Chapter 23: Distributing Cultivation Techniques
While Huo Yuhao's heart was still churning with a tempest of tangled emotions, Furina hadn't been idle for a moment.
She'd been studying the Water God Tome until her head spun. This high-grade stuff was deep—way harder than whipping up cakes. She decided it was time for a break, and tomorrow she'd start distributing the cultivation techniques to everyone.
The first person to receive them would be Huo Yuhao. The kid was her key investment target—she had to equip him with the good stuff and get him growing as fast as possible. Someone who trained earnestly was bound to have far greater potential in many aspects than someone like her, who leaned entirely on the system.
Furina let out a yawn. "Alright, tired, time to sleep. No more thinking about this."
Early the next morning, Furina headed to the kitchen to find Huo Yuhao. The boy was diligent as ever—before she'd even reached the kitchen door, an enticing aroma drifted out to greet her.
She poked her head in and spotted Huo Yuhao busy at the stove, his profile the picture of focused concentration.
"Little Yuhao!" she called out.
Huo Yuhao jolted at the sound, nearly dropping his spatula. He spun around quickly, and the moment he saw it was Furina, an extraordinarily complicated look flashed through his eyes—gratitude, excitement, and something else, something harder to name... a deep, almost familial reverence?
He opened his mouth as if to speak but in the end only answered in a low voice, "Sister Furina..."
Furina, being rather thick-skinned when it came to subtle emotional shifts, didn't notice the fine nuances. She bustled over excitedly and pressed two scrolls into his flour-dusted hands. "Here, catch! Got you two cultivation techniques!"
Huo Yuhao looked down. Both scrolls were made of an ancient, unadorned material—clearly no ordinary items.
"This one, the Taiyi Spirit-Refining Art, is specialized for training spiritual power." Furina pointed at the more mystically-tinged scroll. "Your martial soul is your eyes, so stronger spiritual power's going to be a massive boon for you! You need to train this one as a priority—every single day, no slacking!"
She gestured at the other one, her tone a bit more casual. "And this one, the Mysterious Heaven Technique... I picked it up by chance somewhere. Using it to cultivate—your soul power will advance much faster. Even ordinary people with average talent can catch up to typical geniuses with this."
"Our church doesn't have anything better for foundation-building right now, so make do with this for the time being. But your main energy goes into the Taiyi Spirit-Refining Art, got it?"
She mused inwardly: The Tang Sect's fallen to such ruin anyway—no harm in using their techniques, right? Might even help 'spread their legacy.' Though Tang San probably wouldn't be thrilled, stingy miser that he is. Even after becoming a god, all he left behind was a defective knockoff. All I can say is: nice.
Huo Yuhao gripped the two scrolls tightly, his knuckles going white. He lifted his head and looked at Furina. He thought of that life-saving coin pouch and letter back then, of all the meticulous, unwavering care she'd given him these past days. His throat felt clogged with a thousand words he couldn't force out, all his gratitude and emotion lodged tight in his chest. In the end, he could only nod heavily, his voice carrying the faintest, barely perceptible tremor of suppressed tears. "Mm! I understand! Thank you... thank you, Sister Furina! I'll train like my life depends on it!"
"Ah, what're you being so polite with your sis for!" Furina patted his shoulder contentedly. "Oh, right—your soul power's hit rank ten already. No point keeping it pent up forever. Get ready. Tomorrow, your sis is taking you out of the city to find you a suitable soul ring!"
What she was actually thinking was: The Far North is still out of reach for now, but we can try our luck at the outskirts of the Great Star Dou Forest!
The timing might not be right, but Huo Yuhao was the Child of Destiny of the Douluo Continent, after all. With fortune on his side, who knew? The moment she brought him there, the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm might just come knocking. And then Electrolux's soul fragment might show up right after. That would be the jackpot! Getting their help early would make a massive difference to Huo Yuhao's future development.
Hearing that his soul ring was finally in sight, Huo Yuhao's eyes lit up even more. He nodded firmly. "Alright!"
With Huo Yuhao squared away, Furina swept off like a whirlwind to summon the church's leadership.
Before long, over a dozen people had gathered in the modest council hall. There was Shi Meng, who managed daily order. Old Zhang, in charge of logistics and supplies. Teacher Wang, who ran the Enlightenment school. The newly recruited captain of the guard—a former mercenary. Even City Lord Lei Bao had come, dressed in plain clothes, sitting quietly in the corner. He was now the Water God Church's "Senior Advisor."
Everyone exchanged greetings, curious as to why the Lady Pope had suddenly called them together.
Once she saw enough people had arrived, Furina cleared her throat and produced a stack of copied booklets containing the introductory chapters of the Mysterious Heaven Technique.
"Everyone, if the Church of the Water God is to grow and thrive in the long term, we've got to lay a solid foundation!" She waved one of the booklets in the air. "This is a set of foundational cultivation methods I've acquired—it's called the Mysterious Heaven Technique, specifically for training soul power. Starting today, every core member of this church is going to start practicing it!"
She had Neuvillette hand out the booklets. The recipients flipped them open. Inside were clearly illustrated energy circulation pathways and annotated mnemonics—rigorously structured, logically coherent, and so far beyond the crude soul power guidance methods they'd encountered before it was like comparing heaven and earth.
Shi Meng flipped through a few pages and was so excited he couldn't stop rubbing his hands together. "Lady Pope! This... this is the stuff of those ancient sects from ten thousand years ago, isn't it? This is magnificent! With this technique, the brothers in our church can boost their strength by leaps and bounds!"
Lei Bao studied the booklet intently, a sharp gleam in his eyes. As a Soul Emperor, he could see even more clearly just how extraordinary this Mysterious Heaven Technique was. Though it was only foundational, it was balanced and harmonious, with immense potential. Training with this technique would make cultivation far faster than the conventional methods. Even an ordinary person would have a chance to surpass bona fide geniuses.
"Your Holiness," Lei Bao spoke up, "this technique is indeed exquisite. I wonder... are there restrictions on its use? Might we also promote it among select members of the city garrison for training?"
Furina swept her hand grandly. "No problem! Anyone who sincerely joins our Water God Church and passes vetting can train in it! From now on, this is our foundational technique! Lord Lei, coordinated with Neuvillette on this. Prioritize the core personnel and well-performing believers first, then gradually expand distribution."
She paused, then added, "Cultivation is cultivation, but don't let your duties slide! Anyone who trains all day and ignores their responsibilities—I will revoke their access to the technique!"
Not that revoking it would do much once they'd already learned it, but the words still needed to be said.
Laughter rippled through the room, and everyone eagerly assured her they'd never let the church's work suffer. The atmosphere in the hall was full of warmth and conviction, everyone brimming with confidence for the future.
Watching her cadre of motivated leaders, Furina felt a glow of deep satisfaction inside.
The techniques had been distributed. Huo Yuhao was all arranged. Tomorrow, they'd head out to the Great Star Dou Forest and try their luck... what if she really did stumble onto a treasure?
She was already looking forward to tomorrow's "treasure hunt," and silently praying her luck held. She hoped to encounter the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm and Electors just like in the original story. But she also hoped they wouldn't run into the auspicious beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion—after all, that creature carried traces of that Tang Buddha's handiwork...