Chapter 144: Chapter 131: Archery Progress
Let’s analyze the provided text and prepare for translation:
### Step 1: Contextual Analysis
Literary genre: Chinese cultivation/martial arts fantasy (xianxia/wuxia)
Language style: Modern casual narrative with some technical martial arts terminology
Tone: Mostly casual and character-focused, with descriptive elements about food preparation and sensory experiences
Plot keywords: Cultivation breakthrough, martial arts practice, celebration, sensory perception training, archery skills
Characters:
- Wu Liangchen (武良辰): Male protagonist, experienced martial artist, helping others improve
- Yang Lian’Er (杨莲儿): Female character who recently had a breakthrough in her cultivation
- Wu Mengchan (武梦婵): Female character, Liangchen’s sister, beginner in martial arts training
- Aunt Fan (樊姨): Mentioned character, appears to be important to Lian’Er but not present in the scene
### Step 2: Translation and Polishing
Now I’ll translate the text carefully following all the provided rules, paying special attention to glossary terms, logical consistency, and ensuring the text flows naturally in English.
I’ll do a line by line translation first:
As Wu Liangchen looked at Yang Lian’Er standing before him and felt the surging aura of a Martial Artist emanating from her body, he paused briefly before smiling lightly.
"Congratulations! How does it feel to break through to the second realm?"
Yang Lian’Er was grinning from ear to ear. "Hehe, how should I put it? It’s absolutely amazing."
She raised her arms enthusiastically and said with animated gestures, "I feel like my entire body is filled with power now. I could kill a tiger with a single punch."
Wu Liangchen watched her with a gentle smile, not finding anything inappropriate about her current state.
In truth, she was already showing remarkable restraint.
Many Martial Artists couldn’t sleep for several days after breaking through to a new realm, their excitement was so overwhelming.
After all, in this world, a Martial Artist’s strength was directly linked to wealth, status, power, and even romantic prospects.
So achieving a breakthrough was even more thrilling than being accepted into the capital’s center of power in his previous life.
Only Wu Liangchen could remain so composed.
Because he was used to it!
After jumping around excitedly for quite some time, Yang Lian’Er finally calmed down a bit and then solemnly addressed Wu Liangchen.
"Thank you for your guidance earlier. If I had to figure it out on my own, it might have taken much longer to break through."
"Don’t mention it. I only shared some basic techniques; your own effort made the real difference."
Wu Liangchen was rather impressed by Yang Lian’Er’s aptitude.
After all, he had only given her a few casual pointers, yet in just a few days, she had successfully broken through.
While she had certainly built a solid foundation before, such quick success would have been impossible without remarkable comprehension ability.
No wonder she had once boasted about mastering the basics in just one month.
It was only later, due to her excessively lazy and undisciplined nature, with her mind completely elsewhere, that her Cultivation had stagnated.
Now, after experiencing these series of major changes, Yang Lian’Er’s temperament had become much more steady, making her breakthrough a natural progression.
While Yang Lian’Er was chattering away, Wu Liangchen noticed his sister’s envious gaze from a distance and felt a stirring in his heart.
He had been searching for a Cultivation Technique that would be most suitable for his sister, but had been unsuccessful so far. Left with no choice, he had taught her stance training methods, and now after several days, he wondered how her practice was progressing.
Since he had some time now, Wu Liangchen asked, "Mengchan, you’ve been practicing stances for several days now. How do you feel?"
Hearing her brother’s question, Wu Mengchan shyly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Umm, it feels good. My appetite has even increased a bit."
"Show me your practice!"
So Wu Mengchan began to demonstrate in front of Wu Liangchen.
Although her movements were still somewhat clumsy, every stance was remarkably precise. It was obvious that she had been practicing strictly according to the key points Wu Liangchen had originally taught her.
Wu Liangchen nodded inwardly, knowing he couldn’t expect someone with no martial arts foundation to achieve significant results in such a short time.
In fact, Wu Mengchan’s current level already pleasantly surprised him.
After pointing out and correcting a few errors, Wu Liangchen smiled and said, "It’s still early enough today. I’ll order some dishes, and we can have a drink to celebrate."
Neither of the women objected.
This small courtyard was adjacent to Moqin Pavilion, so shortly after calling out, a young maidservant delivered several exquisite dishes and wine.
High-class brothels like Moqin Pavilion had their own kitchens, each with distinctive features, which earned them the name "hall cuisine."
Dinghai City’s lawless district had these as well, though they weren’t as flourishing as in Huangpu Guard and hadn’t yet developed into a major culinary style.
Huangpu Guard’s hall cuisine was unique, emphasizing intricate preparation and refined flavors. They would go to great lengths to achieve subtle taste differences, never cutting corners, which made the prices extremely high.
Wu Liangchen didn’t particularly care for this approach. He preferred a steaming bowl of milky-white lamb soup with sprinkled green onions, accompanied by freshly baked flatbread—one bowl could soothe even the most exhausted body and mind.
This hall cuisine was too fussy and too refined, often becoming merely a tool for showing off wealth and skill, losing the essence of the dish.
However, today’s small dishes were truly excellent, especially the fried fresh mushrooms. They used high-quality white mushrooms, carefully torn into strips and quickly blanched in hot water after squeezing out the moisture.
Then a batter was made with flour, eggs, and salt.
Oil was heated in the wok, and when it reached 70% heat, the mushrooms were coated in batter and fried.
When the outer layer turned golden, they were ready to be removed.
Once placed on a plate and sprinkled with salt and chili powder, the simple appetizer perfect for drinking was complete.
One bite delivered a crispy, aromatic experience—truly an ideal companion to alcohol.
The three of them ate the dishes and drank while chatting leisurely.
Outside, a fine drizzle continued to fall, the gentle patter of rain against the window creating a peaceful atmosphere throughout the world.
Perhaps from happiness or drinking too quickly, after just a few cups, Yang Lian’Er was already showing signs of intoxication.
She gazed out the window dreamily, a touch of melancholy appearing on her flushed face, her eyes slightly reddened.
Wu Liangchen knew she must be thinking about Aunt Fan.
However, he didn’t mention it, instead raising his cup and saying softly, "It’s getting late. Let’s finish this last cup and go to bed."
After finishing their drinks, the two women returned to their rooms.
Wu Liangchen sat alone by the window, slowly sipping his wine while quietly listening to the sounds outside.
The rain was growing heavier, mixed with occasional whispers of wind.
An ordinary person might not notice anything special.
But to Wu Liangchen’s ears, these seemingly monotonous sounds of wind and rain carried distinct qualities.
First, the raindrops made different sounds—rain falling on roof tiles created an entirely different sound from rain hitting the ground.
Second, the wind sounds varied too, making faint howling noises as it passed through the fire-warding stone beasts on the eaves, while creating rustling sounds when sweeping through the bamboo grove at the corner of the wall...
These sounds rose and fell like tides around Wu Liangchen’s ears, and in this state, he suddenly heard a faint rustling from the distant corner of the wall.
Though dozens of paces away, the sound was remarkably clear to Wu Liangchen with his senses extended to their limits.
A rat!
Upon identifying its precise location, Wu Liangchen had a sudden inspiration. He picked up the bow and arrow beside him and, without even aiming, shot purely by instinct toward a specific direction outside the window.
The arrow pierced through the rain curtain, instantly reaching the corner of the wall, pinning a rat that had just emerged from its hole to forage for food.
[Sun-Chasing Archery Skill proficiency +27]
Seeing this notification appear before his eyes, Wu Liangchen exhaled softly, knowing his understanding of archery had reached another level.
