(All you handsome Daoist friends, please toss your brains away!!!)
Qingyang County, Demon Suppression Division.
"Cultivation was difficult—harder than climbing to the blue heavens."
"Talent will determine what resources and techniques you obtain."
Li Yan paused, looked at the eager young men below him, and continued:
"Those who achieve entry within three days may enter the Technique Pavilion to select a Mid-grade cultivation technique and receive three Blood Qi Pills each month. Those who achieve entry within ten days may enter the Technique Pavilion to select a Low-grade cultivation technique and receive one Blood Qi Pill each month.
"The rest will be transferred to the logistics department. In the future, you may exchange your merits for techniques."
The young men's breathing quickened, their faces flushed, and their eyes burned. Each of them clenched his fists and secretly swore to achieve entry within three days.
As for that final sentence about being transferred to logistics, not a single word of it entered their ears.
"Captain Li, what talent does one need to choose High-grade cultivation techniques and Top-grade cultivation techniques?"
Suddenly, a baby-faced youth stood up and asked.
Li Yan looked at the youth who had asked the question, shook his head, and smiled. Youth was wonderful—full of spirit, unaware of how difficult cultivation truly was.
Back then, he had achieved entry in six days and considered himself fairly talented. Yet after struggling bitterly for ten years, he had only cultivated a Low-grade cultivation technique to minor mastery, barely managing to break through to the Body Refinement Fourth Layer.
He had long recognized reality and given up on cultivating high-grade techniques.
Li Yan was distracted for a moment, then said with a grave, earnest expression:
"The higher a technique's grade, the better it is not. What matters is whether it matches your talent."
"Commander Zuo of Jinyang Prefecture achieved entry in half a day and has long since broken through to the Qi Condensation stage. Commander Xiao achieved entry in two and a half days and is now at Ninth Level Body Refinement, with hope of breaking through to the Qi Condensation stage in the future."
"In nearly fifty years, Qingyang County's Demon Suppression Division has produced only Commander Zuo and Commander Xiao. Even they started out cultivating nothing more than Mid-grade cultivation techniques."
At the mention of Commander Zuo and Commander Xiao, everyone's eyes filled with reverence. Who did not want to become the next Commander Zuo or Commander Xiao?
Li Yan looked at the expectant faces of the young men, and his expression turned serious.
"If you want High-grade or Top-grade cultivation techniques, then demonstrate your talent."
"First achieve entry into the Basic Breathing Technique within three days. Otherwise, you will not even be qualified."
"Alright, begin cultivating now. Ask me if you do not understand something."
In the corner, a pale, ordinary-looking, thin youth stared at Li Yan. Yet upon closer inspection, his eyes appeared vacant.
After finishing the college entrance examinations, donning a yellow robe, and stumbling into a stroke of fortune around the corner, Ye Xiaofan had seamlessly connected to this world.
His memories merged.
This world resembled ancient Blue Star.
But cultivators stood above all here, evil demons ran rampant, and whoever had the bigger fist was the truth.
The original owner's father had been a Banner Chief in Qingyang County's Demon Suppression Division. A few days ago, he had gone out on a mission and ended up without even a corpse left behind.
After skimming through the original owner's memories like a horse viewing flowers, Ye Xiaofan accepted the fact that he had transmigrated. A panel appeared before his eyes.
Name: Ye Xiaofan Lifespan: 2.5 hours (severely poisoned) Realm: None Technique: Basic Breathing Technique
The panel displayed Ye Xiaofan's basic information, while a red notification kept flashing upon it.
Basic Breathing Technique detected. Spend ten taels of silver to simplify the technique?
A golden finger!
An orphan!
Poisoned!
Two and a half hours!
This opening was very transmigration-like.
At some point, Li Yan had walked over to Ye Xiaofan. Looking at the pale youth with lifeless eyes, he sighed softly.
No mother since childhood, and now his father was dead as well. He was a pitiful one too.
But in such a chaotic age, where evil demons ran amok, only the strong could seize control of their own fate.
"Ye Xiaofan!"
Ye Xiaofan snapped awake. Turning his head, he saw Li Yan looking at him gently and gave an awkward smile. "Captain Li."
"Cultivate properly."
Li Yan patted Ye Xiaofan on the shoulder.
Ye Xiaofan nodded and imitated the other young men, closing his eyes.
Ten taels of silver were enough to feed an ordinary family of three for half a year. The original owner happened to have a little over ten taels tucked into his clothes.
"System, simplify the Basic Breathing Technique."
With a thought from Ye Xiaofan, ten taels of silver vanished from his pocket, and the panel flickered faintly.
Simplifying Basic Breathing Technique... Simplification successful... Breathing!
Breathing?
Ye Xiaofan's mind did not process it at first, but the personal information on the panel changed.
Name: Ye Xiaofan Lifespan: 2.5 hours (severely poisoned) Realm: None (0/100) Technique: Basic Breathing Technique (Entry 1/100)
As Ye Xiaofan continued breathing, his five organs trembled slightly, gradually reaching resonance. His blood flowed rhythmically through his meridians.
At once, Ye Xiaofan's entire body felt warm, and his weak body immediately felt somewhat more comfortable.
At the same time, the number after the breathing technique kept jumping.
Experience +1!
Experience +1!
After several breaths, Basic Breathing Technique (Entry 10/100).
Many insights regarding the cultivation of the Basic Breathing Technique naturally surfaced in his mind.
"Cultivating just by breathing, this..."
Ye Xiaofan was completely stunned numb.
The Breathing Technique required one to calm the mind and focus the spirit, using a special breathing rhythm to first stir resonance in the five organs, then refine Qi and Blood from the blood.
Seen that way, simplifying it into breathing did not seem to have a single flaw.
Very reasonable!
"Captain Li, I've already achieved entry."
The moment he said this, everyone turned toward Ye Xiaofan with utterly bewildered expressions.
Buddy, did you hear what you just said?
In the time it took to drink a cup of tea, they were still struggling to memorize the Basic Breathing Technique, while he had already achieved entry. Did he think he was an immortal reincarnated to cultivate anew?
The entire cultivation room fell so quiet that a needle dropping could be heard.
"Captain Li, I've already achieved entry into the Basic Breathing Technique."
Seeing Li Yan standing there motionless, Ye Xiaofan repeated himself.
He was deeply poisoned right now and needed to obtain a ranked technique as quickly as possible to cultivate and detoxify himself.
Three days ago, the original owner had felt his body grow extremely weak and asked the Demon Suppression Division's Old Chinese doctor to examine him carefully, but the doctor could not find anything wrong.
The doctor believed that the tragic death of his family had affected his mind, so he merely prescribed some calming medicine.
His body worsened by the day. He had taken several detoxification pills, but they had been useless.
This morning, he had died the moment he arrived at the Demon Suppression Division.
Ye Xiaofan did not know whether cultivation would help, but this was the only road left to him.
Ye Xiaofan's words rang clearly in everyone's ears.
The way everyone looked at Ye Xiaofan changed. There was sympathy, mockery, amusement, and admiration.
Suddenly, a burst of laughter rang out abruptly.
"Hahaha! Ye Xiaofan, you sickly waste, did your father's death scramble your brains? You're going to make me die laughing! Who do you think you are? Commander Zuo or Commander Xiao?"
Everyone turned to look. A richly dressed youth was pointing at him and laughing without restraint.
Sun Chenyu, the son of a Vice Commander.
Because the original owner's father had once competed with his father for the position of Vice Commander, Sun Chenyu had targeted the original owner at every turn.
Ye Xiaofan raised an eyebrow. The original owner had indulged him, but he would not.
If it needed doing, he would do it.
He immediately grabbed a stool and smashed it toward Sun Chenyu.
Sun Chenyu had never expected Ye Xiaofan to actually attack.
"Ah~"
His laughter came to an abrupt halt, replaced by a particularly pleasing scream.
Sun Chenyu instantly felt warmth running down from his forehead. He reached up and touched it, only to find his hand stained bright red.
Someone had beaten him until he bled.
"You bastard, you dare hit me? I'll kill you!"
Sun Chenyu trembled all over, his eyes devouring enough to frighten the other young men into unconsciously taking a step back.
Ye Xiaofan, however, showed no fear at all. He swung up his fist and was about to charge forward.
"Stop!"
Having regained his senses, Li Yan darkened and hurriedly stopped them.
As he rebuked them, a trace of the aura of the Body Refinement Fourth Layer leaked out uncontrollably, pressing Ye Xiaofan and Sun Chenyu until their faces turned pale.
Sun Chenyu lost his balance and fell onto the ground. In an instant, his face alternated between green and white.
At that moment, Sun Chenyu felt that everyone was laughing at him.
Li Yan glanced at Sun Chenyu. It was only a scrape, nothing serious.
Then, with a grave expression, he strode quickly over to Ye Xiaofan and grabbed his hand.
"Circulate your technique. Let me see."
Hearing this, Ye Xiaofan stopped paying attention to Sun Chenyu. There would be plenty of opportunities to deal with him later.
He began circulating the Basic Breathing Technique. Immediately, he felt a warm current enter his body from the wrist Li Yan was gripping, flowing toward his five organs along with the special breathing rhythm.
"Good, good, good! Hahaha! I never thought Qingyang County would produce another peerless genius."
Li Yan said "good" three times in a row, unable to hold back his laughter.
The moment he achieved entry, all five organs resonated. If that was not a peerless prodigy, then what was?
"Come with me. I'll take you to choose a technique."
Li Yan did not bother with the other youths at all. He grabbed Ye Xiaofan and rushed out of the cultivation room.
At this moment,
Sun Chenyu clenched his fists tightly and stared gloomily at the retreating backs of Li Yan and Ye Xiaofan.
As the second young master of the Sun Family, Qingyang County's cultivation Aristocratic Clan, and the son of a Demon Suppression Division Vice Commander, he had never suffered such humiliation from childhood until now.
With Li Yan gone and Ye Xiaofan achieving entry in an instant, the young men could no longer settle down to cultivate. They gathered in twos and threes to discuss it.
"Hmph!"
Sun Chenyu found the noise unbearable. His expression grew uglier and uglier, until he finally snorted coldly and left the cultivation room.
(Body Refinement stage strength system reference: the strength of one dragon equals the strength of six elephants; the strength of one elephant equals the strength of six tigers; the strength of one tiger equals the strength of six bulls. The minimum strength at Body Refinement First Layer is one bull; at Body Refinement Fourth Layer, one tiger; at Body Refinement Seventh Layer, one elephant; at Ninth Level Body Refinement, three elephants. One blood exchange grants one dragon's strength, two blood exchanges grant two dragons' strength, and three blood exchanges grant three dragons' strength. The minimum strength at the Qi Condensation stage is ten dragons.)
(Low-level Qi and Blood manifestations of the Body Refinement stage: every cultivator who reaches the Body Refinement Sixth Layer can cultivate Qi and Blood Gauze, and every cultivator who breaks through to the Body Refinement Seventh Layer can cultivate Qi and Blood Armor. Advanced Qi and Blood manifestations: Qi and Blood Wolf Smoke < Qi and Blood Great Sun < Qi and Blood Like a Dragon < Golden Qi and Blood. Only geniuses have a chance to cultivate them.)
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