Chapter 28

And so after wiping the tears that were now covering his face, He Chao thought of something to ask Senior Cao, and luckily she did not disappear once more yet. "Master, I know that you might not agree with me, but what if I were to make sure that the soldier sitting over there survives no matter what?"

Before Senior Cao could even reply to his question, He Chao could not help but to continue. "Since living at that orphanage, I only had you and no other real connection, but that Wei Yan seems different from everyone else who was in the fort. He may not seem like much now, but maybe just maybe he will be a good ally to have in the future since he is connected to the army who also takes on missions from the royal family."

After listening to her student, Senior Cao had a bigger smile on her face as her eyes began to shine. He Chao was not sure why his master looked as if he had said something that showed signs of his growth as an individual. "He Chao, remember this well, Wei Yan seems to not have a proper backbone or experience, but even so, you are correct in thinking that he will be a good ally to have in the future."

"When you stayed in the orphanage for a short period of time, you were offered to join a hidden organization that was created to do the royal family's dirty work. Since then, you realized how this world worked because the only reason to accept orphans into such an organization, was because it would be nearly impossible to track down their identities given a long enough period of time."

"Just focus on your training tonight because tomorrow will be a big day for you and if you are able to slay the lion type demon beast, I will no longer be so hands off with you and your future training. Be aware that Wei Yan may not think about betraying you once you leave this place with him after, but those above him may feel differently."

The night sky was shining above him as a seemingly endless amount of stars filled it above him. He Chao had focused the past month entirely on increasing the qi within his body by training at night since during the day he preferred to work on his body refinement technique. As one would expect, He Chao's body began to radiate faint balls of light around his body as he continued to concentrate.

This was an ancient cultivation method that Senior Cao had given to him before leaving and it was indeed a rare one that not a single cultivator in the world he was in had seen. He was grateful for the ability to use such a cultivation method, but it did not mean that it would make his journey any easier, rather much harsher.

The Qi Refinement cultivation method was used by a Devour Wolf demon beast who was known to be overly domineering and numerous abilities that rivaled many of the other powerful ancient demon beasts that have existed millions of years ago. By using the cultivation method, the Devour Wolf was able to be ranked in the top one hundred experts, but those who knew this although envious at first, understood why they should not have been.

The Qi Refinement cultivation method allowed the cultivator to absorb any and all types of heavenly energy into their bodies while turning it into energy that had no characteristics. Just converting raw heavenly energy into such a type of energy, would cause any cultivator to feel excruciating pain during the process, let alone actually taking it a step further by allowing it to stay within their bodies to use in combat.

The first week that He Chao used this cultivation method, his entire body began visually ripping itself apart while rebuilding itself piece by piece. After being struck by a bolt of lightning sent down by the heavens, He Chao was in a sense reborn and now had a much stronger physique while the pain was something that up until three days prior to this night, he had finally gotten used to.

The cultivation method was indeed a dangerous one to those who did not have the concentration, potential, stamina, or willingness to jump into a pit of hellish proportions. But none of this mattered to He Chao, because the moment he woke up in the orphanage, he felt as if he had fallen into a cold world with almost no light. Therefore, what was physical pain when his entire world was shattered?

Senior Cao felt that the cultivation method was a good one for him, because technically speaking, he could train using the method until he could even surpass her in strength. The drawbacks were indeed severe and it would possibly be a much longer journey towards that point for He Chao, but something told her that he would not mind this since becoming stronger was all that he needed to do so that what had happened could never repeat itself.

Feeling a strange pressure, Wei Yan was hidden nearby behind a tree as he witnessed He Chao training. It shocked him greatly seeing how a child was able to absorb an almost endless amount of heavenly energy into his body. He wanted to quickly inquire about this, but felt that he too should prepare for the upcoming battle. He Chao's words continued to appear in his mind about the army not training their soldiers properly to learn to use their strength.

And so, Wei Yan quickly dashed to the opposite end of the pavilion. It was somewhat strange, but after blasting apart a small boulder, he concentrated the energy in his body as he grabbed one piece while slamming it into the other. Once he had done this, both pieces of the now broken apart boulder turned into dust as some sweat appeared on his forehead.