Level 7 Qi Condensation!

Morning light pierced through the oilcloth-covered hole in the window paper and fell across Qin Yuan's face.

He opened his eyes, his gaze clear and deep as a still pool. After one night, the spiritual power within him had grown several degrees more substantial.

The sky was already faintly bright.

He pushed open the door and stepped outside.

The world had changed.

Not the scenery, but his perception. The veins on the leaves of the old locust tree thirty yards away, the faint rustling of insects crawling by the wall, and the barely detectable burnt scent mingled with the rice porridge drifting from the distant dining hall.

Every detail stood starkly revealed.

The sound of spiritual power flowing through his meridians was like spring water in a mountain stream—crisp and abundant.

Level 7 Qi Condensation. Spiritual Sense had just emerged, and all five senses had become keen and clear.

Qin Yuan stood in the morning breeze and took a deep breath. The thin Spiritual Energy in the air flowed willingly into the pores all over his body. Although his Five Elements Mixed Spiritual Root still converted it with poor efficiency, the total amount was no longer comparable to yesterday's.

"Brother Qin Yuan!"

A crisp female voice came from the mountain path. Two lovely figures approached, one after the other.

In front was a girl in a goose-yellow ruqun dress, looking sixteen or seventeen. She had almond eyes and a round face, and the silver bells in her hair chimed as she ran.

Lin Qing'er, his childhood companion from the same village, had entered the sect three years after him. She was now at Level 10 Qi Condensation—blessed with a single wood spiritual root.

Behind her walked a woman in white, around twenty years old. She stood straight and tall like a green pine amid snow, her brows and eyes cold and distant.

Liu Han, an elite of the Seventh Peak's Inner Sect, possessed Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation. A slender unsheathed sword hung at her waist, its blade thin as a cicada's wing.

"Qing'er, Senior Sister Liu." Qin Yuan cupped his hands.

Lin Qing'er ran up to him, gave him a quick once-over, then suddenly widened her eyes. "Brother Qin Yuan, you broke through?!"

Liu Han's brow rose almost imperceptibly. Her gaze settled on Qin Yuan as though she were examining a blade freshly drawn from its sheath.

"I was fortunate enough to gain some insight." Qin Yuan did not elaborate.

But Lin Qing'er immediately thought of something. Her eyes reddened, and she gritted her teeth. "Those bastards from the Third Peak! Liu Feng thinks he can bully people like this just because he's the Enforcement Elder's disciple! Brother Qin Yuan, come to our Seventh Peak. I'll ask Master to take you in as a nominal disciple. We don't need their Third Peak!"

Her cheeks puffed up with anger, and the silver bells jingled wildly.

Liu Han sighed inwardly. Her junior sister was good in every way, except her heart was too soft. She valued loyalty and affection to the point of disregarding gain and loss.

Qin Yuan's breakthrough might be strange, but the foundation of a Five Elements Mixed Spiritual Root remained. Level 4 Qi Condensation was probably already his limit.

Qing'er, however, possessed a heavenly spiritual root. Foundation Establishment was within reach, and a Golden Core lay in her future. The two of them simply belonged to different worlds.

"No need." Qin Yuan shook his head, his voice calm. "In three days, during the Outer Sect Competition, I will challenge Liu Feng."

The air fell silent for a moment.

Lin Qing'er froze. "But Liu Feng is at the third level of Foundation Establishment..."

"The Outer Sect Competition rules allow outer sect disciples to challenge any Inner Sect disciple. Life and death are irrelevant." Qin Yuan looked toward the Third Peak. "Since he humiliated me before everyone, I will repay him before everyone."

A flicker of surprise passed through Liu Han's eyes, then turned into faint appreciation.

A sword cultivator ought to possess such unbending sharpness—better to break than bend. At last, she spoke, her voice like a cold spring striking stone. "You have courage. But Foundation Establishment and Qi Condensation are as far apart as heaven and earth."

"I know." Qin Yuan turned to her. "That is why I will make the most of these three days."

Make the most of what? He did not say. Liu Han did not ask.

Lin Qing'er looked at Qin Yuan, then at Liu Han, and stomped her foot. "Fine, fine! Let's eat first! Brother Qin Yuan, you definitely haven't had breakfast yet!"

She grabbed one of them in each hand and dragged them toward the dining hall without allowing any argument.

Not long after they left, a burly man built like an iron tower swaggered up to the small house.

His face was covered in brawn, and the aura of Level 6 Qi Condensation radiated from him without restraint, making the window lattice hum.

"Where is that trash Qin Yuan?" he growled at an outer sect disciple hanging laundry next door.

The disciple shrank back and said softly, "Senior Brother Zhao Hu, Qin Yuan just left with Senior Sister Lin and Senior Sister Liu from the Seventh Peak..."

"The Seventh Peak?" Zhao Hu narrowed his eyes and spat. "Found himself a lofty branch to cling to? Hah! Mud was mud, no matter what."

He turned and left, each step making the ground thud.

Only after he had gone far away did the disciple hanging laundry whisper into the room, "Did you hear that? That jinx Zhao Hu came again. Liu Feng must have sent him here to stir up trouble... Just because he's Liu Feng's distant cousin and at Level 6 Qi Condensation, he struts around here like a tyrant. Pah, what the hell is he?"

Another person said, "Stop talking. Don't let him come back and hear you."

The outer sect dining hall buzzed with voices.

Qin Yuan bought a serving of plain porridge, two coarse flour buns, and a small dish of pickles for three low-grade spirit crystals—three days' worth of food money for him.

Lin Qing'er had wanted to pay for him, but he shook his head and refused.

The three found a table in the corner and sat down.

Lin Qing'er chattered away nonstop, talking about the Seventh Peak's spirit herb garden, the new magical sword her master had bestowed upon her, and the troubles she had encountered in her recent cultivation.

Whenever she spoke, she kept looking at Qin Yuan, her eyes sparkling.

Liu Han slowly sipped a cup of spirit tea. Her eyes occasionally swept over Qin Yuan. Seeing that he merely listened quietly, answering once or twice now and then, his expression open and composed without any sign of currying favor or fawning, she said nothing.

Yet her junior sister's undisguised closeness still made her frown.

Talent, prospects, circles... The cultivation world was as cold and hard as iron.

Qing'er did not understand now, but she would someday. Some boundaries were better drawn early rather than late.

Partway through the meal, Lin Qing'er was called away by a familiar female cultivator outside the dining hall, who said that her master had sent word.

Only the two of them remained at the table.

Liu Han set down her teacup, her voice calm. "Junior Brother Qin."

Qin Yuan raised his eyes.

"Qing'er has a simple nature and values loyalty." Liu Han looked directly at him. "But she has the talent of a heavenly spiritual root. Foundation Establishment is close at hand, and her path to the Golden Core holds promise. Some things should be cut off decisively."

Qin Yuan's chopsticks paused. "What do you mean, Senior Sister Liu?"

"You are not from the same world." Liu Han spoke bluntly. "Today, she may offend the Third Peak for your sake. Tomorrow, she may delay her Dao Path because of you. Keeping your distance would be best for both of you."

The clamor of the dining hall seemed to recede in an instant.

Qin Yuan slowly set down his chopsticks. He actually understood—when Lin Qing'er had entered the sect at sixteen, she had still been a little girl who cried easily. He had carried her on his back as they climbed the old locust tree at the entrance to their village.

Ten years had passed. She had become a genius admired throughout the sect, while he was a Labor Disciple who had nearly been sent back to the mines.

He cherished that bond, but it went no further than the affection between old friends.

Yet hearing those words from Liu Han was like having the last thin veil of warmth in his heart scraped away by an icy rasp.

"Senior Sister Liu." He spoke, his voice flat. "How Qing'er and I interact is our business."

Liu Han's brows lifted slightly.

"You say we are not from the same world." Qin Yuan raised his eyes. There was little emotion in them, yet Liu Han felt a faint sting on her skin. "May I ask, Senior Sister Liu, what makes people from the same world? Aptitude? Cultivation level? Or the lofty gaze with which you look down on others?"

The fingers around Liu Han's cup tightened.

"I respect you as my senior sister, and I thank you for accompanying Qing'er here today." Qin Yuan rose to his feet. "But I will walk my own road. Qing'er will choose her own road. There is no need for you to trouble yourself."

He picked up his bowl and dishes, then turned toward the collection area. His back was straight, and his gray robe was old but unbroken.

Liu Han remained seated. After a long while, she let out a soft breath. The tea had already gone cold.

Doesn't know what's good for him? Interesting.

When Lin Qing'er returned, she found the atmosphere somewhat strange. Qin Yuan looked as usual, and Liu Han remained as aloof as ever, but she could still sense that something was off.

"Come on, Brother Qin Yuan, I'll walk you back." Deciding not to dwell on it, she smiled brightly. "I brought you something."

After returning to the small house, Lin Qing'er took out two bottles of pills and three talismans from her storage pouch, then stuffed them into Qin Yuan's hands without allowing him to refuse. "Qi Gathering Pills. I refined them myself, and the quality isn't great, so don't dislike them. Senior Sister Liu gave me the Protective Talismans before. Keep them on you for protection."

Qin Yuan looked at the pill bottles, still warm in his hands. After a moment of silence, he accepted them. "Thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?" Lin Qing'er waved her hand, then lowered her voice. "Zhao Hu might come looking for trouble. Be careful these next two days. If it gets too bad, come find me at the Seventh Peak. I'll protect you!"

Liu Han listened quietly from outside the door and did not enter.

When they were about to leave, Lin Qing'er turned back at the doorway. Rare seriousness appeared on her face. "Brother Qin Yuan, in three days... if you can't win, surrendering isn't shameful. Staying alive is what matters most."

Qin Yuan nodded. "I know."

Watching the two figures vanish at the end of the mountain path, Qin Yuan closed the door.

The room returned to silence.

He poured out a Qi Gathering Pill. It was pale green, its pill patterns rough—the work of a beginner, indeed. He held it in his palm for a while, then put it back.

Liu Han's words echoed in his ears.

Not from the same world?

He sat cross-legged on the bed and closed his eyes.

The system panel silently appeared:

[Host: Qin Yuan]

[Cultivation: Level 7 Qi Condensation (Stable)]

[Extractable Cultivation: 0 years (already converted today)]

[Next Refresh: Midnight tomorrow]

Two days remained.

He opened his eyes. Deep within them, the darkness of ten years in the mines intertwined with the brilliant clarity of this morning's sunlight, forming a tranquil sea.

Then let them see who could reach which world.