As Li Yang closed his eyes and sat cross-legged in meditation, the time on the Entry Panel instantly hit zero.
His mind suddenly grew clear. He quickly understood, absorbed, and mastered the contents of the basic chapter of the One Qi True Heaven Art that his Master had explained.
He had already been a genius, but in that moment, he seemed to become an unparalleled prodigy.
In an instant, he had fully mastered the One Qi True Heaven Art, and his understanding continued to deepen.
After all, Master was at the Return to Dao Ninth Stage, on the verge of becoming an immortal, so a trace of Dao Rhyme naturally emanated from him as he taught the basics.
Li Yang understood and absorbed that Dao Rhyme, incorporating it into the cultivation method.
The Qi Refining Stage wasn't all that difficult to begin with.
As a result, Li Yang's cultivation was now advancing at a rapid pace.
As he cultivated, vast quantities of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged into his body. And the deeper his understanding of the cultivation method grew, the faster he cultivated.
"Th-this is already the Qi Refining Second Stage?"
Deep beneath Lesser Qiong Peak, Li Changshou couldn't help exclaiming.
Was this Junior Brother really such a genius?
As a genius himself, he naturally understood what it meant to be one.
So, of course, he could see that Li Yang's cultivation was practically like having the Heavenly Dao spoon-feed him.
Although it didn't look quite as impressive as his own, it wasn't far off.
After all, he could grasp the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth automatically whenever he relaxed his Divine Soul even a little.
Li Yang's current talent, on the other hand, only showed itself while he was cultivating.
"I'm so jealous!"
Li Changshou really was jealous of Li Yang. He was terrified of his own excessively heaven-defying talent; Li Yang's was much more normal by comparison.
Unfortunately, Li Yang was his Junior Brother.
"I have to get him started on the Steady Character Scripture."
In that instant, Li Changshou made up his mind.
At that moment, as the vast spiritual energy of heaven and earth poured into Li Yang, Lan Ling'e, who was meditating nearby, was slightly affected as well.
She sensed the disturbance in the spiritual energy in an instant.
And then—
She broke through to the Qi Refining First Stage.
"Whoosh!"
Old Daoist Qi Yuan, who had just left, flashed back into view before Li Yang and Lan Ling'e, practically beside himself with excitement.
Two geniuses!
One had broken through two stages in a row.
The other wasn't far behind.
Cultivating to the Qi Refining Stage in a single day—an unparalleled genius!!!!
Before long, Li Yang felt the clarity in his mind rapidly fade. He understood that the accelerated time was over.
He silently calculated.
1.3 quarters of an hour. Is the ratio between resting time and cultivation time one to ten?
But my understanding of the cultivation method hasn't disappeared along with the effect. It's made the method's effects permanent.
So this isn't actually an acceleration effect. It's... trading rest time for a brief burst of superhuman comprehension!
Then, I used that superhuman comprehension to speed up my cultivation.
What a cheat...
Li Yang's heart pounded.
What did one cultivate in the pursuit of immortality?
Resources were one part of it, but comprehension was even more important.
The further one advanced, the more important comprehension became.
And what about him?
As long as he rested enough, he could turn that time into comprehension and gain extraordinary improvements.
Next, I should get some proper rest and test the limits of this trait.
This trait seems to help organize, synthesize, and deeply study other kinds of knowledge, too.
Some of the lessons about social etiquette and the ways of staying safe that Senior Brother taught me clearly combined with what I knew from my previous life, blending together and taking on a new form.
And that happened just because my focus on cultivation subconsciously led me to do it.
If I used cultivation time for those things, I might be able to innovate outright!
With that thought, Li Yang slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was a kindly face.
"Master!"
Li Yang quickly stood and bowed, greeting his Master and asking what was wrong.
"Nothing. I was just happy to see you, my disciple!"
Qi Yuan beamed. He was so glad he had taken this disciple.
Under normal circumstances, an ordinary Qi Practitioner might not reach the Qi Refining Sixth Stage even after ten years of cultivation.
But his disciple had advanced two stages in a single day. He was simply a peerless prodigy.
"Master?"
Nearby, Lan Ling'e rubbed her eyes with her little hands, looking utterly bewildered, then blinked twice.
Hadn't Master turned into smoke and vanished?
Why was he here now?
But she didn't dwell on it. Instead, she sprang up excitedly and threw herself at Daoist Qi Yuan.
"Master, your disciple is a Qi Practitioner now, too!"
Qi Yuan caught Lan Ling'e and smiled as he affectionately ruffled her little head.
"That's right, that's right. Ling'e is a genius, too. She's a great Qi Practitioner now!"
His praise made Lan Ling'e giggle. She was clearly delighted.
After that, Daoist Qi Yuan didn't hurry back to secluded cultivation. Instead, he patiently explained the cultivation methods to Li Yang and Lan Ling'e, answering their questions about cultivation.
To be honest, he was a little worried that Li Changshou would lead his two well-behaved disciples astray... Huh?
Where was Li Changshou?
Hadn't he told him to look after Li Yang and Ling'e?
Qi Yuan belatedly looked around, but couldn't see Li Changshou anywhere.
"Hah!"
"Li... Chang...shou!!"
Qi Yuan's roar shook the heavens. The spiritual birds on Lesser Qiong Peak scattered in fright.
And so, the day's usual scene played out: Master beating up Senior Disciple Brother.
"Yay!"
"Go, Senior Brother!"
"Go, Master!"
Li Yang and Ling'e clapped happily.
Laughter and cries of pain rang out across the peak.
This rare, homely atmosphere of the mortal world amid an immortal sect unfolded on Lesser Qiong Peak.
And the days that followed were much the same.
Especially after Li Changshou taught Li Yang and Lan Ling'e the Steady Character Scripture, that homely atmosphere grew even stronger.
Ten years passed in the blink of an eye.
That day, two reclining chairs stood by the Spiritual Lake.
A young woman lounged in one, and a chubby little boy in the other. A fishing rod lay beside them.
The girl was bright as sunshine, with clear eyes, willow brows, a delicate nose, pretty ears, and soft pink lips. Her striking features and oval face made her look especially lovable.
But as she lounged lazily in her chair, there was an indescribable languor about her, utterly lacking the vigorous energy of youth.
"Senior Brother, Senior Disciple Brother's test is tomorrow. Are you ready?"
Lan Ling'e spoke lazily. The sunlight fell on her, but she didn't even feel like turning over.
"Doesn't matter. We're not going out anyway. As Senior Brother puts it, we're a homebody boy and a homebody girl now—two giant Salted Fish who don't even roll over."
The chubby boy beside her replied indifferently, his tone just as languid. He clearly didn't feel like rolling over, either.
This chubby boy was the handsome little boy from ten years ago, Li Yang, whom Li Changshou had described as a child who was already old at such a young age.
Lan Ling'e waved a hand, and a special cup flew out of the Thatched Cottage nearby. It was something Li Changshou had made, called something like a milk tea.
The milk tea flew over to Lan Ling'e by itself, extended a straw, and placed it precisely against her lips.
Lan Ling'e parted her lips slightly and took a gentle sip. The sweet, fragrant milk tea slid down her throat.
After she took a sip, the cup flew back on its own. From beginning to end, Lan Ling'e had only moved her mouth and waved her hand, displaying astonishing laziness.
Only then did Lan Ling'e sigh. Even her lazy voice was full of helplessness.
"Right? He says we're Salted Fish who don't roll over, but if a Salted Fish does roll over, doesn't it still count as a Salted Fish?"
Li Yang chimed in, "Exactly. If a Salted Fish rolls over, it's still a Salted Fish. Staying home on the peak is the best way to show we're following the Steady Character Scripture, isn't it?
"Speaking of which, has anything taken the bait? We've been lying here for ten days!"
Apparently, they thought talking about it was a waste of time, and would rather discuss the fish.
Lan Ling'e was too lazy to get up or even look. "Nope. Let's wait a little longer."
"Oh, okay!"
With that, Li Yang fell sound asleep.
Before long, snores rose from both reclining chairs.
Meanwhile, beneath the Spiritual Lake, Paper Man Li Changshou, hidden inside a Paper Man Spirit Fish, looked speechlessly at the bare hook in the water, then just as speechlessly at his Junior Brother and Junior Sister by the shore.
"Seriously, are you two Jiang Taigong?"
"And is that really how the Steady Character Scripture is supposed to be used?"
Li Changshou gritted his teeth.
How had two diligent little Junior Brother and Junior Sister turned into such slackers as they practiced???
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