Chapter 218

Pouring in all sorts of herbs and vegetables and simmering it overnight can’t just yield ordinary broth, can it?

The fragrance already blended with a bitter herbal scent and the freshness of the vegetables had our master and disciple drooling while waiting for the rice to boil.

Finally, we ladled the bubbling congee into bowls, cracked a fresh egg in, stirred it up, and voilà, the herbal vegetable egg congee was ready!

Smiles spread across our faces, and after grabbing a spoon that magically appeared from somewhere, we blew on it for a while before finally taking a bite—

“Hmm.”

“Mmm.”

The expressions on our faces were quite something.

“…Haven’t you tasted this before?”

“My master only told me to gulp down elixirs; he never made me herbal congee. Ahem.”

But you see, the herbal congee was not something you dipped your body into—it was meant to be consumed as food.

Naturally, it tasted bland and insipid, with a bit of bitterness mixed in with the fishy smell of various herbs and vegetables.

“Let’s add some seasoning. Do you happen to have any salt?”

“Of course.”

I’m not sure why having salt was a given, but if you’re unsure, you just need to find out.

Qing realized something profound.

I should always carry rock salt and dried herbs with me. And definitely some dried meat too. There’s not a single piece of meat in this!

Adding salt made things a bit better.

After all, simple congee with an egg whisked in and seasoned with salt is delicious on its own.

In fact, the broth was so fishy and bitter that it detracted from the flavor, yet some bizarre herbal congee worth eating was born.

“Hmm. It tastes healthy.”

“The saying where you can eat elixirs like food isn’t a compliment. Elixirs should be consumed as, well, elixirs and shouldn’t be treated like meals.”

Honestly, Qing doesn’t mind eating anything.

When I say ‘anything,’ I mean stuff that would make an ordinary person sick, like rotten rubbish or bugs. So of course, he gulped down the flavorless congee without a problem.

However, the Young Master Cheon Yu-hak was struggling to choke it down, as expected from someone of his noble background.

Still, he reluctantly swallowed a bowl or so of it, but there was still a mountain of congee left that he prepared with abundant care, given his upbringing.

In the end, with his appetite plummeting, Cheon Yu-hak put down his spoon.

He then watched in amazement as Qing devoured everything like it was nothing.

The amount was enough for four adults to fill two bowls each; simply put, Qing gobbled down seven bowls all on his own.

In Qing’s hometown, which was full of entertainment, seeing a beautiful person shamelessly scarfing down food without even tasting it was a spectacle that tickled many.

So impressive that people were willingly tossing money at her, urging her to eat even more.

For the primitive, entertainment-starved folks of the ancient Central Plain, it truly was a new world, an unmissable spectacle to behold.

“They say she’s from a poor background; wow, how does she fit all that in?”

“Oh, this really seems like some nourishing congee. It feels like my vitality is surging up!”

“It’s not nourishing congee; it’s elixir congee! And what you feel surging is definitely reality—just absorb that vital energy.”

“Oh.”

Qing crossed his legs, but since his belly was sticking out so much, he gave up and stretched his legs out, supporting himself with his hands behind him.

After all, Qing’s stomach wasn’t an infinite pouch; it just kept expanding the more he ate.

He may have looked a bit ridiculous, but Qing closed his eyes and contemplated his vital energy.

This was a great chance to observe how elixirs interacted with this monster-like body of his.

Remembering that he was different from others stirred up an unpleasant sadness within him.

But to know how he was different was essential to at least pretend to be human, to act like he belonged to the same species.

Well, I suppose being a living being is good enough, right?

At least I’m not a monster, nor am I something similar; I’m alive, so I can’t be inorganic, right?

Or can I? Are game characters inorganic?

Suddenly, Qing’s head drooped.

Perhaps the elixir’s energy was a bit too potent, as his eyelids felt heavy.

Instead of those filthy thoughts, let’s check out the True Energy…

The energies of the elixir penetrated into his Dantian, merging into the existing True Energies. It felt like they were distributed evenly, except for the ones that had already reached their maximum potential.

At that moment, when Qing operated the Awakening Skill, the remaining energy of the elixir suddenly redirected and concentrated on his True Energy.

If he just ate and left it, the energy would get evenly distributed to the True Energies that hadn’t yet matured; if he focused, it would add to the martial arts training at that time.

But what about others?

“Master? Is this how elixirs usually are?”

“Hmm. If you want me to confirm what you mean by ‘usually,’ you should clarify it first for me to agree or disagree.”

“Well, I’m not too good at explaining. What should it be like normally?”

“The natural energy infused in the elixir spreads outward from the body’s center towards the extremities; roughly about ten percent might remain in the meridians while the rest escapes through the skin.”

So that means he should gather and store the vital energy in his Dantian through his breathing exercises before it all evaded him.

The difficulty of this absorption would vary based on one’s skill in handling their True Energy, which martial arts they practiced, and even the type of elixir would make a difference.

“That’s why martial artists sing praises about the Divine Skills. It produces varied results even after consuming the same elixir, and higher quality elixirs are easier to absorb and don’t burden the meridians. That’s why the Great Elixir is hailed as the best elixir in the world.”

The energy that might remain in the meridians after consuming the elixir isn’t necessarily beneficial; if its properties are rough, it may even damage the meridians and harm the body.

Elixirs in their natural state had these rough traits, hence why people would go through the trouble of refining and consuming them again.

“Now, judging by your jabbering, I take it you’ve absorbed it all? Though, that one bowl didn’t even have that much natural energy anyway. I’ll take a nap outside for a bit, so just soak in there and drink it all up.”

“Is there anything I should watch out for?”

“The prescription says it might sting a bit. But it shouldn’t be unbearable.”

Qing squinted his eyes.

“Now, this is definite, right? It’s a sting, not pain, correct?”

“I’m just relaying what’s written; I haven’t done it myself, so how would I know? According to Muhak’s theory, it should sting a bit, yes?”

Originally, the natural energy from the elixir spreads from the mouth into the digestive system—essentially the body’s center—and from there outward through the skin.

However, the Awakening Skill can also uniquely draw energy through the skin, rather than just through breathing.

Of course, it’s just a unique method and utterly ineffective compared to breathing methods.

This whole notion of absorbing energy through the skin was why practicing the elixir congee was a thing.

Having the energy pierce through the skin would definitely make it sting.

“Records say that once you get used to it, you may feel rather cool and refreshing. You should try it out and let me know what you think. Hmm, oh, you’ll be feeling quite exhausted later on, and don’t forget about your breathing techniques.”

“You really mean breathing techniques?”

“When did I say breathing techniques? I said Yulryu Yeonryeon, you know. Is your ear already fried, you little girl?”

“That’s odd. I’m sure you said it like that…”

“Ah, who would want to hear that? What disciple’s master would want to discuss breathing techniques in this world?”

“Hmm. I guess I must have misheard. Sorry about that.”

Cheon Yu-hak was so confident that Qing was left wondering if he had indeed misheard.

“That container is worth Li Bai’s equivalent. A drop costs several tens of coins. So don’t waste a single drop.”

Cheon Yu-hak reminded him as he headed outside.

Afterward hearing about a drop costing several tens of coins, Qing realized it was indeed no small amount of money.

With that in mind, Qing cautiously immersed himself in the bath.

The bath was filled to the brim, and oddly enough, an itch surged in all at once.

However, that didn’t last long.

Once he started his Awakening Skill, it felt like carbonated drinks were being poured down his throat, and every inch of his skin was burning hot.

But it was just that much.

It wasn’t intolerable, but he also didn’t want to close his mouth. It hurt and stung like chugging a huge glass of carbonated drink, but strangely enough, it was refreshing as well.

—-

By the time he had sucked it all up until no more energy would come out, hours had passed, and it was already dark outside.

Checking his achievements at the Martial Arts Inventory, he found himself at the eighth level of mastery.

Wow, so this is what they mean by a good elixir.

Qing’s martial arts training was determined solely by the total amount of inner strength accumulated through the corresponding training; he had achieved a remarkably high accomplishment.

Cheon Yu-hak, who was unaware of this, was absolutely flabbergasted.

“Eighth level? No way.”

Is this why you need to take in good disciples? Cheon Yu-hak understood that much.

After all, what’s good is good, right?

“Well then, how do you feel? Does your body feel awakened?”

“It still stings…”

It felt like someone stripped a layer of skin off.

His whole body tingled, burned, and pricked, yet at the same time, it felt so refreshing.

“The peripheral veins of the skin may be dulled to the sensation. After a good sleep, you’ll realize why the Awakening Skill is called the practice for awakening the body.”

“Oh? Isn’t it called the Awakening Divine Skill?”

“It’s the Awakening Skill, right? Didn’t I give you the secret manual?”

“The title was ‘Twenty Days of Night Training.’ There was no such mention in the manual…? Where in there does it mention awakening the body by sensing the flow of Heaven and Earth?”

“Isn’t a manual just a bunch of lofty words? That way, each practitioner can come up with their unique interpretation.”

The reason martial arts manuals are often vague is also to avoid imposing strict forms of completion on different individuals.

“So I thought it was Divine Skill….”

I thought it was the Awakening Divine Skill, but it turns out it’s just the Awakening Skill.

No wonder it was golden-colored.

Qing swallowed his words.

It felt oddly like being let down.

“Isn’t Divine Skill just Divine Skill? Does it have to be explicitly written down to be one? Now go get some sleep and find out.”

“What does that mean?”

“To Shintu, attaining the vision of all warriors, the keen sense is what they all aspire for. Though the Awakening Skill might be classed as a third-rate way of accumulating inner strength, as far as awakening one’s sense, there’s no skill in the world that matches it. You’ll be able to feel even the tiniest gust of wind. You’ll know how incredible it feels to perceive the flow of Heaven and Earth.”

“Oh!”

Qing’s eyes sparkled.

Even this gold-grade martial art gives such abilities?

Cheon Yu-hak chuckled at that and then continued, “Starting tomorrow, the Martial World Tournament will begin. You’ll likely be quite busy too, so I might prepare some tonics to sell. Let’s meet again in a week. Are we doing Yulryu Yeonryeon this round? Do you prefer one session or three sessions?”

Then came that horrifying pain…

Qing’s eyes lost their focus.