"Grandfather, are you alright?"
Shen Changchuan instructed the people around him to clean up the battlefield, his gaze then falling on Han Qinhu nearby.
"I'm fine. I was just careless and got knocked over by this beast. It's nothing serious."
"You should go inside and recover your Magical Power. The rest of the journey isn't far, but as long as we haven't arrived, we might still need you to act."
By now, Han Qinhu had gotten up from the ground. He casually brushed the dust from his clothes and spoke nonchalantly, his voice full of vigor.
Seeing that Han Qinhu was not seriously injured,
Shen Changchuan nodded and returned to the carriage.
'That giant wild boar… its power was at least at the Qi Introduction Fourth Layer!'
'To ensure a one-hit kill, I hadn't dared to be the least bit careless. As a result, that single strike had consumed more than half of my Magical Power!'
Although there were still ten li to go to reach their destination,
'who knew if we'd run into more trouble along the way?'
And even after arriving at Dawan Village,
'I'm being parachuted in, after all. How will Dawan Village react to my arrival? Will the family Cultivator who had been garrisoning the village make trouble for me, feeling his position has been stolen? There's no way to know.'
'I have to recover my Magical Power quickly and get myself back to peak condition.'
And so, without any further pleasantries, Shen Changchuan hurried back into the carriage to meditate and restore his Magical Power.
Han Qinhu paid it no mind.
He walked over to the giant wild boar, which lay on the ground like a small hill. He gazed at the shadow cast by its enormous body, at its dense, powerful muscles that seemed forged from steel,
and at the tiny gash on its neck that he himself had managed to inflict.
He couldn't help but sigh internally.
'This is the gap between mortals and the Immortal Family.'
'Here I am, a Martial Artist who has spent the better part of his life in training, with decades of accumulated Power, and I could barely even scratch this Demon.'
'And yet Shen Changchuan, who has only cultivated Immortal Techniques for a few years, was able to slay this same Demon Beast in a single strike!'
The difference between them was truly disheartening.
But the moment he remembered,
that Shen Changchuan was his own grandson, a junior of his own family, Han Qinhu's spine straightened with pride.
'My grandson has the makings of an Immortal!'
Han Qinhu mused to himself, a pleasant warmth spreading through his chest.
"Dad, what do we do now?"
Just then, a booming voice pulled Han Qinhu from his thoughts.
He saw Han Dayong walking over, carrying his Wolf Fang Club.
"What do you think we're going to do?"
Facing his own blockheaded son, Han Qinhu's eyes flashed as he snapped,
"Clear out all the junk from the rear carriage. Get a few men and haul this beast onto it!"
"Also, have someone retrieve the Magical Artifact from the Demon Pig's head. Clean it carefully and send it to the Young Master's carriage."
Han Qinhu issued a series of commands, taking charge of the situation.
Han Dayong flinched at his father's irritated tone. Though he wasn't sure why his dad was angry, the slow-witted man knew what he had to do and hurried off to help.
「An hour later.」
The party rested briefly before continuing on their journey.
...
Meanwhile,
inside the carriage,
Shen Changchuan had already stopped meditating to restore his Magical Power.
At only the Qi Introduction Third Layer Late Stage, he didn't have a large reserve of Magical Power, so it didn't take long to fully restore it through meditation.
A quarter-hour of focused cultivation was enough to restore his Magical Power to ninety percent.
'It might seem slow, and would definitely be a huge problem in a fight.'
'But this was still considered decent.'
'Once I reach the Qi Introduction Late Stage—the Seventh Layer or higher—relying on meditation alone to recover would take at least an entire day!'
The only ways to shorten that time were to use Spiritual Objects like Spirit Stones and Elixirs, or to cultivate in a place like a Spiritual Land.
Clearly,
for Shen Changchuan right now,
he could only rely on meditation to recover; he didn't have the luxury of using Spirit Stones or Elixirs.
Shen Changchuan flexed his wrist.
Inside his sleeve was a specially sewn pouch. His men had already cleaned the two Golden Needles and sent them over, and he carefully secured them inside it.
Although it was a bit uncomfortable against his arm,
the advantage was that he could draw them instantly in an emergency.
It was a minor inconvenience,
one he would get used to.
'It was never a mistake to be cautious.'
He adjusted his posture.
As was his habit, Shen Changchuan focused his Heart Spirit and stared into the empty space before him.
At that moment,
a faint screen of light materialized in his vision.
...
Name: Shen Changchuan
Realm:
Qi Introduction Third Layer Late Stage
Cultivation Technique:
Xiangshan Qi Absorption Technique
Magical Artifacts:
Two Golden Needles (Quasi-Low Tier Magical Artifact)
Magic:
Golden Needle Technique: 100% (Perfection Traits: Slight increase in hidden weapon accuracy, negligible Gold Element Magic Cultivation Experience)
Light Body Technique: 81%
Wind Blade Technique: 52%
Fireball Technique: 43%
Vine Technique: 13%
...
It was a very basic panel,
with no other functions.
It could only display Shen Changchuan's general status.
The percentages represented progress bars, which could also be seen as his proficiency level for cultivating each specific form of magic.
And when a progress bar reached one hundred percent, like the Golden Needle Technique above, some Traits would appear next to it.
As for how these Traits appeared or the principles behind them, Shen Changchuan was completely in the dark.