Chapter 1132 Mengmeng’s Cultivation Starting to Go Awry
“You can directly advance to the Middle-Stage?” Nina’s eyes widened in amazement.
“Why do I feel that a lot of basic knowledge about cultivation has been overthrown by Uncle Zhang?”
“You skipped a level?”
“Holy cow! Boss, you’re awesome!”
Seeing everyone’s shocked look, Yue Wuwei chuckled.
“Do you know why he succeeded in skipping a level? In truth, I figure that he could have directly made it to the Last-Stage or the Peak-Stage.”
“Really? Why did this happen?”
“Because he was ready to enter the Yuan Ying Realm a long time ago. But he had been suppressing himself, so had the rules of heaven and earth. By now, his cultivation has been too solid. Thus, it’s not a surprise for him to directly get to a high level. The benefit is that… his control over his strength can be better. It’s also conducive for his comprehension of cultivation. This can also be a lesson for you,” Yue Wuwei remarked. “Of course, you have to act according to your own abilities. Not everyone has the ability to suppress their cultivation as he did.”
“Uncle Zhang is really amazing,” Nina said in a wors.h.i.+pful tone.
“Well, you can all go to make your own breakthrough now. When you reach the Yuan Ying Realm, you will have the ability to protect yourselves,” Zhang Han urged with a smile.
“Is there anything we need to pay attention to when making the breakthrough?” Zhang Guangyou hesitated for a moment and said, “What happened when you made the breakthrough just now was indeed a little scary.”
“Don’t worry about this. That happened only because the supernatural powers and the cultivation method I’ve been cultivating are very special. You should just cultivate as you usually do. Run your cultivation method and meditate. After you enter the Yuan Ying Realm, just try to carefully feel the changes in your body,” Zhang Han answered.
“Alright, there is no time to be lost. Everyone, go make your breakthrough. It will also take some time to stabilize your cultivation. We will be arriving in the Cloud Shadow Sky in less than three days,” Zhang Mu said.
Thus, these people left this training room one after another.
Mengmeng was in a daze when she saw Mu Xue, Zhao Feng, Ah Hu, Elder Meng, Leng Yue, Chen Changqing, Zhang Guangyou, Lord Nan Shan, and the others enter other training rooms.
When she returned to the lounge, she told Zhang Han, “Daddy, I want to cultivate, too.”
Tugging at Zhang Han’s hand, she said, “I don’t know how to use my soul sense yet.”
“Okay, I will teach you.”
Hearing this, Zhang Han took Zi Yan and Mengmeng into the training room on the side.
Nina thought for a moment before she also went off to cultivate. Yue Xiaonao had nothing to do, so she went to do her homework.
The others who were supposed to make a breakthrough began to cultivate in seclusion.
“What is soul sense?”
Zhang Han and Zi Yan sat next to Mengmeng. Little Hei lay beside Zhang Han’s leg.
The lesson began. “Soul sense is equivalent to our second pair of eyes. It’s not X-ray vision. It’s more like infrared scanning. Its first function is to help us explore the surroundings. Look, when we go to relics, since the environment there is brand new to us, we don’t know if there is any hidden danger. In the forest, there are many dangerous creatures that can’t be detected by the naked eye. There can even be some invisible spirit beasts. In this circ.u.mstance, we need to use the soul sense so as to stay safe.”
“Shouldn’t we first activate our defensive treasures when we enter a relic?” Mengmeng asked, her big clear eyes blinking.
“Yes, opening our defensive treasures is the first step. After that, we need to use the soul sense.” Zhang Han chuckled, then continued, “The soul sense can help us discover some imminent danger in advance. In battle, with the soul sense, we can observe the enemy’s moves more carefully. These are the basic uses. It also has more profound uses. For example, you’ll mainly rely on your soul sense to cast incantations and illusions.”
“You mean magic?” Mengmeng’s eyes lit up. She was very interested in this aspect.
“Yes, you can also call it magic.”
“Then I want to learn magic.”
“I’ll teach you in the future.”
“Can’t you teach me now?” Mengmeng asked in a daze.
“Your soul sense has just taken shape. It’s still very delicate.” Zhang Han thought for a moment and said, “The soul sense can have many functions and be very powerful. But the moves involving one’s soul sense also have a lot to do with the target you choose. If you learn to cast illusions, you will be able to easily confuse ordinary people. But those with the same strength as you will see through your illusion effortlessly. If you are not careful when performing highly aggressive soul sense secret skills and incantations, you may get hurt or your target may resist. It can damage your soul sense instead. Suffering a backlash will lead to serious consequences. Therefore, it takes time to acc.u.mulate your understanding of soul sense. As you may have noticed, those who have just entered the G.o.d Realm basically don’t use moves that involve soul sense.”
“No, Daddy, I heard from Aunty Xue that some people can already use magic when they are at the Qi Strength Level, including the frightening beheading magic,” Mengmeng refuted.
“That’s because people have different specialties. Some of them have sophisticated secret methods. Some of them are extraordinarily talented. Some also possess soul sense earlier than others do. Some people can use special methods to perform soul sense-related secret skills even without soul sense. Those are usually the ones who can use incantations at the Qi Strength Level. But in their case, compared with normal situations, they’re more likely to suffer a backlash. The risk is at least 10 times higher,” Zhang Han explained. His face became serious.
When teaching Mengmeng how to use soul sense, he first told her about its disadvantages and things to pay attention to.
Regarding Mengmeng’s cultivation, Zhang Han had figured out a complete teaching system over the years.
Mengmeng had already had a great head start. Now was only the beginning of her cultivation.
“That is to say, I can’t learn those magic arts now, can I?” Mengmeng pouted.
“No, you still can,” Zhang Han replied immediately.
He would never let his little girl down.
“But I’m not powerful now. Won’t I be in danger?” Mengmeng said.
“It’s dangerous for you to learn those powerful moves. But you can still learn some simple ones.”
Zhang Han chortled and said, “I was planning to teach you magic when you were at the Innateness Middle-Stage. But since you want to learn it now, I’ll teach you some skills. You have to learn them step by step. That’s to say, you need to master the first one before you start learning the second one. That’s it.”
“Okay, I’ll listen to you and learn the magic arts one by one,” Mengmeng promised with a smile on her face.
“Well, the secret skill I’ve prepared for you is the 100 Styles of Soul Sense Secret Skill. You can call it 100 Styles of Magic if you like. Anyway, it’s just a name. Relax your mind. I’ll pa.s.s on the knowledge to you now,” Zhang Han instructed.
These 100 kinds of soul sense secret skills were carefully selected by Zhang Han. These secret skills had great potential and room for progress. Also, these were relatively easy to learn and very practical. The 100 secret skills included fighting skills, defense skills, illusions, camouflage skills… and almost all sorts of skills that could be useful for a cultivator.
Zhang Han had put a lot of thought into these 100 styles. Therefore, how could these be ordinary?
“How can I relax my mind?” Mengmeng sat upright. After closing her eyes, she let her imagination run wild. Thus, she quickly opened her eyes.
“Just relax.”
“Well, but, but my attention wanders.”
“It’s okay. Relax…”
Zhang Han stretched out his left hand and gently touched Mengmeng’s head.
He stroked her head one time, two times, and three times.
“Swis.h.!.+”
Zhang Han’s pupils lit up. The detailed information of the 100 kinds of secret skills was instantly transmitted into Mengmeng’s mind.
Zi Yan, who was sitting on the side, did not say anything. She just looked at the father and daughter with a smile on her face. She felt warm and happy at this moment.
Occasionally, images of the past flashed through her mind.
She still remembered that the day she sent Mengmeng to Zhang Han’s residence for the first time.
The little girl kept babbling, unwilling to part with her. After she sat there for a while, she quarreled with the bullheaded Zhang Han and stormed out.
When she left, she felt a sense of emptiness. But she comforted herself by thinking that she would only be away from Mengmeng for a few days. She wanted Mengmeng to know what it felt like to have a father. Anyway, Zhang Han was her biological father. At least, he would not starve her.
However, before a week had pa.s.sed, the father and daughter came to Xiangjiang by themselves. When she received Mengmeng’s call and heard her happy tone, she actually felt a little sad.
Thus, after she rushed to Shang Jing, she soon hurried back to Xiangjiang. But to her surprise, the father and daughter were having a great time together, and Mengmeng already became a little clingy to Zhang Han.
At first, she was worried that Zhang Han wouldn’t like Mengmeng. But after seeing them get along so well while she and Zhang Han still had no future at that time, she began to dread losing Mengmeng.
Mengmeng was only four years old at that time. She was a very cute girl who followed Zhang Han everywhere.
In the blink of an eye, she had grown into a big girl. Now, she was almost 1.6 meters tall.
“The spark of our love perhaps started from that moment.
“We had a child before we fell in love.”
Zi Yan’s smile was very sweet.
She felt that the arrangement of fate was too wonderful for words.
If it weren’t for the fact that there was something wrong with her health and that she could only get pregnant once if she was lucky, she would not have gone to another country to give birth to the child she and Zhang Han had out of wedlock.
“It’s all as fate would have it. G.o.d wants to give me such a perfect husband.
“Otherwise, how could Han have been reborn after he died in the ninth tier of the Tribulation Stage?”
“G.o.d has specially sent him over to be my husband.”
“Why are you smiling?”
Zhang Han looked at Zi Yan with amus.e.m.e.nt.
“It’s nothing.”
Zi Yan’s beautiful cheeks were glowing with a smile. Her eyes were glinting with affection.
If they were in the castle at this time and Mengmeng were not with them, they would probably have a crazy ride again.
Hearing her reply, Zhang Han lifted his hand and pinched Zi Yan’s face with his index and middle fingers.
Five minutes later, Mengmeng opened her eyes, which exuded wonder and amazement.
“Daddy, I’m dizzy. You taught me 100 styles. It’s too many.”
“Take time to learn them one by one.” Zhang Han chuckled. “We have nothing to do at the present anyway. You can study the first style right now. I’ll teach you if there’s anything you don’t understand.”
“Okay.”
Mengmeng obediently closed her eyes and began to comprehend the first soul sense secret skill.
“Daddy, this magic tortoise…”
Mengmeng looked at Zhang Han speechlessly and muttered, “Why do you want me to learn to condense a soft-sh.e.l.led turtle first?”
“What are you talking about?” Zhang Han touched his forehead with awkwardness and said, “That’s a tortoise, not a soft-sh.e.l.l turtle.”
“Well, it’s a turtle,” Mengmeng immediately answered, “It also has other names. Anyway, it’s a kind of tortoise. Tortoises are not much different. If others see this thing I conjure up, they will definitely take it as a turtle. Won’t it look a little ridiculous?”
“How could it be?” Zhang Han said with amus.e.m.e.nt. “The more advanced kind of tortoise is the Black Tortoise, one of the Four Symbols, which has a proper place among the ancient demonic beasts. A Black Tortoises’ defense is extremely amazing. Some of them can even move mountains and seas. They are certainly powerful. This Spiritual Tortoise Secret Skill, the first secret skill you should learn, will improve your soul sense’s defensive ability. You can’t discriminate against tortoises.”
“I don’t discriminate against tortoises. It’s just that it doesn’t look cool.” Mengmeng snorted, then complained, “Look at Aunty Xue, Uncle Chen, Uncle Hu, Uncle Feng, and Daddy yourself. Every time you people fight, the moves you make are magnificent. But I can only throw a few fireb.a.l.l.s and brandish a whip. That’s all.”
“Then I will teach you a few more moves later. But that should wait until you learn these 100 styles first,” Zhang Han coaxed.
“Alright,” Mengmeng mumbled.
Actually, she wanted to say that the Fire Whip and the Fireball Skill she performed now were already very powerful.
In that martial artists’ gathering, she easily beat up a group of Grand Masters with these two skills. The Fireball Skill was particularly amazing. Though she had only used half of her strength, the fireball she conjured up created a huge pit in the ground.
Mengmeng felt that she was already very powerful.
The last time she saw An He, she was not a martial artist yet. But now, she didn’t even think An He was impressive at all.
But why did Mengmeng always feel that she was not powerful enough?
It was because of the people she had come into contact with. These people were either in the Elixir Realm or the Yuan Ying Realm. They had all been able to explore the Sea Dragon Star Area. Obviously, those in the Innateness Realm could no longer impress Mengmeng anymore.
“Daddy, I can’t condense the tortoise.”
Mengmeng tried her best, but it didn’t help.
“Take it slow. Don’t worry. Follow the way of soul sense’s operation. Everything is difficult at the beginning. If you can condense a shadow of a tortoise now, after practicing for a few more days, you will be able to condense a solid one,” said Zhang Han.
“But I can’t understand this part.”
“Which part?”
“…”
They worked hard for two hours.
“Sizzle!”
Mengmeng looked ahead attentively. While she was focused and determined, her soul sense was constantly converging according to a special pattern.
Finally, the faint shadow of a Spiritual Tortoise was formed.
It was just that, unlike ordinary Spiritual Tortoises, the shadow of the tortoise Mengmeng had condensed had several sharp spikes on its back.
Zhang Han didn’t know what to say.
“This is the shadow of the Spiky Spiritual Tortoise.
“How come Mengmeng has conjured up the shadow of an ancient strange beast with this simple magic trick?”
Zhang Han was rather speechless.
Zhang Han had seen a Spiky Spiritual Tortoise once. Its defense was amazing, and the spikes on its back were also deadly weapons.
At that time, 13 third-tier Tribulation Stage cultivators were trying to capture the Spiky Spiritual Tortoise.
At first, the Spiky Spiritual Tortoise was rather aloof in the face of their strikes. It merely put on its defense. But later, it was irritated when one of those people’s supernatural power really hurt it. The spikes on its back rose from its body and soared as if flying swords, which took more than a dozen lives in an instant.
That glimpse of the fight held Zhang Han in trepidation. Thus, Spiky Spiritual Tortoises were certainly not easy to deal with.
Now, Zhang Han was amazed when he saw the shadow condensed by Mengmeng.
“Isn’t this a Spiky Spiritual Tortoise?
“If she condensed a solid one, her soul sense would not only have amazing defensive power but also strong offensive strength.
“She’s only in the Innateness Realm. How could she already be able to conjure an ancient strange beast?”
Zhang Han had a headache.
His own pursuit of cultivation was already like a derailed train that was far off from the normal track.
His soul sense sea and Yuan Ying were not like normal cultivators’ at all.
Now, when Mengmeng just began to cultivate the soul sense methods, she started to go awry as well.
“Could this be a trend?
“A thousand years has pa.s.sed in the Cultivation World. Is it that the way of cultivation is different from what I experienced before?
“That’s unlikely.”
“Could it be because Mengmeng is the Heavenly Lord…”
The only possibility that Zhang Han could think of was that being the Heavenly Lord and his daughter, Mengmeng was not an ordinary person since she was born.
“Alas. Perhaps it’ll become harder and harder to teach her in the future.”
At this moment, Zhang Han had a lot on his mind.
When Mengmeng finished condensing the shadow, she finally looked excited.
“Daddy, I made it. Is this a Spiritual Tortoise? It looks quite cool.”
“It’s indeed special.” Zi Yan stroked her chin with her right hand and scrutinized it for moments before saying, “It looks quite majestic, just like a Beast King.”
“Well, you’ve grasped the basics in just a couple of hours. You’re my daughter indeed. I’m impressed.” Zhang Han put away his thoughts and praised Mengmeng.
“Hahaha, of course I’m impressive.”
Grinning, Mengmeng withdrew her soul sense energy.
She was very happy.
“Turns out that cultivating can be fun as well!”
Seeing the result of her hard work, she felt quite satisfied and elated.
“Daddy, how many days do you think will it take before I master the Spiritual Tortoise Secret Skill? Can it do anything other than defending?” Mengmeng asked.
“It should be more than just a defensive method. You’ll be able to feel it when you completely condense the Spiritual Tortoise,” Zhang Han said with a smile.
It was already a little incredible for Zhang Han to use the word “should” that indicated uncertainty.
“Well, I’ll do my homework first and then continue to cultivate. I’m a little tired from the cultivation I just did,” Mengmeng suggested.
After being leisurely for a long time, it was time to get her homework done.
“Well, Yue Xiaonao is also doing homework. Do you want to do homework with her or go back to our room with us?” Zi Yan asked.
Mengmeng thought about it and said, “I’ll do homework with her.”
She’d like to have company when doing homework.
Thus, the three of them went out and found Yue Wuwei and the others sitting in the lounge.
While the adults were chatting, Yue Xiaonao was working intently on her homework.
There were not many people in the lunge. They only saw Zhang Mu, Deep Flame, and a few others. The rest had all gone to cultivate or make their breakthrough.
It seemed that most of them would not finish their cultivation in seclusion until the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p reached the destination. If they were more efficient, their cultivation after the breakthrough would be much more solid.
After sitting there for a while, Zi Yan said to Zhang Han, “I’m a little hungry.”
Zhang Han’s expression changed. He said with a smile, “Are you hungry or do you just want to taste my cuisine?”
“I’m hungry.” Zi Yan pursed her red lips slightly, and her stomach growled as if to echo her words.
“What do you want to eat?”
“Anything will do.”
“How about egg fried rice?”
“I don’t want that.”
“Stir-fried dishes? Braised meat? Dumplings?”
“No.”
“Then what did you say anything would do?”
“Humph, Mengmeng, do you want to have a hot pot?” Zi Yan snorted to express her dissatisfaction.
“Yes!” Mengmeng responded in a clear voice.
“Then let’s have a hot pot.” Zi Yan quickly turned around. Looking at Zhang Han’s funny look, she couldn’t help but reach out and pinch him in the waist.
If this happened in normal times, Zhang Han would scream in alarm to tease Zi Yan.
But now, seeing that Mengmeng and Yue Xiaonao were focused on their homework, he gave up the idea after thinking about it.
“Let’s go over there. We can start eating after the ingredients are ready,” Zhang Han said, smiling.
He led Zi Yan to the table on the side, which was also rectangular. It was almost the same as a dining table.
This lounge was neither too big nor too small. It could accommodate dozens of people.
The other areas of the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p were rather crowded, because many were on this s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p. But where they stayed was still quite s.p.a.cious.
“Let’s go eat as well.”
Yue Wuwei, Lisa, Zhang Mu, Deep Flame, and a few others also came over.
“Do you need my help?” Deep Flame laughed. “I can wash vegetables. I’ve brought some wine here, too.”
“Don’t fetch your wine yet. I still have several jars of fine wine here,” Zhang Mu said.
“Don’t bother. Everyone, have a seat.”
Zhang Han waved his right hand as he spoke.
“Swoos.h.!.+”
Plates of various ingredients appeared before them, including special dipping condiments.
Zi Yan and Mengmeng both liked hot pots. Last time, they forgot to bring some ingredients. Thus, this time, Zhang Han brought all sorts of ingredients here.
Plates of fat mutton, fat beef, pig brain, bone marrow, bone-free duck webs, black tripe, white tripe, tendon, mushrooms, vegetables, and many other ingredients were laid out on the table.
The pot was of a large size. It had two compartments for two different kinds of soup bases.
“Clang!”
The spicy soup base and tomato soup base were already in the pot.
Zhang Han snapped his fingers and a small flame burst out from below the pot, which floated about five centimeters above the table.
Two minutes later, the mouth-watering smell of the hot pot wafted out.
“Gulp, gulp, gulp…”
Zi Yan’s stomach couldn’t help growling again.
“Swoos.h.!.+”
“Oow-oow-oow! Oow-oow-oow-oow!”
Dahei flew out of Mengmeng’s schoolbag and became half a meter tall. It ran to Zhang Han and looked at him eagerly, as though saying, “I want to taste the hot pot too.”
“Go and have some roast meat.”
Seeing that Tiny Tot and Little Hei also scurried over, Zhang Han waved his right hand, and three ox legs materialized.
“Oow-oow-oow!”
“Does it want to give me kisses?”
Looking at Dahei’s puckered lips, Zhang Han felt both speechless and amused.