Dual Cultivation God Returns

Chapter 393 Hardship and Progress

Feng Yi looked at Ye Ling with eyes half-closing from fatigue, her body aching all over as she was at her very limits, holding on to the ox-tailed sword that was thrust into the ground as she half-sat, one knee touching the ground.

Her chest was heaving as was her whole upper body, trying to catch her breath and greedily taking in the cold air and creating white clouds with heavy exhales.

The fiery red hair which were as usual collected into a ponytail were drenched in sweat, causing the few strands she usually left to freely fall to the sides of her face to cling to her wet skin.

Her armor which usually was polished to the point of resembling a mirror and without any blemishes was covered in dirt as well as many shallow, barely visible by themselves but quite apparent because of the sheer number of them thin scratch marks that crisscrossed the metal plates.

Each mark was left by Ye Ling's sword dealing only the barest minimum of damage as she stopped it, but represented her either dying or losing a limb.

"Ah~ Sister Ling is going at it as usual~"

Hua Ziyan wryly smiled as she sat at the same elevated spot Feng Yi was sitting in the same afternoon, looking at the place that now was a wide open field with barely any of the old guard quarters standing, the debris of which was scattered in a messy manner as the aftermath of their training session.

Though it now was of suitable size to be a training field as a result, when she saw the level of destruction she brought about from the side it brought a little rosiness to her face since she did not realize it while in the moment and on the ground.

Shen Min nodded, sympathizing with Feng Yi for the very first time. They knew well why Wu Mengqi who had her "I need to be hugged by Wu Long" disease did not follow him to Fantian Kingdom despite so eagerly following him to the capital before.

"Well at least she didn't call her 'Demon Instructor', so she is in better position than she could be"

"Ahaha~ I think the only person who would say that to Sister Ling's face is Sister Mengqi~ with the exception of Lady Gong Cui but she is a special case and also doesn't need to train in the sword in the first place so she is safe~"

Hua Ziyan chuckled at Shen Min's words since Feng Yi did have an urge to utter those words but felt some mysterious feeling stopping her, which she with horror recognized as 'self-preservation' a few moments later.

"Still, I wonder if she is going to be alright? I don't think she will last any more than this... look, she can barely sit, let alone stand"

Shen Min said as she watched the wobbling figure in the distance.

"Hmm~ I once asked Sister Mengqi, and she said that Sister Ling's philosophy is that this is the moment a true training just begins as only by finding and passing one's limits can one grow stronger"

Hua Ziyan put a finger on her chin as she looked up, remembering her conversation with Wu Mengqi in the past as goosebumps went through Shen Min.

"It seems I have to thank my ancestors that I chose chakrams..."

"Eh? Didn't you basically disavow your entire family and ancestry?"

"Exactly"

"Ah~... I see"

Hua Ziyan chuckled as she realized just how grateful Shen Min was for that fateful choice that she even agreed to thank her forsaken ancestors.

But then as she thought what would have happened had she not chosen palm techniques and chosen the sword, she paled while instantly understanding her friend's sentiment, ready to burn incense and kowtow for the ancestors she did not recognize for that stroke of luck as well.

"Hm? But isn't that Old Yen also using the sword? Why's Sister Ling not putting him through the same thing?"

She then raised her eyebrows as Wu Long's subordinate did seem to desire to become stronger and ever received guidance.

"Ah~ I heard Wu Long say that it was ultimately not his weapon, not to mention Sister Ling'er is mainly concerned about our Dao Family, and does not interfere with Wu Long's organizational affairs"

"But if it's not his weapon..."

"Hmm, beats me. I have no interest in those guys who follow Wu Long either, only if they seem suspicious, which to my view all of them are"

Shen Min's words became indifferent like her tone.

"Hehe, that's so like Min'er"

Hua Ziyan chuckled recognizing her friend's narrow circle of interests.

"It seems someone is having fun"

Wu Long appeared from behind them, sitting in between as both moved their sitting mats the moment he appeared, and then both sat closer to him.

"Did you check on Mingyu?"

Hua Ziyan asked as Shen Min's eyes became full of interest again.

"Mm, it can be days before she comes out of her seclusion as it seems her meditation has only became more intense"

He nodded, as when he checked up on the beauty, she was surrounded by a small cloud of purple Spiritual Qi, much more visible and vivid than the pale halo he saw in the beginning. It also materialized profound patterns around her, a signature of a Dao Cultivator's intense cultivation, since their Spiritual Qi weaves concepts into forms around them as they ponder the Dao.

"Hmm, ah, we were talking about that Old Yen guy, Shen Min mentioned that you said that the sword is not for him, but why didn't you have him change weapons then?"

"Oh, that haha. Say if fist techniques were not meant for you, would you have given up when someone you listen to told you so? You might have accepted it and followed their advice but in your heart of hearts it wouldn't have sunk in. So he has to realize that on his own"

Wu Long chuckled as he explained as both beauties then turned their eyes to him with an obvious question forming in their heads.

"Haha, no, I can tell you upfront that both of you chose very well"

He lightly laughed as he quelled their doubt, hugging them in both arms, for some reason feeling his ears itching the moment he wrapped his arms around the slim bodies of the beauties.

As both of them became relaxed and leaned on his shoulders, the three of them looked toward the field again where Feng Yi stood up against all odds and swung her sword in response to a merciless attack from Ye Ling even though it seemed that that strike was going to hit her while she could not move even a finger to stop it a moment earlier.

In truth, while Wu Long sparred with the two who were now in his embrace he simultaneously was learning the control of the runes within, as he was at most times he was not occupied by cultivating or spending time with them to relax.

His method was of trial and error but he finally made a big leap of progress during their training as he discovered that Lightning produced from a Lightning Rune was actually not controlled like a current even if it was one, but as two separate fields of Qi, one of which was of the Yin attribute and the other of the Yang attribute.

What shocked him even more was that the Lightning Dao Rune in actuality was two separate runes stuck together, which explained why he had trouble making a contact with it since both runes were in constant state of balance which he disrupted with his actions. This simple small error delayed his progress for a long time both with making a contact with the Dao Rune but also with learning its basic control.

'Haa~ it's hard to make progress'

A thought run through his mind as he watched the struggling red-haired beauty.