Grinding Cultivation Toward Martial Saint

Once Dongling City fell into enemy encirclement, breaking through Hedong's stronghold was as hard as scaling the heavens.

Thus, land prices in Hedong were several times higher than those in West River.

So the residents of West River were mainly ordinary citizens.

Regarding the information about Dongling City, what concerned Jiang Ning the most wasn't anything else but the Nu River that ran through Dongling City, dividing it in two.

With that river there, he had a way out no matter what happened in Dongling City.

Entering the water was his home ground.

Not to mention, after completing eight breakthroughs in swimming, he had acquired new trait enhancements.

[Skill]: Swimming (Eight times broken limit 7888/9000) (Trait: Underwater Breathing, Water Manipulation Technique+, Water Spirit Affinity, Cloud Formation and Rainfall, Water Spirit Body, Great Five Elements Water Escape, Lord of Rivers)

The trait of Lord of Rivers allowed him to receive the river's blessing while within it.

This directional blessing reminded him of mountain gods and river gods from the myths of his previous life.

Endowed with a divine position by the heavens.

Such gods in their designated places could obtain a home-field enhancement.

This was somewhat similar to the trait of Lord of Rivers.

Previously, after completing eight breaks in swimming, he also went into the river to test the enhancement from Lord of Rivers.

It was a type of enhancement that he couldn't understand at all now.

A casual punch from him could create a vacuum effect, the river water evaporating instantly in front of his fist.

This terrifying power made all the power he currently possessed seem weak.

It was because of this support that he wasn't in a hurry to improve his saber technique at this moment.

Once in the river, he would display an unimaginable combat power.

While he was reading.

In the garden's pond.

A carp with golden-red scales and tail fins like rosy clouds quietly floated in a corner of the pond, as if sleeping.

Next to the pond, an ordinary-looking turtle also lay belly-up, motionless.

[Literacy and Judgement Experience +1]

[Literacy and Judgement Experience +1]

[Literacy and Judgement Experience +1]

[...]

Jiang Ning quietly flipped through the books in his hands, enjoying the pleasant morning.

"Master, tea!" Lv Yi quietly brought over a bowl of tea.

"Mm!" Jiang Ning nodded, his gaze still on the book in his hands.

He took the bowl of tea Lv Yi handed him.

He lightly sipped it, the mild fragrance of spring tea filled his mouth, and he could feel the warmth flowing in his body.

As time passed.

The sky grew brighter.

Yet, the eastern sky had not a hint of morning glow.

Before long.

A red sun rose from behind the high mountains in the east.

As the sun rose, it instantly covered the entire courtyard with a layer of golden light.

Jiang Ning looked up at the rising sun and a slight smile appeared on his face.

The rising sun without a morning glow clearly indicated another full day of good weather.

Not only did this mean he could set out for Dongling City today,

but it also meant that his progress in Inner Elixir Cultivation could advance significantly, breaking through four thousand points.

Thinking of this, he opened his panel to check.

[Skill]: Inner Elixir Cultivation (small success 3941/5000)

Inner Elixir Cultivation was now only a few points away from four thousand.

Once the experience value broke through five thousand, his Inner Breath would transform, reaching the level of Condensed into Gang.

Combined with his power accumulated over nearly two cycles of the zodiac, the improvement in his combat power would be incredibly significant.

He then closed the panel and continued reading the book to increase his Literacy and Judgement Experience.

...

At 7:45 a.m.

Tap tap tap—

A series of light footsteps approached from afar.

In just a moment, those footsteps reached the entrance of the courtyard where Jiang Ning was.

The next moment.

A little girl with two ponytails, barely taller than one meter, appeared before Jiang Ning.

"Dudu!!!" She immediately widened her eyes, her mouth split into a grin.

"Little Dumpling!" Jiang Ning also smiled, put down his book, and opened his arms.

Then, Little Dumpling ran over and threw herself into Jiang Ning's embrace.

"Uncle's back! Dumpling missed Uncle so much!!"

Little Dumpling cooed affectionately.

Jiang Ning also sensed Little Dumpling's longing and couldn't help but smile and then tousled Little Dumpling's hair.

"Did you really miss me?"

"Yes!!" Little Dumpling lifted her head to look at Jiang Ning, nodding vigorously.

Jiang Ning grinned.

He lifted his little niece up and settled her on his lap.

Then he pinched her chubby cheeks.

"Little Dumpling suddenly ran into my yard, what for?"

"Uncle!" Little Dumpling raised her tiny head, her big eyes like two black grapes, "Mom already made breakfast, and she sent me to check if Uncle was back."

"Hehe!!" Little Dumpling showed a happy smile, "I didn't expect Uncle to actually be back today!"

Seeing the heartfelt joy of Little Dumpling, Jiang Ning pinched her chubby cheeks again.

"Did Little Dumpling come yesterday too?"

"Not just yesterday!" Little Dumpling looked up at Jiang Ning, "I came the day before yesterday too!"

Hearing this, Jiang Ning rubbed Little Dumpling's head.

Then he picked up Little Dumpling.

"Let's go, let's eat breakfast!"

"Uncle, don't carry me, I can walk by myself, I've grown up!" Little Dumpling seemed to have been influenced by someone recently.

On hearing this, Jiang Ning smiled.

Then he put Little Dumpling down.

Just then,

"Wow!!!"

Little Dumpling suddenly widened her eyes in amazement.

Following her gaze, Jiang Ning immediately saw a dragon carp named Linglong, still sleeping in the pond.

Little Dumpling then scampered over to the edge of the pond.

"Uncle, this goldfish is so pretty!!!" Little Dumpling's eyes sparkled.

After saying that, she carefully reached out and touched the back of the dragon carp.

"Splash——"

The dragon carp suddenly woke up, its tail causing water to splash everywhere.

"Why did you disturb my sleep!!!" Linglong's tone was heavy, seemingly filled with sleepiness.

The next moment,

She saw Little Dumpling's wide eyes.

"You can talk?"

At that time, Jiang Ning's voice also rang by the dragon carp's ear.

"Linglong, this is my niece."

Upon hearing this, the dragon carp paused for a moment.

Then said, "What a cute little girl."

"Fish, you are so pretty!!" Little Dumpling was still in awe, then she continued, "Can I touch you?"

Linglong looked at Jiang Ning, then at Little Dumpling.

"I'm Linglong, a dragon carp, not just any fish!" After introducing herself, she swayed her tail, which shimmered like red dawn, and came to the edge of the pond, poking out her head.

Seeing this, Little Dumpling reached out her tiny finger again.

"Giggle——"

Little Dumpling soon revealed her two front teeth.

"Hello Linglong, my name is Jiang Yuanyuan, you can call me Little Dumpling!" Little Dumpling also earnestly introduced herself.

"Little Dumpling, aren't you afraid of me speaking?" Linglong suddenly became curious.

She remembered appearing by the riverbank before.

Because she was extremely curious about the lives of humans onshore.

Back then, she spoke to a small child who immediately cried out in fear.

Yet, the Little Dumpling before her seemed completely unfazed.

"Why should I be afraid of you?" Little Dumpling widened her eyes, eyeball to eyeball with the protruding eyes of Linglong.

"Alright, you two can chat later!" Jiang Ning spoke up, continuing, "Little Dumpling, we have to go eat now, or your mother will start worrying."

"Right!!" Little Dumpling quickly got up, showing a sudden realization.

"Linglong, goodbye! I'm going to have breakfast now! I'll come back to play with you later!" Little Dumpling waved repeatedly at the dragon carp in the pond.

"Goodbye, Little Dumpling!" Linglong also swayed her tail, which glimmered like dawn, as a gesture of waving.

"By the way, Linglong!" Little Dumpling was just about to leave the pond's edge, but stopped in her tracks, excitedly inviting the dragon carp in the pond, "Linglong, do you want to come have breakfast with me? There's really, really, really tasty fish soup!!!"

Linglong: "..."

She really wanted to say, I am a fish.

Meanwhile,

The Old Turtle, just awakened, seemed to have thought of something.

Drool immediately began to drip from its mouth.

It hadn't forgotten, a few days ago, Jiang Ning had slaughtered an electric eel with a cultivation of more than two hundred years.

Having been to those two lakes where the Demon Clan gathered, it also discovered from various clues.

The Demon Clan in the lakes seemed not strong.

Its two-hundred-plus years of cultivation was quite remarkable.

Among those two Demon Clan groups, it didn't sense any existence that had reached four hundred years of cultivation.

The strongest were just a few with three hundred years of cultivation.

Those around one hundred years of cultivation seemed to be the mainstream.

Then, Old Turtle flipped over and landed on all fours.

"Little Dumpling, I'm going."

"Little Turtle, it's you!!" Little Dumpling picked up Old Turtle from the ground, surprised.