Chapter 20: Father and Son

Three guards were responsible for firing arrows from the hand crossbows, and they rotated duties.

Additionally, five guards were tasked with loading large quantities of arrows into empty hand crossbows. These rapid-fire crossbows were quite intricate, capable of holding ten arrows at a time.

Fortunately, the arrows were easy to manufacture. Each arrow was palm-length, consisting of a wooden shaft with an arrowhead. Meng Chuan had to sever eight thousand arrow shafts daily, so artisans were needed to quickly produce enough shafts for the arrowheads to be fitted.

"Hurry up, everyone."

Every day, servants delivered piles of arrowheads to a workshop.

The workshop had ten apprentices specifically assigned to make the small wooden shafts and attach the arrowheads. As per Meng Chuan's request, a red dot was to be marked on each shaft. When Meng Chuan drew his blade to strike, he would aim precisely for this red dot on the shaft. Making the wooden shafts wasn't difficult, but it was time-consuming. Over time, the hand crossbows also required maintenance, or even replacement.

"Whoosh."

Meng Chuan stood there, instantly drawing his blade. With a flash, his sword cut through the arrow, which had been shot like a phantom. It struck precisely on the red dot on the wooden shaft! The residual energy from the blade left marks on the iron-plated tree trunk.

"Faster."

Every strike aimed for maximum speed.

His physical body, true energy, and blade technique—all were constantly pushed to their potential, driven by an intense desire to be ever faster.

The human body possesses immense potential; the more potential is tapped, the greater the power unleashed. Hundreds and thousands of repetitions in training were far more effective than mere wishing. With each successive strike, his body, true energy, and blade technique became more integrated and seamlessly combined.

Although the progress was subtle, Meng Chuan could discern his improvement by examining the marks left on the iron-plated tree trunk.

Every day, these blade-energy marks slowly moved higher. Even the slightest upward shift filled him with joy. He knew he was improving! His blade technique was getting even faster!

"More accurate, faster," Meng Chuan thought. His training method was luxurious, but the few Unblemished Realm practitioners who used to spar with him were no longer needed. In fact, the silver spent on Meng Chuan each month had decreased somewhat. Hiring Unblemished Realm practitioners was simply too expensive.

For Meng Chuan now, he had already comprehended a secret technique.

The Unblemished Realm sparring partners, who had also comprehended secret techniques, offered him too little assistance.

The second daily training session: movement technique and defensive blade technique!

"Fire!" a servant commanded.

*Swish swish swish swish swish swish!*

Ten Marrow Cleansing Realm guards and two Mortal Transformation Realm guards simultaneously loosed arrows! The arrow shafts were forged from crimson blood mysterious iron, but they lacked arrowheads; instead, their tips were wrapped in cloth.

However, these twelve arrows were fired from within ten zhang, and each Marrow Cleansing Realm guard possessed a thousand jun of strength, not to mention the Mortal Transformation Realm guards. The speed of these arrows was astonishing. With a dense barrage raining down, Meng Chuan could only use his movement technique to evade as much as possible, while simultaneously employing his blade technique to block.

"Fire," another command came. The first row of guards retreated, and the second row, also consisting of ten Marrow Cleansing Realm and two Mortal Transformation Realm guards, simultaneously loosed arrows again.

"Fire." Soon after, the third row, similarly with ten Marrow Cleansing Realm and two Mortal Transformation Realm guards, fired their arrows at once.

There were three rows in total.

They took turns!

After the third row finished firing, the first row was already ready again.

Row after row... each time, they fired simultaneously! And each volley of twelve arrows included two fired by Mortal Transformation Realm practitioners. Those two were more powerful and faster! At close range, this posed a significant threat. Under such an arrow rain, Meng Chuan occasionally took a hit.

He would also grow weary and tired.

But he had to persevere; the more exhausted he became, the more he had to push on.

By forging his body and spirit into one, deepening the mind-body integration, his movement technique would become faster and more agile, and his blade defense quicker!

This training required a total of thirty Marrow Cleansing Realm guards and six Mortal Transformation Realm guards as sparring partners. They sparred for half an hour daily.

Half an hour of continuous arrow rain exhausted the guards, even with three rows rotating. Meng Chuan, too, was pushed to his limit.

When night fell and silence settled, in his small courtyard, Meng Chuan, with his true energy fully recovered, began his final simple training: the Extreme Draw Style!

Meng Chuan stood alone, motionless.

Suddenly—

His body turned into a blur, instantly flashing ten zhang away as a streak of blade light cut through the air. This time, his forward movement was faster, and his blade strike was also faster! It was significantly quicker than during the day.

Why were his movement and blade techniques faster?

It was because the 'Extreme Draw Style' involved unleashing true energy to its maximum extent! True energy was poured into his meridians to their absolute limit, causing a slight swelling pain. He had a feeling that if even a little more true energy were added, his meridians might be damaged. With such an extreme burst of true energy, his movement technique was naturally faster, and his blade technique likewise improved in speed.

However, each execution of the Extreme Draw Style consumed an astonishing amount of true energy.

Yet, its power was immense!

"Once, twice..." Meng Chuan performed the extreme technique repeatedly.

Time after time, his movement technique turned his body into a phantom, leaving behind fleeting streaks of blade light.

"Thirty-one times!" Meng Chuan stopped. The meridians throughout his body, which had channeled the burst of true energy, felt somewhat swollen and sore, but there was no stinging pain.

"My true energy, when unleashed with reckless abandon, can only sustain thirty-one repetitions of the Extreme Draw Style," Meng Chuan mused. "According to the Daoist academy's teachings, the physical body is remarkable; bones and muscles grow stronger with training. Similarly, meridians, when subjected to extreme training, will gradually become wider and more resilient. The extreme bursts of true energy will also stimulate the meridians to constantly adapt."

"I need my meridians to withstand even stronger bursts. Then, in a true life-or-death battle, with a full power burst, my movement technique will be faster, and my blade technique's power will also be quicker to unleash."

Meng Chuan thought to himself.

Training his body to adapt to stronger true energy was another path, distinct from the 'body-mind-skill integration'. Combining both paths would make him even stronger.

These three training methods, along with regular medicinal baths and consuming pills to accelerate marrow cleansing, constituted Meng Chuan's normal daily regimen.

He persevered.

Days passed.

His father had also left Dongning Prefecture on a distant journey. The restaurant his father owned was considered the best in Dongning Prefecture due to a unique seasoning: Lotus Fish Powder! It was a powder made from a very special type of small fish, dried and ground, and when used as a condiment, it could transform ordinary good dishes into unparalleled delicacies. Thus, relying on this 'Lotus Fish Powder,' the restaurant became number one in all of Dongning Prefecture.

However, the other four Godfiend families in Dongning Prefecture were very curious to know exactly what a 'Lotus Fish' was.

But clearly, the Meng family kept it a secret. It was a mysterious small fish that Meng Dajiang had discovered, and he traveled far twice a year, each trip lasting one or two months, solely to bring back this enigmatic 'Lotus Fish Powder.'

This wasn't too bad; Meng Dajiang was only away for three to four months a year. In contrast, Sister July's father, Liu Yebai, spent most of the year away from home.

Two figures moved like phantoms through the wilderness.

"We've reached Yufang Prefecture; we're finally within Wuzhou territory. We should rest in Yufang Prefecture; your injuries need proper rest, and you can't rush any further." The two figures stopped. One was the rather dashing Liu Yebai, and the other was a much thinner Meng Dajiang.

Meng Dajiang was clad in black. Having lost weight, his physique now resembled his younger self, and he looked considerably more handsome.

His face was pale, and he couldn't help but cough softly.

"Cough, cough," Meng Dajiang coughed, covering his mouth, but blood splattered onto his palm.

"You truly push yourself too hard," Liu Yebai couldn't help but say.

"Chuan'er is about to enter the Mortal Transformation Realm. I must accumulate enough merits," Meng Dajiang replied.

Liu Yebai shook his head. "You've faced death countless times, risking your life for years, only to exchange all your merits for a single 'Ice Heart Fruit' just to lay a Godfiend foundation for your son. Is it worth it?"

Meng Dajiang smiled wearily. "My greatest pride in this life is my son. For Chuan'er, any sacrifice is worth it!"