Cultivating the Innate One-Qi Sword!

The One Qi Sword Art was a typical technique that was easy at first and difficult later.

Cultivate a breath of innate qi, then turn qi into a sword, and one could directly enter the second realm, the Realm of Proficiency. Yet precisely because its entry threshold was so low, this sword art's power in its early stages was mediocre, with scarcely anything remarkable about it.

Its true might only began to reveal itself at the third realm, Mastery—refining all the origin qi within one's five viscera and six bowels into one, forging a breath of innate origin qi.

Yet this step was difficult as climbing to the heavens.

"But that is exactly what I want. For my Qi Refiner appointment, I only need to complete cultivation through the first two realms."

This technique was highly suitable for Jiang Xuan. However, after looking through it, he regretfully shook his head and handed the booklet back to Dong Hao.

Dong Hao was not particularly surprised by this. Having anticipated it, he chuckled. "Brother Jiang, are you unwilling to acquire this technique because your funds are tight?"

"Mm."

Seeing Jiang Xuan nod, the smile on Dong Hao's face deepened.

"If that is the case, Brother Jiang need not worry. I said long ago that I enjoy making friends, especially with people who truly have ability. I can give this sword art to Brother Jiang as a gift between friends."

This proposal made Jiang Xuan glance at him a few more times.

People often said that third-rate merchants pursued profit, second-rate merchants established their names, and first-rate merchants sought people.

Dong Hao's vision and bearing had clearly surpassed the level of haggling over every last penny. He cared even less about temporary gains and losses.

Still, Jiang Xuan ultimately did not accept his gift.

In this world, debts of favor were the hardest to repay. Especially since cultivating immortality here meant cultivating truth, and also cultivating one's true self; one's original heart was the hardest to deceive. Jiang Xuan did not wish to owe others too much.

Of course, he also knew that this sword art would be of great use to him—he still hoped to enter the Dao-Bearing Class and earn an Outstanding rating there.

Under such circumstances, a first-mover advantage was extremely important.

Therefore, Jiang Xuan did not intend to reject the technique outright. His final decision was—to borrow it.

"This item is too valuable. Do not mention making it a gift again. Consider it a loan to me; I will certainly repay it in the future."

Seeing how resolute Jiang Xuan was, Dong Hao finally nodded in agreement, though he insisted on waiving all interest.

"Brother Jiang, I truly regard you as a friend. You are calculating things so clearly—could it be that you wish to distance yourself from me and draw a line between us?"

"Uh..."

Having left Jiang Xuan speechless, Dong Hao left behind the one-use jade slip containing the One Qi Sword Art and departed.

Yet his arrival, along with the sword art he had gifted, left everyone around Jiang Xuan utterly dumbfounded.

"No way! Putting on airs, then pretending to cultivate like a scion of an Aristocratic Clan—did that actually work?"

Those ordinary students who had thought Jiang Xuan was merely putting on a show had never imagined that he would truly attract several scions of Aristocratic Clans to befriend him and even gain some benefits.

This also made the eyes of several "quick-witted" people light up. They immediately followed his example, imitating Jiang Xuan's earlier manner and putting on a display of their own.

"..."

Jiang Xuan was rendered quite speechless by the sight.

However, since this matter had nothing to do with him, he soon shook his head and cast these farces to the back of his mind.

Afterward, he did not immediately study the jade slip and begin cultivating. Instead, he first took out the rice balls he carried with him and ate them slowly.

Refining spiritual qi not only consumed mental energy, but physical strength as well.

There was a saying in the cultivation world: Refining Essence into Qi. The spiritual qi at Jiang Xuan's Divine Firmament Mountain sect was abundant, so he did not need to rely solely on consuming his own essence and blood to transform it into mana.

Yet to turn the ownerless spiritual qi between heaven and earth into natal mana that he could wield as freely as his limbs, he ultimately had to steep that spiritual qi in his own vitality and blood, branding it with a mark unique to himself.

After cultivating for an entire morning, Jiang Xuan was already so hungry that his chest clung to his back.

Under such circumstances, eating ordinary food was not ideal—its turbid qi was too heavy. Though it could fill one's stomach, it would taint one's qi channels and make subsequent cultivation twice the effort for half the result.

Cultivators needed to base their diet primarily on spiritual food. This was also why wealth came first among the four great elements of cultivation: wealth, companions, methods, and land.

Without enough Spirit Stones, one's path of cultivation would be far more arduous than that of others.

Fortunately, while Jiang Xuan's Household was not fabulously wealthy, it did have a cultivator. At the very least, spiritual rice to stave off hunger was guaranteed.

"Gulp..."

As he chewed and swallowed, a warm, satisfied sensation immediately spread from Jiang Xuan's abdomen to all four limbs and every bone.

His excessively depleted vitality and blood also slowly replenished at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Once his body had recovered somewhat, Jiang Xuan still did not rush into cultivation. He first pressed the jade slip to his brow, allowing all the technique's recorded information to flood into his sea of consciousness and imprint itself firmly there.

After doing all this, he walked beneath the shade at the edge of the plaza, found a quiet spot, lay down, and rested with his eyes closed.

Students of the Star Daoist Academy had always divided their cultivation into morning lessons and evening lessons. This rule existed because after every bout of full-force cultivation, Jiang Xuan and the others needed sufficient time for both body and soul to fully recover before beginning a second session.

For ordinary cultivators, managing two complete cultivation sessions in a single day was already the limit.

Of course, this limit was not unbreakable for scions of Aristocratic Clans with resources in hand—pills, spiritual liquids, and mind-congealing incense could all greatly shorten recovery time.

At this moment, Dong Hao had returned to the area where the children of cultivation lineages gathered. The peers around him were relying on all manner of heavenly treasures and earthly materials to rapidly recover what cultivation had drained.

While the medicinal effects dispersed, these children of Aristocratic Clans chatted idly. Before they knew it, the topic had fallen upon Jiang Xuan.

"Dong Hao, isn't your judgment rather poor? That Jiang Xuan is obviously a fraud putting on airs, yet you still fell for it?"

The youth who laughingly pointed this out, with every word subtly belittling Dong Hao for his poor judgment, was also dressed in splendid brocade robes. Though he appeared to be speaking to Dong Hao, his gaze kept drifting toward a cool and aloof young woman beside them.

Had Jiang Xuan been present, he would have recognized that girl as Xie Hanyan, who had opened thirty-six apertures that very morning and received an Outstanding rating.

Unlike Qin Feng, who had worn his feelings on his face, Xie Hanyan showed not the slightest joy despite receiving an Outstanding rating. She remained as cool and distant as ever, with even a faint trace of dissatisfaction and anxiety hidden between her brows.

The situation was already obvious. The youth named Zeng Jun had brought up the matter between Jiang Xuan and Dong Hao not simply to make conversation, nor because he cared whether Jiang Xuan was a fraud—though he did indeed think, like everyone else, that Jiang Xuan had been putting on a show and deliberately flaunting himself.

But rather than mock it inwardly, he had exposed it in public solely because he wanted to step on Dong Hao, make the other man lose face before Xie Hanyan, and elevate himself.

Dong Hao saw through this petty scheme that could not be brought into the light at a glance.

He did not get angry. He merely smiled faintly and said calmly, "I think Jiang Xuan has quite a few redeeming qualities. He does not seem like someone merely putting on airs."

"Besides, I never expected every investment to yield a return. Investment is simply like this: nine out of ten ventures come up empty. But so long as one person rides the wind and rises, I will not have lost out."

"As for the rest, I will simply consider it the forging of a good karmic bond."

Beyond defending himself, Dong Hao did not forget to counterattack. "On the other hand, Brother Zeng, your mentality is what seems wrong. You insist on watching for immediate returns in everything you do, haggling over every last penny. That makes you seem more like a merchant than I do. But with such a narrow mind and limited vision, I fear your business will never grow very large..."

Up ahead, a group of gifted scions from Aristocratic Clans were fencing with words over social dealings and contests of pride, while undercurrents surged beneath the surface.

Yet none of it had anything to do with Jiang Xuan beneath the tree shade.

With his eyes closed, he slept peacefully and soundly.

It was not until evening, when the setting sun hung low and Jiang Xuan's mental and physical strength had completely returned to their peak, that he finally woke.

Rising and walking to a mountain stream nearby, Jiang Xuan fetched some clear spring water and meticulously completed the three purifications of body, hands, and mouth.

He performed the entire sequence with solemn reverence and meticulous care.

Only after the ritual was complete, and his body and mind had received the blessing of the three great mantras, did he sit down cross-legged and begin his second cultivation session of the day.

But this time, what he cultivated was no longer the Aperture Opening technique uniformly taught by the Star Daoist Academy, the Nine-Breath Qi-Absorption Art.

It was—the Innate One-Qi Sword.