Chapter Fourteen: Quanchang Creek

Transforming into a divine statue to cultivate was a fascinating experience for Yang Feng.

This type of cultivation was far from boring. Once the technique began to operate, an intriguing phenomenon occurred: the meridians through which his vital energy flowed would glow twice as brightly as before.

Thus, practicing the Inner Alchemy Breathing Technique felt like fully illuminating his entire being.

Time passed by second after second. After spending an hour running through the entire method of the Inner Alchemy Breathing Technique, Yang Feng had mastered its complete version.

In other words, he had now perfected the cultivation method.

Just as a smile appeared on his face and he prepared to run through it a second time, he suddenly felt a strong force pushing his body. The next moment, he was ejected from the divine statue.

Back inside the temple, Yang Feng was momentarily stunned. But he quickly noticed that though he had been expelled, a divine statue now stood in the previously empty seat. This statue was slightly translucent, with the Inner Alchemy Breathing Technique continuously operating within it.

What caught Yang Feng’s attention most was that the statue looked exactly like him.

He was utterly astonished. Before he could figure out what was going on, he felt another force pushing him out again. This time, he sensed the temple itself repelling him.

The next instant, Yang Feng vanished from that spot.

Opening his eyes, he found himself once more in the mysterious void.

This experience left him a bit dazed, so he examined his body carefully.

After a moment of deep focus, Yang Feng opened his eyes again, a golden gleam flashing within them.

He realized that the energy inside his body had begun to deplete again, though at a much slower rate. He could sense the consumption of energy, yet his vital energy was very slowly increasing!

This was thanks to the divine statue! It could cultivate on his behalf!

This was an astonishing discovery.

The thought made Yang Feng’s breathing quicken. Reflecting on the seemingly endless divine statues within the temple, a hypothesis formed in his mind: if he had enough cultivation techniques, could he have multiple avatars cultivating simultaneously?

If that were possible, it meant that as long as he had enough breathing techniques, he could advance rapidly!

...

The next day, Yang Feng skipped school and instead arrived early at the Warriors’ Guild to submit a task.

He uploaded the complete version of the Inner Alchemy Breathing Technique he had cultivated to the computer and submitted the task.

Because this was a special task involving the completion of a cultivation method, it required manual review and thus needed some time.

At this moment, he was not particularly concerned about the task reward.

Impatiently, he clicked on the task list for cultivation method repairs.

There were still four first-tier breathing technique repair tasks remaining: Great Wind Breathing, Momentum Breathing, Swift Thunder Breathing, and Explosive Flame Breathing.

Yang Feng accepted all of them in one go and then quickly left the Warriors’ Guild.

...

In a high-end office building, a young woman’s phone suddenly buzzed with a notification. She checked the message and showed a surprised expression.

She hurriedly ran to the office and exclaimed, “Master, Master, someone has completed the Inner Alchemy Breathing Technique repair task you posted on the Warriors’ Guild!”

Què Changxi, who had been practicing calligraphy, frowned at the interruption. But upon hearing the report, the displeasure on his face vanished, replaced by surprise.

Què Changxi was a cultivation method master in Song City.

Cultivation method masters held an extremely honorable status throughout the federation because the breathing techniques and martial skills that warriors practiced were all created by these individuals.

They were the foundation of the federation’s warriors.

The requirements to become a cultivation method master were very strict: one had to be a warrior with a certain aptitude for breathing technique cultivation.

Most importantly, one had to dedicate a large amount of time to researching cultivation methods.

But every warrior’s time was precious. Investing time in research inevitably reduced the time available for cultivation.

Choices had to be made.

Many martial arts masters sacrificed their own cultivation to create great techniques; some even stopped progressing altogether. Worse, some made errors in their creations and tested them on themselves, resulting in catastrophic failures and death.

Hence, cultivation method masters always commanded deep respect within the federation. Even high-tier warriors held genuine reverence for lower-tier cultivation method masters.

These masters were like candles, illuminating themselves and others.

Què Changxi was a second-tier cultivation method master.

He had posted the task to repair the first-tier Inner Alchemy Breathing Technique.

The Inner Alchemy Breathing Technique was a first-tier method dating back a century. He had come across a damaged version by chance and spent considerable time repairing it.

Yet, after completing the repair, the technique always felt somewhat off to him.

Neither he nor his fellow cultivation method master friends could identify any issues.

So, he posted the technique on the Warriors’ Guild platform with a “let’s see what happens” attitude.

Half a year had passed since it was posted with no one accepting the task. Just as he was about to forget about it, someone finally submitted a completed task.

This piqued his curiosity.

He didn’t even scold his impetuous apprentice and said, “Let me see it.”

The girl handed over her phone, and Què Changxi began carefully examining the cultivation method.

At first, he was merely curious, but as he studied it longer, his eyes brightened even more.

The repair submitted was roughly the same as his own.

This indicated two things: first, the submitter was genuine; second, his own repair was not flawed.

Because for any problem, there is only one correct answer, but many incorrect ones.

As he continued reviewing, his brow furrowed again.

The submitter’s repair began to diverge from his own thinking. But after careful analysis, he realized the submitter’s approach was more reasonable.

Repairing cultivation methods was a meticulous process; even a tiny error could lead to massive deviation.

After finishing the review, Què Changxi closed his eyes and mentally re-derived the Inner Alchemy Breathing Technique.

Seeing his master’s reaction, the young woman beside him held her breath, afraid to make any noise that might disturb him.

Finally, after ten minutes, Què Changxi opened his eyes with a smile.

At that moment, the girl could no longer contain herself and asked, “Master, how is it?”

“An expert from the common folk! An expert from the common folk! I’ve deduced the submitted Inner Alchemy Breathing Technique, and it’s flawless. The submitter’s cultivation method derivation skills might even surpass mine!”

Hearing this, the girl was stunned. Her master was a second-tier cultivation method master and a third-tier warrior. For someone in a place like Song City to outshine him was truly incredible.

Still in shock, she protested, “Master, this is only a first-tier cultivation method. It doesn’t mean much; maybe they just got lucky.”

Què Changxi smiled and shook his head, “You, you... The submitter’s repair is impeccable. Transfer the payment to them immediately. Also, arrange a meeting for me—I want to meet this person.”

“Understood, Master.”

...