For the Wang Family, tonight was calm and peaceful because the two battles that occurred were swiftly resolved without creating any disturbance.
When they got up the next morning and saw the pile of fox carcasses, the entire Wang Family was in an uproar.
Wang Fulai showered Ling Xiaoyue and Fang Zhou with endless gratitude, nearly kneeling in appreciation.
For the past month, she hadn't been able to eat or sleep properly, almost driven to nervous exhaustion; but today, she could finally rest assured.
Ling Xiaoyue was very pleased because Wang Fulai had given her a hefty sum of money. It was payment for the fairy horse, whose meat had been purchased by the Wang Family. They might keep it for themselves or sell it, but that was none of her concern.
Fang Zhou was also happy. His horse, inadvertently caught up in the affair, had sold for the price of a fairy horse. In life it was unknown and ridden by people, but in death, it received the title of a fairy horse, which would surely bring a smile to its face even in the netherworld.
The key point was that the money for the horse was delivered privately by the steward, something Ling Xiaoyue had not noticed, so the money was Fang Zhou's private stash belonging only to him.
As for the pile of fox carcasses, Ling Xiaoyue commanded the steward to skin the foxes to make scarves, and chop their meat to make meatballs, all of which she intended to take with her.
Fang Zhou listened on the side, his scalp tingling — was this woman's heart made of black iron? She was even more ruthless than infamous skinflints, sparing nothing.
Since Ling Xiaoyue had promised to refine a Yang Reviving Pill for Wang Minghong, and there was also the issue of a big fox yet to be dealt with, both she and Fang Zhou were in no rush to leave and decided to stay at the Wang Family for two more days.
Ling Xiaoyue took the opportunity to teach the Qi Gathering Technique and swordsmanship to Fang Zhou.
Fang Zhou was still a bit wary. How could this woman, whose eyes lit up at the sight of money, be so generous? "Really, it's free of charge?"
Ling Xiaoyue kept tapping on his head with her finger: "Money, money, money? Is that all you think about? Should there be such formality between master and disciple?"
"Heh heh!"
Fang Zhou let out a scornful but polite laugh.
This made Ling Xiaoyue quite unhappy; she felt that Fang Zhou's stereotypes of her had tarnished her shining image as a master, as well as the reputation of the Xuanji Sect itself. Such a rebellious disciple.
However, she truly had no intention of charging Fang Zhou for these two things, as they were supplementary techniques for New Moon Qi and thus, part of the after-sales service.
Ling Xiaoyue had always been honest in her dealings, never defrauding anyone.
"Wait a minute, you're not charging for the initial teaching, but you'll charge later for cultivation or upgrades, won't you?"
Fang Zhou suddenly realized. It reminded him of something he had seen in his previous life: some products were sold at a low price or even given away for free, but subsequent maintenance or repair costs were exorbitant.
Ling Xiaoyue widened her eyes and pointed at Fang Zhou: "You're slandering me. How could your master ever engage in such shameless acts?"
Oh, nailed it. She would definitely do it.
"So, do you want to learn or not?"
"Yes!"
Of course, he wanted — to learn for free is a bargain. "I'll owe you the money; if I lose even a hair to you, consider it my loss."
The Qi Gathering Technique is a supplementary technique for New Moon Qi, or more accurately, an accompanying skill. New Moon Qi absorbs, refines, and uses spiritual energy to nourish the body, while the Qi Gathering Technique allows Fang Zhou to mobilize the stored spiritual energy within his body more quickly and conveniently, enabling spiritual energy to envelop the entire body in an instant, enhancing strength and speed. Of course, this also intensifies the consumption of spiritual energy, making it unsustainable for prolonged use.
For Fang Zhou, the Qi Gathering Technique was like a long-awaited rain after a drought. Since his entry into the Qi Refinement Realm, he hadn't felt much improvement. His cultivation had only increased his strength and constitution by one point each, and while his body had accumulated a fair amount of spiritual energy, it would gradually dissipate and needed to be replenished through constant cultivation.
Mobilizing spiritual energy can enhance strength and speed, but in battle, who has the time for slow mobilization? It is also impossible to multitask and maintain an energized state.
Therefore, the saved-up spiritual energy was wasted, unable to be used in battle.
Now, having learned the Qi Gathering Technique, Fang Zhou could rapidly mobilize spiritual energy throughout his body without needing to multitask, finally experiencing the true combat power of entering the Qi Refining Realm.
Fang Zhou opened the system to test it out, and after using the Qi Gathering Technique, his strength increased by 2 points to 6, and his speed also increased by 1 point to 6.
Originally, he was already exceptionally talented, and now with the use of the Qi Gathering Technique, he was even more formidable.
The only drawback was that the Qi Gathering Technique would speed up the consumption of spiritual energy. As soon as he stopped using the technique, or when the spiritual energy was depleted, the enhanced attributes would drop as well.
Overall, the Qi Gathering Technique greatly improved Fang Zhou's combat capabilities. Now, he could proudly claim that if he encountered those female disciples from the Xuanji Sect again, he could easily defeat them.
Plus, with the Illusion Technique and Hu Lai's left hand, facing Li Ruyu wouldn't be as embarrassing.
Fang Zhou was very satisfied. Li Ruyu had been with the Xuanji Sect for eight years, whereas he had started cultivating for less than a month.
Of course, the system's contribution was the greatest and had brought the most improvement to Fang Zhou — truly a doting father.
Apart from the Qi Gathering Technique, Ling Xiaoyue also taught Fang Zhou a set of swordsmanship.
Fang Zhou watched as she demonstrated with a tree branch, a fierce energy emanating aggressively from her motions, which were crisp and concise, devoid of any fancy, flashy moves.
At the end, she extended the branch forward with a point, and a fierce Sword Qi burst forth, piercing through the rockery in the courtyard, with no one knowing where it shot off to.
Ling Xiaoyue tossed the branch to Fang Zhou: "Remember the movements? When channeling your energy, follow the route of the Qi Gathering Technique."
Fang Zhou caught the branch, which was just an ordinary piece of wood in his hands, yet in Ling Xiaoyue's hands, it was sharper than a treasure sword.
Fang Zhou recalled Ling Xiaoyue's movements in his mind, then asked: "What is this sword technique called?"
"Call it... huh..."
Ling Xiaoyue suddenly got stuck, and only after a struggle did she blurt out: "Call it Invincible Sword, how about that?"
Fang Zhou immediately waved her off: "Forget it, I'll name it myself, no need to trouble you."
Ling Xiaoyue was enraged by Fang Zhou's contemptuous attitude: 'Is there something wrong with the name I chose?'
Fang Zhou shrugged: "Is it really that good? Why don't you use it yourself?"
"The good stuff should naturally be reserved for one's disciples, this is this master's affection for you."
"Your 'affection' is something I can't afford to enjoy."
Ling Xiaoyue, feeling helpless, couldn't force Fang Zhou to use the name she chose. Naming was indeed one of her rare weaknesses.
This was simply unfathomable for the self-proclaimed handsome, charming, perfect and powerful Ling Xiaoyue.
She wallowed in her frustration for a while, but then seemed to think of something amusing, she placed a hand on Fang Zhou's shoulder with an ambiguous expression: "Disciple, the Qi Gathering Technique also has another ingenious use, did you know?"
Fang Zhou glanced at her sideways; he was now very familiar with Ling Xiaoyue. Whenever she showed this kind of expression, she was definitely going to say something provocative.
Fang Zhou: "You tell me, I'm listening."
Sure enough, Ling Xiaoyue chuckled: "When you summon Spiritual Energy, you can channel it into your Spirit Root, and the effect will definitely surprise you... You can ask the housekeeper for some lard tonight... try it out yourself, but don't play too late, hehehe!"
Fang Zhou: (눈_눈)
What on earth is going on with this woman's train of thought?
Turning a high and mighty Cultivation Technique into something so vile - it's a complete insult to the term 'cultivation'. Fang Zhou expressed strong condemnation, ashamed to be associated with it.
But what she described... is it real?
Worth looking into.
...
The housekeeper was very efficient. Several foxes were skinned by skilled craftsmen, the fox tails were made into scarves, the fox skins into capes, and the leftovers were sewn into gloves.
The fox meat was minced into meatballs, the bones ground into powder, and both were delivered to Ling Xiaoyue.
Ling Xiaoyue used the Sleeve Universe to stash away everything and then secretly took out a golden fox meatball, prepared using a Secret Technique, and had Fang Zhou take it to Wang Minghong to ingest.
"Is this the so-called Yang Reviving Pill?"
Fang Zhou was speechless; this was too much of a scam. It was obviously just a colored meatball.
"Oh, you know nothing."
Ling Xiaoyue said in exasperation: "Yang deficiency is simply caused by too frequent bedroom activities leading to kidney weakness. Wang Minghong would recover naturally with some rest, and this meatball, no, this Yang Reviving Pill has Spiritual Energy added to it. After he takes it, it'll provide some psychological comfort and he'll recover faster. This is called psychological comfort therapy—learn something. Plus, I'm giving this for free. The real Yang Reviving Pill would cost ten Wang Fulais and he couldn't afford it. Are you footing the bill for him?"
So this is a health supplement from another world, mentor style?
Fang Zhou was really impressed; this woman had one absurd logic after another.
But he didn't refute her in the end, mainly because it was a free gift from Ling Xiaoyue, which was far too rare, more so than spending money.
After giving the meatball, no, the Yang Reviving Pill to Wang Minghong, his complexion indeed improved significantly, and he was very grateful to Fang Zhou.
It wasn't just psychological comfort; the refined Spiritual Energy also had excellent nourishing effects on the body.
Seeing that all affairs were now in order, with only the escaped fox yet to be dealt with.
Fang Zhou was about to ask Ling Xiaoyue when she planned to resolve this risk, when a visitor with the surname Hu suddenly arrived at the Wang Family.