Chapter 24: A Beautiful Visitor

Deep within the eternal temple, Yang Feng suddenly manifested! The moment his body touched the temple, he was drawn in by an empty god-throne. Following that familiar sensation, he transformed into a statue wreathed in flames. The intense, burning fire did not harm him; instead, it felt like soaking in a 39-degree hot spring. This was the statue formed by the Furnace Breathing Technique.

The acupuncture points on the statue began to appear within his own body, and his consciousness began to connect them in sequence. During this process, Yang Feng discovered a pattern: the more fragmented a breathing technique was, the longer it took for its corresponding statue to form. The statue for the Furnace Breathing Technique took twice as long as the others, but he did not care in the slightest. After all, who would mind an extra hour of sleep?

Waves of heat surged through his body like a high-energy boiler; it only required a trigger to unleash all that power in a single burst. This was the nature of the Furnace Breathing Technique—it was an explosive technique. If utilized during combat, his strength would see a terrifying increase. As time passed, a new statue stood fully erected within the temple. Yang Feng understood this meant the Furnace Breathing Technique had been successfully mended. However, his consciousness did not return from the dream; instead, it was pulled toward another empty statue to begin the work of repairing the next technique.

Time is like water in a river—it can neither be grasped nor held back. Two days flickered by, and ten new statues stood within the temple. Some were wreathed in flames, others crackled with lightning, and some were surrounded by gentle breezes. These represented the elemental attributes of the breathing techniques. With the five statues from Song City, he now possessed fifteen in total, meaning his cultivation speed was fifteen times that of an ordinary martial artist.

Under normal circumstances, an ordinary First-Tier martial artist with sufficient resources would need about a year to reach the Second-Tier. He, however, could now break through to the Second-Tier in just over ten days! If the outside world knew of this, they would surely fall into a frenzy, as such a cultivation speed was beyond imagination. The martial arts assessment on the 15th was still some time away, and he did not plan to return to Song City too early, lest he have to explain himself to his mother. He could take this time to organize and submit all the techniques; he estimated the mission rewards would total over 500,000 Federation Credits.

Once he obtained this massive sum, combined with the 200,000 from the four previous techniques in Song City, he would have 700,000 credits. Generally, the reward for repairing a First-Tier technique was 50,000 Federation Credits, though some special techniques commanded higher prices—like the very first Inner Elixir Breathing Technique he had mended, which had been far more lucrative than the others. With 700,000 in his pocket, he could afford a down payment on a house in the new district of Song City. Relying on the family breakfast shop, who knew how long that would take to save? And yet, now, he only needed to sleep! Truly, making money is difficult, but once you start, it becomes simple.

May 14th. Song City, Class 13 of Song City No. 1 High School.

It was break time. With the college entrance exams approaching, most students were under immense pressure. Even during the break, ninety percent of the seats remained occupied. Some were studying, others were cultivating; everyone was racing against time, hoping to squeeze out a few more points for the exams. Consequently, the classroom was exceptionally quiet.

Unlike before, Yang Qixin was now sitting in his spacious seat, cultivating quietly. Ever since the incident during physical education, he had thrown himself into study and cultivation. With his family's support, his blood-energy value had risen by 0.1. Now at 1.09, getting into a second-tier university was essentially guaranteed. He felt deeply grateful to his desk-mate for waking him up, allowing him to repent and stop wasting time. His desk-mate, who was better-looking than him and possessed such formidable strength, had never even considered finding a girlfriend. Was he himself even worthy of one? Every time his heart wavered, he would ask himself a soul-searching question, instantly sobering him up like an eighty-year-old monk forgetting the dust of the world. It was only a pity that his good friend and desk-mate couldn't see his transformation with his own eyes.

"Sigh, I wonder when my desk-mate will be back," Yang Qixin muttered to himself. He finally understood the truth that some people only realize how good someone is after they have left. Since that PE class, the girls in the class had been constantly coming to him to ask for news about his desk-mate. A bunch of snobs—even if he did have news, he wouldn't tell them!

Just as he was about to send a message to his desk-mate, two girls in short skirts suddenly appeared at the door. Their long, fair legs reflected the sunlight, and the enchanting sight made the hearts of the students in the class, regardless of gender, flutter. Yang Qixin was the first to react: "Amitabha. Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. Sin, sin!" He had just promised his brother to study hard; how could he break his resolve so easily? "Demons, do not hinder my cultivation!"

The class monitor of Grade 12, Class 13, was the second to react and stepped forward to inquire. "Hello, you two aren't students from our school, right? May I ask who you are looking for?" Students at Song City No. 1 High School were required to wear uniforms, and these two girls were dressed too casually; it was obvious they were outsiders.

"Oh, hello. My name is Lin Xiaorong, and this is Zheng Jinning. We are looking for Yang Feng. Is he here?"

Indeed, these two were Lin Xiaorong and Zheng Jinning from Zhengfu City. One was the event organizer, and the other was the only girl who had managed to endure more than three strikes from Yang Feng! Although Zheng Jinning had suffered three broken ribs at the time, a martial artist's recovery was astonishing, and with the best medical care in Zhengfu City, she had fully recovered. As soon as she was healed, she had brought Lin Xiaorong to Song City.

"Oh, looking for Yang Feng? He's on leave. He hasn't been to school for a long time."

Zheng Jinning’s face immediately showed disappointment. The disappointed expression of a beautiful woman evokes pity, especially when there are two of them. The monitor suggested, "You could ask Yang Feng's desk-mate. He might know when Yang Feng will return."

Everyone in the class had heard the conversation, and Yang Qixin had no choice but to stand up. "Hello, what do you need with Yang Feng?" Although they were beauties, what if they were here to cause trouble? He had to be sure.

"We just arrived from Zhengfu City today. For some special reasons, we want to make friends with Yang Feng. Could you introduce us?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the classroom fell into a dead silence. Two such top-tier beauties—especially the silent one, who was so beautiful that the girls in the class felt inferior—had come all the way from Zhengfu City just to get to know Yang Feng! This news was explosive.

Yang Qixin’s feelings were incredibly complex. He had listened to his desk-mate, severed all worldly attachments, and devoted himself to cultivation, only for Yang Feng to run off to Zhengfu City to chase girls? And two such beautiful ones at that... His state of mind collapsed. What happened to "striving together"? What about "no girls, cutting off the world, and focusing on the Dao"? His admiration for his desk-mate's firm martial will had just shattered into pieces.