Zhen Qi, sitting cross-legged, feels the natural energy fluctuation around him. A guard at a distance, in awe, looked at Zhen Qi.
Because Zhen Qi is not a cultivator of the Samurai cultivation system, which in the Yao Region is called the physical way. Zhen Qi is cultivating his mental energy, which is called the Spiritual Way.
Only a few people in the Seven Human Kingdom region practice the spiritual way. Only talented people who can awaken their mental energy naturally can practice the spiritual way.
But in the Seven Human Kingdom region only fewer than 1000 people practised the spiritual way. It is not because only 1000 people are talented enough to practise the spiritual way.
But the reason is because of the Yao Race. The Yao Race practice starts at the Mana realm, the Spirit realm, the Ascension Realm, the Dharma Realm, and the last is the Ancestral Realm.
The pure Human Race, following the Physical way, can only cultivate up to the Second Turn of the Great Samurai Realm. Which falls between the Middle and the Late rank of the Spirit realm.
And even humans with Yao blood in them can only cultivate up to the late Dharma Realm. So, even if they are talented, they cannot advance to the Ancestral realm. So, the world is dominated by the Yao race.
But all this changed 100 years ago, when a human without any ancestral blood killed the Black Tiger emperor. The human also died after killing the Black Tiger emperor. But he left a new way for humans to cultivate- the spiritual way.
But because of this, the Yao Race together suppressed the Spiritual Way. Now, only the Western Continent where the Human Race can openly cultivate the Spiritual way. The Seven Kingdoms region cannot openly cultivate the spiritual way because it is too close to the Yao Region.
While the Yao Mountain region geographically separates two areas, it's intrinsically tied to the Yao territories, unlike the stark division an ocean creates. Notably, powerful humans across the Seven Kingdoms, including nobility, royals, gang leaders, and sect masters, all carry traces of Yao Beast heritage.
So the practice of the Spiritual way is blocked in the human region. But the nobility, royals, and others like them let people with no Yao Beast heritage practice the Spiritual Way because the advantage of the Spiritual Way is not only that it has the strength to make the Yao race afraid, but there are many other side professions in the Spiritual Way.
He only knows three of these professions—like Alchemist, Rune Master, and Formation Master. His knowledge stems from being a royal guard, specifically Master Zhen Qi's personal guard, a duty assigned by the Second Prince. This assignment has a dual purpose: he's there to protect Master Zhen Qi, but also to ensure he doesn't spread the Spiritual Way or attempt to escape.
Inside himself, he wishes Master Zhen Qi could escape from the control of the royal family and cultivate to the peak of the Spiritual Way and liberate them from the control of the Yao race. But he cannot help Master Zhen Qi because every royal guard is administered poison, and they have to take an antidote yearly, and their family members are also under the control of the royal family.
So, how much he wishes that he could let Master Zhen Qi escape, he can't.
His mushing is interrupted by another guard entering the garden. He signals the guard to stay silent and wait.
Master Zhen Qi may have noticed the entry of the new guard as he opened his eyes after a few minutes.
Master Zhen Qi looks at the new guard. The new guard understands the look." Master Zhen, message from the shadow guard."
" Read It?"
The new guard opens the small scroll in his hand." Mission failed."
" The reason?"
" High-Ranking Samurai."
Master Zhen Qi nods and closes his eyes.
-----
Pale orange dawned over the quiet camp as a slow, steady snowfall continued to blanket the official road. Only the crackle of embers and the soft breath of wind disturbed the stillness beneath the trees.
Merin sat unmoving on a stone just outside the camp, cloaked, eyes closed. He drew slow breaths, sensing the natural energy of the world gently brushing his skin, pulling at him like an unseen tide.
He paused, a deep hesitation within him. He longed to draw it in—just a touch.
Enough to mend the lingering damage in his energy veins, enough to restart his cultivation now that he was a middle-ranking samurai again. Yet, the dread of losing control kept him rooted.
Then, a presence, not a sound, registered. Natural energy subtly warped around her, constantly drifting into her body as effortlessly as breathing.
"Good morning," Merin greeted, his eyes still closed.
Xialing halted beside him. "Morning. Considering absorbing natural energy?"
Merin's eyes opened, and he nodded. "I'm holding back. I'm not confident I should."
"If you can manage it," she stated calmly and surely, "yes, you can. But only for a few seconds."
He nodded slowly. "Can I?"
"I'll stop you in five seconds," she affirmed.
Merin closed his eyes once more. He reached out—not physically, but with pure intent, with the artistic conception residing in his mind. The natural energy responded, drawn in through the intricate pattern carved deep within his spirit. It surged into him like a warm, invigorating current.
Pleasure coursed through his nerves, clean and exhilarating. His body hummed with an almost overwhelming sense of life. It would be so simple to surrender, to keep drawing more, to sink deeper—
A sharp slap connected with his shoulder.
Merin's eyes snapped open, breath catching. He instantly cut off the flow. The energy within him vibrated but remained firmly under his command.
"Thank you," he murmured.
Xialing simply gave a small wave, then turned and dissolved into the forest, bow and quiver in hand, vanishing like mist among the trees.
Merin closed his eyes again, sensing the accumulated natural energy in his meridians. Slowly, he began to circulate his inner energy, breaking down the natural energy and guiding it through his body.
A couple of hours later, Asuna's voice called from the camp, "Merin, breakfast!"
He opened his eyes. He'd only managed to break down about twenty per cent of the absorbed energy. Releasing a soft breath, he walked back to camp.
The meal was simple but warm: roasted hare, hunted by Xialing, its skin crisp, the meat tender. Alongside it were thin slices of snow scale deer—rich, nourishing, and so dense that even a single piece was satisfying.
As they ate, Xialing glanced at him. "Next time, don't absorb more until you've broken down the energy already inside," she advised. "It builds up quickly." Merin nodded, accepting her words without question.
They finished in silence, then began packing. Blankets were folded, fires extinguished, and saddlebags checked. Within the hour, the group mounted their snowhorses, their hooves crunching through fresh snow.
The road ahead wound through the white landscape, with flakes drifting around them like falling feathers. Four riders headed east, leaving the broken village behind and venturing towards the unknown paths of Miji Town.
The reason behind their journey to the Miji Town because Merin and Asuna don't feel safe staying with the villagers. The reason behind the attack on the villagers because of Xialing and two guests that day.
The guest came for Xialing. A general of the kingdom's army is injured, and the healers in the army are unable to heal the general. As Mogenkai is closed, then the only healer that able to heal the general left is Xialing.
Yesterday morning, the village chief delivered crucial news and outlined the village's next steps. The villagers, excluding Xialing, would seek refuge in a nearby settlement. Xialing, along with the surviving guests, would journey to Miji Town.
He and Asuna decided to join Xialing to go to Miji Town. The attack was not because of them, but it could have been. And with his injuries already healed to 90% and few days his injuries would be completely healed. So, they have no reason to stay in the village, and according to the guest, if he and Asuna help escort Xialing to Miji town. The guest would ask his captain to reward them.
Miji Town is the territory of the Axe Gang. Axe Gang is one of the powerful forces in the Mugen region, but now the kingdom's army has turned it into its base.
Tonight, they stop by a stream. The stream is frozen, but with their strength, it is easy to punch a hole in the ice for the water inside. Merin closed his eyes by the frozen stream, feeling the cold wind blowing all around him.
Then he released his artistic conception, and the wind and the cloud became clearer. He feels the artistic conception in the cold wind and the snow-filled clouds. He feels that if he can comprehend the cold, or snow artistic conception, as the winter season influences the cloud and wind, his strength would increase again.
He is now again a Middle-Ranking Samurai, but he fights his past self when he was a Middle-Ranking Samurai. He would defeat his past self easily, even if his inner energy didn't help in fighting. He now only releases his artistic conception, and for a period, Middle-Ranking Samurai would be suppressed, and in that moment, he can severely injure a Middle-Ranking Samurai.
He even killed the intruder, who was a Middle-Ranking Samurai, with the same method. He was able to kill the intruder because the intruder's inner energy was mostly consumed and was unable to escape from his suppression of his Artistic Conception.
But Merin stopped his comprehension of the Wind and Cloud Artistic Conception. The guest was a soldier in the army, and from him, he heard that they should ask for merit if they were rewarded by the army. Because with merit, they can even get High-Level Cultivation and Fighting Technique.
Merin doesn't need the High-Level Cultivation technique now and would not need it for some time. But with war ongoing, now the only chance for him to earn merit. The way to earn merit is to kill the rebels. For that, he needs to increase his strength as quickly as possible.
Comprehending the Wind and Cloud Artistic Conception would increase his strength, but he doesn't know by how much. It would be better for him if he quickly breaks through High-Ranking Samurai, for which he needs to master the Life Qi cultivation technique. And he knows that at least his strength would double after he breaks through High-Ranking Samurai.
And now able to absorb natural energy, he would quickly reach the peak of the Middle-Ranking Samurai realm. As when today morning, when he absorbed the natural energy, he was during the journey only able to break down 20% of it, but his inner energy increased by 60%.
According to his speed, he would in a week advance to the next realm of Middle-Ranking Samurai and in six months reach the peak of Middle-Ranking Samurai. So, with this calculation in his mind, he circulates his inner energy to break down the rest of his inner energy.
------
Zhen Qi looked at the Shadow Guard kneeling before him. He raised his head to look at Tan Yuan sitting at a distance from him. " What do you think you should do?"
Tan Yuan replies." Nothing, with the boy present, we would not be able to stop them from entering Miji Town."
Zhen Qi thought of the boy, a Middle-Ranking Samurai, but comprehended Artistic Conception. The boy can be said to be a genius. So, he is now intrigued by the boy. He says to Tan Yuan," Can we enter Miji Town?"
Tan Yuan says," We can, but we would need some supplies to enter."
Zhen Qi's eyes flash understanding of Tan Yuan's plan in them." Then prepare it. I would have to send a letter to his highness about this sudden development."
Tan Yuan says," Our mission still not failed as we delayed the healing of Bai Ju for a week. Now his ancestral blood would never recover."
Zhen Qi says," I had made a mistake. I know the reason you don't think that the Bai Family wouldn't know. They, with precious herbs, would be able to delay the time that his ancestral blood would never recover. The ideal delay should be 15 days."
With that, Zhen Qi leaves the room.