My Martial Arts Level Never Drops

Chapter 400: Chapter 190: Becoming a Demon?

In the blink of an eye.

Ten days had passed.

Before Qin Fang was a vast mountain range.

He was sitting on a large rock within the mountain range, having just finished meditating.

’A little further, and I should be able to enter the True Essence Realm,’ he thought, his gaze flickering.

He then exhaled lightly.

Flying was naturally fast, but Qin Fang’s current True Essence reserves were still insufficient for sustained travel.

Even after achieving Great Success in Mirror Flower Water Moon, which drastically reduced the True Essence cost of Flying, he could only fly for an hour at most before exhausting his reserves.

Afterward, he would need to slowly recover his True Essence.

If he consumed a True Essence Pill, he could recover quickly.

But without a True Essence Pill, the process was very slow... requiring over two hours of meditation.

’If I could just reach the Primordial Stream Realm, things would be much better,’ Qin Fang thought.

He was no longer the clueless novice he once was. He often attended lectures at the Tempering Martial Hall and now understood the differences between the True Essence Five Realms.

For example, the First Realm of True Essence is the True Species Realm, where one’s True Essence Nature is completely stabilized. For instance, Qin Fang’s True Essence now contained a chilling quality.

With a single thought, his True Essence could surge and instantly freeze a cup of water.

...He was practically human liquid nitrogen!

And the Primordial Stream Realm is the True Essence Second Realm.

Its hallmark is that one’s True Essence circulates automatically, constantly regenerating a small amount.

A Martial Artist at this stage experiences a massive boost in endurance...

’At that point, the journey back to True Martial would probably be much shorter,’ Qin Fang thought.

Over the past ten days, since he had been Flying the entire way, he had actually wasted most of his time meditating and recovering his True Essence.

His actual travel time, by contrast, was quite short.

Of course... Qin Fang hadn’t forgotten his daily cultivation session after midnight.

’However, this cycle of depletion and recovery has actually raised my Root Skill proficiency quite quickly... It’s not far from Great Success now.’

Qin Fang checked the proficiency on his status panel. It had already reached 4891; he was just over a hundred points away from Great Success.

...But after Great Success comes Perfection... Only then could he enter the True Essence Second Realm.

That required 10,000 proficiency points...

...He still had a long way to go.

’I can only hope the Cold Cave at Old Ox Back is actually useful,’ Qin Fang thought with a sigh.

...The closer he got, the more uneasy he felt.

After all, the idea that the Old Ox Back Cold Cave would be useful for his cultivation was just his own speculation.

If it turned out to be useless...

’Well, even if it’s useless, it’s not a huge problem. I’m already in the True Essence Realm, so I should be able to get past the sixty-meter mark... I can see what that thing in the blue haze is. And at the same time... maybe I can try to get my hands on that Treasure Plant,’ Qin Fang mused, his eyes glinting.

He paused no longer and shot through the air.

Flying amidst the towering mountains and precipitous ridges was a wondrous, indescribable feeling.

...Even after being able to fly for over a year, Qin Fang still thoroughly enjoyed the sensation.

It felt as if the entire World was opening its arms to him. It seemed he could go anywhere his eyes could see...

This sense of freedom and liberation was something those who couldn’t fly would find difficult to comprehend.

Another day passed in a flash, and Qin Fang finally entered the True Martial Realm.

He continued along the river, and gradually, familiar sights came into view.

He faintly spotted cooking smoke rising from the mountains. Flying over to investigate, he discovered a small village.

The village had existed before, but it had been destroyed over a year ago, with nearly all its inhabitants, young and old, wiped out.

But now, the village had clearly been refurbished. Some of the most dilapidated houses had been torn down and replaced with new wooden huts... People had moved back in.

Qin Fang saw that there was a surprising number of people...

...These people were likely the previous group of conscripted laborers, along with others who had been recruited and resettled here since.

In ancient times, when a disaster or war turned an area into a ’no-man’s land,’ the Court would find ways to restore the local population and economy.

The most common method was to recruit people from more densely populated regions.

...They would use incentives like tax exemptions, exemption from conscript labor, and provisions of seeds and farming tools to attract the poorer residents of those overpopulated areas.

If there were few volunteers, the Court would resort to forcibly relocating displaced people, or even sending over criminals who had committed non-capital offenses via exile.

...In short, they would never allow the area to remain uninhabited for long.

One couldn’t say True Martial County was of high strategic importance, but it bordered the Chujiang River, possessed well-developed waterways, and served as a branch route connecting Canglan Prefecture to the Outer Mansions. Its geographical location was still quite advantageous.

Naturally, it wouldn’t be left abandoned.

Qin Fang watched for a moment without disturbing the villagers, then shot back into the sky. Not long after, he spotted a newly built market along the river.

The market was surprisingly lively.

Sampans could be seen dotting the Chujiang River.

Fishermen were out on the river, fishing.

...It was already starting to resemble the old markets like Wanshui and Fishermen’s.

...’Is True Martial still plagued by Demons now?’

’What about the Treasure Fish?’

’The county town must be getting rebuilt, right? I wonder where they’ll build it.’

Qin Fang’s mind filled with questions.

In the end, however, he didn’t reveal himself and continued on his way.

Two days later, Qin Fang arrived at Wanshui.

Wanshui had been washed away by the great flood, but on its original site, simple shacks had already been rebuilt.

Someone had even rebuilt a house on the very spot where his small courtyard used to be. After all, the flood had only washed away the original building... The location itself was still ideal for a courtyard, and people weren’t fools.