Chapter 218 (1/2)

Chapter 218

The wind whipped at his face . He knew he was shouting and screaming, but he couldn't hear his own voice due to the howling of the wind . Aside from the tiny dots of light spinning around him, it was dark everywhere . Just how high above the city was he? And why the h.e.l.l couldn't he stop himself from hurtling around like a pinball .

Calm down first, Li Yundong . You gotta calm the f*ck down .

The flow of his Zhenqi was probably out of whack, that must be why he was spinning around so much, but then he couldn't just stop the flow of his Zhenqi; if he did, he would fall straight down .

Levitation, Li Yundong .

He had to work on stopping the propulsion force and just levitate until Zi Yuan came to get him . But f*ck! How was he even supposed to do that when his mental focus was so G.o.dd.a.m.ned messed up?

Fear lanced through him . He could feel the flow of his Zhenqi becoming even more turbulent as the panic inside him grew .

Do something dammit! I've gotta f*cking do something!

The Lingtai . Su Chan said that the Lingtai was the key to calmness .

With that, he mustered every ounce of mental concentration he had left and moved a small amount of his Zhenqi to his Lingtai .

The calmness came almost instantly .

G.o.d he was such a f*cking idiot . Why didn't he do this from the start, before he even attempted to fly?

Seconds later, he could feel his body losing its earlier impetus, which meant that he had managed to stop the random bursts of propulsion force .

Now he had to stop his body from spinning around .

Come on, Li Yundong . You can do it . . . Concentrate . . .

Eventually, the spinning turned into a mild wobble .

Wait a minute .

The meditative posture . . . That's it!

A person's Qi flow is the smoothest when they're in a meditative posture . That was what Zi Yuan said .

Without ado, he tucked his legs under him and crossed them . After several tries, he managed to regain his balance, sighing in relief once he did .

His relief, however, was short-lived . Little dots of lights could be seen scattered beneath him, which wasn't a rea.s.suring sight if he considered its implication . He shouldn't be up here, so high above the ground .

He wasn't ready yet .

He had to go . Now .

He unleashed his spiritual energy, not caring that it might turn him into a malfunctioning pinball again .

There was a lurch, and his world started spinning around again . F*ck! Why was it so d.a.m.n hard to control the release of his spiritual energy!

Endless flurries of strong wind bl.u.s.tered his face, making his eyes water . Where the h.e.l.l am I? Was he even in the city's airs.p.a.ce?

All of a sudden, the spinning stopped .

”What the—”

He could feel a familiar equilibrium in the way he was floating, but he knew that it wasn't his own doing . In fact, he'd felt this sensation before, on the night he killed He Shao .

A burst of green light appeared beside him, and he felt a strong grip on his arm .

”Hang on!”

Relief coursed through him at the sound of that voice .

Zi Yuan . . .

His surroundings morphed into a dark blur as he felt a sharp downward dip .

***

When they landed, Li Yundong realized that they were at some abandoned playground near New Hongsheng District . He lowered himself to the ground and lay down on his back . He just . . . needed a minute .

The stars winked down at him as he tried to catch his breath . His cheeks still felt a little numb due to the wind . When the pounding in his ears subsided minutes later, he heard footsteps . He sighed and slowly got into a sitting position . Zi Yuan was pacing back and forth .

And she was fuming .

The pacing stopped the moment she noticed him looking at her . She stormed over and poked him in the chest, hard .

”Are you out of your mind?!” she shouted . ”Have you forgotten about Wushuang-qianbei's warning?!”

Li Yundong stared at the woman in front of him, too stunned by her outburst to speak . He'd never seen Zi Yuan so riled up before .

”I told you to go slow . . . And what did you end up doing?” she growled, and then let out an angry huff . ”You could've gotten both of us killed!”

”I don't know what happened, okay?” Li Yundong said tiredly . ”You said to only use a little bit of spiritual energy, and that's what I did . I—”

”You shot out of the balcony in your first try!” she snapped . ”You call that a little bit?”

”Look I don't know, okay!” he fired back . ”It just happened!” He sighed heavily and climbed to his feet . ”You know what? It was all my fault, and I'm sorry . I didn't know what I was doing . ” He turned around and walked back towards the apartment .

”Wait!”

He stopped walking when he felt a gentle but firm grip on his arm .

He turned around and saw Zi Yuan looking back at him guiltily .

”I apologize,” Zi Yuan said . ”I shouldn't have yelled at you . ”

Li Yundong shook his head . ”It wasn't your fault,” he said, lowering his gaze to the ground . ”I really don't know what happened back there . Either way, I know I screwed up . I'm sorry . ”

”Don't be too hard on yourself,” Zi Yuan said . ”You've made more progress than in months than literally every single Cultivator I know . ”

Li Yundong raised his gaze .

Zi Yuan was smiling at him .

He could tell that she was trying to make him feel better, but her attempt fell flat; it only made him feel worse, like he was a disappointment .

Yeah . Who was he even kidding . He was a disappointment . Maybe not to her, but definitely to himself . He was so disappointed in himself right now .

Still, he appreciated Zi Yuan's efforts, so he gave her a nod .

Zi Yuan sighed . ”You know what? I think you're right . Let's just head back and call it a night . ”

Li Yundong couldn't agree more . He had a lot of thinking to do . Not to mention a lot practicing . He'd be d.a.m.ned if he didn't teach himself how to fly properly before dawn .

***

When Zi Yuan stepped into Hongling's apartment, her protégé was sitting on the couch, clearly waiting for her return .

”Elder Sister Zi Yuan . . . ” Hongling said, rising from the couch anxiously . ”What was that just now? I could've sworn I sensed the power of the Heavens ama.s.sing in the sky just now . It was . . . terrifying . ”

Zi Yuan sighed and shut the sliding door quietly .

”Well, you're not wrong,” Zi Yuan said wryly as she padded towards the living room . ”The drill was a disaster . ” She shook her head, disgusted at her own negligence and carelessness . ”The Heir lost control, and I didn't have a contingency prepared . ”

”W- What? Lost control? What do you mean?” Hongling hurried over to her side and took her arm . ”Are you hurt, Elder Sister Zi Yuan? Did he hurt you?”

Zi Yuan smiled and patted her protégé's hand . ”I'm okay, Hongling, don't worry . ”

Still, Hongling pulled her towards the couch and sat her down .

When Hongling sat down beside her, she was looking expectantly at Zi Yuan, no doubt waiting for an explanation .

Zi Yuan raised a brow at her protégé . ”You didn't see anything from here?”

Hongling shook her head . ”I was . . . I was in my room . ” Hongling blushed . ”I was . . . a little angry . ”

Zi Yuan sighed . ”Hongling . . . I . . . ”

”Wait…” Hongling turned around on the couch until she was fully facing Zi Yuan . Hongling's eyes grew wide with shock . ”He… That idiot took off to the sky, didn't he?”

Zi Yuan studied her protégé for a few seconds . ”Yeah, he did . But he didn't do it on purpose . ” Zi Yuan rubbed her forehead, then dropped her hand back onto her lap . ”I guess I underestimated the strength of his spiritual energy . . . ” Zi Yuan shook her head slightly and gave her protégé a wry smile . ”I asked him to try flying around with only a little bit of spiritual energy . ”

A look of understanding formed on her protégé's face, though Zi Yuan thought she saw a hint of mirth in her eyes .

”But it was still too strong, and it blew him straight out of the building?”

Zi Yuan nodded .

A giggle escaped Hongling's lips, but then she quickly stopped herself . ”S- Sorry, Elder Sister . ”

Zi Yuan waved off the apology . It was a little funny to be honest, if the situation weren't so dire, that is .

The two of them sat in silence for a minute or so .

”G.o.d, Hongling . . . ” Zi Yuan sighed . ”The balcony . . . Why did I ask him to fly towards the balcony?” Zi Yuan hooked a strand of hair behind her ear . ”And then the sliding door . . . Why did I leave it open? I should have closed it . ”

”Please don't blame yourself Elder Sister Zi Yuan . . . ” Hongling said gently . ”And I doubt a gla.s.s door could stop the Heir's spiritual energy . . . ”

Zi Yuan held her protégé's gaze, grateful for this small moment of comfort .

A teasing glint formed in Hongling's eyes . ”And I'm sure he wouldn't want a human-shaped hole in the wall of his apartment,” she joked .