Chapter 18
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Chapter 18: Chicken Claw?
As the sky lightened, a rooster in Shanghe Village jumped onto the fence, puffed out its chest, and cleared its throat, crowing “Cock-a-doodle-do!”
Before long, a middle-aged woman rushed back from the village entrance with a basket of vegetables, her voice trembling as she called out, “Tie Shuan’s father, there’s a beggar blocking the village entrance, just sitting there straight as a stick, and it scared me to death!”
“A beggar?” The man walked out of the house while putting on his clothes, yawning, and said, “Bad year—what’s special about a beggar? A few years ago during the war, there were beggars everywhere. You lazy woman don’t want to wake up early to sell vegetables in the city, just find excuses. If you don’t hurry, I’ll use the door bolt on you. Get out!”
The man showed clear impatience; in these times, lives were cheap, and a few coins could buy a young lady. He had long been dissatisfied with his wife’s sullen face.
“Ungrateful bastard! If it weren’t for me, who would have given birth to Tie Shuan?” The woman grumbled but ultimately feared her husband. Looking towards the tallest building in the village, she mustered some courage, lifted her basket, and approached the village entrance again.
The rooster had crowed three times; the woman arrived slowly at the village entrance, her eyes widening.
Outside, calamity and disaster abounded, and Shanghe Village barely managed to scrape by thanks to a mighty cultivator who had wandered for many years before returning to his hometown to settle down.
At the entrance, the refined elder with three strands of beard was intently watching the arm of a young beggar, his expression both excited and restrained, not wanting to disturb him.
“Ha!” Li Hui forcefully exhaled, releasing the murky qi in his body, followed by a long, deep breath.
When he opened his eyes and saw the refined elder standing before him, he quickly rose and bowed, “Thank you, senior, for your protection. Last night, I fortuitously unlocked the spirit mark and finally set foot on the path of cultivation.”
As he spoke, Li Hui brushed off his clothes, causing dust to rise, his face showing embarrassment. In reality, he was using the motion to toss out the Miao Jade that had turned into powder in his palms.
One must always be cautious; his brother had warned him countless times before he died. Over the years, he had almost turned caution into instinct.
“Ha ha ha! Heroes emerge in youth! Today, I see a talented young man officially starting his cultivation journey at the village entrance; this is our fate,” the refined elder said cheerfully. Although his cultivation was not high, only maintaining the Spirit Motion stage with six marks, he had considerable knowledge.
There were numerous types of spirit marks, as vast as the Milky Way Constellations, and no one could tell exactly how many there were. However, after many years of existence, cultivators summed up and classified spirit marks into lower tier, middle tier, and upper tier based on their illuminating colors, area, and types when manifested.
Even the lower tier was still respectable; if one could not even enter the lower tier, they would fall into obscurity. Unless during the subsequent gathering of spirit marks, a transformation occurred, allowing them to slightly make up for their foundation.
The quality of spirit marks was extremely important for future cultivation; even in the Spirit Motion stage, good spirit marks significantly strengthened the body.
Generally, spirit marks the size of copper coins with darker colors, appearing as cloud patterns, stone patterns, wood patterns, frost patterns, fire patterns, etc., were considered non-prominent. However, if they were the same size but with colors resembling concentrated mercury producing a sharp thunder pattern, they would barely fit into the lower tier, categorized as the third type.
Unlocking the first spirit mark usually formed in the limbs, so dimensions were important, such as two-inch marks, three-inch marks, and four-inch marks.
After measuring the dimensions, the next step was to examine the illuminating colors; generally, golden was the most esteemed, silver was valuable, while other mixed colors, although not weak, did not strengthen the physique as effectively as the gold and silver series.
Determining the color series was crucial, and then identifying the type of spirit mark was even more critical. Basic natural five-element spirit marks like cloud patterns, rain patterns, wood patterns, rust patterns, fire patterns, etc., regardless of how noble their appearance or formidable their size, would ultimately fall short.
Just like talismans, a single-attribute talisman had limited power, while a composite talisman was significantly stronger.
Because Dao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to all things.
The heavens and the earth undergo evolution, and power lies in evolution. This principle applies to both talismans and spirit marks, so spirit marks such as wind-fire patterns, water-fire patterns, Yin-Yang patterns, and rolling wood-thunder-stone patterns naturally have advantages. However, five-element spirit marks only enhance a specific attribute’s affinity, while certain marks surpass composite spirit marks; those are beast patterns.
Beast patterns usually only hold a few scales and claws, like the most famous Dragon Scale pattern, which has an exceptional defensive capability. Patterns like Leopard Eye and Eagle Eye excel in insight and reconnaissance.
The refined elder from Shanghe Village was excited when he saw the pattern on Li Hui’s arm because it was indeed a rare beast pattern, measuring an astonishing nine inches in length and shimmered in a golden hue.
Li Hui also felt a thrill; after four years of being anonymous, he finally felt relief today.
At that moment, the complex pattern on his arm faded, drawing all abnormalities beneath his skin. He could sense the surging energy within him, a terrifying presence capable of tearing mountains and rivers apart.
“It’s the Eagle Claw pattern! It can’t be wrong; child, you’ve obtained the most distinguished Eagle Claw pattern!” The refined elder stroked his beard, his face glowing with joy at witnessing the birth of a middle-tier spirit mark.
“Eagle Claw pattern?” Li Hui nearly fell over, thinking, “A chicken claw and an eagle claw are not the same! The sheer essence emanating from my right arm that can tear through mountains and rivers definitely isn’t a chicken claw. If it were an Eagle Claw pattern, with this spirit mark’s color and size, it would surely rank into the upper tier.”
The refined elder, having been living in the mountain village for a long time without interacting with other cultivators, seemed particularly enthusiastic and laughed heartily, inviting, “Unlocking a spirit mark is a joyous event! Come, let’s go to my place, change your clothes, rest a bit, and let the villagers prepare some food. You must be terribly hungry today.”
Li Hui hurriedly clasped his fists, “Thank you, elder; I am immensely grateful!”
Unlocking the first two or three spirit marks would leave one feeling ravenous, as the cultivation required nourishment. Regarding how much the physique would improve, that could be tested later.
The refined elder specially had villagers serve food to ease Li Hui’s heart; cultivators had their own rules, and caution was essential.
As the sun rose high, Li Hui sat in the courtyard and enjoyed a hearty meal.
Villagers brought cattle and sheep into the courtyard, slaughtering them on the spot. Then, a dozen chefs quickly prepared the meals, ensuring that the steaks on the griddle were cooked to about seventy to eighty percent before rushing to serve them, fearing they would delay the esteemed cultivator’s meal.
The refined elder sat nearby, teasing, “If I had a daughter or granddaughter, I would surely marry her to you. I didn’t expect such a handsome young man would casually show up at the village entrance, but that white hair on your forehead…”
“Uncle Sun, please stop! That white hair just appeared yesterday morning; it has since become a thorn in my heart,” Li Hui said, filled with confusion and frustration, as he continued to devour his meal.
“Oh? Your white hair just appeared yesterday? How could that be?” The refined elder acted swiftly, grabbing Li Hui’s wrist, his expression changing drastically after checking his pulse.
