Time

In the apartment.

The frequency of the visits and investigations had decreased.

He had been back for three days without any disturbances.

Li ChunJun sat cross-legged on a cushion on the floor, quietly sensing even the slightest changes in the world around him.

The touch of wind brushing his skin.

The warmth radiating from his body.

The chill creeping into him.

Everything was clear.

This perception was unparalleled.

Yet after a long while, Li ChunJun still stopped.

"Origin Qi."

He spoke those two words.

Heaven and Earth Origin Qi!

Qi Refining Cultivators, Body Refining Cultivators, even Sword Cultivators who walked an unorthodox path—all of them had one crucial hurdle they could not avoid.

Drawing Qi into the body.

Qi Refining Cultivators relied on their Spirit Roots to sense the Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth and cross this hurdle.

Body Refining Cultivators, on the other hand, needed a special array to help them. It drew Heaven and Earth Origin Qi into them, which they forcibly absorbed into their bodies by relying on the unity between heaven and humanity cultivated in the Innate Realm.

Innate!

When a martial master circulated energy through the heavens, he could use the Lesser Celestial Circuit within his body to open the bridge between heaven and earth and reach the Greater Celestial Circuit beyond. This allowed him to enter the wondrous state of unity between heaven and humanity.

This step was the Innate Realm.

As for him...

He could already sense the slightest changes in the world around him.

This wondrous state was no less profound than the Innate Realm.

In fact, one arose from a transformation that took a person from acquired to innate.

But he...

Seemed like a truly innate life-form.

In that state of "perfection," he seemed to possess all the wonders of an "innate" life-form from birth, allowing him to reach this stage far ahead of time.

But even after entering the Innate Realm, he still couldn't force Qi into his body to temper his physique.

Li ChunJun recalled the contents of Martial Arts Innate True Explanation.

Use an Immortal Array to draw in a torrent of Origin Qi, temper the physique, and embark on the path of body cultivation.

"Immortal Array."

Li ChunJun murmured the words.

Even after martial artists entered the Innate Realm, they still needed the help of an Immortal Array to complete their transformation from martial artists into cultivators.

This assistance...

Required an Immortal Spirit Gathering Array to compress the Heaven and Earth Origin Qi to an extreme concentration, helping an innate martial master take the most crucial step.

Alternatively, he could obtain some Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures rich in Origin Qi and take a medicinal bath to accomplish the same thing.

Every beginning was hard.

Once he took this step, he could cultivate on his own from then on.

An Immortal Array or Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures would simply make the results better.

However...

Compared with an Immortal Spirit Gathering Array, Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures capable of helping an innate martial master complete the transformation into a cultivator were undoubtedly much rarer.

"The process of an innate martial master drawing Heaven and Earth Origin Qi into his body isn't smooth sailing. It's perilous in the extreme—calling it a narrow escape from death would be no exaggeration. Only with an Immortal Pill to protect him can he be sure to survive."

All of this was described in Body Cultivation Foundation Establishment Chapter.

Even if an ordinary innate martial master got the chance to use a Spirit Gathering Array, only one or two in ten could successfully complete the transformation.

The rest would explode and die.

That was why even a force like the Red Sun Sword Sect, despite having special pills to cultivate Unity martial masters, couldn't increase the number of Body Cultivators.

If it was this hard for Body Cultivators, Sword Cultivators had it even worse.

"Sword Cultivators use Heaven and Earth Origin Qi to nurture their Essence Qi Sword. But their essence qi still comes from the cultivator himself. The stronger the physique, the more essence qi it produces. The more essence qi gathered into a sword, the stronger the Essence Qi Sword—and the more Heaven and Earth Origin Qi it can withstand during tempering, forging stronger Sword Qi."

In a sense, the Essence Qi Sword took the place of a cultivator's Spirit Root, bearing the tempering of Heaven and Earth Origin Qi.

Origin Qi, essence qi, Sword Qi.

Origin Qi, Spirit Root, Mana.

Compared side by side, it was no wonder Sword Cultivators who tempered Sword Qi could rival Qi Cultivators who nurtured Mana.

Though they couldn't match the wondrous variety of Qi Cultivators' spells, they left them in the dust when it came to killing.

"The only problem is that cultivation is far too difficult. Essence qi is the foundation of human life. Tempering the formless Sword Qi formed from essence qi with Origin Qi is dangerous; the slightest mishap can injure the cultivator. At best, he'll suffer severe injuries and regress in his cultivation. At worst, his essence qi will be badly depleted and he'll die on the spot."

Li ChunJun had chosen this path because he possessed an innate advantage no one else could match.

For one thing, his life essence was far more abundant than that of other cultivators.

Gathering it into formless Sword Qi was easy.

For another...

Every time his Life Level increased, it could fully repair the essence qi damaged in the process of tempering his Sword Qi.

This advantage was uniquely his!

He was practically born with a Sacred Body for Sword Cultivation!

"In theory, I should first use the power of heaven and earth to temper my body, making my physique stronger and my essence qi more abundant. Only then should I gather Sword Qi and embark on the path of sword cultivation. But I can't access an Immortal Array right now, nor do I have any Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. I'm stuck at the step of drawing Origin Qi into my body..."

Li ChunJun thought about the purpose of arrays and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.

These external aids were meant to help him draw Qi into his body for the first time.

It was like a leap from zero to one.

But if his understanding of the "Innate" Realm was profound enough, perhaps he could rely on his "innate" body and draw Qi into his body without outside help, just like a Qi Refining Cultivator with a Spirit Root.

Just as he'd guessed before.

If level 11 wasn't enough, then level 12. If level 12 wasn't enough, then level 13—or 14!

Eventually, he'd break through.

The only difference was that it would take much longer.

"Time."

The next day, Li ChunJun opened his eyes.

He silently repeated those two words.

That was the conclusion he'd reached after taking stock of his situation the previous night.

He needed time.

Could he wait?

No!

He couldn't.

What did time mean to him?

"Taking the initiative."

Li ChunJun got up and washed.

Half an hour later, he was ready.

According to the information he'd gotten from Huang Shang, Jin Zhiya was waiting for her second assessment.

Once she passed, she would become an official disciple of the Red Sun Sword Sect.

By then, if he killed Jin Zhiya, he'd have to face the pursuit of the entire Red Sun Sword Sect.

The entire Red Sun Sword Sect?

That was an exaggeration. At most, they'd send a few disciples from the Law Enforcement Hall.

But...

He would never sit around and wait for death!

In the end, either the Enforcement Disciples would die, or he would.

He would never allow himself to die on the path to becoming immortal!

So the only option was for the Red Sun Sword Sect's Enforcement Disciples to die.

As more and more Enforcement Disciples fell to his sword, the Red Sun Sword Sect's pursuit would no longer be an empty threat.

After all the twists and turns, he was back where he'd started.

Either he died, or the Red Sun Sword Sect fell.

And he would do whatever it took to survive!

So, to avoid a vicious cycle—and to keep more people from dying—

He'd better kill Jin Zhiya before she became an official disciple of the Red Sun Sword Sect.

This was for the good of the Red Sun Sword Sect.

"Head to the Red Sun Sword Sect!"

Li ChunJun said in a low voice.

He gathered his supplies.

It took him half an hour to pack everything into a long hiking backpack and sling it over his shoulders.

He put on a hat, sunglasses, and a mask, then went out.

After going downstairs, he walked toward the roadside, intending to take a taxi straight to the Red Sun Sword Sect.

But as he passed a newsstand that had been turned into a convenience shop, he stopped.

His gaze fell on the wanted posters hanging on the wall.

There were dozens of them.

His photo wasn't among them, but the posters reminded him that he was still wanted.

A nationwide Wanted Order.

If he kept his head down and only went out at night, he'd be unlikely to get spotted.

But now, taking the usual roads and traveling thousands of miles by car...

It would be almost impossible to avoid being recognized.

Unless he went on foot.