Cultivation Method

Although he had been punished by the instructor and paid the painful price of a month's rewards, it had not been entirely without gain. That roar had established Zhou Ling's standing in the class.

After that, no one dared provoke him lightly, and Yuan Hu was no longer bullied either.

Even Zheng Youwei, who had always disliked the two of them, became much more well-behaved.

But the greatest gain was that, in the months that followed, Wang Xin would almost always bring Zhou Ling One-Pattern Qi Gathering Pills from home—pills she claimed she "couldn't finish eating."

With the pills assisting him, Zhou Ling's cultivation progressed rapidly.

Combined with his ever-improving [Spiritual Energy Affinity], at the beginning, he could activate a Spiritual Acupoint nearly every month and a half.

Later, as the difficulty gradually increased, he could still open roughly one Spiritual Acupoint every two months.

And since Wang Xin often gave him Qi Gathering Pills, along with other delicate and delicious Spirit Food from time to time, Zhou Ling could not simply take her things for nothing.

In private, he reached an agreement with Wang Xin.

If other children in the Dao Academy dared to bully her, Zhou Ling would help her.

Simply put, he acted as Wang Xin's shield and hired muscle.

Strangely enough, Wang Xin could speak very smoothly when talking with Zhou Ling.

But when she spoke with other disciples, she would start stammering again, which often drew mockery from the other children.

Sometimes, children even imitated the way she spoke.

Zhou Ling came across it several times, and with a sharp rebuke, scared them away.

After all, taking from someone left him owing them. As her protector, he had to fulfill his duty wholeheartedly.

The situation at home had not improved much either.

His father still went into the mountains every month, except he stayed there longer now, nearly twenty-five or twenty-six days each month.

Every time he returned home, he was covered in dust from the road.

Though only a little over thirty, he already carried an air of weathered hardship, all brought on by the pressures of life.

Fortunately, his mother was a good cook.

A few months earlier, she had been hired by a restaurant as a Spirit Chef. Her monthly offering had increased—from a little over two Low-grade Spirit Stones before, to more than five now.

This greatly eased his father's burden.

Yet as Zhou Ling's cultivation rose, his expenses on Spirit Food and spirit medicines also gradually increased, and the pressure remained enormous.

Especially after Zhou Ling opened his ninth Spiritual Acupoint, his cultivation had gone more than three months without advancing even a fraction.

[You are absorbing spiritual energy. Spiritual Energy Affinity +1, Spiritual Energy +3]

[Total spiritual energy absorption count: 41008/100,000]

That evening, as Zhou Ling ate the Fire Pattern Chicken his mother had prepared for him, he suddenly felt a thread of spiritual energy circulate within his body.

Delighted, Zhou Ling set down the chicken leg and opened his panel.

[Name]: Zhou Ling

[Spiritual Root]: Five Elements Low-grade 2/100

[Cultivation]: Qi Condensation First Layer 99/100

[Body Tempering]: First Order First Layer 38/100

[Physical Quality]: Comprehension (Average Talent 103/1000), Physique (Considerable Potential 20100/100,000)

[Unique Talent]: Stronger from Adversity (First Order 75/100)

[Growth Talent]: Naturally Malnourished, No Mother's Milk Feeding, Crisis Reaction (First Order 45/100), Physique Evolution (Second Order 506/1000), Mountain Treasure Hunt (Second Order 210/1000), Immortal Root Aptitude (Second Order 175/1000), Basic Insight (First Order 68/100), Spiritual Energy Affinity (Third Order 3180/10,000), Roar (Third Order 4300/10,000), Born to Excel (First Order 18/100)

[Technique]: Five Elements Breathing Technique

[Skill]: Great Yang Fist (First Layer Proficient 900/1000)

It has been more than two months since I opened the ninth Spiritual Acupoint. Though my Spiritual Energy Cultivation has been increasing during this time, the tenth Spiritual Acupoint has yet to open.

Looks like it's time to choose an additional technique!

Zhou Ling thought to himself.

By now, he could confirm that most of the spiritual power within his body was Fire Attribute Spiritual Power, so he would definitely choose a fire-attribute technique next.

However, choosing an additional technique required paying the Dao Academy a considerable sum in Spirit Stones.

The exact amount depended on the grade of the technique.

From what Zhou Ling currently knew, technique grades were divided into four orders: Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow.

Yellow Order was the lowest among them.

And within Yellow Order, there were further upper, middle, and lower grades.

Given Zhou Ling's current situation, being able to exchange for a Yellow-grade mid-tier cultivation method was already quite good.

"This still needs to wait until Father and Mother return so we can discuss it."

Zhou Ling thought to himself.

Though it was already dinnertime, Zhou Shan was out selling spiritual herbs.

And at this hour, Li Ru was at her busiest time of day, so it would still be another hour before they returned home.

Zhou Ling looked over his other values again.

He was now four and a half years old.

Because he had practiced the Great Yang Fist year-round, his body had grown sturdy.

He had also reached a height of around 1.1 meters.

Both his Comprehension and Physique had improved greatly, surpassing the level of ordinary people.

In terms of Body Tempering, he had already become a first-rank Body Cultivator.

He could easily lift a hundred-kilogram stone pedestal with one hand.

Overall, among the thirty-six disciples in the Study Hall, he could rank within the top five.

But Zhou Ling knew that this cultivation speed was still far from enough.

So resolving the matter of his cultivation method as soon as possible was still the priority.

After his parents returned home and finished dinner, Zhou Ling told them that he was about to break through to the Qi Condensation Second Layer and needed to choose a primary cultivation method.

Zhou Shan and Li Ru both wore delighted expressions. Usually, they were too busy to spare much time for their son's cultivation.

Yet their son had given them such a wonderful surprise.

At four and a half years old, he was already about to break through to the Qi Condensation Second Layer.

This undoubtedly surpassed them by far. Even among children his age at Lingxia Immortal City's Dao Academy, he would be considered outstanding.

"Ling'er, you don't need to worry about the cultivation method. Your father and I have already prepared the Spirit Stones for you to exchange for one."

Li Ru said with a smile.

Though their days were tight, matters concerning her child had become her foremost priority. Especially a cultivation method—something that concerned his future in life.

So she had long been making preparations during this period.

Even if neither she nor Zhou Shan made a single step of progress in their cultivation, they still had to save up Spirit Stones to exchange a cultivation method for their son.

"That's right!" Zhou Shan chimed in with a smile. "If Lingxia Dao Academy doesn't have a suitable cultivation method, I've thought of another option for you as well."

"Old Chu also has a fire-attribute Spiritual Root, and the Condensing Fire Art he cultivates is Yellow-grade mid-tier."

"In a few days, I'll treat Old Chu to a drink and ask him about it while I'm at it. Old Chu is a righteous man, so he should be willing to help. When the time comes, I'll give him some extra Spirit Stones."

"Brother Chu's Condensing Fire Art may be Yellow-grade mid-tier, but it isn't a good inheritance. At most, it can only be cultivated to Late Qi Condensation. There's no Foundation Establishment method afterward, so it has no great prospects."

Li Ru shook her head.

If her son lacked talent, there was nothing she could do.

But over the past two years, her son had displayed talent far beyond that of her and her husband.

So no matter how bitter or exhausting things became, she had to find a way for her child to cultivate a better method.

Zhou Shan nodded. In his heart, he naturally hoped to provide his child with the best, but his abilities were limited after all.

Thinking that his son had good talent, yet might fall behind in cultivation because of him, Zhou Shan felt rather despondent.