Dark Moon Era

He instinctively stood beside the gene tester, watching the scene with a dull face. He saw the painful expression on Tang Ling’s face, but it was suppressed by the tenacity that he showed.

He saw a line of blood trickling down the edge of Tang Ling’s mouth.

He saw Tang Ling’s body shaking vehemently.

He saw sweat drenching Tang Ling, even wetting the floor around him.

Yang Kong wanted to switch off the genetic tester for numerous times, but what use would it have? With Tang Ling’s powerful spirit, he might not even need the genetic tester to enter the visualization state again, he could continue gathering the energy.

It might consume a longer time, but since the kid insisted on it and was serious about cultivating, why would Yang Kong waste his time?

Anyone would be moved when they saw Tang Ling, and no one would have the heart to stop him from cultivation. Despite his cultivation being unorthodox, not a single bit of energy was stored in his body as everything was scattered in the air.

Yang Kong lit another cigarette. The tobacco seemed to have a numbing effect as it slowly calmed him down. He thought he should really pay Fei Long a visit since he wanted his opinion to assist him in deciding the difficult decisions.

It had always been like that for Yang Kong because as orphans, they had to rely on each other and provide warmth to each other to be able to survive.

Yang Kong felt a little sentimental today, but this kid reminded him of many harsh times and the days when he had to survive by clenching his teeth.

He pulled a chair over from the computer, and a specialized book from the old civilization appeared in his hand as he sat down.

I’ll just watch over this kid. If anything goes wrong, I’ll just save him before it’s too late. Let’s just hope that he’ll learn something this time. Don’t be that reckless gathering energy the next time. But...will he listen? He’s not stupid after all.

******

The hardest part was over.

The breathing cycle of one exhalation, one inhalation, two exhalations, and one inhalation was very effective. Strangely, it calmed Tang Ling down and made him forget about the pain and even himself.

It was not that strange, was it? The old civilization had an exercise called yoga that relied on meditation to forget the pain while the body was contorted into all kinds of strange postures.

Tang Ling felt a lot better. His Precise Instinct was running, and the first thing he calculated was the energy. With a reference in his mind, he could easily calculate the amount of energy which would be the most effective way of cultivating.

The calculations were delicate. Not only did he calculate how much burden his body could bear, but he also had to calculate how efficient he was in terms of time.

Many calculations were rambling on in his head, but it was not exactly a difficult equation to solve. A few seconds later, his Precise Instinct came up with an answer: five-sixths of the currently gathered energy would be the most efficient amount for him to cultivate.

With an answer in mind, Tang Ling calmed down.

A great number of impurities in his body were expelled and after he utilized his Precise Instinct to calculate the amount of energy. Immediately, a bizarre thought popped up in his mind.

A one-time energy wash would not last very long either. Right when the thought popped in his mind, the surge of energy ended.

Tang Ling felt that half of the emptiness and impurities in his body were expelled.

It might have sounded like a great result, but it was not celebratory. Similar to sweeping the floor, when the floor was filled with rubbish, no matter how much you swept it, you could still amass a huge amount of rubbish.

The hardest part would be cleaning the seams and corners after sweeping the majority of the rubbish away. It would demand a great effort from him. That was why cleaning all the impurities in one go was so difficult.

Am I not prestigious enough? Tang Ling’s thoughts started to stray. He adjusted his breath and started collecting the energy strips again.

******

It was a hot July summer in Safety Sector No. 17.

The weather was burning hot to the extent that the air itself would burn when breathing.

Fortunately, it was the Purple Moon Era. Life was extra tenacious in this era and had adapted to the high temperature, ultimately surviving, reproducing, and even working under such harsh heat.

Should the era be blamed for the weather? If not for the drastic changes that it caused, summer would not have been this hot and some places would actually have a blizzard despite it being the hottest season throughout the year.

“In the old civilization, this was the Arctic, but it shouldn’t be snowing at this time of the year.” Looking at the white blizzard outside, the voice of a young girl sighed with a hint of curiosity.

Her looks were delicate and her surprised expression was lively as if she was the brightest flower in the valley. Unfortunately, the surprise was replaced by an uncontrollable sense of desolation.

There was another girl beside her who shared the same lonely expression. The other girl was youthful and beautiful as well, but she had a head full of red blazing hair. Her cheeks were puffy, but her features were pronounced. Her lips were succulent, granting her a burning appeal.

However, with the loneliness smeared all over her face, the burning appeal would arouse a sigh rather than an urge.

Hundreds of huge snowy white wolves were pulling a huge, glamorous floating carriage as they traversed across the snow quickly. As a matter of fact, the floating carriage alone could travel across the snow with its own floating technology, but he deemed it too slow.

Therefore, when the carriage entered the extremely chilly snowy land, he walked out of the floating carriage in the middle of the night with his sword alone.

Even though he was tall, he was also rather skinny. As he traversed into the snow, it felt like he was being swallowed by the blizzard.

Alas, no one would be worried about him. Even the slightest concern about him was considered an insult to him, so the people waited in the carriage quietly.

Less than an hour later, he came back.

His favorite white uniform was as clean as when he left, but the patterns formed by the silver linings looked even livelier in the night blizzard.

His long, black hair was neat. He tied his long hair back with a simple black string, and when the wind whistled, his ponytail fluttered, adding a charm to his already decent looks. His sword was also clean—as clean as his snowy white skin. His face was pure. His delicate features, his handsome looks, and his deep and unusually calm eyes could make a girl’s heart race easily. He looked nothing like someone who had just come back from a battle or someone who had spent an hour in the blizzard.

However, behind him were a hundred giant snowy white wolves with a humane reverence on each of their faces.

The alpha wolf was beside him like the most loyal pet.

He stroked the alpha wolf’s head and strode towards the floating carriage. “Let them pull the carriage. There’s nothing faster than them in the snow and I want to return as quickly as possible.”

Before he went into the carriage, he turned around with a smile. It was not a smile meant for anyone but a smile of reminiscence, an unintentional smile because he thought of someone. That smile alone almost suffocated the other four girls around him. Even the eight guards of the carriage felt warmth as well.

However, everyone knew his smile belonged only to himself because, in his own world, his pride could not tolerate anyone else, let alone feel sad or cry for other people—except for her, Higan. Queen Higan.

“How fast can the wolves go? I strongly believe Young Master Long will surely capture an elder dragon even if the dragon is the fastest in the snow.” The red-haired girl pouted. She did not want to grumble but she failed to control herself.

“I don’t doubt in the slightest bit that Young Master Long can easily capture an elder dragon,” said the delicate-looking girl with a soft sigh.

Maybe the rumors were true. The colder a man was, the stronger his love would be. No one would have thought that the young master with a bright future would have fallen in love at the age of 17.

It was love, was it not?

When he looked at her, his gaze was so warm that it could melt ice. His smile was so kind that it could protect her from harm. When he held her hands, it felt so sincere like he was holding the world.

Even if he did not say anything, the details betrayed him.

Unfortunately, other than feeling lonely, no other girls would want to complain. What would they complain about? Queen Higan? They would feel ashamed of their ungainly appearance in front of the queen, and they had to fight their own thoughts to be able to stand properly in front of her.

Young Master Long and Queen Higan were made for each other, and they should be together because of their identity and position, were they not?

Both the delicate-looking girl and the red-haired girl never hoped for anything from Young Master Long, but it did not mean that they would not feel sad about their loneliness. Being a servant to Young Master Long was content enough for them because they could be around him always.

If Young Master Long and Queen Higan really got together, would the servants even stand a chance? The sole thought about that happening was depressing enough.

“With this speed, we can save another four hours. If we can maintain the speed, we can return to Starstay City in less than 15 days.”

The floating carriage was huge and was divided into three parts. The last carriage was Young Master Long’s personal quarters. Without his permission, no one could enter, except for the teacher who basically raised him, Qi Dou.

Qi Dou deeply understood his student’s personality. Under normal circumstances, no one had to answer his questions because he had all the answers in his mind.

Therefore, inside the delicate shower room with a pool embedded with the best gemstones, Young Master Long’s voice came amidst the steamy mist. “Mm-mm, skip that. Even if we are not saving time in the upcoming journey, I’ll enter the Sky Castle in 13 days, 6 hours, 47 minutes and 6 seconds, and see her, but I’ll still try my best to save time on the journey.” Young Master Long smiled as he said that.

He rarely smiled even though it was captivating and people were fond of his bright smile. He only wanted to smile for Higan. He was never stingy when it came to smiling at her the whole day every day, as long as Higan liked it. Such a thought ate him to the core, hence the more frequent smiles, even though he only smiled whenever he thought of Higan.

Qi Dou sighed subtly. He did not know whether it was the right choice to spend that much of an effort to send Long to that place.

He opened his squinted eyes and removed the bottle gourd from his waist for a sip of alcohol. “That aside, did you feel that the impurities have lessened along the way?”

“A little. They are a little more persistent than expected.” Long’s smile was replaced by a heavy expression.

One could easily notice that in his personal quarters, a thin veil of purple mist filled the interior at all times. Inside that small pool, the purple mist was condensed into liquid form and the best gemstones were embedded around the pool. The gemstone was known as the aged ice jade of the old civilization. At the bottom of the pool was a chunk of purple Universal Source Rock.

The liquid in the pool was a brilliant emerald in color. The extracted stems of several types of vicious plants were boiled to fill it. Never mind the types of plants, all the vicious plants used in the bath was beneficial to cultivation. Even a single piece of leaf contained energy, let alone its stem.

With all these luxurious equipment, it would be strange if the energy could not materialize in the carriage.

However, Long was not cultivating with these extravagant types of equipment. Cultivation was a serious matter. Even though Long was very talented to the point that those elders in the True Capital paid attention to him, he believed that he should cultivate in a fully equipped and prepared environment.

The condition in the carriage was not ideal, so the equipment was only used to slowly grind the impurities in his body away.

Long did not think it was a luxury. Due to the drastic changes in the era, certain types of resources became richer than ever. Compared to the masters and geniuses in the True Capital, he was being thrifty.

He should increase the speed of removing the impurities in his body even if there were only that much left in his body. With that thought in mind, Long shut his eyes.

Surprisingly, his own Precise Instinct sensed there was only a fourth of a thousand impurities left in his body.

A little more, just a little more, and he could achieve the perfect esteemed body. Although it was not that important during his current stage, it would be the deciding factor in the future.

Fuaaah!

Long stood up from the pool with that thought lingering in his mind. As he stood up, drops of water rolled down his perfectly toned waistline quickly, forming a steamy scene. When his body emanated faint energy, the water droplets on his body evaporated.

He grabbed a long white robe after he stepped out. Then, he looked at Qi Dou to ask, “Teacher, am I a little too slow? I want to know back then when ‘he’ was 17, what did he achieve?”

“Why are you so obsessed with comparing? Your path is your own to carve. Weaker or stronger than him, nothing can change what you have achieved in your own path.” Qi Dou was reluctant to reply to Long’s question.

A trace of hatred flashed over Long’s eyes as he insisted, “I want to know.”

“Fine. Back then, he was just a scoundrel. I think it’s rather appropriate to call him that.” Qi Dou felt cold, so he took a sip from his bottle and curled up in the corner of the carriage, dozing off.

******

Four hours had passed.

Tang Ling was getting more and more familiar with the rhythm of the cultivation.

His bizarre thought was carried out after he gathered the energy for the second waterfall of energy. Again and again, the energy waterfall poured over his body. He was getting more skilled in handling the situation and even achieved something extra from his effort.

Tang Ling’s bizarre thought was to use his Precise Instinct to help the energy remove the impurities in his body. It would undoubtedly increase the burden since his Precise Instinct would take a toll on his spirit when operating.

Plus, Tang Ling’s Precise Instinct was not as accurate when he used it on himself since it had always given him a vague feeling.

Nevertheless, Tang Ling was always like this. Not only was his execution astonishing, but he even got used to the pain and suffering, and treated them as the secret weapon of his cultivation.

It was simple actually. If he was lacking at a certain point, he would challenge that particular point over and over again until he reached the limit. Only by challenging the limit could he grow further.

The facts proved that his thoughts were viable.

It might be a burden at first, but it got better when he got used to it. Together with his Precise Instinct, he got more efficient at expelling the impurities.

On top of that, he also got a little extra benefit from the cultivation. He could sense his body better and clearer, even sensing where the tiny impurities in his body were if he concentrated. He would then visualize small brooms with his spirit with which he could sweep away the impurities together with the energy flush.

Everything progressed smoothly. So far so good. At least, that was what Tang Ling thought.

However, in Yang Kong’s eyes, it was scary.

Tang Ling was bleeding from all his seven apertures. It might have been his spirit being squeezed to the limit or his body failing to handle the impact of the energy wash. His body even started to shrink exponentially as he was probably becoming a size smaller than before.

What kind of cultivation is this? Yang Kong looked away helplessly.

Tang Ling’s body shrinking might have something to do with his strange cultivation, but bleeding from all seven apertures and his body twitching constantly must be the hellish pain that he was enduring inside.

It was heart-wrenching, but Yang Kong did not have the heart to stop him either because sitting in the gene tester, Tang Ling looked very satisfied. He was still strong despite the bleeding, so why would Yang Kong stop him?

With that thought in mind, Yang Kong sighed once more. He opened the transparent door of the gene tester again, allowing the purple mist carrying the black lines to flow out.

If not for the strange looking mist, Yang Kong would have stopped Tang Ling a long time ago and corrected his cultivation method.

There must be something wrong with the cultivation. That’s why the energy can’t stay in his body.

However, Yang Kong was a careful person. When Tang Ling started his fourth energy wash session, Yang Kong realized the purple mist that came out from him was a little unusual because they carried some black lines in them.

Yang Kong grabbed a test tube and collected a little of the mist for analysis.

The room with the gene tester was capable of analyzing substances despite it not being a fully equipped lab. The computer provided the result soon enough. The black lines were harmful to the human body.

Therefore, Yang Kong purposely opened the door of the gene tester and released the purple mist with the black lines into the air from time to time. His action unintentionally helped Tang Ling a lot when the energy washed over his body because the latter would then absorb lesser impurities into his body.

Therefore, Tang Ling might not be cultivating the Thousand Satin Skill at all but another type of skill that resembled the Thousand Satin Skill. He did nothing wrong and did not perform any unnecessary moves.

Yang Kong was smart. Otherwise, he would not be qualified as the only man closest to a scientist in the whole Safety Sector No. 17.

Nevertheless, of course, no matter how smart he was, he would never expect Tang Ling to actually be cultivating the Thousand Satin Skill albeit in another way. Since Tang Ling was Su Yao’s nephew, it was only reasonable for Su Yao to teach him another type of cultivation personally.

“Let’s hope Su Yao is right about this. Many don’t know how precious the Thousand Satin Skill is. It isn’t a skill that provides astonishing power from the start.” Yang Kong sighed as he continued looking after Tang Ling.

Maybe because of the several hours he spent with Tang Ling, Yang Kong liked him even more even though they did not speak at all. Tang Ling also had no idea that Yang Kong was peering at him.

Time continued slipping away silently although Yang Kong did leave for ten minutes to get himself a box of rice. He did not know why, but he felt like he had the duty to protect Tang Ling and keep the secret for him. The thought grew stronger in his mind as time went by.

As for Tang Ling, he was immersed in the cultivation.

His Precise Instinct was getting sharper and more delicate when using on his own. He could slightly even reach the point whereby he could look at his body, but a veil stood in his way and he could not break through it.

Maybe because he was concentrating on removing the impurities, they were all he could see. He had cleaned up 95% of the impurities in his body and was encouraged by his achievement.

Three more energy washes later, he reached 98%.

Great. He still had a reason to carry on even though he felt tired deep in his heart.

Two more energy washes later, he reached 99%.

How many times he would need to clean up the remaining 1%?

He was 1% away from achieving his goal, so he should not give up now.

Yang Kong started to walk in circles. Tang Ling had been cultivating for seven hours straight, and it was almost evening.

It was almost time for Orston to come by, but Yang Kong did not want him to witness this unusual cultivation that did not make sense. It was not that Yang Kong did not trust Orston, but Orston was simple-minded and might unintentionally reveal the secrets to others.

Is it time to wake Tang Ling up?

Another seven energy washes went by. Tang Ling had a feeling that he did not have to wait for the next two cultivation sessions. He knew if he went through five more energy wash sessions, he would cross the line! His body could not endure the energy anymore, and the cells were at their breaking point!

That was the answer that his Precise Instinct came up with.

Maybe cleaning up the impurities next time will be better. I can replenish and recover to endure more energy washes, but...do I need more session? I don’t think so! I can remove all the impurities in my body in this cultivation session alone!

Tang Ling was very sure of it.

When the waterfall of energy poured over him again, Tang Ling fixed his attention on the tiny impurities in the seams and corners. He utilized almost all his spirit to forcefully remove them.

He had done it!

Tang Ling wanted to celebrate. Had he achieved the esteemed body state that he aimed for?

However, he instinctively felt that something was wrong. There were some impurities remaining, but he was certain that there were none left in his body. Was it a little reckless to judge with his feelings alone?

He furrowed his brows, but a strong feeling made him scan his body with his Precise Instinct again.

Finally, he found where the problem was. He noticed it when his Precise Instinct scanned his heart. The joke that popped up in his mind before he started became real: the seed contained impurities.

Would he leave it as it was? Impossible.

Since he had to coexist with the seed and the seed had impurities, it would mean that his body was shy of achieving the perfect esteemed body state.

Should he remove it then? He still had four more chances before his cells ruptured.

If he used all the chances up, would it be too risky? He did not know whether or not his cells would overload and rupture in the fifth energy wash.

The safer way would be to remove the impurities in the next cultivation session.

So...next time? But...