Chapter Eighteen: Lighting Incense, Burning Paper-Becoming a Dao Master After Starting as a Spirit Walker and Tomb Raider(The Fireworks of Bygone Years)

The difference between having guidance and lacking it is truly immense.

Chen Yushu glanced at his attribute panel, unable to suppress a sigh of admiration in his heart.

The first time Master Qian instructed him, he gained ten points of experience directly.

Just now, after the second round of guidance, he gained another six points.

Although the effect diminished significantly, it was still equivalent to two days’ worth of progress.

Unfortunately, he had reached his limit, and Master Qian had other matters to attend to and left. Otherwise, he would never have let go of such a chance to gain experience so easily.

After a brief rest, Chen Yushu returned to the front courtyard and sought out Steward Zhou to collect the Vitality Nourishing Decoction.

Once again, it was Zhang Ruyun who prepared the medicine for him.

He thanked her, and, just as he had yesterday, drank it all down.

The surging medicinal power quickly replenished his previous exhaustion, spreading throughout his body as steaming heat, filling his limbs and bones.

Without any hesitation, he hurried to the courtyard and began practicing the Medicine King Pillar Technique.

Each move was skillful and smooth.

Sweat trickled down with every motion.

As he practiced, strands of blood and energy flowed into every part of his body like sweet dew, nourishing and strengthening him from head to toe.

Once, twice, three times...

I’ve already mastered the essentials of the Medicine King Pillar Technique and the breathing rhythm; yet after each complete session, I gain a certain insight. After three to five repetitions, my efficiency clearly improves. This speed of progress, this constant feeling of becoming stronger, is simply intoxicating.

Practicing, Chen Yushu watched the experience points on his attribute panel jump higher and higher, feeling elated.

Medicine King Pillar Technique +1

...

It wasn't until the ninth round that he once again felt depleted.

The medicinal power of the Vitality Nourishing Decoction had been exhausted.

He knew he could not continue; his current constitution simply couldn’t support such consumption.

He glanced at the attribute panel.

Medicine King Pillar Technique: Beginner (28/100)

He had gained another nine points of experience.

One dose of Vitality Nourishing Decoction allows me to practice the Pillar Technique nine times, equivalent to nine points of experience.

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If I take into account another dose tomorrow, it will take at least twenty more days to reach the next realm in this Pillar Technique.

Chen Yushu calculated silently, yet felt no disappointment.

This was already far faster than the progress he’d learned from other apprentices.

After all, others didn’t have an attribute panel, couldn’t accumulate experience endlessly, nor could they advance realms without regression, holding the unique trait of permanent mastery.

Lack of innate talent can be compensated by experience.

Of course, the greatest reward is strength.

The Vitality Nourishing Decoction not only allows me to practice the Pillar Technique nine times, but also each session brings a tangible boost in blood and energy, far greater than what normal practice yields.

If yesterday I could easily lift a fifty-pound stone without fatigue,

Today, I can challenge a one hundred... seventy-pound stone.

With confidence, Chen Yushu strode to the stone weighing a hundred pounds, tried to lift it, but it didn’t budge. He blinked, kept his composure, moved to a slightly smaller stone, gritted his teeth, and managed to lift it in one go.

Compared to yesterday, he had gained twenty pounds of strength.

...

Thanks to Master Qian’s special instructions, Chen Yushu’s meal standard improved dramatically. Though there was no lavish meat or fish, it was still much better than the apprentice meals before.

However, in the afternoon, Chen Yushu did not continue practicing the Pillar Technique.

Too much is as bad as too little.

He had to reserve enough energy to complete his afternoon training regimen.

Reading, writing, practicing the art of throwing...

Now, his throwing skill had reached a minor accomplishment, and only throws exceeding ten zhang could truly serve as training.

Space in the courtyard was limited, and many apprentices were busy there, so after informing the steward of the rear courtyard, he switched locations.

The new place was a huge stretch of river sand not far from the rear courtyard.

Beyond the river sand lay the Long River, encircling the entire Jianghuan Town.

The space here was much larger, with many pebbles and quick-moving little crabs in the sand.

These little crabs were sand crabs, with long legs and bodies no bigger than a thumb, scuttling rapidly across the sand.

He picked up a pebble and used these crabs as targets, quickly tossing them.

Bang!

Once in a while, he managed to hit one.

Throwing +1

Of course, most of the time, he missed.

The little crabs were too swift, and the greater distance made his aim less accurate.

But that suits me perfectly.

Ordinary fixed targets can no longer help me gain experience. Moving targets demand far more from my eyesight, reaction speed, and environmental awareness.

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The training effect is naturally much stronger.

Chen Yushu quickly discovered the benefits of practicing here, flinging pebbles one after another.

Throwing +1

...

Throwing experience rose rapidly.

When exhausted, Chen Yushu would take out a wooden rod and write on the ground, simultaneously improving his ‘Reading’ and ‘Calligraphy’ skills.

Though the rate of improvement was much slower than that of throwing, it helped calm his mind quickly.

And instinctively, he felt that reading and calligraphy would prove important, so he wouldn’t neglect them.

Whoosh~

The wind howled across the lake’s surface.

It could mask many sounds, but it would also transmit distant voices.

Don’t come looking for me...

At that moment, as Chen Yushu practiced calligraphy, he suddenly heard a voice.

It sounded somewhat familiar.

Hmm?

Chen Yushu was startled, instinctively raised his head, and looked around.

He soon saw, about seven or eight zhang away, a young man in the apprentice garb of the Willow Family Pharmacy, facing the lake and muttering.

There were even some paper offerings burning on the ground, with three sticks of incense.

Because a patch of shrubs separated them and Chen Yushu had been bent over practicing calligraphy, the other hadn’t noticed him.

It’s him.

Xu Hao!

Chen Yushu quickly recognized the youth—it was Xu Hao, who had been embraced by the ghost all night yesterday.

I know you’re unwilling, and you train hard in martial arts, hoping to avenge your grandfather and your family... but you’re dead now, so don’t come looking for me. It wasn’t me who caused your death...

The wind carried the voice intermittently.

Some words Chen Yushu heard clearly, others were muffled.

Xu Hao stuck the three incense sticks one by one into the ground, used paper strips to stir the burning offerings, making them burn more thoroughly, his voice coming in broken fragments.

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