Chapter 254 - 176: A Difficult Place to Live (2)
These happened to be things Fang Yue lacked. He immediately picked up one of the volumes and began to flip through it.
It was titled *Qi Refiner’s Secret*, an analysis by Qi Refiners of the secrets of the human body, intended to extract useful knowledge to increase their strength.
Primordial Qi had ten attributes, corresponding to the Five Elements, such as Earth Element, Geng Metal, and Gui Water. Cultivating them produced different types of Primordial Qi.
Furthermore, the cultivation of a Qi Refiner began with Qi Sensing, and their realms were different from those of Secret Medicine Martial Artists from the very start.
To be precise, Qi Sensing was the classification method used by Secret Medicine Martial Artists.
The orthodox classification of Qi Refiner realms, during the Foundation Establishment stage, was called the Nourishing Body Realm, followed by the Qi Nurturing Realm, Qi Transformation Realm, Four Symbols Realm, Void Realm, Earth Immortal Realm, and Celestial Human Realm.
As for Secret Medicine Martial Artists, their realms were the Foundation Forging Realm, Qi Sensing Realm, Innate Realm, Transformation Realm, Earth Immortal, and Celestial Being.
The cultivation realms of Qi Refiners and Secret Medicine Martial Artists corresponded one-to-one.
However, Qi Refiner cultivation involved tempering one’s body with the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, following the path of achieving sainthood in human form. Secret Medicine Martial Artists, on the other hand, used Secret Medicine to Refine the traits of various birds, beasts, and even Demon Fiends into their bodies to gain tyrannical power.
Depending on their Martial Arts Technique, they would absorb different Secret Medicines, thus giving rise to a variety of powers.
Of course, the Secret Medicines were refined from the bodies of beasts and Demon Fiends many, many generations removed from the originals. Therefore, most Secret Medicine Martial Artists were unable to obtain the formidable Demon Power, and their overall strength was a notch below that of Qi Refiners.
But with the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi being so thin, the difficulty of cultivation for Qi Refiners far exceeded that for Secret Medicine Martial Artists.
Comparing the two, Secret Medicine Martial Artists became the mainstream path in the Great Wei Dynasty precisely because their cultivation was easier.
After a long while, Fang Yue closed the last of the books.
He then headed for the third floor, but the Cultivation Technique he needed was not there either.
Upon reaching the third floor, the number of books was drastically smaller—only about a tenth of what was on the second floor.
However, this *Earth Element True Skill* could only be cultivated up to the Four Symbols Realm.
After getting the Cultivation Technique, Fang Yue found the floor’s administrator and then went to a nearby Quiet Chamber to begin copying it.
Once he finished copying, Fang Yue left the Observatory and returned to his temporary residence.
Yujing City no longer accepted outsiders as residents.
Unless one could secure a position at the Observatory or with one of Yujing City’s four great families.
Otherwise, one could only rent or buy property in the four giant cities surrounding it.
"Did you hear? Shanyang Prefecture has been completely conquered by the Rebel Army. And they’re trying to cross the natural barriers to attack Guangfeng and Hangzhou Prefectures."
"Yeah, these are truly troubled times. I also heard that over in Donglai Prefecture, Woniuguo from across the Endless Sea tricked their way into Dongzhou City under the guise of trade and seized it."
"And the war with the Barbarian Race in the north seems to be on the verge of starting up again. What troubled times indeed!"
Walking down the street, Fang Yue overheard small groups of people gathered together, talking in low voices.
From their words, Fang Yue finally realized that the situation of the Great Wei Dynasty was even more dire than he had imagined.
Enemies on three fronts—west, east, and north. The imperial court was being forced to fight a three-front war.
’These truly are troubled times.’
’It seems that if we’re talking about real safety, there’s no place safer than Yujing City.’
Thinking this, Fang Yue made up his mind to settle down in Yujing City.
But before that, he had to use this one month to cultivate diligently in this environment.
’I need to make progress on this Cultivation Technique, advancing my proficiency with the Earth Element True Skill from "grasped" to "proficient." My strength must increase further.’
Returning home, Fang Yue closed the door, sat cross-legged on his bed, and began to circulate his Qi to regulate his breathing.
Time flew by, and in a flash, more than half a month had passed. Aside from eating and sleeping, Fang Yue went to the central Yujing City every day to cultivate in the training rooms of the Observatory.
His progress in cultivating the Earth Element True Skill was also constantly increasing.
After all, the Primordial Qi in this environment was rich. Combined with his Qi Sensing Talent and Earth True Body Talent, the two effects stacked, making his efficiency in absorbing Primordial Qi extremely high.
His cultivation could be said to be advancing by leaps and bounds, changing day by day.
This tangible increase in strength gradually became an obsession for Fang Yue.
One day, Fang Yue came out of his room, preparing to head to Yujing City again.
"Hey, it’s you?" A voice, tinged with pleasant surprise, called out as a figure in red appeared before Fang Yue. It was the same young woman in red he had met when he first arrived in the city, during the scam attempt by that Chen San.
"Hm? Do you need something?" Fang Yue asked.
Hong Ling was taken aback. ’This isn’t how it’s supposed to go, is it?’ she thought. ’This guy is like a rock, cold and hard.’
’When he sees a vibrant, youthful girl like me, isn’t he supposed to feel some affection, and then something is supposed to happen?’
"Nothing? Then please move. I have things to do."
Fang Yue immediately walked around Hong Ling and quickened his pace.
Hong Ling stood stunned for a moment, then stomped her foot. "Interesting. Very interesting."
~~~~~~
That evening, Fang Yue returned from Yujing City.
Just as he reached the gate of his temporarily rented courtyard, he heard Ms. Chen’s cheerful laughter.
He walked through the gate and saw the young woman in red from the morning. He had no idea what she and his mother, Ms. Chen, were talking about, but their lively back-and-forth filled the air.
"Mother!" Fang Yue called out.
Ms. Chen looked up and saw Fang Yue walk in. She quickly called out, "Zhi’Er, you’re back! You must be starving. I made you pork and sauerkraut stew."
Then, Ms. Chen said a few words to Hong Ling and went to busy herself in the kitchen.
"How did you find this place? What are you doing here?" Fang Yue’s expression was grave as he stared at the young woman in red and asked in a cold voice.
But at that moment, Ms. Chen came out of the kitchen and called them over.
"Hong Ling, you and Zhi’Er, come quick and lend a hand. It’s time to eat."
Hearing Ms. Chen, the young woman in red gave a mischievous smile, then cheerfully called out, "Godmother!" and ran off to help.
「An hour later.」
The family, plus the young woman in red, had finished dinner.
"Godmother, it’s getting late. I should be going," Hong Ling said, standing up. She glanced at the sky and took her leave.
Ms. Chen, of course, tried repeatedly to get her to stay, insisting that she was welcome to visit anytime she was free.
After the girl had left, Ms. Chen said to Fang Yue, "Zhi’Er, she’s a good girl. When I went out to buy groceries today, a few ruffians were bothering me, and she was the one who stepped in and chased them away. When you have a chance, you must thank her properly."
*Alright,* Fang Yue thought, looking at his mother’s expression.
He understood. The ’thank you’ was just an excuse. The main thing was that Ms. Chen wanted him to spend more time with Hong Ling, develop a relationship, and eventually marry her.
"Oh, that’s right, Bai Li is actually a good girl too. Zhi’Er, you could also go and find her. Even though she’s the daughter of a great family, my Zhi’Er is no slouch either. You two would make a good match."
Ms. Chen hadn’t forgotten about finding a wife for Fang Yue.
Now that they were in Yujing City, this desire had become even stronger. After all they had been through, the old woman could feel that a storm was brewing over the Great Wei.
In a situation like this, there was no telling how many more peaceful days they had left.
She just wanted to see her youngest son get married and start a family. That way, even if something happened in the future, she would have no regrets.
"I know, Mother."
Fang Yue felt helpless, but since his mother had said so much, he could only nod in agreement.
Afterward, Fang Yue did not return to his room to rest. Instead, he went out.
Out on the street, he thought about how Ms. Chen had been harassed by ruffians earlier that day. He was going to find out if it was a coincidence or if someone had intentionally set it up.
If it was a coincidence, he would teach those blind fools a good lesson.
If someone had deliberately set it up, he would follow the trail and make the mastermind pay the price.
Following the clues Ms. Chen had given him, Fang Yue soon found his targets in a brothel.