Era of Mist

Chapter 243 -242: Nurturing the Origin and the Dream Training Ground

The tightly solidified block of his consciousness quietly loosened, peeling off an entire outer layer like an onion. The layer fell into his sea of spirit, where it silently melted and fused, becoming one with it. At that moment, Shi Tiexin felt the very essence of his being had undergone a significant improvement.

Although he hadn’t tested it yet, Shi Tiexin had a clear sense that his stamina recovery rate, and even his healing speed, were a full quarter faster than they were before.

Then again, ‘faster’ didn’t seem quite right. A more accurate description was that it was as if another quarter of himself had appeared out of thin air to help him recover stamina and repair damage.

Combined with the one-quarter boost from the Champion Scholar Stone, the total one-half enhancement was already incredibly obvious. It was practically a permanent +50% recovery buff. The effect would persist even if he crossed world lines or traversed different possibilities.

‘The key is…’—Shi Tiexin glanced again at his remaining task list—’there isn’t just one Destiny Task. I can keep completing them in the future, and each one will surely bring further benefits.’

‘Folks of Tumu Castle, I, Shi Tiexin, am about to make it big!’

“In that case, my congratulations,” Fujiwara Jizhen said, pulling Shi Tiexin from his thoughts. “Achieving one’s dream is a truly enviable feat.”

Shi Tiexin looked at the Car God earnestly. “Let’s race again someday. Next time, it’ll be on a course of your choosing. I hope that one day, we can have a proper rematch at the national, or even the world, racing championship.”

A flicker of emotion crossed Fujiwara Jizhen’s eyes as he looked up. “Will we really get that chance?”

“We will,” Shi Tiexin said with conviction. “Order will be restored, and peace will return. Dreamers will line up at the starting line again. The lost soul of racing will, in the end, find its way back.”

“I hope you’re right.” Fujiwara Jizhen took out a rice ball. “Eat.”

MMM-MMM, GULP.

“Mr. Black Venerable.”

“Hm?”

“You’re quite a gentle person, you know.” Fujiwara Jizhen flicked his hair back and offered his profile. “If I were a girl, I’d confess my love to you under a cherry blossom tree.”

…

“Get lost.”

…

“Oh.”

That afternoon, a bombshell piece of news swept through the streets like the wind.

Black Venerable had challenged the Car God. They’d faced off in a high-speed duel outside Tokyo City, and Black Venerable had emerged victorious, becoming the new strongest racer!

The news sent the entire street scene into an uproar. People knew a battle between Black Venerable and the Car God was inevitable; Black Venerable had long since taken a stance of Sword Pointing toward the Car God. But nobody expected it to happen so soon, so suddenly.

There were no spectators, no witnesses, and no prior warning, but no one doubted the truth of the matter. At the same time Black Venerable’s camp released the news, the Car God, Fujiwara Jizhen, also publicly stated that he had indeed raced against Black Venerable.

As for the race’s outcome, his exact words were: “I was defeated without regret, and I lose without complaint. The throne at the pinnacle of street racing now belongs to the Black Venerable.”

The entire street scene erupted.

The old king has made way for the new!

Black Venerable, a master racer and a powerful figure all in one, had become the undisputed new king of the Tokyo streets!

In an instant, Black Venerable’s reputation on the streets soared to an unrivaled peak. His faction underwent a massive expansion, with an endless stream of hopefuls flocking to join him each day. Other top racers sent messages of congratulations, inviting him out for food and drinks to build a connection.

So, what was the new king of the streets, the legendary Dark Night Black Venerable, doing now?

He was cashing in.

He spent five points of Celestial Golden Light, and his basic Essence Nourishment Technique officially reached the Perfect state. Another star appeared in the azure sky.

“Change your Cultivation Technique already!” The Inscription Board was adamant. “Immediately! Right now! Switch!”

Although the Inscription Board was insistent, Shi Tiexin felt that his basic Essence Nourishment Technique was finally more useful than before.

‘I can gain ten wisps of essence from a single meal now?’ Shi Tiexin sensed the state of the False Core in his lower abdomen; it was already much larger than a quail’s egg. When he circulated his energy, he could feel it was approaching the size of a chicken’s egg. Shi Tiexin had an increasingly clear premonition that once the False Core reached the size of an egg, he would advance to the next stage of essence cultivation.

The Origin Core stage.

As the False Core grew, the imperceptible heat it radiated also slowly intensified, and the resulting enhancement to his physical body grew in tandem. Now, Shi Tiexin could throw a heavy punch that whistled audibly through the air using pure physical strength, without channeling any essence.

Moreover, the increased efficiency in essence nourishment wasn’t the only thing the perfect-level basic Essence Nourishment Technique had given him.

What made Shi Tiexin even happier was that it had granted him a nice attribute.

[Attribute Activated: Yuan Cultivation +1]

[Yuan Cultivation: By cultivating the Yuan, Essence is nourished. With formed Essence, the Yuan becomes self-sufficient.]

The attribute’s explanation wasn’t very clear, but Shi Tiexin definitely felt a difference. Previously, when his Essence Nourishment Technique was at its limit, the high-intensity refinement of eight wisps of essence per meal always made him feel like his digestive system was on the verge of collapsing.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t handle it, but he always felt a faint discomfort, as if he were constantly teetering on the edge of a crash, afraid he’d suffer some side effect at any moment.

But once the Yuan Cultivation attribute appeared, that vague discomfort vanished. Even when taking in ten wisps of essence from a single meal, he still felt perfectly comfortable, inside and out.

‘That’s good enough for me.’

After finishing today’s set of exercises, he checked the time and saw it was past twelve. Shi Tiexin stretched and decided to go to bed. He had gained a lot today and was in a very pleasant mood.

‘What should I do tomorrow?’

‘Wang Dafu has already agreed to hand over the Ouyang brothers, so it looks like their value has been fully extracted. Tomorrow, I’ll arrange to meet Officer Gao and hand the two of them over alive. Let him take them back home to face trial.’

‘That’ll be even more satisfying.’

With these thoughts in mind, Shi Tiexin closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.

In the instant before he drifted off, that image seemed to appear before his eyes again. Within a line, a bright point of light was pulsing, breathing, awakening, as if transmitting some kind of message.

At the border between dream and wakefulness, Shi Tiexin seemed to hear a voice.

“Hone your body, steel your will, and elevate your character!”

‘Huh?’

Shi Tiexin’s eyes snapped open. He found himself on… ‘a sports field?’

‘No, not a sports field. It’s a training ground.’

The ground here was covered in sand, with rows of training equipment lining the edges. Overhead, a scorching sun beat down, so hot that no one would want to stay for even a moment. The gravel underfoot felt like it was trying to roast his feet; standing on it for more than five minutes was torture.

And in this scorching heat, a lean, powerful man stood before him, motionless under the blazing sun with his head held high and chest out. His face was stern and rigid, his expression serious and exacting, his gaze sharp and formidable.

“Attention!”

The man barked the order, and Shi Tiexin reflexively snapped to attention, his posture perfect and meticulous.