Free Web NovelChapter 330: Chapter 136: Advancement in Strength, Lingxi Gives a Lecture
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, half a month had passed. It was now mid-January.
The winter chill grew more piercing, and the snow on Lingxi Peak had thickened. A cold wind howled through the mountains, yet it could not dampen the disciples’ fervor for their cultivation.
In the dead of night, the base of Lingxi Peak was exceptionally tranquil. The only sound was the mournful cry of the wind sweeping through the pines and cypresses.
In a remote clearing beside the frozen creek, a lone figure moved, endlessly rising and falling.
Yang Jing was dressed in simple training attire. As his fists and feet flew, his Mountain-Shattering Fist techniques grew more practiced and fluid. Each punch he threw carried a sharp gust of wind, and the sound of it tearing through the air was exceptionally clear in the silent night.
His fists and feet moved with the force of a tiger. His internal energy circulated without the slightest hint of stagnation, and both his power and speed had improved significantly since half a month ago.
After another hour of practice, Yang Jing slowly lowered his fists and stood still. His chest heaved slightly, and the breath he exhaled condensed into a thick white mist before instantly dissipating in the cold wind.
He was already drenched in sweat from head to toe. The short hair on his forehead was soaked through, plastered to his cheeks.
The back of his training attire was completely soaked, clinging to his powerful, upright frame and outlining the lean, firm lines of his muscles. Even his neck was covered in fine beads of sweat that dripped continuously down his jawline.
Yang Jing caught his breath and walked to the edge of the creek. In the dead of winter, the stream had long since frozen into a thick sheet of ice. Its surface, covered in a thin layer of snow, glinted with a cold, white light.
He raised a hand and clenched it into a fist, his arm muscles tensing slightly. Then, he slammed his fist into the ice. A crisp CRACK echoed as the ice shattered, revealing the gurgling stream beneath.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Yang Jing stripped off his soaked outer tunic, tossed it onto a rock on the bank, and, left in only his underclothes, leaped into the stream.
The frigid water instantly enveloped him, a deep chill spreading across his skin. For Yang Jing, however, this severe cold was no obstacle at all.
A Martial Artist’s physique far surpasses an ordinary person’s. Their qi and blood burn as vigorously as a furnace. This icy water was nowhere near cold enough to harm his body. In fact, it washed away the fatigue from his training. The bone-chilling coolness that swept over his skin actually felt exceptionally refreshing, dissipating much of his body’s sweltering heat.
Over the past half a month, through casual strolls and chats with fellow disciples, Yang Jing had more or less familiarized himself with the rules and atmosphere of the Xuanzhen Sect.
While the sect’s hierarchy was strict, it wasn’t inflexible or overly harsh. As long as one didn’t commit cardinal sins like betraying the sect or harming fellow disciples, there were few restrictions on their daily lives. The outer disciples enjoyed a relative amount of freedom.
He had seen many disciples casually washing up and training in remote parts of the mountains, so he had shed his initial reservations.
This clearing by the creek was secluded and empty. In the dead of night, not a single human voice could be heard. This was far from the first time he had bathed in the icy water here.
During the day, he used the sect’s Training Room to practice. After dark, outer disciples were no longer permitted to use the Training Rooms, so Yang Jing would train and wash up here. This place had gradually become his own secret, nocturnal training ground.
The cold stream flowed over his skin, washing away the heat from his training as Yang Jing closed his eyes, savoring the rare, refreshing feeling.
Suddenly, a faint sound drifted from the dense forest in the distance—CRACK. It sounded like a dry twig being carelessly snapped underfoot. The noise was subtle yet clear, and jarring in the silent night.
Yang Jing’s five senses were already far sharper than an ordinary person’s, his hearing especially acute. The moment the sound registered, he snapped his eyes open. His muscles tensed instantly as he subconsciously glanced in the direction of the noise.
The night was dark. In the dense woods, branches crisscrossed, creating a mottled play of light and shadow that obscured his vision. As he stared intently, he thought he glimpsed a flash of white deep within the forest. It was as quick as an illusion, vanishing in an instant behind the screen of leaves and branches.
This sent a jolt of alarm through him, and an inexplicable chill crept up his spine. ’It’s so late,’ he thought. ’Who would be out here in this desolate place? Don’t tell me I’ve run into a ghost.’
He blinked hard, then rubbed the corners of his eyes and stared intently at the spot again. But the woods were silent. There was nothing but the swaying shadows of leaves and branches in the wind, completely empty and devoid of any movement.
Yang Jing frowned, filled with doubt. ’Was I just seeing things? Maybe I’m just exhausted from training.’
When it came to ghosts, Yang Jing didn’t know what to think.
The education he received in his past life had taught him there were no such things as ghosts and gods; every strange phenomenon had a rational explanation. But now, having personally experienced something as inconceivable as transmigration, what else in this world could be considered impossible?
Besides, his very arrival in this world was inextricably linked to some sort of suspected paranormal entity. The original owner of this body had been scared to death by a bizarre presence that appeared out of nowhere in his family’s abandoned old mansion. That was the only reason he had been able to transmigrate here.
Yang Jing had long planned to return to that old mansion and investigate thoroughly once he became powerful enough. He wanted to find out what had scared the body’s original owner to death and finally put the matter to rest.
But he had never dared to make the journey. Even after breaking through to a higher realm of power, he still lacked confidence when faced with such an unknown, bizarre entity. The fear of the unknown was far more intimidating than any visible enemy.
He just couldn’t believe that a ghost would appear within the Xuanzhen Sect.
This wasn’t some ordinary mountain village. This was the top Martial Arts Sect in all of Jintai Prefecture, a major Taoist Sect. Experts were as common as clouds, with numerous masters in the Qi Eating Realm. The Elders, Peak Masters, and the Sect Leader were even more unfathomably powerful.
If there truly were any evil spirits or ghosts, the sect’s experts would have detected and eliminated them long ago. ’How could one possibly be lurking within the sect’s grounds, let alone appear right where I’m training?’
