Chapter 55: Cultivation and Reverie

Time flew by, and three weeks had already passed since Shuisheng left the Wang'ao fishing village and arrived at Courtyard No. 3 in Yanyuan.

During this period, apart from a visit from two law enforcement officers of the "Heaven" organization who escorted him to the entrance of the nameless small shop in Spirit Lane to gather evidence regarding the circumstances surrounding the death of that security guard, he had not stepped outside even once.

His time was spent entirely on cultivation, studying, and reading.

The corresponding textbooks that Yan Ruoxun had brought him—ones her brother had used while cultivating at the "Yanyuan Academy"—were originally derived from the standard instructional materials of the "Heaven" organization, merely repackaged by the Yan family. When it came to introductory textbooks, in the entire Eastern Hua Country, if the "Heaven" organization claimed second place, no one would dare claim first.

The materials also included the cultivation notes of Yan Ruoxun's brother, which were exceptionally practical. They comprehensively sorted out the foundations and direction of cultivation for Shuisheng, a youth who had never systematically encountered relevant training and education since becoming an esper.

If the foundation is not solid, the earth will shake and the mountains will sway.

Shuisheng's previous learning had been rather fragmented and uneven, picking up whatever he could lay his hands on. Given his past life environment, achieving what he did was no small feat.

Therefore, he deeply cherished all the cultivation resources he could access. Any book related to esper cultivation that fell into his hands was read and studied over and over again.

Because he was willing to put in grueling effort and worked extremely hard, his foundation was still considered relatively solid.

In addition to book learning, he now placed greater emphasis on practical combat training. The two battles at Ice Prison Island and Spirit Lane had given him a profound realization of the importance of actual combat capability.

On the second floor of this small building was a cultivation room fully equipped with all necessary facilities. He spent a great deal of time immersed in it, mentally recalling Ni Ximei's combat instructions, his spars with Yan Ruoxun, and his battles with Zhang Xuan, constantly summarizing and pondering over them.

When the night grew quiet and deep, he would begin practicing the use of "Returning Ruins Departing Water." He maneuvered the "water pig" across the palm and back of his left hand, repeatedly and precisely controlling a droplet of water within a radius of about one meter. The more he practiced, the more proficient he became, and the more infinite mysteries he discovered.

Under his precise control, that droplet of water could transform into ice states of various shapes, or turn into gaseous forms of various kinds. It could be used as a hidden weapon to attack enemies, or be repeatedly kneaded and molded by him in various ways.

This kind of precise control practice was actually a great test of an esper's mental strength, as well as the delicacy and acuity of their psychic energy. It was extremely draining on both mental and physical stamina; often, after completing a round of cultivation, he would feel as if he had been drained of all his strength. Fortunately, this feeling of exhaustion was growing weaker and weaker, which indicated that his Tier 2 esper realm was becoming increasingly consolidated.

There were also several immortal techniques: "Water Stealth" acquired from Mei Yulang, "Frost Technique" acquired from the essence blood of the Ice Prison Warden, and "Glacial Qi" acquired from the Ice Prison Eagle. The latter two were somewhat similar yet distinctly different.

The "Frost Technique" radiated frost energy outward from the body, freezing the surrounding space.

The "Glacial Qi" directed a targeted attack of glacial energy toward enemies in a specific direction, much like a jet of gas.

To use terminology from games Shuisheng had once played, one was an area-of-effect attack, and the other was a single-target attack.

He repeatedly practiced these three immortal techniques (known as esper techniques in the Blue Star world), striving to master them to perfection.

After the second week, summing up his insights and experiences, he modified the attack form of the Glacial Qi into two variants: gaseous and blade-like, named Glacial Qi and Glacial Blade respectively. To his surprise, he managed to master them as well. It was as if he had miraculously gained another set of esper techniques.

During this time, Mei Yulang had not appeared by his side again. However, he had heard rumors that the "Heaven" organization, through some unknown channel, had discovered his connection with Mei Yulang and had tried several times to see him, only to be turned away by the people of Yanyuan.

The reason given by the people of Yanyuan was that Mei Yulang was very likely lurking in the shadows; if Shuisheng were to make contact with the "Heaven" organization at this time, it would startle the snake in the grass and make him even less likely to show himself.

...

Messages in the "No Hunger Without Meals" chat group showed that the young master with the nickname "COS King" had attended an auction, successfully acquiring the Ice Prison Warden's greatsword and armor at a high price, and making quite a spectacle of himself in several fashion shows.

After playing with them for a while, he grew somewhat tired of it and passed them on to another fellow enthusiast in the cosplay circle.

...

Ni Ximei's husband, Chen涛, had obtained Shuisheng's phone number from Yan Ning and called to express his deepest gratitude. He said that with the help of various parties, his child had begun receiving effective rehabilitation treatment. The doctors had optimistically told him that after a few courses of treatment, their physical condition would see a significant improvement.

...

Zhou Yushu's news, however, was rather depressing. Although his position's average cost had been lowered after buying the dip, the stock's price action remained listless and stagnant. The main capital refused to drive the price upward, leaving him with no opportunity to offload his shares.

...

Yan Ruoxun had more than once mentioned taking Shuisheng to the "Esper Grand World" to broaden his horizons. He had declined, feeling that given his status, he was unworthy of the consumption level in such a place. Instead, he commissioned her to bring back a plain, inexpensive ring without a bezel from the outside world, so that the "Returning Ruins Departing Water" and the "water pig" would have a better vessel to reside in.

He even used the tip of a small knife to carve a line of words onto the ring's bezel:

One drop rules all.

He had not forgotten the English learned back in elementary school, thanks to constant review.

A single drop of water controls ten thousand waters.

...

Yan Ruosong, the eldest young master of the Yan family, dropping all pretense of status, personally came to Courtyard No. 3, Building No. 19 to pay a visit to this "grandson of grandfather's late friend," providing him with an immaculate background and proof of identity.

In this documentation, Shuisheng's original surname was Zhong, and his grandfather was Zhong Shenqiang, a childhood playmate of Elder Yan, Yan Yingjie, in their youth.

During an expedition deep into the mountains, Yan Yingjie had encountered danger, and Zhong Shenqiang had risked his life to save him from the jaws of an abyssal beast.

That debt of gratitude had never been forgotten, deeply engraved in Yan Yingjie's heart. However, because Zhong Shenqiang had left Fuling City with his family, the two had subsequently lost touch and never met again, leaving the debt unpayable.

Later, after Yan Yingjie inherited the position of family head, he had sent people everywhere to search for him, but for many years there had been no news.

It was not until early this year that they learned that after saving him, Zhong Shenqiang had also been bitten by the abyssal beast, and the toxins in its fangs had invaded his body. He had fallen ill and died not long after leaving Fuling City.

Zhong Shenqiang's wife was a cold-hearted person who abandoned their child and left the Zhong family, leaving only the child and his grandmother to rely on each other. When the child grew up, he too married and fathered Zhong Shenqiang's grandson.

They only knew that Zhong Shenqiang had a childhood friend who belonged to the prominent Yan family, but they could not quite remember the name, nor did they expect that Yan Yingjie, who possessed ordinary aptitude back then, would later inherit the headship of the family. For many years, they had never sought out the Yan family in Fuling.

By this time, Zhong Shenqiang's son and daughter-in-law had both died in a car accident, leaving only an infant under a month old to depend on his grandmother.

The grandmother was elderly, helpless, and living in dire poverty. In utter desperation, remembering that her son had a friend in the Yan family, she wanted to seek their help. But just as she entered Fuling City with her grandson, she unfortunately fell into the water and was swept away along with the child. The baby, still knowing nothing of the world, fell into the water and was rescued by fishermen from Wang'ao fishing village, where he was renamed Shuisheng.

The grandmother's whereabouts were unknown, and she was presumed to have perished.

By sheer coincidence, Yan Yingjie passed through the fish market in Ting'ao Town and noticed that the young boy selling fish bore a faint resemblance to Zhong Shenqiang. Upon returning, he dispatched people to investigate from multiple angles. By tracing the time, location, and cause of death of the Zhong family members, he finally confirmed that Shuisheng was indeed Zhong Shenqiang's grandson, and also discovered that he had become an esper.

Yet by this time, Yan Yingjie was already critically ill and on the verge of passing away. He therefore bestowed upon him an esper artifact and books that he usually played with and read, as a token of remembrance.

...

This background story, while not entirely seamless, at least held together logically.

It was just that his family history had been fabricated to be far too tragic, tugging at the heartstrings at a single glance.

Shuisheng thought gloomily, couldn't your planners be a bit more positive, optimistic, and benevolent? Were they brain-rotted from watching too many melodrama series?

Immediately afterward, a shiver of apprehension and melancholy gripped his heart: Could his true background actually be a tragedy akin to this? No, please, absolutely not...