Chapter 4: Intense Cultivation

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Su Yun remembered this detail.

Most of the details Su Yun couldn't recall, but this one appeared in the first three chapters, leaving a strong impression on him, so he remembered it.

A little more here, a little more there, and Xiao Yan was exactly fifteen when the plot began.

"There are still nine years left," Su Yun thought.

It wasn't his fault for being so tight with time.

As a mere commoner with no backing, he only had an outdated system. To grow strong and live a carefree life on the Martial Arts Continent, intercepting the protagonist's opportunities was the most reliable method.

If one doesn't act for oneself, heaven and earth will destroy one!

...

Time flies when you're cultivating, and before he knew it, a year and a half had passed.

"Huff...

This Foundation Building Spirit Liquid really consumes quickly."

Looking at the water basin that was once again clear to the bottom, Su Yun's eyes turned gloomy, and he sighed.

The Foundation Building Spirit Liquid could only sustain his cultivation for two months. Every two months, he had to visit the market stalls.

He felt a bit guilty about it.

Getting up, he dressed and set off for the market stalls again.

Thanks to the contributions of the stall owners, his cultivation results were promising.

After a year and a half of intense cultivation, his strength had just broken through to the Seventh Rank of Fighter's Qi seven days ago.

This result was indeed not as good as Xiao Yan's, but it wasn't slow either.

Xiao Yan had spent three years laying a solid foundation and was re-cultivating, which allowed him to advance from the Third Rank of Fighter's Qi to the Seventh Rank in just one year.

He hadn't wasted three years. Advancing from the Fourth Rank to the Seventh Rank of Fighter's Qi in a year and a half, gaining three ranks of Fighter's Qi, was already a satisfactory achievement for someone not yet eight years old.

In the original story, Xiao Yan's fiancée, Nalan Yanran, only reached the Eighth Rank of Fighter's Qi at twelve years old. Even the young master of the Yunlam Sect, a prestigious sect, was only at this level. The so-called young talents of the Jia Ma Empire were even less impressive.

Su Yun's cultivation was already far ahead of his peers.

...

This time, he didn't come to the market stalls of the Xiao family. He had only achieved a small success, and caution was still his top priority.

Every two months, he would collect the materials for the Foundation Building Spirit Liquid by visiting different market stalls in U坦 City, just to be careful. Although the chance of being detected from a meter away was minimal, caution never hurt.

The consumption of the Foundation Building Spirit Liquid was quite fast, and he had collected materials many times. The process was now second nature to him. After reaching the market stalls, it didn't take long for him to gather most of the materials.

"Just one more Wash Bone Flower and a first-rank demon core..." Su Yun thought.

"Here's one." Su Yun's eyes lit up. The stall owner was yawning, and Su Yun took the opportunity to activate the scanning and recovery function, adding it to his collection.

After obtaining it, Su Yun acted as if nothing had happened and walked past the stall.

"Hey, I remember there was a Wash Bone Flower here just now. Where did it go?"

Hearing the voice behind him, Su Yun remained unperturbed.

He had encountered similar situations before.

Since he hadn't touched anything on the stall while walking down the aisle, he naturally didn't raise any suspicion.

Seeing the stall owner frantically searching, Su Yun sighed and silently recited, "Sin, sin..."

After reciting this, Su Yun put the matter out of his mind and continued searching for his last material in the market.

"Hmm..." Su Yun's heart stirred.

Suddenly, three men walked toward Su Yun. The man in the middle was dressed extravagantly, and the other two walked on either side, slightly behind.

Clearly, they were some rich young master.

"Hm, this jewelry is nice. I'll take it," the rich young master said, picking up a bracelet from the stall and casually putting it in his pocket.

"Zhang Yu, pay for it."

One of the guards took out a gold coin from his pocket and threw it on the stall, and the three of them left without a care.

Su Yun raised an eyebrow. The bracelet had a first-rank water demon core embedded in it.

In the Martial Arts Continent, even a first-rank demon core embedded in jewelry or weapons cost a thousand gold coins.

"This, sigh..."

The stall owner looked distressed but dared not say anything.

The passersby pretended not to see anything.

Su Yun looked at the man and silently recited, "Scan."

Name: Galeo

Gender: Male

Cultivation: Sixth Rank of Fighter's Qi

Cultivation Technique: None

Martial Skill: None

"Galeo? The extra who lusted after Xiao Xun'er in the original story?" Su Yun thought.

He remembered Galeo, a minor antagonist in the early chapters with little screen time.

"His talent is pretty poor. He's around thirteen or fourteen and only at the Sixth Rank of Fighter's Qi," Su Yun silently ridiculed.

If others knew his thoughts, they would probably spit blood.

Galeo's talent wasn't bad. In the original story, he broke through to the First Star Fighter at twenty-two or twenty-three, which was considered above average in U坦 City.

Su Yun had been comparing himself to prodigies like Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er, inadvertently overlooking the average level in the Jia Ma Empire.

The Martial Arts Continent was a world of the strong devouring the weak. Being from one of the three major families, Galeo could get away with this in his family's market.

Seeing this, Su Yun's desire for strength grew even stronger, and he silently mourned the stall owner for three seconds.

Without getting involved, Su Yun continued browsing the market stalls and used the system to collect a first-rank wood demon core before leaving.

...

Back home, Su Yun sat cross-legged on the ground, not starting his cultivation immediately.

I'm already at the Seventh Rank of Fighter's Qi. At my cultivation speed, reaching the Ninth Rank of Fighter's Qi should only take another year or two.

Su Yun was thinking about forming a Fighter's Qi vortex.

On the Martial Arts Continent, becoming a Fighter required forming a Fighter's Qi vortex within the body.

However, forming a Fighter's Qi vortex had a significant failure rate.

After a failure, the Ninth Rank of Fighter's Qi would drop back to the Eighth Rank. Some unlucky individuals might fail multiple times.

"I can forget about Qi Accumulation Powder," Su Yun sighed.

Although he had the system and the old medicine master's knowledge, resource issues were his biggest pain point.

Even the herbs and demon cores for the Foundation Building Spirit Liquid were obtained (stolen) using the system, which had obvious drawbacks.

Third-rank and higher demon cores and herbs for third-rank potions were almost impossible to find in the market.

Imitating Xiao Yan and going to an auction house wasn't out of the question.

But the Mitter Auction House in U坦 City didn't have Qi Accumulation Powder...

Su Yun didn't dwell on this for long. He had the Foundation Building Spirit Liquid, and even if he failed a few times, re-cultivating would be simple.

Fusing the Foundation Building Spirit Liquid, Su Yun resumed his intense cultivation.

(End of Chapter)