Chapter 4

As the sun set and the moon rose, five days passed in the blink of an eye. During these five days, Yuan Feng almost never left his room, spending all his time in cultivation.

"Master, this is the last time. Uncle Liang said that this is all the supplements Master can use this month. If you want more, you'll have to ask the head of the family. I can't get them anymore."

In the room, Wan'er still held a large tray, filled with various spirit plants. However, it was clear that compared to the previous days, both the quantity and quality of the spirit plants had slightly decreased.

"Hehe, it's fine. This should be enough for now. Wan'er, thank you for these past few days. You can go now!"

Yuan Feng glanced at the spirit plants on the tray and was quite satisfied. Although the quality and quantity were a bit lacking, he thought they should be sufficient.

The Yuan family was a large clan with strict rules. These supplements and spirit plants were not something anyone could use, nor could they be used without limit. As the son of the head of the family, the treatment he received was already quite good.

"Hehe, Master doesn't need to be so polite to Wan'er." She smiled sweetly at Yuan Feng, put down the tray, and said, "If there's nothing else, Wan'er will take her leave. Master, have a good rest." With that, she bowed and left happily.

Over these few days, Wan'er had clearly felt the difference in Yuan Feng. After several interactions, her impression of him had improved significantly. The old Yuan Feng was lazy and his attitude changed frequently. How could he have been as steady and approachable as he had been these past few days?

"Phew, in these five days, I've really eaten a lot of good things. I think after this, I should be able to break through to the third level of the Condensation Realm."

Looking at the spirit plants on the tray, Yuan Feng slowly smiled.

During these five days, he would eat a large meal every day and then immediately start cultivating without a break.

After his yuan force grew stronger, he needed to continuously circulate his cultivation technique to familiarize and control it. Day by day, his yuan force grew stronger, and this growth rate was just right. If it were any faster, it might become dangerous. If the yuan force suddenly increased too much but the cultivation technique's level couldn't keep up, the yuan force might go out of control, potentially destroying his meridians or even costing him his life.

Therefore, even with the Swallowing Heaven Martial Spirit, Yuan Feng absolutely could not rush things. The principle that haste makes waste applied to him as well.

Sitting cross-legged, he ate the spirit plants one by one. This time, he ate the entire tray of spirit plants before starting to circulate the Cultivation Yuan Technique.

In this world, cultivation techniques and martial skills varied in quality. The Cultivation Yuan Technique of the Yuan family was a Yellow Rank technique. Although its rank was not high, it was considered a high-quality technique among Yellow Rank techniques. All direct descendants of the Yuan family cultivated the Cultivation Yuan Technique, which had nine levels, each corresponding to one of the nine levels of the Condensation Realm, just like other techniques.

The higher the rank of the cultivation technique, the better the cultivation effect. Unfortunately, cultivation techniques were quite rare across the entire continent. Even Yellow Rank techniques and skills were not easy to obtain, let alone those of higher ranks.

Some large sects with deep roots might have high-level techniques or skills, but not everyone had the qualifications to cultivate them. Once someone cultivated a high-level technique or skill, their cultivation speed and combat power would inevitably surpass those who cultivated lower-level techniques or skills, which was self-evident.

Yuan Feng had been stuck at the second level of the Cultivation Yuan Technique, but the binge eating and continuous cultivation over these five days had allowed him to condense a large amount of yuan force. Now, his yuan force reserves were sufficient to break through to the third level of the Cultivation Yuan Technique.

He slowly controlled his yuan force to circulate through his meridians, gradually integrating small amounts of yuan force into the yuan force cluster. Compared to a few days ago, his yuan force in his meridians had grown more than tenfold.

At some point, after circulating his yuan force for several rounds, Yuan Feng quietly recited the incantation for the third level of the Cultivation Yuan Technique. The nine levels of the Cultivation Yuan Technique became progressively more profound. He was already very familiar with the second level, and now he would see if he could successfully circulate the third level. Once he mastered the third level of the Cultivation Yuan Technique, it would mean he could advance to the third level of the martial realm.

"Buzz!!! Swish!!!"

A faint sound of something breaking came from deep within his heart. At the same time, the yuan force in his meridians suddenly accelerated, and threads of yuan force light appeared on the meridian walls, instantly strengthening the existing yuan force cluster.

"Success!!"

Yuan Feng's face lit up with joy. He had easily broken through to the third level of the Cultivation Yuan Technique.

With the realm's advancement, Yuan Feng could feel a significant improvement in both the quantity and quality of the yuan force in his meridians. The third level of the Cultivation Yuan Technique was sufficient to support him in cultivating many martial skills.

"Ha, finally broke through. I've been stuck at the second level of the Condensation Realm for two years, right?"

With his strength breaking through, Yuan Feng was delighted but also felt a sense of reflection. With the help of the Swallowing Heaven Martial Spirit, he had only taken a few days to catch up to two years of lag. Such a cultivation speed was beyond what could be explained by normal standards.

Of course, the breakthrough of his yuan force was only one aspect. What he was even more pleased about was the improvement in his aptitude.

"Hehe, after eating so many spirit plants, my meridians have grown more than tenfold. Now, my martial aptitude must surpass everyone in the Yuan family, and even everyone in the entire Fengtian County."

With his meridians expanded, his yuan force circulated at an astonishing speed. The speed of yuan force circulation directly affected the learning and execution of martial skills. This meant that, even without learning any martial skills yet, he was already several levels ahead of others in terms of foundation.

"It's time to choose a martial skill."

Smiling, he got out of bed and headed directly to the Yuan family's martial skills pavilion. Compared to the breakthrough of his yuan force, he was even more excited about learning martial skills. Only by learning martial skills could he truly be considered a martial artist.

The Yuan family's martial skills pavilion was located deep within the estate. As one of the three major families in Fengtian County, the Yuan family's martial skills pavilion was quite impressive.

A square stone building, with two Yuan family guards standing like spears at the entrance, looking quite formidable.

"Third Young Master!"

When Yuan Feng arrived at the pavilion, the two guards greeted him indifferently. Yuan Feng nodded friendly and entered the pavilion.

"Huh? What's Third Young Master doing at the martial skills pavilion? Is he here to choose a martial skill?"

"Right, he can't cultivate martial skills until he reaches the third level of the Condensation Realm. Has he broken through?"

"Broken through? If he could break through, anyone could. This kid is dull and lazy. How could he possibly break through? I think he's just here to look around."

"Who cares? Let's focus on our guard duty. If the masters see us chatting, we'll be in trouble again!"

The two guards exchanged a few words and quickly resumed their rigid stance, continuing to guard the entrance diligently.

When Yuan Feng entered the martial skills pavilion, two rows of bookshelves immediately caught his eye. There were not many books on the shelves, only about twenty or so. However, for a small county like Fengtian, having twenty different martial skills was already quite a lot.

He quickly scanned the shelves. The twenty or so martial skills covered a wide range of categories.

"Feng Wind Sword Technique, Mountain Splitting Palm, Spirit Rhinoceros Finger, Vajra Fist, Gold Crushing Palm... Hmm, quite comprehensive. It seems the Yuan family has collected a lot of martial skills over the generations."

All twenty or so martial skills were of Yellow Rank quality, with no high-level techniques. This was expected. If the Yuan family could obtain a technique or skill of the Mystic Rank or higher, the family's strength would likely increase significantly.

"I must learn a sword technique. Using a weapon against an enemy is definitely better than fighting bare-handed. As for the rest, I'll learn a fist technique."

On his way, Yuan Feng had already decided on his goals: a sword technique and a fist technique. For now, he would learn two, as learning too many might lead to overextension.

"Feng Wind Sword Technique, Vajra Fist, these two."

The power of the martial skills collected by the Yuan family was almost the same. He chose the Feng Wind Sword Technique and the Vajra Fist because he knew that his father, Yuan Qingyun, cultivated these two techniques and had achieved a high level of proficiency. His father's choice of these two techniques suggested that they were slightly stronger.

Taking the two books, Yuan Feng turned to leave. However, as he turned, a dark red book on a corner of the shelf caught his eye.

"Huh? Dragon Glide Step? What's this?"

Subconsciously, he picked up the dark red book and realized that the Dragon Glide Step technique was only three pages long, with obvious signs of being torn. This meant that the technique was a fragment.

"Uh, it's a light body technique. Unfortunately, it's just a fragment. If it were complete, it would be great. Light body techniques are quite rare."

Swords, spears, and fist techniques were not rare, but light body techniques were much less common. Unfortunately, a fragment of a technique, even if cultivated, would be a waste of time and difficult to achieve much with.

"Light body techniques are rare, so I might as well take a look."

He had already planned to leave with the martial skills, but the appearance of the Dragon Glide Step piqued his interest. It was rare to encounter a light body technique, and it would be a shame to miss it.

With that thought, he put the Feng Wind Sword Technique and the Vajra Fist manuals in his pocket, took the fragment of the Dragon Glide Step, and found a spot to sit down.

Sitting cross-legged, he slowly opened the cover, and immediately, a series of illustrations and annotations appeared before his eyes.

"First level of the Dragon Glide Step, as light as a swallow!"

On the first page, the cultivation method for the first level of the Dragon Glide Step was recorded. He quickly scanned it and flipped to the next page, but found no second level technique until the last page.

"Uh, it turns out there's only the first level, and even that is incomplete. No wonder it's been left here untouched. Without a complete first level, it has no cultivation value at all."

If the first level were complete, it would have some cultivation value. Unfortunately, the Dragon Glide Step was incomplete, making it impossible to cultivate. In this case, the fragment of the Dragon Glide Step was almost useless.

"Ah, well, let's take a look anyway."

Sighing, Yuan Feng didn't think much more and began to read the first level technique of the Dragon Glide Step.

"Dragon Glide Step, steps like a dragon, when perfected, one can pass through a thousand flowers without a single petal touching the body, as swift as the wind, as elusive as a shadow, formless and intangible."

"First level of the Dragon Glide Step, yuan force sinks slightly, qi flows to the feet, graceful as a startled swan, light as a swallow..."

The illustrations and text combined, and he was immediately engrossed. Initially, he had only planned to take a quick look, but he soon found himself unable to stop, completely immersed in an indescribable state.

As if enchanted, his eyes didn't blink, and he examined the illustrations of the Dragon Glide Step in great detail. From the first page to the second, and soon to the last, he was completely absorbed in the Dragon Glide Step. Suddenly, he closed his eyes and remained motionless.

"Buzz!!!"

Yuan Feng didn't know what was happening. His mind suddenly trembled, and the image of the Swallowing Heaven Martial Spirit flashed and disappeared. Then, a blurry figure gradually became clear in his mind.

The figure was indistinguishable as male or female. As soon as it appeared, it began to dance in his mind. The figure was crystal clear, with flowing threads of light. These threads moved with the figure's dance, demonstrating the method of using yuan force.

Watching the figure dance, Yuan Feng was even more engrossed. Subconsciously, he began to circulate his yuan force according to the threads in the figure, and his body began to move in the steps of the figure within the martial skills pavilion.

Everything seemed involuntary. Yuan Feng didn't know if he was conscious at the moment. In a daze, he felt as if he was floating. This feeling was very unreal. However, the yuan force circulating in his body made him realize that he was indeed moving and not in a hallucination.

The figure in his mind moved faster and faster. Soon, he realized that the steps the figure was demonstrating were no longer the first level of the Dragon Glide Step. Suddenly, a realization dawned on him, startling him awake.

"Second level of the Dragon Glide Step, swift as a gust of wind!"

His eyes widened in shock, and he was speechless.