“Suo Lun, how much is your arm strength approximately now?” Ye Jingyu asked.
“One hundred and twenty jin.” Lanling replied.
“What?” Ye Jingyu immediately cried out in surprise. It had not even been a full month since they came to the southern barbarian frontier for practical training, yet Lanling’s arm strength had actually increased by a full sixty jin.
At this point, there were still more than two months until the major examination. At this rate of improvement, there might be a huge surprise when the graduation examination arrived.
This cultivation speed was simply too terrifying. Indeed, previously Ye Jingyu had seen him use a hundred jin bow to shoot and kill flaming wild bulls, but she had always assumed he was using dragon power for a critical strike and that his arm strength was still only seventy or eighty jin.
“Since you have already broken through one hundred jin, the first stage of cultivation is complete.” Ye Jingyu said. “Next, we will proceed to the second stage of cultivation. We will leave Wild Bull Valley and go to another place.”
Lanling said, “Are we going to hunt even more powerful beasts?”
Ye Jingyu looked at Lanling for a while, then said, “Pick up your bow and arrows and follow me.”
Next, Ye Jingyu packed their luggage, and the two of them mounted their horses and headed west.
After galloping for over a hundred li, they entered a completely new wilderness. Suddenly Ye Jingyu stopped, immediately dismounted, hid in the grass, and pointed to dozens of metres away, saying, “Do you see that blood cloud leopard?”
Lanling nodded. In the grass dozens of metres away, a beautiful leopard was lying there.
Its entire body was grey, while its leopard patterns were blood red, which was why it was called a blood cloud leopard.
Lanling now understood. The reason both the flaming wild bulls and blood cloud leopards had bright red on their bodies was because they possessed relatively powerful dragon bloodlines within them.
“Try shooting it.” Ye Jingyu said.
Lanling picked up the hundred jin bow, took a deep breath, nocked an arrow, and locked on with his spirit.
“Shoot…”
The black gold plated arrow shot out like a meteor.
However, as soon as the bowstring sounded, before the sharp arrow even arrived, the blood cloud leopard suddenly became alert and leaped out like lightning.
Immediately afterwards, its eyes looked towards Lanling’s side. Soon it sensed the powerful killing intent on Ye Jingyu and immediately turned around, fleeing at high speed.
“Quick, use all your spiritual power to shoot it. Shoot as many arrows as you have.” Ye Jingyu said.
Lanling quickly locked on and shot rapidly.
From beginning to end, he fired a full five arrows, yet he did not even graze the edge of the blood cloud leopard. The closest distance was still more than ten metres away.
In just a moment, the blood cloud leopard had disappeared without a trace.
“Do you know why I brought you here?” Ye Jingyu asked.
“I know.” Lanling said with his head lowered.
Ye Jingyu said, “The first stage, having you shoot wild bulls, was because their eyes are very large and their reactions are slow. They like to stand still without moving. Although they are living creatures, there is no difference from shooting fixed targets.”
Lanling nodded, indicating that hunting wild bulls was really too easy.
Ye Jingyu said, “However, such stupid exotic beasts are only the wild bulls. Your enemies, and even the major examination at the royal city academy, will involve moving targets. With your current spiritual locking ability, do you think you can hit moving targets?”
Lanling shook his head. It was completely impossible. He had already tried it just now, and the arrows he shot were still several metres away from the blood cloud leopard at their closest.
Ye Jingyu said, “Next, we will proceed to the second stage of cultivation, shooting fast moving targets.”
Then Ye Jingyu sighed and said, “There are only about two months left until the royal city major examination. Shooting moving targets is the most difficult barrier. We can only do our best and leave the rest to heaven.”
The demon star had also said that in terms of spiritual power, it largely depended on Lanling himself. So this barrier was really very difficult.
Ye Jingyu continued, “The first step of the second stage is to use spiritual power to lock onto a moving target forty metres away. Come, I will take you to a new place to carry out the second stage of cultivation.”
Then the two mounted their horses. Ye Jingyu led Lanling in a change of direction and continued heading south.
…
After walking over a hundred li, the forest gradually became denser. Ye Jingyu continued forward for another twenty li.
From quite a distance away, Lanling already heard the roaring sound of water.
After turning around a mountain valley, they immediately saw a waterfall dozens of metres high and hundreds of metres wide.
The rumbling flowing water smashed down directly, splashing up waves of water mist. Under the sunlight, it formed a natural rainbow.
The water here was really cool and clear. Ye Jingyu could not help but stick out her tongue and lick her lips. Such good flowing water was most suitable for swimming, but unfortunately now was not the time for swimming.
“Even the stupidest wild beasts mostly only stand still without moving, so although they are living creatures, there is no difference from shooting fixed targets.” Ye Jingyu said. “However, the vast majority of enemies in this world, and even your graduation major examination, require you to shoot moving targets, and the moving speed is very fast while the targets are very small.”
Ye Jingyu said, “What you need to learn next is to use your spiritual power to lock onto fast moving targets.”
“Alright.” Lanling said. “How should I practise?”
Ye Jingyu said, “This waterfall is nearly fifty metres high. You just stare at this waterfall. Fix your gaze on a particular water droplet, from the moment it begins to fall until it disappears into the water surface, and throughout the entire process always use your spiritual power to lock onto that water droplet.”
Lanling nodded and said, “So the mark of success is whether I can continuously track and lock onto it from the moment the water droplet appears until it disappears?”
“Correct.” Ye Jingyu said. “A thousand words are not as good as one attempt. You try first.”
Lanling sat cross legged on a rock on the opposite bank of the river, exactly forty metres from the waterfall. He took a deep breath, gathered all his spirit, widened his eyes, and stared fixedly at the waterfall forty metres away.
However, as soon as he began, he discovered that this was an impossible task.
Because from forty metres away, it was simply impossible to see a single water droplet clearly. It was far too small. With normal human eyes, let alone forty metres, even at ten or twenty metres it was extremely difficult to see a water droplet clearly.
Lanling tried again and again but found he could not see any water droplet at all.
Ye Jingyu asked, “How is it?”
Lanling said, “I cannot see clearly at all, let alone lock on.”
Ye Jingyu said, “Then next, try injecting dragon power into your brain and spirit, then shoot it straight out through your eyes.”
Lanling began according to Ye Jingyu’s instructions, releasing dragon power from the demon star and injecting it into the spiritual power in his brain.
In an instant, Lanling felt a shock in his brain. His entire mind became empty and clear, and his body felt light and floating.
Then he gathered all his spiritual power and projected it directly through his eyes.
Immediately, a miracle happened. The scene before his eyes seemed to be instantly pulled closer and magnified.
The original distance of forty metres away seemed to arrive right before his eyes in an instant.
It was truly too mysterious. Dragon power was really too powerful. When combined with physical strength, it would form a critical strike.
And when blended with spiritual power, it actually produced such a stunning effect, directly pulling the field of vision closer.
“Can you see clearly now?” Ye Jingyu asked.
“I can see clearly.” Lanling said.
Indeed, he could now see very clearly. The countless water droplets in the waterfall forty metres away, almost every single one, were visible in detail.
Of course, Lanling’s field of vision at this moment was also infinitely narrow. Apart from that patch of water droplets, he could see nothing else.
Ye Jingyu said, “Now, begin trying to lock onto a particular water droplet and follow its entire movement trajectory from the moment it falls until it enters the water surface.”
Thus, Lanling’s spiritual gaze began to lock onto a particular water droplet, trying to capture it at every moment.
However, he found it completely impossible, because the water droplet moved too fast. The entire process from appearance to falling into the water surface was only three or four seconds.
Almost as soon as he began to lock on, it disappeared. Moreover, the most crucial point was that his current spiritual vision was an entire curtain of water, not a single water droplet.
“How is it?” Ye Jingyu said.
“Completely impossible.” Lanling said.
“Why is it impossible?” Ye Jingyu said.
Lanling said, “Because the water droplets are moving, while my field of vision is completely still. I cannot dynamically lock on and track.”
“Correct.” Ye Jingyu said. “The spiritual locking you learned before was static locking. Next, you will begin to learn dynamic locking.”
Lanling pricked up his ears and listened quietly.
Ye Jingyu continued, “When you inject dragon power into your spirit, what does it feel like?”
Lanling said, “My body feels very light, and my spirit seems to become something substantial, as if it wants to float up.”
Ye Jingyu said, “Correct. You need to let your spiritual power float out and let it move along as well. Only then can you constantly lock onto a moving target. Remember, it is the movement of spiritual power, not the movement of your gaze.”
Then Ye Jingyu said, “First retract both your dragon power and spiritual power. We will enter the water again and begin learning the spirit out of body technique.”
Next, she took out a pill, handed it to Lanling and said, “Eat it.”
Lanling ate it. A moment later, his entire person suddenly became excited. His body also felt lighter, with a floating and immortal like sensation.
“What is this thing?” Lanling asked in alarm.
“A kind of spiritual stimulant.” Ye Jingyu said. “In learning the spirit out of body technique, you must take this.”
At this moment, Lanling’s spirit was becoming more and more excited, and he even gradually began to feel as if his body no longer existed.
Then he and Ye Jingyu once again entered the water and sat cross legged, continuing to hold a tube in their mouths so that the water completely submerged them.
Ye Jingyu sat down behind him and said, “Next, I will begin injecting the Drifting Zero Art into your ears and mind. You do not need to do anything. Just follow my Drifting Zero Art and force your spiritual power out of your body. The final mark of success is that you successfully see yourself.”
See himself? And not in a mirror? This was too mysterious.
Lanling opened his mouth wanting to speak, but underwater he could not make a sound.
“I know what you want to ask.” Ye Jingyu said. “You want to know how long it will take to complete this spirit out of body technique. Let me tell you, those with high spiritual talent can complete it in ten or so days. Those with low spiritual talent may never complete it in their lifetime.”
To be honest, Ye Jingyu was very much looking forward to how long it would take Lanling to complete this spirit out of body technique.