Experience

It was around the time Wu Xue quit reclusion that news about Wu Cang's retirement spread.

He was handing over his position as the leader of the Starry Path Alliance and also stepping down from the seat of the clan's leader.

The news shocked too many people that the world was in turmoil, but Wu Xue was unaware of the chaps outside. He was just happy his father would spend more time with his family.

Although the wounds he caused to Wu Ying couldn't be easily healed, it was already an important step in the right direction.

But the happiest person of all was probably Wu Wan'er, the little girl cried out of happiness after she heard her father would spend more time playing with her.

Wu Yan was also happy that her husband would spend more time with her.

Time passed quietly despite the disturbance in the outside world, but Wu Xue's life was undisturbed.

When the day came that Wu Tian was leaving, the most impacted person wasn't from his family, but Wu Bing.

At his farewell party, many people from the clan went to bid him good luck and farewell, Wu Bing was also present.

She always liked him but always held back from showing her true feelings properly. She stared at Wu Tian with clear sadness.

Wu Tian noticed it, and he was also struggling since he also liked her... In truth, it could already be called love. He developed love for her as the years passed by and they bickered more and more.

Wu Tian's great reluctance to leave the clan was because Wu Bing, couldn't bear to look at her properly because of that, he feared his determination would completely fall apart.

Wu Xue cleverly noticed the strange glances between them and understood what was happening. He went to Wu Bing and asked, "Are you okay with letting him marry another woman?"

"...What?" Wu Bing was caught completely off guard, "What do you mean?"

"Didn'y you know?" Wu Xue tilted his head while feigning confusion, "He was betrothed to the daughter of the sect leader of the sect he is going to."

"I never heard about it! Are you telling the truth?" Wu Bing asked with suspicion.

"Because it's sensitive news, I guess?" Wu Xue naively caressed the back of his head, "I thought brother would have at least told you since he seems to like you."

"L-like me?" Wu Bing flinched.

"Ops!" Wu Xue hurriedly covered his mouth, "Please don't tell him I told you this!" He then ran away in a hurry.

Wu Bing was still suspicious of his words, but the mere thought, 'What if it's true?' made her struggle greatly.

As time passed and Wu Tian's departure drew closer, Wu Bing's anxiety began to ferment and affect her rationality.

Just as Wu Tian was about to leave the clan on a flying sword along with his father, Wu Bing couldn't bear it any longer and fled towards him at high speed.

She embraced him with all her strength and began to weep, "Don't leave me!"

Wu Tian couldn't believe what was happening, he looked at the sides and saw a multitude of people looking at him with meaningful eyes, he was greatly embarrassed.

But after sensing the moistness in his chest caused by her tears, he couldn't control his own feelings and embraced her back.

Wu Cang laughed bitterly and shook his head, he was in no hurry to leave and could wait for the two youngsters.

The multitude began to grow restless as time passed and the two continued to simply embrace each other and do nothing else.

Wu Cang coughed a few times and said, "It's time to go, son."

Wu Tian seemed to feel his heart tightening and he shook his head, "I can't!"

"You..." Wu Cang smiled bitterly and said, "You can't just not go, we already settled it with your master."

"I don't care!" Wu Tian embraced Wu Bing more strongly, "I won't go!"

Wu Xue couldn't help but laugh out loud after seeing that scene, "You moron! Just get her to leave with you!"

Wu Tian's eyes lit up and he looked down to meet Wu Bing's moist eyes, "You will be leaving with me."

"I-I..." Wu Bing panicked and looked over to her parents, who were amusingly watching them.

"It's my decision," Wu Tian caught her hand and looked to his father, "Let's go."

Wu Cang twitched the corners of his mouth wildly and looked over to Wu Bing's parents.

"Let them go," Wu Bing's mother sent him a voice transmission, "She has always loved your son."

"Make sure he takes good care of her," Wu Bing's father also sent a voice transmission to him, "If he follows your footsteps, I will kill him!"

Wu Cang swallowed his saliva with cold sweat on his back and said, "Let's go, then."

Wu Bing was dissatisfied by Wu Tian's forcefully deciding things for her but was happy that he didn't want to give her the choice of refusing, it was a contradictory feeling but she just let him guide her by her hand.

Just as they were leaving, Wu Bing cast a glance at Wu Xue, who was happily drinking wine despite his small age, he was also looking at her.

"Thank you," she sent him a voice transmission and left the clan's territory in a flash, their flying swords were too fast to be seen without enough cultivation base.

Wu Xue closed his eyes and immediately ran away, he noticed his mother saw him drinking wine, he was probably going to be beaten if caught by her.

But could he have outrun someone much stronger? No, he was caught by his mother and taught a harsh lesson for drinking wine when she was not paying attention.

Wu Xue was prepared to spend the coming years peacefully, just cultivating and spending time with his family, but his master had other plans for him.

"What are you going to do about your promise from back then?" Xu Ling teased him after calling Wu Xue to her courtyard, "Wu Qing will be coming back the next year."

"Oh!" Wu Xue made a bored face, "I don't care about that."

Xu Ling felt the urge to hit him, "Do your promises have no value? A man's word has to be kept!"

"Bah!" Wu Xue continued showing a bored expression, "I don't care about things like honor."

"But many people do!" Xu Ling frowned, "Many people remember it!"

"I was just a little kid back then, and she was also young, what could our promises possibly have as value?" Wu Xue frowned and asked.

Xu Ling sighed and didn't want to waste more words, "Alright, alright. Let's forget about your promise to the little girl, but I have another matter to tell you.

"I and Ru Meng decided to send you on a trip for experience."

Wu Xue opened his eyes wide, "No!"

"Yes!" Ru Ming appeared beside him in a flash and patted his shoulder, "You need enough experience to grow properly!"

"Have you forgotten your wish to go to the lower worlds?" Xu Ling frowned with displeasure.

"I remember that!" Wu Xue nodded and then shook his head, "But I don't want to go right now."

"Let me guess..." Ru Meng began to twist his ear, "You want to increase your cultivation base more, right?"

"Yes! I'm too weak right now!" Wu Xue nodded, "I am still at the Essence Refining Realm, and my body and soul paths are both at a low realm as well."

"Don't play the fool with us," Ru Meng hit his head with her fan, "Your current power is greater than those two great realms higher than you. Otherwise, why would Dao's Rejection almost fall upon you?"

"Still too weak!" Wu Xue still shook his head, ignoring the pain in his skull.

"We aren't discussing with you," Xu Ling suddenly smiled brightly, "We already decided!"

"I refuse!" Wu Xue shouted, "I won't rest if you do this to me!"

"You little bastard!" Xu Ling crushed the cup of tea in her hand, "Who are you to threaten us?"

Ru Meng began to twist his ear even more violently.

"I might be weak right now, but one day I will surely be stronger than you!" Wu Xue boldly declared, "I promise I will never forget if you do this to me!"

"What is your promise worth?" Xu Ling sneered, "Do you think we are easy to disrespect?"

"I don't fear forceful power!" Wu Xue snorted and ignored the increasing pain in his ear.

Xu Ling took a deep breath and said, "We will be sending you after Wu Qing returns, I want you to experience a bit more humiliation to polish your free spirit."

"Bah!" Wu Xue dissolutely soat on the ground, patted his ass, and left, ignoring the stupified looks of his masters.

"He is growing to be more and more childish," Ru Meng muttered, "He wasn't like this before."

Xu Ling sighed, "It's his choice."

"Choice?" Ru Meng frowned.

"I have known him since he was a baby, he is purposefully pursuing childishness.

"I hope it turns into a fortune for him, I really do."

Wu Xue threw a tantrum and entered reclusion again. He left a dramatic letter for his parents and closed himself in his cave abode.

The sound of shackles breaking resounded a few hours after he began his reclusion.

His True Qi began to grow both in quality and quantity after the breakthrough, he began to crazily absorb the endless aura around him.

When the breakthrough ended, his True Qi was about forty percent denser and forty percent more abundant. He was now in the second layer of the Essence Refining Realm!

His breakthrough caused a chain of events, both his body and soul began to break their shackles. Both his Body and Soul advanced to their next Great Realm.

His Soul left the Accumulation Realm and reached the first layer of the Expansion Realm. His consciousness sea was easily opened and began to expand several times, increasing his soul power greatly.

His body began to experience a body's tribulation, but it was too weak to damage him and he passed that test easily.

His body left the Smithing Realm and entered the first layer of the Extremity Realm, his Blood Qi began to transform from being a gaseous energy to being as liquid as his blood, it became much stronger and his whole body was strengthened by this transformation.

The Expansion Realm of the soul path was about expanding the Consciousness Sea to the limit until the soul power is strong enough to condense the soul lamp in the center of the sea. It was divided into nine layers.

The Extremity Realm of the body refining path was about refining the body to the limit while tempering the life essence with the Blood Qi. It is a dangerous Realm and one could get sick or die if a mistake is made.

Life essence was an innate energy that couldn't naturally increase, it was what kept a person young and alive. Over time, the acquired energy of a person began to contaminate the life essence and that's how old age and sickness surged.

At the Extremity Realm, the cultivator had to use his liquified and rich Blood Qi to nurture the life essence and refine it enough to break one's innate limits. It was divided into nine layers as well.

When all his three paths broke their shackles, Wu Xue hurriedly began to repeat the process of refining his cultivation base in all his paths without increasing his Realms.

His Qi Path was his weakest path, he was still at the first Realm, but he didn't bother about that. In fact, his body and soul needed to be much stronger than his Qi Cultivation for him to support an unimaginable foundation.

The blend of four energies began to act and he absorbed the aura more and more wildly, his True Qi began to grow denser at an alarming rate, exponentially faster than when he was at the first layer.