Chapter 9 - A Training Maniac Part 1

In a dusky cavern, light suddenly started to gather above a stone platform. Space vibrated as two figures emerged from the light.

"Yuan'er?"

A happy and surprised voice could be heard from the front when the light scattered. Zhou Yuan raised his head and saw Zhou Qing joyfully looking at him from in front of the stone platform.

Zhou Yuan smiled and said, "Father."

"You gave me a huge scare you stinking brat!" Zhou Qing's eyes were filled with impatience as he quickly walked forward. More than half a day prior, he had seen Zhou Yuan disappear on the stone platform. That sight had alarmed him greatly and caused him to be at a loss.

When Zhou Yuan saw Zhou Qing's expression, he understood that Zhou Qing had likely been worrying himself to death here and felt somewhat sorry. Zhou Yuan scratched his head and promptly said, "Father, my eight meridians have appeared".

"What?!"

Zhou Qing's body jerked as his hand hastily slapped onto Zhou Yuan's shoulder. A stream of Genesis Qi entered Zhou Yuan's body to probe.

The outcome was known to Zhou Qing several breaths later as his hand involuntarily started to tremble. He was overwhelmed with emotion as he heavily patted Zhou Yuan's shoulders.

"Good, great, excellent. It is truly a blessing from our forefathers. The heavens have not closed their doors to our Zhou clan!" Zhou Qing's voice was slightly trembling, and his eyes had become moist. It was easy to imagine how emotional he currently was.

Zhou Yuan's inability to begin channel-opening cultivation had been a thorn in Zhou Qing's heart. He had felt that it was because of his powerlessness as a father back then that Zhou Yuan's destiny would be stolen by King Wu at birth, causing him to be in this miserable state.

Zhou Qing had sought out every method, but none of them could find Zhou Yuan's channels. Hence, Zhou Qing could only place his final hope on the secret saying that had been passed down in their Zhou clan.

Zhou Yuan's heart felt warm when he saw such a look on the usually calm and dignified Zhou Qing, he gently smiled and said, "Don't worry father, we will make sure to take back everything our Zhou clan has lost!"

Zhou Qing collected himself a little as he forcefully nodded. It was at this same moment that he looked behind Zhou Yuan and saw the girl in green standing there hugging a little gray creature, while her bright eyes coolly watched them.

"Yuan'er?" Zhou Qing was at a complete loss as he looked towards Zhou Yuan. It was obvious that he did not know why Zhou Yuan would return with a mysterious girl.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Yuan started to describe everything he had seen and what had happened in the mysterious domain.

After listening, Zhou Qing was silent for some time before he spoke, "Since our Zhou clan forefathers left behind such a secret saying, they must have some relation to the elder in black. Moreover, having received his gifts and blessings, you must naturally accomplish the task he left to you."

Having said this, Zhou Qing revealed a warm smile to the girl in green and said, "Little miss, if you have nowhere to go, you can stay in Great Zhou. We will ensure your safety here."

Yaoyao's small head lightly nodded when she heard this as her soft yet indifferent voice sounded, "I'll have to trouble you then."

"It's no trouble, no trouble at all." Zhou Qing smiled as he waved his hand before he turned to Zhou Yuan and said, "Since your problem has already been solved, let us prepare to return to Great Zhou City. Your mother has been waiting for news of you all this time."

Zhou Yuan nodded. Likewise, he wanted to tell this good news to Qin Yu.

The trio followed the secret passage out of the cavern and walked out of the shrine on the summit of the mountain.

Zhou Qing went ahead to instruct the imperial guards to get ready while Yaoyao hugged Tuntun as she stood at the edge of the cliff. Her pretty eyes were a little blank as she observed this foreign land.

A breeze brushed at her clothes, outlining her exquisite curves while also making the girl look rather lonely and distant. There was only Tuntun in her arms making small noises to console her.

Miss Yaoyao, you need not worry. Master possesses great powers and will be alright. We will see him again in the future."

He knew that no matter how much calmness and indifference Yaoyao displayed, there would still be some unease in such a foreign place.

Yaoyao glanced at him and said in a small voice, "I know that Grandpa Hei chased me away because formidable enemies were coming."

"These foes came for me, and Grandpa Hei stopped them for me."

Although Cang Yuan had never spoken of these matters to her, she was keenly able to sense that these disasters had been drawn to them because of her.

Zhou Yuan nodded as he heard this, "While it may be true, I feel that the current you should not blame yourself, else, you will have betrayed Master Cang Yuan's wishes"

"And I promise you if anything does happen to Master, then I will find them all and kill them one by one by giving them the most gruesome death."

His calm and cool voice contained such an iciness that it made Tuntun in Yaoyao's arms tremble a little.

Yaoyao's fair hand gently stroked Tuntun's soft fur as she looked at Zhou Yuan with a little surprise in her eyes. Soon after, she showed a light-hearted smile to Zhou Yuan, "You took the words right out of my mouth Zhou Yuan".

It seemed as if their relationship got close due to their mutual understanding of this matter.

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The moment Qin Yu came to know of the news, she immediately hugged Zhou Yuan on the spot as she cried, causing him to feel both touched and helpless.

Zhou Qing helplessly said from the side, "Alright, alright. Yuan'er being able to cultivate is good news, there is no need to weep so much."

"Don't tell me that you did not cry?" Qin Yu wiped her eyes and glared at Zhou Qing.

Zhou Qing awkwardly rubbed his nose. He had likewise been on the brink of tears when he sensed Zhou Yuan's eight meridians in the cavern. However, these tears had been forcibly suppressed in the end.

Zhou Qing did not dare to speak anymore and hastily changed the topic. "First help make arrangements for Yaoyao."

Only then did Qin Yu realize that there was someone else watching from the side. She was somewhat embarrassed as she wiped away her tears and revealed a warm and gentle smile to Yaoyao. "Yaoyao, you do not need to care about other things while staying here. We will ensure that you will not face even the slightest mistreatment."

Qin Yu was extremely affectionate to Yaoyao. Although it was mostly out of gratitude for helping Zhou Yuan, it was evident that she rather liked this girl. After all, anyone who saw such a pretty girl would be fond of her.

Yaoyao was a little unaccustomed to Qin Yu's warmness. She had after all lived with Cang Yuan in that isolated domain since young and had practically zero contact with any outsiders. Moreover, she was aloof by nature and was not good at communicating with others.

However, she could feel the sincerity and gratitude in Qin Yu's heart. Therefore, she was not overly resistant and merely glanced at Zhou Yuan before allowing Qin Yu to drag her away.

While Qin Yu led Yaoyao away, Zhou Qing and Zhou Yuan exchanged a look and helplessly chuckled.

After this Zhou Yuan hastily left for his room.

He took out the heavenly yuan brush and a lot of Genesis beast crystals he had been collecting for 3 years.

After knowing that he had traveled to this world, Zhou Yuan relied on his memory to collect and store things he might need for the future, such as Genesis beast crystals of grades 1 to 3, Wine, and practice material for Genesis Rune, he had stockpiled them so there would be no need to frequently ask his father for resources.

Ding!

The small hammer in Zhou Yuan's hand struck and broke open a hole in a Beast Spirit Crystal. He placed the Heavenly Yuan Brush inside and the beast spirit within the crystal was absorbed with a sweep of its hairs.

He repeated this process various times before a faint buzzing noise was suddenly emitted from the Heavenly Yuan Brush. At the same time, a strange light slowly emerged from the brush body.

The first ancient rune on the Heavenly Yuan Brush completely lit up at this moment and gave off a mysterious glow.

While grasping the Heavenly Yuan Brush, Zhou Yuan's eyes slowly closed. Light blossomed on the brush as a cryptic message poured into his mind.

"First rune of the Heavenly Yuan Brush, Spear form".

Buzz!

Intense light exploded from the Heavenly Yuan Brush. Next, Zhou Yuan's eyes were filled with amazement as he watched the foot-long brush in his hand suddenly start to grow.

In the short span of several breaths, a roughly five-foot-long thick black brush appeared in Zhou Yuan's hand. This black brush was almost as tall as Zhou Yuan and its mottled body faintly flickered in a glossy manner.

In particular, the soft snow-white hairs that were originally at the tip of the brush were now tightly packed together and flickered with cold light. At a glance, it seemed like the sharp tip of a spear.

"It's pretty heavy!"

"I should test its power."

Zhou Yuan left the room and walked into a spacious courtyard. With a thought, the Heavenly Yuan Brush shook slightly as the surrounding Genesis Qi rippled and poured into the brush.

A Genesis Weapon was able to absorb Genesis Qi and release tremendous power.

As Genesis Qi poured into it, the brush gradually started to glow. In particular, the light seemed to lengthen and shorten indeterminately on the brush tip made from snow-white hairs as if it were the sharp tip of a spear.

Zhou Yuan brandished the brush with both hands as if it were a heavy spear. He had never used such a strange weapon before and naturally appeared rather untrained. However, the force generated by the spear was not weak and was akin to a ferocious tiger as it swung about.

Ch!

The spear suddenly turned and ferociously thrust at a copper cauldron by the side. A clear and crisp sound was immediately heard. One would look over only to find that the tip of the brush had pierced the cauldron and exited from the opposite side.

"Not bad, it's pretty sharp, this level of sharpness would easily tear apart the body of a two-channel practitioner. It should have barely reached the Normal mid-tier Genesis Weapon level."

Zhou Yuan was rather pleased with this outcome. If he continued to nourish it by allowing the Heavenly Yuan Brush to absorb beast spirits, it would likely reach the Black tier pretty soon.

Pleased with today's outcome Zhou Yuan left the backyard and returned to his room to meditate and check the techniques given by Cang Yuan in his mind again.

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The next day.

Zhou Yuan and Yaoyao carrying Tuntun sat on the left side of a table, while Zhou Qing and Qin Yu sat on the right.

On the table was a porcelain bowl the size of a washbasin. It was filled with a brown soup-like liquid that faintly glimmered with specks of light. A strong fragrance rose from the bowl and a single breath of it made one's face flush red.

It was food made with genesis plants and animals, the so-called cultivation resources.

A bowl of Nine Beast Soup and Mysterious Crystal Rice were similarly placed in front of Yaoyao.

"Yaoyao, you can try if these are to your liking. If you like them, they will also be prepared for you in the future." Qin Yu smiled warmly as she looked at Yaoyao.

Yaoyao could feel Qin Yu's kindness and lightly nodded in response before she drank a mouthful of Nine Beast Soup. However, it seemed that she was not too interested in the highly nutritious beast soup but instead lifted the bowl of Mysterious Crystal Rice and ate one small mouthful at a time.

"Woo."

Tuntun anxiously gazed at her from her lap, wagging its tail as it emitted pitiful-sounding 'woo woo' noises.

Yaoyao glanced at it and brought the Nine Beast Soup over to it after some thought.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Qing smiled and said, "Eh Yaoyao. The medicinal properties of the Nine Beast Soup are too strong. Ordinary pets cannot drink it…"

Ao!

However, before he could finish his sentence, Tuntun had already widened its mouth and swallowed the soup together with the bowl in a single gulp.

After wolfing down the Nine Beast Soup, Tuntun let out a belch. It patted its stomach with its paw while its eyes narrowed as if it was not sufficient.

Zhou Qing was astonished as he looked at the perfectly fine Tuntun.

"Father, Tuntun is a special creature." Zhou Yuan could not help but grin after seeing this scene.

This little bastard was an Ancestral Taotie, after fully growing up it could easily swallow a 3 lotus saint let alone a simple Genesis Food.

Zhou Qing could only show a forced smile as he nodded before he picked up a jade bottle at his side and poured himself a cup of jadeite-color alcohol, causing the strong fragrance of alcohol to spread.

The smell of alcohol spread, causing the eyebrows of the silently eating Yaoyao to suddenly raise slightly as her clear and bright eyes looked towards Zhou Qing.

"May I have some of that?" Zhou Yuan and Qin Yu stared at Yaoyao in shock. It was the first time that a strong look of desire had appeared on her usually emotionless face.

Zhou Qing was also taken aback. In particular, he felt even more awkward when he saw the gaze of reproach Qin Yu threw at him for absentmindedly drinking in front of the children as he said, "This is Jadeite Brew. It is a strong alcoholic drink and not suitable for a young lady."

However, Yaoyao continued to stare at him with bright and clear eyes, causing Zhou Qing to let out a bitter laugh before he signaled for a servant girl to place a bottle of Jadeite Brew in front of Yaoyao.

Yaoyao raised the wine bottle and tilted her head slightly, revealing a slender swan-white neck, before she directly took a huge mouthful of the alcohol. A crimson flush immediately arose on her pretty jade-like face.

Qin Yu glared at Zhou Qing, causing him to rub his nose and drink his alcohol in a slightly depressed manner. He would never have imagined that this mysterious girl, who always wore an uninterested look, would be fond of drinking.

Zhou Yuan on the side looked on in interest, he knew that this girl liked wine, but she also appeared more sexy and alluring after drinking.

After downing an entire bottle of Jadeite Brew, Yaoyao's clear eyes had become a little more watery. With a soft chuckle, she reached into her sleeve as a flash of light shot out and landed before Qin Yu.

Yaoyao smiled and said, "Auntie Qin, I can tell that your weak aura is most probably due to poor health. This little gift shall be my payment for the alcohol."

The light gradually receded and transformed into a green palm-sized lotus. Eight lotus seeds flickered with green light within the flower like a jade masterpiece.

"This is?" Qin Yu blankly gazed at the green lotus.

Zhou Qing's expression subconsciously changed as he said in astonishment, "Those are Green Jade Lotus Seeds, a rare Genesis resource. It has lifeforce nursing properties and also moisturizes the body."

With a complicated expression, Zhou Qing continued, "This item is enormously beneficial to you. Your body is too weak and these Green Jade Lotus Seeds will be able to help you stop the loss of life energy."

These Green Jade Lotus Seeds were very rare and an uncommon sight even in their Great Zhou royal treasury.

Qin Yu hurriedly shook her head upon hearing this. "Yaoyao, a bottle of Jadeite Brew is not worth so much."

Yaoyao merely pursed her lips and smiled before carrying Tuntun and leisurely walking away, leaving three wide-eyed people at the table.

Zhou Yuan shook his head, "Mother and father should accept this. I will repay Yaoyao for this in the future.

Qin Yu exchanged a look with Zhou Qing, only to see a nod from the latter. She became a little more fond of the girl.

Zhou Yuan smiled before lifting the bowl of Nine Beast Soup and sending it straight toward his mouth. 'Gulp gulp'. His throat continuously swallowed as he drained the entire bowl.

Having finished the Nine Beast Soup, he lifted the bowl of Mysterious Crystal Rice and swallowed each mouthful after two to three rounds of chewing.

After finishing the food, he stood up and bowed towards his parents and left in a hurry, to go to the backyard.

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Hundreds of flowers contested with their fragrances in the flower park where a stone pavilion stood and a little stream flowed. It was a refreshing and serene place.

Zhou Yuan's eyes were closed as he sat inside the stone pavilion while instructions flowed in his mind. It was the Qi drawing method, 'Dragon Breathing', that Cang Yuan had imparted to him previously.

Like its namesake, Dragon Breathing mimics the breathing of a dragon. Each breath has the power to extinguish wind and clouds."

"Extreme skill and practice are needed for a human to imitate a dragon's breathing. Only when one can achieve resonance of the flesh and blood and release a dragon roar would one be able to absorb Genesis Qi?"

"Ninety-eight forms of the frolicking dragon."

"Dragon Breathing imitates the breathing of a real dragon. A dragon's breathing is drawn out and unbroken, Every action should begin with inhalation and end with exhalation. Only when both are in sync will Dragon Breathing be triggered."

Toughening the inner flesh was required for a human to mimic a dragon's breathing, and the hidden ninety-eight forms of the frolicking dragon were the most important pieces.

One by one, unusual forms flashed in Zhou Yuan's mind. There were a total of ninety-eight strange forms. Together, they faintly resembled a frolicking dragon.

Zhou Yuan engraved these movements in his heart before walking out of the stone pavilion. He then lifted his arms and started to slowly mimic the first form.

His chest heaved up and down as his breathing became drawn out. From a distance, it looked as if a young dragon was stretching its body.

The ninety-eight movements were tightly linked together, while Zhou Yuan's eyes seemed to grow increasingly brighter. He could feel the flesh and bones inside his body start to vibrate at this moment.

A breath climbed up along his flesh before finally dashing up his throat.

With this final movement, Zhou Yuan's face flushed red as his tightly shut mouth abruptly opened.

Roar!

A faint dragon roar emerged through his throat from within his body.

At the same time, Zhou Yuan's chest sunk inwards. Like a giant dragon breathing in water, the Genesis Qi in the flower park was drawn towards him, directly turning into a white line that could be seen with the naked eye, as it shot into Zhou Yuan's body with a single gulp.

This influx of a single mouthful of Genesis Qi immediately caused Zhou Yuan's skin to become scalding hot. The Genesis Qi from the consumption of the Nine Beast Soup and Mysterious Crystal Rice from before also rose at this moment and joined the pure Genesis Qi that had entered his body. Like a wave, the newly merged Genesis Qi surged toward his first meridian channel.

The rush of Genesis Qi towards the sealed first channel caused intense pain to emerge, resulting in a muffled groan from Zhou Yuan.

But he fiercely gritted his teeth, enduring the intense pain as he controlled waves of Genesis Qi and continually attacked the sealed first meridian channel.

Genesis Qi surged towards the first meridian channel in waves. This lasted for half an incense stick of time before it finally ended due to the exhaustion of Genesis Qi.

Zhou Yuan's face was covered in sweat, but his eyes shone with a very strong determination.

Just as Zhou Yuan was planning to continue, he suddenly saw a beautiful figure standing in the flower park from the corner of his eye. His eyes immediately brightened a little as he smiled and headed over.

"Miss Yaoyao, you came at the right time, I need a favor from you"

The beautiful figure was naturally Yaoyao. Upon hearing Zhou Yuan's voice, she crooked her head and looked at him while carrying Tuntun in her arms.

A slight smile was revealed on her exquisite and fair face as she extended five slender fingers. "Guarantee that I will be given five bottles of Jadeite Brew daily and I will help you."

"No, five bottles is too many. That alcohol is too fierce and will harm your body. I can only give you one bottle a day", Zhou Yuan's voice was firm.

Yaoyao was about to speak again.

"Miss Yaoyao this matter is non-negotiable, not more than one".

Yaoyao could only wrinkle her nose and let out a soft snort after seeing Zhou Yuan's resolve before asking, "Where do you need my help?".

"I wanted Miss Yaoyao to draw genesis runes that increase the weight on my body" 

"For what purpose?"

"For Training purposes, I can apply it to my body to start refining and strengthening the quality of my physique".

"Are you sure, you do not have a death wish?, You have not even opened your First meridian and want to train in such a grueling way", Yaoyao said with slight disbelief.

"Miss Yaoyao need not worry, I know my body the best and will not overdo it, please draw the rune on my body", Zhou Yuan said while removing his upper body clothes, which revealed his back, which had some muscles.

Seeing his bareback Yaoyao blushed a little before she collected herself and started drawing the Heavybody Rune on Zhou Yuan's Body.

It took some time before Yaoyao could draw it as it was a Grade 3 rune, and it being drawn on a body needed extra concentration, which was very difficult for her as it was the first time she had seen the bareback body of a member of the opposite sex.

After a quarter of incense time(15 Minutes), the rune was done.

The moment Yaoyao activated the rune, Zhou Yuan could feel that his body had become much heavier, if he had to estimate it would be about 1.6 times his normal body weight.

From the side, Yaoyao spoke, "I can adjust the weight of this rune so if you feel the need to increase it, please do inform me".

After she finished speaking she took Tuntun in her arms and sat on the side of the garden.

Her intentions were clear, she wanted to observe Zhou Yuan's training.

Zhou Yuan had no problem with this, after walking a few times he readied himself to continue training.

"Time to continue training!"

Zhou Yuan intended to begin practicing the frolicking dragon forms once again but was stopped by Yaoyao. The latter's eyes scanned him once as she said in a cool voice, "You're really out of your mind. Attacking one's channels will damage them, thus most people only attempt it once a day. They must wait till their channels recover on the second day before continuing to unblock the channels. If not, they will end up injuring the meridian."

"But I feel that my meridian can still take it."

Now it was Yaoyao's turn to be stunned. Her watery eyes stared at Zhou Yuan in doubt as she said, "Is that true?"

Zhou Yuan earnestly nodded.

Upon seeing this, Yaoyao pondered a little before she said, "Could it be because you are someone born with naturally open meridians? It is possible that although they were sealed up again, your meridian channels are still much sturdier than an ordinary beginner."

"Then try again."

Yaoyao placed her hands behind her back. With her clothes wrapped around her lovely figure, this posture of hers propped up her chest slightly, revealing a very enticing sight. Zhou Yuan stared at her for a second before looking away as Yaoyao's bright eyes were currently staring at him.

"I do want to see exactly how many times you will be able to attack your meridian."

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END

4176 Words.