"I don't even think that the Qin Clan will be able to hinder those guys."
"Just look at how much ground they have covered. Three clans under their feet. What's next?"
There was a short pause.
"Let's put this Taixu guy under our observation for now. If he gets dangerous, we eliminate him." The physician decided.
"Alright," Wu Shangxie agreed, now turning to Wu Chou and Wu'An,
"I hope this will not disrupt our proposed plans."
"Of course not. Actually, it might benefit it instead." Wu'An said with a knowing grin.
About 10 blocks away, the subject of the discussion, Gu Taixu, had just awakened.In his imagination, he had seen dense destruction, huge catastrophes of humans and properties, loved ones, lying dead in the streets, some hanged and other terribly gory scenes. All these happened around him as he stood helpless against the dark skies that had been dyed red. Powerlessly he slumped on his face to the ground. A fiendish laughter echoed through the heavens.
Drenched in cold sweat, he sat in the reality of the cold floor, speaking in cold resolve to himself; the Martial Spirit within him to break free, to break him out of the realm of the weak. He spoke in deep resolve for a while,
"I will not be broken. I will not be torn asunder. Let the dream say what it wants to say! I will turn the tables in reality."
Now assessing his surroundings, memories slowly came to him about what led him to the present.
"His aura was here." Gu Taixu perceived a familiar aura, trying to remember a face in his subconscious. Could it be Fu Jian? How was Chen Yilin?
Standing upright, he felt an advancement within. Assessing his cultivation, he was overjoyed. A breakthrough into Level 2. Not just by one tier but by two! His transparent tank 10 foot tank was filled to the one and a half foot limit!
"I guess the Berserker pill has its own personal benefits." He said while grinning widely.
Sitting cross-legged, he circulated his energy, now greater in quantity, through his entire systems over and over to stabilize his cultivation. This took him about the time to burn two candle sticks. After that, he took out time to perform some physical exercise. It was while he was doing this that Fu Jian flew in, as usual through the window.
Gu Taixu noticed his presence and stopped momentarily to exchange greetings as they shook hands. With a pat on Gu Taixu's back, he said,
"To overwork yourself at this recuperation period is very detrimental to your wellbeing. First of all, it is the shock of the year for you to recover and fain consciousness so early." He said with a smile.
"I am as fully recovered as I can be, Brother Jian. Right now I am as strong as a bull."
Gu Taixu punched out in the free space, displaying his cultivation. Fu Jian lost his composure as he grinned wildly and said,
"There is no f**king way! The Level 2 within two weeks. Advancing through one level in half a month. This is genius-level." He guffawed fitfully.
"I didn't believe Chen Yilin but now, what he said looks like an understatement." He continued, "now tell me what you did." Fu Jian prodded, his eyes shining.
"A Berserker Spirit Pill was what I used to raise my cultivation to be the limit of Level 2." Gu Taixu replied sincerely.
Now in a serious tone, Fu Jian said,
"This Berserker Pill, eh, you got a plenty?" He said with a shrewd expression. This elicited laughter from both parties.
"I was gifted three of them from my headmaster and I used one so it's down to two."
"I have booked one in advance so remember me. But, where did your headmaster get them from?"
"I don't know, myself."
"Who is he?"
"Headmaster Yong. Why ask?"
"Headmaster Yong?" Fu Jian said as he tapped his temples with his index finger.
"Is he a short-haired man with a stocky frame?" He said finally.
""Yeah, he is."
"So, if that was him, you were a student of Blue Water Martial Academy, because he is a headmaster there."
"Of course. How did you know him?"
"You met a great man and you didn't even know it. Headmaster Yong is quite popular in the Chu Zhou Province. He's a Level 7 Martial artist and a member of the younger generation. He was here last year as one of the presiding judges for the inner disciple qualification competition."
"Speaking of the inner disciple qualification competition," Fu Jian proceeded, "it's coming up in about 3 months from now."
"You'll go for it?" Gu Taixu asked.
"Yeah. You should too. With your speed, it's not far fetched." Fu Jian answered as he beamed a hopeful smile.
"But you must be careful, apart from Chen Yilin and I, your previous opponents know of your strength."
"Alright, thanks for your help."
"I don't think I helped you much. Your body recovered without external help. It's one of a kind. Even my Spirit Reviving Elixir was stored safely." He chuckled.
Gu Taixu was quite perplexed. He checked his dantian area thoroughly and found a blue-green pill suspended in a vacuum.
"It's not a problem." Fu Jian assured, "you can save it to use later for future breakthroughs."
"Thanks a lot, brother Jian."
"Ok."
With that, Gu Taixu stepped out of Fu Jian's residence, sauntering towards his, a distance away. Less than a hundred meters away from his room, he sighted Chen Yilin. He was accompanied by the Li siblings. He waved to them as they noticed him and moved over to his position.
"Hey." Li Tianyi greeted with a smile.
"Hello." Gu Taixu replied and exchanged greetings with Chen Yilin as well. Li Youlian stood with her hands akimbo facing the group with an indifferent gaze.
"We were just going to Fu Jian's residence to check on your recovery. Instead we met you on the way."
"I left Fu Jian's residence not long ago." Gu Taixu confirmed.
"You would believe it...you won't believe what Brother Taixu saved me from few days ago." Chen Yilin started with an incredulous expression.
"Psst..." Gu Taixu called in a whisper, "it was supposed to be a secret." He grunted.
"There's no harm."
"At least not here." Gu Taixu agreed pointing to his door.
"What could be the big deal?" Li Youlian chortled as they all went into Gu Taixu's dorm room.
Chen Yilin then with excitement lightening his eyes and his voice, narrated their ordeal with Wu Chou's cohorts. Mentioning the rank of their opponents left the Li siblings utterly speechless. But not for long.
"Seriously," Li Youlian said, rolling her eyes, "this is sounding like a fairytale. What am I saying ? It is."
"Brother Yilin, if you want to fabricate a story, can't you make it look real, at the least, believable? Besides, what kind of pill is a Berserker Pill? I've never heard of it."
"Not to your knowledge, yes, bit it exists. That's what he used." Chen Yilin argued.
"Prove it then. Prove it." Li Youlian taunted.
"There is no such record in the Depository of Scriptures." Li Tianyi said, also unbelieving.
"Prove it to them, Bro Taixu, take out another of those pills." Chen Yilin, yelled, now annoyed.
Calmly and unbothered, Gu Taixu replied,
"One thing I know, I don't have to prove myself to anyone. If they dont want to believe you, that's their problem, not mine."
"Ha-ha!" Li Youlian snickered, clapping her hands as she flung her hair backwards and stamped out of the room.
"I want to believe you, Bro Yilin, but it transcends my understanding how you...he could defeat a Level 2 Peak Tier on your own. It's just unbelievable."
Curling his lips, Gu Taixu turned to Li Tianyi and said,
"I understand your reasoning, Tianyi, but tell me...can you perceive my realm right now?"
"..."
"..." Chen Yilin too had a questioning expression.