Chapter 43 - 41: First Disciple, A Clumsy Bird Flies Early!

Chapter 43: Chapter 41: First Disciple, A Clumsy Bird Flies Early!

Flying in the Golden Body Realm was indeed exhilarating. The speed was incredibly fast, reaching an instantaneous velocity of up to two hundred kilometers per hour.

However, its flaw was also very obvious: it couldn’t be sustained for long.

Generally, for every five minutes of flight, he had to stop and rest for nearly an hour to regulate his Inner Breath before continuing the journey. Therefore, along the way, the three of them flew and stopped intermittently, so their overall speed wasn’t as fast as imagined.

Whenever they needed to stop and rest, Liu Zimo would take the opportunity to teach Yang Sisi some practical Martial Techniques. Afterward, he would ruthlessly throw her into a pack of Demon Beasts for actual combat practice.

After several such encounters, although Yang Sisi had gained many scars, her combat ability had undergone an earth-shattering transformation. Her eyes no longer held their previous delicate and frail aura; instead, they had become sharp, resolute, and even somewhat ruthless.

Even if faced with the siege of fifty or even a hundred Ordinary Demon Beasts simultaneously, the current her could easily slay them and break out of the encirclement. Even if she encountered Soldier-Level Demon Beasts of the same level, she would no longer be as flustered and heavily injured as the first time.

After consecutive days and more than a dozen incredibly brutal combat training sessions, no less than thirty Soldier-Level Demon Beasts had died by Yang Sisi’s hands, and the number of Ordinary Demon Beasts exceeded a thousand.

A faint murderous aura now emanated from Yang Sisi. She had initially developed the characteristic indifference of an Apocalypse Martial Artist, treating life and death with utter disregard.

As for Ye Feihong, the prodigy girl Liu Zimo had rescued from the ruins, she had instinctively clung to him ever since waking up. She hugged his arm and refused to let go, as if the moment she released her grip, he would abandon her.

It was also after she woke up that Liu Zimo and Yang Sisi discovered the little girl was mute. She had an Innate vocal defect and couldn’t make a sound. Pity swelled in Yang Sisi’s heart, and she became even more affectionate and caring toward the little girl.

Liu Zimo, on the other hand, maintained his usual demeanor after his initial surprise. There was not a hint of pity or disgust in his eyes. She just couldn’t speak; it wasn’t as if she was missing arms or legs, or was completely paralyzed. Compared to those in the future Post-Apocalypse who would be maimed or lose their lives to the jaws of Demon Beasts, such a hidden defect was not worth mentioning.

Perhaps it was precisely because of Liu Zimo’s calm, non-discriminatory attitude that Ye Feihong—who had an extremely sensitive heart since childhood—felt so close to him the moment she awoke, constantly clinging to his side. Conversely, she kept a respectful distance from Yang Sisi, despite the older girl being far friendlier and more attentive.

"Just call me Master from now on!"

It was the third day after leaving the city—the second day since Ye Feihong had awoken. Liu Zimo looked at the little girl who refused to get off him and spoke words that made Yang Sisi burn with envy.

"It doesn’t matter that you can’t speak right now," he continued. "Once your cultivation reaches the Iron Bone Realm, I will teach you the Sound Transmission Secret. You can use your Inner Breath to vibrate sound waves and communicate with others.

"When you reach the Golden Body Realm, you will have an opportunity to reshape your bones and muscles. At that time, your throat bones will regenerate, your defect will vanish, and you’ll be able to speak like a normal person!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Sisi watched Feihong’s large eyes light up brightly. The little girl nodded repeatedly and even mimicked apprenticeship scenes from TV, kneeling on the ground to kowtow to Liu Zimo.

From then on, Ye Feihong became Liu Zimo’s very first disciple. Under his patient guidance, she practiced the Guiding Breathing Method and the Five Animals Fist every day.

It had to be said that Ye Feihong truly lived up to being a Martial Dao prodigy with the potential of a Martial Saint. Even though she was only three years old, her comprehension and aptitude for the Martial Dao far surpassed that of many ordinary adults. She was an absolute child genius!

Her cultivation speed left even Yang Sisi, who had already broken through to the Copper Skin Realm, burning with jealousy. One day for Foundation Establishment, two days for Copper Skin, and by the third day, she had already surpassed Yang Sisi and reached the peak of the Copper Skin Realm.

On the fourth day, the little girl even began practical training, joining Yang Sisi in the actual combat of hunting demons at least five times a day. What was even more absurd was that her speed in hunting Demon Beasts was actually more than twice as fast as Yang Sisi, an adult!

Even when facing Soldier-Level Demon Beasts comparable to the Copper Skin Realm, Ye Feihong could take them out with a single punch each, instantly smashing them to a pulp while looking incredibly fierce yet adorable.

This inevitably dealt a heavy blow to Yang Sisi. Standing beside Ye Feihong, she even developed a sense of inferiority and shame. The saying she used to hear people use, "How are you not even as good as a three-year-old child," was now successfully proven true on herself.

Currently, she really wasn’t even as good as a three-year-old!

Yang Sisi would often fall into self-doubt. "Compared to Feihong, am I really a one-in-a-million Martial Dao genius?"

She couldn’t help it; there was simply no comparison! Feihong’s growth rate was truly astounding—she advanced by almost a realm a day. No matter how hard Yang Sisi tried to catch up, she was left completely in the dust, unable to see even a sliver of hope to match her, let alone surpass her.

If Liu Zimo’s attitude toward her hadn’t remained the same, showing not the slightest hint of disgust or dissatisfaction, Yang Sisi would likely have given up long ago.

Liu Zimo had naturally noticed Yang Sisi’s psychological shift, but he had no intention of offering any words of comfort. Living in the Post-Apocalypse, if she couldn’t even handle this minor blow, then there would be no need to continue cultivating her.

Human talent varied wildly, coming in all shapes and grades. Where there were prodigies, there would naturally be trash. If encountering someone with better talent made one feel inferior, retreat, suffer a major blow, and even want to abandon the Martial Dao, then such a person was destined for mediocrity. At the very least, she wouldn’t pass the trial of mentality. In the future, when facing the charm attacks of high-level Illusion Demons, she would only be material for turning traitor on the battlefield!

Fortunately, after a few days of adjustment, Yang Sisi persevered.

Not only did she accept the fact that her aptitude was inferior to Feihong’s, but she also worked even harder and more diligently in her daily cultivation training, not daring to slack off for a single moment.

If her talent was lacking, she would make up for it with hard work! Back in school, she had encountered plenty of classmates whose grades were far above hers, but hadn’t she eventually caught up step by step through painstaking effort?

Diligence could make up for a lack of natural ability; the clumsy bird must start flying early! As long as she didn’t give up and persisted, there would eventually come a day when she could conquer even the highest and most treacherous of mountains!

Seeing this, Liu Zimo couldn’t help but nod inwardly. Although an early-flying clumsy bird might not necessarily catch up to those divine phoenix-like birds, this unwavering conviction to never give up was incredibly precious.

In Yang Sisi, Liu Zimo seemed to see his past self. Even knowing that his aptitude was low and his potential limited, making it unlikely he would ever reach the Golden Body Realm in his lifetime, he still trained desperately every day, refusing to give up, all just to fight for that one-in-a-million chance of an epiphany. In comparison, as a prodigy seed with Grandmaster potential who started out in the Copper Skin Realm, Yang Sisi was far luckier and much stronger than he had been back then!

Before long, it was the eighth day since they had departed from Shangjing City.

The dark clouds in the void completely dispersed. The long-lost morning sun slowly rose from the east, illuminating the Earth that had been submerged in the dark night for eight whole days.

By this time, the Transmission Passage hovering over the Earth had completely stabilized and quietly hidden itself, as if it had never appeared. This caused many people who were oblivious to the truth to cheer with joy, believing that the disaster had passed and a bright future lay right before their eyes. They thought that as long as they slaughtered all the existing Demon Beasts, Earth’s civilization would surely be restored, and they would soon be able to live normal, happy lives just like before.

Little did they know, once the Transmission Passage completely stabilized, it would only make it even more convenient for Outer Realm Demon Beasts to teleport through. It wouldn’t be long before the Transmission Passage opened once again. At that time, more numerous and powerful Demon Beasts would descend from the sky, crossing realms to arrive.

When that happened, the survival environment the human race on Earth faced would only become far more dangerous and arduous!

In fact, the reason Liu Zimo had been rushing so urgently and non-stop was exactly because he wanted to return to Luozhou and reunite with his family before the second Demon Calamity arrived!

In his past life, the second Demon Calamity descended half a month after the first one. That was why he had set a timeframe of half a month, telling his old man to wait for him in Luozhou. But in this life, the Demon Calamity had occurred earlier, and unforeseen events kept arising. Whether the second Demon Calamity would happen at the time he remembered, even Liu Zimo was a bit uncertain.