You're the Water Spirit's Father, Aren't You?

"If the Master of the Robe Division has any questions, please feel free to ask," Tang Yan said placidly. "I'd like to know where the Five Spirits gather in larger numbers. The more, the better," Qi Yuan asked the question he cared about most. The Five Spirits here were simply too few, hardly enough to get stuck between his teeth. The moment these words left his mouth, all three people present wondered if their ears were playing tricks on them. Why would anyone ask where the Five Spirits were numerous? Shouldn't one ask where their numbers were small? "Two hundred li from here lies a valley containing two hundred Wood Spirits. I do not know if that meets the Master of the Robe Division's needs," Tang Yan answered cautiously. Hearing this, Qi Yuan looked somewhat disappointed. "Aren't there any places with more?" "More? How much more?" the bun-haired woman could not help but chime in. "The more the merrier. A thousand isn't too few, ten thousand... is a bit much." Everyone was bewildered, having no idea why Qi Yuan would ask such a thing. Upon entering the trial ground, shouldn't one seek out a quiet, secluded place to slowly meditate and condense five-element essence qi? "Why do you want to find a place crawling with Five Spirits?" the red-robed man asked. Qi Yuan rolled his eyes at him, thinking the red-robed guy was rather dim. "To obtain five-element essence qi, of course. Where there are more Five Spirits, there is naturally more five-element essence qi, making it much easier to gather." Hearing this, the red-robed man froze. Looking at Qi Yuan, Tang Yan figured Qi Yuan might have entered the Five Elements Trial Ground only recently, had not yet obtained any five-element essence qi, and did not understand how it worked. He hurriedly shared the secret with Qi Yuan. "Master of the Robe Division, obtaining five-element essence qi is no simple matter. There are several crucial points one must pay attention to..." At the very end, however, Tang Yan still added, "A thousand li east of here lies an abyss. It is the core of the Five Elements Trial Ground, and the Five Spirits within number over ten thousand." Tang Yan spoke at length, giving Qi Yuan the route to the core area as well. Standing to the side, the red-robed man badly wanted to laugh. Yet he had to hold it in until the Master of the Robe Division left. Otherwise, having just been caught badmouthing someone behind his back, laughing in his face right after would be too awkward. Qi Yuan was slightly taken aback upon hearing this. "Is five-element essence qi that hard to get?" "Extremely hard," the bun-haired woman replied. "Even someone with talent as peerless as Big Brother Tang Yan needed an entire year to comprehend and obtain a single wisp of water essence qi." Qi Yuan's expression remained unchanged. He looked at a trapped Water Spirit behind the bun-haired woman. "Do you guys still want this one?" The bun-haired girl stared blankly, answering subconsciously, "No." "Good. Even though you're... I still don't want to steal your mobs." As he spoke, he slashed out with his sword, and that Water Spirit was instantly cleaved in two. [EXP +100.] [Water Essence Qi +1 (wisp).] At this moment, the red-robed man, who had been struggling to stifle his laughter, widened his eyes. He even wanted to rub them to make sure it wasn't an illusion! What had he just witnessed?! That Master of the Robe Division had casually slashed a Water Spirit to death, and then... had comprehended a wisp of water essence qi just like that! Wasn't that way too easy? Talent? Impossible! It had to be a fluke! The red-robed man thought so, and Tang Yan and the bun-haired woman thought the exact same thing. "The Master of the Robe Division possesses staggering talent. To think that in just a few breaths, you could comprehend a wisp of water essence qi," Tang Yan praised. He was now certain that the Master of the Robe Division was a prodigy whose talent surpassed even his own, and that he was water-aligned as well. "I'm not the same as you," Qi Yuan said. He didn't feel his own talent was anything special. The difference between him and these people was that he was a player; slaying monsters yielded rewards. Meanwhile, these NPCs had to do solid, painstaking comprehension work. Qi Yuan's words choked the three people up completely. Especially the bun-haired woman—she felt the Master of the Robe Division had a sharp tongue just like the red-robed guy; his words were so choking that someone ought to stuff something in his mouth. Right then, Qi Yuan looked at the red-robed man. "Those three Water Spirits behind you, do you still want them?" The red-robed man shook his head hurriedly. "No." Qi Yuan smiled. "Then I'll gladly accept them." Gripping his sword, he walked toward the three Water Spirits. Seeing this, the red-robed man was stunned. What was the Master of the Robe Division doing? Could it be... Qi Yuan stepped up to the Water Spirits and slashed three times in quick succession. The three already-trapped Water Spirits immediately perished on the spot. The EXP and water essence qi were promptly collected by Qi Yuan. Tang Yan froze. The bun-haired woman stared dumbfounded. The red-robed man was rendered completely speechless. Three wisps of water essence power? Three sword strikes, three dead Water Spirits, and the Master of the Robe Division had actually comprehended three more wisps of water essence power! When had comprehending water essence power become this easy? You just had to hack the Water Spirits to death?! Whenever they tried to obtain five-element essence power, hadn't they always made thorough preparations in advance, searching for suitable spirits, creating a tranquil environment, slowly meditating, and enduring failure after failure before occasionally succeeding once? Slaying one per strike and comprehending a wisp of water essence qi each time—what kind of monster was he?! Had something gone wrong with the Five Elements Trial Ground? The red-robed man desperately wanted to find a Water Spirit and slash it to death to see if he could comprehend water essence qi too. Unfortunately, all the nearby Water Spirits had already been slain by Qi Yuan. Having slain the three Water Spirits, Qi Yuan handed his great sword to Xiao Jia to hold. He spoke again: "Is obtaining water essence qi really that hard?" The three remained dead silent. Tang Yan suddenly felt that the wisp of water essence power he had comprehended earlier today wasn't sweet at all anymore. Looking at one another, none of the three knew what to say. "People are just built different. Don't lose heart, keep up the good work, youngsters! Thanks for the info, I'm off!" Having said that, Qi Yuan wrapped an arm around Xiao Jia and headed toward the core of the Five Elements Trial Ground. There, countless Five Spirits awaited him. Left behind on the field were only three people with numb expressions. "Did I just hallucinate? Thinking I saw the Master of the Robe Division?" the red-robed man spoke first. Tang Yan didn't speak. The bun-haired woman replied, "I might have seen the exact same hallucination." Tang Yan, who had always been gentle and refined, couldn't help but curse at this moment: "The Master of the Robe Division is truly... a bastard!" Finishing, he let out a helpless sigh. "The Master of the Robe Division is definitely born of the water element—the son of a Water Spirit! No, the father of Water Spirits! The ancestor of Water Spirits!" The red-robed man found it utterly incomprehensible. Even if someone were born of the water element, getting a wisp of water essence qi per sword slash was absurd! Could there really be a problem with the Five Elements Trial Ground? Right at that moment, a Water Spirit appeared not far from the three of them, charging straight for the red-robed man. Indeed, directly toward him—it seemed he drew aggro much better! The sharp-eyed red-robed man was the first to spot it and shouted excitedly, "Holy crap!" He dashed forward, terrified someone might steal his kill. The result? When he hacked the Water Spirit to death, he got absolutely nothing. He stood there dumbfounded. He recalled what the Master of the Robe Division had said before leaving: *People are just built different.* Still... even if people were different, it shouldn't be *this* different, right?! Just then, Tang Yan suggested, "I have a proposal. How about we head to... the core area?" Hearing this, the red-robed man and the bun-haired woman nodded vigorously. "Deal!" After all, people were different. Who knew when they would ever comprehend water essence qi again? Besides, going to the core area wouldn't set them back much. Watching someone slay a Water Spirit with a single sword strike and comprehend water essence qi every time—if they missed this, they might never see it again in their entire lives! All three of them were water-aligned; how could they possibly miss such a historic spectacle? *** A journey of a thousand li wasn't particularly far for Qi Yuan. Even so, traveling the distance still took some time. In particular, whenever he spotted other Five Spirits along the way, he didn't look down on them for being few. Even mosquito legs were still meat. He bagged every single one. Tang Yan and the other two had been pursuing him from behind, but unfortunately, their speed couldn't match Qi Yuan's. Even though Qi Yuan fought and walked intermittently, they still failed to catch up. However, as they gave chase, they transmitted the information inside to the people outside. After all, the Master of the Robe Division's talent was simply too terrifying. If he reached water element completion and paired with the Bridal Gown Imperial Princess, he might well unleash peak Divine Domain combat power! What a pity he was so young! Otherwise, if given just a little more time, he would undoubtedly become even more terrifying than the Heavenly God. Qi Yuan had no idea the three were following behind him. He hadn't flown straight to the core area. Currently, he was very close to Level 93. He planned to break through to Level 93 on the way before heading into the core area. Otherwise, no matter how tough the spear, facing tens of thousands of Five Spirits, the long spear would be ground down to a needle. Boosting his combat strength a bit before entering the core area was the proper path. Precisely because of this, when Tang Yan and his companions arrived at the core area, they found no trace of Qi Yuan. The red-robed man looked at the core area from afar, sensing the terrifying aura within. "Could that Master of the Robe Division have lied to us? Did he use an illusion and not come here at all?" The bun-haired woman glared at the red-robed guy, unobtrusively shifting a bit farther away from him. "Shut your mouth. Don't you know you draw the Five Spirits' attention more than anyone?" Tang Yan nodded in agreement. The red-robed man had a foul mouth and an irritating presence; whenever he showed up, he often attracted sieges from the Five Spirits. If it were anywhere else, that might be manageable, but this was the core area, where there were even Divine Domain-level Five Spirits. "You guys worry too much. Those previous times were just coincidences," the red-robed man had just finished saying. An earth-shattering roar echoed from the core area. Tang Yan and the bun-haired woman glanced at the red-robed man. Both instantly turned tail and bolted. At that moment, over ten thousand Five Spirits charged out of the core area, roaring and swarming densely like a stampede of ten thousand horses. With a tearful face, the red-robed man cried out, "Wait for me! It really had nothing to do with me!" "Stop talking! ... Hey, hey, hey, don't run toward me!" "Don't come over here!" Tang Yan was thoroughly disgusted as well. The three fled for their lives, followed closely by over ten thousand Five Spirits. About an hour later, Qi Yuan stealthily arrived at the core area, holding Xiao Jia by the hand. Looking at the completely empty core area, he wore a puzzled expression. "Could it be... I came to the wrong place?" However, as he scanned the distant mountain range, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. He had clearly sensed the aura of Five Spirits having been here. "The ground is still warm; they haven't been gone long. Could it be they went to throw a house party?" At that thought, Qi Yuan ground his teeth and said, "Throwing a house party without inviting me? That's going too far!" Nevertheless, he stepped into the core area. For some reason, after arriving here, he felt a strange warmth rising within his body. The five-element essence qi inside him was also somewhat boiling. And deep within the abyss, something seemed to be flickering.