Little White shook her head, then used her forked tongue to roll up the pearl and brought it to Alaric Ye's mouth, forcefully pushing it inside…
Alaric Ye was a bit bewildered as he held the pearl Little White handed over, spitting out the dirt stuck to it while mumbling, "You want me to swallow it?"
Little White nodded obediently.
Without thinking much, Alaric Ye swallowed it with a gulp.
Little White had been raised by him, so if she wanted him to swallow it, there must be some benefit.
Seeing Alaric Ye swallow the pearl, Little White obediently lay on a nearby rock, quietly watching him continue his training.
At first, Alaric Ye didn't feel any different after swallowing the pearl. But as time passed, he felt a warm sensation in his stomach, followed by waves of warmth flowing through his meridians and blood vessels, spreading to his limbs and bones, making his whole body feel warm and comfortable.
Moreover, his fatigue vanished instantly, and he felt he could hold a horse stance for half an hour more, no, two hours!
But this comfortable feeling quickly passed.
He felt his energy surge, his stomach burning as if on fire, and large beads of sweat began to seep from his body, with wisps of steam rising from his forehead, even his consciousness started to blur.
At that moment, he felt something scaly wrap around him and drag him into the water. Instinctively, Alaric Ye gulped down mouthfuls of water, easing the burning heat in his body.
As his consciousness cleared, Alaric Ye saw Little White swimming around him, with steam rising from the river surface around him. Threads of impurities were being expelled from his pores along with his sweat, washed away by the river water.
In less than half an hour, the burning heat in Alaric Ye's body completely subsided, leaving him feeling unprecedentedly refreshed, as if every pore in his body was breathing in the fresh morning air.
"Good Little White, you gave me a treasure! What's it called again, right, Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures! The kind that only Upper Immortals can consume!"
Alaric Ye hugged Little White and rubbed her snake head vigorously.
Little White affectionately nuzzled Alaric Ye, clearly very excited as well.
"Let me try the breathing technique again!"
Just now, Alaric Ye had lost consciousness, interrupting his breathing rhythm.
Inhale… Exhale…
In an instant, Alaric Ye seemed to see silvery-white light being inhaled, while he exhaled a cloud of dark air.
He recalled the instructor's words to the young masters and ladies.
Inhale Clear Qi, exhale Turbid Qi!
And Clear Qi contains Spiritual Qi!
"Am I… inhaling visible Spiritual Qi? Has my Spiritual Root awakened?"
Little White nodded obediently, her eyes shining with excitement.
Alaric Ye almost jumped up with Little White in his arms, but he found her too heavy, though only 10ft long and as thick as a bowl, she felt like she was made of iron.
Even in the Lin Residence, with so many disciples and specialized instructors teaching the breathing technique and Body Forging Technique, only two or three were detected with Spiritual Roots each year.
Taking this step meant Alaric Ye now had the potential to become a Cultivator, to become an Upper Immortal, looking down on mortals!
It meant Alaric Ye could leave the Slave Registry, it was right in front of him!
How could he not be excited!
"Father, Mother, Grandfather, Grandmother, do you see this? Your son is about to achieve something, about to leave the Slave Registry, and leap to become an Upper Immortal. Those masters we once served will look up to me and bow before me in the future!
I will no longer be a slave in this life!"
Alaric Ye knelt in the river, sobbing softly…
***
Not long after, Alaric Ye composed himself, returning to his calm and steady demeanor.
"Before the Immortal Elder arrives, I must not let anyone discover anything unusual, or who knows how the Lin Residence will treat me."
Although Alaric Ye now had the potential to become a Cultivator, he was not yet an Immortal Elder looking down on mortals.
He saw no need to gamble on the Lin Residence treating him as an honored guest upon discovering his awakened Spiritual Root.
On the contrary, he believed he might die an unclear death.
In the Lin Family, slaves were never treated as humans.
His grandfather starved to death, his parents were beaten to death, and slaves caught secretly learning the Body Forging Technique had their eyes gouged out on the spot… these were just incidents around Alaric Ye, and there were many more such events in the Lin Family.
In the eyes of the masters, slaves should always remain slaves, serving them generation after generation.
They might worry that Alaric Ye would learn real skills in the Immortal Sect and come back for revenge, so they would kill him in advance.
Of course, there were some kind-hearted people in the Lin Family, but they were few.
At that moment, the grass rustled, and a black shadow suddenly darted towards Alaric Ye with a "whoosh."
Slap!
The palm-sized shadow instantly stuck tightly to Alaric Ye's chest!
Throughout the process, neither Little White nor Alaric Ye reacted, as if they were used to it.
It turned out to be a palm-sized, pitch-black cockroach with two huge pincers, holding a fragrant roasted chicken in its claws.
The cockroach rubbed its head against Alaric Ye's chest, then, in a flattering manner, handed the roasted chicken to Alaric Ye, who took it and started tearing into it.
"Little Strong! Well done!"
This roasted chicken was naturally stolen from the Lin Residence kitchen by Little Strong.
As a cockroach nicknamed "Oil-stealing Hag," Little Strong's skill in stealing food was extraordinary. Even the heavily guarded Lin Residence kitchen, with various insect-repelling herbs, couldn't stop Little Strong from stealing chickens.
Sometimes, Little Strong moved so fast that Alaric Ye couldn't even see it!
Thanks to Little Strong's nightly thefts of delicacies from the kitchen, Alaric Ye had the nutritional support for his body training. Little Strong's contributions to Alaric Ye's muscular physique were indispensable.
The Lin Residence kitchen had tried various methods to catch this large "Oil-stealing Hag," even hiring rogue cultivators at the first and second levels of Qi Refining, but Little Strong was very cunning. It wouldn't steal if it saw cultivators guarding the kitchen, but would go on a stealing spree if only the gritting servants were guarding it.
If Alaric Ye couldn't eat so much and feared being discovered, Little Strong could empty the Lin Residence kitchen in one night, with the servants only seeing a flash of shadow before the food disappeared.
Because Little Strong only stole one or two items each night, the Lin Residence kitchen's losses were minimal. Over time, the kitchen steward got used to it and stopped bothering with Little Strong, letting it steal as it pleased.
Little Strong also had a strong burrowing ability, able to instantly dig large holes in hard wood and granite, though it was slower with iron blocks.
Typically, cockroaches don't have pincers, but Little Strong had grown two large crab-like pincers.
Little Strong was rapidly growing stronger, and Alaric Ye believed that in a few years, Little Strong could instantly dig large holes in iron blocks.
***
Burp…
After devouring the entire roasted chicken, Alaric Ye felt very satisfied.
After coming ashore with Little White and Little Strong, Alaric Ye took out a small knife made from an iron shard from a crevice in the rocks, then cut a deep gash on the fingers of both hands, offering them to Little White and Little Strong.
Little White immediately sucked on Alaric Ye's finger, her eyes becoming dazed and excited.
Little Strong climbed onto Alaric Ye's hand, greedily sucking his blood.
Alaric Ye's blood was highly favored by insects, and those that consumed it regularly would grow rapidly and become as intelligent as humans.
Little White and Little Strong were the best examples.
Unfortunately, he couldn't lose too much blood, or his body would weaken, and his hope of awakening his Spiritual Root would vanish. So over the years, he had only raised Little Strong and Little White.
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan
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