Chapter 21: Cultivation Techniques
The news that City Lord Lei Bao had brought his entire manor under the banner of the Church of the Water God was like strapping a rocket booster onto an already speeding carriage.
The Church of the Water God—or rather, the soon-to-be-renamed "Fontaine City"—saw its development shoot up yet another steep grade.
Before, when the church needed to get things done, even with a managerial genius like Neuvillette holding the reins, its foundations were still too shallow. They'd had to watch the faces of the city's other powers and maneuver around the occasional petty obstruction. Now? With the City Lord's Manor as "family," it felt like playing a game with the official cheat codes activated.
Land grants? The City Lord swept his hand and assigned a whole tract of unused land in the western district to the church, under the grand label of "supporting religious and cultural development." Permits and paperwork? The City Lord's clerks sprinted faster than anyone, stamping and signing in one seamless flow, so efficient that even Neuvillette found himself at rare leisure for a few days—finally free to refine the church's internal management regulations down to such specifics as the "Weekly Rotational Duty Schedule for Believer Sanitation of Common Areas."
Recruitment? Once, the church had to go begging. Now, talents of every stripe were fighting tooth and nail to get in. Even a few soul masters in the City Lord's own guard had been discreetly inquiring whether the church was still accepting new members.
The entire atmosphere of the city shifted. Those voices that had once treated the church with skepticism, or worked against it behind the scenes, were now utterly silenced. The guards patrolling the streets, spotting someone wearing the church's insignia from a long way off, would offer friendly smiles. The city's merchants had learned their lesson too—supplies to the church were now not only fairly priced but of conspicuously superior quality. For a time, "Fontaine City" (everyone had already grown accustomed to calling it that) settled into a strangely harmonious and prosperous state, as though every citizen had become an unofficial congregant.
This city-wide fervor of faith, combined with the formal allegiance of the City Lord's forces, brought Furina one immediate, tangible benefit—system points began pouring in once more, rising so fast her heart practically blossomed with joy.
And far away, in the imperial court at the heart of the Star Luo Empire's power, Emperor Xu Jiawei did, on a certain day, indeed come across that document from the border city of Thunderclap—ah, no—the one applying to be renamed "Fontaine City"—amidst the mountainous pile of memorials.
Xu Jiawei picked up the memorial and scanned it, his brow utterly unmoved. A remote border town changing its name? Such trivial minutiae couldn't even register in his eyes.
The memorial merely stated that it was to highlight local character and to pray for favorable weather. Lei Bao had been wise enough not to breathe a single word about the Church of the Water God. He knew what could be said and what could not.
Xu Jiawei carelessly picked up his imperial seal, dabbed it in the ink paste, stamped a decisive "Approved," and tossed the memorial aside. His mind had already flown back to the tense border situation with the Sun Moon Empire or the delicate power balance within the imperial household. The name of a little border town stirred not a ripple in his thoughts.
How could he have imagined that behind this seemingly insignificant name change, a new power was quietly rising—and that the name "Fontaine" would one day, in the annals of the Douluo Continent's history, be written in the boldest, most indelible strokes... But of course, that was a story for another day.
Let us return our gaze to the thriving headquarters of the Church of the Water God in Fontaine City.
Furina looked at the soaring points on her system panel and rolled around on her bed in sheer delight. The feeling of having money (points) was so good! Before, she'd been scraping and scrimping, every pill purchase a stab of pain. Now, at last, she could be extravagant!
She crossed her legs, flopped back, and opened up the "Random Technique Blind Box" section of the system shop—a section that had remained stubbornly grayed out until recently, when her points had finally crossed the threshold. The gamble was huge and the price steep, but the techniques drawn from it were supposedly from various high-level worlds, guaranteed quality, only the contents were entirely random.
"Leveling up solely through system mission rewards feels too much like cheating—so hollow and unreliable." Furina rubbed her hands together eagerly, staring at the blind box icon radiating mysterious light. "Fortune favors the bold! What if I pull some divine, heaven-defying secret art perfectly suited for me?"
She hardened her heart and paid the staggering sum of points. The light screen blazed with radiance, flickering through several flashes like a gacha animation, before finally settling on several ancient-looking scrolls that materialized in her hands.
[Congratulations, Host! You have received Random Technique x4]
Mysterious Heaven Technique (Unabridged Edition) – Originating from a world associated with a certain Tang-named expert. Contains the complete inheritance of the Mysterious Heaven inner strength cultivation method, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Step, Mysterious Jade Hand, Purple Demon Eye, and Crane-Dragon Control. Balanced and harmonious, with immense potential.Water God Tome (Fragment) – Originating from a certain supreme divine realm. Appears to resonate with the Host's title. A supreme art for commanding all waters and comprehending the laws of water. Currently an introductory fragment; further chapters require karmic opportunities or point exchange to complete.Taiyi Spirit-Refining Art – Originating from a certain great chiliocosm. Specializes in spiritual power cultivation, tempering and condensing the soul. At its highest realms, the soul may leave the body and divide into thousands.Flame Mantra (Evolvable) – Originating from a certain Dou Qi Continent. A bizarre technique capable of continuous tier evolution through the absorption of exotic flames. Limitless potential, yet the cultivation process is extremely dangerous. Requires a fire-attribute constitution or one of immense willpower to attempt.
Furina stared at the four techniques, her eyes wide as saucers, her emotions riding a rollercoaster.
"The Mysterious Heaven Technique! And the unabridged version!" She picked up the first scroll, her hands trembling slightly with excitement.
Now this was a "fine item"—the signature skill of that Tang Buddha. Although it was a technique from a martial-arts worldview, here on the Douluo Continent—this bottom-tier fantasy world—it was a genuine treasure.
The main issue, really, was probably just that the people of the Douluo Continent were too damn lazy. Tens of thousands of years had passed, and they'd never come up with a single proper cultivation technique. No wonder progress was this slow every ten millennia.
Speaking of Tang San...
That Tang Buddha really knew how to play the game. He'd clearly become a god—a God King, no less—yet the technique he'd left for his descendants was an incomplete, abridged version. Was he that afraid of teaching the disciple well enough to starve the master? Could only say: how very typical of Tang San.
"Forget it. No point dwelling on it."
Furina shoved thoughts of that Tang Buddha aside. They only annoyed her.
She picked up the Water God Tome fragment. The scroll was cool to the touch, and faint patterns resembling flowing water seemed to ripple across its surface.
"The Water God Tome? A perfect match for me, the Pope of the Church of the Water God!" She felt a trace of familiarity and resonance from the scroll, and her heart surged with joy. "It's only a fragment, but just the sound of it is impressive. Commanding all waters! Will I be able to summon tsunamis with a wave of my hand someday? Mm—I'll train in this one first!"
Next, the Taiyi Spirit-Refining Art. "Specialized in spiritual power? This is great! Perfect for Huo Yuhao. Maybe it'll let him use his soul skills more efficiently and expand his perception range."
Huo Yuhao's martial soul was a body-type martial soul, Spirit Eyes, with a spiritual power so ridiculously strong it was off the charts. Letting him learn this was definitely the right call.
Finally, the Flame Mantra. "Uh... the Flame Mantra..." Furina picked up the scroll, which radiated a faint heat, her expression turning a little odd. "Evolvable is nice, but you need to absorb exotic flames. Sure, I could use system points to buy them, but... I'm water-attribute! No way I can train in this."
"Should I give it to Ma Xiaotao? Forget it. I can't stand her personality, and she's at Shrek anyway." She curled her lip and tossed the Flame Mantra aside. "Into the storage box it goes. Maybe I can use it to trade with some fire-type person in the future?"
Her thoughts sorted, Furina decided to mainly cultivate the Water God Tome fragment, with the Taiyi Spirit-Refining Art as a supplementary practice to temper her spiritual power. As for the Mysterious Heaven Technique... she could hand it out to the Water God Church's members. Trash it might be, but its universality was strong. And she could mock Tang San on the side while she was at it.
Maybe later she could even use it to lure Tang Ya and her Tang Sect over. What kind of face would Tang San make if he found out? Would he cast aside all dignity and face to come down and deal with her personally? Here's hoping the God of Destruction—the one truly upright god in the Divine Realm—might catch wind of it.
She couldn't wait to unfurl the Water God Tome fragment. As always, the system auto-translated, and the profound incantations and energy circulation pathways flowed into her consciousness like a gentle stream.
She tried guiding her soul power according to the technique. At first, there was some resistance and sluggishness, but soon she could feel the water elements omnipresent in the surrounding air growing more intimate and familiar. Faint, nearly imperceptible specks of blue light began slowly merging into her soul power, imbuing it with a cool, gentle, and moist essence.
"It's working!" Joy surged in Furina's heart. The progress was slow, but this feeling—clearly sensing her own strength growing incrementally and resonating with the elements around her—was far more fulfilling than relying solely on system infusions.
After cultivating the Water God Tome for a while, she decided to take a break and ponder the future.
"Hmm... looks like I'll need to make a cultivation schedule," Furina mused, rubbing her chin. "Mornings for church affairs. Midday and afternoons training in the Water God Tome and the Taiyi Spirit-Refining Art. Tomorrow, distribute the Mysterious Heaven Technique for everyone in the church to learn, and give the Taiyi Spirit-Refining Art to Huo Yuhao. Perfect! As for the Flame Mantra..."
She stuffed the Flame Mantra and the other techniques into her storage ring. Let them sit for now and await their destined user.
She walked to the window. Gazing out at Fontaine City, now beginning to take shape under the sunset glow, Furina felt her heart swell with ambition.
"My own cultivation techniques, my own territory, my own followers, and a future superstar..." She drew a deep breath, feeling the road ahead radiant and boundless. "Once my divine arts are mastered, and Huo Yuhao grows up alongside me—won't we be able to swagger across this Douluo Continent as we please?"
The premise, of course, was... not provoking those true old monsters. Especially that Tang Buddha.
But for now? Best to just revel in the joy of being a nouveau riche... ahem, of steady, robust growth!