Looking at the enormous boulder before him that he had shattered with a single Thunderclap Divine Fist,
Chen Changqing smiled in satisfaction.
"Not bad, not bad!"
"The Thunderclap Divine Fist has achieved minor success as well."
Next, Chen Changqing chose to continue AFK Cultivation and called up his attribute panel for a look.
[Name: Chen Changqing.] [Age: Eighteen.] [Identity: Gatekeeping Disciple of Shushan Outer Sect.] [Cultivation: Qi Refining Third Layer.] [Technique: Nine Revolutions Qi Refining Art.] [Divine Abilities: Thunderclap Divine Fist, Sword Control Technique.] [Treasures: None.] [AFK Point: Half-Mountain Villa!]
"At least I'm not completely devoid of everything."
Chen Changqing laughed at himself.
He recalled how, when he had still been in the Qi Nourishing Realm, his techniques, Divine Abilities, and treasures had all been listed as none.
Chen Changqing then steadied his mind, rose to his feet, and headed to the Mountain Gate to switch guard duty with Ran Hua.
When Ran Hua saw Chen Changqing,
his expression changed as he stared straight at Chen Changqing, sizing him up.
He was only at the Late Body Tempering Stage and could no longer discern the depth of Chen Changqing's cultivation.
Yet the feeling Chen Changqing gave him was
that his cultivation seemed to have risen considerably again.
"Senior Brother Chen, y-you didn't break through again, did you?"
Chen Changqing smiled faintly. "Just a minor breakthrough."
Ran Hua froze, feeling as though the sky were collapsing.
After all, aside from guarding the Mountain Gate, he spent all his remaining time cultivating with painstaking diligence.
Yet Chen Changqing did not seem to cultivate much at all.
But lately, his cultivation speed had been shooting upward like a rocket!
"Could it be... could Senior Brother Chen really cultivate while sleeping?"
Earlier, Ran Hua had secretly gone to observe Chen Changqing.
He had wanted to see how Chen Changqing cultivated to improve so swiftly.
Who would have thought that all he saw was Chen Changqing snoring soundly in bed?
"Junior Brother Ran? Are you all right?"
As Ran Hua stood there lost in thought, Chen Changqing asked in mild confusion.
Hearing this, Ran Hua finally came back to his senses and smiled awkwardly.
"I... I'm fine."
"Senior Brother Chen, I need to hurry back and cultivate, so I'll take my leave first!"
After cupping his hands in salute to Chen Changqing, Ran Hua hurried away.
Chen Changqing did not pay it any mind and leisurely continued guarding the Mountain Gate.
Thus, the days passed one after another.
Before he knew it,
another month had gone by.
That day, Chen Changqing lazily sat up from bed and stretched.
"System, claim the AFK results!"
As the thought passed through his mind, the system's prompt sounded.
[Ding!] [AFK Time: 30 days.] [Practiced Sword Control Technique ×320 times!] [Practiced Thunderclap Divine Fist ×320 times!] [Practiced Nine Revolutions Qi Cultivation Technique ×320 times!] [Extract AFK Cultivation results?]
"Extract!"
Chen Changqing immediately chose to extract them.
Very soon, golden light stirred within the three Little Golden Figures before him, streams of it shooting straight into Chen Changqing's body.
"The Sword Control Technique has reached perfection!"
"The Thunderclap Divine Fist too!"
After sensing it slightly, Chen Changqing's face filled with excitement.
He had not expected that after another month of AFK Cultivation,
both the Sword Control Technique and Thunderclap Divine Fist had reached the level of perfection.
"As my strength rises, the effects of AFK Cultivation are rising with the tide as well."
Chen Changqing murmured softly.
Previously, one month of AFK Cultivation had only allowed techniques such as the Sword Control Technique to be practiced three hundred times.
But after a month now, it had already risen to three hundred and twenty times.
"Not only have my two combat techniques reached perfection."
"My cultivation has actually risen to the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining."
Chen Changqing was overjoyed.
Looking inward, he could see that his dantian contained a full fifteen thousand strands of vital qi.
"Tsk, tsk!"
"This cultivation speed is simply faster than taking pills!"
Chen Changqing smacked his lips in satisfaction.
"My Sword Control Technique has reached perfection, yet I don't even have a proper Dharma Artifact on me."
"I need to find a way to get one."
Just as Chen Changqing was pondering this, a knock came from outside the courtyard.
Knock, knock, knock!
Not long after, Chen Changqing opened the courtyard gate.
An Outer Disciple stood outside.
Chen Changqing did not recognize him. After all, he kept a low profile in the Seven Courtyards, and the only person he knew was Ran Hua. He was practically invisible.
"Are you Chen Changqing?"
the Outer Disciple asked.
Chen Changqing nodded.
"That's me. Does Senior Brother need something from me?"
The Outer Disciple had just been about to explain his purpose.
But at that moment, his entire face changed drastically, and stormy waves rose in his heart.
"Fifth Layer of Qi Refining? How is that possible?!"
He knew what identity the person living here had.
What utterly shocked him was
that Chen Changqing's cultivation was actually at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining.
"Damn it!!"
"What is going on?"
"Isn't he a 'Gatekeeping' disciple?"
"His cultivation is actually at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining?"
The disciple stood there dumbfounded, unable to recover for a long while.
He even suspected that his eyes were playing tricks on him.
"Am I crazy, or has this world gone crazy?"
"A disciple at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining was actually assigned to guard the Mountain Gate?"
The disciple cried out inwardly, his head buzzing.
After all, he truly could not understand it.
How could a disciple at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining become a Mountain Gate guard?
Seeing the disciple standing there in a daze, Chen Changqing frowned slightly and called out in mild confusion, "Senior Brother?"
Hearing this, the disciple forcefully suppressed his shock and came back to his senses.
"Junior Brother Chen."
"Elder Willow Wood sent me to invite you over."
"Oh."
Chen Changqing nodded and smiled calmly.
"Let's go!"
Having said that, Chen Changqing did not delay and walked straight out.
Meanwhile, in Elder Willow Wood's courtyard,
Willow Wood sat there with a composed air. Beside him stood five people, four men and one woman.
All five possessed dense auras and extraordinary cultivation.
At a glance, it was clear they were the top Outer Sect disciples of the Seven Courtyards.
The weakest among them were already at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer.
The strongest was that woman, whose cultivation had even reached Half-step Foundation Establishment!
The woman was tall and slender. A plain white gown outlined her exquisite curves, while pale azure cloud patterns were embroidered along the hem.
Her oval face was flawless and delicate, her brows like distant mountains touched with dark jade, her eyes like autumn waters congealed with frost. Her nose was high, her lips like vermilion dots. Without a trace of makeup, she was already breathtakingly beautiful.
Moreover, her skin was as fair as snow, gleaming faintly like jade beneath the sunlight, as though it could break with a puff of breath.
Her gaze was cold and clear, like a bottomless frigid pool.
The woman was none other than the number one Outer Sect disciple of the Seven Courtyards, Liu Ruyan!
Her talent was outstanding and her beauty peerless; who knew how many disciples admired her.
After a brief silence, one disciple could no longer restrain himself and was the first to ask,
"Elder Willow Wood."
"May I ask why you have summoned us here this time?"
Elder Willow Wood smiled faintly in reply.
"Stay calm."
"There is still one disciple who has not arrived."
Before you continue