My Fate Is My Own
Song Shi did not know that Liu Ruxue was intending to nurture him as a Furnace. At this moment, he was considering all kinds of ways to die.
“I don’t have to be killed. I can die on purpose. After all, dying is for resurrection and is not my original intention.”
Song Shi thought about it. “But it’s too difficult to die by myself. Besides, it won’t be good if word gets out.”
Drowning, strangling, falling to his death… Drowning is against his bodily instincts and even if he was strangled to death, he had to find someone to do it. As for falling to his death…
With his physique that was several times that of ordinary people, he would probably have to jump down the cliff.
Even if he jumped off the cliff, he might not even die. He might even be able to pick up some unprecedented martial art skill.
Song Shi thought to himself.
In short, it was a little too difficult to die on his own!
Forget it.
Amidst Song Shi’s dilemma, the coachman sped up his horse and left the southern city gate.
For the next distance, there were wooden buildings in the dye shop along the way, and many of them were businesses of the Song family.
“Old Chai, you don’t have to drive anymore. Go back on your own and give the reins to Big Smart.”
Song Shi had to keep his next actions a secret, hence he let the coachman leave. Song Shi looked at the darkening night sky outside and said, “This time, tell me in one go everything you know about the Postnatal and Connate Realms .”
“Yes, Young Master.”
As Big Smart drove, he said, “The Postnatal realm is mainly to temper the body and refine essence into qi. As for Connate experts, they refine a mouthful of Connate True Qi then easily live hundreds of years like an Earth Immortal.
“Old Liu, I will talk about Postnatal realm first. This realm is divided by the strength of the body or the amount of inner Qi. They correspond to masters who practice external physical techniques or internal energy techniques respectively. If you cultivate it at the same time, you’ll naturally be more powerful. Old Liu, I, belong to this type of people.
“The requirement to enter the Postnatal realm is to first cultivate a mouthful of inner Qi or to train your strength to that of one bull. Then, to stay in the same realm you will need to train to be as strong as three bulls. To perfect the Postnatal realm will require a Herculean amount of strength. If you want to enter into the Connate realm, you will need to have the strength like that of one elephant.”
“Wait, how many ordinary people’s strength equals this aforementioned bull’s strength?”
Song Shi stopped and asked what he was curious about.
“According to the strength of ordinary men, it’s equivalent to six people and is a very powerful amount of strength.”
Big Smart’s answer caused Song Shi to become disappointed. It turned out that his strength was only equivalent to a Postnatal realm who had just started out.
“Are there cultivators in this world?”
Song Shi suddenly asked.
Big Smart was silent. Then, he sighed faintly. “Whether Young Master believes it or not, Old Liu can only say that there is.”
He said with a distant gaze, “This is a group of people favored by the heavens. They are born with the ability to have affinity with the Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth!
“As for us martial arts practitioners, we have to wait until we open the Heavenly Gate when we step into the Connate realm to be able to do so. Even if we do reach the Connate realm, we still can’t compare to the most ordinary cultivator in terms of absorbing the Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth.
“The path of martial arts is really difficult!”
“It’s indeed difficult. There’s a clear difference in quality between the two.”
Song Shi nodded. Although he said that, he was still very happy that he had a spiritual root. At least his starting point was higher than the end point that many martial arts practitioners could never reach in their entire lives.
“My life is up to me. Even without the immortal root, I, Old Liu, will become a Connate expert sooner or later!”
Big Smart raised its head and expressed his ambition.
“Sure, I have high hopes for you.”
Song Shi smiled and said. Big Smart was touched.
He had said this to other martial arts practitioners, but without exception, they all scoffed.
This young master was really a bosom friend!
Song Shi was indeed quite impressed with the guard’s goal. He also knew that this guy had insisted on not touching women in order to cultivate. His self-control was not simple. At least, he himself could not do it.
Thinking about how he was now qualified to cultivate, he remained calm and asked, “How does the strength of a Connate expert compare to a cultivator?”
“I’m not sure about that. I heard that those cultivators can use spells. Typically, a perfected Postnatal expert will only die if they are hit by a spell. If they are not hit by it, it’s hard to say.”
Big Smart was a little unconvinced. “If I encounter a cultivator one day, I might be able to kill him too. At that time, I, Old Liu, will be famous in the martial arts world. Haha.”
Song Shi was speechless. He really wanted to say that he also had a chance to become a cultivator. Could it be that Big Smart wanted to kill him?
Forget it. He does not even have immortal cultivation techniques now. It was still too early.
He reckoned that he had to practice martial arts first and make use of his talent.
“If you’re free tomorrow, teach me Kung Fu secretly.”
Song Shi said calmly.
Big Smart was stunned. “Young Master, do you really want to learn? Aren’t you afraid of being punished by the family?”
“What is there to be afraid of? I am learning to strengthen my body.”
Song Shi did not care what the other members of the Song family thought.
“Alright, I’ll secretly teach you some breathing techniques. As long as you secretly practice them, people usually won’t notice. If you succeed, you can consider learning other things.”
Big Smart nodded. He was prepared to teach this young master some ways to nourish his health. After all, he went to the brothel every day. If he did not nourish his health, he was really afraid that Song Shi would die from excessive depletion of his essence one day.
As the two of them chatted, the few miles passed quickly. Behind a ditch was the Jin river, which was more than 30 feet wide, where water flowed from the west to the east. On the other side of the river, there were mulberry trees planted all over the ground. The leaves were mostly fallen, and it was bare. When the autumn wind blew, it looked like ghosts dancing in the distance.
Beside the city gate, there was a tributary that passed through Silken City. This tributary was the Jinhuai River, and there were many embroidered boats on it. Red lanterns hung on them where the sound of strands of bamboo pipes swaying could be heard. The faint sounds of men and women laughing could also vaguely be heard.
Big Smart looked at the silent Jin river and was worried that something would happen. He warned again, “Young Master, why don’t you go over to the flower boats to play? The cold wind by the river is chilly and you’ll catch a cold easily.”
Song Shi ignored Big Smart’s persuasion. He looked at the relatively brighter river and asked, “Where did the people from Jinyuan Temple die?”
Big Smart sighed and knew that this person was very stubborn. He replied, “By the reeds.”
“Leave me by the river and go back alone. I want to be alone.”
Big Smart immediately cried, “Young Master, what should I do if something happens to you?”
“I won’t die. I’m going to meet a friend. He’s an expert.”
Song Shi waved his hand. When the carriage reached the river, he got off and left.
Maybe because of the recent deaths in the river, there was no one on the shore.
The autumn wind blew as the water churned, even the insects and birds were silent.
The last bit of sunlight dissipated on the horizon and the world became completely dark. A waning moon became the only source of light in the sky, but it was blocked by dark clouds from time to time.
After walking along the shore for a while, he could not see a single person’s shadow.
“Big Smart, I said don’t follow me. If you’re disobedient, I’ll deduct your salary.”
Song Shi suddenly spoke.
There was silence behind him.
Big Smart squatted behind a cluster of weeds and looked at him mockingly. “Young Master, you’re trying to trick me. I, Old Liu, won’t fall for it.”
Swoosh!
A black object smashed over. Big Smart was indeed quite capable, through listening to the sound, he managed to catch the black shadow. On a closer look, he realized that it was a big pebble!
He broke out in a cold sweat. Where did this rock come from?
Could it be…
He looked at Song Shi with a strange expression.
“If you continue to follow me, I won’t be polite anymore!”
Song Shi said coldly and left in big strides.
Although his Yang energy was insufficient now, his Spiritual strength was still there. He could thus discover Big Smart, who was secretly following him.
Big Smart looked at the big pebble in his hand in a daze and let Song Shi leave.
“How did the Young Master discover me? After all, Old Liu, I am a first-rate expert. Could it be that I’ve seen too many women recently and my foundation is unstable, causing my movement technique to deteriorate?”