Danwu Refining Spirit

Chapter Eighteen was looked down upon.

A slight ripple came from the darkness, brushing past his body. Xiao Chong noticed that his senses had become much more acute, and his body was filled with power.

"Alright, at least you have a conscience." Xiao Chong pressed his advantage, continuing his demand: "Then shouldn't you acknowledge it as your master next?"

"Claim me as your master? Are you sure you want to acknowledge me as your master?" The voice sounded somewhat disoriented.

"You've been stuck in this furnace for so many years, have you lost your mind?" Xiao Chong was annoyed by the voice: "Please, it's you who acknowledged me as your master, okay?"

"Impossible! Old Lu never made such a request back then. This is really going too far!" The voice understood this time and refused without hesitation.

"Could I have made a mistake? Have I been reading too many third-rate novels in the past?" This thought flashed through Xiao Chong's mind.

"You need to understand, our relationship is mutually beneficial, it's equal." The voice said angrily, "I reside in your body, relying on the Yuan energy you cultivate to recover myself, while providing you with the necessary assistance so that you can thrive in this world, do you understand?"

"Is that so? Then why did you bother coming all the way to Tianyun Continent with me? Wasn't it better in the original world?"

Xiao Chong was very dissatisfied with the equal status between the two parties, and his words were clearly sarcastic.

"Sigh, do you think I'm willing? A poor guy who has nothing, is he that rare?" The voice sighed, and said in a very unwilling tone, "But I have no choice. Ever since the War of the Gods, the spiritual energy there has been decreasing. Later, even the dragon vein was cut off by that bastard Liu Bowen. I really can't stay there anymore, otherwise I would have died there sooner or later."

Feeling humiliated by being looked down upon, Xiao Chong decided to make an outrageous demand.

"Since you're unwilling, I'll give you two choices. First, leave my body, and your life or death thereafter is none of my concern; second..."

At this point, Xiao Chong suddenly stopped talking, wanting to see how the other party would react.

"That won't do. You and I are now one, bound by life and death. Even if I wanted to leave, I couldn't. Let's talk about the second one."

His tone was somewhat anxious. Clearly, the people he had encountered before were very simple and honest, completely unaware that Xiao Chong was using negotiation techniques and that bargaining was possible.

"Damn! They're supposed to be in this together, sharing life and death? This is troublesome. But it seems like I'm more likely to be in danger first."

Thinking this through, Xiao Chong believed he had found the other party's weakness and said confidently, "In this world, no one can see you, and I'm the one who has to bear all the blame. It's too dangerous, so this is the second reason..."

"Second what? Tell me!" Xiao Chong stopped again, his voice seeming to agree with his statement, eager to know what the second option was.

"You need to give me some real benefits now." Xiao Chong felt the time was ripe and finally revealed his true thoughts.

"There are benefits, but with your current pitiful cultivation level, you can't use them."

"Besides, even though I know some magic, it doesn't work well in this world."

The voice was silent for a while, then began to mutter to itself, appearing to be in great distress.

"How about this? You want to cultivate martial arts, right? How about I teach you alchemy? This can maximize the increase of your internal energy!"

Finally finding a feasible method, in his excitement, his voice suddenly rose much higher, almost piercing Xiao Chong's eardrums.

"That's all? Nothing else? You're practically a god!" Xiao Chong was still unwilling to give up.

"That's really all, because your cultivation level is too low, no, it's pitifully low."

Once again struck down by the word "immortal," the voice began to retaliate in kind.

"Here are the prescriptions for the pills, as well as illustrations of various ingredients."

After another wave of fluctuations, Xiao Chong's mind was filled with some strange thoughts.

"Alchemy, isn't that just a miserable job for an operator? Reality is too cruel." Xiao Chong sighed helplessly, but had no choice but to accept it.

“Once your mental strength is a bit stronger, you'll only need to find some materials; I'll take care of the rest.” Seeing that Xiao Chong remained silent, the voice seemed to feel a little sorry for him, so it added.

"Why didn't you say so earlier? Do you think you're not destined to be a laborer?"

Xiao Chong muttered to himself, then asked one last question: "So how are we supposed to communicate from now on? And how can I get out of here?"

"Didn't you develop mental strength? You can communicate anytime. As for how to get out... you just need to open your eyes and you'll be out."

"Huh? That simple?"

Xiao Chong was about to ask another question when a bright light suddenly appeared in front of him. He opened his eyes and found himself lying in his own room.

"His intelligence is worrying!"

In his confusion, a familiar voice echoed in his mind, driving Xiao Chong to the brink of madness.

On the Tianyun Continent, there are only two powerful cultivation methods: Martial Arts and Mind Mastery. If a cultivator can condense the first wisp of Yuan Power within their body, it signifies that they have entered the lowest level of Martial Arts cultivation and become a Martial Apprentice.

Martial apprentices are weak in combat and are still in the initial stage of training their flesh and opening up their internal acupoints. As they accumulate more and more Yuan energy, reaching their bones and muscles, and breaking through twelve acupoints, they will enter the next realm, namely the Martial Life Realm.

The Mind Masters are different. They do not train their physical bodies, but transform their Yuan energy into spiritual power, which they use to communicate with and control all things in the world.

A first-rank Nen Master's ability is psychic communication. It sounds amazing, but it's actually just establishing a connection with objects. Moreover, a Nen Master can't communicate with just any object; it must be an object that possesses sentience or spirit.

Xiao Chong now possesses both the martial arts apprentice and first-grade mind master realms, which is very rare among cultivators on the Tianyun Continent.

It's not that there's a fundamental conflict between the two, but martial arts training focuses on physical exercise, with a lot of time spent on physical training, while mind cultivation requires constant meditation to transform the absorbed energy into spiritual power.

This is a matter of offense and defense; a person's energy is ultimately limited. The more time spent on one practice, the less time is available for the other. Trying to do both will only result in mastering neither.

Throughout the history of cultivation in the Tianyun Continent, there have been instances where people have tried to cultivate both martial arts and mental arts simultaneously, but ultimately no one has achieved outstanding results. Over time, cultivators have reached a consensus that martial arts and mental arts should never be cultivated at the same time.

Xiao Chong understood this principle, but he was helpless to change it. The Xiao family was known for its martial arts tradition, so choosing martial arts cultivation was beyond question. However, due to the internal furnace within his body, he also had to cultivate his spiritual power at the same time.

Compared to the other disciples, Xiao Chong felt he should be more diligent and make the most of every available moment. Therefore, before dawn, Xiao Chong ran towards the sect school.

Inside the training grounds of the Imperial Academy, some people had arrived even earlier than Xiao Chong.

Before being received by the clan chief yesterday, Xiao Tianhu felt that in every aspect, he was far superior to Xiao Chong, and it was certain that he would gain the clan chief's favor.

But the reality was a huge blow to him. The clan chief inexplicably kicked him out but left behind the wretched jinx, which severely damaged his self-esteem.

Especially the clan chief's words before he left, even now when I think about them, I still feel a tightness in my chest.

"Standing here like a club, not moving an inch"—have you ever seen a club that has undergone body tempering? Let alone a club that has undergone body tempering before the age of sixteen.

"The clan leader is getting old and his eyesight is failing," Xiao Tianhu thought bitterly as he stood in the training ground.