Wang Feng sat next to the pond, occasionally throwing a stone across it, watching the calm water ripple as the stone bounced across it.
As he threw his 13th rock, he heard footsteps behind him and smiled, "you sure you're completely healed, Su Mu?", he said without looking back.
Su Mu chuckled embarrassingly while sitting next to him while his followers stood behind them, "thanks for asking, Senior Brother Wang. I healed completely a day ago, thanks to the pills my Grandfather provided me with."
Wang Feng nodded and looked at him, "Grandfather? You mean Elder Su, right?", Su Mu nodded with a proud look, causing Wang Feng to look at him with a deadpanned look.
"What are you so proud about brat! Your Grandfather is an Elder of the sect and an Immortal Ascension Realm Cultivator, while you haven't even reached Initial Element Realm at this age!", Wang Feng exclaimed as he hit Su Mu at the back of his head.
Su Mu winced as he rubbed his head, "hey, hey, Senior Brother, stop.... *Hah* I know what you mean...", Su Mu said before looking in front of him, at the calm surface of the pond, "I ... I had became lazy and irresponsible and stopped taking my cultivation seriously..."
Wang Feng looked at him with a raised eyebrow and looked at him with interest, 'interesting, I thought he needed a beating from Su Yan to realize it. But it looks like he already knew.'
Su Mu turned to look at him, "I have made my mind now. I will practice and cultivate harder...", his eyes burned with determination, "...I will not tolerate something like that happening to me again."
Wang Feng was truly surprised at this. He could tell by the look in Su Mu's eyes that he meant it and wanted to push himself further. Wang Feng nodded and laid down on the ground with one of his leg over the other, "well, it's good that you know."
Su Mu followed his lead and laid down on the ground as well. The two laid there for a few minutes before Su Mu asked him,"Senior Brother, why did you save me?"
Wang Feng smiled slightly at the question, "you call me your Senior Brother and still ask why I saved you?", Su Mu chuckled softly before sighing and speaking, "Although I had already said this... I want to thank you Senior Brother Wang, I don't know what would have happen if you hadn't stepped in."
He sat up and looked at his lackey, motioning them with his hand. The lackey nodded and handed him two Vaces of Alcohol. Su Mu grabbed them and forwarded one towards Wang Feng, "I want to say, if Senior Brother needs my help in any way or time, this Su Mu will always be ready to help. This is my promise to you!"
Wang Feng smirked and grabbed the vace and gulped the alcohol down. He felt a sweet albeit throbbing sensation explode in his mouth and down his throat. After finishing their Vaces the two looked at each other and laughed out.
The two talked for a few minutes before Su Mu told him that he will lead him to a place. Wang Feng already knew that Su Mu wanted to lead him to the Black Wind Market, but he didn't say anything as he hadn't visited that place himself.
The group of 5, Wang Feng, Su Mu and his three lackeys, walked the path leading to the Black Wind Market. During their walk, Su Mu explained about the Black Wind Market before the talk shifted to the history of the sect and Ling Taixu's past.
Wang Feng didn't interrupt him and listened, finding the story just as he remembered it. Just when Su Mu's story ended, they reached the Market place.
Wang Feng saw numerous stalls and people walking around. There were signs outside the stall that either had their name, faction name or the list of items available. There were also many people who just sat down on the side to sell their things, though they were just independent cultivators.
"Amazing right?", Su Mu asked with a smile and started walking inside. Wang Feng looked around as he walked, trying to see and identify any item that he might want.
Nearly halfway through the market, Su Mu said that his sister was stationed here and they would first go and meet her. Wang Feng didn't ask who his sister was nor did he tell him that he had already met her. He just followed after him.
When they arrived at the center of the Market, he saw three small pavilions made a distance away from each other. "These Pavilions are where the appointed desciples of the three sects stay, the pavilion of our High Heaven Pavilion is that one.", Su Mu said while pointing at the closest pavilion.
Wang Feng nodded and the group walked to the door of the pavilion. As they stood at the door, Su Mu's followers had slightly smirks on their faces while Wang Feng had his arms crossed in front of his chest and was looking at the scene in front of him with unhidden amusement.
They saw as Su Mu stumbled up to the door, mechanically raising his hand to knock on the door. His previous flamboyant and composed aura gone, replaced by a meek and slightly fearful child like aura.
"If you're that scared of her, you shouldn't have been a trouble maker and should have practiced harder.", Wang Feng said with a smirk, enjoying the scene. Su Mu grinded his teeth and looked at Wang Feng with a glare.
The glare went as quickly as it came when a melodic, but cold, voice called out from inside the pavilion, "Come in."
Su Mu stiffened for a second before he reluctantly opened the door and fearfully closed it behind him. The next moment, the group outside heard the sound of someone being beaten, which lasted for just a few seconds.
Then, the voice sounded again, "you four can come inside as well.", Wang Feng and the group looked at each other before entering the pavilion.
As soon as they entered, they saw two people in front of them. One was Su Mu, who was kneeling on the ground with slight marks on his face and a bump on his head. The other was Su Yan, who looked just like Wang Feng had seen before, pure and excluding an aura of indifference and nobility, standing in front of Su Mu with her arms behind her back.
Wang Feng smiled when he saw Su Yan, a normal smile you pass to an acquaintance, while a trace of recognition passed through Su Yan's eyes as she inclined her head in acknowledgement.
"Ah, Brother Wang, this is my sister..", just as Su Mu started to introduce them, while ignoring the bump on his head. Wang Feng spoke with a small smile, "Senior Sister Su Yan, it's good to see you again."
Su Yan regarded his gaze for a moment before she spoke, "It's good that you hadn't 'gotten lost' after I left, Junior Brother Wang.", hearing her words, Wang Feng's mouth twitched, 'she's going to hold it against me, isn't she...'
While the two talked, Su Mu and his followers looked back and forth. Finally Su Mu broke out of his surprise and said, "wait, you two know each other!? Why didn't you tell me before Brother Wang!?", his red face reflected his surprise and indignation, remembering how he had boasted of his Sister to Wang Feng on the way, even warning him to stay silent.
Wang Feng chuckled and ignored him, while Su Yan sent Su Mu a sharp glare, making him stand straight again. Su Yan spoke with an icy tone, "It looks like you still have a lot of stamina remaining and your injuries have also healed. Good, from now on, you will cultivate under my instructions...", her body started excluding a cold and unbearable aura, "...am I clear?"
Although Su Mu wanted to argue slightly, just for the sake of it as he knew it was already final the moment she uttered it, he held himself back and gulped after seeing her serious look.
She turned back to look at Wang Feng and said, "and I assume that you defeated Chang Shao Feng and Nu Tao?", Wang Feng simply nodded with a smile, "well, I am his Senior Brother, so it's my duty to not let him die ... or get seriously injured."
Su Yan's eyes twitched and a small arc graced her cherry lips before turning back to the indifferent, cold look. She didn't say anything to him after that and started talking to Su Mu, reminding him why such an incident even happened, making Su Mu even more driven to increase his cultivation.
The group of boys then left the Pavilion, apparently Su Mu wanted to ask Su Yan to lead them around the Market, but she shut the door at his face, telling him not to disturb her cultivation.
As the group started their tour, they decided to split up and look for anything they wanted. Wang Feng looked around the market for a few minutes before he left.
Everything he saw in the market wasn't up to his standards, plus he had gained a lot of ores, herbs and materials from his last adventure. So he simply went and left the market, walking back to his cabin in the sect.
After entering his cabin, he meditated for a few minutes before he took out a bunch of material and his array making materials. His face turned serious as he started arranging arrays, this time, the process being extremely easy with the presence of the Array Flags.
It took him 6 days to make 10 different arrays, reach the Peak of Common-Grade Arrays.
He huffed and sat down cross-legged before diving into his mind, in the expense of black space in his mind, he appeared in front of three blobs, which were his profession inheritance.
He looked at the Array Inheritance and the Refining Inheritance before he touched them with his consciousness. Instantly, another set of chains broke from the blob and the knowledge of various things entered his mind.
He felt a wave of knowledge that was basically the upgraded version of his previous knowledge of professions, upto Earth Grade.
As he digested all the previous knowledge, which took him a day. He opened his eyes with a thoughtful look. "This isn't as efficient as I had initially thought.", he muttered to himself as he thought of the limitations on what he gained from the inheritances.
During his adventure to the Black Wind Mountain, he had found a few herbs and ores he couldn't name nor knew anything about. This made him realize his mistake of not uncovering the complete knowledge from his Inheritances and now, he decided to make up for it.
So he dived back into his consciousness, in front of the inheritances. This time he focused on separating the knowledge in the inheritance into several sections like; one section containing information about materials, one containing information about growing/extracting the material, one containing about the refinement/arrangement of material, etc.
As he mentally willed the knowledge into a different types of sets, the blobs in front of him seemed to shift, becoming more solid and round as a bead, the seals and chains on them shifting and arranging themselves to cover the knowledge appropriately.
*Huee*
After completing the process, he 'looked' at the transformed state of the inheritance 'beads', seeing that a few parts of them were now covered by chains, while the others were covered by both chains and seals or spiritual walls.
Seeing this he smiled and tried to figure out how these worked. After a little experiment, he found that he could gain the knowledge of all materials with no limitations of grades. Though there were limitations on various techniques and methods which will be available to him once he fulfills certain conditions, like using a forging method called Spirit Forging for which he needs to unlock his Divine Sense, Knowledge Sea and have sufficient Spiritual Energy.
Wang Feng nodded in satisfaction after discovering this and started going through the material knowledge in all three inheritances.