Chapter 55 - Core Disciple

Lisa had been injured so severely, her foundation had been directly damaged, and effectively cutting off her path to martial arts. Her senior brother Natsu—an even greater talent—unfortunately died.

Sam had tried various methods to heal Lisa’s injuries, but nothing worked. Any medicine she took lost its potency within a day or two. It was a miracle that Lisa had lasted this long.

But she was barely clinging on now. At most, she had one or two years left.

Sam recounted the story with great sorrow. Gaze burning, Sam looked at Cassius and repeated Lisa's words from two months ago.

Cassius finally understood why Lisa put so much effort and sincerity into training him.

Lisa had placed her endless longing for martial arts and her lifelong hope of perfecting the Azure Wind Flow on Li Wei. In her heart, Li Wei was probably more important than herself. Because her dreams were now his.

The silver pocket watch was actually a relic of Lisa’s senior brother. Lisa hoped that by giving the watch to Li Wei, he would be just as outstanding, brave, and strong as Natsu.

Sam told Li Wei all this so that he would understand that there was someone who valued him more than their own life. He wanted Li Wei to work hard and not let Lisa down.

It was sunny on October 18.

Lisa was about to be discharged from the hospital and Cassius went to accompany her. During their walk, Lisa complained like a nagging mother that Li Wei was neglecting his training.

Moreover, Li Wei, a man of few words, was being so enthusiastic that it felt unnerving. It was like watching a muscular man wear a dress.

Cassius felt a bit wronged. In his forty-odd years across two lives, he was accustomed to being silent and reserved. Maybe it was because he had been alone for so long; Cassius wasn't very good at expressing his feelings. Sometimes, he was even afraid of people being affectionate with him. But he took that step forward today and what did he get in return? A scolding.

But it didn't matter if he felt wronged or not. He had to do what needed to be done.

He wasn’t the kind of person who knew how to sweet-talk others and make them happy. He could only learn by taking one step at a time, fumbling and stumbling through it, until he got better at it. That was Cassius.

The weather was clear on November 4.

Cassius finished his third stick of calming incense, but Lisa didn't scold him this time because he had made some significant improvement in the Wind Elephant Fist.

In the last ten days, Cassius was making progress much faster than before. He was giving it his all now. He learned and understood the concepts faster, and his movements became more precise so that Lisa didn’t have to repeat her instructions over and over. She would then have more time to rest and with how quickly Cassius was moving in his training, Lisa also felt happier.

In the past, Cassius had to occasionally rely on other people to whip himself into shape, but now he was the one holding the whip. No one wanted to improve more than he did.

***

Two months passed, and it was January 7 of the 98th year of the Hongli Federation.

The strong and unpleasant smell of medicinal water filled the air in the meditation room. In the corner was a large pale yellow wooden tub. Only Cassius's head peeked out of the water.

His eyes were closed, and his body assumed the special posture of Elephant Soul, which he had practiced countless times. Invisible medicinal nutrients slowly penetrated his skin and pierced right to his bones. Intense stinging pain crashed down and spread throughout his entire body. It was like he had a thousand needles stabbing into him.

The pain signified he had reached 100% in the first level of Elephant Soul. He'd have to endure this agony every time he trained Elephant Soul in the future.

It took a full six months but he had finally raised his training progress to its peak. Safe to say, it was not an easy process. Especially that last few percent. Without extensive time and intense effort, it refused to budge. Fortunately, he achieved his goal.

In the upper right corner of his vision, a string of text appeared.

[Elephant Soul Incomplete: Prickling 100.0% (Stage Three)]

[Wind Elephant Fist: Gale 99.5% (Stage Three)]

He was only 0.5% away from mastering the first level of the Wind Elephant Basic Combat Arts. But it looked like this last 0.5% still required half a month of training.

Taking a deep breath of the herbal air, Cassius went to the nearby washroom to take a shower. When he came back, he poured out the medicinal water and cleaned the tub. Finally, he placed the tub neatly in the corner and put on his clothes.

Cassius was now around 1.88 meters tall and was bigger than before, thanks to the marrow-washing effects of the Wind Elephant Pill.

Sunlight gleamed off the bronze skin on his bare upper body where his powerful muscles were evenly toned from top to bottom. Although muscular, Cassius had a well-proportioned physique. It was not instantly obvious how muscular he was with his clothes on. When he took off his clothes, however, it was a different story. His large frame and bronze muscles made him look incredibly strong.

He twisted his neck slightly to put on his clothes, his bones making a series of cracking sounds when he stretched his limbs.

When he opened the window, cool air gushed in from the outside, quickly replacing the warm indoor air. It was already January. Though there was no snow outside, the temperature was near freezing.

Suddenly, someone pushed the door open and entered. Cassius turned around. It was Instructor Lisa.

"Instructor..."

"Quick, pack your things! Come with me to Oak City! Oh, and wear the core disciple attire and the pendant." Lisa sounded a bit hurried.

"Instructor, what’s going on?" Cassius asked.

"Your senior brother has returned. The other two core disciples have gone to welcome him and will hold a banquet in Oak City," Lisa explained. Cassius immediately understood.

The aforementioned senior brother wasn’t Lisa's disciple but the senior brother of the entire generation in the Wind Elephant Sect and ranked the highest amongst all core disciples.

Once an ordinary disciple became a core disciple, they automatically moved up a level with core disciples addressing their fellow peers as either a senior or junior. All ordinary disciples, regardless of age or seniority, would address core disciples as a senior brother or sister.

"I’ll get it right away," Cassius said, immediately returning to his room to change into the outfit.

Moments later, Lisa appeared and walked quickly on a distant path. She hadn’t changed her clothes, but she didn't need to. Lisa was just there to show Cassius the way. At ten in the morning, the two headed down the mountain.