Chapter 213 - 211: Suggest Tearing Off the Roof, and They’ll Agree to Open a Window
Sixth Young Master: "He can have my time, too."
Fourth Young Master: "I’ll give my time to Shui Yun."
Shui Yun spoke calmly, "Excellent! It seems putting Xiaowen into seclusion is what everyone wants. In that case, there’s no need to trouble the Eldest Young Master. I’ll just send someone to retrieve the Azure Stone Slab later."
’This woman!’
The Eldest Young Master lowered his head, hiding the fury in his eyes.
Shui Yun had won this round.
But in doing so, she had also offended some members of the Neutral Faction.
After all, she had managed to get something for nothing.
She had forced many members of the Neutral Faction to give up their time with the Azure Stone Slab.
After the meeting, members of the Black Water Gang left in twos and threes.
"The Third Miss’s methods have become even more skillful!"
"If you ask me, that Seventh Young Master had no idea he was supposed to fight for those two slots! The great Seventh Young Master has become a puppet on a string!"
"He’s an eighteen-year-old kid. What could he possibly know?"
"..."
When Shui Yun returned to Seven Kills Hall with the Azure Stone Slab, Tang Wen was weakly emerging from the training room.
He was so weak he nearly had to lean on the wall for support.
She hurried forward to support him, chiding softly, "You’re so young, and you have plenty of time. Why are you pushing yourself so hard?"
Tang Wen didn’t answer, staring blankly at the Azure Stone Slab. "Senior Sister, this is...?"
Shui Yun said, "You’ve been working so hard. Of course the gang is going to fully support you. It’s all yours for the next two months."
A warmth spread through his chest, and he squeezed Shui Yun’s hand tightly.
"You must have offended a lot of people for my sake, Senior Sister."
Shui Yun gave a charming smile. Ignoring the fact that he was drenched in sweat, she shoved him against the wall, leaned down, and kissed him hard.
’Hmm, as much as I’m enjoying this, something feels off.’
’Why am I the one being pinned against the wall?’
After dinner, Shui Yun left.
Carrying the Azure Stone Slab, Tang Wen entered the secret underground chamber and pulled another slab out from a corner.
Two of them!
’Alright then, I’ll just use them both together.’
He stacked the two Azure Stone Slabs together.
As if drawn together by some kind of force, the two slabs automatically fused.
The fit was so tight that not even the finest needle could be inserted between them.
Tang Wen was both shocked and delighted!
[Spiritual Power Lake connection detected. Begin absorption?]
The lake was a deep blue.
Vast, mysterious, and terrifying.
Like the deep sea.
Azure bubbles flickered into existence.
Spiritual Power began to slowly pour in.
Within his Sea of Consciousness, the thirty-three pitch-black pictographs began to flash rapidly.
The overflowing Spiritual Power instantly flooded his Sea of Consciousness.
An idea struck Tang Wen, and he carefully began to form a new pictograph.
The thirty-fifth one!
FZZT!
The attempt failed.
The Spiritual Power erupted into an uncontrollable shockwave.
Tang Wen grunted and fell stiffly to the ground, like an electrocuted fish.
His entire body went rigid, twitching and spasming.
After a while, he regained consciousness.
He silently got up, dusted himself off, stretched a little, and continued his training.
The Demon Cave underground could erupt at any moment.
’Seizing every moment to become stronger is the only true path.’
The Azure Stone Slab itself had the ability to repair spiritual damage.
By linking his Spiritual Power to it, Tang Wen recovered quickly.
Without hesitation, he once again attempted to form the thirty-fifth pictograph.
To get a hundredfold return, one must put in a thousandfold effort.
But Tang Wen didn’t need to put in a thousandfold effort. He only needed to put in a normal amount to get a hundredfold return!
’So, what reason was there not to give it his all?’
Three days passed. He had only slept for five hours.
And that included time spent eating.
Ten days passed, and Tang Wen finally took the time to get a proper night’s sleep.
When he awoke, the thirty-fifth pictograph had been successfully formed!
The effect of stacking the two Azure Stone Slabs was synergistic; 1+1 was greater than 2.
Tang Wen’s spirits soared. He was only one pictograph away from achieving Great Success in his Spiritual Meditation Method!
「A month passed in the blink of an eye.」
Autumn gave way to winter.
The courtyard was carpeted with fallen leaves.
He had trained for a month with the two stacked Stone Slabs.
A breakthrough in his Spiritual Meditation Method was imminent.
[Spiritual Meditation Method, Mastery (5991/6000)]
Tang Wen had a premonition that this breakthrough would not only grant him an additional boost in Spiritual Power, but would also allow him to successfully form the thirty-sixth pictograph.
His Spiritual Power might even undergo a qualitative transformation.
But just last night, a Blood Crow had arrived with a message.
General Zhao and Li Zi had made new progress investigating the Bai Family and wanted to meet with him.
Tang Wen thought about it and decided to postpone the meeting for a few days.
He would wait until he achieved Great Success in his Spiritual Meditation Method before coming out of seclusion!