Other Self, the Treatment of an Inner Disciple

Although Li Boyan's heart was extremely excited at the moment, so much so that he was eager to try.

However, after traveling back and forth these past few times, it was already late at night.

Coupled with the previous cultivation of orifice opening, the first realm of the spirit-refining system, it also left him somewhat mentally exhausted.

Knowing full well that one should never be too hasty in anything, he first took a cold shower.

Then he practiced the Azure Dragon Heaven-Reaching Method for a while as usual, ordered a Pin Hao Fan to eat his fill,

and only then went to bed with his small quilt just like usual, leisurely checking his attribute panel right before falling asleep.

However, this glance actually revealed a pleasant surprise.

Name: Li Xijun
Age: 17
Realm: Apprentice Level 5
Blood Essence Level: 5.9
Spirit Level: 9.0
Spirit-Refining System: Orifice Opening (88%)
Techniques:
Azure Dragon Heaven-Reaching Method (Proficiency 61%)
Spirit-Refining Detailed Explanation - Orifice-Sensing Method (47%)
Martial Skills:
True Martial Thirty-Six Forms (Proficiency 94%)
Basic Saber Technique (Initiation 98%)
Unifying the Heavens (0%)

My spirit level suddenly increased by 0.8 levels?

This was completely unexpected to Li Xijun.

Yet he quickly realized that this certainly wasn't something that improved from a single session of the spirit-refining system's cultivation.

Because when he cultivated the orifice-sensing divine soul, he hadn't received any prompt from this attribute panel.

Therefore.

In Li Xijun's mind, he suddenly recalled the youthful 'himself' who had died when he first arrived in the Da Sheng World.

Back then, the moment he entered the new world, his vigilance and tension were maxed out, and he only thought about playing it safe first.

Later, seeing that the Da Sheng World could cultivate divine souls and increase mental power, his mind was filled with nothing but spirit-refining matters.

Now, with a calm mind before sleep, recalling that scene of a sudden bolt from the blue and scattered lightning once again, he couldn't help but feel it was incredible.

The 'other self' of the Da Sheng World had actually transformed into that stream of light and merged into his own body.

After I unified the 'self' of another world, did my spirit level increase because of it?

As for why the blood essence level hadn't budged.

That was probably because the 13-year-old self in the Da Sheng World, who survived by selling newspapers, had a physique that was too weak. After being unified, it was like a single cup of water poured into a lake, causing not the slightest ripple.

So this is the true meaning of Unifying the Heavens?

It truly lives up to being a manifestation of the Grand Luo trait; it is simply unimaginable.

At this moment, Li Xijun suddenly felt that the Blue Star World wasn't all that vast either.

Outer Scenery Martial Artists, and even the lofty Martial Saints, didn't seem so out of reach anymore.

The next day

Da Sheng World

Using the transformation function of his nano protective suit to change back into a common suit once again,

Li Xijun, much like those overseas students disembarking from ships at the Jinmen Wharf and returning to their homeland, bought a newspaper, found a bustling restaurant, and began reading today's paper while dining.

And amusingly, before Li Xijun had even finished eating a portion of southern dim sum or reading much of the paper, he had already been practically given all the spoilers by the surrounding old men of Jinmen.

"Those foreign devils are truly not goddamn things! Yesterday, they actually dared to barge into our Dagu Fort driving an iron turtle shell? What the hell is that!"

"Ain't that the truth, these bastards are subhuman, blowing tiles all over the sky! I heard a fair share of people died over there."

"Good thing Old Master Zhang made a move back then. Man, a Blood-Exchange Martial Sage just flattened that iron turtle shell with a single palm. The fight he had on the river with that bastard from the Church of the God of War was earth-shattering!"

"Right? Those spirit-refining masters were all up in the sky watching with wide eyes, not a single one of them moved. Still, Martial Saint Zhang is righteous; none of those spirit-refining folks are any good."

"And that Chief Grand Secretary Wen Zhiyin, the paper says he first drove Vice Minister Lu, good friend of Mr. Boyan, to his death, and then forced Mr. Li Boyan to petition for his own return home to our Jinmen."

"Could this old geezer really be thinking of learning from those foreigners and setting up some kind of Junshi Constitution?"

"Who knows, the papers are arguing to high heaven, they all say this old geezer has the wolf-glance of an eagle and is going to pull a Sikong Yi usurpation like in the operas!"

"No way, the current one is the Son of the True Dragon."

"The Son of the True Dragon who listens to the foreigners' words, went insane wanting to become a god, and wasted the people's money and tired the realm to build eight grand tombs?"

"Ahem ahem ahem, keep it down, everyone keep it down!"

Realizing they had touched upon a taboo, several old men hurriedly lowered their heads to continue eating and drinking.

The lobby still had quite a few people continuing to discuss yesterday's great battle between the locals of Jinmen and the cultivators of the Western Continent.

Yet as they talked on, Jinmen being currently the most thriving place for martial arts, it was naturally inevitable to discuss the performances of the major martial halls from yesterday.

Although most reviews were a mix of praise and criticism, the one Li Xijun heard being most recognized and enjoying the best reputation was still the master of the Life-Slaying Martial Hall, Zhang Fuhu, the Martial Saint.

And this point was basically consistent with what he remembered from the 'other self's' memories in this world.

Thinking of this, Li Xijun hesitated no further and directly took some silver with him,

inveigling along the way until he found the quite locally renowned Life-Slaying Martial Hall in Jinmen.

Looking from afar, this martial hall was not like the exceptionally lavish 'Contemplation Society' in the Western-style architecture across the river.

The grey-brick and dark-tile gate was not ostentatious, but the surrounding walls were exceptionally tall, and the grounds were very vast, while two stone lions missing half an ear could be considered quite distinctive.

Moreover, almost without Li Xijun needing to ask anything, he saw that at the gates of this martial hall, the crowds were quite dense, all clamoring with words of 'paying money to learn martial arts'.

This made Li Xijun all the more satisfied with this Life-Slaying Martial Hall.

Right now, in this world, he was a multi-kilogram silver-wealthy man; upon arriving at the martial hall for the sake of various resources, it was inevitable that he would flash his wealth.

At times like this, the more famous and large-scale a martial hall was, the higher its safety factor would conversely be.

Before long, Li Xijun, mingling in the crowd, also followed into the martial hall's registration and reception area.

Calling it a place was actually just a practice hall. Hanging on the wall was a piece of calligraphy about righteous men and patriots, none seeking life to harm benevolence, but sacrificing life to complete benevolence.

Below were two large tables. A young girl with braided pigtails was continuously recording names in a roster, while a friendly-looking young man wearing tight-fitting short-style martial attire handled the reception and inquiries.

"Little brother, are you here to learn martial arts? Do you know the disciple tiers and costs of the martial hall?"

"I have just returned from studying abroad and don't understand any of this. I must trouble you to explain a thing or two."

The young man glanced at Li Xijun and spoke:

"The disciples of our Life-Slaying Martial Hall are divided into three categories: direct disciples, inner disciples, and outer disciples."

"Master is old and frail and no longer takes direct disciples. If little brother is drawn here by fame due to yesterday's battle of Jinmen, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed."

Li Xijun wasn't particularly disappointed by this.

In fact, if he were asked right off the bat to learn martial arts from a Blood-Exchange Martial Sage of this world, he would rather be reluctant.

Someone capable of reaching the pinnacle of a world's martial arts system—staying too close, just in case something was detected, wouldn't be good at all.

"Then what about inner disciples and outer disciples?"

"The initiation tuition for outer disciples is fifty taels, with three months of instruction, attending large classes, food and lodging included, a medicinal bath once a week, and two greater blood essence pills a month. If one cannot break through the skin-refining barrier within three months, they are requested to leave of their own accord."

"The initiation tuition for inner disciples is five hundred taels, with three months of instruction taught individually by a direct disciple of our Life-Slaying Martial Hall, a medicinal bath once every three days, and one greater blood essence pill a week. If one cannot break through the skin-refining barrier within three months, the martial hall's direct disciple can use inner breath to assist in the breakthrough, though one's martial path may henceforth be far more rugged. However, outside one cannot claim to be a disciple of our Life-Slaying Martial Hall."

After listening, Li Xijun nodded slightly and fished out a money pouch from the inner pocket of his suit.

"Then register me as an inner disciple."