“Junior Brother, your striking power is terrible. With your mastery over the skills, it should be enough to seriously injure a Qi Gathering cultivator at the peak of the fifth level. However, I sense that you are only capable of doing so to someone at the third level, but no higher.”

William supposed that was something positive, which had been missing in the past seven hours he had been made to throw his attacks at Qin Yu. After all, it was like throwing punches at a pillow. Anything he tried was effortlessly negated by Qin Yu, which made sense considering the gaps in their realms.

“The other martial skills in the Outer Court’s Library seemed even worse. Either they’re not compatible with me, or it doesn’t fit my cultivation technique.”

“I suppose it might be either of them,” Qin Yu mumbled as he stared at William, as if that would unlock the mystery, “Senior Sister did mention this to me, but it was hard to believe. The three skills you picked are things even the talentless are compatible with. After all, they are the most basic skills in the Sect.”

William already had a hunch that was the case when Lan Yin seemed uncomfortable with his refusal to pick more martial skills. Honestly, he wished he did. If the weak skills he had selected had this much power, even though the compatibility was laughable, it might have been worth trying to learn the flashier ones he had come across at the Library.

“Maybe you’ll have better luck with the Inner Court’s Library, but your chance to visit is too far in the future to matter. However, all is not lost! The more you become familiar with martial skills, the more likely you will know how to modify them to suit your needs.”

“Really?” William finally felt his mood rise, “When do you think I can do that?”

“Who knows,” Qin Yu shrugged, “Maybe in a few days, maybe never. It depends on how well you condescend the martial skill.”

“Oh,” William's mind quickly replaced 'condescend' with the correct word, comprehend. It was almost becoming second nature at this point. “Is there a way I can speed that up?”

“You’re already doing it. Why did you think I was making you constantly use your martial skills? Did you not notice how it has become almost effortless for you to use?”

That fact was hard not to notice. William’s goal of wanting to use Qi-infused attacks without pausing for preparation had been surpassed by a ridiculous margin. The Qi-infused kicks, palms, and stomps had become almost instantaneous, to a point where he didn’t need to actively guide his Qi to the required area on his body for an attack. It moved where it needed to be as if it was a natural action.

“Is that why we haven’t focused on the boots?”

“What’s the point of using external objects if you haven’t mastered what could come from within your body? Speaking of which, you should have recovered enough to start practice on the Impact Boots, yes?”

Spiritual Energy: 110/130 (20% per Hour)

“Almost,” William nodded, “Just under an hour until I’m fully recovered.”

“Hmm, get Ren Bo to help you again. There’s no time to wait if we want to ensure you know how to use those boots correctly.”

William grimaced as he glanced to where Ren Bo was enjoying himself. They might be in the middle of nowhere, to the point it took nearly an hour of William sprinting at full speed to keep up with Qin Yu’s pace, but that didn’t mean Ren Bo didn’t have his comforts.

The boy had practically set up a luxurious retreat that he pulled out of his storage pouch, which had similar, yet worse, capabilities of a spatial ring. That wasn’t the only negative point of storage pouches since they were well known to have limited lifespans and, worse than that, could sometimes destroy what was stored inside.

Still, William would have loved to have one as his own, but it cost over ten Spirit Stones in the Sect catalog.

“Alright, I’ll be back in a few minutes, Senior Brother.” William covered the distance between their training spot and Ren Bo’s retreat in a few seconds, a stupid grin forming on his lips at how fast he could move.

“Brother Ren, I need your help again.”

Ren Bo was reclining on a bed that looked better than what he slept on in The Golden Lotus. William supposed that wasn’t much of a surprise since he was comparing a bed for mortals versus one made for cultivators. He had glanced at the prices of what Ren Bo casually pulled out of the storage pouch and wondered if he would also have that kind of wealth soon.

Perhaps when Lan Yin said the Jade Healing Sect was wealthy, she also meant the disciples within the Sect, no matter how low the realm.

“Spiritual energy or your stamina?” Ren Bo asked absently while focusing on the book he held over his face.

“The former.”

Ren Bo sighed and put the book on the bed while reaching for the needles. “Third time already, not including when I helped you recover stamina.”

William shrugged, not being able to do much about it. It wasn’t his fault Qin Yu had made him sprint at max speed to get here. And that he seemed to be insistent on working him to the bone.

“It doesn’t take you long to help anyway,” William commented as he lay on the bed after Ren Bo moved off it.

“It doesn’t, but you keep interrupting my reading.”

William felt like all the tension in his body was wiped away when Ren Bo expertly placed the needles around his body. He would never say it out loud, but he looked forward to these brief relaxation sessions between the constant training. Ren Bo again showed why the Sect valued him with how easily he encouraged William’s Qi to somehow circulate faster to promote faster recovery of Spiritual Energy.

Without any women around, it was apparent why Ren Bo was so skilled. Not only was he supremely talented, but he was also a diligent studier, though he seemed to want to be in ridiculous luxury while doing so. Not that William was complaining.

After all, they would be traveling together on the mission, and he had hopes that this luxury would be shared.

“Done,” Ren Bo declared as he quickly removed the needles around ten minutes later, “Try not to come back so soon, Brother Wei.”

William glanced at his full Spiritual Energy and grunted in agreement as he got off the bed. A few seconds later, he was back next to Qin Yu, who was tapping one of the few trees that existed in these vast grassy fields.

“So, Elder Huang told me how you used those boots in the spar with Li Xinyue,” Qin Yu patted the tree, seemingly satisfied with something, “It is surprising you didn’t end up with broken legs. Before we head back, let’s make sure you won’t do something so stupid again.”

“Er, alright… so what am I going to do?”

“I’ve used something like Impact Boots before, and it’s generally recommended that you be in the later levels of the Qi Gathering Realm before using them,” Qin Yu laughed at the resigned expression that appeared on William’s face before giving him hope, “But there is a way around it, though it is a pain to learn at the start. Use your Qi to reinforce your body to handle the strain.”

That sounded simple enough, but William had never used his Qi for two things simultaneously.

“Ren Bo!” Qin Yu yelled at the top of his lungs, “Get over here!”

And that definitely wasn't a good sign that William would need his healer so close by.

“Alright, Junior Brother, everything is set,” Qin Yu patted the tree again, “This tree is conveniently as sturdy as the average cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Gathering. When you combine the use of the Impact Boots and one of your martial skills, it will easily destroy this tree. Only if you do it perfectly, of course.”

William waited for Qin Yu to continue, but the guy simply stayed next to the tree and patted it while smiling at him.

“What will happen if I don’t do it perfectly?”

“Well,” Qin Yu pointed at a grumpy Ren Bo, “He will have to spend the next hour fixing your broken body before you can try again. Crashing against this tree isn’t recommended, Junior Brother. However, I have found pain to be the best postulator!”

Sometimes William thought Qin Yu was saying the wrong words just to annoy him. He had gone for quite a while before switching motivator with postulator. However, Qin Yu would be surprised if he thought that pain would be something that discouraged him.

“Then let’s start immediately, Senior Brother.”