Breakthrough Just by Sitting There?

After returning home and packing his things, Qin Yu prepared to head for the academy's encampment.

He glanced back at the small house where he had lived for so many years, sighed softly, then closed the door and left.

Canaan Academy's recruitment work in Wutan City was already drawing to a close. Most of the newly admitted students had arrived at the encampment.

"Big Brother Qin Yu!"

From afar, Xiao Yu spotted Qin Yu and waved at him.

Several young men and women had gathered around Xiao Yu, chatting among themselves.

Qin Yu had seen one of them before—the one who had been knocked down with a single punch by an older student and obediently gone outside for punishment.

"Isn't that Qin Yu from the other day?"

What had happened between Qin Yu and the older student a few days ago had long since spread among the new students.

A one-star Dou Practitioner had easily defeated a three-star Dou Practitioner, making many people curious about Qin Yu.

"They are...?"

"Oh, our talent grades are pretty similar, so we got together."

Qin Yu gave them a slight nod, then sat down nearby and closed his eyes to rest.

"Yu'er, I heard you came with this handsome guy that day and left with him too. Is there something going on between you two? Come on, confess!"

A pretty young girl leaned close to Xiao Yu, eagerly prying for gossip.

Yet while she was asking questions, her hands had already quietly crept toward Xiao Yu's waist.

Xiao Yu had just opened her mouth to say something when the girl lightly tickled her waist.

"Tell the truth~"

"Stop it, Xue Ni, you female hooligan!"

The two girls started playfully tussling, while the boys nearby turned their attention toward Qin Yu, who was "resting" with his eyes closed.

"Why is he barefoot? Some kind of weird habit?"

"No idea. He was still wearing shoes when he fought a few days ago."

"Could it be some new cultivation method?"

"No, why are you all staring at his feet?!"

Amid the chatter, Qin Yu suddenly opened his eyes, and the aura around him abruptly rose by an entire level.

He was now a two-star Dou Practitioner.

Qin Yu slowly exhaled, his calm expression leaving everyone around him dumbfounded.

He had just sat there and... broken through?

Was it because of where he was sitting?

"Big Brother Qin Yu, you..."

Xue Ni and Xiao Yu had been playfully grappling, one touching while the other pinched, but Qin Yu's breakthrough made them both freeze.

"It's nothing. Just a new cultivation method I came to understand over the past two days."

Qin Yu's gaze inadvertently settled on them, because of the pose the two girls were currently in...

"Xue Ni, you little slut! Where are you touching?!"

Xiao Yu's face turned bright red as she slapped away Xue Ni's wandering hand.

"And you dare say that about me? Weren't you doing the same thing? Hehe..."

Not only was Xue Ni unembarrassed, but her smile grew even more... To be honest, Qin Yu rarely used the word "lecherous" to describe girls.

"Hey, you guys, this method only works for me. There's no need for you to imitate it!"

Qin Yu suddenly caught sight of something from the corner of his eye. The boys beside him had actually copied his posture, taken off their shoes, sat beside him, and begun cultivating.

He knew they wanted to improve, but wasn't this a little too immediate?

They were forcing it on without even checking whether it suited them.

The boys looked at one another. After exchanging glances, they actually ignored Qin Yu's warning and continued sitting there with their eyes closed, cultivating.

Fine. Do whatever you want.

Still, with a bunch of grown men gathered together, their bare feet planted on dusty ground, the smell was easy to imagine. Qin Yu had no choice but to move farther away.

He had always used earth-attribute Dou Qi to protect the soles of his feet, which was why he dared to go barefoot without feeling awkward.

But these guys...

"What are you doing?"

Just then, Instructor Ruo Lin walked over. The smell hanging in the air made her frown slightly.

Why had these little fellows suddenly started doing this... Could this be called performance art?

The boys swiftly put their shoes and socks back on, then all pointed at Qin Yu in unison.

"Student Qin Yu, you... broke through?"

Ruo Lin had just been about to ask what was going on when she noticed that Qin Yu, who had only just become a one-star Dou Practitioner a few days ago, had somehow reached two stars today.

Once Qin Yu explained the whole story, Instructor Ruo Lin could neither laugh nor cry.

"Qin Yu has earth-attribute Dou Qi, so he chose to make contact with the ground to seek a breakthrough. What use is there in blindly copying his cultivation method?"

The boys' faces flushed red with embarrassment, and they wished they could crawl into a crack in the ground.

Qin Yu had looked so calm and effortless that they had assumed it was a cultivation method anyone could imitate!

But they could not really be blamed. On the path of cultivation, who did not want to climb upward with all their might?

They simply wanted to improve too badly!

Afterward, Ruo Lin gave a few more instructions about the journey back to the academy, telling the students to settle their family matters as soon as possible. The recruitment team would begin its return trip tomorrow.

"Oh, right."

Before leaving, Ruo Lin's gaze fell upon Qin Yu's bare feet.

"On the way back, we'll be riding flying Magic Beasts. Your cultivation method may not be as effective then."

"I understand."

Qin Yu nodded, wondering whether he should just wear a long robe that covered his feet in the future.

Honestly, having people stare at his feet all the time was rather awkward. He was a grown man, after all—what kind of nonsense was it for people to keep staring down there?

For the remaining time, Qin Yu found another quiet corner and sat down, taking advantage of the time he had left to cultivate harder.

Otherwise, once they took off tomorrow, his cultivation efficiency would drop drastically.

It was not until the next morning, after the other students had all prepared to depart, that Xiao Yu hurried over to notify Qin Yu.

"Big Brother Qin Yu, why does it feel like you've gotten a lot stronger again?"

Although only one night had passed, Xiao Yu could clearly sense that Qin Yu's Dou Qi fluctuations were several degrees stronger than yesterday.

"Not bad, I suppose. Unfortunately, there won't be such a good opportunity for a while."

"Is this the academy uniform?"

Qin Yu put on his shoes and carefully examined Xiao Yu's blue-and-white student outfit.

She wore a pure white shirt underneath and a blue-and-white short skirt below, leaving Xiao Yu's snow-white, slender legs exposed to the air.

Over it was Canaan Academy's blue-and-white long robe. The girl's appearance, paired with the youthful uniform, made Qin Yu recall the student days of his previous life—days he both loved and hated.

"Yes... Do I look good in it?"

Xiao Yu spun around on the spot, looking at Qin Yu with a hint of expectation in her eyes. Qin Yu had been cultivating all day yesterday, and she had not found a chance to talk to him.

"It looks good. It's just that if your legs were..."

Qin Yu quickly stopped himself. Damn it, why did I blurt out what I was thinking?