The change was taking place quite fast. After a lot of modification, the process finally stopped. The Keeper made Long Tao to the bath section of the Crimson lord world. A lot of impurities were flushed out due to the effects of the dew working while the modification due to the opening of meridians took place.
When Long Tao woke up, he found himself submerged in lukewarm water. He took care of cleaning his body and rested a bit within the bath. The exhaustion caused was a bit excessive this time. Qi deficiency added with internal injury put Long Tao's life at risk.
Long Tao took some of the Qi replenishing pills and decided to relax for a while. He didn't circulate the Q, but rather let it flow naturally throughout his body. The Medicinal effect slowly took effect.
The pills Long tao had weren't able to help the injuries fas enough. He just broke through the 3rd level alchemist. The new need for increasing his strength rapidly had led to a delay in the other aspect of training.
Only one of the avatars was training in alchemy at the moment. Even his schedule was divided between learning fire arts and alchemy. Long Tao remembered the promise made to his alchemy teacher to be able to reach advance 3rd level alchemist.
He decided to start polishing his alchemy skills. He needed to create supplies for war. " I will have a chance to research on the pill. The first objective is break-through into the QI general level."
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" How are you feeling? Metamorphosis seems to be very different. The first time I didn't manage to see it clearly, but it was quite clear this time."
" what do you mean?'
"You already know that the body cultivation realm of meridian opening has three stages: Primary, Secondary and Tertiary meridians. When you managed to open the primary meridians, the first metamorphosis took place. The number of impurities excreted out was not quite large, but the body seemed to have gone through refining. Your physical strength improved, along with the Qi sense and rate of circulation."
" When you opened the whole set of secondary meridians, the second metamorphosis occurred. It didn't change the physical attributes, but it did help you make a qualitative change."
Long Tao agreed. " I did see some change. The Qi was denser than usual, and the rate of absorption had increased too. The bones and muscles went through a transformation. They began to densify, and hence my body frame was much stronger."
"The impurities excreted were more than the first time. Your whole body went through natural cleansing. It helped you in understanding the techniques better and increased your perception of Qi control."
The Keeper had an excited tone of speech. " What do you feel after the third metamorphosis."
" The body frame has gone through another change. The bone and muscle density seemed to have improved by a lot. The meridians themselves have gone through a series of changes. They are much stronger now."
Long Tao continued to sense the changes within his body. " My Qi circulation level has gone through a massive upgrade. The Veins of Qi flow seem to be much broader. My natural speed of absorption appears to have increased. My body seems to have remembered the process on its own."
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" Anything else, " the Keeper was even more excited than before.
" My self-healing rate has improved due to previous effects." Suddenly Long Tao felt multiple spots hidden within his body. " I do feel these spots spread throughout my body. They seem to emit some special kind of Qi. Do you have any idea what might these be."
" I think you already know the answer in your mind. You want me to confirm it, don���t you?"
" I doubt my assumptions. They are too good to be true.". Long Tao didn't believe his guess.
" Well, your gut is giving you the right feel. Those are the hidden acupoints in your body. If my theory is correct, this is the next stage of body cultivation, the opening of all those acupoints."
" But I feel there are too many of them. According to the records written in the Weapon tempering formula, the number seems to be unreal."
"I assume that the creator of the weapon tempering formula didn't go through the meridian opening process. It can also be due to the difference in the physiology of humans and devils."
These assumptions made sense to Long Tao. " he tried to feel the point again, but the number seemed to be endless. Each of the points was emitting a different type of energy. It was as if they had different characteristics.
" I want you to accompany me in the research room. I want to verify many of my hypotheses." The Keeper agreed to participate.
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Long Tao charted out the schedule for his next training phase.
The first on the list was to break-through Qi general stage.
The second phase was the research. There were four main areas to study: Martial arts, alchemy, Acupoints, and soul. Long Tao decided to keep weapon refining to a side as of now.
He asked the leader to make the necessary preparation to proceed with the plan.
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Jiao Shen had a duel with Di Tao on the training grounds. After half a day of colliding with each other, Jiao Shen asked for pointers.
" I don't have any specific advice to give to you. I feel you seem to be too immersed in following the instruction. Your body has forgotten how to improvise in battle. You need more battle experience. I have a proposal. Why don't we fight each day for the next two months? I will help you prepare for the forth-coming war."
" I couldn't express my gratitude, brother Di. Has Long Tao relayed any further messages?"
" Brother Long asked me to help you train. You need to improve your strength within these two months. At the very least, you need to break-through Qi general."
" I would be difficult if you ask me." Jiao Shen was not sure about his speed. He was nearing the Qi master peak, but breaking -through Qi general was no joke."
" If you go through the traditional way, it might seem impossible. I have a better option." Jiao Mingue made an entrance. Jiao Shen bowed in greeting.
" You will be entering the ancient land of Jiaos starting tomorrow. Uncle has already made the preparations. The only time you will be coming out is during your duels with Di Tao."
" Who will take care of the royal court?". Jiao Shen didn't want to vacate the throne during these chaotic times. " You don't need to worry about the court. Iw ill take care of the matters here. You focus on improving your strength. Long Tao has requested you to prepare for the war."
Jiao Shen understood the matter at hand. He instantly left for making preparation.
" Announce the decree that the king will be entering into cultivation retreat for the next two months."
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In the meeting hall-
"We need to plan our future steps carefully, princess. I would like you to take care fo the internal strife. We can't let the situation inside disrupt the overall outcome of the war."
" Vice-general Jiao needs to stay here.".
" How can I stay here while war preparation is going on. I am one of the senior vice-generals of the military. The troops under me need their leader."
" I understand your concern, but we need to look at the bigger picture. You have three tasks ahead of you. You need to protect the royal clan members. We can't leave them vulnerable during these times."
"The second objective is to strengthen Jiao Shen's control over matters. You need to help him increase his strength and teach him politics of the throne."
" the third and the most crucial task is to help the Jiao clan regroup and gain more supporters. We need to weed out all the secret organization from here. If left alone, they might prove to be the accessory of our defeat."
" I have conveyed my thoughts to the general, and he has agreed. You need to finish the internal matters first. We will handle the war until then."
"Your troop will be under the direct control of the general. You can assume leadership as soon as you finish the task at hand."
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Long Tao asked for Su Menqi's presence in his quarters. " We need to chart out a plan of training for our troops. I want you to leave for Tamar immediately. I will be arriving within three days. You need to get me the name of 100 elite soldiers who can work under us."
" I will be preparing the plan for the next two months. We need to train them."
" Why are we recruiting only 100 men. You should take charge of Lin Bao's troops."
"I don't believe in quantity. Quality is my top priority. We can't waste time in training the whole battalion. The 100 men and the already existing members will be part of my elite team. We are going to be the first line of offense."
" Our task would be including scouting, ambushing, assassination, and mass kills of as many people as we can. We are going to be the first to infiltrate the enemy's territory. General Unrivalled is not someone who can be defeated with numbers."
