I Was Forced To Marry The Phoenix Empress-Chapter 135: Fourth Day
"Also, I’ll be leaving the city today for a week. So, take care of yourself, you two," Elder Lei stated the next moment. His expression was the same as usual.
"You won’t be seeing our matches?" Qin Yao frowned the next instant and asked with a deflated tone.
"Yes, there’s something that I need to do," Elder Lei stated firmly.
"T-Then...who should we approach if we encounter some troubles at the tournament?" Qin Yao asked worriedly. He clearly didn’t want him to leave.
This was Qin Yao’s first time participating in the tournament, and now that even Elder Lei was not coming to the tournament, the nervousness in his heart skyrocketed.
Hearing Qin Yao’s words, Elder Lei slightly pressed his eyebrows in thought and grew silent for a couple of seconds.
"The Fourth Elder, approach him if there’s anything you require help with during my absence."
Elder Lei answered.
’Feng Ning’s father? Does Elder Lei have good relations with him?’ Yi Chen thought with interest.
While he was in thought, Elder Lei pushed himself off the ground and said, "Do remember what I told you earlier. Rest. Your body and mind need it."
With that said, Elder Lei began walking towards the gate of the residence.
Seeing this, both Qin Yao and Yi Chen stood up and started walking after him.
With his back facing them, Elder Lei waved his hand towards the side and said, "No need to drop me off. Continue with what you should be doing."
Hearing this made the two of them stop in their tracks, and glancing towards his exiting figure, the two of them bowed at him as usual.
"So, let’s clean the residence thoroughly today since we don’t have to train afterwards," Yi Chen suggested the next moment.
"Yes, Brother Chen," Qin Yao nodded, and with that said, the two of them busied themselves in the task.
The gaps between the stone tiles in the courtyard were filled with filth. So, the two of them thoroughly scrubbed all those gaps and ensured that the stubborn filth trapped between the tiles was finally taken care of.
Once that was done, they dusted the interior of the house, going from one room to the next.
"Since Elder Lei will come after a week, let’s use this opportunity to dust and arrange his room properly," Yi Chen suggested.
Normally, the room was cleaned by Elder Lei himself, so the two of them never had the opportunity to do it.
"Yes, let’s do that. I’m sure Master would appreciate it," Qin Yao grinned and slid open Elder Lei’s door the next instant.
"???"
Qin Yao’s expression couldn’t help but furrow when he saw the state of Elder Lei’s room.
The bookshelf, which used to make itself known the moment one opened the door, was no longer present.
It was the same with Elder Lei’s study table and also his bed, which contributed to the rest of the furniture in his room. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
"Uhm...now that I think about it, Elder Lei does wear a ring on his hand, that must be a storage artefact," Yi Chen muttered as he saw the state of the room.
"...but still, did he really need to empty out everything. Didn’t he say that he was only going out for a week?" Qin Yao couldn’t help but mutter in confusion.
Hearing this, Yi Chen couldn’t help but feel a sudden sense of premonition.
’Could it be...’
He was reminded of the extra information that was present in Elder Lei’s status panel.
His gaze then fell on Qin Yao, who had wrinkles forming on his forehead.
’I hope I’m wrong...’ Yi Chen thought to himself and said the next instant, wanting to divert Qin Yao’s mind.
"You are just thinking too much. For a storage ring owner, something like this could be done with just a snap of their finger.
Let’s not dwell on it too much and quickly clean the room,"
"A-Alright..." Qin Yao nodded after hearing Yi Chen’s words, and the two of them continued on with their task.
The housework took more than an hour’s time. With that done, they did their laundry and finally dipped their tired bodies in the warm pool of water in the bathhouse.
Water trickled through the crevices on the stones, and the rhythmic dropping of water on the stones felt like music to their ears.
With his elbow resting on the ground behind him, Yi Chen allowed his legs to relax in the pool and stared up at the misty roof.
One may think that he was just enjoying the warm bath, but along with that, he was also doing something else.
Analysing his progress.
======Cultivation Arsenal ======
#Weapon Arts
1) Advanced Swordsmanship [ Progress: 21 / 1000 ]
#Cultivation Arts
1) Crimson Fire Arts [ Comprehension: 70% ]
2) Myriad Flying Swords [ Comprehension: 33% ]
3) Bursting Fire Steps [ Comprehension: 53% ]
#System Items
1) 10x Comprehension Speed [Activated: 16 days left]
============ END ===========
’I was expecting their comprehension percentages to increase more rapidly from the initial jumps...well, this much is still good enough for three days,’
Yi Chen thought to himself when his eyes fell on his progress, his newly acquired martial techniques.
The next second, his eyes went to his swordsmanship progress and a wide grin formed on his face.
It was just yesterday when the progress bar for Basic Swordsmanship became filled completely.
At that time, its name on the status panel had instantly changed to Advanced Swordsmanship and along with that, Yi Chen’s entire understanding of swordsmanship experienced an immense qualitative change.
The sword, which previously felt like a weapon in his hand, suddenly began feeling like an extension of himself and something which he could use as easily as his fingers.
In addition to that, he was no longer dependent on the sword techniques which were taught to him by Zheng Ru.
It wasn’t because they had become useless but because he had entered a stage where he felt that he could battle it out with someone, just depending on his instincts, his sword following the most efficient pathway each time.
Though it was still far from reaching, as he had barely progressed in the Advanced Swordsmanship bar.
’Although I’ve come so far in the path of swordsmanship, it still feels like I’ve barely touched the tips of it...’
Yi Chen pursed his lips in thought. It was only after gaining more knowledge that he realised how little he truly knows about the sword.
While this feeling helped in keeping him humble, it also ignited a desire inside him to understand the path of the sword fully.
The next instant, he changed the status panel in front of his eyes and opened up his cultivation progress.
== Meridian Refinement Stage ==
Level: Fifth [0/ 40]
Mortal Meridians: 160 / 360
Godly Meridians: 0 / 160
Progress: 160 / 520
==========================
’Just looking at it makes me exhausted...’ Yi Chen sighed in exhaustion when he glanced at the number of meridians he had refined after entering the Fifth Level.
His disappointment was clearly directed towards the extremely slow speed of refinement, which had made him not focus on cultivation for the last few days.
’With a speed of half a meridian per day, won’t it take me almost three months to enter the next level?!... I miss that 10x Cultivation Speed buff so much. With that, I would barely need nine days to break through,’
Yi Chen thought to himself while sulking.
If another cultivator had heard his string of thoughts right now, they would have given him a tight slap.
While others took years to make this leap from the Fifth to the Sixth Level, he only needed to cultivate for months! Despite being granted such a boon, he was still complaining.
It was rightly said by a gentleman that while some drown in success, others die of thirst.
"I’m done. I’ll go and cool off," Yi Chen said after feeling content with the bath and pushing himself up.
Qin Yao, who was also done, nodded and got out from the opposite end.
Splashing a tub of cold water on their bodies, the two finally finished their long, relaxing bath.
After getting changed, they soon arrived at the kitchen.
While having their lunch, Yi Chen answered some of Qin Yao’s doubts related to the Crimson Fire Arts as their plates gradually emptied.
"Let’s go and rest then," Yi Chen said with an uncomfortable expression after he was done with the dishes.
"Yes...I’ll try to," Qin Yao, who had been itching to cultivate, said with a similar expression.
Exchanging a difficult expression, they soon left for their room.
’I refuse to believe that if I lie down on the bed now, I won’t be able to fall asleep.’
Not wanting to go back on his word, Yi Chen forced himself onto his bed and tried to sleep.
Feeling not well on this side, he turned his body to the right.
Then to the left.
Again, to the right.
"I can’t fall asleep..."
He finally muttered to himself as his eyes blankly stared at the ceiling. Sleep seemed to be the last thing those eyes wanted at the moment.
Just when Yi Chen was about to give in to his impulses and call out his skill book, a sound echoed in his mind.
Ding!
Evaluating Host’s Progress in the following months...
Evaluation successful...
Evaluation Score: 10 / 10
Preparing Rewards....
Three suitable Rewards have been prepared for the Host. The host can choose any one of them.
Choose wisely.
======== Reward Items ========
1. 10x Comprehension Speed [Six months]
2. Qi Bank [Upgradable]
3. Feng Yu’s Record [Disappears After Reading]
NOTE: Tap on any one to read its description
============================
"This...!"
Yi Chen pushed himself off the bed the very next instant.
A/N: Hmm, what do you think he’ll choose?
