Book 1 - What Is A Genius - Chapter 4 - Freakish Cultivation Speed

He Family Estate didn’t have too much population, however, the family owned several thousand mus1 of farms, and the estate had several hundreds of peasant households. Furthermore, the family also had a business in the County Town. Within a radius of hundred li, the He family was considered to be one of the few most influential families.
Every member of the family’s third generation had a personal courtyard. Of course, courtyard’s size was not too big, however, it could at least be considered as an independent house with an independent door.
He Yiming returned back to his courtyard. However, before he could open the door, he suddenly saw his third elder brother, Yixuan, standing in front him with a smile on his face as he hummed a tune.
In addition to being ranked third in the third generation, he was also He Yiming’s real brother, thus, the relationship between the two of them was pretty good.
“Third brother, what are you doing here?” He Yiming said with a pleasant surprise:
“Didn’t father permitted you to Close Door Cultivation?”
He Yixuan lightly waved his hand and said: “Close Door Cultivation all the time is really boring, so, I came out to roam a little.” He opened the gate and entered the room first.
The arrangements inside the room were simple and practical. He Yixuan directly placed a copied book on the table.
He Yiming stepped forward and glanced at it. His complexion immediately transformed, before he said:
“Third brother, this is a scripture of the Ripple technique.”
“This is my primary cultivation technique.” He Yixuan calmly said: “I’ve attained Internal Energy’s sixth layer in precisely this technique. I heard that you are going to change your cultivation technique, so, you might as well try this one.”
He Yiming’s heart stirred. He immediately realized that his brother wasn’t bored with the closed door cultivation at all, he’d come specifically for him.
He Yixuan didn’t perform courtesies with his younger brother as he opened the book and began to carefully explain the latter. Not only did he explain what was written on the cover of the book, but even explained his personal notes which he’d written from his own cultivation experience. He’d written all of his experiences from the first layer to the sixth layer, especially the fifth layer; he’d written a huge written account on his breakthrough from the fifth layer to the sixth layer.
He Yixuan only left when it was almost night. He even casually ate his second meal in the midst of explaining.
After He Yixuan left, He Yiming looked at the extremely small characters in the book and was overwhelmed with emotions. The relationship between blood-brothers couldn’t compare to ordinary relations.
He sucked in a deep breath and steeled his mind that he will not let father and elder brother down. ‘This damned fifth layer, I will pass it no matter what.’
He Yiming entered his private room and lightly locked the door from inside.
He opened the Ripple cultivation technique’s secret book and began to carefully comprehend it word by word.
This Ripple technique was primarily a water-based Internal Energy scripture. This cultivation technique’s level the was same as that of the Primordial Energy which he’d been cultivating before. Since every individual’s physique is different, the results obtained at the start of the cultivation will also vary accordingly.
Since he was already determined to change his cultivation technique, rather than just blindly trying to experiment with different techniques, he might as well cultivate in his third brother’s technique. After all, the latter had bitterly trained in it for more than ten years, and this fact was obvious by one look at the experience he’d noted down which was twice as much as the actual content of the book.
Standing atop a big rock, one would be able to see afar; since He Yiming had such an opportunity, he will naturally not give it up easily.
After looking at the contents of the first layer and studying his brother’s experience, although he wouldn’t dare to say that he’d mastered the subject, he felt that he’d at least got the basic gist of it.
Ripple technique and Primordial Energy were not the same. One was based on water while the other was based on metal. Although both the techniques hardly differed in terms of the level, the course of the Internal Energy circulation inside the body was completely different for them.
He Yiming closed both of his eyes and began to work on the course of the Internal energy circulation as per the Ripple technique.
Under his thoughts, the Internal Energy, that was already present inside his body, began to circulate through the new channels that corresponded to the circulation path of the Ripple technique.
Unwittingly the moon had risen. The clean white light of the incomplete moon was entering through the hatchway and illuminating the Yiming’s room as if the room was bathing in the moonlight.
He Yiming’s eyes suddenly opened, and a strange color that couldn’t be described in words could be seen on his face. He casually stretched out his hands and checked his body. After a few glances, his face turned incredulous.
Just now, he’d actually circulated his internal energy through the entire course of the Ripple technique’s first layer.
He was completely certain that this was his first contact with the Ripple technique and also his first contact with a water-type cultivation technique
Although he’d cultivated the Primordial Energy to the apex of the fifth layer, the Primordial Energy and the Ripple technique were two completely different cultivation techniques. Although the internal energy in both the cases was related somehow, circulating the internal energy through a set of completely different meridians couldn’t even be mentioned in the same breath.
According to his initial estimate, if he was able to complete the circulation of the Ripple technique’s first layer in even three years, he would have profusely thanked his ancestors. If he failed to complete the circulation within half a year, that would have meant that his body did not correspond to the Ripple technique, and he would have to select a new cultivation technique.
However, regardless of what Hi Yiming estimated, he’d never expected that he would be able to accomplish the first layer in his first circulation of the Ripple technique.
As he raised his head and looked at the moonlight outside the hatchway, his mind only had one thought, that is if he was actually dreaming…..
After a long time, with shuddering hands, he picked up the copy of the Ripple technique given by his third brother. The book wasn’t heavy at all, but at this moment, it felt like a thousand jins in his hands.
He sucked in a deep breath and prayed in his heart that if this truly was a dream, don’t let him wake up too soon.
His vision swept through the contents of the second layer’s page. He closed his eyes and began to contemplate the information of the book alongside his brother’s experiences bit by bit.
After a good while, he felt that he’d comprehended to some extent. He gently placed the book down, sat up properly, and entered the cultivation realm.
Inside Yiming’s Dantian, the internal energy filled with an exuberant life force surged violently, which gave rise to a strong propulsion force in his body.
Under his thoughts, the internal energy, as if water, began to bore its way through the mysterious channels inside his body without any restraints . Regardless of whether the meridians through which he’d just circulated his internal energy or the meridians that were being used for the first time, none produced the slightest bit of resistance for the circulating internal energy.
In this very manner, as if treading on a smooth ground, his internal energy circulated through the full course of Ripple technique’s second layer.
When Yiming’s opened his eyes, it not only contained ecstasy and bewilderment, but also a trace of palpitation and a feeling of complete loss.
As a youngster who’d been fortunate enough to be in touch with the Internal Energy since an age of five, his elders had mentioned countless times about the biggest taboo of the Internal Energy cultivation: skipping levels by being profusely excited and overstating one’s capabilities.
In their words, the cultivation of the internal energy is like the saying ‘every turnip has its own hole’. Only by training more bitterly than the others one could achieve a sense of pride.
However, as He Yiming recalled, he’d never heard anything about someone capable of cultivating the first two layers in a half-night from his elders either.
He sucked in a deep breath. His vision turned towards the Ripple technique’s secret book with countless thoughts bubbling in his mind.
Could it be…..
I am a genius; a true cultivation genius in water-type cultivation techniques!
There was no other possible explanation except this. Because this kind of cultivation speed could only be regarded as inconceivable. He hadn’t been this shocked even during the time when he’d cultivated the Primordial Energy up to the third layer within a single year.
He straightened his chest and raised his neck. His eyes had a peculiar glint in them. With his heart filled with excitement and vision with determination, he looked at the Ripple technique.
He opened the Ripple technique once again and began to carefully study.
Perhaps because of the abrupt rise in confidence, his face was slightly flushed. He was incapable to completely suppress his surging heart. Cultivating Internal Energy at such a time was not suitable at all. However, He Yiming, as if being spellbound, exerted all of his energy into cultivating the Ripple technique.
Third layer…..
Fourth layer…..
Fifth layer……
The moonlight was still shining outside the hatchway. After He Yiming opened his eyes again, the vigor in his eyes was replaced with numbness.
At the age of five, he began the cultivation of Primordial Energy. In the next four years, he cultivated up to the fifth layer. In the subsequent four years, he didn’t advance an inch regardless of what did. Regardless of all these things, his cultivation speed up to the fifth layer was nevertheless the quickest.
However, at this night, this record had completely been overturned.
Within a day….no within half a night, he’d actually cultivated the Ripple technique, a cultivation technique which he’d never touched before, up to the fifth layer.
He Yiming’s corner of mouth was slightly trembling. He wanted to shout loudly, but his mind was screaming that he couldn’t speak as if his throat had been strictly choked by two invisible hands.
Although he was merely a thirteen old youngster, after growing up in such a family, he knew very well that such a feat couldn’t be accounted on the basis of talent alone. Something like this could only occur through means of something sinister.
After being stunned for a long time, a faint concern arose in He Yiming’s thoughts.
Although he wouldn’t likely suffer serious aftermath because of such a high cultivation speed, however, as he recalled that once his elders had said that those who didn’t have a solid foundation ultimately wander off to the path of Demonic cultivators, his heart turned cold.
Cultivating at a high speed was obviously a good thing, however, if this good thing caused him to go astray and become a Demonic cultivator, then he would rather not have it.
After circulating his Internal Energy few times, he was convinced that there wasn’t any possibility of his body bursting out and him dying.
As he opened his eyes and looked at the Ripple technique’s secret book lying on the table, a daring thought shot through his mind like a lightning bolt:
Since I can directly cultivate up to the fifth layer, then what about the sixth layer?
1 mu = 1 hectare