Qi Refining Level 2 is Worthy of Talent

The next day.

As dawn breaks, the clouds and mist, like ribbons, gather around the peaks, outlining a faint golden glow on the undulating mountain ridges. Squinting, it looks as if fire has spread across the mountains, a truly remarkable and eye-catching sight.

Unfortunately, most of the ordinary servants of the Nine Academies had little time to appreciate it. They hurried along, clutching their cotton robes tightly, and rushed to the Engineering Academy.

"How come I never noticed before that the scenery along the way to the Forging Academy was so magnificent and dazzling?"

Yan Chen, dressed in a cotton robe, walked with a composed gait, his brows calm, his eyes like stars, with a hidden, fiery light flickering and shining brightly, his spirit extraordinary!

Since absorbing Qi into my body last night, circulating it through my meridians, passing through the three gates, condensing the Qi seed, and successfully circulating it throughout my body.

Yan Chen had thus truly stepped into the path of Qi cultivation.

Aside from the title of "cows and horses" in the Forging Academy, they could barely be called "cultivators".

"call!"

Yan Chen slowly exhaled a scorching breath, the heat surging and melting away the snowflakes that were drifting towards him, turning them into wisps of white smoke that were torn apart and dispersed by the wind in the blink of an eye.

"Now I have completed the process of absorbing Qi into my body, and the Qi seed has been condensed in my Dantian. True Qi flows naturally in my meridians. Even without deliberately circulating it, I can still strengthen my body and resist the cold."

"I just don't know when I'll be able to complete the twelve cycles and truly advance to the first level of Qi Refining."

Taoist teachings state that the path of Qi cultivation has nine levels, which are further divided into three minor realms—early, middle, and late—by the Taoist tradition for easier differentiation.

The early stage of Qi Refining consists of three levels.

That is, it successfully runs for twelve, twenty-four, and thirty-six cycles.

The aim is to ingest qi into the body, temper the physical body, and through continuous circulation, cleanse the marrow and refine the body, burn away impurities, and wash away all impurities... until the thirty-six cycles are completed, one obtains a "pure and spiritual body," and only then is the task considered complete.

"Those supervisors stationed in the Ninth Academy are all at the second level of Qi Refining... while Senior Brother Li, who has been a disciple for over a year, is only at the first level of Qi Refining."

Yan Chen recalled the causal information shown by the [Immortal Official Jade Pendant] and couldn't help but frown.

Based on his observations over the past few days, Senior Brother Li was definitely a diligent and hardworking person. Although he was not from a rural family, he was born into a wealthy family and was able to occasionally go to Sangu to listen to Senior Brother's sermons...

Even so, he still failed to overcome the hurdle of the first level of Qi Refining and enter the second level.

"A year... is it really that difficult to improve one's cultivation level?"

In the blink of an eye, Yan Chen, along with a group of mortal servants, stepped over the high threshold of the Forging Academy and were enveloped in the scalding heat.

It was still early, and not all the servants in the courtyard had arrived yet. Only the sword furnace seemed to never go out, as it was still emitting flames.

A few dozen steps away from the sword furnace, on a patch of scorched earth adjacent to the sword pool, Li Xuanyi was chatting with two or three mortal servants with whom he had a good relationship.

The other person subconsciously looked up and immediately saw Yan Chen walking towards them.

He was about to say a few words, but then seemed to realize something, and swallowed back the words that were almost out of his mouth. He blinked and said in surprise:

"Junior Brother Yan, look at your radiant appearance and sparkling eyes. Could it be that you have absorbed qi and condensed a seed of qi?"

Upon hearing this, the group of people who were talking fell silent and all cast curious and scrutinizing glances at Yan Chen.

Then he saw that the young man in front of him had fair skin and elegant features. If it weren't for the slightly shabby cotton robe he was wearing, he would be a handsome young man that would be hard to find anywhere in the surrounding area!

Putting aside his appearance, Yan Chen's talent for cultivation was what they praised even more.

How long have these new mortal servants been in training?

In just three days, he has absorbed qi into his body and condensed qi seeds?

Even with the aid of pills, isn't this a bit too fast?

Could it be that Junior Brother Yan before me possesses extraordinary talent and is truly an excellent candidate for cultivation?

"With the meager knowledge I gained from studying Taoism, I studied diligently for several nights and took a Qi-cultivating pill. Only then did I manage to break through. I apologize to my fellow disciples for making a fool of myself."

Yan Chen concealed the strange light in his eyes and humbly shook his head.

"Ugh! It's infuriating to compare yourself to others! Back then, it took me ten days and I almost got roasted to death by the raging fire of the sword furnace before I could even absorb the qi into my body."

"Who says otherwise? Back then, I spent all my savings to buy ten Qi-cultivating pills, which took five days of hard work before I could condense the Qi seed."

"What are you compared to that? I still remember my wife..."

The group sighed and lamented, as if they had returned to the time when they were full of hope and entered the Taoist lineage, only to be repeatedly beaten down by reality and forced to bury their heads and accept their fate.

buzzing-

A gentle, yet soul-stirring, buzzing bell rang throughout every corner of the Forging Institute.

"Cheer up, everyone! Time to get to work! Time to get to work!"

Xu Hui, dressed in a neat cotton robe, stood in the center of the courtyard and shouted several times.

Seeing that the thirty-odd ordinary servants in the courtyard had all gone to their respective posts and were doing their jobs, he finally smiled with satisfaction.

Just as she was about to head to her post, her gaze suddenly fell on Yan Chen, and she was slightly taken aback, her eyes showing surprise.

"Who is this person? He has also opened his meridians and manifested his vital energy, just like me, and embarked on the path of Qi cultivation?"

"But I clearly relied on... how did he do it?"

"So be it, let's just say he's intelligent and clever, but the subsequent thirty-six cycles of Qi cultivation have nothing to do with 'talent'. How can these mortal servants begging for food in the furnace compare to me?"

"Nothing to worry about, nothing to worry about..."

After repeatedly posting the notices, Xu Hui's mind cleared, his brows relaxed, and he leisurely went to work.

"That's Xu Hui. It's said that he has some nepotistic relationship with the supervisor of the Engraving Institute. I didn't expect him to be so talented as to have opened his meridians and manifested his Yuan energy."

Li Xuanyi said in a low voice.

Yan Chen squatted beside the sword furnace. The scorching heat that was usually unbearable was now barely manageable. He was now trying to control the fire and forge the iron.

Hearing Li Xuanyi's words, he simply nodded slightly and said nothing more.

He naturally felt the gaze that Xu Hui had cast at him earlier.

However, this does not lead to paranoia or suspicion.

Human nature is driven by self-interest. If something doesn't concern them, they'll stay out of it. On the contrary, they'll first test the waters, then press forward step by step, becoming increasingly aggressive until one of the two options becomes the other.

Currently, both of them are mortal servants of the Forging Academy. Even though they both opened their meridians and manifested their essence at the same time, they have no conflict of interest and therefore no conflict arises.

Therefore, Yan Chen did not want to make any wild guesses and focused on taking care of himself for the time being.

"My limited knowledge of Taoism is no longer sufficient to support my current cultivation."

"We should think of ways to broaden our horizons..."

"At the very least, we need to figure out our current situation."

……

As the sun begins to set and the birds fly by, it's time to leave work again.

Yan Chen gazed at the distant clouds and breathed a sigh of relief. After parting ways with several familiar mortal servants, he did not return to the mortal servants' courtyard.

Instead, he took the money and changed his route down the mountain, heading straight for a small courtyard at the foot of the mountain along the narrow stone steps.

Before long, the couplet—"Jade slips and paintings preserve the names of the sages, official documents and edicts reveal the talents of the outstanding"—once again came into Yan Chen's view.

"What a 'talented individual'..."

After three days of arduous work in the Forging Academy, Yan Chen now has a different understanding of this couplet.

Knock knock knock—

I stepped forward and knocked gently on the door. At first, no one answered. After about ten knocks, an impatient, aged voice came from inside the hall.

"It's past dusk. If there's nothing urgent, come again tomorrow!"

Recognizing it as Wang Gui'an's voice, Yan Chen didn't retreat but advanced, shouting back just as loudly:

"Manager Wang, when I first joined the Jade Sleeve Sect, my cultivation fees were stolen and looted. I had to borrow two thousand cultivation fees to exchange for my clan's cultivation techniques!"

"Yesterday, when I went down the mountain, I ran into an elder of my clan. Upon hearing about my plight, he immediately prepared the money, including the principal and interest, and told me to redeem the family token as soon as possible."

"If it is inconvenient for Steward Wang, then we will have no choice but to..."

"Come in!"

"Yes."

Yan Chen gently pushed open the door and slowly stepped into the hall.

The hall was brightly lit, and two Boshan censers were emitting wisps of incense smoke.

Wang Guian, who was in good spirits and showed no signs of aging, sat at his desk, squinting as he glanced elsewhere.

Yan Chenfu suddenly had a sudden inspiration and very sensibly took out a stack of Buddhist coins, and carefully counted them in front of Wang Guian before slowly placing them on the table.

"The debt of two thousand coins, even with three days' interest, is only two thousand one hundred coins."

Wang Guian turned his head and said with great interest:

"What does it mean that you gave me three thousand?"

Yan Chen's expression remained unchanged, and he said naturally:

"Perhaps Steward Wang made a mistake. Why don't you check it again yourself?"

Wang Guian's eyes seemed to hold a dark fire as he stared at Yan Chen for a moment, ignoring the stack of legal tender coins, and simply said in a detached tone:

"I can see that you have already opened your meridians and manifested your vital energy. You have made such progress in just three days. You are a promising talent and may be worth cultivating. However..."

Wang Guian finally glanced at the legal tender money, pondered briefly, and said with a slightly helpless expression:

"In the Jade Sleeve Sect, the lineage is passed down in an orderly manner, with its own rules and regulations. Within the Eight Veins, Three Valleys, and Nine Courts, no one is allowed to overstep their bounds or act presumptuously."

"The Ninth Court Supervisor, at the second level of Qi Refining, seems prestigious, but in the Jade Sleeve Sect, he can only be considered a 'talent,' let alone an old man like me."

"Therefore, there are some things that are meaningless for you to ask me for advice on."

"You have good talent. If you persevere for seven or eight years, you may have an opportunity to attain enlightenment. I advise you not to ruin yourself, and even more so, not to implicate me."

Wang Guian tossed the token engraved with "Shangyang Yan Clan" onto the table, his tone already distant and indifferent.

"I have said all I need to say. You may leave."

……