Xu Yi was fully absorbed in Teacher Zhou’s intelligent remarks.

However, he felt rather uncomfortable, as Teacher Zhou had turned out to be a worldy-wise man, who was able to see straight through him. In front of Teacher Zhou, Xu Yi felt it was impossible to hide his strengths and weaknesses.

“I’m but a useless old man, slowly drifting through the rest of my life. So, don’t worry, I’m tight-mouthed.” Teacher Zhou somehow sensed Xu Yi’s suspicious mind, so he promised he wouldn’t leak any information concerning Xu Yi.

“You’ve greatly aided me, Teacher Zhou. I won’t forget your generosity. I would never doubt you.” Xu Yi hurriedly tried to flatter Teacher Zhou.

Xu Yi admitted that, occasionally, he would be very cynical and conceited. He was, after all, a loyal man. In other words, he fully trusted in his teacher and would never betray him.

“Oh, come on. Don’t hoodwink me with generosity, it’s an honest exchange. Ah.. I know your trick, flatter me and get free answers. Haha, I won’t take your bait.” Teacher Zhou said jokingly. He then grabbed the cup again, drinking like a fish.

“Actually, I’ve already paid the Drunkard Workshop to send you wine at a 15-day interval. The money I paid is enough to supply you for a whole year. I hope you will enjoy it.” Xu Yi said with a sincere smile.

Teacher Zhou intently focused his eyes on Xu Yi. Without saying another word, he walked to a nearby room and shortly after returned, carrying a brown box.

“Previously, you had asked me why someone could exert three-oxen strength within the realm of a forged body, remember? Look, the item in this box is titled ‘Dominating Strength’, which will teach you how to gain that strength.” Teacher Zhou handed the box over to Xu Yi.

On hearing the words ‘three-oxen strength’, Xu Yi eyes lit up in excitement. He opened the box, in which he found a thin piece of black paper. To Xu Yi’s surprise, it was made of iron.

“Originally, this ‘Dominating Strength’-manual was found in a secret place by my Sifu. If you cultivate accordingly, you will be able to exert three-oxen strength, even in the forged body stage. However, not everyone is able to comprehend and learn this technique. You require an energetic physical body and a sensitive soul to achieve the desired strength. However, the most amazing part is, that it will triple the strength every time you breakthrough into the next realm..” Teacher Zhou patiently explained.

Like all other cultivators, techniques were like an unattainable dream for Xu Yi. Now, however, he was extremely thrilled and he couldn’t wait to read it. As he started reading, he murmured: “Top-level chilian herb, eyes of an aged snail, gallbladder of a bear.. Teacher, why are all these medicines required for the cultivation process?”

Back when he was cultivating the Crazy Ox Fist, Xu Yi had only rigidly followed the qi chart, which showed the flowing route of the qi in the body. Plus, he would occasionally use the low-grade Oolong herb, which was the only herb he had to replenish his energy. It was fair to say, that he had reached the peak state of a forged body merely by diligence, rather than the help of external assistance, such as rare herbs or medicines.

“No offense, young man, but you’re almost an illiterate in Wu Dao. I’m wondering how it was possible for you to enter the peak state of a forged body. Alright, let me take advantage of my seniority and share my knowledge on this subject with you. Look, all special techniques require rare medicine to aid, or even allow, the cultivation process. You know, compared to nature, our human energy is rather limited. Therefore, we’ve got to exploit nature’s energy and mix it with our own. But how do we do this? One way is by eating these rare medicines. However, I should warn you.. It’s only after you’ve reached a certain point in the cultivation of a technique, that nature’s energy will harmoniously blend within your body. Taking the ‘Dominating Strength’-technique as an example, the timing of eating the medicine is crucial.” Even though Teacher Zhou seemed to be rather startled by Xu Yi’s lack of knowledge, he seemed to be rather happy to share his knowledge with this youngster.

“Frankly, it was already twenty years ago, when I obtained this ‘Dominating Strength’-technique. Both my Sifu and I were cultivating this technique, but neither of us succeeded. We actually accumulated all of the medicines required, however, even with the aid from these medicines, we didn’t manage to overcome the obstacles of reversing our tendons and vessels. We painstakingly attempted to overcome this obstacle, however, sadly, we would only end up completely exhausted and in unbearable pain, both physically and spiritually. Kid, you possess a powerful soul, I’m confident that the ‘Dominating Strength’-technique will become well-known because of you.” Teacher Zhu continued.

“I can’t possibly thank you enough, Teacher Zhou. I’m truly endlessly grateful for your help!” Xu Yi couldn’t help, but express his gratitude to Teacher Zhou.

During the previous two years, he had seldom had access to the theories regarding Wu Dao. But he did remember Liao Chen’s words – Training manuals for special techniques in Wu Dao were extremely rare to get a hold on, especially for those top techniques.

The Tranquil Fist, for instance, was regarded as Elder Feng’s most-cherished technique. Although, it took quite some time to accumulate the required strength and had side-effects after overdrawing your strength, it was still rare and precious. In comparison, the Dominating Strength was an upgraded version of the Tranquil Fist, as it will add its strength, after you reach the three-oxen strength. It was justifiable to say, that the Dominating Strength was the rarest technique Xu Yi had seen in this world so far.

“It’s far too early to thank me. After all, I’m not giving you all of this for free. Since you’ve accepted the ‘Dominating Strength’-manual, I expect that you’ll make sure that I’ll never run out of wine for the rest of my life. Deal?” Teacher Zhou retorted Xu Yi’s thanks with this request.

“This is priceless. Buying some wine for the rest of your life, it’s nothing compared to this manual.” Xu Yi replied.

“The technique is as useless as a piece of wastepaper to me, while the wine is my lifeblood. I exchanged some wastepaper for my lifeblood, isn’t it the perfect deal?” Teacher Zhou explained.

“Alright, from now on, I’ll be responsible for supplying you with wine for the rest of your life.” Xu Yi knew he owed Teacher Zhou a lot more, than a couple kettles of wine...

“Ah, deal! Alright, I’m going to get some more sleep now. You’d better not lose anymore of your precious time in advance to your fight. Oh right, before I forget, the Eastern City is a nice place to visit, I suggest you to go there and have a look around.” After saying these last few words, Teacher Zhou went back to sleep.

..

The arc-shaped stone gate was the entrance to the Eastern City. Peeking through the gate, Xu Yi saw a boundless place – a heaven for cultivators!

The street was extremely wide, enough for ten horses to run parallel. The towering mansions and pavilions were closely built together, like the teeth of a comb. Dragons and phoenixes were sculptured on the eaves of these buildings, probably serving as a token. Xu Yi was instantly intoxicated by the atmosphere of this city.

The people walking on the streets were all distinctively dressed: The monks that walked here, had wrapped themselves in loose cassocks, holding a cane in their hands. The succubus's wore straightjackets, emphasising their seductive curving body. The Daoist Priests walked barefooted and in plain clothing. The Confucian scholars were waving their folding fans, showcasing their learned and refined manner.

However, among all of them, the saddle beasts were creating the most attractive scene. Lions, tigers, deer and elephants, you name it. The most impressive one, was a giant python, slithering down the street, while carrying a young man with goggle-eyes.

Soon after, Xu Yi saw a drunken man in white clothing coming from the wine workshop, sitting on his saddle beast, which was a gigantic eagle. After he murmured something to the eagle, it flew up high into the sky and soon after, they disappeared in the clouds.

All of this reminded Xu Yi of an old saying – (腰缠十万贯，骑鹤下扬州) “Millionaires ride cranes to tour Yangzhou [1].”

Xu Yi stood rooted to the ground, amazed by this mysterious, yet marvelous, ‘new world’.

.........