112: Chapter 112 High-Altitude Training Methods

“Congratulations!”

“Congratulations!”

“Young Master Zhao, congratulations, congratulations!”

“Young Master Zhao, congratulations on your housewarming!”

“A small gift, just a token of our appreciation.”

...

Zhao Feng stood at the intersection, inviting family after family of villagers to sit in front of the house. Although they only brought local products like millet and eggs, they were filled with genuine sincerity.

Seeing everyone's cautious and constrained behavior, terrified of dirtying the pristine white floor, Zhao Feng tried his best to reassure them, but it was in vain, so he had to let them be.

“Fellow villagers, the two of us suffered a great disaster, and we were fortunate enough to be taken in by all of you. I, Zhao, am deeply grateful. We are hosting this banquet today, first, to thank everyone for taking us in, and second, to celebrate moving into our new home and share some lively company with everyone.”

After speaking, Zhao Feng bowed to the villagers.

“Thank you all for taking us in. I... my husband and I would like to thank everyone here. If there is anything we can help with in the future, please don't hesitate to ask.”

With that, Luo Ying also bowed.

“You two are too polite.” Nominated by the villagers, Old Man Li stood up. “We have yet to thank you, worthy couple, for your help to our Li Family Village. Li Family Village has always lacked water, but now we don't have to worry about water at all.”

With that, the villagers also stood up one after another, cupping their hands in gratitude toward the two.

“Everyone, let's not keep thanking each other back and forth. The food is getting cold, let's eat together!” Zhao Feng walked over with Luo Ying, sat down at a table, and spoke loudly.

“Yes, yes, yes! Everyone, pick up your chopsticks quickly. This old man's stomach has been growling for a while.”

Urged by Old Man Li, everyone began to eat.

“Mmh! This is absolutely delicious!”

“This dish is so tasty!”

The rising and falling sounds of praise made Zhao Feng feel delighted. Although this wasn't his first time cooking, receiving everyone's unanimous praise naturally brought a unique sense of satisfaction to his heart.

Seeing Zhao Feng's beaming face, Luo Ying smiled gently. “This guy is just like a child.”

Thinking this, she also became very curious about the food everyone was praising so highly. After all, when she was helping to serve the dishes, the aroma had already awakened her long-dormant appetite.

She picked up a piece of green vegetable and put it in her mouth. It was crisp, sweet, and the subtle saltiness was just right. It was indeed delicious.

However, what shocked her even more was that there was actually a faint trace of Spiritual Qi in these dishes. Although it was far inferior to a Spirit Pill, it was still of immense benefit to these ordinary villagers.

These villagers are truly blessed to have such good food!

The lunch continued until every single dish was licked clean. Zhao Feng felt a bit embarrassed by this; they had actually cleared all the plates. Although this meant no waste, it also gave a feeling that there wasn't quite enough food.

But looking at the villagers' full bellies, basically everyone was stuffed.

Some of the young girls and young wives even approached him privately, hoping to learn how to prepare these delicious dishes. Zhao Feng naturally agreed; this wasn't some grand secret. Although these people might not be able to make food filled with spirituality, the stir-frying method itself was something that could easily be popularized.

The tables were a mess of empty plates, but fortunately, some helpful older women stepped in to wash the dishes, which was a huge help.

In this way, the days of living in harmony with the villagers passed day by day. Zhao Feng also frequently used his abilities to help the villagers, making the neighborhood ties increasingly close. On the contrary, Luo Ying's injuries showed no signs of full recovery; although there was no longer any internal bleeding or bruising, her memory had still not returned, and no one knew why.

The relationship between the two grew closer and closer, but since both were novices in romance, they had not yet made things explicit, always separated by a thin veil.

Zhao Feng's re-establishment of his Foundation Establishment was also complete. Now he only needed to wait for his spiritual energy to be fully replenished until he resonated with heaven and earth, triggering his own Lightning Tribulation, to step into the true Golden Core Stage.

Although Luo Ying's memory had not recovered, she could wield her magical power with ease. The two often sparred and discussed techniques, which gave Zhao Feng a solid understanding of his own strength.

Excluding the effects of his Steel Body, in terms of spiritual energy accumulation, Zhao Feng was at least at the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment. However, relying solely on his spiritual energy cultivation, because he only knew Martial Skills and not a single Spell, his overall strength was roughly around the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment. But when factoring in his Steel Body abilities, his strength would infinitely approach the Golden Core Stage—and this was only because Luo Ying could not fully comprehend the methods of the Golden Core Stage.

Spells were his shortcoming, so Zhao Feng naturally grew enthusiastic about learning them.

Luo Ying was highly proficient in ice Spells, and she also had a basic understanding of low-tier Five Elements Spells, all of which she taught to Zhao Feng. Since some Spells consumed a lot of spiritual energy and were quite powerful, Zhao Feng often flew into the clouds to practice at high altitudes. This not only increased his proficiency with his Steel Body but also made it convenient to replenish his spiritual energy by absorbing solar radiation.

On the fifteenth day of the month, after having breakfast, Zhao Feng bid farewell to Luo Ying and flew up into the clouds.

Before he left, Luo Ying looked a bit strange, and even her temper was quite irritable. However, when Zhao Feng asked her about it with concern, she didn't say anything. Zhao Feng didn't suspect anything either, assuming it might just be her time of the month, and only thought about returning earlier.

In the blink of an eye, Zhao Feng had broken through the cloud layer and arrived high in the sky.

Zhao Feng floated in the air, the clouds beneath him feeling as solid as the earth. Below his feet was a vast sea of clouds, and the golden sun radiated infinite light and heat, making his Steel Body jump with joy.

Zhao Feng subconsciously opened his personal status panel.

Host: Zhao Feng (Human)

Realm: Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment

Personal Evaluation: 535

Special Ability: Steel Body (Advanced 95.23%)

Special Items: blade aura (Low Grade Spiritual Artifact), Ever-Changing Robe (Low Grade Spiritual Artifact)

Martial Skills: Great Dragon Fist (Fully Mastered), Centipede-Piercing Spear Technique (Highly Skilled), Tree Flight (Consummate), Stone Throwing Technique (Highly Skilled).

Spiritual Techniques: Spiritual Root Vision Technique (Special), Fire Ignition Technique (Novice), Pyromancy (Novice), Hydromancy (Novice), Dendromancy (Novice), Metal Manipulation (Novice), Geomancy (Novice), Cryomancy (Minor Achievement), Ice Arrow (Beginner), Ice Rain (Novice), Frozen Hell (Unlearned).

With so many more skills, he could only increase his practice time. The newly acquired Spiritual Techniques, in particular, were the most wondrous.

Once these Spiritual Techniques were basically mastered, they would form a peculiar two-dimensional symbol within the spiritual liquid inside the Dantian. When his consciousness focused on this symbol, he would suddenly understand its meaning.

And when his understanding of the corresponding element progressed further, the symbol would change, becoming more complex. From the ice-attribute symbol, it was clear that it originated from the same lineage as the water-attribute. The basic Hydromancy and Cryomancy shared the same foundational parts. To learn or create stronger Spells, one had to take their understanding of the basic Spells to the next level.

The System thoughtfully continued to use the same mode of expression as the Martial Skills, giving Zhao Feng even greater motivation to practice. Every single moment of practice was raising his Spell proficiency.

Above the clouds, except for light, water, wind, and ice-attribute Spiritual Qi, other elemental Spiritual Qi was very scarce. However, this did not affect Zhao Feng's usage; it was just that the power was slightly weaker, and Zhao Feng himself was constantly generating Spiritual Qi.

“Fireball!” With a thought from Zhao Feng, a fireball floated in front of his chest. As his Mental Energy directed it, the fireball shot out. “Explode!”

The fireball exploded with a loud bang in the distance.

The flight speed of a Spell seemed to be limited by the strength of one's Mental Energy, while the range was limited by the coverage area of one's Mental Energy.

This continuous exploration put Zhao Feng in high spirits. Running along the path of discovery was truly wonderful!

Watching the sun begin to sink in the west, Zhao Feng returned, thoroughly satisfied.

The distance from above the clouds to the ground was only a few minutes' journey. He figured that by now, Luo Ying must have already prepared dinner and was waiting for him.

Thinking of that figure leaning against the doorframe, Zhao Feng couldn't help but feel a warmth in his heart.