Longevity by Grinding Skills

"Senior Brother, a word in private."

Chu Xuan’s fingertips trembled slightly, her painted nails nearly smudging his moon-white lapel.

In the shadow cast by a cyan pine, the gentle smile on Ning Wuque’s lips froze.

The moment he heard that the Celestial Silkworm Threads were to be given to Xu Yunfan, the knuckles of his sword-hand turned white and the veins on the back of his hand pulsed like worms. This crack in his composure lasted only an instant.

Ning Wuque’s gentle expression faltered, then swiftly turned ice-cold as he stared intently at Chu Xuan.

"Is what you’re saying... true?"

Chu Xuan nodded repeatedly. "I heard Father say it with my own ears. Senior Brother, you have to go talk to him! With your standing in the Celestial Cicada Sect, there’s no way it should be Xu Yunfan’s turn to use the Celestial Silkworm Threads."

After a long silence, a smile emerged on Ning Wuque’s face as he stood in the shadows. It was a smile that sent a chill down one’s spine.

"Junior Sister, watch your words."

The Chi Long pattern on his sword’s hilt dug into his palm, but Ning Wuque’s voice remained as gentle as a spring breeze.

"Junior Brother Xu is a martial arts prodigy the likes of which is seen only once a century..."

As he spoke, he suddenly looked up. A passing cloud blocked the sun, and in the shadow, his scholarly face revealed a hint of malice. "Just like Senior Liu Tianyun twenty years ago."

He slowly turned his head, his gaze as sharp as an eagle’s, as fierce as a wolf’s.

"Having our junior brother in the Celestial Cicada Sect is a blessing. Junior Sister, you mustn’t say things that undermine our unity. Do not speak of this again."

Stung by his gaze, Chu Xuan took half a step back, the crisp SNAP of a dry twig breaking under her embroidered shoe.

By the time she came to her senses, Ning Wuque was already back in the center of the Martial Arts Arena, gently instructing their Fourth Junior Brother on the finer points of the Celestial Cicada Force.

The morning light gilded the side of his face, making that momentary distortion seem like a mere illusion.

"Blockhead!"

The girl stomped her foot, the silver bells on her wrist jingling chaotically. Suddenly, she slapped her forehead. She could just go talk to her father herself!

She immediately turned and headed straight for the rear mountain.

As she passed Xu Yunfan, she suddenly spun around and flicked her sleeve. A silver needle, concealed by the wide fabric, shot straight for an acupoint on his leg. This was her seventh attempt to test him this month.

Xu Yunfan seemed to casually kick away a loose stone. A green brick on the path beneath his foot exploded, and amidst the sharp CLINK, the silver needle buried itself in a fragment.

Chu Xuan hesitated no longer, immediately striding toward the sect’s rear mountain. Seeing his gaze sizing her up as she went, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes, huff coldly, and quickly hurry past.

Xu Yunfan turned and watched Chu Xuan’s crimson skirt disappear at the end of the stone path, a cold sneer escaping his nose.

’That woman’s obsession with Ning Wuque is ridiculous. If Ning Wuque let out a loud fart, she’d probably treat it as heavenly music. She’d probably even take his chamber pot, carve it with flowers, inlay it with jade, and worship it like a sacred treasure.’

’She’s such a fake. In the past month, he’d figured it out. Her brain is completely fixated on Ning Wuque. If Ning Wuque so much as bends over, she’s probably worried he’s about to get diarrhea.’

’A few casual words from Ning Wuque are all it takes to make that lovesick fool’s head spin.’

’Unbelievable.’

「Three days later, at the foot of Thunder Accumulation Mountain.」

Ning Wuque stood before the sect gate in a cyan robe, the Upper Grade sharp blade, the Silver Dragon Sword, slung at his waist. The blood-colored patterns on the longsword were faintly visible in the morning light.

Behind him, Third Senior Brother Pi Zhi’an carried a Nine-Ring Saber on his back, and Fourth Senior Brother Zhu Yi wore a Twin-bladed Sword at his waist. Over two hundred disciples stood in neat formation, their murderous aura soaring to the heavens.

"Move out."

At Ning Wuque’s command, the procession snaked down the mountain like a long dragon.

He looked back at the sect gate, his gaze lingering for a moment on the Celestial Cicada Sect plaque. A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched his lips.

Chen Tiangang watched them depart and began to speak.

"The Jade Capital Dao is the most prosperous and flourishing region in all of the Great Zhou. You could say it’s sustained by a massive amount of resources from all corners of the land, with countless rare treasures from mountain and sea. Of the nine top sects in the Great Zhou, seven are located within the Jade Capital Dao. And Jade Capital City alone consumes thirty percent of the Dao’s resources."

"That hundred-thousand-strong Hu Ben Xuan Armor Army is composed entirely of Enlightened Martial Artists, and their commanding general is a Marrow Refining Grandmaster."

’All of them are Enlightened Martial Artists!’

Xu Yunfan was shaken. A single Enlightened Martial Artist ate far more than an ordinary person, and their daily training required a supply of Qi Blood Elixir Pills and specially prepared medicinal meals.

The daily resources needed to supply an army of one hundred thousand... it was an astronomical figure.

Sensing Xu Yunfan’s unspoken question, Chen Tiangang snorted softly.

"A single Enlightened Martial Artist consumes eleven pounds of quality meat and three Qi Blood Pills every day."

"For an army of one hundred thousand, that’s over a million pounds of meat and three hundred thousand Qi Blood Pills... every single day."

’No wonder... Back in Qingzhou Changyi, those scholars said the Incense and Candle Sect in Wuzhou was nothing more than a minor nuisance. Among the Sixteen States of Yanbei Dao, Wuzhou was utterly insignificant...’

Xu Yunfan’s eyelids drooped as he recalled his journey across Wuzhou, from north to south, through Dingbei City, Dayi City, Flying Crane Pass... 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

City after city, almost completely annihilated by the flames of war ignited by the Incense and Candle Sect.

’All those vibrant lives... in the eyes of the powerful, they were nothing more than a string of cold numbers.’

Xu Yunfan shook his head, his gaze hardening. ’My strength is still insufficient. Thinking about these things just brings unnecessary trouble. I’m better off spending more time on my cultivation.’

In the following days, with Ning Wuque gone, even that woman Chu Xuan settled down for a rare period of peace. Xu Yunfan mostly kept to himself. ’I’ll just wait for a chance to kill her,’ he thought. ’With Master Chen Tiangang around, it’s not a good time to make a move.’

’But if an opportunity arises off the mountain, I definitely won’t let it slip.’

His days were packed. In the morning, he cultivated the Celestial Cicada Force. At noon, he practiced the Cloak Hammer. In the evening, he focused on flicking his great tendons and stretching his muscles and bones. At night, he formed the Linn Character Seal with his hands, chanted the Supreme Kindness Heart Spell, and cultivated the Linn Character Technique.

His schedule was filled from dawn till dusk.

At the faint light of dawn, Xu Yunfan stood bare-chested on the mountaintop.

He stretched his arms, and a series of dense CRACKS echoed from his bones. The muscles all over his body coiled like dragons, and beneath his skin, dark red blood vessels slithered like snakes.

As the Celestial Cicada Force circulated, his veins pulsed, and faint patterns resembling cicada wings appeared on his skin.

"Hah!"

With a low shout, his fist cut through the air with a howl.

A bluestone boulder ten paces away shattered on impact. Among the fragments, fine vibration marks could be seen around the edge of the fist imprint.

Xu Yunfan withdrew his stance and exhaled, a sharp light flickering in his eyes.

’You have diligently cultivated the Celestial Cicada Force. You’ve grown more proficient with the bone-vibrating, cicada-humming method of Emitting Force, able to use it at will. You have finally grasped the key. Celestial Cicada Force Skill Level has increased.’

"..."

Every time he saw the Skill Level prompt appear in his vision, he felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

「After lunch, at noon in the Martial Arts Arena.」

Xu Yunfan held the Drumming Jar Golden Hammer. The muscles on his arms were bunched up and his veins bulged as he swung the Fine Steel Heavy Hammer, creating a whistling wind.

"BANG!"

A single hammer strike cracked the bluestone ground like a spiderweb.

Xu Yunfan spun, sweeping out with the other hammer, and a series of sharp cracks exploded in the air. This was his daily practice of the Cloak Hammer Technique, meant to temper his bones and tendons and increase his strength.

Although he had already reached the Great Success stage with his Red Rope Copper Body Cloak Hammer, his daily diligent practice was still steadily increasing its Skill Level.

He was not far from the true state of Skin Cultivation Perfection.