Chapter 180: Breakthrough
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"The vast wilderness, and the grazing sheep..."
Looking at the vast plains, Fang Yuan sighed.
Autumn was the season for the plains to flourish. It was extremely relaxing to speed through here on a horseback.
Behind him was a 1,000-men strong army marching slowly, and the atmosphere was solemn.
Among these soldiers were different armour and flags, and it was obvious that they were not from the same army.
"Is this your first time here, Prefecture Master Fang?"
A horse emerged from the troops and arrived by the side of Fang Yuan; it was Clear Spring Prefecture Master Lan Xiaosheng.
Although he appeared to be close to Xia Country, he was in fact not. He felt uncertain about the conference. Looking at how Secluded Mountain Prefecture and the Xia Royal Family became closer, he immediately tried to show his affectionate side.
The Yuan Wu conference was an opportunity for all of them to unite together.
He was rather interested in Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan had to admit that his respectfulness made him hard to be disliked - if only he was not a fence-sitter, unwilling to be loyal to any side.
He could be sure that Lan Xiaosheng would record down anything that he had said, but only until the day that Fang Yuan would be defeated, he would not outrightly oppose him!
There was nothing about loyalty here, he only cared about his own survival.
"Indeed, it's my first!"
Fang Yuan sighed. "I've heard that the plains are extremely vast. Even Yuan Country could take over only the most fertile lands and a few big cities but not the entire plains, and they even had to face the defiance from the small divisions in the area, is that right?"
"That's right!"
Lan Xiaosheng was familiar with the place. "The plains actually belonged to the different divisions, and even Yuan Country was formed by the biggest and strongest Golden Division. Even so, they could only take over the piece of small land near our territory... From another angle, we can actually say that they have protected us from the threats of the plains."
"The depths of the plains..."
Looking far, Fang Yuan felt excited. "I've heard that after that piece of land is the ancient path to the Da Qian empire..."
Although he had explored the empire in a dream world, he was still curious about the real Da Qian Empire.
...
At night.
Many tents were erected on the plains, and in the middle of the campsite was a fireplace, and food was cooking on it.
Soldiers were consuming their dried rations, holding on to their wooden bowls and waiting for a portion of soup to be scooped for them. The higher ranking officers had meat and soup, and dessert such as ginger biscuits.
"If we do not prepare, we would be out in danger!"
At a small distance away from the campsite was a small hill, and Fang Yuan laid there lazily.
Under him was a patch of soft grass, and by his ear was the occasional chirping of crickets. The grassy smell filled his nose and without even looking up, he could see the stars, the full moon and the milky way... Everything was in sight.
"We are but a tiny dust compared to the universe, incomparable to the wonders of nature, but we have the most potential!"
Fang Yuan opened his wine pot and gulped down a large mouthful of wine.
The spiritual wine was extremely fragrant and a warm stream trickled down his throat into his belly. It was a warm and fuzzy feeling, and it gave out hints of spiritual energy, rejuvenating his body.
"This wine pot has its mystery in it, and the fact that I can drink such good wine every day makes it comparable to the Mountain River Pearl!"
With the shimmer of a spiritual glow on Fang Yuan's hand, the wine pot disappeared.
Ever since he started his training in his Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique, his appetite had grown, and the spiritual wine was but a small supplement for him.
If not for the Mountain River Pearl which stored heaps of spiritual rice and spiritual fruits, he could not sustain his diet for the entire journey.
As he looked at the campsite with the flicker of the fire, he laughed silently.
"Looking at my age, potential and the fact that I'm not part of the royal family of Yuan Country and Wu Country, I would be a threat to them! Am I sacrificing myself by going to the Yuan Wu Conference?"
Slowly, he stood up and closed his eyes. A spiritual meridian appeared on his body, and as it slithered around, it appeared illusionary.
"Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique!"
As compared to the cultivation of a dream master, the bottleneck for martial arts was much easier to break through.
Every time when Fang Yuan had time, he would focus on forming the spiritual meridian. Even if it would not increase his proficiency points, it would still deepen his understanding of the technique.
"The path of humans... The path of the Universe... Spiritual meridian! Using external energy to complement what the human body is lacking in..."
However, there was a little difference in his cultivation today.
Looking at the starry night sky, his mind clicked. Coupled with the strong foundations in his body, a mysterious change started to appear on Fang Yuan's body.
"Kacha!"
Suddenly, a soft explosion was heard in his body.
The spiritual energy around him swirled and was slowly absorbed by his body.
At that moment, Fang Yuan felt an accelerated absorption of elemental energy from Heaven and Earth!
He was shocked and appeared a little dazed. "This is... spiritual meridian!"
There was no path after Wu Zong.
However, the Wu Zongs in Da Qian Empire gathered and with their collective effort, they had managed to find a way.
Since Wu Zong was the extreme of the human body, it meant that it was necessary to take in energy from outside after obtaining elemental force. By taking in energy from outside, a spiritual meridian could be formed, which would increase the threshold of energy in the body!
This stage was known as the Meridian Opening Realm! It was comparable to the Elemental Opening Realm of the spiritual knights.
"Because I am assimilating the spiritual meridian into my body, being a natural process, for every meridian formed I would increase my potential as a martial artist! Who can even imagine the power of the divine body after forming the maximum amount of spiritual meridians possible..."
Fang Yuan rubbed his chin and felt as though he could not accept the fact that there were changes to his own body.
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"I knew that the Yuan Wu Conference was dangerous, and initially wanted to use it to pressurize myself into making the breakthrough!"
"Who would've thought that all it took was a moment to result in such a change. There is no need for me to risk it just for the breakthrough anymore!"
"Whoosh whoosh!"
Suddenly, a shadow leapt out of the campsite. Swiftly, it arrived on the hill and had an uneasy look. "Prefecture Master Fang, that was..."
"Oh, just a mere achievement in my cultivation of martial arts!"
Fang Yuan smiled reservedly.
"I see, you're indeed a talent!"
Lan Xiaosheng was generous with his praises. "Prefecture Master's talent is putting me to shame!"
He would not be able to understand the Meridian Opening Realm, and had thought that Fang Yuan had a small improvement in the Elemental Gathering Realm instead... If he could not understand, how could he tell the difference?
He was still full of admiration for Fang Yuan's talent.
"Prefecture Master Fang, your spiritual aura..."
He could still tell that his spiritual aura has changed, and looked suspicious.
"Oh, I've learnt a new spiritual technique. Was it the change in my spiritual aura that you have detected?"
Fang Yuan lied through his teeth.
"Oh, I see! With Prefecture Master Fang, we will be able to achieve what we want in this Yuan Wu Conference!"
Seeing the expressionless Fang Yuan, Lan Xiaosheng forced a helpless and awkward laughter, and he looked away, lost.
...
The Yuan Wu Conference was a conference which involved the many countries in the mainland.
Of course, with the uprising of Yuan Country, their attitude had worsened.
They have chosen the boundary of the plains as the location for the conference, next to a lake.
As the countries started to arrive for the conference, more and more tents were being set up, and many different flags were flying. In the centre of all, there was a tall elevated platform being built.
Zhu, Qi, Kun, Hong and many other small countries have arrived. Putting their ceremonial contingent on display, the entire place looked rather majestic.
Fang Yuan was riding on a large horse and with much interest, he was learning to recognise the different flags under the coaching of Xie Lingyun.
As compared the countries who were geographically smaller than the Secluded Mountain Prefecture, Fang Yuan felt that his status was rather high. Even Zhu Country could be considered a big country.
"Where's Wu Country and Yuan Country?"
As they walked to the lakeside, their army started to pitch their tents. Fang Yuan looked at a distance and enquired.
"Obviously, they will be the last to arrive!"
Xie Lingyun was riding a white horse and was next to Fang Yuan. Wearing a veil, she concealed her face.
Suddenly, she stared at Fang Yuan. "Master, it seems that you have achieved a breakthrough? Even your aura feels different..."
Fang Yuan laughed but did not answer her. "Disciple, go have a look at your king."
This was the conference among the kings, and the king of Xia Country was here as well.
However, Fang Yuan felt pitiful after seeing him. He was a pale looking middle-aged man plagued with illnesses. He could not even speak properly and was exactly like a puppet.
It was obvious that this puppet king in Xia Country was of no use. All the country's affairs were single-handedly handled by the beautiful disciple of his.
"In this conference, Wu Country would surely force me into a corner. Master, you must help me!"
Xie Lingyun gave a pitiful look.
"Hehe... Even if they forget about you, they would also find trouble for me!"
Fang Yuan squinted his eyes. "This is good... We can settle this once and for all!"
"Wooo! Wooo!"
The bugle of the armies was sounded.
From afar, at the horizon, there was a thin black line.
A large troop was formed up and making their way forward.
"Wu Country's soldiers!?"
Xie Lingyun softened her voice. "The country governor of Wu Country is here!"
Fang Yuan remained silent.
The 10,000-men strong army approaching in their formation struck fear in all of the smaller countries.
As the formation reached the lakeside, the drumbeat halted. The soldiers in the formation split up respectfully, revealing a pathway. A man in golden armour galloped on his horse and arrived in front.
"This country governor of Wu Country seems to be a valiant warrior, and I've heard that he is not even 40 yet! Not bad indeed..."
Fang Yuan nodded his head, and at the same time, his spiritual sense could detect that he was being looked at by two enemies.
"Mm, one of them is Wu Wudao, and the other is General Fei Long. No strangers!"
He looked over and smiled.
However, as for Wu Wudao and General Fei Long, both of them acted as though they had met a strong adversary. They approached the golden-armoured warrior and started mumbling to him.
As the golden-armoured warrior removed his helmet, a face with distinct features was revealed. As he looked over, he had the vibe of a great warrior who had the ability to take over anything he wanted.
Although he was not Wu Zong, as the leader of the country, together with his army formation, Xie Lingyun was equally pressured by him, as she was by Wu Wudao!
"Mm, both Wu and Yuan Country are here!"
Xie Lingyun felt a little breathless and gently patted herself to awaken her mind.
Looking in the direction of North, there was a fine black line rushing towards them from the horizon, and it was a shocking scene to behold!