Chapter 108: Chapter 108: A Treasure That Causes War
It was early the next morning by the time Han Qiubai had gotten Tao Lang settled. She had no intention of reporting her junior’s presence to the Martial Arts Administration Bureau; there was no guarantee they didn’t have a traitor in their midst.
Tao Lang’s injuries were severe. The main issue was a knife wound on his torso, which was imbued with a corrosive fire-type energy that was difficult to cleanse. Without the proper medicine, he could only rely on his own body to regulate and purge the affliction little by little.
Han Qiubai rubbed her forehead in frustration. Although Tao Lang had called for backup, it was too far away to solve their immediate problem. She needed to rally all available forces now.
As she thought, she recalled Yan Sea, the martial arts teacher from No. 2 High. She had seen him in the suburbs, and his Qi Blood, as powerful and untamed as a dragon’s, had left a deep impression on her.
Han Qiubai judged inwardly. ’In a fight to the death, I’d have a hard time winning against him.’
’I’ll pay him a visit, then. It’s a good chance to check on Yu Fei’s condition, too.’
...
"This is..."
Yan Sea and Yu Fei huddled around the table, greedily sniffing at the processed, dark green leaves inside a tin box.
The scent alone was enough to clear one’s mind and invigorate the spirit.
Su Yue’s expression was alight with pride as she looked at Yan Sea and Yu Fei.
"This is twenty-year-aged Enlightenment Tea, a full three taels of it!"
Yu Fei didn’t understand the significance of that, but seeing Yan Sea’s shocked expression, he guessed it must be priceless.
"How much would this be worth in cash?"
He was curious.
Su Yue shot Yu Fei a look. Before she could speak, Yan Sea explained.
"It’s a priceless treasure. To say it’s worth a kingdom would be an understatement. According to the old histories, a warlord once started a war over ten-year-aged Enlightenment Tea, leading to hundreds of thousands of casualties."
Hearing this, Yu Fei’s eyes widened and he sucked in a sharp breath. "Hiss... Then this one...? It’s twenty years old! That’s far too valuable!"
He looked up at Su Yue again. He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but this teacher’s wife of his, who seemed to have appeared out of thin air, looked like she was radiating a golden light from head to toe.
Then he glanced at the plain, dark-skinned Yan Sea next to him, who just looked like he’d never seen anything.
’It’s a complete mystery,’ Yu Fei thought. ’So why exactly did Su Yue fall for Yan Sea? Was it a charity case?’
Yan Sea fiddled with the box. "For such a precious, top-tier martial arts resource," he asked doubtfully, "why is it in a tin for high-calcium milk powder for the middle-aged and elderly? And it was sent by express mail? You could dispatch a top-tier special forces team to escort this, and I’d still think the security was a little thin.
An ordinary Grandmaster would probably lose their mind over twenty-year-aged Enlightenment Tea!"
Su Yue also tapped the tin box and said wistfully, "People like us could never understand someone at my grandfather’s level."
Yu Fei listened quietly from the side. ’Yeah, I thought it was strange too.’ Looking at the packaging, who would have thought that a common tin box you could find anywhere on the street would contain something so precious. ’Looks like my teacher’s wife’s grandfather is a truly incredible person.’
Just as he was thinking this, Su Yue turned to him.
"Yu Fei, today you’ll use this twenty-year-aged Enlightenment Tea to aid your training. Let’s see what effect it has."
Yu Fei hesitated. "Ms. Su, I..."
Su Yue patted his shoulder. "Don’t overthink it. You said yourself that perfecting your Sword Nurturing Skill is crucial for your path in the Sword Dao. And whether or not you can form the Tribulation Sword Dao Foundation will determine if your teacher and I can become Grandmasters. On this matter, the three of us are all in the same boat. If one succeeds, we all succeed."
"So, Yu Fei, we can’t give up on even the slightest possibility of increasing your chances of success!"
Listening to Su Yue’s encouragement, Yu Fei nodded and didn’t refuse again. But he knew in his heart that he owed them an immense debt of gratitude. It didn’t matter that his progress was tied to their own mental states; a favor was a favor, and he would engrave this one in his memory.
"Alright, I need to prepare this top-tier resource. You can’t just brew a twenty-year-aged Martial Arts Tea with boiling water like you would an ordinary Enlightenment Tea. I have some Spirit Liquid that should just barely do the trick. Wait here a moment."
With that, Su Yue picked up the box to leave, but she suddenly stopped, shook the tin, and ordered Yan Sea, "This is too valuable. I’m leaving its security to you."
Yan Sea nodded, and with a WHOOSH, he leaped out the window to stand guard.
While waiting for Su Yue, Yu Fei didn’t train. Instead, he followed his usual routine: he lit three sticks of Concentration Incense, laid the Cyan Lotus Sword across his lap, and entered a deep state of meditation.
Treasures like this, which temporarily boosted one’s comprehension, were always most effective on the first use. He had to get himself into the best possible state.
...
"Are you ready?"
When he opened his eyes again, Su Yue was holding a cup of emerald-green tea. The color was deep and mesmerizing. Now, it only had a faint fragrance, having lost the outward signs of its wisdom-enhancing properties.
Yu Fei’s mind was as still as an ancient well, his expression serene. He had adjusted his state to its absolute peak.
"I’m ready!"
Su Yue looked at him hopefully. "Good. I’ve used a special technique to lock all of the tea’s efficacy within the liquid, so just drink it directly. Also, spiritual items like this work best when you follow the course of nature, so you don’t need any other resources to assist you. There’s no need for the Soul-Calming Dew or Concentration Incense."
"Alright!"
"I’ll leave you to it, then. Focus on your state of mind!"
Yu Fei regulated his breathing for a moment, calming the last ripple in his mind before drinking the cup of Enlightenment Tea.
BOOM!
It was as if the universe was being born. Yu Fei’s mind went blank as the myriad things of the world flowed through it, profound and mysterious.
Relying on his indomitable will, as if resisting the gravitational pull of an entire world, Yu Fei struggled to form a sword seal.
CHI!
The chaotic torrent of all creation surged endlessly. Yu Fei was swept away in its midst, feeling as if he had grasped the ultimate principles of the world, yet the moment he tried to focus on them, the understanding vanished.
At that very moment, a dark, obscure aura that could suppress all of creation descended upon his spiritual space like a sovereign over all under heaven.
Spurred by this crisis, the countless thoughts empowered by the Enlightenment Tea snapped out of their chaotic state. They all began exploring how to strengthen his own Sword Intent. Innumerable ideas converged, collided, and sublimated.
Under the threat of the third Sword Intent—the one that annihilated all things—Yu Fei’s mind grew ever clearer.
With the sevenfold boost to his neural reactions provided by [Super Speed Reaction], he continuously adjusted the characteristics of his Sword Intent, discarding one wrong answer after another.
’Almost there!’
He had a strong premonition. He had been overwhelmed by this Sword Intent time and time again, so he was intimately familiar with its characteristics.
It stagnated all things. It was vast and boundless. It was formless and intangible, yet incomparably sharp.
’So... from the start, I shouldn’t be thinking about how to defeat it. This Sword Intent was left behind by an eighth-realm Grandmaster. The martial wisdom it contains isn’t something a rookie like me, with less than a year of training, could possibly find a flaw in.’
Yu Fei’s eyes grew brighter and brighter.
’What I need to figure out is how to survive under such immense power...’
Time seemed to slow in his spiritual space, but in reality, it was moving at an incredible speed. At the last possible moment before his own Sword Intent completely vanished, Yu Fei finally found the spark of inspiration he was searching for. Aided by the Enlightenment Tea, he successfully completed the transformation of his Sword Intent!
"Illusion and reality..."
