" Feng Long "
The hoarse voice of the seemingly injured disciple wrapped in bandages entered Shen Wang's ears.
His voice wasn't weak but just by hearing it, one was able to discern that the speaker was injured
However even with the injuries, his voice reeked of a cold and domineering attitude.
Although Shen found the way this disciple Feng Long spoke to him quite rude, he ignored it.
After all Shen wanted his guidance.
" Greetings Senior Brother Feng Long, It's my first time here and everyone else was doing some exercises so I could only find you to speak to"
Feng Long didn't say anything and closed his eyes.
After a couple of breaths Feng Long erupted with a yawn.
" Ahhhh-hhaaaaaa," Upon yawning Feng Long stood up from the bench he was sitting on.
Without saying anything Feng Long started to a couple of stretches from which cracking of bones could be heard.
Shen Wang just stood there watching Feng Long do whatever he was doing.
Once he was done, the serious and gloomy expression of Feng's face was long gone and was now replaced with a bright and confident smile.
" Alright then junior brother Shen Wang, I'll show you around," As he said these words, Feng placed his hand across Shen's shoulder.
This sudden change of attitude left Shen in a little shock as he stared at Feng long.
After a moment of awkwardness Feng broke the silence.
" How old are you Junior Brother Shen?"
" Senior Brother I'm 18 years old right now "
" I see, how long have you been in the sect. I don't remember anyone having the name Shen Wang before."
" Brother I just joined a year ago, I've been laying low and trying to bridge the gap between me and similar aged cultivators"
Feng felt that Shen was a little depressed and was feeling out of place, he was familiar with the feeling of being alienated after entering the world of cultivation.
After all Feng was also someone with a mortal background and could relate to Shen's struggles.
Thus, Feng wanted to try his best to cheer up this Junior Brother of his.
"Don't worry Junior brother, I believe that you will catch up sooner or later. Don't get dejected just because you started late, you're still miles ahead of mortals who can't even cultivate"
Shen didn't say anything and only gave Feng Long a nervous smile.
After talking with each other for a while both of them grew a favorable impression of each other.
Shen told Feng more about himself and got to know Feng more.
Feng had a similar mortal background like Shen, however he was born in a family of martial art practitioners.
After discovering that he had the aptitude of becoming a cultivator, he entered the Lake Lotus Sect at the age of 15.
Similar to Shen he felt alien to many terms being used amongst cultivators, however he had always been an extrovert and soon adapted his new life.
He first came to the Body Tempering Peak at the age of 16 and got to know about the Golden Temple.
Shen was naturally very curious about the mysterious Golden Temple.
According to Feng Long, this Golden Temple was actually the inheritance ground of an ancient powerhouse named The Unchained Dark Fist.
Feng also told him about how his goal was to achieve this inheritance and how he had been working everyday for years to fulfill his goal.
" I'm sure that you'll be able to do it Senior Brother "
Seeing Shen cheering for him from the bottom of his heart pleased Feng Long as his smile became brighter and wider.
Whilst talking, Feng and Shen had already arrived in front of an Archive.
Before Shen could ask anything, Feng had already started speaking.
"This is the place where you can redeem the real reward for being able to climb this mountain, the Vital Lotus Breathwork!"
" The Vital Louts Breathwork is different from qi cultivation, instead of focusing on the aspect of qi cultivation it's focused on cultivating the body"
Hearing Feng's words gave birth to a few doubts in Shen's mind.
" Senior Brother Feng what's the difference between cultivating the body and cultivating the mind?"
" You don't know something so basic ?..... No offense but you need to be aware of such basic information, considering your mortal background I advise you to interact more with cultivators and increase your knowledge!"
" I will brother.... I will," Shen could only smile nervously as he looked at Feng Long with curiosity, hoping to hear about the difference about qi and body cultivation.
" Okay so basically there are 3 domains where a cultivator can focus on, the cultivation of qi, the cultivation of soul and the cultivation of body. They are referred to as Qi Cultivation, Soul Cultivation and Body Cultivation."
" Each domain has it's own realms. For example, you and I are in the Qi condensation realm after 10 minor realms we will step in the Foundation Establishment realm, after this comes the Golden Core realm and then finally the Nascent Soul realm, these are the names of the Qi cultivation realms that I am aware of."
" I don't know anything about Soul Cultivation as it's something that cultivators of Nascent Soul or above deal with."
" Now finally coming to the Body Cultivation Realm we The Iron Flesh Body, The Sarira Body, The Golden Body and then finally The Soul Forming Body"
" For Qi cultivation we have Qi cultivation manuals or scriptures which have different techniques on them now then moving onto Body Cultivation we have Breathworks "
" Breathworks are similar to cultivation techniques, although the goal of either is different. We practice both while sitting crossed legged. "
" In the case of Qi cultivation you need to cultivate the qi by circulating it and refining it however in case of Breathworks you manipulate your body according to the Breathwork."
Feng Long's explanation was extremely simple thus Shen Wang did not have any problem in understanding the explanation.
" Now then you should go and get one for yourself, read it and then you can find any place to cultivate your body nearby"
" Thank you for your time Senior brother Feng," Shen Wang was grateful that he found such an easygoing senior as his guide and didn't shy away from giving Feng Long another polite bow full of gratitude.
" Haha don't mention it," Feng Long laughed a little before giving Shen a slap on his back pushing him forward into the small pavilion in front of them and then turned away and went about his own business.
Shen was quite startled receiving that unexpected push and almost fell down on all fours.
Thankfully there wasn't anyone witnessing this event which saved him from an embarrassment.
Shen immediately got up and brushed his clothes to clean any dust and entered the Archive.
The inside of the Archive was colder than outside, In front of the main entrance was a table where an old man could be seen sitting.
A few Lotus Servants could be seen dusting the various wooden shelves filled with books.
Yellowish light orbs illuminated the insides of the Archive.
Shen walked upto the old man and cupped his fists together and bowed.
" Greetings Elder, I have just ascended the Body Tempering peak and would like to redeem a Vital Lotus Breathwork."
" Alright, give me your disciple token for a second," without asking why, Shen hurriedly handed over his disciple token to the elder.
Upon receiving the token, the elder looked at it for a few seconds before touching his finger on the token.
As soon as the elder's finger touched Shen's disciple token a small white light burst out and vanished.
" I have updated your disciple token, it now shows that you're a member of the Body Tempering Peak, if future you'll have access to more sect missions and more rights than a regular outer disciple"
" Instead of 10 merit points per month, you'll receive 20 merit points per month from now on.
You also have the right to temporarily enter the inner sect's library and stores, however you'll have to pay for the services there yourself."
" You have also received 100 merit points, so you currently have 180 merit points with you, that's all. Give me a second and I'll have a copy prepared."
Shen didn't say anything and just stood there with his hands cupped.
" Bring me a Vital Lotus Breathwork's copy right now! "
As soon as the elder's voice erupted, one of the Lotus servants came.
He carried a booklet in his hands which he respectfully handed over to the elder and left.
" This is the Vital Lotus Breathwork, from now on this is registered under your name. If you loose it and want another one, you'll have to pay 400 merit points.
Furthermore, If you're found sharing it with other outer sect disciples who have now climbed the Body Tempering Peak you'll have to pay a fine of 1000 merit points and your entry to the Body Tempering Peak will be prohibited.
If you take this booklet out of the Sect, it'll immediately burn to ashes so you can only use it inside the sect.
Lastly if you're found re-selling this booklet or a copy of this, you'll be put into prison for at least 5 years. "
" Now then, I hope you prosper in your path. Are my instructions clear?"
" Yes, Elder "
" Do you have any questions or complaints?"
" No, Elder "
" Very well, you may leave."
" Thank you for your guidance elder."
Shen quietly received his disciple token before leaving the archive.
"How was the elder, Junior Brother?," As soon as Shen left the archive, he encountered Feng Long, who seemed to have been waiting for him.
"He defiantly wasn't someone who liked beating around the bush," Shen replied with a shrug.
"Ha-ha.. That's old coot is really cold. He never really talks to anyone else either"
"Anyways, you must've received the Vital Lotus Breathwork. Do you want to see me practice it?"
"Oh, I would be very grateful if you did that Senior Brother!" Shen was ecstatic when he heard Feng's offer.
"Tsk tsk, you don't need to be grateful. You just need to pay me 150 merit points and not only will I show you how to perform it but also guide you step by step and be present when you initially start to circulate the Vital Lotus Breathwork, I'll make sure that you don't damage your body while practicing!"
"Erm...." Shen did not expect that he would have to pay for his guidance.
"Junior Brother, time is important for each cultivator and our knowledge even more so. I have years of experience of cultivating Vital Lotus Breathwork and can thus guide you better."
"You must understand that nothing is free in the world of cultivation, furthermore 150 merit points is actually on the lower end. If you wanted an elder's guidance you would have to pay 100 merit points for a single hour!"
"Moreover those elders don't even practice the Vital Lotus Breathwork as they're already in the late stages of foundation establishment"
"The decision is upto you, however I guarantee that you'll not regret my guidance"
Feng Long's explanation was quite convincing.
Shen was already aware of the highly inflated egos of the outer sect elders, This was no secret and everyone disciple was aware of this.
Most of the outer sect elders had an inferiority complex, they were old and didn't have any hopes of stepping into the Golden Core realm.
Although there were a few who had a good character, they were overshadowed by the corrupt ones.
To ask them for help for free was hard and to ask them for help for cheap was impossible.
Furthermore they were busy trying to find ways to live longer and break through to Golden Core so that they could become inner sect elders.
Thus, Feng's words made sense and considering that Feng had already reached the 85th step of the Golden Temple, he most likely had a lot of experience and information about the Vital Lotus Breathwork.
Shen wasn't exactly attached to his merit points and could always increase them when he became stronger.
Lastly, the price of 150 merit points was actually very cheap.
For example, even if you were someone who was freeloading in the sect and did not do anything, you would still get 150 merit points in 15 months.
But if you did miscellaneous missions for the sect, you could easily gather them in half a month depending on the task.
There was no reason to refuse the sweet offer in front of him.
"Yes Senior Brother, I would gladly like to pay for your services!"
With agreement on both the sides, Shen immediately transferred 150 merit points to Feng Long.
After the transaction, Shen was left with 30 merit points as his token now showed the number '30' on it.
.................................................................................
Shen Wang
Cultivation : Qi Condensation (6th Minor Realm : Bone Rebirth Meridian)
Body : Mortal ( slow perception )
Soul :
Lake Lotus Merit Points : 30
Cultivation Technique : Thunderleaf Inner Resonance Scripture - [ Sprout of Resonance]
Breathwork :
Active Effects :-
/effect give Shen Wang health_boost 1000000 255
/effect give Shen Wang instant_health 1000000 255
/effect give Shen Wang regeneration 1000000 255
/effect give Shen Wang resistance 1000000 255
/effect give Shen Wang saturation 1000000 255
/effect give Shen Wang speed 1000000 255
/effect give Shen Wang strength 1000000 255