The fireflies outside the Small Study still fluttered about, and the full moon hung in the sky, seeming close yet actually far away.
On such a tranquil night, Lu Xun began his first cultivation session of this life.
As mentioned before, even without completing quests or killing monsters for Experience Points, one could still gain Experience Points through honest meditation and cultivation. Once enough Experience Points had been accumulated, one could level up their techniques.
Lu Xun currently had an enlightenment of 1. He would gain relatively little Experience Points through cultivation, but he still wanted to calm himself down and give it a try.
It was his first time, after all. He ought to experience it properly.
If he leveled up with a whoosh, that would be far too fast—practically an instant level-up.
And too fast was not necessarily a good thing.
Closing his eyes and sitting cross-legged on the bed, Lu Xun began trying to circulate his cycles.
He did not know that Mao Nanbei, who lived next door, had stopped lying on her bed and sat up instead, her pair of cat ears standing perfectly erect.
In the Small Bamboo Forest, the Daoist nun sitting on a stone also tilted her head and glanced toward the Small Study.
With Master and the other martial brothers away from home, she and Mao Nanbei were naturally responsible for Little Martial Brother's cultivation lessons.
Lu Xun's aptitude was poor. That had long ceased to be a secret. Yet the path of cultivation had its mysteries, and many things truly could not be explained.
The essence of the Qi Devouring Art was made quite clear in its name: devour the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth.
To be precise, it was not only the Demon Sect. The techniques of all demonic sects followed this path.
Lu Xun's aptitude was poor, so the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth he could sense was rather thin, and he absorbed it quite slowly.
But he was a focused person when he did things, and his mind was calm. That was a great advantage.
Very soon, his body began to feel itchy.
It was his first time, after all. It was perfectly normal to be unfamiliar with it. What was strange about feeling a little itchy?
Not long after that, he began to feel a little pain.
It was his first time, after all. A little pain was understandable.
Then, the mild pain became excruciating agony!
"Fuck!" Lu Xun nearly lost focus, but quickly forced himself to calm down and continue cultivating.
If he gave up halfway through now, who knew what hidden problems might remain.
He would not suffer cultivation deviation, of course. Only people with profound cultivation had the qualifications to suffer cultivation deviation. Rookies were not worthy.
But it definitely would not do him any good.
By the end, the pain had left Lu Xun somewhat dazed.
"Why isn't this like how novels describe it!?" That was his only thought at the moment.
But on second thought, it made sense. If cultivation really felt as comfortable as a massage, then it would be enjoyment.
Who did not know how to enjoy themselves?
In reality, cultivation was truly painful and required great perseverance.
Many people had good talent but lacked resolve, and thus achieved nothing much.
Although Lu Xun could currently level up through Experience Points, he also wanted to see where his limits lay on his first attempt.
One round of technique cultivation was called a Small Cycle. Ten rounds made a Great Cycle. Lu Xun wanted to see how far he could go.
Second by second, time passed, and his entire body was soaked through.
The intense pain caused his body to sweat profusely.
Endure pain—grow accustomed to pain—enjoy pain. It was a process.
Perhaps Lu Xun was exceptionally gifted, because he had actually begun to grow accustomed to the pain.
One Small Cycle, two Small Cycles, three Small Cycles...
Ji Li was utterly dumbfounded as she watched from the side.
Even Mao Nanbei next door was startled, the pupils in her cat eyes nearly turning oval.
When she had cultivated for the first time... she did not seem to have been as capable of enduring pain as him!
But when she remembered that he was the sort of ruthless person who would jump off a cliff the moment he said he would, it suddenly seemed perfectly reasonable.
Their Little Martial Brother was extremely handsome, but he seemed to enjoy abusing his own body.
By the time he completed a Great Cycle, dawn was nearly breaking.
Lu Xun opened his eyes and gasped for breath, feeling as though he had nearly passed out in one breath!
That damned beginner's cultivation technique—why was it called the Qi Devouring Art? It might as well have been renamed Menstrual Pain!
Still gasping, he looked at Ji Li, who was staring intently at him.
Right before his eyes, another string of numbers appeared beside Ji Li:
Affection Points +1... +1... +1...
Lu Xun: "???"
What did I do this time?
He did not know that Mao Nanbei next door had already acknowledged him in her heart. Even the one in the Bamboo Forest could not help nodding after he finished cultivating.
Master's new disciple, their Little Martial Brother... seemed a little crazy!
The next day, once the sky had begun to brighten, Ji Li rose to bid farewell and headed down the mountain.
She was still an Outer Sect Disciple. For the past few days, she had morning classes, and she had to attend them.
As for one-on-one instruction... that was not treatment afforded to Outer Sect Disciples. Once she advanced to the inner sect and gained an official Master of her own, things would improve considerably.
Before going down the mountain, she gave Lu Xun a deep look.
After all, the Back Mountain was a forbidden area. She had no reason to come up the mountain anymore, and if Lu Xun did not visit her, she might not see him even once in a year.
That left her feeling somewhat disappointed.
Only after Lu Xun told her that he would visit her did she leave happily, even bouncing on her toes as she walked.
After watching her depart, Lu Xun returned to his room.
He opened his status panel and saw that his experience bar read 686/100 (Upgradeable).
After cultivating bitterly all night, completing one Great Cycle and ten Small Cycles, he had only gained 20 Experience Points!
"Enlightenment 1 really is useless," Lu Xun sighed inwardly.
Heavenly Dust also wanted players to complete more quests. Cultivating step by step was clearly not very useful.
Now, it was about time to level up.
Lu Xun did not think much about it and directly clicked upgrade.
There was no golden light like in the game, flashing beneath his feet before shooting into the sky.
Those level-up effects existed entirely to make the players feel more excited.
Yet he could genuinely feel the changes in his body and the increase in his strength.
Just as expected, leveling up and practicing was a man's romance!
And on his status panel, his Spirit Energy Value, which had originally been 0/0, officially became 10/10.
Although his Spirit Energy Value, commonly called a mana bar, was still pitifully short, he would take things one step at a time!
After studying his status panel for quite a while longer, his stomach began to growl.
Mao Nanbei and Second Senior Sister could already fast from food, but Lu Xun, who had only just stepped through the gates of cultivation, was still far from that level.
Besides, it was difficult to give up the pleasures of the palate, and he did not want to give them up either.
My great foodie empire could eat invasive species until they had to be artificially farmed just to meet demand. The culinary arts developed by our ancestors could not be lost.
He just did not know... whether there was anything on the Back Mountain suitable for him to eat?
Hunger surged through him again. When Lu Xun walked out of the Small Study, what came into view was a big, bald egg-shaped head.
But it did not look very appetizing.
The Demon Sect's Sect Master, Shen Yan, was standing outside the door, and he had clearly been waiting for some time.
"Greetings, Little Martial Uncle." Shen Yan bowed.
At the same time, given his cultivation, he naturally saw at a glance that Lu Xun was now different.
"First layer of the Qi Devouring Art!" Shen Yan was somewhat shocked.
But then he felt that something was not quite right.
(P.S. Let me announce the reader group: 706676428. The password to join is my pen name: Kindergarten Boss. Everyone is welcome to join and curse the moderators together when you have time.)
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