Promise!

Chapter 207, Thunder Sound

Time flies like an arrow, and more than two years have passed in a flash. It is now the winter of the fifty-fifth year of the Qianyuan era.

On the Han River, which borders Yunnan and Donghu prefectures, the water flows gently. Remnants of the heavy snow from ten days ago still linger in the shaded areas along the banks. Boats part the shimmering, silvery surface of the water and move forward.

On the ship's deck, Chen Yun and Yu Qingjun sat facing each other, playing chess.

Not far away, Shen Xujun set up her easel and was painting, recording this moment.

Over the past two years, the group has traveled to seven counties in Yunnan Province: Anfeng, Danhua, Yuyang, Guangping, Wanliu, Linji, and Qinghe. They have also visited some places in the neighboring Donghu Prefecture.

Besides some famous scenic spots, such as the Wangjiang Tide in Yuyang County, the Feilai Peak in Guangping County, and the Liuyi Spring in Wanliu County...

We also visited many remote places, such as Huoyun Cave, where the stone patterns are twisted and gnarled, the rocks are uneven, and the cave is full of strange rocks, all in a uniform deep crimson color; the ancient temple in Ruian, hidden in the mountains and deep in the forest, the mountain gate is quiet and hidden among the bamboo groves; and Qianren Mountain, whose height is unknown, with a cave at the top, through which a narrow crack can be seen to see the sky...

While traveling, Shen Xujun also had the idea of ​​searching for the relics of immortals, but perhaps due to lack of luck, she did not find them. However, she did enjoy the endless scenery. Every time she traveled to a place, Shen Xujun would make a painting to record it, and now she has accumulated a thick stack of paintings.

Mu Qing leaned against the mast, wearing a fox fur coat and holding a cup of tea in her hands.

She was born weak and had a cold constitution. In winter, she would become listless and lethargic, and it would be too discouraging for her to participate in activities such as playing musical instruments, chess, calligraphy, and painting!
When it comes to playing chess, none of the family members could beat her unless they intentionally let her win. If they got serious, Zhuang Jin could only manage a draw at best. Facing Mu Qing was like facing a supercomputer, so gradually the family members stopped playing with her as much.

"Sister Qing, what do you think of my painting?"

Shen Xujun felt that she was in high spirits today and performed exceptionally well. This ink landscape painting reached her peak, and a sense of joy permeated the tranquility and serenity within it.

"They've already entered the inner sanctum, but they're still a little short of reaching the pinnacle."

As Mu Qing spoke, she picked up her brush and made a dot at the corner, where a human figure could be vaguely discerned. It was like adding the finishing touch to a painting, making the layers of the painting more distinct, and the painting seemed to come alive in an instant.

“No wonder my husband said not to compete with Sister Qing in any mental activities. I haven’t been able to beat her even once in the past two years. I’m convinced. It seems that besides cultivation, the only thing I can do to beat her is in this one area,” Shen Xujun said, blinking.

Upon hearing this, Mu Qing glanced at Shen Xujun, a rare hint of anger flashing across her face, disrupting her usual cool and pure demeanor. She knew perfectly well what was wrong with her, but Zhuang Jin had personally judged her: "What would the young talents in the manor feel if they knew that a woman as talented as you could utter such absurd words?"

"Sister Qing should ask her husband how he feels!"

Mu Qing: ...

Even now, the two women still occasionally engage in "palace intrigue," but their relationship is actually quite good. After all, people are emotional beings. Over the past two years of traveling together, they have enjoyed a free, unrestrained, and joyful time, and have already built a deep bond around Zhuang Jin as the center and the link.

It was during this journey, traveling thousands of miles, that the nurturing of nature gave them an indescribable spirituality compared to two years ago.

Suddenly, the ship swayed slightly, and the light above it seemed to distort faintly. The women stopped what they were doing and looked over, a thought simultaneously forming in their minds: 'Why is my husband making such a commotion while cultivating today? Could it be that he has broken through again?!'

……

The time was slightly earlier than expected.

Inside the cabin, Zhuang Jin felt the innate true qi condensing into a vortex in his dantian, neither increasing nor decreasing, and he felt a faint sense of expansion. He exclaimed, "After more than two years of long cultivation, I have finally completed the accumulation of the first level of the innate true qi realm!"

This process took much longer than he had anticipated. After breaking through to the Innate Realm, he no longer had access to other precious resources to accelerate his cultivation, and could only rely on his own accumulation bit by bit.

'Breakthrough to the second level of the Innate Realm—Qi-Driven Thunderous Sound—is today!'

Zhuang Jin thought to himself, closed his eyes and began to circulate his cultivation technique. The vortex of Qi in his dantian seemed to break through an invisible barrier and suddenly began to rotate faster. His Ren and Du meridians frantically drew in the primordial energy of heaven and earth and poured it back in with a roar.

boom!
A massive amount of primordial energy from heaven and earth is compressed through the Xuan Guan acupoint and enters the body. After passing through the twelve regular meridians and the eight extraordinary meridians, it finally converges in the Dantian Qi Sea. Under the compression and rotation of the Dantian Qi vortex, it is like being ground repeatedly by a large millstone, gradually changing from a pure gaseous state to something like cotton wool or mist.

A full quarter of an hour later.

Zhuang Jin opened his eyes and felt that the innate true qi in his body had been refined to a higher level, completely changing from a gaseous state to a flocculent state. After carefully experiencing it, he went out of the cabin.

"Husband!" Chen Yun led the way, with Mu Qing, Shen Xujun, and Yu Qingjun following behind, some half a step behind and others a full step behind, all with concern in their expressions.

"I made some progress in my cultivation today, and I made quite a commotion. Let me show you something interesting."

Zhuang Jin lightly touched the ground with his toes and jumped from the boat into the river. He waded across the waves and stopped when he was thirty or forty feet away from the boat. He then mobilized his innate true energy and struck out with his palm.

Swish!
Unlike the past, which was a light and shadow illusion formed by mobilizing the primordial energy and airflow of heaven and earth, this time it was a dazzling silver dragon shadow condensed from innate true energy. Its whole body was crystal clear and lifelike. It shook its head and swayed its tail forward, skipping across the water as if it were skimming across the surface, leaving behind a series of small explosions.

boom! boom! boom! boom! boom!
The water vapor refracted the sunlight, forming a rainbow that stretched for more than ten meters.

'Is this the second level of the Innate True Qi Realm—Qi-Driven Thunderous Sound?!'

Zhuang Jin shrugged, and the Azure Lotus Sword on his back was drawn from its sheath and brought to his hand. He poured his true energy into it, causing the azure blade to glow. Under the sunlight, a blue lotus light and shadow took shape.

Swish swish!

As he practiced the "Tai Xu Sword Technique" on the water, a sword aura flew out with each strike.

boom! boom! boom! boom!
Compared to the dragon shadow unleashed by the Black Fiend Palm, the range of each sword energy explosion was over ten feet in diameter, and each explosion was accompanied by a fleeting glimpse of a blue lotus phantom.

hum!
Zhuang Jin flicked the Azure Lotus Sword in his hand, and the sword light suddenly split into four, causing thunder to rumble in all directions.

This is clearly the Lesser Mastery level of the "Tai Xu Sword Technique".

At a certain moment, as his movements accelerated again, like a silver bottle suddenly breaking and water gushing out, the "Tai Xu Sword Technique," which had reached its limit, broke through to another level.

Wow!
Zhuang Jin spun around and soared into the air, where the sword light split into eight.

Swish, swish, swish!
At this moment, countless sword energies crisscrossed the sky, falling like raindrops and exploding on the river's surface. Those fleeting lotus flower phantoms resembled blue lotuses blooming angrily on the water's surface amidst a torrential downpour. Rumble, rumble, rumble!
As if thunder had exploded, the waves on the river rose higher than the entire ship. The phantom of the blue lotus bloomed and vanished in an instant, like a fleeting moment. The remaining true energy in the air combined with the water vapor and condensed into palm-sized blue lotuses that floated by.

From the moment Zhuang Jin began his sword dance, the women on the boat couldn't take their eyes off him. Just as men enjoy looking at beautiful women, women naturally enjoy looking at handsome men; it's pleasing to the eye.

Of course, the women were not shallow people and would not fawn over a man simply because he was handsome. However, the deep and varied feelings that Zhuang Jin had accumulated with them over time were different from what they had imagined.

Only now, amidst this romantic, beautiful, and dreamlike scene, did they come to their senses. They instinctively reached out to touch the floating blue lotus light that seemed within reach. Upon contact, the light shattered, sending a slight tingling sensation through their skin.

Swish!
Zhuang Jin took a step back and landed, the Azure Lotus Sword returning to its sheath behind him. Looking at the women who had surrounded him with watery eyes, he coughed and said, "We didn't go back for the New Year for the past two years. This year, it's the end of the year again, so we'll return to the city again... A couple of days ago, the head of the family also sent a message saying that he had something to discuss."

……

Ten days later, Zhuang Jin and his party returned to the prefectural city. Zhuang Jin went to meet Shen Xianhong, while Chen Yun received her younger brother and sister-in-law. The other two wives, Shen Xujun and Mu Qing, who had not returned for two years, also went back to their parents' homes.

……

Now that Shen Xujun's status and position are different, when she came to see her mother, her aunts, sisters-in-law, and other relatives came spontaneously upon hearing the news.

After some polite refusals, she sat in the second-highest position after her mother. Some elders, aunts, and sisters-in-law sat below her, their words full of flattery and ingratiation. This made Shen Xujun feel quite complicated. As the fifth young lady of the Shen family, she was already among the top elites in the city. Now, as Zhuang Jinping's wife, she was even more honored.

After she distributed the gifts, the atmosphere became even more lively.

"Fifth Sister, what is this jade for?"

"These mechanical vehicles and mechanical birds can actually move on their own!"

"Wow, colorful pearls?!"

……

Shen Xujun explained one by one: "This is the Peace Jade from Da'an Temple in Guangping County... These mechanical objects were the idea proposed by my husband, and made by Sister Qing... These colored pearls are from a large clam that my husband took us to a strange pool in the deep mountains. He said they are rich in the primordial energy of heaven and earth, and can be ground into powder to beautify the skin..."

"I learned a lot from listening to it."

"It's so enviable to be able to travel around like this. I've never even left the city since I was a child!"

"Fifth Sister, please tell us about it!"

……

Shen Xujun briefly recounted a few interesting anecdotes from her trip, which captivated the young ladies, filling them with longing and wonder. When she produced a stack of paintings documenting her travels, they were met with even more exclamations of amazement.

The third young lady, Shen Xuyun, felt a pang of envy and regret upon hearing this, but now that she was married and a wife, she didn't dwell on it.

Seventh Miss Shen Xuhan looked at Shen Xujun, who was at the head of the table and enjoying the compliments in the center of the crowd, but she felt unbalanced and couldn't help but feel jealous, which made her smile look a little forced.

In the past two years, many suitors have come to propose marriage, but when asked for her opinion, she has refused them all on the grounds that she "doesn't like them." After all, she almost married Zhuang Jin back then, and subconsciously used Zhuang Jin's standards as a reference. So how could these "ordinary people" satisfy her?
Shen Xujun keenly sensed the jealousy in many people's eyes, and shook her head slightly: "And that's not all. I haven't even mentioned the fox fur my husband gave us after killing the spirit fox; my martial arts realm is now at the Tenth Level, and I haven't taken any breakthrough pills; and there's also the armor of the Yin-Yang Flood Dragon, a beast at the Bone Forging Realm..."

At this moment, she felt incredibly fortunate to have seized the opportunity.

……

Compared to Shen Xujun's various gifts, Mu Qing, as Mu Yuantu's only daughter and born with a weak constitution, was pampered from a young age, so her older and younger brothers gave her more gifts.

Mu Yuantu's gaze was complicated as he looked at the fox fur coat his daughter was wearing: "Made from the hide of a beast at the Yi Jin realm, not bad. It seems my son-in-law hasn't mistreated you. I'm relieved!"

“My husband is very good to us. In the past two years, our daughter has traveled with us and broadened her horizons…” Mu Qing said softly.

When Mu Yuantu saw his daughter talking about Zhuang Jin, the icy coldness on her body seemed to melt away, and the liking and admiration in her expression could not be concealed. This made him quite jealous: "Hmph, that kid seems alright now, but if he changes his mind one day and dares to treat you badly or make you suffer, just come back, and I will teach him a lesson for you!"

Mu Qing didn't mention that Zhuang Jin had broken through his cultivation level, and that her father probably couldn't defeat him now. She simply said, "My husband is still missing a movement technique from an innate martial art. Why don't you do him a favor, Father?"

Human hearts are made of flesh and blood. After more than two years of getting along, she gradually accepted the identity of Zhuang's wife and her heart leaned more towards Zhuang Jin... Of course, she knew that Zhuang Jin was a person who valued relationships and would not let his father suffer a loss, so this was a good thing for both of them.

“Originally, my son-in-law practiced the Yin-Yang Two Elements Palm, which was quite compatible with my Bagua Swimming Dragon Step. But now that he has switched to using a sword and is taking the light and agile approach, it is not so suitable for him. I’ll take another look!”

Zhuang Jin is not suitable for the "Eight Trigrams Swimming Dragon Steps" for one thing; on the other hand, Mu Yuantu and Shen Xianhong have a tacit understanding to leave Zhuang Jin with a weakness in order to maintain the balance between the three of them... Even if this tacit understanding is to be broken, it would be best to exchange something for Zhuang Jin's innate level martial arts skills.

Mu Qing understood all this, but she couldn't reveal Zhuang Jin's cultivation level. She sighed inwardly, "I'm afraid that Patriarch Shen might have some ideas and preemptively strike first."

……

In the inner courtyard of the Shen family, in the plum garden, on the second floor of the bamboo and wood building called "Taoguang Pavilion," the place where Zhuang Jin first met Shen Xianhong after breaking through to the Meridian Opening Realm and advancing to the level of a Venerable, he sat here again after several years.

Unlike when he first met Shen Xianhong, Zhuang Jin's martial arts intuition told him that Shen Xianhong was like a towering mountain, and he was cautious and measured in the face of the final test. Now, they were on the same level, and Zhuang Jin's realm had even surpassed that of Shen Xianhong.

A pot of Yunyin tea, with wisps of steam rising and the aroma of tea lingering in the air.

Shen Xianhong poured Zhuang Jin a cup, then took out a booklet and pushed it over: "This is the innate martial art 'Free and Easy Wind Control,' which is in the same lineage as the Swift Wind Step. You should be able to use it."

Zhuang Jin glanced at it but did not accept it: "I cannot accept a reward without merit. May I ask what brings you here, Master? Please speak freely."

……

(End of this chapter)