Chapter 9: Minor Illumination Breathing Technique!
Translator: AstralGhost Editor: Kurisu
Bei Feng swept his eyes across the room. The ambience, the charm and the artistry of the place all gave him a huge sense of accomplishment.
‘Not bad...everything’s prepared. The only thing left now is to wait for the Eastern wind,’ Bei Feng nodded lightly. [1]
Grabbing his second-rate mobile phone, he keyed a phone number in and pressed the “dial” button.
“Doo, Doo!”
Bei Feng was unsure of whether he could successfully invite Wang Jian to come over. After all, he was a rich tycoon. Such a person would usually have little time to spare.
***
“Boss Wang, please sign this document.”
Within a huge, sunlit room, located in the top part of a tall building in the heart of the city, a curvy young woman with an ample front and perky hips walked in gracefully. She was dressed in a business attire which flaunted her slender waist and long legs.
“En, bring it to me.”
Wang Jian was standing beside a huge floor-to-ceiling French window and looking down upon the entirety of Qingcheng. He merely spared a short glance at the young woman as he replied blandly.
Wang Jian looked through the document for a short moment and, pulling out an expensive fountain pen, swiftly signed his name on the document. The exquisite signature was just like dragons flying and phoenixes dancing. [2]
“Hello? Who is it?” Just as he was about to stamp his seal on the document, his mobile phone suddenly rang. Wang Jian looked at the incoming call with an unknown number and hesitated for a moment before accepting the call.
This was his private phone and not a business line, he used it only to contact his personal circle of friends. Thus, it was rare for him to receive a call on this phone from an unfamiliar number.
“I hope I find you well, Boss Wang. I’m the person who sold you the Golden Silk Blood Eel the other time,” Bei Feng’s unhurried voice was emitted from Wang Jian’s mobile.
“Ah, so it’s you... how is it? Did you find another Golden Silk Blood Eel?” Wang Jian immediately remembered Bei Feng. After all, the kid had left him with a pretty good impression the last time.
“It’s not that... I was just thinking of inviting you over for a lunch treat.”
Bei Feng’s main purpose was to have Wang Jian spread the word about his new restaurant for him. Therefore, he had no intention of charging him any money for the meal.
“Hoho, there’s no need. I have a few meetings to attend this week, and might be unable to spare any time at all,” Wang Jian replied in a mild but roundabout manner.
“Give me a chance. I promise that the ingredients will not be inferior to the Golden Blood Silk Eel!” Bei Feng was a person who was experienced with the workings of the society. How could he possibly be unable to tell that Wang Jian was finding excuses to refuse his invitation?
“Alright… I’ll come over tomorrow afternoon,” the conversation descended into an awkward silence before Wang Jian finally agreed.
“Great! I’ll come over to the village entrance to fetch you when you arrive. Please carry on with whatever you were doing. I shall not keep you any longer!” Bei Feng did not waste any more words and ended the call immediately.
“Heh, young people these days are so utilitarian-minded...” Wang Jian put his phone back and chuckled to himself.
Did this kid who had given him a good impression in the beginning turn out to be the kind who likes to curry favor with the powerful? ‘Forget it. Since he’s so confident, I’ll just go and take a look myself,’ Wang Jian thought.
“Mission accomplished!”
Bei Feng put away the phone excitedly. ‘I wonder what made Wang Jian agree so easily. Well, it doesn't matter… as long as he’s willing to come over, he’s guaranteed to be satisfied with the food!’
His footsteps light, Bei Feng picked up the Purple Bamboo Fishing Rod and skipped all the way to the well. Not even bothering to attach any bait, he immediately cast the hook into the Ancient Well.
Somewhere within a strange world, amidst a huge mountain range, there stood a gigantic mountain whose summit towered over the clouds. Deep within the mountain range, a number of man-made structures occupied a large area around the gigantic mountain. The entire area was girdled with clouds and mist, causing it to resemble the dwelling of deities.
One of the mountains looked like it had been cleft in two by a sword at some point in the past, causing its top to become an enormous, flat area, its surface completely smooth. Many vague figures of humans bustling about on it could be seen from afar.
Countless young men and women, clad in clothes just like those worn in the ancient times, were standing atop the flat-top mountain. To their front, there were a few middle-aged men who were, shockingly, hovering in mid-air! They were radiating an overbearing pressure toward the crowd.
“I shall now call out the name of the person who obtained the first place in our entrance examination… Qin Fan!”
One of the middle-aged men hovering in mid-air announced with an indifferent tone. His voice, both deep and thick, was heard clearly by every single person on the mountain. Such a degree of control over his strength could be said to have reached the peak of perfection.
Immediately, the countenance of a young man amongst the crowd lit up with delight. Tidying his silken robes hurriedly, he clasped his hands behind his back, proudly puffed his chest out and walked up to the middle-aged man.
“The first place contestant will receive one Origin Qi Pill and one Minor Illumination Breathing Technique!” The middle-aged man flicked his palms. Immediately, two items appeared in mid-air. One of them was a jade bottle. Within it, there lay a single milk-white pill the size of a quail’s egg. The other item was a thin book, shrouded in a faint, white light.
The moment those two items appeared, the eyes of every person in the crowd turned red with envy.
With the Origin Qi Pill’s assistance, there was no need to go through a long and arduous process to gather Origin Qi within the human body. One just needs to take a single Origin Qi Pill and they can easily condense Qi within their body.
As for the Minor Illumination Breathing Technique, it was something that only the top ten outer court disciples could possess. It was no wonder that everyone in the crowd was filled with envy when they saw it.
With the wave of a hand, the items were sent flying toward Qin Fan.
In that moment where Qin Fan was stretching his hand out excitedly to receive the two items which were about to reach him, something strange happened.
A single line, as thin as a strand of a spider’s silk, descended from the sky. The line seemed to have stretched across an incredible distance, and a glistening jet-black hook was hanging from its end.
‘The Origin Qi Pill is only the icing on the cake. The Minor Illumination Breathing Technique is the real reward! With this breathing technique manual, I will have a head start over the others. Once I obtain it, every step after that will become increasingly easy, and my advantage will soon snowball to a point where my peers will not even be able to catch a glimpse of my back!’ As he watched the manual come closer, Qin Fan felt his heart rate speed up, as an intense heat spread out from his chest.
Just as the tip of his finger brushed against the Minor Illumination Breathing Technique manual, a black gleam suddenly appeared from the corner of his eye. In a flash, it arrived right in front of him and firmly attached itself onto the Minor Illumination Breathing Technique manual. Wait, was that… a fishing hook?!
As quickly as it had appeared, the black-colored hook shot upward into the sky again, Minor Illumination Breathing Technique manual in tow.
“Second place, Wang Lin!” The middle-aged man continued with a dull voice.
“Elder! My Minor Illumination Breathing Technique manual! Ah! It’s returning to heaven!” Qin Fan broke out of his stupor and shouted. [3]
“Creating a fuss over nothing… how inappropria… WHAT?! Holy sh*t! It’s really returning to heaven!
Zhao Wu was feeling quite displeased that his announcement was interrupted, and was about to berate that brat Qin Fan. These kids were really getting out of hand… screaming and shouting about every little thing, with no regards for their elders and the event at hand. However, before he could even finish his scolding, he saw the Minor Illumination Breathing Technique manual rapidly disappear into the sky above. Zhao Wu was so shocked that he had unwittingly shouted out some curse words.
“Tsk tsk, this is incredible! Your daddy here has lived for so many years, but this is the first time I’ve seen something novel like this… ” [4]
A few elders who were similarly floating in mid-air were also staring dumbly at the Minor Illumination Breathing Technique manual which was becoming smaller and smaller by each second, a strange expression hung on their faces.
“Elders… that’s my Minor Illumination Breathing Technique manual…“ Qin Fan said weakly.
“Oh, that’s right! Quick! We must get it back!”
“Which evildoer is it? How dare you come to our sect and act so brazenly?!”
A few elders appeared to have woken up from their stupor. They immediately charged into the skies in pursuit, the tip of their ears still red in their embarrassment.
However, their efforts were in vain. They could only watch the Minor Illumination Breathing Technique manual getting further and further away from them as they found that they were completely unable to catch up with Bei Feng who was reeling the hook in furiously.
Bei Feng was turning the axis wheel with an absolutely unreal speed. Such vigorous hand movements and wrist strength was not something that can be easily trained without being a single man for at least twenty years… [5]
“As expected, today’s a lucky day for me!” Bei Feng was ecstatic. There should be a great harvest this time!
As he anticipated, a hazy, white light soon emerged from the black swirl.
“Ding! Fisherman has caught a Grade 1 treasure, Minor Illumination Breathing Technique manual (absorb the first rays of the rising sun; persistence for a long period of time will result in the casting off of one’s old self and complete remoulding of the body). Experience +300!”
The Myriad Heavens Fishing System’s voice from before sounded out in Bei Feng’s mind once again.
‘Grade 1 Minor Illumination Breathing Technique? There’s even a grade assigned to it?!’ Bei Feng was stupefied. There was also the increase in experience points! How come that, previously, they did not increase at all?
‘Don’t tell me… the fish and the chicken I caught previously weren’t worth anything at all in the eyes of the System?’ Bei Feng was flabbergasted as he realized this.
However, with the facts present right in front of his eyes, Bei Feng had no other choice but to accept it. Shaking his head and pushing all random thoughts out of his head, he picked up the Minor Illumination Breathing Technique manual.
The Minor Illumination Breathing Technique manual was rather thin, only being as thick as a finger. Its surface was smooth to the touch, causing one to wonder what kind of material it was made of. Filled with anticipation and with his heart racing, Bei Feng swallowed nervously as he gingerly turned over the cover of the manual…
‘WHAT THE F*CK IS THIS LANGUAGE?!’
Bei Feng couldn’t help but let loose a stream of curses upon seeing the curvy, worm-like characters which adorned the cover page of the manual...
[1] TL/N: This is an idiom derived from the historical novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In the story, Zhuge Liang and friends had prepared a grand scheme to engage and trap their enemies within a blazing inferno. All the preparations were done perfectly, and the final crucial thing they needed for the plan to succeed was an Eastern wind to blow the fire towards the enemy forces. ED/N: Yes. So, the “Eastern wind” means simply that all preparations are ready save for some final element.
[2] ED/N: Long story short, it means his signature looked cool. This expression is often used to describe the way something is written.
[3] TL/N: Author uses 上天了 here which is usually referred to a dead person’s soul going up to heaven. This has the same meaning as “x person is returning to heaven to be with God”.
[4] ED/N: A chinese way to sound more proud and arrogant; there are similar expressions such as this elder brother, this grandpa, this aunt etc. In most of those cases, they’re used to refer to oneself (i.e. this daddy I/me), although sometimes they can be also used to flatter others.
[5] ED/N: LOL… This part made my day, I can even give author some face and forget about the hidden injuries the MC supposedly has.