Chapter 19: The Tenth Stage

“Meridian Establishment, tenth stage!”

Early in the morning, just after sunrise, Yu Yuan suddenly opened his eyes and let out a cheerful scream.

Using the power from the orb, he was able to quickly open up his tenth meridian and officially step into the tenth stage of the realm!

There were only three more days before the three realm battle. The surprising advancement that he just made gave him more confidence to win.

“Congratulations.”

Yuan Lianyao’s sudden lazy voice sounded like a ghost.

Yu Yuan frowned and turned to look at the windows, where the voice had come from. He saw Lady Mayoress in her usual bright red dress and asked, “How long have you been here?”

“It has been a while.” Yuan Lianyao didn’t seem to be a guest here at all. With a twist of her wrist, her body swept across the room to where Yu Yuan was sitting. “Hm… Black Dragon Shears. This is a prized gem of the Hall of Treasures. How did it end up in your hands? I’m just curious.”

“How’s the two from the Lin Clan?” Yu Yuan changed the topic.

“Just like what you told me to do, the poisons in their bodies are gone and I send them out of the city.” Yuan Lianyao stepped back a few steps. Her two long legs crossed on the wooden bench and she smiled while looking at Yu Yuan.

Yu Yuan felt a little strange by her constant gaze.

“From what I can see right now, your method of cultivation is unique and precise. I suppose it must be one of the high ranked methods, right?” Her eyes glanced towards Yu Yuan’s lower core. “If the Yu Clan still has any complete high ranked method, the clan will not be in such a pitiful situation.”

Cultivation techniques and methods are categorized into low rank, middle rank, and high rank (advanced). Each of the ranks was further subdivided into nine levels.

The clans and royal families of the Land of Qianxuan owned mostly low and middle-rank methods and techniques.

The high-rank methods, even those with lower levels, were extremely rare.

Advanced methods would mean that a cultivator could avoid unnecessary mistakes in the cultivating process, reduce troubles while developing through realms, and increase their chances to reach the Yang God, Free Spirit, and Divine Spirit realms.

If the cultivator started with a low-rank method and decided not to change, the chance for him/her to reach the last three realms was almost zero.

As for the middle-rank methods, they would give a cultivator better chances, but would still be much harder.

To start off, most cultivators from the Land of Qianxuan usually only have access to low-rank methods.

Then, after they slowly started to show progress and had incredible luck, they might get their hands on a suitable middle-rank method.

For advanced methods, cultivators must be spotted by large and powerful sects from the Land of Extinction or the Land of Genesis who would be willing to hire them as retainers.

Yuan Lianyao had only been cultivating with a middle-rank level seven method.

She only got that after going through many risks and obstacles and in a place unknown to most of humanity.

Yet Yu Yuan here was already cultivating an advanced method before he even passed the first realm!

What does this mean?

This meant that in the future, Yu Yuan wouldn’t need to spend any effort searching around the world for a suitable cultivation method!

“After a mysterious waking, it is as if you are a different person. Calm and ruthless, excellent in alchemy, and possess a high-rank method…”

Yuan Lianyao looked at Yu Yuan and felt that every part of him was more mysterious than ever.

This brought up her curiosity and made her want to dig deep into this young master of the Yu Clan, uncovering all the truths behind him.

“Sister Mayoress, I’m afraid that you guessed wrong. My cultivation method is nothing but an ordinary one.” Yu Yuan showed no emotion and covered up his lower abdomen with his left palm. “Sister, your stares are making me a little uncomfortable, especially at such a place!”

“What uncomfortable!” Yuan Lianyao said kiddingly, “Well. Since you don’t want to tell me, I will not force you.”

Dang! Slam!

A vast amount of herbs with special effects rolled on to the floor. Some were in bottles and others in cans. “Here, these are what you have requested. I come here mainly to deliver these to you safely. Just keep in mind that the old man who you met a few days ago is very important to me!”

When she said that, her face became serious.

“You better take that seriously! If his poison can be cured, everything will be good. If you dare to play and trick around here, then I won’t hesitate to treat you without sympathy!”

“Relax. I got it! But you know, the Battle of the Three Realms is about to start in a few days, and I hope that sister can give me some more time.” Yu Can said.

“Oh, about that.” Yuan Lianyao frowned and pondered for a few seconds. Then she said, “For the sake of you calling me your sister, I’ll give you a genuine suggestion. You should quit that ridiculous battle as soon as possible.”

“Why?” Yu Yuan asked curiously.

“This will be the best for you… unless you are looking for more trouble.” Yuan Lianyao continued, “If you still insist on the battle, I can ensure that you will not die, but you will more than likely to be seriously injured.”

With that being said, the window opened by itself and Yuan Lianyao suddenly turned into a bright red lotus.

That lotus floated across the room and disappeared out the window soundlessly.

Hm!

Just before she left, Yuan Lianyao’s surprised voice came from the window.

Yu Yuan immediately leaned out the window to check what was going on, and he saw his maid, An Ziqing, walking in with the copper basin.

The young girl, dressed in a clean purple robe, seemed to be shining under the sun.

“Young Master!”

Seeing Yu Yuan looking out from the window, An Ziqing smiled and her eyes brightened. The sweet smile made Yu Yuan feel a little dazzled.

Yu Yuan closed his eyes, and when they reopened, An Ziqing was already a few steps away from him.

The strange feeling that he had about her was also gone, which made him feel that the glow must be from the reflection of the copper basin.

“Qing, how do you know that I’ll be done today?” Yu Yuan smiled.

After he returned from the Hall of Treasures, he asked An Ziqing to not come for the next few days while he was cultivating.

In the past few days, while he was working on his meridians, he didn’t sense An Ziqing’s appearance either.

Yet today, he just successfully reached the tenth stage of Meridian Establishment and met both Lady Mayoress and An Ziqing.

“Master, I came to check on you this morning.” An Ziqing said charmingly, “I have been here a few times, but didn’t come in because your door is closed. It’s good to see you today.”

“Did you see a lotus or hear any sound just then?” Yu Yuan asked.

“No. What’s the matter?”

“Nevermind, wait just a second.”

After closing the window, Yu Yuan quickly walked back to the table and shoved all the bottles and cans that Yuan Lianyao brought over under his bed so that An Ziqing would not ask a thousand more questions about it.

Just by a brief glance, he confirmed that all the herbs needed to cure the old man’s poison were all here.

In fact, only a small portion of that large pile of herbs was actually needed to cure the poison, while the rest was needed for a special pill that Yu Yuan wanted to make for his grandpa.

“All done.”

With all the herbs properly placed, Yu Yuan opened the door to let An Ziqing in.

An Ziqing placed the copper basin and towels for washing on the table and was about to help Yu Yuan wash.

“Thank you, I’ll do it myself.”

Yu Yuan smiled and motioned An Ziqing to step aside. He then started to wash his face.

“Young master, have you heard about Hang Bin from the Huang Clan?” An Ziqing suddenly asked.

“Yes.” Yu Yuan answered vaguely without raising his head.

“Hang Bin has just opened all twelve of his meridians and reached the peak of Meridian Establishment.” An Ziqing said anxiously as Yu Yuan still didn’t seem to care, “I heard that he could have tried to break into the Contained Spirit realm three months ago. He purposefully held back from stepping into the next realm just so that he could be the most powerful of the Meridian Establishment realm in the battle!”

“After all, the future earnings of the clans can be altered through the three realm battle.”

An Ziqing said solemnly.

Yu Yuan twisted his wet towel and finally raised his head to answer An Ziqing. “Of course, I know the importance of the battle, or else I wouldn’t have worked so hard for the past few days.”

He figured that An Ziqing would not understand the realms and stages, so he didn’t tell her that they had reached the tenth stages of the Meridian Establishment.

“Young master, I also heard that Hang Bin threatens to kill you if you dare to participate in the battle!” An Ziqing said anxiously. “People said that Huang Bin is a tough one. Young Master, you have just started. You should seriously consider talking to your grandpa and just don’t go at all.”

“Huang Bin?” Yu Yuan stroked his chin.

“Yuan’er!”

Uncle Yu Wei walked into his room in a hurry, he busted out in a hurry, “Yu Yuan, don’t go to the Battle of the Three Realms! Just wait for three more years and go for the Contained Spirit realm battle!”

“Why? What made you say that?” Yu Yuan realized that something must have happened, or else Yuan Lianyao, An Ziqing, and his uncle won’t all come almost together to persuade him to forfeit the competition.

“People from the Huang Clan told Huang Bin to use the chance to kill you on the battlegrounds!” Yu Wei was furious, “The Huang Clan members broke both of the master’s legs, and they have been oppressing us with every opportunity they find. Now, just after you woke up, they want to kill you! You are our clan’s largest hope!”

Yu Yuan frowned, “The Battle of the Three Realms between the four clans is a battle of life and death?”

“If both clans agree, then it is still permitted.” Yu Wei nodded, “But, I’m afraid that when you are there, people from the Huang Clan will purposefully anger you. At that point, it’s hard to say what you are going to do under pressure. To be honest, although Huang Bin is arrogant, his combat power among the cultivators in the Meridian Establishment Realm is indeed considered the top. You, however…”

Yu Wei sighed, “You haven’t had much combat experience, so even if you are also at the peak of Meridian Establishment like him, you will still have a significant disadvantage.”

“He is right. Experience is the key to success!” An Ziqing nodded like a chicken pecking, “No matter how high of a realm you are in, without personal experience, others can still defeat you easily!”

“Has my grandpa said anything about this yet?” Yu Yuan said.

“Your grandpa also thinks that you need some more time.” Yu Wei said, “He still wanted you to go, but you have to avoid competitors from the Huang Clan, especially Huang Bin. If you are forced to battle against him, then just surrender immediately.”

“Experience?!” Yu Yuan muttered to himself, and said, “Uncle, no matter what I will be fighting in the battle. As for the Huang Clan and Huang Bin, I really want to see what they got for me!”