Chapter 85: Spiritual Journey

Right now, Gao Wu’s body was as tough as steel—taking a bullet head-on would hardly trouble him. Yet, faced with Sister Jun’s gentle plea, he found himself powerless to resist, unable to bring himself to refuse her.

Nevertheless, from every angle, going to Anjing University was not the best choice. The Martial Arts Institute there wouldn’t hold interviews until the end of June. It would be a waste of three months just waiting around in Anjing. Gao Wu was in a period of rapid progress with his martial practice—benefiting from both the elixirs and the blessing of the Merit Scripture, not to mention Song Mingyue’s company during his training. She could perceive the subtlest flaws in his techniques with remarkable insight.

Such close, meticulous guidance was ten, a hundred times more valuable than Iron Dalong’s teaching. It wasn’t that Iron Dalong didn’t care, but he simply lacked Song Mingyue’s extraordinary acuity.

On another front, the strange spirit remained unresolved. Song Mingyue needed his help. Without Shen Yue, he couldn’t continue making short videos either. He couldn’t bear to part with Shen Yue, and, truth be told, with Iron Dalong as well… Not to mention his hometown elders and friends, and, by extension, his close friend Xiao Song!

Moreover, Wan Canglong was a grandmaster—he would hardly come all the way to Dongjiang for revenge. As for other martial artists, Gao Wu no longer feared them. Not only did he have the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra, but the Vermilion Bird Luminous Incantation, which he’d already mastered to an intermediate stage, held even deeper secrets. The Yin Spirit he condensed surely had many further possibilities. Once he understood them, he would have yet another method of defense.

He had plenty of reasons to refuse Shang Qingjun, but gazing into her gentle, liquid eyes, the words of rejection caught in his throat.

Just as Gao Wu was gritting his teeth, about to agree, Shang Qingjun softly spoke, “Look at you, so torn. If you don’t want to go to Anjing, then don’t. Don’t force yourself.”

Gao Wu’s heart overflowed with gratitude. Sister Jun was so considerate, so tender, always thinking of him first. Yet here he was, unable to let go of Xiao Song, feeling almost guilty toward Sister Jun.

He hesitated, wanting to embrace her, but felt it might not be appropriate. Shang Qingjun took the initiative, wrapping her arms around him.

In these past two months, Gao Wu had grown visibly in height and weight. At one meter seventy-two, Shang Qingjun now stood a head shorter than him.

She found it a bit of a struggle to hold him, and could clearly feel the steely strength of his sinews and muscles, brimming with power. Embracing him now even gave her a strong sense of security.

She couldn’t help but think back to Gao Wu four years ago—thin and scrawny, looking no more than ten years old. Back then, she thought he might never grow tall, but in the blink of an eye, he’d become so strong and tall.

She was both comforted and amazed. “Little Wu has truly grown up. I can’t even wrap my arms around you anymore.”

The warmth and familiarity of her embrace brought back many memories for Gao Wu. Back then, after a great upheaval in his life, his awakened past-life memories only made his thoughts more chaotic, and he didn’t know how to adjust.

It was Shang Qingjun’s gentle care and concern that reconnected him to the world, allowing him to integrate again.

Gao Wu hugged her tightly. “Sister Jun, I’ll love you forever!”

Shang Qingjun laughed softly, touching his cheek. “You—now that you have a girlfriend, you’ve forgotten about your sister.”

“No way, Sister Jun, don’t say that…” Gao Wu hastily denied it. “Xiao Song and I are just friends, not boyfriend and girlfriend!”

“See? I hadn’t even said anything, and you exposed yourself.” Shang Qingjun chuckled. “You’re eighteen now—it’s perfectly normal to like a girl.”

She couldn’t help but sigh. “The Song family is a powerful clan. When you’re with a girl like her, you should be confident and open.”

Anjing University was full of aristocratic children. Shang Qingjun had met a few; though they seemed polite, they were proud and insular at heart. Outsiders found it hard to break into their circles.

She worried Little Wu would face the same issues in the future.

“I’m pretty open!” Gao Wu protested again. “We’re just ordinary friends!”

He didn’t want to discuss this any further, feeling both embarrassed and a little uneasy—though he couldn’t quite say why.

“Sister Jun, I’ll leave the account in your hands…” Gao Wu quickly changed the subject, talking business instead.

The company they’d registered was called Sunshine Media Limited, with Shang Qingjun as its legal representative.

Anjing, being the political and economic center of the Northern Province, far outshone Dongjiang. At Anjing University, Shang Qingjun could access more circles and find greater opportunities.

She took the matter seriously, seeing clearly that with the explosion of short videos, streamers had become a shortcut for social mobility. While the competition was fierce, it wasn’t as brutal as the martial world. If Little Wu became a major influencer, his income alone would be considerable.

With his unique physical talent, as long as he had enough resources, reaching Martial Master wasn’t impossible. Truly stepping into that realm would mean a complete leap in status—perhaps even founding a thriving family.

Shang Qingjun explained her plan in detail. Gao Wu, in truth, had no interest in any of this, but forced himself to go through the motions for over an hour.

Only after soothing her to rest did he finally breathe a sigh of relief. Business was far more complicated than martial training.

Martial arts were personal—he had full control. Business required cooperation on many fronts, and effort alone did not guarantee success.

Reciting the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra a hundred times, Gao Wu cleared his mind and body, restoring himself to peak condition.

With his basic practice complete, he switched to the Vermilion Bird Luminous Incantation.

Since awakening this divine mantra, this was his first formal recitation and ritual.

The incantation was deeply imprinted in his memory. Reciting the full text—over a thousand archaic and awkward words—took nearly two minutes.

A crimson flame flashed deep in his brow, instantly transforming into a grand, resplendent bird that beat its long, fiery wings and plunged into the depths of his Yin Spirit.

Threads of vermilion light shimmered around the Yin Spirit, visibly absorbing the power—or perhaps the magic—embodied in the incantation.

Gao Wu felt the terminology didn’t matter; what mattered was that the Vermilion Bird Luminous Incantation strengthened his Yin Spirit, which was closely tied to his mental strength.

The stronger his Yin Spirit, the greater his mental power.

Song Mingyue had told him many times: the foundation for wielding source energy was mental power.

Thanks to the incantation’s enhancement, his mental strength had reached 11, yet he still couldn’t sense source energy. This was truly puzzling.

Was the problem still with the Yin Spirit?

With a thought, his Yin Spirit flashed forth from deep within his brow, standing before him.

Transformed by crimson light, the Yin Spirit now had the density of flowing water—identical to Gao Wu in form, yet ethereal and insubstantial.

He glanced at the huge mirror set into his bedroom wall, but his Yin Spirit cast no reflection. Even in his pupils, there was no vermilion glow.

Clearly, his sight of the Yin Spirit came from a mysterious resonance between the two, not from his eyes.

Shifting his awareness into the Yin Spirit, he looked around from its perspective and saw source energy particles dotting the air—not few, though far less concentrated than in the virtual realm.

When these particles landed on the Yin Spirit, they no longer corroded or permeated it.

The walls, ceiling, floor—everything became clusters of light with stable frameworks in the Yin Spirit’s vision.

Even his own body was a mass of colorful radiance, with the brightest, purest turquoise glow shining at his brow.

A realization dawned within him: the Yin Spirit could pass harmlessly through matter.

Bold as ever, he decided to try. The Yin Spirit reached out, and its hand passed straight through the thick wooden door.

Stepping forward, he found the solid door turned to a mist of light, allowing him through with ease.

Drifting down the hallway, the Yin Spirit passed through walls without resistance.

Outside, Gao Wu discovered the Yin Spirit could float in midair—not like a balloon buoyed by air, but propelled by his will.

Late February’s chill wind cut sharper than ever.

The Yin Spirit felt no wind, but myriad fine particles coursed through the world. Most passed without effect, but a few pierced the Yin Spirit, causing distinct sensations—some like water, some like searing fire, some sparking strange electric light.

Through the Yin Spirit, Gao Wu gazed at the stars. With few factories in Dongjiang’s city center, the air was clear, the north wind strong, and the stars shone all the brighter, making the night sky seem deeper and more vast.

From the Yin Spirit’s perspective, the night was an endless abyss, threatening to swallow it at any moment.

For the first time, the vastness of the stars pressed on him with such force.

He soon realized it was the universe’s diffuse radiations affecting the Yin Spirit, making him instinctively fear the sky.

Thus, even at this minor stage, the Yin Spirit was fragile. Without dense source energy interference, it still couldn’t linger long outside.

For the sake of experiment, Gao Wu sent the Yin Spirit drifting out, all the way to a crossroads five hundred meters from home, where its connection to his body grew tenuous.

His awareness flickered between the Yin Spirit and his body, leaving him exhausted.

He ran often, and his smart watch measured distances—he knew the intersection was about five hundred meters away.

A range of five hundred meters was far from roaming the heavens, but still impressive.

Yet the Yin Spirit couldn’t affect matter—it could only observe, making its utility rather limited.

After much study, Gao Wu felt disappointed. The Yin Spirit seemed fit only for spying—not too far, and not for long.

It also couldn’t withstand sunlight; though Gao Wu hadn’t tested it, he was sure, for it was simply too fragile.

All in all, the Vermilion Bird Luminous Incantation’s Yin Spirit wasn’t very practical. Its true value was in boosting his mental power.

With the Swift Thunder Transformation, his mental power could rise to 14, increasing the technique’s might fivefold—a tremendous improvement.

Gao Wu’s heart hardened. If Huang Hai didn’t come, so be it; if he did, he would never return!

As for Wan Canglong—so powerful and influential—precisely because of that, unless he lost his mind, Wan Canglong was unlikely to seek trouble with Gao Wu himself.