Sneaking Out

Nighttime.

Xiao-Ke repeated what he's been doing as always. After making sure that he cleaned his young master and aiding him with his sleepwear, the loyal servant returned to his bed in a secluded corner and prepared to rest.

But instead of calling it a rest, it is more accurate to say that he started his meditation. Each and every servant of the Qin Family Household was given a single Flesh Foundation Pill weekly for them to advance their own cultivation.

And just like his loyal servant, Qin Lan cultivates at his own pace. The morning mist that he compressed around his navel area is now slowly released to a part of his body.

"The essence of Mistral Foundation Art!"

"Creating a perfect foundation through the purest form of mist. Condensing vapor into liquid, with the body as the container."

"With the Mistral Flesh Diagram, create a flawless body anew!"

Qin Lan's whispered in his mind while allowing the morning mist to penetrates the deepest part of his flesh. The Mistral Flesh Diagram inside his mind shoots out from between his eyebrows as it gently overlapped his body spiritually.

(Shoulders! - Feet! - Left chest! - Right leg! - Nape! - Jaw! - Waist! - Navel! - Groin!)

A total of nine imperfection appeared on his body, even after the body is renewed by taking in four drops of Changshen Dew. Of course, there's nothing much for him to complain about because even the healthiest person would have at least two imperfections.

It's due to the Mistral Flesh Diagram point of focus.

Just like how some flower has five petals, and some have over a hundred. Flawlessness sometimes does not come from perfection alone, but the reason behind it. A pill bottle can be made into a hundred shapes, but in the end, flawlessness equals how well it could retain the medicinal effect.

That's also why Mistral Foundation Art was hailed and praised as the most precious cultivation art in the peak of its glory.

The mist gently bombarded both of his feet as it reshapes them evenly. Such a process is even more detailed than how a sculptor creating his piece of marvelous work.

"Uhh..." suddenly, Xiao-Ke released a voice of discomfort. His cultivation that is too weak to be mentioned seems to encounter an obstacle. Instead of absorbing most of the medicinal effect into his body, they're spreading out at a faster pace.

"It looks like a symptom like this is not his first." Qin Lan went through the curtain covering Xiao-Ke's bed unobtrusively and placed his index finger between the servant's eyebrow.

A strand of Spiritual Energy then burrowed through Xiao-Ke's skin to unblock two blood channels with residue from an external injury.

With the two unblock channels, spiritual energy evidently flow smoother than before. Xiao-Ke's condition returned to normal almost instantly after Qin Lan's treatment.

"I wonder what kind of cultivation technique he's learning..." Qin Lan shook his head as he returned to his bed once more, allowing the morning mist to continue shaping his body accordingly.

While deep inside his mind, he's still studying the phenomenon that occurred on Xiao-Ke's body.

...

...

"Young master! I had a breakthrough!" Xiao-Ke said. This fellow who has his strength lingered around the half-step of Flesh Refining Layer finally managed to stand firm on the first level.

"Congratulation." Qin Lan smiled. It is impossible to not advance after what he had done last night. With two blood channels now open nicely, it won't take Xiao-Ke too long to reach the second level.

"Young master, I'll push you to the garden right now." Xiao-Ke knows that even if he advanced, he's still a servant for the Qin Family Household. There's still work that needs to be done.

"Good. Then accompany me for the morning. You can consolidate your cultivation while I enjoy the morning mist." Qin Lan added.

Xiao-Ke nodded. He would be a fool if he did not grab this opportunity to cultivate. The chances to continue blinded his sense of observation as Xiao-Ke sat down on a nearby rock and cupped his palm before his navel.

A surge of Spiritual Energy then slowly flow towards the center between his hand. It then creates a thin strand of Spiritual Energy with higher concentration as it entered his body through the navel part.

The concept of this cultivation art is rather fundamental since it was created to be used by commoners. The topic covered by these primary techniques is often diluted with various paths, as there was no limitation on its copyright.

Therefore, Xiao-Ke's undeniable luck to serve a young master like Qin Lan brought him an inexplicable fate.

It wasn't challenging for this mentor of a Supreme Emperor to recognized the path of Xiao-Ke's cultivation art. Since it was both an internal and external flesh tempering technique, this cultivation art is likely something related to the Yang Path.

Cultivation of the Yang Path tends to focus their attention on strengthening their body. Hence cultivating in the morning, while the sun is at its gentlest and purest, would yield Xiao-Ke more benefit than what he thinks.

The young master and servant duo cultivate at their own pace without clashing with one another. But when Xiao-Ke finally decides to call an end to his morning effort, Qin Lan had already finished what he's going to do.

He had absorbed the morning mist clean once again.

"Five more days, and I should be able to move around freely. By that time, I'll be able to collect more useful cultivation resources to use on myself." Qin Lan speaks in his mind while enjoying what he's been given so far.

The end of the week came quickly, and it has been close to seven weeks from the night he was crippled by the mysterious expert likely hired by the House of Jiao.

But until now, he's still clueless about the reason House of Jiao willing to pay such a hefty sum just to cripple him.

...

...

"Whoosh!" a burst of wind blows from within his body as Qin Lan's cultivation finally returned. His clothing was thoroughly torn apart from that volatile and sharp wind, causing him to be stark naked as he stands by the side of his bed.

"I've finally regained my ability to cultivate." Qin Lan smiled. The image of the Mistral Flesh Diagram appeared inside his mind as it shows him eight flaws instead of nine.

There's also a reason why Qin Lan started the flesh sculpting process from his feet first.

Foundation.

To a human body, a foundation starts from its ability to stand firm.

As a teacher of the first Supreme Emperor, Qin Lan's opinion towards the word "cultivation" is undoubtedly more biased towards his lifelong effort, the Mistral Foundation Art.

Although he's now still considered a cripple, Qin Lan believes that there will be a day where he made those looking down on him to slap their own face.

(So what if I cannot solidify my Jindan in this Precelestial Realm? I'll show everyone again that even without a Jindan, the path of cultivation will not be restrained)

(Let's start from the bottom once again, with this)

Qin Lan grabs the opportunity while nobody is going to disturb him to consolidate his cultivation. As he moves, each step he took created a mirage of his previous action. And when he strikes, each strike of his forms a layer of thin fog.

"Clawing at emptiness as it wasn't,"

"Sweeping fog merely with a simple thought,"

"Slashing a mountain without a sword,"

"Punching through a fortification without disturbing a block."

Qin Lan's movement gets more and more fluid as he reminiscence the time he used to create and develop this martial art. Four styles of melee fighting cramped into one, and from one extended into many.

(This era shall witness the return of the Kuangshan Lu Sect's legacy once again!)

...

...

A figure secretly left the Qin Family Manor without being caught by any of the patrolling servants.

This figure effortlessly leaped across the wall of the six-seven meter separating the town and the outside. And once he was outside, he opened a piece of a map drawn on animal skin and searched for a destination.

"Mountain with snow on the west, the forest of two colors overlapped in between... That's the entrance to Western Demon Forest." the figure whispered.

With only an heirloom dagger and Blood Clotting Pills, the figure entered the dangerous Western Demon Forest daringly. The strength of a Flesh Refining Layer fueled his guts further as he took another leap across the thick foliage.

...

"Come back here!" a piece of pebble is flicked onto the escaping white marten as Qin Lan catching up to his prey. The rock eventually missed the target by a pretty wide gap but still managed to create an opportunity for Qin Lan.

His claw reaches the white marten under its ribs as two of his fingers injected some spiritual energy out.

"Heart Puncturing Needle!"

A needle slightly thicker than an acupuncture needle extends three inches out from Qin Lan's finger as it robbed the lifeforce out from the white marten. This technique of his not only demonstrated how deep is his mastery of Kuangshan Lu Sect's martial art but also it's mysteriousness.

Killing without shedding blood.

Robbing life without pain.

Butchering without a hint.

Slaughtering without an intent.

(That should be enough for tonight...)

Qin Lan stored the game in his rucksack as he made his way back to the Fu-Rong Town.