Mysterious Energy

Morning. The rising sun had just appeared, and all things brimmed with vitality.

This was the best time to absorb the essence of heaven and earth and enhance one's physical potential.

In Li Chenfeng's small courtyard, a tiny figure had already begun his day of cultivation. His feet were shoulder-width apart, his knees slightly bent, and his hands held at his waist.

"Focus your attention. Keep your mind calm. Breathe naturally."

Keeping in mind the method his father had taught him for nurturing Dou Qi, Li Chenfeng slowly entered a deep state of cultivation.

Qing'er yawned beside him, rubbed her eyes, and sat nearby with her chin propped in her hands as she watched her young master. She could not understand why he would not simply enjoy his comfortable life and insisted on cultivating so desperately.

Beside them, a stick of lit sandalwood incense burned. It did not look very long, but a single stick could burn for two hours.

As time passed, the sun fully revealed itself.

Sweat once again trickled down Li Chenfeng's little face.

Yet Li Chenfeng had already entered a deep meditative state.

Gradually, after an unknown amount of time had passed, Li Chenfeng's body, which had begun to stiffen, quietly underwent a change.

A strange energy seeped into his body thread by thread, gradually restoring vitality to his aching muscles.

"What is this?"

Li Chenfeng, who had been struggling to hold on, immediately noticed it.

"Could it be that I've developed Qi Sense? Are these special energies Dou Qi?"

The discovery filled Li Chenfeng with delight. After cultivating for over a month, had he finally developed Qi Sense?!

As Li Chenfeng remained in meditation longer and longer, the wisps of energy gradually gathered within his body, forming a tiny stream.

Though this current was no thicker than a hair, it grew slightly with every circulation. Wherever it passed, his aching muscles slowly began to recover.

"Wonderful! I've finally cultivated Dou Qi!"

At that moment, Li Chenfeng wanted nothing more than to throw back his head and howl at the sky. After suffering for so many days, he had finally seen results.

The Dou Qi in his body was still beyond Li Chenfeng's control and merely wandered through him on instinct.

When the thread of Dou Qi reached Li Chenfeng's Dantian, it suddenly slipped into a mysterious mass of energy.

When the thread of Dou Qi emerged again, only half of it remained.

It was as though it had been devoured by that mysterious mass of energy.

Naturally, Li Chenfeng could not see any of this. He could not even control his own Dou Qi yet, much less look within himself.

However, when the thread of Dou Qi circulated through his body again, it was noticeably faster, and its rate of absorbing external energy kept increasing. In but an instant, it had returned to its previous size.

After completing another circuit, the entire thread of Dou Qi had actually doubled in size. Its growth rate was beyond imagination.

Yet after passing through the mysterious mass of energy again, the thread of Dou Qi was reduced by half once more...

Thus it repeated over and over, while the Dou Qi within Li Chenfeng's body continued to increase.

Time slowly passed as Li Chenfeng cultivated, and Qing'er's gaze once more fell on the sandalwood incense beside her.

Two hours had passed. Seeing that the incense had gone out, Qing'er ran over as she usually did, intending to make her young master stop torturing himself.

But this time, Qing'er was surprised. After her young master stopped cultivating, he did not collapse directly into her arms. Instead, he slowly stood up on his own.

He did not seem nearly as exhausted as she had expected.

"Could the incense have burned faster this time?"

Scratching her head, Qing'er looked doubtfully at her young master's little face.

Although beads of sweat covered his face, he showed none of his usual exhaustion. Instead, he looked remarkably energetic.

"Young Master, aren't you tired?"

She was only a little maid in her early teens, and unable to suppress her curiosity, she asked aloud.

"Haha, this young master isn't tired!" Li Chenfeng laughed. "Not only am I not tired, I feel full of energy!"

"Oh." Qing'er nodded obediently. Though she did not know what had happened, seeing her young master so happy and no longer in his usual bedraggled state made the little girl happy as well.

"Then let's go to the Side Hall. Breakfast is already late, and Young Mistress will scold you again!"

"Fine, let's go now. I feel hungrier than ever. I want food! I want meat!"

Watching her young master shout, "I want meat!" as he ran toward the Side Hall, Qing'er hurried after him, leaving a burst of clear, pleasant laughter behind them.

The two ran laughing into the Side Hall, where all the masters of the Nalan Family happened to be present.

Seated in the place of honor was the stern-faced clan head, Old Master Nalan Jie. On either side sat Li Chenfeng's parents, Nalan Su and Madam Nalan.

Seeing Li Chenfeng charge in so noisily, the three wore entirely different expressions.

Seeing his grandson so delighted, Old Master Nalan's stern face unconsciously softened into a smile.

His mother, Madam Nalan, gazed lovingly at the tiny figure running in and gently said, "Slow down. Watch the steps beneath your feet."

Only his father, Nalan Su, watched the loudly shouting Li Chenfeng with a dark expression and said in a deep voice, "Making such a racket—what kind of behavior is that!"

But Li Chenfeng was completely caught up in the excitement of having cultivated Dou Qi and paid no attention to their reactions. In a single stride, he rushed to his mother's side and said excitedly, "Mom, your son has cultivated Dou Qi! Cheer for me!"

Those words made Nalan Su freeze. He had been about to reprimand the little brat for recklessly rushing toward his mother, who was about to give birth.

"Is this true?"

Old Master Nalan, seated at the head of the table, immediately rose to his feet and looked in surprise at his grandson, who had only just turned five.

Seeing the shock on his parents' and grandfather's faces, Li Chenfeng looked immensely pleased. Though he had lived two lives, this was still the first time he had possessed something as miraculous as Dou Qi. It was no wonder he unconsciously showed his childish side.

Having recovered from his shock, Nalan Jie strode to Li Chenfeng's side, took his grandson's small hand, and pressed it against his own large palm. He then controlled his Dou Qi and carefully sent it into Li Chenfeng's body.

"Just as I thought!"

Nalan Jie sensed the faint Dou Qi within his grandson's body, and his heart filled with shock.

"Father?" Nalan Su looked at his father, his eyes full of anxiety.

Nalan Jie released his grandson's hand and said to his son and daughter-in-law, "That's right. Feng'er has indeed cultivated Dou Qi. From what I can tell, he has already reached the First Segment of Dou Qi!"