My Martial Arts Level Never Drops

Chapter 229: Chapter 132: Treasure Fish?

The ’Mental Pile’ entry on his status panel was now over four thousand. He had tried cultivating it, and now, each Standing Pile session only increased it by twenty to thirty points at most.

By his calculations, it would take him just over five months to break through.

But in the Prefecture City, without Bee Meat... there was no telling how long that would be delayed.

”But... how will I find you when the time comes?”

Qin Fang hesitated, still worried.

”Don’t worry. The Prefecture City is divided into an Inner City and an Outer City. Your senior sister bought us a house in the Inner City, so we’ll go there directly... You can just find us using the address.”

The Master gave Qin Fang an address.

Qin Fang was conflicted. He asked hesitantly, ”Do we really have to do it this way?”

”This is the best way,” the Master said with a nod.

Qin Fang hesitated for a long time before finally letting out a soft sigh and agreeing.

’Thinking about it carefully, this really is the best way.’

’Setting off for the Prefecture City after reaching Huajin is indeed better than going now... Once I can’t advance any further, the need for Bee Meat and the liquid won’t be so urgent.’

When Qinghe and Xiao Jiu heard that Qin Fang wasn’t going, their first instinct was to stay behind as well.

But the Master immediately shot down their idea.

”If you stay here, you’ll only be a distraction for him. I know your intentions are good, but there’s no need to rush things.”

Hearing this, the two young women’s faces flushed red.

But they didn’t dare go against the old master’s wishes, so they could only reluctantly agree.

Monkey and Xiao Qi would also be traveling with the Master and the others to the Prefecture City.

「The next day.」 The Master and the others set out. Qin Fang escorted them all the way to the mountain path, where the Master waved a hand and said, ”Alright, that’s far enough. Go back and focus on your cultivation. You know the way to the Prefecture City, don’t you?”

Qin Fang bowed. ”I have it memorized.”

”Then that’s that.”

The Master waved his hand. Qinghe and Xiao Jiu kept looking back with every few steps.

Xile stood beside Qin Fang, looking at him, then at the departing group, laughing nonstop. ”HAHAHA!”

Eventually, the Master and his group disappeared from view.

Qin Fang let out a light breath. After a moment of silence, he turned and went back to the shelter.

The shelter’s house had been rebuilt, but now, being all alone, it felt a little strange to Qin Fang.

’Even though he had always been a loner before...’

But this period of living in seclusion here with the Master and the others had made him accustomed to having people around.

He took a deep breath. ’I shouldn’t overthink it... Master is right. Breaking through to Huajin before heading to the Prefecture City is the best choice for me... Time to cultivate!’

Qin Fang began his cultivation.

On the mountain path, his Senior Brother finally couldn’t hold back any longer and whispered to their master, ”Master, are we really leaving Junior Brother here all by himself?”

The Master was silent for a moment before sighing softly. ”Your junior brother’s Talent is too good, but his cultivation time has been short. We don’t know what the situation in the Prefecture City is right now, so why make him risk it with us? We’ll go ahead to the Prefecture City and scout things out. If all goes well, then that’s for the best; we can just wait for him there. But if something unexpected happens... we can always turn back. At least we won’t be holding him back, or worse... letting him die young.”

The Master had hit upon the most crucial point.

That was... whether the Prefecture City was safe or not was still unknown.

Although, by logical deduction, since a Great Power had taken action on the True Martial side, it was highly likely that any trouble in the Prefecture City had already been resolved.

But what if?

Coupled with the reasons he had given Qin Fang earlier... these were all the factors that led the Master to decide to have Qin Fang stay behind and only go to the Prefecture City after breaking through to Huajin.

Upon hearing this, the Senior Brother had a sudden realization and nodded in agreement.

’It’s true... Junior Brother’s Talent is too good. It’s not worth the risk.’

After a pause, he couldn’t help but sigh emotionally. ”So, love really does fade, doesn’t it?... Master, I guess I’m not your favorite disciple anymore...”

The Master shot his Senior Brother a look upon hearing this and didn’t bother to reply.

The group continued their slow journey toward the Prefecture City...

...

Time flew by in solitude.

Qin Fang was left alone on Old Ox Back. His daily routine was to cultivate, cultivate, and cultivate some more.

Under these conditions, his Body Refining reached the stage of Perfection!

After his Body Refining reached Perfection, he felt his physical strength ascend to a whole new level.

Although he hadn’t reached Huajin yet, he already had a sense of ’flawless integrity’ throughout his body...

It was a pity he couldn’t use Introspection. Otherwise, he would have seen that his bones, internal organs, and even his meridians were all glowing with a soft white light, possessing a terrifying strength!

A single pump of his heart could send blood surging through his entire body in an instant, causing his heart rate to drop even further.

When he took a deep breath, his lungs would expand dramatically, automatically compressing a large amount of fresh air, enough for him to hold his breath for over an hour.

His appetite was huge, and his stomach churned like a millstone, effortlessly grinding up and digesting any food...

His kidneys...

His spleen...

His liver...

His internal organs were immensely powerful.

And his bones, needless to say, were as hard as jade.

Without realizing it, his Physique had reached a level incomprehensible to ordinary people...

This feeling of constantly growing stronger was intoxicating.

...However, he couldn’t possibly cultivate every single moment; he needed rest too.

And as soon as he rested and relaxed, a pervasive sense of loneliness would creep in...

’I wonder if Master and the others have reached the Prefecture City yet? Have they run into any danger?’

Occasionally, he would also think of Qinghe and Xiao Jiu... He had gotten used to their chirping in his ear, and their sudden absence was hard to adjust to.

So, in his spare time from cultivation, Qin Fang started to find things to do.

He often traveled to and from the swamp country, looking at that terrifying, majestic power to give himself greater motivation.

Then, he went from one mountain village to the next, hoping to see if there were any survivors.

Finally, he went to Wanshui, and then to Fishermen’s.

He had lived in both of these market towns.

But after visiting, he found that both towns were destroyed... not by wind, but by the waves of the Chujiang River.

’That slap nearly changed the course of the Chujiang River; one can only imagine the monstrous waves it must have stirred up. These market towns, located right on the riverbank, naturally couldn’t have survived.’

The houses he had lived in at Fishermen’s and Wanshui were also destroyed in the process.

Then he looked at the River Surface, and a thought crossed his mind...

’...Are there still Treasure Fish, or Demons, in that river?’

And so, he spent his days wandering around when he wasn’t cultivating.

One day, he came again to the ’Five-Finger Swamp Country,’ admiring and marveling at the boundless, majestic power.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly froze and looked down...

From the swamp country hundreds of meters below the cliff, a fiery gleam faintly appeared at the bottom of the water, growing brighter and brighter.

A moment later, a fish glowing with red light leaped out of the water, flashing for an instant in a crimson blaze.

That was...

’A Treasure Fish?!’

Qin Fang’s eyes went wide.