Chapter 306 - 173: Evolution 5
He discovered that the closer he got to the stone monument, the stronger the pressure became. His bones creaked and groaned under the strain, and his straight back gradually began to bend.
He didn’t dare forget Yun Hong’s reminder.
He hastily retreated to avoid injuring himself.
’Yun Hong told me to come here to train, not to fight against this pressure,’ Chu Lingguang thought. ’I should seize this opportunity and try to find a response from the very core of my bones. If that doesn’t work, it won’t be too late to inch closer step by step.’
He began to feel the pressure coming from all directions, how it made every step difficult. He focused on the changes in his flesh and blood under that power.
On the first day, Chu Lingguang couldn’t last for four hours.
He retreated quickly after less than three hours.
Opening the fourth layer of the Dharma Aspect was far from as easy as he had imagined. Chu Lingguang didn’t expect to open the Bone Aspect in ten days, twenty days, or even a month.
He only hoped to successfully open the fourth layer of his Dharma Aspect before leaving the Trial Ground.
Yun Hong had already said that the Bone Aspect was the watershed moment of the six Dharma Aspect layers.
Even if his Flesh Aspect and Tendon Aspect hadn’t been developed with the help of Heart-Devouring Powder, opening the Bone Aspect would still be a hundred times more difficult. Therefore, he wasn’t anxious; he would be content as long as he could see the slightest bit of progress.
And his progress was reflected in the time he could endure and the distance he could maintain in front of the stone monument.
Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, the second round of assessments was approaching, with only two days left.
On this day, after feeling the pace of his bloodline’s Breathing and Exhaling quicken, Chu Lingguang walked out of his small courtyard, satisfied. He prepared to go to the back mountain to feel that pressure and seek a response from his bones.
After several days of trying, the distance between him and the monument had shortened to ninety-five meters, an advance of five meters from where he started. His endurance had also increased from less than three hours to just a quarter of an hour short of four hours.
Chu Lingguang had a bold idea today. He wanted to practice the Flying Leaf Lotus Spear under that pressure. He realized that although the pressure could exhaust him and leave his body sore, he was still a long way from getting a response.
He had gone to see Yun Hong again today, and Yun Hong had placed special emphasis on the word "training."
It seemed that just standing there, enduring the pressure and using Introspection to search for a response, was not a good method. The only way was to enter a state of selfless training under those conditions, to experience the feeling of his bones being pushed to utter exhaustion. Perhaps only then could he get a response from them.
"Chu Lingguang, you have a letter from your master."
However, just as he stepped out of his courtyard gate, a Black Armored Warrior delivered an envelope to him.
Chu Lingguang’s expression brightened. Looking at the falcon circling above the Trial Ground, he had thought that its speed would certainly be faster than his and Zhuoyi’s.
It had taken them eight days to reach the small town at the foot of the Hundred Thousand Mountains. He hadn’t expected the Trial Ground’s messenger falcon to be able to make a round trip in just eight days.
Chu Lingguang returned to his room.
He carefully opened the envelope.
It was a handwritten reply from Guo Wei.
At the beginning of the letter, Guo Wei greeted Chu Lingguang and stated that he himself was well, telling Chu Lingguang not to worry. He also mentioned that Hei Hu had already eaten at Zhang Linghua’s home a few times, and that his Second Aunt, Mrs. Chu of the Zhang Family, was also doing well.
Then, he got to the main point.
Guo Wei was filled with apprehension. Upon learning that Chu Lingguang had fused the Dragon and Elephant, he worried that Chu Lingguang’s Dharma Aspect cultivation was insufficient. He feared that forcibly using the True Dragon Power would have a fatal impact on Chu Lingguang’s cultivation foundation and his body.
He urged Chu Lingguang not to be too hasty, saying it wouldn’t matter even if he didn’t place in the top ten of the Provincial Examination. He told Chu Lingguang not to use the True Dragon Power recklessly, to prevent injuring himself. At the same time, he recorded his own detailed insights on how to open the Bone Aspect, hoping Chu Lingguang would benefit from them.
He also blamed himself for not noticing Chu Lingguang’s changes earlier. If he had taken precautions in advance, perhaps Chu Lingguang wouldn’t have rushed to fuse the Dragon and Elephant.
Guo Wei was both gratified and worried about Chu Lingguang mastering the True Dragon Power.
Afterward, he mentioned Chu Lingguang’s success in Opening the Dantian and Qi Sea. His joy was beyond words, so he had drawn a figure laughing uproariously at the sky in the letter.
Finally, regarding Chu Lingguang’s clash with Long Xin and his two companions, Guo Wei also responded, telling Chu Lingguang to forge ahead bravely and that he, as his master, would take responsibility for any consequences.
For the first time, he seriously lectured Chu Lingguang about the path of Martial Arts. One must not only be Guarding the Heart and keeping a clear mind, but also fear no hardship and advance courageously. A Martial Artist must never lose their courage and must have their own pride.
But this so-called courage didn’t mean Chu Lingguang should throw caution to the wind and charge recklessly at any opponent, like an egg striking a stone.
Rather, it meant that Chu Lingguang had to learn to endure long periods of waiting and loneliness, and to dare to forge his own path amidst the perils of Martial Arts Cultivation.
To have the courage to face failure.
As for pride.
Guo Wei had only a short sentence for it: being able to face one’s inner self and not fear hardship and danger—that is pride.
At the end of the letter, Guo Wei mentioned that he would set out in a few days to come and stay in the small town outside the Hundred Thousand Mountains. That way, if any problems arose, letters could be delivered in the shortest possible time.
Chu Lingguang was speechless for a long time.
Guo Wei was making a special trip, clearly because he was worried Chu Lingguang wouldn’t be able to open his fourth Dharma Aspect and, in the brutal, competitive environment of the Trial Ground, would forcibly use his True Dragon Power, causing irreversible damage to his foundation and body.
So he was coming to stay in the town ahead of time, hoping to give him confidence and also prevent him from acting too hastily.
In the end, Chu Lingguang took out a piece of paper, drew a respectful smiley face on it, and had the Black Armored Warrior send it off to put Guo Wei’s mind at ease.
After the letter was sent, Chu Lingguang went to the stone monument and began to practice the Thrust from the Flying Leaf Lotus Spear over and over!
Unconsciously, the speed of his spear thrusts grew slower and slower. Chu Lingguang felt that his strength was completely spent; even the Qi Vortex in his abdomen was depleted.
If he continued to push on without any strength to support him, he was afraid it would leave irreversible damage. But just as he was about to put down his Long Spear, a warm current spread from his blood vessels.
Chu Lingguang was stunned.
Looking within through Introspection, he discovered that at some unknown point, his bloodline had actually started its own Breathing and Exhaling, supplying him with power. This was a sign that his bloodline was evolving.
(SLAP, SLAP, SLAP, I’m slapping my own face. Sorry, the word count wasn’t enough! This Chapter had a lot of setup and was really hard to write. Tomorrow I’ll be able to go full throttle and write nonstop.)
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