Devouring The Heavens Chapter 12 – From Genius to Useless

Xuanyuan skinned the magic tiger skilfully and laid the pelt on a rock to dry.
The flesh of a magical tiger was much more muscular and nutritious than that of wild boars. Again, he separated the meat into two batches; one would be eaten freshly and another would be made into dried meat.
Even though Xuanyuan was wealthier than before, he couldn't go into the city to shop. All that money was useless because he still had to sustain himself by hunting.
He didn't keep the offer from Shi Congyu and Liu Piaoxu a secret.
“The School of Yuehua? Very well, you created this opportunity by yourself. It’s a smart move. I can only teach you for another twenty days. It’s the right thing for you to do." Yun Zhenluo was still wearing her white dress, and she seemed like an immaculate fairy.
Xuanyuan nodded and said,
"I wouldn’t care about the School of Yuehua if you could stay and teach me."
Then he walked outside and sat next to the stream. His heart was uneasy.
His beautiful master came into his life in a mysterious way, but she had been nothing but nice to him. If not for her, he would have been long dead, and then there would have been no chance for him to join the School of Yuehua. That's why he didn't hide anything from her.
He meditated for an hour, and his heart calmed down.
Judging from what he saw, Yuerong had already entered the warrior realm. It meant that if Xuanyuan wanted to become an apprentice of the School, he must become a warrior.
Yun Zhenluo's voice rang in his head, "In order to enter the warrior realm, you have to sense your body. If you can understand the connection between refining your skin and your flesh..."
Xuanyuan understood this immediately. All the pores on his skin were breathing and being cleansed by Qi; the impurity inside him was being forced out.
At this point, Xuanyuan could feel his skin trembling. For just one moment, he felt the flesh under his skin!
An energy suddenly burst from inside his muscles! He had been circulating the spiritual Qi from the universe in large quantities, which was also benefiting his muscles. The Qi rushed into his muscles, and there was a loud roar.
Xuanyuan felt his skin and muscles combining their power!
He knew that he had already entered the warrior realm. His strength was enhanced, jumping directly to twenty-four bulls from eighteen!
Even if a magical bear was standing in front of him, Xuanyuan was still confident he could defeat it.
Yun Zhenluo sensed his breakthrough and was surprised.
"He understands the connection between skin and flesh already. He only just stepped into the warrior realm but immediately acquired twenty-four bulls of strength. That's twice what normal people have when they become warriors. This apprentice of mine has the physique of a monster.”
"Good." Yun Zhenluo stepped out of the tree house. She was holding a scaled armor shirt made from soft metal and handed it to Xuanyuan. It was covered in tiny scriptures and had some martial techniques engraved on the side of it.
"This is a sacred instrument for purifying your skin. The martial technique is called ‘The Five Taloned Dragon'. In the following training, you will have to absorb Qi into your muscles in order to enhance the strength of your body. Remember, to achieve the best results, you have to close your pores after absorbing a certain amount of Qi, so the Qi won't leak back out. This armor is named 'Fire Dragon Scales’. I give this to you."
Xuanyuan took the armor. He was incredibly excited and carefully memorized all the writing on the sides. Then he slipped the armor under his top. The soft armor suited him perfectly and was very comfortable. He believed that the protective power of the armor was much stronger than the dragon scale. His life is much better protected with this armor.
"All right. Now I'll demonstrate ‘The Five Taloned Dragon'."
Yun Zhenluo's shoulders were showing from her dress. Her dark hair danced while her jade-white fingers gathered into a fist. Suddenly, she looked like a flying dragon. She punched out, and a dragon-shaped wave rushed from her fist. Her dark hair was floating, and in a second, all of her pores closed.
"The strength of a bull is about brute physical strength. The stronger the physical power, the stronger the force. Strength can crush everything, but the power of a bull is only the most basic of strengths. When you reach an even higher realm and gain the strength of a dragon, you'll understand what I mean."
Yun Zhenluo was like a dragon ascending to heaven - elegant and swift. She looked intimidating. Xuanyuan could only look up in awe.
"Warriors use Qi to refine their flesh and strengthen the body. This is to build up a solid base for the higher realms. You have to keep as much of the Qi inside your body as possible. To do that, you need to close your pores. If your Qi leaks out, your strength also disperses. I trust that you can imagine the consequence of that." She finished her demonstration as she finished speaking. She breathed out. The air she breathed out hit the ground with such force that it created a small ditch.
"Qi cannot be forced into your body. In order to strengthen yourself, you need the help of a sacred instrument which turns Qi into fighter Qi, so it can be absorbed into the body. It depends on the person to understand the practice method."
Xuanyuan observed seriously. The atmosphere that radiated from Yun Zhenluo transformed when she was demonstrating the Five Taloned Dragon. Her dark hair and dress were floating on the air as she moved.
Xuanyuan suddenly realized the great gap between himself and Yun Zhenluo. They live in completely different worlds, a world he could not reach.
She left immediately after she finished.
He nodded but didn't say a word. He quickly sat down on the ground and started to absorb Qi into his body, then closed his pores. He started to practice the Five Taloned Dragon. He had already memorized all of the movements.
Xuanyuan was not very familiar with martial techniques, but after a few hours, he became much better. His power was purer, transforming into fighter Qi.
Just when Xuanyuan was going to absorb the Qi into his muscles, his strength drained away suddenly. All that hard work was in vain. He didn't understand what had happened. Not even Yun Zhenluo understood.
The same thing happened continuously over the next seven days.
By practicing the moves, Xuanyuan's strength grew from twenty-four bulls to thirty bulls. However, every time he tried to absorb the Qi into his muscles and turn it to fighter Qi, it would disappear. Xuanyuan was extremely frustrated.
Knowing that Xuanyuan was upset, Yun Zhenluo gave him an encouraging smile,
"Go and eat something. It is perhaps related to your special physique. Don't give up."
Her encouragement was the most effective boost to Xuanyuan's confidence. He learnt from Yun that a fighters' limit was nine bulls of strength normally, but his limit was eighteen, on par with an ordinary warrior. When he entered the warrior realm, his strength was double that of an ordinary warrior who had just broken through. Because of his special physique, it was only normal that he would encounter more difficulties than other people.
"Beautiful Master is right. I'm not an ordinary man. I'm a rare genius. A little setback won't matter. At least I've memorized all the moves. Even if I won't be able to enter the master realm, it's not Master's fault." His smile surprised Yun Zhenluo, but she understood soon after.
"As long as you don't go into the heart of the Beastly Forest or provoke people who are extremely powerful, your strength will be more than enough to keep yourself safe." Yun Zhenluo would be leaving in ten days. She still couldn’t fully comprehend Xuanyuan’s special physique. She had heard of a special type of physique. People with that physique would be very strong when they were still fighters and warriors, but they would have great difficulty breaking through to certain realms. Perhaps Xuanyuan was someone like that. It would be terrible for his ego - since he considered himself a prodigy - but in the end, not all young talents could blossom into greatness. Yun Zhenluo still wished for him to live a happy and safe life. Maybe he wouldn't become a master, but he could still live a comfortable life.
Xuanyuan's eyes dimmed. He wasn't an idiot, so he understood that Yun Zhenluo wanted him to stay safe, but he was still frustrated. He felt like he was falling from the sky.
"I understand, Master."