NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4: Bitter Cultivation
Chapter 4: Bitter Cultivation
Su Yun recalled a detail. Most details were hazy in his memory, but this one stood out. It appeared in the first three chapters, precisely when the plot began. Xiao Yan was fifteen at that time.
"Only nine years left," Su Yun thought.
No wonder he calculated time so tightly. As a humble commoner without support, only armed with an outdated system, intercepting the protagonist's opportunities was the most secure method for him.
"Self-preservation is the first law of nature!"
...
Time passed in cultivation without counting the years. In the blink of an eye, a year and a half had gone by.
"Sigh... This Foundation Building Elixir is consumed so quickly."
Watching the basin become clear once again, Su Yun sighed with a contemplative look.
Every time he used the Foundation Building Elixir, he could practice for only two months. Every two months, he had to visit the stalls in the market.
Feeling a bit guilty, he got up, dressed, and headed to the market once again, sponsored by various stall owners.
After a year and a half of bitter cultivation, he recently broke through to the Seventh Stage of Dou Qi.
This result wasn't as impressive as Xiao Yan's, but it wasn't slow either.
Xiao Yan had solidified his foundation with three years of stagnant practice and the advantage of re-cultivation. Only then did he go from the Third Stage of Dou Qi to the Seventh Stage within a year.
Su Yun, without wasting three years, went from the Fourth Stage of Dou Qi to the Seventh Stage in a year and a half, advancing three stages. Having such cultivation at less than eight years old was already satisfying.
In the original work, Xiao Yan's fiancee, Nalan Yanran, at twelve years old, was only at the Eighth Stage of Dou Qi. Even the young master of the prestigious Cloudy Peak Sect was at a similar level. Other so-called talents in the Miteer Empire were even less noteworthy.
Su Yun's cultivation already outshone his peers.
...
This time, he didn't visit the market where the Xiao family was located. Being a bit more accomplished now, caution remained his top priority.
He rotated between the markets in Wutan City every two months, ensuring safety. Though the possibility of being discovered was minimal, caution was never a mistake.
With frequent collection of materials for the Foundation Building Elixir, he became adept at the process. Upon reaching the market, he quickly gathered the required materials.
"Just need the last Washing Bone Flower and a First Rank Magic Core..." Su Yun thought.
"Here's one." Su Yun's eyes lit up. The stall's owner, yawning at this moment, didn't notice as Su Yun activated the scanning and retrieval function, securing the item.
After obtaining it, Su Yun casually walked past the stall like an innocent bystander.
"Huh? I remember there was a Washing Bone Flower here just now. How come it's gone?"
Hearing the voice behind him, Su Yun remained indifferent.
Similar situations had occurred before. Since he walked through the passage without touching anything, there was no suspicion.
Seeing the stall owner desperately searching, Su Yun sighed, silently repenting.
After a brief moment of penance, Su Yun shifted his focus to finding the last material.
"Hmm..." Su Yun's heart stirred.
Suddenly, three young men walked towards him. The one in the middle, dressed in luxury, casually picked up a bracelet from the stall.
"Mm, this accessory is nice. I'll take it," said the young man in luxury.
"Zhang Yu, pay."
One of the guards took out a gold coin from his pocket and tossed it onto the stall. The three of them left.
Su Yun raised an eyebrow. There was a First Rank Water Element Magic Core embedded in the bracelet.
Such accessories and weapons with embedded magic cores, even if it's a First Rank, were worth a thousand gold coins in the Dou Qi continent.
"This... sigh..."
The stall owner's face looked unsightly, but he didn't dare say anything. Passersby pretended not to notice.
Su Yun turned his gaze to the young man and silently invoked the scanning function.
Name: Galeo
Gender: Male
Cultivation: Sixth Stage of Dou Qi
Technique: None
Combat Skills: None
"Galeo? Is this the supporting character who coveted Xiao Xun'er in the original work?" Su Yun thought.
He remembered Galeo, a supporting character with no significant role, appearing at the beginning of the plot.
"Talent is quite poor, looks like thirteen or fourteen, and only at the Sixth Stage of Dou Qi," Su Yun disdainfully thought.
If others knew his thoughts, they would probably spit out three liters of blood.
Galeo's talent was not bad. In the original work, when the plot just started, Galeo broke through to a one-star Dou Zhe at the age of twenty-two or twenty-three, which was considered above average in the small Wutan City.
Su Yun had always compared himself to geniuses like Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er, unintentionally ignoring the average standards in the Miteer Empire.
This Dou Qi continent was truly a survival of the fittest. Galeo, from one of the three major families, was causing this poor stall owner to swallow his losses in his own market.
Watching this scene, Su Yun's desire for strength intensified, and he silently mourned for the stall owner for three seconds.
Not getting involved, Su Yun wandered around the market for a while, and then left after collecting a First Rank Wood Element Magic Core using the system.
...
Back home, Su Yun sat cross-legged on the floor without immediately starting cultivation.
Having reached the Seventh Stage of Dou Qi, he estimated that reaching the Ninth Stage would take one or two more years at his cultivation speed.
Su Yun contemplated the matter of condensing the Dou Qi cyclone.
To become a Dou Zhe in the Dou Qi continent, one must condense the Dou Qi cyclone within the body.
However, condensing the Dou Qi cyclone had a considerable failure rate.
After a failure, the Ninth Stage Dou Qi would drop back to the Eighth Stage. Some unlucky individuals might not succeed even after ten or more attempts.
"Forget about gathering and dispersing Qi," Su Yun sighed.
Although he had the system and the lifelong memories of Medicine Elder, the resource issue was his weakness.
Even the materials and magic cores for the Foundation Building Elixir were obtained (stolen) through the system. This method had its obvious drawbacks.
Magic cores of third rank or above and herbs for refining third-rank elixirs were almost unseen in this market.
As for emulating Xiao Yan to go to the auction, Wutan City's Miteer Auction House didn't have the Qi Gathering Powder...
Su Yun didn't dwell on this matter for long. He had his method. Even if he failed several times, restarting was simple.
After extracting the Foundation Building Elixir, Su Yun once again plunged into bitter cultivation.
(End of this chapter)
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