Volume 1, Chapter 10 - RegistrationAunt Chen pushed the little girl towards Guo 12th forcefully. Chen Bing did not look good, but he could not say anything because Aunt Chen was an Ancestor Level Elder to him, he simply was not qualified to say anything.
With a bitter face, Guo 12th said, “This… this will not be convenient!”
The Fu Inscriptions on the Fu Warrior"s body will be engraved by him, meaning the Fu Warriors will need to take off their clothes. It will not be convenient if the Fu Warrior is a girl.
Aunt Chen thought to herself, “This little child thinks a lot.” She said, “There is nothing inconvenient about it, she will become your wife then, you can do anything you want!”
Due to the influence from his first life, Guo 12th was not interested in romance. And also in his second life even though he had a wife, he could not bear any children, which made him realize that there was a drawback to the soul reincarnations, he could not have any children and was destined to a lifetime of loneliness. Therefore he did not want to carelessly harm girls. 12th quickly said, "Grandma Chen, I cannot accept her!"
“What? How dare you!”
Guo 12th was not a child. He was not scared of Aunt Chen. “Grandma Chen, I am not taking her…what can you do about it?” he smiled.
Aunt Chen was speechless after hearing what Guo 12th just said because he was right, what can she do? His teacher was the FuZhou Great Master Luo Jie, she could not afford to offend him. A moment later, she forced a smile, “12th, our Little Hong is a very lovely girl, she is a great chef and the most important aspect is that she has Fu Warrior potential. She can become great if you train her … just take her!”
Chen Hong’s face turned from blushed red to pale white. She felt very embarra.s.sed.
“Grandma, let"s go home!”
The little girl’s voice was soft and tender, she seemed irritated and with a delicate look it was hard to believe that she had Fu Warrior potential.
Aunt Chen was extraordinary thick-skinned. She said, “I can"t do anything to you….this old woman can distinguish between kindness and hatred very clearly, if you don"t take her, you will be completely offending…this old woman…”
Guo 12th said, “Are you threatening me?” He was only 8 years old, he slightly leaned up in an upright position and a hidden force spread out. The pressure from his soul was released unintentionally, Aunt Chen’s face immediately changed.
Aunt Chen felt a little regret, she stepped back and said, “If you"re not willing, then it"s ok, I"m leaving!”
Guo 12th coldly said, “Wait!”
Aunt Chen’s face did not look good, she asked, “Why?”
Guo 12th said, “Are you leaving after threatening me? It will not be that easy! You can either come together with me to see my Teacher, or we can go to see the Sect Master. I need someone to give an explaination, how can an elder bully a disciple like this. Since I entered the North Fu Sect, I have never heard of someone forcefully requesting to become someone"s supporter. Is this a policy of the North Fu Sect?”
Aunt Chen could not say a word, she had looked down on Guo 12th. She thought that he was just a child who will be scared of her and accept her request if she scared him. She did not expect that he had so much courage and such clear thinking at such a young age. She felt like she was riding a tiger.
[t/n] Riding a tiger is a Chinese expression describing a situation where someone is stuck in a difficult position and cannot find a way out.
Chen Bing opened his mouth and then closed it, he did not know what to say.
Guo 12th stood there with arms folded. He looked at Aunt Chen quietly.
After awhile, Aunt Chen said bitterly, “You are a stubborn little child! I was just kidding, don"t take it so serious!” she tried to get off the hook. Otherwise, she would be ashamed. The situation will be serious if Luo Jie gets involved.
Guo 12th laughed in his mind, with just a few words, Aunt Chen felt threatened. This elder is unreasonable, only knows how to bully little children. He said, “Oh, Grandma Chen was just joking. Ai, 12th is still young, I did not realize this was a joke. I was truly scared.”
Poor Aunt Chen, an elder who was over 100 years old, was being toyed with by an 8 years old child. She said, “Ok, ok, Grandma loves to joke with children…”
Aunt Chen was sad as she took the girl and prepared to leave, but Guo 12th said, “She can stay, but I have a condition.”
Aunt Chen looked up in surprise. She didn"t think Guo 12th would agreed, “What condition?” she asked.
In fact, Guo 12th understood that there was no need to offend Aunt Chen, in addition, to the grace of Chen Chun Zhai, and Chen Bing who was his Fu Warrior supporter, it will not benefit anyone if he offended Aunt Chen. “Her name is Chen Hong?” he asked.
Aunt Chen nodded, “Yes.”
Guo 12th said, “Her strength enhancement will not be performed by me, Aunt Chen you will find someone else to do it. If you agree, she can stay for the one year examination. If you think that is suitable…I can accept her.”
Aunt Chen wondered and said, “Is that the reason why you"re not willing to take Chen Hong?”
Guo 12th’s face could not help turn red. He said, “That is just one of the reasons. Another important reason is the girl"s lack a fierce aura and ambition, it will be tough to be survive in the wild.”
Aunt Chen was astonished, “You"re only a child, how come you know so much?” she asked.
Guo 12th thought to himself, “I have lived the duration of 3 lifetimes. If you are my enemy and look down on me, you won"t know how you"ll die.” He said, “I read books!”
Aunt Chen said, “Chen Hong, you will be with 12th from now on, your cousin is here as well, he will take care of you. There will not be any problems.”
Guo 12th realized that Aunt Chen was not a bad person. She was only a little overbearing and unreasonable. Luckily, she acted with courtesy and was not too desperate to achieve her goals.
Chen Bing let out a long sigh of relief after Aunt Chen left. “Ai, 12th, I"m impressed, you dared to talk that way with my grandaunt. Aiyaya, she scared me to cold sweats.” he said. He glanced at his nervous cousin and said, “Cousin, did you get forced to come over?”
Chen Hong’s eyes turned red, “Brother…”
Chen Bing felt overwhelmed, “Ai…ai! Don"t cry… do not cry!”
12th knew that it was not a good idea to comfort a girl when they were about to cry, because they will only cry harder. He turned around and left. He said, “Huo Bao, help prepare a room for Chen Hong, I have to go back to studying!” Just as he stepped outside the room, he heard Chen Hong burst into tears. He sighed in his mind, “Ai, there will be trouble!”
All 4 Fu Warrior members are gathered, but 12th was not satisfied with the last member. He went to the underground laboratory and started cultivating.
Spring arrives after winter.
Guo 12th was 9 years old, he has cultivated up to the 6th set of the basic movements. Within the time of one winter he has learned how to control Fu. Currently his FuZhou power was capable of activating an Attack Fu 6 times, or activating one-time use Fu 3 times and afterwards he would need to cultivate and replenish his FuZhou power.
For the whole winter, Guo 12th stayed home cultivating and did not go anywhere, except to his Teacher’s estate and the Fu town. His soul power was very strong, but it was odd that he could not use all it"s power. Every time he cultivated FuZhou power, it would condense and infused within his soul, which would affect his Fu controlling and Fu making abilities, but he was confused and could not figure out the reason why.
12th could not ask his Teacher for an answer because reincarnation was his biggest secret, he will never disclose this to anyone. Therefore, he could only find the answer himself.
Besides practicing, he would read books in his free time. He had read about 100 books in the winter, and most of them were read a few times thoroughly. Although he did not find an answer, his knowledge quickly increased.
Eventually, Guo 12th had a theory that maybe he could get rid of this problem when he becomes a FuZhou Knight. Right now, 12th"s soul was still not strong enough and he still needed to cultivate more FuZhou power to strengthen his soul.
Practicing with the materials his Teacher provided, 12th was able to make some simple one-time use Fu.
12th was also pretty good at refining materials, but always felt that something was missing.
At his Teacher"s estate, Luo Jie listened to his doubts, and couldn"t help but laugh, “You lack real combat experience, only in the wild…will you trigger a FuZhou Knight’s true power, and grow rapidly. You are still too young, 4 years later, you should be able to advance into a FuZhou Knight. “
Guo 12th asked, “FuZhou Knights can also use strength enhancements, if I start using strength enhancement now, how long will it take for me to become a FuZhou Knight?"
“You can start your strength enhancement at anytime using Shadow Fu. It"s better to make the Fu yourself, and it"s best to perform the enhancement on your own. Since you can control Fu now, you will know where to enhance and where not to. The creation of Shadow Fu is not difficult, but some of the potions will be hard to find, I have some that you can take when you leave.”
Guo 12th sighed again, it was very lucky to have a good Teacher. They will help you solve problems even without you needing to ask. 12th knew that Luo Jie truly cared for him, at the beginning Luo Jie only appreciated his talent, but after being together for over the winter, Guo 12th has become his favorite disciple because of his intelligence and diligence.
Luo Lao received a mission during the winter. He led his team and left the North Fu Sect and was still not back yet. Guo 12th did not know whether they were not willing to come back or did not finished the mission yet. But 12th did not care, Luo Jie got another Fu Warrior Master to protect him.
After saying goodbye to his Teacher, 12th went back home and went straight to the underground laboratory. The laboratory has totally changed, he arranged the lab according to his past memories, which became more scientific and practical.
Guo 12th has always wanted to try making Shadow Fu, but couldn"t because he did not have all the materials. After Teacher Luo Jie has given him all the critical materials, the Shadow Fu material list is complete.
The creation of Shadow Fu is not complicated, because Shadow Fu is basically a one-time use Fu, unlike Light Fu which can either be a one-time use Fu, or a Treasure Fu. The Fu Inscriptions on the Shadow Fu were also easy. It could be mastered if one practiced a couple of times. Guo 12th tried to make Shadow Fu before, but because he did not have the materials to make the Fu Frame, he has never been successful in making it.
The Fu Frame of the Shadow Fu was made by a type of fish fat. This type of fish was cultivated in a farm so it was not very expensive and this time Luo Jie gave him 1kg of fish fat, when only 25g will be required to make the Fu Frame for a Shadow Fu.
The fish fat was similar to lard in his previous life, a creamy white paste. Guo 12th took out a Fu mold, the size of half an adult"s palm and as thick as a finger. He carefully filled it with the fish fat, and then used a jade sc.r.a.per to smooth over the top. He then took out a bunch of purified materials, mostly fluids and powder.
The first step was to use a thin Fu needle to engrave Fu Inscriptions onto the smooth Fu mold. After a few attempts, 12th finished engraving with satisfaction. Then he held a crystal bottle, and took out a dropper. The dropper was a tool made by himself according to his memories from the past, because this tool did not exist in this world.
The dropper sucked up the solidifying fluids from the crystal bottle, and quickly filled in the markings of the inscriptions. Then 12th sprayed a layer of reactive fluid and the whole Fu mold began to boil.
A lot of white steam was produced with a strong fishy smell filling his nostrils. Guo 12th carefully observed with his squinted eyes, the production of Shadow Fu was totally different from Attack Fu. It was very simple, it would be successful as long as the correct procedures were followed and good purified material was used.
Guo 12th waited quietly, about 10 minutes later, the Shadow Fu in the Fu mold began to shrink. It shrank to the size of a Mahjong and as thick as a cardboard. Then the semi-finished Shadow Fu was done.
[t/n] holding the semi-finished Shadow Fu, 12th felt like it was made with soft plastic. He checked it carefully and thought that the first step was successful.
Afterwards, 12th took out some herbs given to him by his Teacher and began to purify them. There were special tools used for purification so it was easy to extract the essence of the herbs.
During this period, Guo 12th had made a total of 5 semi-finished Shadow Fu, placing them on the stone table.
He dropped the essence of the herb on the Shadow Fu, and together with a drop of reactive fluid, the Shadow Fu was complete. Guo 12th completed 5 one-time use Shadow Fu in 1 hour.
But he did not dare use it on himself yet. Instead, he placed them to the side and planned to bring them to his Teacher so it can be inspected. He had to be careful since he planned on using them on himself.
The good point of making Shadow Fu was that it required very little FuZhou power. Because of that 12th can make atleast 15 Shadow Fu. However, if 12th was making one-time use Attack Fu, with his current FuZhou power he could only make 3. Therefore, after finishing 5 Shadow Fu, he continued to make 2 one-time use Attack Fu. This was his everyday routine, he was ama.s.sing low level one-time use Fu.
Since Guo 12th didn"t need to rely on selling Fu to get materials, he carefully saved the one-time use Fu he completed each time. Right now, he has already saved up more than 200 Fu. Although they were one-time use Fu, they were valued at more than 10,000 Black Fu Bills, of course, he had no plans on selling them.
Besides making Fu, he had to learn how to control Fu and how to use Attack Fu, these were the requirements for Zhou Knights. 12th had decided to learn Fu and Zhou together from the very beginning, so simply knowing how to make Fu is far from sufficient.
Guo 12th quickly cultivated the 6th set movements a few times, then cultivated from the 1st set to the 6th sets movements together. Soon his FuZhou power has been replenished and the remaining FuZhou power was absorbed by his soul.
With a stretch, he finished cultivating. Then he went to freshen himself up, changed into a disciple uniform, and walked outside.
Luo Zhan was the second Fu Warrior Master that was sent by Luo Jie, different from Luo Lao, Luo Zhan did not have a permanent team. He was simply a supporter. Of course, he was only borrowed from Luo Jie, and was not truly Guo 12th’s supporter. His duty was to temporarily protect Guo 12th.
Guo 12th left home together with Luo Zhan and two other Fu Warriors. Luo Zhan asked, “12th, do you need carriage?”
Guo 12th smiled, “Uncle Luo, there is no need. I just want to go to the Fu town and see if there are any new books in the bookstore, or maybe even find some special used books.”
The Fu town was the marketplace of the inner court. There were many Fu towns in the inner court. One of the largest Fu towns is in the region where FuZhou Knights lived, the other famous one was within the region where Fu Knights lived. Because of the job characteristics of the Fu Knights, they became the main trading profession. They not only need to purchase different materials, but also need to sell the Fu they make.
Recently, Guo 12th became a frequent customer of Fu town, the place he liked the most was the bookstore. Sometimes there were new books and sometimes there were lots of used books. He liked to buy the used books more because they were not only cheaper, but also offered a greater variety of topics. Since this world clearly divided all the professions and different sects , there has been many books recorded with information with regards to these topics. As a reincarnated person, reading was the best way to better understand the world.
The bookstore was always a crowded place in Fu town. Not only disciples, but sometimes masters would enter and buy books. Everyone was equal in the bookstore, if you find a good book, you can be considered lucky, but it was normal to find nothing. The bookstore was a place of relaxation.
The bookstore was made of stones. The interior was wooden and covered by fireproof FuZhou. There were all kinds of books on the tables, Fu books and other precious books were stored in the bookcases.
There were many chairs in the lobby, people would sit there and read their books.
When 12th arrived at the bookstore, he walked straight towards the books. Luo Zhan and the other two Fu Warriors sat down and waited by the chairs. An old man saw Guo 12th and stepped forward immediately, he smiled and said, “12th, you have time to come by today?”
The old man was the owner of the bookstore, he had a broken arm, one blind eye, two scars on his face, and his smile was a little scary. He used to be a FuZhou Master, but after he got severely injured in combat, his Innate Fu got destroyed. He was lucky to be alive, but was later degraded back to FuZhou Knight. He couldn"t use many Fu after having a broken arm, so he ended up opening a bookstore in Fu town.
Guo 12th knew him quite well, he smiled and said, “Grandpa An, good to see you. Are there any good books recently?”
The old man’s last name was An, full name An Zheng Yan, it is said that he is a native from the south. He said with a smile, “12th, the old rule, look for them by yourself, but there was a new book written by Fu Qing who is a Fu Great Master, it was published by the inner court. He He, many people already bought it, you can also take a look.”
Guo 12th asked happily, “Where? Let me see…..”
An Zheng Yan took a book from the closet behind him. “Take a look, He He, the price is not cheap.” He said.
“Insect Fu, Plant Fu? What is it?”
An Zheng Yan said, “Insect Fu and Plant Fu are strange Fu that can only be attained in the South Fu Sect, they are different from the North Fu Sect, it will be helpful if you know about them.”
Guo 12th nodded and asked, “How much?”
“47 Black Fu Bills.”
Guo 12th was shocked, “Wow, that is really expensive!”
An Zheng Yan smiled, “This is written by a Fu Great Master, it"s not expensive at all.”
Guo 12th said with a bitter smile, “Grandpa An, it is expensive to a poor disciple like me.”
An Zheng Yan said, “Don"t pretend to be poor, everyone knows that you are the disciple of a FuZhou Great Master. Oh yeah, according to the old rules, disciples have 20% off, you can pay 37 Black Fu Bills instead.”
Guo 12th took out his money bag and paid 37 Black Fu Bills, he was always willing to spend money on books, but of course he must act poor in order get lower prices.
12th handed the new book to Luo Zhan and then went back to searching for used books. The used books were cheap, which were his favorites. A dozen used books might only cost 1 Black Fu Bill and almost every visit 12th could buy a couple dozen.
Guo 12th selected a dozen used books and placed them next to him. He was looking at another book when the conversation of two people next to him grabbed his attention.
“Have you registered? The registration for going to Ye Guan City has started!”
“Not yet, I am still a disciple. Disciples are not qualified for the battles in Ye Guan City!”
“Who said that? Early spring battles will be very fierce. As disciples, we don"t have to fight, we can watch from the side. He He, I have not seen any savages before. Let"s go and see… If I kill a few, the sect will reward me. I registered yesterday…and I saw other disciples there."
“Forget it, how much skill do you have as a disciple? Although you have Zhou Knight potential, you don"t even that many one-time use Fu. Do you want to be eaten by the savages there?”
“I"m not going to the battlefield, how can I be eaten? I"m just going observe and learn. In case I get sent to Ye Guan City in the future when I am a Zhou Knight...If I know nothing then that would be awful...”
“…You are Zhou Knight potential, in the future…you will join the battlefield…of course…I have Fu Knight potential…”
……
They left the bookstore while talking, and their voices gradually disappeared. Guo 12th went over to An An Zheng Yand asked, “Grandpa An, what is Ye Guan City?”
“Ye Guan City? Why are you asking about it?”
Guo 12th said, “I just heard someone say that disciples can register to go to Ye Guan City. There are savages there, He He, I am a little curious.”
An Zheng Yan became serious, and said, “Ye Guan City is located on the northern tip, right next to the Savage Gate. It gets attacked by savages every spring, the most important mission for the North Fu Sect is to resist the savages" attacks. That place…is a bloodbath, many people from the North Fu Sect will die there.”
Guo 12th heard a bit about Ye Guan Cheng before, he did not seek to learn more about it since he was busy cultivating and studying. He nodded, “I see.”
An Zheng Yan asked, “Are you planning to go to Ye Guan City as well?”
Guo 12th was not that pa.s.sionate, and he knew he did not have the power to defend himself so he said, “No, I was just curious.”
An Zheng Yan nodded, “Ye Guan City…is not a lucky place.”
Guo 12th organized the books he has chose, paid for them and got ready to leave.
“12th! 12th! Ah, it"s so hard to find you!”
Huo Bao and Hong Shi rushed into the bookstore. Guo 12th said, “What happened?”
“Grandpa Luo is looking for you, he asked you to go to his estate.”
Guo 12th said, “Teacher is looking for me? Did he say why?”
Hong Shi said, “No, he only told you to bring us along with you. Chen Bing and Chen Hong are already waiting in the carriage and waiting for us to go together.”
Guo 12th nodded. He called over Luo Zhan and the two Fu Warriors to follow, then said good bye to An Zheng Yan.
Soon, they arrived at Luo Jie’s estate. Guo 12th was very familiar with his Teacher’s estate he knew all the Fu Warriors who guarded the gate outside. They went straight inside without any trouble.
Luo Jie was waiting inside, Guo 12th led his 4 teammates to salute, and said, “Teacher, I"m here.”
“12th, do you know there are disciples going to Ye Guan City?”
Guo 12th was surprised, “Yes, I just heard about it in the bookstore in Fu town.”
Luo Jie said, “I have already registered the five of you to go, Luo Zhan will go too.”
Guo 12th did not understand, “Teacher, I"m only 9 years old…am I too young to go there?” He didn"t want to go at all. Staying in the inner court, he could concentrate on cultivation without any worries. 12th knew that it was miserable outside.
Luo Jie said, “I"m not telling you to engage in combat. I just want to you experience life and complete some simple missions, and if possible…observe the combat styles and get used to the brutal battles as soon as possible. You don"t want to go?”
Guo 12th could not do anything but smile, how could he refuse? “When are we leaving?”