Qi Condensation Second Layer

Two months flashed by in the blink of an eye.

"The Spirit Flame Art has finally reached the entry level!"

At night, Zhou Ling sat cross-legged on his wooden bed. He slowly opened his eyes and let out a breath.

At that moment, he circulated the threadlike mana within his body and sensed a scorching aura.

Having only just entered the art, he could already feel that the mana of the Spirit Flame Art was exceptionally blazing.

This was the mana condensed by the Spirit Flame Art!

Zhou Ling could tell that this threadlike mana was clearly denser and more vigorous than the mana he had previously absorbed through the Five Elements Breathing Technique, with far greater endurance!

"Good thing I have the [Stronger from Adversity] and [Born to Excel] talents."

Zhou Ling could not help sighing inwardly.

Otherwise, who knew when he would have comprehended this technique, let alone cultivated mana from it.

By the time he understood it one, two, or even two or three years later—

he would already be seven or eight years old.

Even if he then entered the Qi Condensation Second Layer, the following two years of cultivation might not be enough for him to reach the Fourth Layer of Qi Condensation.

By then, he would have to leave the Dao Academy.

Without the Dao Academy's resources as a foundation, he would be destined to become a Rogue Cultivator, and his chances of Foundation Establishment would be vanishingly slim.

At that thought, Zhou Ling took another deep breath. His focus sharpened as he continued cultivating the Spirit Flame Art.

He had to enter the Qi Condensation Second Layer as soon as possible.

The gap between the first and second layers counted as a minor realm.

Without the aid of pills, breaking through by relying solely on mana was still quite difficult.

Another two-odd months flew past. Winter gave way to spring.

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

[Total spiritual energy absorption count: 51090/100,000]

That night, Zhou Ling sat cross-legged in meditation, cultivating the Spirit Flame Art.

With every breath Zhou Ling took, faint ripples seemed to stir around him as wisps of spiritual energy were drawn into his body.

They then slowly flowed into his meridians and gathered within his Spiritual Acupoints.

Zhou Ling noticed that with every cycle of breathing, the Internal Spiritual Power within him grew fuller.

After cultivating continuously for half an hour, he felt a numb, slightly swollen sensation in his meridians and realized that the spiritual power in his Spiritual Acupoints was already full to the brim.

Immediately after, guided by the Spirit Flame Art, the spiritual power within his meridians slowly stimulated the meridians and Spiritual Acupoints, peeling away layer by layer like drawing silk from a cocoon.

Very soon, there came a muffled pop.

"I've finally activated the tenth Spiritual Acupoint!"

Zhou Ling let out a breath. He had waited nearly half a year for this moment.

Of course, this was mainly due to the cultivation technique.

Though it had taken a little longer, it had all been worth it.

Had he chosen to cultivate a low-grade Yellow-tier technique, he might have advanced faster.

But his subsequent cultivation speed likely would not have been as fast as it was with the Spirit Flame Art.

Zhou Ling scratched his head, then continued circulating the Spirit Flame Art and tried absorbing spiritual energy. He discovered that he was drawing in twice as much as before.

Though he had only advanced by a minor layer, his speed had already increased so dramatically.

Delighted, Zhou Ling continued cultivating for roughly the time it took an incense stick to burn, stabilizing his cultivation.

At this moment, he found that the Internal Spiritual Power in his body had clearly grown much more abundant. Even his not-yet-fully-formed divine sense had strengthened somewhat.

"Qi Condensation Second Layer!"

Zhou Ling was overjoyed.

It took him more than a quarter of an hour to finally calm the excitement in his heart.

Entering the Qi Condensation Second Layer meant he had become a cultivator in the true sense of the word.

Next, he could begin cultivating all kinds of Skills.

Zhou Ling began carefully considering his plans for the future. He needed to learn a useful craft as quickly as possible.

That way, he could help shoulder his family's burden.

"Tomorrow is the first day of the new school year. I can go to the Dao Academy and borrow books on cultivating basic Inscriptions, then learn Inscription forging as soon as possible!"

Zhou Ling thought to himself.

He then picked up the cup on the small wooden table and took several sips of water.

"Better tell Father and Mother. Let them be happy too!"

Zhou Ling thought.

The faint glow of the Firestone Lamp shone through the crack in the door, illuminating the room.

Zhou Ling knew his parents were probably still awake.

Although the Li Ru couple held many expectations for him, they also knew cultivation had to be taken one step at a time and that one could not chase quick success.

Laying a solid foundation was crucial.

Usually, they did not put any pressure on Zhou Ling.

Walking to the door, Zhou Ling looked through the crack and saw his father sitting in a wooden chair, holding a Clay Bowl and sipping Spirit Wine in small mouthfuls. Beside him sat a small dish of Fried Peanuts.

His face, already weathered by hardship, looked even more haggard beneath the dim light.

His mother sat on a low wooden stool near the Firestone Lamp, sewing shoe soles for herself, occasionally stifling a small yawn.

Seeing this, the excitement in Zhou Ling's heart slowly faded.

He was now more than five years old.

Without realizing it, he had grown from an infant who could only wail his lungs out into a Qi Condensation Second Layer cultivator.

For an ordinary Rogue Cultivator, this pace was already extremely fast.

Yet over these Five Years, his parents' cultivation had not advanced in the slightest and had remained at a standstill.

Zhou Ling knew the main reason was that they had given all their resources to him.

Li Ru set down her needle, took a pair of scissors from the Winnowing Basket, snipped the thread, then looked up at Zhou Shan and said, "Husband, don't go into the Inner Mountain this year."

Zhou Shan shook his head. "The Outer Mountain only has ordinary spirit herbs now, and my divine sense is too weak to find good ones. If I run into a Demon Beast and get injured, this month's work will basically have been for nothing."

"Although the Demon Beasts in the Inner Mountain are stronger, as long as I can find one or two First-Grade Mid-Rank Spirit Herbs, it'll be worth it."

Li Ru looked at Zhou Shan and said gently, "Once Ling'er exchanges for his main cultivation technique, take the remaining Spirit Stones at home and buy Spirit Sandstone."

"See if you can break through to the late Body Refining stage!"

Zhou Shan took a sip of Spirit Wine and shook his head. "Ling'er will still need supplementary spiritual items after choosing his cultivation technique. That'll cost quite a few Spirit Stones too, so we should save them for him."

"At my age, I no longer expect any great progress in cultivation."

"Father, Mother, I've reached the Qi Condensation Second Layer!" Zhou Ling said with a smile as he opened the door and walked into the hall.

Zhou Shan and Li Ru froze for a moment at his words, then both looked at Zhou Ling with delighted expressions.

"Son, you've already reached the Qi Condensation Second Layer!"

Li Ru hurriedly pulled Zhou Ling in front of her, looking him over from left to right as if she still could not believe it. Then she cried out excitedly, "Husband, our son really is at the Qi Condensation Second Layer!"

"Good! Good! This generation of our old Zhou Family might truly produce a Foundation Establishment Cultivator!"

Zhou Shan was equally gratified and excited. Unable to hold himself back, he drained the remaining wine in his Clay Bowl in one gulp.

The couple had never imagined their son would enter the Qi Condensation Second Layer so quickly.

At this rate, there was a great chance he could continue cultivating at the Dao Academy past the age of ten.

In the future, he might even become an Inner Disciple of the Dao Academy.

"Father, Mother, I've already resolved the matter of the cultivation technique. As for the Dao Academy tuition from now on, you won't need to worry about that either!"

"The Dao Academy begins its placement divisions this year. As long as I place in the top ten in the assessment, I won't have to pay tuition. I can even receive a reward from the Dao Academy!"

Zhou Ling said.

Originally, Zhou Ling had not intended to tell his parents about either of these matters, especially the assessment.

But he truly did not want his father to risk entering the Inner Mountain.

That was why he brought them up first.

After all, he still did not have much confidence that he could place in the top ten of the Dao Academy assessment.