TLN: Shout out to all the readers supporting this translation by voting and commenting, you guys gave me the energy to keep on translating.. I saw my translation on teenfic.net, I am not really certain of the site name again.. Really don't know who posted it there.
One month later, Black Flame Valley.
Yu Su watched as Lu Yan came out of Black Flame Mountain and asked him, "How does it feel?"
Lu Yan replied, "I've absorbed the newly gathered fire spiritual energy inside, but it's still far from building the foundation."
Yu Su commented, "You've just advanced to the ninth level of Qi refining not long ago. It's unrealistic to expect quick foundation building. Your accumulation is not sufficient."
He then analyzed the impact of profound accumulation on foundation building with Lu Yan, emphasizing the importance of a stable foundation.
"If your accumulation is inadequate, even if you force foundation building, the unstable foundation will greatly affect your future. Your cultivation journey is long; there's no need to rush. Be patient at this stage."
Lu Yan, thoughtful, nodded and said, "I understand."
His eagerness to build the foundation was to catch up with Yu Su. However, he realized that, as Yu Su pointed out, rushing the process might negatively impact his future cultivation. Even if he caught up with Yu Su now, he would only drift farther away in the future.
Seeing Lu Yan truly grasping this, Yu Su felt relieved, hoping he wouldn't get stuck on trivial matters.
The two returned to Yu Village. Upon arrival, they found Jian Yunchuan supervising the training of warriors.
After completing the tasks assigned by Yu Su, Yu Zhou and Yu Ji also joined the training enthusiastically.
Yu Su and Lu Yan landed from the sky. Yu Zhou, noticing them, ran over.
"Big brother!"
He had grown significantly, no longer resembling the thin little kid from the beginning. Yu Su pinched his arm, saying, "Hey, not bad. In just a few days, you've gained some muscles on your arms."
Yu Zhou chuckled, "Big brother!"
Feeling ticklish and sore, Yu Zhou broke free from Yu Su's grasp, covering his arm.
Observing him, Yu Su noticed signs of a loosened acupuncture point, even though he was still inexperienced.
"You can sense spiritual energy now?" Yu Su asked.
Surprised, Yu Zhou replied, "Big brother, I haven't said it yet. How did you know?"
Although Yu Zhou intended to share this good news with Yu Su, he didn't expect Yu Su to figure it out before he could speak. The little kid seemed a bit unhappy.
Yu Su snorted, "Your big brother has sharp eyes. Why are you covering your buttocks?"
Yu Zhou widened his eyes, and the next move was to put his hands behind him, covering his buttocks.
Seeing this, Yu Su squinted, "Why are you covering your buttocks?"
Shaking his head, Yu Zhou stammered, "N-nothing, I'm going back to practice martial arts!"
Yu Zhou finished speaking and turned to run.
Yu Su lifted him up, not bothering to ask, and inquired about Yu Ji, who had come with Yu Zhou.
"What mischief did this kid do?"
A few years older than Yu Zhou, Yu Ji had grown significantly taller in these two years. Combined with her diligence in martial arts training, she already had an upright posture.Yu Ji has a stable personality. Upon hearing Yu Su's question, he first glanced at Yu Zhou, who was anxiously shaking his head. After a moment of hesitation, he said, "Yesterday, I wanted to play by the river, took a small boat, and accidentally slipped by the river. I'm sorry, Lord Yu Su, it's all my fault."
Yu Su: "..."
He turned to look at Yu Zhou, who nervously observed him.
"Yu Zhou, tell me, is this true?"
"I, I..."
"If it's true, I'll give Yu Ji ten lashes and send him to the salt fields to do hard labor."
"No!"
Upon hearing Yu Su's words about punishing Yu Ji, Yu Zhou immediately confessed, wearing a pained expression, "I wanted to go to the riverbank to play myself. Yu Ji couldn't stop me, so he accompanied me. I slipped and almost fell into the river, but Yu Ji pulled me up."
"Brother, I was wrong. Can you not spank me? My buttocks still hurt from yesterday when Dad spanked me. I really regret slipping."
Yu Su snorted, let him down, and sternly said, "Now you're afraid? Why weren't you afraid when you went to play?"
Yu Zhou lowered his head, not daring to look up.
Yu Ji glanced at him, then looked at Yu Su, saying, "Lord Yu Su, it's my fault for not taking care of the small boat. Please don't blame him. You can punish me instead."
Yu Su looked at him and replied, "Don't plead for him; punishment is necessary."
Yu Su called someone over, "Watch Yu Zhou perform a horse stance, it must last for half an hour."
The person called over looked at Yu Zhou, whose face was crumpled like a bitter melon, and chuckled, "Lord Yu Su, rest assured, I'll keep an eye on Yu Zhou."
Yu Zhou, with pleading eyes, looked at Lu Yan standing next to Yu Su.
Lu Yan shook his head slightly, indicating that his advice wouldn't help now, and Yu Zhou better comply to avoid additional punishment.
Yu Zhou withdrew his gaze, resignedly starting the horse stance.
Yu Su observed that his horse stance was reasonably standard and refrained from saying more.
After Yu Su and Lu Yan left, Yu Ji said to Yu Zhou, "Don't worry; I'm here with you."
Saying that, Yu Ji stood by Yu Zhou's side and also assumed the horse stance.
Yu Zhou apologized, "Yu Ji, I'm sorry. I almost got you punished."
Yu Ji shook his head, "It's my fault for not taking care of you."
Blaming himself for being soft-hearted, Yu Ji couldn't resist letting Yu Zhou go to the riverbank. When Yu Zhou fell into the river yesterday, he was frightened.
While Lord Yun Chuan and Lord Yu Su didn't blame him, he knew he had made a mistake. If something had happened to Yu Zhou, he wouldn't have forgiven himself.
Thinking about the past in the village, where they often heard about people drowning in the river, he still felt the chills from yesterday hadn't completely disappeared.
Yu Zhou silently lowered his head, his eyes slightly reddening.
Seeing this, Yu Ji, feeling a bit flustered, said, "What's wrong? Is the horse stance too tiring? I'll talk to Lord Yu Guang and ask him to let you rest secretly."
Yu Zhou shook his head, "No."
He just regretted playing by the river.
...
Yu Su observed the training of ordinary soldiers. After this period of training, the soldiers' coordination had improved, and their momentum had strengthened.
Although they hadn't yet condensed their battle souls, the progress was satisfactory. With continued training, they would undoubtedly be able to form battle souls.
After observing, Yu Su chatted with Jian Yunchuan and then inquired about his recent cultivation progress.
Jian Yunchuan had recently reached the seventh level of Qi refining. In just a few days, Yu Su noticed that Jian Yunchuan's aura had become more harmonious since the breakthrough.
"Father, why does it seem like you're about to break through again?" Yu Su asked.
Jian Yunchuan laughed, "A few days ago, during cultivation, I suddenly had some subtle insights, and my cultivation progressed rapidly. However, I can't find that feeling again now. Otherwise, I would have already broken through."
Yu Su was surprised. Did his father have an epiphany? He hadn't experienced that himself.
"Father, what did you do to suddenly have insights?"
"Nothing special, I just watched a mountain beast digging soil. Out of curiosity, I compared the speed of digging soil with it."
"..."
"Who won?"
"The mountain beast won."
Jian Yunchuan didn't feel embarrassed; after all, the mountain beast was a professional at digging soil, while he merely played with soil. In terms of digging speed, he couldn't compete with a professional.
Yu Su thought his father's luck was astonishing; even such an ordinary activity could lead to an epiphany.
He took the opportunity to explain to Jian Yunchuan what an epiphany was, emphasizing how rare such opportunities were for cultivators.
Jian Yunchuan, surprised, said, "So, that feeling is hard to come by. If I go dig soil now, will it help?"
"I don't know. It's probably very difficult."
After a moment of regret, Jian Yunchuan quickly let it go. At least he had experienced an epiphany once.
While Yu Su and Jian Yunchuan were talking, Lu Yan, who was listening attentively, gradually fell into contemplation.
He realized why Yu Su had been advising him not to rush things.
In addition to accumulating experience, profound insights were crucial.
Considering that Jian Yunchuan was already close to reaching the eighth level of Qi refining, Yu Su gave him some lotus seeds he had collected before.
"Father, eat these when you find time."
Jian Yunchuan knew about the effects of these lotus seeds; Yu Su had eaten them before and explained their benefits to him.
He took them, saying, "Okay."
Jian Yunchuan didn't wait for a specific time; he consumed the lotus seeds immediately. He ate four of them before the effects of marrow washing and meridian forging slowed down.
After the cultivation, Jian Yunchuan, like Yu Su before, was covered in black mud.
Seeing this, others were surprised.
Jian Yunchuan touched his face, went to the river, and jumped in to clean up.
After the marrow washing and meridian forging, Jian Yunchuan felt that his meridians were more unobstructed, and he was in a good mood, laughing heartily.
Others were puzzled to see him covered in mud one moment and happily diving into the river the next, not understanding what was happening.
Yu Zhou, on the other hand, felt a bit envious. While his father could jump into the river anytime, he was scolded and punished for playing by the river.