Confusion

"Tsk, embracing each other in broad daylight like this. If Master saw you, she'd probably be furious." Just then, the voice that had brought Ling Tian to find Hua Min'er suddenly spoke beside them, carrying a hint of teasing.

Ling Tian and Hua Min'er hurriedly separated and stared at the woman who had suddenly appeared, both extremely embarrassed.

"Senior Sister Yun Ying, you were eavesdropping on us. Hmph!" Hua Min'er was the first to recover. She tugged at Yun Ying's sleeve and pouted coquettishly.

"Who was eavesdropping? You two were so wrapped up in each other that you didn't even notice I'd been here for ages." Yun Ying's eyes brimmed with amusement as she explained, though her tone sounded undeniably teasing.

"Hmph, Senior Sister Yun Ying, you're making fun of me. I'm not talking to you anymore." Hua Min'er stuck out her little mouth in an exaggerated pout, pretending to be angry.

"So you really aren't going to talk to me? The peak master asked me to pass on a message, but I guess I don't need to now. Sigh." Yun Ying pretended to sigh, then turned as if to leave.

"Senior Sister, what does Master want with me? Why didn't you say so earlier?" When Hua Min'er heard that her master had sent word, she hurriedly grabbed Yun Ying.

"You have the nerve to blame me? You started acting all coquettish the moment you arrived." Yun Ying retorted.

"All right, all right, it's my fault. What did Master say?" Hua Min'er asked anxiously.

"Master wants you to go see her. She said she has something to tell you." Only now did Yun Ying remember the reason she had come.

"Oh, I understand. Go back and tell Master I'll be there in a little while." Hua Min'er glanced at Ling Tian beside her, evidently wanting to say a few things to him.

Yun Ying looked at the two of them. Of course she understood they had things to say, so she left first to report back to her master.

"Brother Ling Tian, I..." After Yun Ying left, Hua Min'er looked at Ling Tian, her eyes full of apology. She hesitated, unable to finish.

"It's all right. Since your master summoned you, she must have something to tell you. Go on." Though reluctant to part, Ling Tian knew what mattered more.

"Oh, then I'll go, Brother Ling Tian." Hua Min'er looked reluctant. Though she said she was leaving, she couldn't bring herself to take a single step.

"Silly girl, it's not as if we won't see each other again. Go on. I'll come see you again in a while." Seeing that Hua Min'er was just as reluctant to leave, Ling Tian felt a faint sweetness in his heart.

"Mm, then I'm really going." Only after Ling Tian promised did Hua Min'er turn and head toward the main hall on Qingdie Peak.

Ling Tian gazed at Hua Min'er's retreating figure without moving, his expression utterly entranced.

Hua Min'er had only taken a few steps when she suddenly seemed to remember something. She quickly turned around and saw Ling Tian staring at her in a daze. Her cheeks flushed, and a rich sweetness rose in her heart.

"Hehe, silly brother, three days from now, at this same time, Master is taking me to Qingyun Peak. Could you come to Qingyun Peak then...?" Hua Min'er beamed. As she spoke, she looked at Ling Tian with eager anticipation.

"Mm, I'll definitely go." Seeing Hua Min'er turn around, Ling Tian felt a sudden rush of joy and agreed without a second thought.

"Hehe, it's a promise, okay? Silly brother, you're not allowed to lie to me. Or else, hmph..." Though overjoyed by Ling Tian's promise, Hua Min'er still worried he might not come. She deliberately bared her little teeth and threatened him, looking utterly adorable.

"Since I've said it, I'll definitely do it." Ling Tian looked solemn, clearly not joking.

"Really?" Hua Min'er was delighted. Then, as if she had thought of something, she asked with eager anticipation, "Does that include what you said at Qingyun Peak?"

"What I said at Qingyun Peak? Which thing?" Ling Tian paused for a moment, then quickly understood. Even so, he pretended to be confused.

"You... Hmph! You said you'd do what you promised, but you've already forgotten what you said." Hua Min'er's little face fell, and she nearly burst into tears.

"Hehe, look at you, silly girl. How could I forget? I said I would protect you from now on, and I'll keep my word." Ling Tian's expression was solemn and dignified. His earlier confusion was nowhere to be seen; he had clearly been pretending just to tease Hua Min'er.

"Brother Ling Tian, you're picking on me. Hmph, I'm not talking to you anymore." Hua Min'er felt sweetness in her heart, but she was also a little annoyed that Ling Tian had deliberately teased her. As she spoke, she turned and continued toward the main hall.

"Silly girl, all talk and no action. Hehe." After Hua Min'er left, Ling Tian smiled faintly.

"Three days from now... Min'er's Master. Isn't her master Peak Master Ye Feidie? Could that genius be...?" Ling Tian suddenly recalled what Hua Min'er had just said, and a vague suspicion formed in his mind.

"That must be it. For a peak master to trouble herself, Min'er must be that genius. If so, that's wonderful." Ling Tian began to feel happy for Hua Min'er.

"But this 'genius' of mine, I'm afraid..." At the thought, Ling Tian's heart dimmed a little.

"Whatever. When the cart reaches the mountain, it'll find a way through. There'll always be a solution. Besides, Father once said..." Ling Tian remembered Ling Yun saying that someone would give him a cultivation technique. Perhaps things would take a turn.

"I refuse to believe I can't cultivate. So what if my meridians were blocked from birth? If heaven stands in my way, I'll slay heaven." Ling Tian looked nearly crazed, a trace of killing intent surfacing as his resolve steadily strengthened.

Once Hua Min'er's figure had completely disappeared, Ling Tian finally tore his gaze away, his resolve firm. His entire bearing had changed. Then he strode away from Qingdie Peak, looking utterly carefree.

Their brief reunion had ended just like that, but Ling Tian's longing for Hua Min'er had only grown stronger.

After returning to Qingyou Peak, Ling Tian began to feel lost. What was he supposed to do next?

Cultivate Mental Power?

He had already fused it into spiritual sense, and his Mental Cultivation had reached the late Qi Solidification stage. According to Ling Yun, unless he broke through to the Golden Core Realm, his Mental Cultivation wouldn't advance at all. He had already compressed and refined his Mental Power to its limit. It was like a bottle: at first it was filled with gas, which became liquid after being compressed and refined. Once the liquid filled the bottle, it had reached the bottle's limit.

Cultivate the Illusory God Phantom Shadow Movement Technique?

His father had said that later stages of this movement technique also required spiritual energy. Relying on nothing but his physical energy, he had already reached the limit. With his current physical cultivation, he could hardly make any further progress.

Run the mountain trails?

He hadn't done that sort of childish training in ages.

Practice Object Flight?

Although he had developed spiritual sense and could communicate with objects, first, he didn't have any decent objects yet. Second, and most importantly, he had no spiritual energy to support it, so naturally he couldn't practice it.

Alchemy?

He didn't even have a Golden Core, let alone Alchemy Fire. He had already learned a great deal of the basic knowledge from books; he simply couldn't put it into practice yet.

Go to Qingdie Peak to see Hua Min'er?

Uh, he had just come back from Qingdie Peak.

For a while, Ling Tian thought of all sorts of things he could cultivate, but one by one, he ruled them out. Either he had already cultivated them to their limit, or further progress required spiritual energy. Naturally, he still couldn't cultivate those things.

And so Ling Tian was at a loss, unsure what to do.

"Hehe, Father told me to arrange everything myself from now on. So he knew about my current situation all along. I bet even he doesn't know what I should do next." Ling Tian smiled wryly. He found himself missing his father's instructions and had to admit he had a tendency to enjoy being pushed around.

"No, that can't be right. Father is learned beyond compare and knows an astonishing variety of things. He must know what to teach me next. He told me to make my own arrangements for a reason. He probably wants me to learn to stand on my own and stop relying on him for everything." Ling Tian thought back over the past. His father's methods had always been endless; how could he not know what to teach him? Knowing his father, Ling Tian soon understood his painstaking intentions.

"But what should I do next? Sigh, I've relied on Father for so long that I've grown lazy. The moment I run into a problem, I'm completely at a loss." Ling Tian sighed, becoming even more certain that his earlier judgment was right.

"Father said cultivation is meant to strengthen your advantages and make up for your shortcomings." Ling Tian's eyes lit up, and he continued thinking, "But what are my advantages and shortcomings?"

"My talent is the strongest; I even made it to the end of the Heavenly Ladder. But my meridians were blocked from birth, and that strength has become my greatest weakness. There's nothing I can do about it for now." Ling Tian felt a little self-mocking. He now understood what reaching the end of the Heavenly Road said about his talent. Yet that talent had become his greatest disadvantage, and all he could do was keep analyzing.

"My Mental Cultivation is almost at the Golden Core Realm. I doubt anyone of my generation has reached that level, but without a Golden Core, no matter how much I cultivate, I won't advance." Yet another problem he couldn't cultivate his way past. Ling Tian shook his head, at a loss.

Then Ling Tian suddenly smacked his own forehead. "How could I be so stupid? Mental Power must have other uses. I'll ask Father about it later. It'd be a shame not to make use of such a huge advantage."

"I don't seem to have any other advantages. Looks like I really am weak. I have two advantages that are somewhat decent, and I've barely made use of either." Ling Tian felt a little self-deprecating as he muttered to himself.

In fact, Ling Tian was being a little too hard on himself. His physical cultivation was probably the strongest among the younger disciples of the lineage on Qingshi Peak devoted to physical cultivation. Few could match his movement technique, either. Moreover, disciples his age didn't even know how to cultivate formations. Ling Tian simply had no idea about any of this.

"What about my weaknesses? There are plenty. I can't cultivate, I can't fly, I can't make pills, and I'm no good at formations. There's no need to even mention the rest of the Dao arts." Ling Tian smiled wryly even more bitterly.

"Not being able to fly is a major problem. Father said the disciple competition Qingyun Sect holds once every ten years is only three years away. Although I don't have to take part, as the only disciple on Qingyou Peak, I'm bound to be mocked if I don't. I'd better participate. And I've heard this competition will be different somehow. I wonder what's changed. Besides, with Hua Min'er's talent, she'll surely represent Qingdie Peak. How could I not go?" At the thought of Hua Min'er, a little sweetness stirred in Ling Tian's heart.

"If I participate, I can't lose. I'm not afraid of losing face, but I absolutely can't tarnish Father's reputation. Father may not care about empty fame, but I can't bring shame on him." Ling Tian's expression turned serious. His father might not care, but he couldn't.

"I can't fly. If I run into someone who can, I'll be in trouble. I'll probably lose nine times out of ten. I have to solve this problem." Ling Tian secretly resolved to fix it before the competition.

"I can forget about alchemy for now. I've learned all the basics; I just need practice. I can set that aside for the moment." Ling Tian quickly crossed alchemy off the list.

"I need to improve my formations, too. I can't even see through Qingming Peak's protective formation, let alone break it. But I've finished reading that Complete Guide to Formations. Father said it only covered the basics. I'll have to ask him for guidance. And Father said that powerful Mental Power can make formations stronger and easier to set up." Ling Tian felt a surge of delight. At last, he knew what he could do for now.

"As for the rest, once I can cultivate spiritual energy and Dao arts, everything else will naturally fall into place. There's no point rushing that." Ling Tian thought.

"But were my meridians really blocked from birth? And why does my body devour the energy that enters it? Where does all that energy go?" Ling Tian asked, full of confusion.