Dark forest.
Everything around him seemed so cold and desolate.
Yet the young man standing beneath the tree had begun to feel feverish.
He was like a furnace burning away here, slowly radiating waves of searing heat.
Chu Feng's taut body trembled, and he was incomparably excited.
He no longer had to worry about how to leave the forest, nor did he need to fret over Xiao Huohuo discovering that he was only pretending to be a Hermit Expert. He did not even have to worry about being surrounded by wolves, tigers, or leopards.
Once spiritual energy entered his body, everything he had previously been concerned about had now vanished like a bubble.
From here on, the matter he needed to consider was truly the pursuit of cultivation and the Dao.
Before today, these were things Chu Feng had never even dared to imagine!
Of course, all of this had to be credited to that clever and excellent disciple, Xiao Huohuo.
After sensing everything for a while, Chu Feng adjusted his emotions once more. He coughed, restored his former indifferent bearing, and only then strode toward the thatched cottage.
After all, being happy was one thing, but he could not afford to lose the image of a Hermit Expert.
Inside the room, Xiao Huohuo calmed the spiritual energy within his body. Only after slowly exhaling a mouthful of turbid qi did he open his eyes.
Creak.
The rotten wooden door was pushed open.
Xiao Huohuo looked toward the entrance, only to see Chu Feng walk in with that same indifferent expression.
Seeing his master's figure, Xiao Huohuo could not help marveling inwardly once more:
"Master truly deserves to be called a Hermit Expert, an immortal among men."
"I've only just gained something, yet Master immediately sensed it."
"To avoid disturbing me while I was absorbing spirit energy into my body for the first time, he even calculated the exact moment when I would completely stabilize my aura."
"Once I had calmed down, he immediately came into the room to check on me."
"Heaven truly hasn't treated me unfairly. It allowed me to meet such a wonderful master!"
No one knew what Xiao Huohuo had imagined. Chu Feng merely stared at him for a moment before giving a light nod:
"Mm. Entering the threshold of cultivation and absorbing spirit energy into your body in three days isn't exactly astonishing, but it's still passable."
"You can be considered a cultivation seedling."
Hearing this assessment from Chu Feng, Xiao Huohuo's heart tightened. He nodded fiercely and said:
"Master, rest assured. Huohuo knows that his natural talent is mediocre."
"I will certainly cultivate diligently with all my might and will never let down Master's expectations!"
Xiao Huohuo's eyes shone brightly, filled with utter resolve.
Compared with the martial path, where he had cultivated for years without making even an inch of progress, he had achieved such a fierce reaction and such a great harvest in the path of cultivation in such a short time. He was already content.
As long as he could gain something, bitter and painstaking cultivation was no torture to him. Instead, it was a kind of enjoyment!
Of course, since he had managed to absorb qi into his body in three days and had even received his master's evaluation that he was a cultivation seedling, he probably wasn't too bad either, right?
Xiao Huohuo paused, then continued asking:
"I wonder, Master, what kind of person would you call an astonishing genius in cultivation?"
"Your disciple wishes to know how great the gap is between me and those true geniuses!"
Upon hearing this, Chu Feng pondered for a moment before saying:
"For a true genius, something as basic as absorbing spirit energy into the body—"
"would take no more than the time needed to burn a single incense stick."
Under Xiao Huohuo's stunned gaze, Chu Feng continued:
"Those who can truly be called cultivation geniuses are mostly born with an innate affinity for spiritual energy. When they cultivate, nothing can stand in their way."
As Chu Feng spoke, he nearly burst out laughing.
He had made all of this up on the spot.
What did it mean to be a genius? Xiao Huohuo had taken a cultivation manual he had randomly written and still managed to touch the path of cultivation. If that did not count as genius, then there were no geniuses in the world.
However, in order to knock Xiao Huohuo down a peg and reinforce his identity as a Hermit Expert, Chu Feng could only fabricate this tale about false geniuses.
After all, only when a person felt that he was lacking—even unworthy of what he currently possessed—would he hold on with all his might and harbor not the slightest doubt.
Sure enough, after hearing this, Xiao Huohuo's gaze dimmed somewhat.
The joy he had felt at breaking through in three days was completely washed away.
Though he had long been mentally prepared, it was impossible for him not to be shaken.
His brows and eyes drooped slightly. He grieved in silence and sighed inwardly:
"I never expected the gap between me and true geniuses to be this great."
"I'm still far from enough."
"A single incense stick, while I took three whole days. With this kind of aptitude, Master must be terribly troubled, right?"
"If I hadn't asked, Master would have continued keeping it from me."
"I must cultivate harder. Only then can I live up to Master's painstaking efforts."
Chu Feng had no idea what sort of effect his words had achieved. Instead, he continued:
"Once an ordinary person absorbs spirit energy into the body five times, five streams of spiritual energy will be born within him, allowing him to break through to the Qi Refining Stage."
"That's because five streams of spiritual energy are, under normal circumstances, the limit that a cultivator's body can bear before reaching the Qi Refining Stage."
"Under normal circumstances?"
Xiao Huohuo immediately caught the sensitive information:
"That means there are even better choices besides this?"
Looking at him, Chu Feng nodded:
"That's right. Five streams of spiritual energy are the limit of ordinary cultivators, but they are not the limit of geniuses."
"For cultivators, absorbing spirit energy into the body is the foundation, the most crucial layer of a towering ten-thousand-zhang edifice."
"The sturdier the foundation, the greater the benefits for a cultivator's later progress."
"For this reason, ordinary geniuses will wait until the seventh stream of spiritual energy is born within their bodies before choosing to break through."
"As for those Ancient Cultivation Monsters, they will even compress their spiritual energy to an extreme, allowing their bodies to contain nine streams of spiritual energy. Only after breaking through the limit will they advance."
"Some of them will not even need a day to accumulate nine streams of spiritual energy."
"Hence the saying: One Day Qi Refining!"
After hearing this, Xiao Huohuo stood rooted to the spot, his pupils trembling.
Ordinary people could only cultivate five streams of spiritual energy, while geniuses could surpass the ordinary limit by two streams. And those so-called Ancient Cultivation Monsters could even gather nine streams and break through the limit before advancing.
Moreover, reaching the Qi Refining Stage in a single day—what terrifying talent was that?
Xiao Huohuo looked at Chu Feng, rose with gritted teeth, and made up his mind:
"Master, as your disciple, even if it costs me my life, I cannot break through with merely the ordinary five streams of spiritual energy."
"I will definitely accumulate at least seven streams of spiritual energy, reach the standard of a genius, and only then break through. Only this way will I not disgrace Master."
As he spoke, he clenched his fists:
"To avoid disgracing Master, and so that I can have a better future in the days to come, your disciple will certainly persevere!"
Chu Feng smiled in satisfaction:
"As long as you possess this desire to become stronger, that is enough."
Listening to Chu Feng's words, Xiao Huohuo's resolve grew even firmer.
He declared inwardly:
"I must accumulate eight streams of spiritual energy before breaking through."
"However, I should not tell Master about this. With my current talent, it would still be nothing more than a fool's dream and might upset him."
Before you continue