Violet Essence

“It’s time, Lin Mu Yu. Time to set off!”

Woken from his dream by Qu Chu’s heavy knocking, Lin Mu Yu immediately sat up and looked out the window. The stars were still s.h.i.+ning in the night sky; at most this was three or four in the morning!

Not knowing why they were in such a hurry, Lin Mu Yu still obediently got off the bed and quickly dressed himself before hurrying out the door. He was yearning for greater strength and Qu Chu was someone who could give him great strength.

“Teacher, we’re setting off before the crack of dawn? I’ll greet grandpa and Chu Yao before leaving.”

“Don’t bother. Let’s go!”

In the dark of night, the white-robed Qu Chu unhesitantly said, “The day starts counting at the first light, so how long did you plan to sleep? On our return in three days, you can sleep all you want. Also, I am not your teacher; I’m just guiding you for three days. I, Qu Chu, will never take in a disciple in my life, so why don’t you continue calling me Elder Qu?”

“Okay.”

Lin Mu Yu followed him out to the yard. On his side, the n.o.ble Tang Xiao Xi was also following Qu Chu. In her hand was a small sword, she handed Lin Mu Yu the reins of one of the two horses she was leading and said, “This horse is yours.”

“Oh?”

“A high-grade plains horse. Lucky you.” Tang Xiao Xi chuckled.

Lin Mu Yu turned to look at the mare. It wasn’t half bad; its body looked strong, the hairs were straight, and the eyes were spirited. With one look, anyone could tell it was a tough and st.u.r.dy horse. In comparison, Tang Xiao Xi’s mount was a pony with flame red hairs. Fittingly, it was pet.i.te and delicate like its rider.

Tang Xiao Xi seemingly read his mind, and couldn’t help but laugh, “Do you think my Thousand Mile Flame is really weak? How about we mount and try that out? I guarantee that I’ll be able to shake you off in 15 minutes!”

Lin Mu Yu was left speechless but he did not try to challenge this princess. So this flame-red pony was called Thousand Mile Flame. The name was quite fitting but whether it could realistically go a thousand mile was another question.

TL note: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chollima

Qu Chu was leading his black horse in front. The hoofs were nailed with horseshoes and there was a brand of a purple Yin flower on its rump. That was a warhorse!

“We’ll leave Silver Fir City before dawn. I heard there is a buns shop in the southern district, so we’ll eat and set out.” Qu Chu commanded.

“Alright.” Lin Mu Yu cautiously conducted himself.

Whereas Tang Xiao Xi chuckled, “Old Qu, there is something else that is more delicious than the beef buns from the Capital?”

Qu Chu couldn’t help but laugh as well, “Princess, now you’re just joking around. The Capital’s Yin flower beef is the best in the world. Even the emperor himself had personally tasted it. There is definitely no other who can match its taste.”

“Yeah!” Tang Xiao Xi pursed her lips and said, “I’m missing Xiao Yin all of the sudden, now that we are talking about how everything is delicious in the Capital…”

Qu Chu responded, “We’ll train inside the Seven Star Forest for 3 days so you can break through to level 30. After that, naturally we’ll be returning to the Capital so you’ll be able to see her highness then.”

“Aye!”

……

Leaving the city, the sky still had yet to brighten up. There was only a glimmer of light s.h.i.+ning in the east. Keeping to his word, Qu Chu found a buns shop in the forest outside of the city. This area was already nearing the entrance of the Seven Star Forest, so wild beasts often roamed about. A buns shop like this was probably opened to provide food for travelers or merchants. Although the sky was still dark, the employees inside had already been hurrying about and steaming buns.

TL note: Buns as in: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baozi

“We’ll have one serving for each of us. Also, pack three days’ worth of provisions for three to go.” Qu Chu readily called out his order.

The waiter was quite fast with the delivery. Soon, baskets of buns were laid out on the table and they were even meat filled! The last time Lin Mu Yu had meat was three days ago, so naturally he had quite the appet.i.te for these meat buns. Sweeping up every last bit of food off of his basket, Lin Mu Yu’s speed left Tang Xiao Xi stunned. She muttered, “Wow, Mu Mu, you look like a Funi that just came back to life!”

“Ha? What is a Funi?” Lin Mu Yu was befuddled both by what she said and why this little princess was calling him Mu Mu all of the sudden. It was quite a strange feeling, as Lin Mu Yu felt more familiarity from Tang Xiao Xi than the condescending air of an average n.o.ble. Were Tang Xiao Xi to be that kind of n.o.bility, she would have been treating him like a servant, and probably would not have been willing to speak to him at all.

Qu Chu faintly smiled, “In legends, the Funi was a race of ancient creatures that was gluttonous and super strong. However, due to eating too much and becoming unable to move, they were all hunted by the King of Light and their pelts were used to make the king’s robe.”

Tang Xiao Xi grinned and stuck out her tongue before continuing to eat with tiny bites.

Finis.h.i.+ng breakfast, Qu Chu stored the packed provisions into a bag on Lin Mu Yu’s mount and said, “Let’s quickly set off before dawn arrives!”

Unable to hold back his question, Lin Mu Yu asked, “Elder Qu, why are we hurrying in this manner?”

Qu Chu smiled and explained, “Because today, at the moment of sunrise, will be an unbearable time for you.”

“Why is that?”

“In the half hour after sunrise, I have to awaken the martial spirit that is dormant deep within you!” Qu Chu’s eyes lit up as he confidently boasted, “A martial artist without a martial spirit is no different from a piece of garbage. The old me had awoken mine at the age of 14 and Princess Xi had awoken her clan’s bloodline spirit at the age of 9.”

“What’s a bloodline spirit?”

“Ah, I forgot you are a total newbie and will probably not understand anything.” Qu Chu took a deep breath and began to explain, “The strength of a martial spirit largely depends on the ancestry. Xiao Xi was born from the Tang clan of Seven Seas and awakened the Firefox martial spirit at the age of 9. Firefox, a second rank martial spirit, is the signature martial spirit of those in the bloodline of the Tang clan. The types of bloodline martial spirits are scarce; aside from the Firefox, there is the royal Qin family’s bloodline spirit- the G.o.d Binding Lock, first rank martial spirit. A newly awakened G.o.d Binding Lock will already be able to enhance a person’s training abilities by half fold. That is something an average person can’t even dream of.”

As he spoke, Qu Chu sighed as his eyes looked at Lin Mu Yu with sympathy, “You and I are both average people without that kind of ancestral bloodline, so we can only count on our own blood and sweat to train our martial spirits.”

“Right.”

Lin Mu Yu nodded. Qin family’s martial spirit was as strong as he had expected. He thought back to the fight between the group of G.o.d realm warriors and the Seven Star Emperor, where the leader Qin Yi had used a G.o.d Binding Lock. However, although it was extremely powerful, it was still no match for the Seven Star Emperor.

……

The three mounted riders quickly sped toward their destination. Before the crack of dawn, they had already entered the Seven Star Forest and arrived at the base of a small mountain. Hitching his warhorse next to him, Qu Chu led Lin Mu Yu and Tang Xiao Xi up the mountain. When they finally reached the small peak, they could already see the glowing whiteness rising from the horizon.

“Lin Mu Yu!” Qu Chu yelled.

“Here.”

“Manipulate the energy in your body and gather all that you can control in front of your chest. Quickly!”

“Yes!”

Lin Mu Yu took a deep breath and started to gather as much energy as he could. Countless particles pooled at his chest but like what the instructor in the Temple had said, his heaven sealed physique will not allow energy to run smoothly once they exited his energy center. The pressure started to build up as a suffocating feeling revolved around his chest. It felt like the pool of condensed energy was going to crush his ribs.

“Aghh…” He forcefully endured the excruciating pain as sweat rained down from his face.

“Now, release the power and relax your body. Release the energy buildup out of your chest!” Qu Chu’s voice was stern as usual.

Lin Mu Yu huffed as energy seeped out of his chest while his s.h.i.+rt flapped around wildly.

Tang Xiao Xi sat on a nearby rock and smilingly watched Lin Mu Yu train. She also released her martial spirit, and a delicate flame fox wrapped itself around the girl’s arm. It was like a live creature, occasionally squeaking in a cute way, making the young girl giggle endearingly like a flower in bloom.

……

“This is still not enough…” Qu Chu looked at the energy buildup spilling out of Lin Mu Yu’s chest and wondered, “Martial spirits are born from one’s life essence. Any person should have his or her own martial spirit, but you… why won’t your martial spirit appear?”

Continuing on, he looked to the east and advised, “You have to look towards the sunrise. Look at the sunlight without blinking or shutting your eyes.”

“Yes.”

Lin Mu Yu obediently looked in the direction of the sunrise. The red glow of the sun had pierced the clouds and it was slowly rising.

Qu Chu calmly continued, “The rising sun is of seven colors. You must use your eyes to differentiate the violet ray from its seven colors. When you see the violet light, it will mean that you have captured the most essential part of the sunlight: violet energy. That is a martial artist’s most basic energy. By collecting the essence of the violet energy, you will be able to form your martial spirit more quickly.”

Lin Mu Yu stared hard at the sun in response. A miraculous scene happened a few minutes later, the light inside his eyes began to slowly separate as his gaze captured the small smudge of violet light. His body began to rapidly absorb the violet energy as if he was a dried lake that was graced with rain. Slowly, his body began to glow in a dim violet l.u.s.ter.

“Eh?” Tang Xiao Xi opened her mouth in surprise. She would have never expected Lin Mu Yu to be able to find the violet essence so quickly.

……

An expression of praise appeared on Qu Chu’s face as he watched, “Continue. Gather the violet energy into your chest and try to push your martial spirit once more!”

“Yes!”

The pool of violet energy moved restlessly inside Lin Mu Yu. When he tried to force it out of his body, the energy reacted violently. His chest was in pain as if he had just taken a heavy hit, while his body shuddered as his legs lost strength. With a crash, he fell onto the floor and went into a spasm. His whole body was in pain as a fierce energy in his body was killing the violet energy!

“What…what happened to him?” A hint of worry and anxiety appeared on Tang Xiao Xi’s beautiful cheeks.

Qu Chu clenched his teeth and slapped his palm onto Lin Mu Yu’s back, only to feel an outrageously strong energy ferociously biting back at his energy. This wave of energy was enough to threaten him and was actively attacking his energy in protest. It was as if the energy was saying that Lin Mu Yu’s body was its own, and would not allow Qu Chu to step in.

“As if!”

Qu Chu was not one to sit idly while being ordered around. Naturally unwilling to yield to the energy, he roared and released his Saint realm energy. Instantly it was able to forcefully push down the wave of energy inside Lin Mu Yu’s body.

He quickly took a step back and called out, “Flame Cauldron! To me!”

“Voom!”

The gigantic martial spirit wrapped in layers of raging flames materialized from thin air and enveloped Lin Mu Yu within itself.

Having his body covered in a nearly lethal scorching energy, Lin Mu Yu forced open his eyes and asked in astonishment, “Elder Qu, what are you doing? Are you trying to kill me?”

Qu Chu calmly stated, “No, don’t misunderstand. You are the disciple of my old friend Chu Feng, so I definitely will not try to kill you. This trick is called “Boiler Pig”. Since your martial spirit is unwilling to come out, then I’ll personally force it out! Now that I think about it… many experts had refined martial spirits this way in the past.”