Forgotten One

After the class, Lei Shu went back to his room and got the mission page. He walked along the same path and made it to the cave mine once again. He got straight to work, he walked right in and brought the pick up into the air and rested it onto his shoulders.

He took a deep breath and surveyed his surroundings. He found a protrusion of rocks he was satisfied with. He greeted the other miners and went to work, pounding down onto the rock surface.

"Hey, how have you guys been doing? Working well, I hope. After I complete this mission, I won't be able to come down to the cave."

Another miner looked disappointed, "Oh, why don't you just start working here with us, it won't be too bad."

Lei Shu thought about it for a second but turned down the offer in the end. "I would help you guys out here and there if I had the time, but I need a mission page to come down here. Without that, I can't do anything."

The miner replied, "Hmm, how about we just hire you ourselves. We'll pay you like it's an actual job, instead of money we'll just give you some of the spiritual stones to keep."

Lei Shu thought of it and thought how beneficial it would be. It could help him surpass other sect disciples in resources. "I'd love too. I have to speak to my sect just to double-check."

Lei Shu already started darting outside of the cave. The other miners were confused, they had a short conversation, but Lei Shu already finished his portion for mining. He already finished his mission, he had 4 stones to keep for himself. He went back to the sect and headed toward the Library.

He walked in and the smell of ancient wood filled his nostrils. He walked to the desk and his eyes met with Ling Yu.

"Oh, young one, you're already back. You're fast for an outer disciple."

Lei Shu bowed as a greeting. "Senior Ling you flatter me far too much. I've finished with 4 extra stones for myself. Uhhh, I also had a question. The miners offered me a position to work with them. Is it possible for sect disciples to also work menial jobs on sect grounds?"

Ling Yu's eyes twinkled as he smiled and let out a belly full of laughs. "Child you truly are special. I've never heard the miners offering positions to outsiders they must like you a lot. Yeah, there's no issue doing extra jobs around the sect, it's even encouraged sometimes. In the end, it will only work to help the sect grow, however, if it impedes your cultivation then you must stop." The Librarian Ling Yu groomed his beard with his hands as he was talking to Lei Shu.

"Master Ling thank you very much, this disciple is grateful and will make sure not to fall behind. Our chat was nice, and I hope we continue to have them. I will be taking my leave, I need to prepare for the Dragon Lantern Festival." Lei Shu bowed once more and made his leave. He left and walked down to the mine.

"Hey there's good news! I'll be able to work with you guys starting tomorrow, just tell me when to come in and I'll be there. If you have any issues just tell me and if you end up not wanting me that is fine as well."

"What a good boy helping out the powerless mortals. He doesn't have to help us but he is so kind and humble."

"What're ya yappin about, he's getting paid isn't he. C'mon boy, you'll be just like one of us so no need to be formal."

All the miners were giving a few words to elucidate their thoughts.

"Come by whenever you want. You don't have to work on a schedule but that means you won't have a salary. You'll be paid a fair amount for the amount of work you complete. I'll be looking forward to seeing you in the mines!"

Lei Shu spoke out as he walked away and waved goodbye. "I'll be training for the upcoming Dragon Lantern Festival, so I won't be at the mine as much. However, after the festival, I will be there a lot more."

Lei Shu finally left the cave trail and made it back to his room. He ruffled his robes and sat down before meditating. He closed his eyes and went straight to work. He took out 2 profound stones from a bag, he placed one in each hand and tried to absorb them. This was the first time he tried to absorb more than one at once.

The energy took forever to leak out but when it did it was very thick. It was difficult to absorb all of that at once, Lei Shu only tried it because he wanted to test his limits. The mental fatigue was terrible, Lei Shu could save time, but he would have to suffer as well. He absorbed the energy, strand by strand making it his own. He was just about at the end when his hands dropped the stones. His mental strength couldn't keep up with 2 stones at the same time.

"It's a work in progress. For now, I should just stick to doing them one by one or else I would just waste energy. Maybe when I get into the late stages of Body Tempering it'll be a lot easier. That festival is coming up soon, maybe I should go check up on Tian Fu."

Lei Shu walked out of his room and walked right into Tian Fu's, he didn't even bother knocking.

"Tian Fu, have you been training to prepare for the Dragon Lantern Festival?"

Tian Fu got up from his bed, "Brother Lei you know I'm always meditating whenever I can. You should check up on that spoiled little girl Ting Ting."

Lei Shu smirked while thinking about Ting Ting, "Yeah it's good to meditate and focus on your mind but won't your body get rusty. What if your body can't keep up with your mind, they should both combine to be one? What do you say to having a little sparring session?"

Tian Fu had already walked out of his room, puffing his c.h.e.s.t out and swallowing a big breath of air. "If that's what you think meet me outside. We'll battle on top of the desert sand. It'll be another restraint for us."

"Brother Tian is a genius; the sand will restrain our movements and our sight. The sand below our feet will restrain our movement and the sand blowing in the air will restrain our sight. What are you waiting for?"

Lei Shu was now already in a fighting position, his body was lowered as he waited for an attack.

"Brother Tian, since you're a whip user, I will call out different body parts, strike each part with your fastest speed and highest precision. You need to be comfortable with fighting against other humans. Once you become comfortable you can increase the strength behind your attacks. A lot of these kids just focus on cultivation base and nothing else. They may appear to be strong, however, if you appear strong no one will pick on you, it's only when you look weaker than them will they pick on you. Sure, it's bad that the ones that look weak get picked on, but they do learn how to fight. The ones that look strong never had to learn how to fight and survive. You can tear one of those kids apart, piece by piece, he is nothing. The ones who pick on others for no reason are the same ones who would never say a word if they were getting picked on. You are truly strong when your actions themselves remain the same, they shouldn't be dependent on the person in front of you. At least not to that degree."

HEAD, ARM, LEG, RIGHT ARM, LEFT LEG, STOMACH, C.H.E.S.T, LEFT PEC, NOSE, RIGHT EYE, RIGHT FOOT, LEFT HAND, LEFT EAR, FINGERS

Lei Shu kept going on and on. He started with listing large body parts, as he went on, he decreased the amount of surface area available to attack. He did this with Tian Fu for the next 2-3 days. Eventually, Tian Fu started improving, and he kept improving as well. He could hit individual body parts as large as a hand. He couldn't yet hit fingers or individual fingers at all.

Tian Fu was dripping with sweat by the end of each session. His hands were filled with calluses, but he never once let go of his whip. "Brother Lei I must take my leave early; it seems my bottleneck has loosened after the continuous training. I'm going to go and meditate, hopefully, I can take one more step closer to the next realm." Tian Fu bowed and turned to take his leave.

Lei Shu looked into the distance and sighed to himself. "Tian Fu has really been putting in work and improving as a result. How has Billa been improving, I haven't seen him in quite a while. Well, he should be with Mo Fan so there's no use worrying about him. Lei Shu crossed his hands in wait, he eventually decided to go back to his room.

On his way back to his room he took another route. Lei Shu went back to the cave mine and decided to do some mining before he went back. The mining has been helping him control his energy and control greater amounts of it as well. On top of that is the training with Tian Fu. Although Tian Fu wasn't using great amounts of energy, he was still using a good amount.

Lei Shu was taking his time with Tian Fu and using him to train as well. Lei Shu had to direct energy towards the areas in which Tian Fu was striking. By doing this it bolsters the defense in that area, doing this continuously increased Lei Shu's defending speed with energy. It also helped to increase his control which means he can use more strength with a greater technique than those in and around his realm. He had 1 stone left and absorbed it very quickly. His control also increased his absorption speed. More energy could be streamed stably into his body without acting out.

He got up and stretched his arms. "Another step in the journey of cultivation, I see the bottleneck in sight. Maybe I can advance before the Festival if I'm lucky. It'll still be fine if it happens the day of the festival and it would be even better if it happens during. Ahh, no point in worrying about it, it'll eventually happen."

Lei Shu decided to rub one out before hopping in the bath. He walked out of a warm steam and put his robes on. His body was a far cry from what it was before he started his cultivation journey. He left his robes a bit looser than usual. He closed his eyes and dozed right off.

The next time he opened his eyes he stumbled off of his bed. He rubbed his head with his hands, "Why is it so noisy outside."

Right before he left his room, Tian Fu ran into it at the same time. Both of their heads collided, and they were knocked back a few steps. "Aw f.u.c.k mann."

"Brother Lei stop cursing and get up. You've been training all this while and now you decide to slack off. Today is the famed Dragon Lantern Festival, a paradise for men in love. At least that's what they say. It'll only be a paradise if any of the women are powerful teachers. I'm pursuing the profound, not love."

Lei Shu turned to him, "Sometimes the profound can be found within love, love in itself is a profound thing."

"Brother Lei what you know and what you don't will be displayed today. Let's see, is my friend a lady's man, maybe he'll even become a lady's, man." Tian Fu chuckled as they both walked out of the room together, they walked straight to the Festival.