Taoist Antecedent of the Yellow Court - Chapter 4
Chapter 4: Cultivation Is Hard
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
In Blackwood Village, all was quiet on this starry night.
Lu Qingfeng got into a sitting position. The moonlight dimly illuminated his hands. The Yellow Dragon Pills and the Fasting Pills hadn’t come back into the real world with him.
Once again, he called upon the Attribute Panel.
Name: Lu Qingfeng [Real Body]
Race: Human
Faction: None
Title: None
Cultivation Stage: None
Level: 0 (0/1)
Destined Life Span: 16/68
Innate Talent Level: 1
Merit: Unknown
Karma: Unknown
Technique: Yellow Court Classic (Unblooded) [Property: Ability Upgrade (Level 1); Commanding Power (Level 1); Karma Nullification (Level 1)]; Scorching Sun Classic (Novice) [Updating]
Magic: None
Abhijna: None
Equipment: None
Pill Refining: “Fundamentals of Pill Refining” (Unblooded) [Updating]
Aside from the fact that the Scorching Sun Classic had changed from Unblooded to Novice, nothing else was different. His Cultivation Stage and Level were still empty. Also, the Chi Control column did not appear either.
“From the looks of it, mastery over techniques or skills like Pill Refining in the game can be brought directly into reality. However, his in-game Level and Cultivation Stage will not be synchronized with those of reality.”
Lu Qingfeng had finally figured it out.
This was almost the same as the settings of Reincarnation and Resurrection in “Primitive.” Memories could be carried out of the game, but things at a physical level, such as Chi Control and Cultivation Stage, couldn’t be synchronized with reality.
“Well, I have no complaints.”
Lu Qingfeng lowered his head on the spur of the moment and buried his head in his hands amid the darkness.
No one would ever know how massive the disparities were and how big of an impact it had on Lu Qingfeng to have traversed from the 21st century, an era of the rising sun when life seemed to be getting better and better, to live in a society of slavery in a completely oppressive environment such as Blackwood Village.
Lu Qingfeng decided to become very optimistic.
During the earliest phases after he had traversed these worlds, he had still had the wisdom of his previous life. He had learned to talk in three months and run in six months. However, when he was four years old, his mother had died due to difficult labor, and after that, he suffered the cold and darkness of Blackwood Village.
As he gradually grew up and had come to understand the perils of Blackwood Village and heard all the rumors about the so-called Sages of the Truth Sect, Lu Qingfeng had become very cautious.
From the lively and cheerful person he once had been, he became quiet and reticent.
He wasn’t bold enough to violate the rules because he was not alone.
If he did or said something that overstepped the boundaries of village life, he wasn’t sure that this news wouldn’t be conveyed from Blackwood Village to Ganoderma Mountain the very next day. And then his deeds could cause trouble for his father, brother, or sister, causing them to be executed along with him.
Now he said to himself, “From today onward, everything will be different!”
Lu Qingfeng raised his head. In the darkness, his eyes seemed to glow with exceptional brightness.
…
After he had confirmed what the parallels were between the game and reality, Lu Qingfeng entered the game once again.
“I could barely comprehend the sense of Chi after four Yellow Dragon Pills, and my cultivation cost me four experience points. I wonder how many experience points a Yellow Dragon Pill will provide me with now that I’ve comprehended the sense of Chi?”
“I have one Yellow Dragon Pill left. That, with the two experience points that I have at present, perhaps will push me to Level 2.”
Lu Qingfeng went into the bluestone tablet, took out the last Yellow Dragon Pill, and consumed it right away.
The Scorching Sun Classic was initialized. The faint Chi in his body revolved along with it, continuously absorbing the power of the pill and gradually strengthening.
It was after the power of the Yellow Dragon Pill subsided that Lu Qingfeng stopped cultivating.
Level: 1 (5/5)
“Three experience points. As expected.”
“When I’m Unblooded in Skill Level, comprehending the sense of Chi is the hardest. Four Yellow Dragon Pills only gave me five experience points. But after my Skill Level increased from Unblooded to Novice, just one Yellow Dragon Pill was able to give me three experience points.”
Lu Qingfeng felt relieved.
If that were the case, even if his talent were on the weaker end, as long as he had enough Yellow Dragon Pills, he would always be able to push up the level of his cultivation.
“It’s kind of late. I’m going to go to sleep now. Tomorrow, I’ll officially begin my cultivation in the Scorching Sun Classic.”
Exploring Emery Town, cultivating the Scorching Sun Classic…
Realizing that dawn would arrive soon, Lu Qingfeng exited the game, tried his best to relax his mind, and went to sleep.
The rest of the night passed.
…
At dawn, the morning sun rose again.
Sunlight slipped through the gaps between the Blackwood boards that made up the Blackwood shack.
For some unknown reason, although he had a hard time last night and it had already been the wee hours when he returned to sleep, Lu Qingfeng didn’t feel tired when he woke up in the morning.
On the contrary, he felt full of energy.
“Does this game even have the effect of replacing sleep?” Lu Qingfeng couldn’t help wondering. He knew that when he went offline last night, he had clearly felt exhausted.
He shook his head and cast the thoughts aside.
“Qingyu, time to wake up.”
Rolling himself out of bed and calling out to Lu Qingyu, Lu Qingfeng brought up the Attribute Panel and started his morning ablutions.
Name: Lu Qingfeng [Real Body]
Race: Human
Faction: None
Title: None
Cultivation Stage: None
Level: 0 (0/1)
Destined Life Span: 16/68
Innate Talent Level: 1
Merit: Unknown
Karma: Unknown
Technique: Yellow Court Classic (Unblooded) [Property: Ability Upgrade (Level 1); Commanding Power (Level 1); Karma Nullification (Level 1)]; Scorching Sun Classic (Novice) [Updating]
Magic: None
Abhijna: None
Equipment: None
Pill Refining: Fundamentals of Pill Refining (Unblooded) [Updating]
And now, with the Attribute Panel appearing in response to his calling it, Lu Qingfeng was certain that everything that had happened last night hadn’t been an illusion or a dream.
“During the daytime, I’ll tend to the crops and, at the same time, cultivate in the Scorching Sun Classic. At night, I’ll go into ‘Primitive’ and explore the game.”
Lu Qingfeng splashed cold water on his face, making him feel even more refreshed.
“Qingyu, wakey, wakey!”
Lu Qingyu was still struggling in bed. Lu Qingfeng pulled her out of bed and pushed the little girl to go and wash herself.
After all their cleaning and washing, the siblings first went to fetch water from the Chengyang River that was some seven to eight miles away to the south. After making two trips, they started pulling weeds out of their garden. Soon, noon arrived.
They took out coarse grain biscuits and boiled water.
Lu Qingfeng took out a coarse grain biscuit, broke it, and gave the larger portion to Qingyu. Then he gobbled up his own tiny half of the coarse grain biscuit.
“Qingfeng, I can’t eat so much.”
Lu Qingyu gobbled up a bit and then stuffed a tiny piece that was left over into Lu Qingfeng’s mouth. She blabbered, “Your saliva is all over this part. I am not eating this.”
Lu Qingfeng opened his mouth and munched the coarse grain biscuit.
Lu Qingyu clapped her hands and smiled until her eyes became a pair of crescent moons.
She used to think that the coarse grain biscuits she ate at noon were bigger than the ones they’d made until she found out that the other half of the biscuit her elder brother had for himself was much smaller than hers. She’d never eaten any extra since then.
Occasionally, Lu Qingfeng would give her more of the biscuit when she wasn’t paying attention, but she would always notice it immediately and leave a small bite for Lu Qingfeng.
“Qingyu, do you think that your life is hard with me?”
Lu Qingfeng drank half a bamboo tube of cold boiled water and looked at Lu Qingyu as he asked.
“Not at all! No one in Blackwood Village loves me more than you do, big brother! Hua and Ju get bullied by their brothers every day. You don’t even know how much they envy me!”
Lu Qingyu’s eyes were like stars, and her tiny face was glowing.
“You sure are an easy one to satisfy. Make sure you don’t get yourself abducted by someone who offers you just a few nice words in the future.”
Lu Qingfeng laughed.
“As if I would! I want to be with you forever.”
Lu Qingyu wrinkled her nose and hummed.
Lu Qingfeng smiled and rubbed Lu Qingyu’s little head. Thinking of the people who kept coming to talk to him about marriage these days, a cold feeling emerged in his heart.
“Qingyu, I had a miraculous encounter two days ago. I have to cultivate every day from now on. Stay on the lookout for me. Call me when someone is coming near us, okay?”
Lu Qingfeng fiddled with the two yellow braids on the back of Qingyu’s head as he talked with her.
He and Qingyu would always be together from day until night. He couldn’t possibly conceal the fact that he was cultivating from her, nor was there a need for him to do so. The three siblings depended on each other completely. For most of their lives, he had been the one who had brought up Qingyu and Qingshan. There was no one else in this world who could be more trustworthy than those two.
“You’re going to cultivate, Qingfeng? Awesome! I’ll stay on the lookout for you!” Lu Qing Yu squealed in surprise.
Then, realizing that she had been too loud, she shrunk her head down, stood up sneakily, and looked around. Seeing that nobody was nearby, she thumped her chest, tiptoed over, and whispered in Lu Qingfeng’s ear, “Qingfeng, I won’t tell anyone that you’re secretly cultivating. When you succeed, let’s head to Ganoderma Mountain and get Qingshan out of that place!”
Although the little girl wouldn’t admit it out loud, she was in fact thinking about her second brother, Lu Qingshan, every single day.
“Good girl.”
Lu Qingfeng smiled, sat down, and eagerly began cultivating in the Scorching Sun Classic.
Seeing this, Lu Qingyu got up and looked around in all directions, earnestly staying on the lookout.
Lu Qingfeng knew Qingyu’s personality. He also knew that he was in a wheat field concealed by wheat stalks. He wouldn’t have to worry about getting discovered.
At present…
Lu Qingfeng had mastery over two techniques.
Despite the Yellow Court Classic being an Antecedent grade technique, it felt more like a support-type technique. It couldn’t directly improve his cultivation stage.
Therefore, the only thing Lu Qingfeng could cultivate for the time being was the Scorching Sun Classic.
This was actually the first time he was cultivating in reality.
Without the Yellow Dragon Pill’s assistance, Lu Qingfeng realized how bad his qualifications were.
For a whole afternoon, he wasn’t able to comprehend the sense of Chi.
Even though he had attained Novice Level in the Scorching Sun Classic, even though he had already comprehended the sense of Chi one time in the game, he was still stuck at a barrier.
“This…”
Having meditated for an entire afternoon and being unable to grasp the sense of Chi, Lu Qingfeng felt a little frustrated. His legs were so numb that they couldn’t even move.
Cultivating in reality was much harder than he had imagined.
“I have experience in comprehending the sense of Chi. Theoretically, if I have just a little bit of talent, I should be able to grasp the sense of Chi very swiftly. But I don’t.”
“Looks like a Level 1 in innate talent is really awful. If I want to attain something, I need to work harder. I’ll spend an entire day if one afternoon won’t work, and even ten days if one doesn’t do. I was able to comprehend the sense of Chi with the assistance of the Yellow Dragon Pill. There is no reason that I can’t comprehend it on my own.”
“If even that doesn’t work, I’ll have to learn how to make Yellow Dragon Pills like they have in the game.”
Lu Qingfeng’s aptitude was unfathomably atrocious. However, he didn’t feel dejected. As long as “Primitive” was available to him, nothing was unattainable.
He opened his eyes.
Qingyu was still on the lookout and being very attentive and serious. She turned around and happened to see Lu Qingfeng opening his eyes.
“Qingfeng, you’re awake!”
Lu Qingyu hopped over to Lu Qingfeng, stared at him, and asked expectantly, “How was your cultivation? When can we go to save Qingshan?”
“Just so you know, cultivation isn’t that quick of a thing.” Lu Qingfeng shook his head.
“Is cultivating really that difficult?” Lu Qingyu tilted her head and looked confused.
“In two years, when you grow up, I’ll teach you how to cultivate, and you’ll find out whether it is difficult or not.” Lu Qingfeng massaged his legs to get his blood circulating and his muscles moving.
However, when Lu Qingyu heard what he said, her eyes got wide, and her mouth opened slightly.
“Qingfeng, I can cultivate too?”
She never knew that girls could cultivate as well!
The Truth Sect would come to Blackwood Village to select formal disciples and labor disciples every year, and all of them were selected from boys aged 12 to 16.
Lu Qingyu thought that only people like her eldest brother and her second brother could cultivate.
“Of course you can!”
“However, first, you need to learn how to read as well as to memorize the various meridians and acupoints. After you do all this, you can start cultivating in two years,” Lu Qingfeng said with a smile.
Now that he had “Primitive,” he wouldn’t be lacking any inheritances in the days to come. As long as he could break through the most difficult Unblooded skill level, he would be able to attain something by cultivating in the prescribed order.
By then, whether it was Qingshan or Qingyu, he would not let them stay in this cramped place of Blackwood Village.
Naturally, they would have to cultivate alongside him.
If he embarked on the journey of cultivating and he ended being all alone, wouldn’t that be taking the branch for the root?
