Heavenly Jewel Change

Zhou Weiqing gave a bitter smile and said: “But, if I were to say the truth, I’m afraid I won’t be able to join you in the army. Actually I am of quite high birth status, and my family is considered rich, but from young, my father has always been angry with me for being a trash. I was angry and decided to join the army, to walk my own path and forge a name of my own before returning home in glory. Bing’er… no… Battalion Commander, can you trust me this once? Please don’t ask me what’s my origin, I swear upon my life that I’m not a bad person, and I will always treat you well in the future.”

“Who wants you to treat me well?” Shangguan Bing’er’s anger was once again ignited, but she also realised that when Zhou Weiqing was saying that previously, his expression was unprecedentedly sincere. Without knowing why, her heart softened a little.

“Okay, I will not ask you about your origin, but from now on, I’ll have a 3 point covenant with you. You have to swear upon your Heavenly Jewels, then I’ll start training you in the cultivation methods of Heavenly Jewel Masters. Are you okay with that?”

Zhou Weiqing nodded repeatedly, “Yes I am, definitely.” The thing he needed most now was the cultivation method of Heavenly Jewel Masters, furthermore it was Shangguan Bing’er who would be teaching him, how could he not be willing. As for making oaths, he had never really cared about such things.

Shangguan Bing’er’s expression finally cleared a little, and she said: “Firstly, you must swear that you will always be loyal to Heavenly Bow Empire, no matter what level you reach in the future, you will always be part of Heavenly Bow Empire.”

Zhou Weiqing immediately nodded his head, and made the oath. After all, he had already made a similar oath a few years back in front of of his father and King Di Lingfeng, and he didn’t mind doing it again.

“Secondly, from now on, without my permission, you are not allowed to show anyone that you are a Heavenly Jewel Master. Unless it is a matter of life and death, otherwise you cannot even reveal your Jewels.”

“Ah? Not allowed to use my powers? Then why am I training for?” Zhou Weiqing asked in puzzlement.

Shangguan Bing’er said exasperatedly: “You fool, do you think that having the legendary Alexandrite Cat’s Eye is really a good thing for you now? If any other country hears about this, they will send countless assassins to kill you off. Before you have reached a certain level of power, you must hide your true power.”

Zhou Weiqing saw the light, and hurriedly said: “You still care for me, I will make the oath.” As he said that, he quickly made the oath.

Shangguan Bing’er looked at him coldly and said, “Lastly, no matter what your future power level is, you can never force me to accept you against my will.”

Zhou Weiqing was taken aback, “You are afraid that I will overtake you in power level and force you to be with me?”

“Yes.” Shangguan Bing’er said solemnly.

Zhou Weiqing’s face changed, the every-present smile on his face vanishing. “Shangguan Bing’er, what kind of person do you take me for? Yesterday was my fault indeed, but I did not plan or do it on purpose. Having taken advantage of you, I will definitely find a way to repay you in the future, but you can’t insult my character. I Zhou… Little Fatty Zhou, no matter how bad I am, I will never ever resort to forcing a girl into submitting to me. I swear, no matter what, unless it is of Shangguan Bing’er’s own free will, otherwise, I, Little Fatty Zhou, will never ever force her to do anything against her will.”

Looking at Zhou Weiqing’s anger, Shangguan Bing’er was slightly apologetic, but she also heaved a sigh of relief, thinking to herself, This rascal might be irritating, but he does have his own good points.

Alas, she did not know that, this rascal Zhou Weiqing, although he was sincere in swearing the oaths, but he also gave himself an escape route; after all he had sworn the oaths under the alias Little Fatty Zhou, not his real name Zhou Weiqing.

As their eyes met, Zhou Weiqing saw the sorrow hidden in the depths of Shangguan Bing’er’s eyes, and instantly softened. After all, no matter what, it was his responsibility, he had taken the most valuable thing to a girl from her.

“Battalion Commander, don’t be angry anymore, in the future I’ll listen to everything you say. If you ask me to steal a chicken, I definitely won’t go touch a dog*, I’ll do whatever you ask of me.”

*TL: 偷鸡摸狗 is a chinese idiom literally translated to Steal Chicken Touch Dog – basically meaning petty crimes. Zhou Weiqing is just making a pun here.

Looking at the care in Zhou Weiqing’s eyes, then listening to his crazed words, Shangguan Bing’er’s cold face finally softened as she couldn’t help but laugh, “Who asked you to ‘Steal Chicken Touch Dog’, what do you think I am to you?”

Seeing that Shangguan Bing’er had laughed, Zhou Weiqing was excited, he was about to carry on when he heard Shangguan Bing’er say with a straight face and solemn voice: “Alright now, sit properly. Now I will teach you everything I know about Heavenly Jewel Masters. You must remember to work hard and cultivate.”

Hearing that she would be teaching him the arts of cultivation for Heavenly Jewel Master, Zhou Weiqing instantly sobered up, and nodded seriously.

Shangguan Bing’er said: “We humans pride ourselves as an intelligent race, and we call our bodies as Heavenly Bodies. Through cultivation, we are able to activate our innate talent, and the energy gained is called Heavenly Energy. Heavenly Energy is the basis of everything, no matter Physical, Elemental or Heavenly Jewel Masters, all of us need Heavenly Energy to do anything. For ordinary Physical and Elemental Jewel Masters, their first Power Jewel is Awakened when they reached the 3rd stage of Heavenly Energy. The next 2 Jewels only require 2 levels of Heavenly Energy each in order to awaken. However, from then on, each Jewel will require another 3 levels of Heavenly Energy, all the way til all 9 Jewels are awakened. However, for us Heavenly Jewel Masters, we need much more Heavenly Energy in order to support our Heavenly Jewels.”

“For Heavenly Jewel Masters, we require 4 levels of Heavenly Energy to Awaken our first Jewels. This is also the reason why I previously knew you were already at the 4th level of Heavenly Energy. From then on, every Heavenly Jewel needs another 4 levels of Heavenly Energy to awaken. Which is to say, for us Heavenly Jewel Masters to master the highest amount of 12 Jewels, we need to cultivate our Heavenly Energy to the highest Heavenly Dao Energy stage, 12th level, before we can do so. This is why it is so difficult to cultivate as a Heavenly Jewel Master, and our cultivation process is also called 12 Heavenly Jewel Change, or Heavenly Jewel 12 Changes.”

Zhou Weiqing was concentrating earnestly on listening, he was very eager for any information on Heavenly Jewels, and as he listened to Shangguan Bing’er’s explanations, his gaze never left her.

When she spoke up to this point, Shangguan Bing’er lit up the oil lamp that she had brought, lighting up the dark tent. Looking at her beautiful features so close to him, Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but quaver in his heart; he was only 13 years old after all, and his self control was not very strong; especially since he had already had that sort of ‘connection’ with her previously, his heart was beating fast like a capering monkey and a mind wandering like a galloping horse. Luckily, the knowledge of Heavenly Jewel Masters was very attractive to him, allowing him to not show his thoughts.

Shangguan Bing’er continued saying: “I examined your Immortal Deity Technique earlier. You said that after last night, you already managed to break through 4 Death Acupuncture Points?”

Zhou Weiqing nodded.

Shangguan Bing’er furrowed her brow, saying: “Did you know that once you have chosen and started training a cultivation method for Heavenly Energy, you can no longer change it. Since you have already started on the Immortal Deity Technique, you have no choice but to carry on with it. This technique is extremely unique, also also rather dangerous.”

“Ah? I’m unable to change cultivation methods?” Zhou Weiqing asked in surprise.

Shangguan Bing’er nodded, saying: “Yes, but you do not need to worry so much. Although this technique is very domineering, but the most difficult stage is actually breaking through the first Death Acupuncture point. You have already broken through 4 of them, I believe the ones later should be relatively easier. Furthermore, if what you said previously is true, the black pearl that you absorbed has the ability to protect you. However, when cultivating, it always gets more difficult as your level is higher, you have to prepare yourself for that.

Zhou Weiqing nodded, and said positively: “I will definitely continue working hard and cultivating.” His chance had finally come, and he swore that he would never go back to being a trash.