and ferocious energy flooding his meridians.
This newly acquired energy was strong, far stronger than before. As a result, he had issues rapidly switching energy from one limb to another. Xu Min understood he needed to control this new energy or it would be ultimately useless for him. Bent on mastering the energy, Xu Min hardly noticed the days passing.
While Xu Min trained, Yong Meilin spent her time within the courtyard. She would try to train a little on her own, read a book, ensure food and water was prepared for the young man, and entertain Cao Cao who was incredibly bored whenever Xu Min arduously trained.
Time rushed by and before Xu Min realized itt the tournament had arrived. However, what Xu Min did not know was that the tournament had been the talk of the city; everyone spoke of nothing else. The families holding the tournament was notified that Xu Min, the young genius from the Yong family, accepted the invitation.
Everyone knew Xu Min captivated the heart of the city’s favorite Yong Meilin. Furthermore, everyone was curious as to the mysterious young man’s skills. Was he truly a genius or perhaps just an arrogant young upstart?
No one truly knew anything, but everyone was curious. This tournament usually received a lot of attention as it allowed the city to find the younger generation geniuses. This time, though, it was even more interesting.
Yong Meilin aware of this did not feel any need to tell Xu Min. In her heart, he was invincible. He trained harder than anyone else and showed insane amounts of improvement just when she had watched him.. In her heart, he was already the champion.
Xu min was completely unaware of everything occurring while he was training. When he opened the door,he saw multiple guards were awaiting him, sternly staring at him.
Clearing his throat, Xu Min scratched his head awkwardly as he wondered what he was supposed to say. Fortunately, he did not have to say much as Yong Meilin’s grandfather appeared on the road in front of them.
“It is time,” he said quietly, “Do not let us down!” He mumbled something afterwards, but the train started moving with the three of them in the front. They began their journey towards the tournament.