Clenching his fist, feeling the heat flowing within him, which was a world apart from before, Li Guanyi felt somewhat dazed.
If the previous sensation was like a breath the size of a sesame seed, then now it felt as large as an egg, solidly clenched into a ball.
He punched forward, his fist striking out with a powerful force, a feeling of boundless energy that seemed inexhaustible.
Stepping back, he drew the short sword given to him by his aunt, retreating while holding the sword, sweeping horizontally, chopping vertically, and slashing diagonally.
Raising clouds, cleaving mountains, sweeping clouds, and slashing waves.
Pushing mountains, resisting ridges, stabbing kings, and killing drivers.
The moves were entirely different from the rumored Breaking Army Eight Blades, pouring out in one breath.
Accompanied by the emergence of muscle memory, what began as clumsiness quickly turned proficient.
Breaking Army Eight Blades, entry level!
Breaking Army Eight Blades, proficient!
Breaking Army Eight Blades, mastery!
Breaking Army Eight Blades—
The killing intent was dense yet orderly, even in this confined space, it still stirred up a layer of pale sword light. Finally, this sword light paused, Li Guanyi took half a step back, exhaled softly, and gripped the short sword, striking down fiercely as if it were a crescent moon.
Killing move, Heavenly Wolf Slayer!
With a buzzing sound, it came from within, a sound produced by the entire muscle and bone tensing and then exploding.
The final move was executed.
Li Guanyi held the short sword with both hands, breathing slowly, feeling the tremors in his muscles, a strange yet familiar sensation arose in his heart, as if he had practiced this sword technique for years, yet his physical muscles had no corresponding memory.
The muscle exertion brought soreness and slight tremors, which were gradually soothed by the heat flowing through him.
Breaking Army Eight Blades, great success!
Li Guanyi reviewed everything that had just happened, pondering: “This is…”
“The bronze cauldron absorbed some kind of power from Yue Qianfeng, then transformed into that dragon, seemingly carrying part of Yue Qianfeng's martial arts memories to assist my cultivation…”
Li Guanyi's thoughts suddenly halted.
A wave of intense hunger gripped his stomach, as he began to think, his brain needed energy, the gastric acid in his stomach surged like a tidal wave, threatening to burst forth, forcibly interrupting his thoughts. Li Guanyi rubbed his belly fiercely, his rationality crumbling under the assault of appetite.
It felt like the sensation after finally winning a game after an all-night session.
Hungry! Hungry! Hungry!
He swallowed hard, tiptoeing quietly out of the room.
First, he grabbed a carrot, washed it clean, and stuffed it into his mouth, crunching it down. At this moment, starting a fire and cooking was too troublesome and time-consuming. Li Guanyi pulled out a large flatbread from the wooden cabinet, moved a stone that was pressing down on a black jar, and took a pair of clean chopsticks to pick out some marinated pickled vegetables and garlic.
Squatting behind the cabinet, he took a bite of the flatbread and a chopstick of pickled vegetables, quickly devouring the flatbread, which slightly alleviated the raging hunger in his belly.
Then he licked his lips, pulled out another flatbread, tore it open, and put it in his mouth, finally able to think about what had happened.
“It feels like the body needs a large amount of nutrition, leading to this hunger. The conservation of matter, practicing martial arts transforms the body, requires nutrition. However, the nutrition needed to cultivate the Breaking Formation Melody to great success cannot possibly be satisfied with just a few flatbreads. It seems that the jade liquid inside the cauldron is the key, at least it can serve as… hmm, a source of vitality.”
Li Guanyi turned the chopsticks around, unconsciously scratching them on the ground.
Their rented courtyard had no money for flooring, and the ground inside the house was still dirt, which was convenient for Li Guanyi to write something. He casually poked a dying ant with the end of the chopsticks, scratching whatever to organize his thoughts.
“The cauldron can collect the vitality or divine resonance from powerful individuals.”
“Once filled, it can transform into, hmm… a Crimson Dragon or something, which can use divine resonance and vitality to assist in cultivation…”
Li Guanyi understood the general purpose but new questions arose.
Rubbing his chin, he muttered to himself: “So now, what are the requirements for the cauldron to absorb power? Must it be from a certain level of martial artist, or are there specific requirements?”
“Secondly, how strong is the feedback from the cauldron? What is its upper limit?”
“Can it only assist in cultivating the techniques possessed by the individual?”
Li Guanyi found himself increasingly puzzled about the cauldron when he suddenly heard faint footsteps. He quickly finished the flatbread, crouched down, turned around, and raised his head to see his aunt, who was tense. She also saw Li Guanyi, and both seemed startled, stepping back in unison.
Then Murong Qiushui sighed in relief, extending her fair finger to poke the young man's forehead, scolding lightly:
“Hearing the noise outside, I thought we were being robbed.”
“Didn’t expect it was you, this greedy little cat.”
The young man scratched his head, retracting his earlier seriousness, only shyly smiling and saying, “I was hungry.”
His gaze caught sight of his aunt wearing a loose brown outfit with white edges, her black hair cascading down like a waterfall, her eyes like morning stars, her hands fair. She casually tossed aside the iron pot that was missing a corner, making a clanging sound.
The corner of the young man's mouth twitched.
If it had been a thief, they might have already been knocked out by his aunt.
The iron pot, missing a corner, could still pack quite a punch; thirty-seven little thieves had already fallen under his aunt's strike. A woman walking with a child in the world, no matter how low-key, would always attract trouble.
If he had turned around a moment later, he might have also received a pot from his aunt.
Murong Qiushui stepped forward, her eyes scanning Li Guanyi from head to toe, and suddenly smiled, saying, “Did you practice martial arts today, little cat?”
Li Guanyi was taken aback, saying, “How did you know, Aunt?”
Murong Qiushui laughed, “Although I don’t understand martial arts, I know that it’s normal for martial artists to have a huge appetite after learning internal skills. Besides, my little cat is exceptionally gifted; that Crimson Dragon guest would have to be blind not to pass on his skills to you.”
She slightly lifted her skirt, skipping lightly to the other side of the cabinet, where Li Guanyi was. Only then did Li Guanyi notice that his aunt was barefoot, her feet as white as jade. She must have heard the noise and rushed out without time to put on her shoes, stepping on the black earth, she walked to the side of the cabinet, smoothing out the wrinkles in her clothes, and sat down on the ground.
Li Guanyi sat beside her.
Murong Qiushui frowned, saying, “I meant, bring me a flatbread too.”
The young man was stunned, teasing, “Didn’t you say you don’t eat after dark, Aunt?”
Murong Qiushui cleared her throat, saying, “I got up and I’m hungry!”
Li Guanyi almost laughed out loud, shaking his head. He was worried about waking his aunt, and had just managed with the cold, hard flatbread. Since his aunt wanted to eat as well, he might as well start a fire and cook, boiling two bowls of noodles and frying two eggs.
It was to curry favor with the bronze cauldron to befriend Yue Qianfeng. Previously, when he visited every few days, he brought meat and wine. Their own lives were quite simple; after all, Li Guanyi was a fugitive. Even if he had some things that could be exchanged for money in his stomach, he didn’t dare to stick his head out too much, and currently, there was no meat at home.
He brought two bowls of plain noodles, placed a stone beside the cabinet, one bowl for each, with a small dish in the middle containing some pickled vegetables. Li Guanyi said, “There’s not much meat left at home, let’s make do with this.”
Murong Qiushui suddenly laughed, raising her eyebrows, saying:
“However, I still have a chicken leg, do you want some?”
Li Guanyi raised his eyebrows.
Murong Qiushui picked up the noodles with her chopsticks, then twisted them, creating a large bundle of noodles that looked somewhat like a chicken leg. Li Guanyi was amused, but saw his aunt looking proud, so he pointed to a large piece of pickled vegetable, saying:
“If yours is a chicken leg, then mine is a big piece of braised meat.”
“Hey, then this piece is my roast goose.”
Murong Qiushui and Li Guanyi sat under the wooden cabinet. The courtyard was somewhat dilapidated.
After his aunt fell ill, all her jewelry was pawned to make ends meet.
This courtyard was exchanged for his aunt's white jade pendant. Even Li Guanyi could recognize that the pendant was extraordinary, oily like fat, smooth like butter, sounding like gold, fine like silk, white like lard, and sticky like paste, engraved with the image of the Thousand-Handed Guanyin. It was a token given to his aunt by that uncle. The pawnshop owner saw that they were a weak woman and a small child, and only offered ten taels of silver.
At that time, Li Guanyi wanted to pull his aunt away, but she calmly said to pawn it.
Even though Li Guanyi was furious, his aunt just patted his head, smiling and saying that a token was never as important as a person. She then took half the silver to rent this courtyard, saving the rest for daily expenses.
Even so, the courtyard was still shabby. Aside from the living space, the other rooms leaked a bit. In the summer, when it rained heavily, they had to use pots to catch water. Sitting in front of the cabinet, looking up through the somewhat broken roof, he could see the dark sky and a few stars.
With the bowls and chopsticks set aside, Li Guanyi turned his head and saw his aunt with her head lowered, already asleep.
The twelve-year-old boy gripped the sword at his waist.
The cold touch of the sword was reliable, and Li Guanyi whispered:
“One day, I will make the meals we talked about today come true.”
Li Guanyi carefully picked up his sleeping aunt and walked back, his aunt was not small but very light, like a dandelion, as if she would fly away with a gust of wind. As he got closer, he could smell a faint floral fragrance. He placed his aunt back in her room.
The bed was simply made of earth mixed with grass, covered with a layer of dry grass, and then with bedding. Rain and winter would be very hard to endure.
Li Guanyi tucked his aunt in, then slowly walked back to his own room.
Exhaling, he lowered his head, pulling open his clothes to see the bronze cauldron on his chest.
But he was slightly taken aback.
The crimson jade liquid in the cauldron had naturally disappeared, but there were different changes.
On the walls of the bronze cauldron, there were imprints of a crimson azure dragon.
Clearly visible!
(End of this chapter)