Chapter Summaries

Chu Bai learned that reaching Qi Refining required the complete Minor Qi Gathering Technique formula, but Tutor Liu's Inner-Door Instruction course cost ten taels of silver. He headed home unsure how his farming family could afford it, leaving the chance to enter the Dao Academy uncertain.

• At Azure Cloud Academy, Chu Bai practiced the Minor Qi Gathering Technique while knowing its incomplete breathing method could not help him sense qi.
• Tutor Liu told Chu Bai the Dao Academy selection was six months away and offered him three months of Inner-Door Instruction for ten taels of silver.
• Chu Bai realized the fee amounted to five years of his family's possible savings and thanked Tutor Liu before leaving to consider the offer.
• On the walk home, Chu Bai worried that without the formula he could not reach Qi Refining or enter the Dao Academy.
• Chu Bai stopped on a field ridge and stared toward his family's thatched home, repeating the cost of ten taels of silver.

Chu Bai told his parents that Tutor Liu said he had cultivation talent but wanted ten taels for extra lessons, a sum his family could not afford. Alone that night, Chu Bai practiced the incomplete Minor Qi Gathering Technique and examined his Fate Destiny panel, which showed his diligence-based fate pattern and the technique at its limit.

• At dinner, Li suggested finding Chu Bai a match, but Chu Xianglin urged their son to try for the Dao Academy.
• Chu Bai told his parents that Tutor Liu believed he could reach the first level of Qi Refining within three months with a complete method, but the extra lessons cost ten taels of silver.
• Chu Xianglin and Li realized they had no way to pay, and Chu Bai reassured them that he would keep learning on his own.
• That night, Chu Bai practiced the Minor Qi Gathering Technique but failed to sense qi because he lacked its mental formula.
• Chu Bai opened his Fate Destiny panel and saw that his Toil Without End fate pattern had taken effect, while his incomplete technique had reached its maximum level.

Chu Bai realized his cultivation could advance only with a complete technique, while his family struggled to afford lessons. His mother brought him the ten taels he needed, and Chu Bai resolved to make the sacrifice worthwhile.

• Chu Bai saw that his Minor Qi Gathering Technique had reached its limit without a formula and decided he needed another way to obtain one.
• Chu Bai noticed the family's prized speckled hen was missing and feared his parents had sold it to raise money.
• Li Qing returned from town with four taels borrowed from Chu Bai's Second Uncle after taking him the hen, adding it to the family's six saved taels.
• Li Qing gave Chu Bai the ten taels and told him to remember his Second Uncle's help and repay him someday.
• Chu Bai accepted the money and promised Li Qing it would not go to waste.

Chu Bai paid to enter Daoist Zhang’s Inner Gate and learned the Qi Induction Art, finally sensing spiritual qi and breaking through the Minor Qi Gathering Technique’s bottleneck. His panel showed the technique progressing again, leaving him ready to advance without the old limit.

• Chu Bai asked Tutor Liu to recommend him for Inner Gate training and presented Daoist Zhang with his tuition.
• Daoist Zhang accepted Chu Bai as a disciple and explained that Inner Gate lessons taught the stillness method of the Minor Qi Gathering Technique.
• Chu Bai followed Daoist Zhang’s guidance, sensed spiritual qi, and drew it into his Dantian Qi Sea.
• Chu Bai checked his panel and saw that Minor Qi Gathering Technique had advanced to Proficient (1/200), with its former limit gone.

On his first day in the Inner Gate, Chu Bai gained qi sense immediately and impressed Daoist Zhang and the other students. After learning how long ordinary cultivation took, he left determined to progress quickly, but his hunger made finding food his first priority.

• Daoist Zhang assessed Li Jinyuan, Gu Qinghe, and Wang Xiaoliu, then asked Chu Bai to perform the Lesser Qi-Gathering Art.
• Chu Bai stirred spiritual energy around himself on his first attempt, surprising his fellow students and earning Daoist Zhang's approval.
• Daoist Zhang explained that an ordinary cultivator needed three hundred days to gather the spiritual energy required for the Qi Refining First Layer.
• Daoist Zhang described how different regions' spiritual energy affected cultivation and recommended Anping County as a stable place to build foundations.
• Gu Qinghe praised Chu Bai, and Chu Bai left the academy planning to cultivate harder before his growling stomach sent him looking for food.

Chu Bai returned home to find his parents worrying about the pressure of entering the Dao Academy, then pushed himself to cultivate despite his exhaustion. He gained one point of proficiency in the Minor Qi Gathering Technique before collapsing into deep sleep.

• Chu Bai came home to a warm meal and found Li Qing and Chu Xianglin waiting up for him.
• Chu Xianglin reassured Chu Bai that the family would manage even if he failed to enter the Dao Academy, while Chu Bai insisted he had only just begun.
• Chu Bai ate the food Li Qing had saved, and she promised to prepare firmer rice to support his cultivation.
• Chu Bai used his Relentless Toil, Relentless Effort Fate Pattern to keep practicing the Lesser Qi-Gathering Art despite his fatigue.
• Chu Bai checked his panel and saw his Minor Qi Gathering Technique proficiency rise to 2/200, then fell asleep.

After a week of intensive practice, Chu Bai learned how to retain spiritual qi and crossed the threshold into cultivation. Daoist Zhang identified his qi as pure-origin spiritual qi, leaving Chu Bai to begin steadily accumulating it.

• Tutor Liu demonstrated the Water-Control Art and explained how his failed Heavenly Examination had left him teaching at the academy.
• Chu Bai and Gu Qinghe went to Stillheart Hall, where Gu Qinghe explained that Chu Bai had to press down on the qi during the pause between breaths.
• Chu Bai followed Gu Qinghe's advice and successfully retained a thread of spiritual qi in his dantian.
• Daoist Zhang examined Chu Bai's qi and identified it as balanced, attribute-less pure-origin spiritual qi compatible with any cultivation method.
• Chu Bai checked his panel and saw that his Minor Qi Gathering Technique had advanced to Proficient (6/200).

After Chu Bai captured his first thread of Pure-Origin Spiritual Qi, a new Fate Pattern began to form, promising to improve his cultivation. His progress earned the respect of his classmates and drew Li Jinyuan’s attention, while Chu Bai resolved to solidify the pattern.

• Chu Bai saw the unstable [Food Injury Leaks Elegance, Quick-Witted] Fate Pattern appear after he captured his first thread of Qi.
• Daoist Zhang praised Chu Bai for capturing Qi in seven days, and Gu Qinghe compared his own slower progress with Chu Bai’s achievement.
• Li Jinyuan approached Chu Bai after class and accompanied him on a walk, sharing information about the Dao Academy Selection and spirit rice.
• Chu Bai parted from Li Jinyuan at the city gate and headed home, determined to make his new Fate Destiny take shape.

Chu Bai realized that his cultivation required more nourishing food than his poor family could afford, and he needed to break through within three months to avoid further tuition costs. After his Second Aunt Liu Shi publicly demanded repayment of the borrowed tuition, Tutor Liu defended Chu Bai and offered to ask Daoist Zhang about finding him work; Chu Bai returned to meditation with his resolve intact.

• Chu Bai calculated that his ordinary meals could not sustain his cultivation and resolved to reach qi refining first layer within three months.
• Liu Shi confronted Chu Bai at Azure Cloud Academy and demanded that his family repay the four taels of silver used for his tuition.
• Chu Bai calmly explained that the tuition had already been paid and his family would repay the debt when able.
• Tutor Liu intervened, vouched for Chu Bai, and promised to repay the debt himself if Chu Bai failed to pass.
• Tutor Liu offered to ask Daoist Zhang to help Chu Bai find work in the city to support his studies.
• Chu Bai thanked Tutor Liu and returned to meditation, undisturbed by his classmates' reactions.

Daoist Zhang arranged for Chu Bai and Gu Qinghe to earn money as practice targets for a wealthy Zhao family member learning offensive spells. They accepted the risky job, and Chu Bai looked forward to witnessing a qi refining cultivator’s spell arts at the Zhao Residence the next day.

• Daoist Zhang told Chu Bai and Gu Qinghe that poverty could hinder their cultivation and offered them work at the Zhao Residence.
• Daoist Zhang explained that the Zhao family needed qi-sensitive practice partners to evade reduced-power spells, paying three hundred copper coins for each four-hour session.
• Chu Bai and Gu Qinghe accepted the job, encouraged by the pay and the chance to observe spellcasting.
• Daoist Zhang gave Chu Bai a wooden token and instructed them to report to Steward Zhao at the Zhao Residence the next day.
• Chu Bai and Gu Qinghe discussed how the income could help their families, then parted on the way home.
• Chu Bai headed back to his village excited to see a qi refining cultivator’s offensive spells.

Chu Bai and Gu Qinghe arrived at the Zhao Residence to work as practice partners for Young Master Zhao. After watching him destroy a straw target with a Fireball Technique, they learned they would take the target’s place for the next two hours.

• Chu Bai told Chu Xianglin and Li Qing he had found a well-paying attendant job, then left for the city without mentioning the debt owed to Second Uncle.
• Chu Bai met Gu Qinghe outside the Zhao Residence, and they presented Daoist Zhang’s wooden token to the gatekeeper.
• Wu Shang introduced himself as Young Master Zhao’s instructor and led Chu Bai and Gu Qinghe to the practice ground.
• Young Master Zhao ignored Wu Shang’s advice about accuracy and struck a straw target with a powerful Fireball Technique.
• Wu Shang pointed to the charred remains and told Chu Bai and Gu Qinghe they would serve as the target for the next two hours.

Chu Bai and Gu Qinghe served as live targets while Zhao Xing practiced the Fireball Technique under Wu Shang’s instruction. Chu Bai learned from the training and deliberately let Zhao Xing land a shielded hit, earning Wu Shang’s respect as another round began.

• Wu Shang offered to cover Chu Bai and Gu Qinghe’s medical expenses, and Zhao Xing promised each of them five taels of silver to serve as moving targets.
• Chu Bai and Gu Qinghe used shields coated with cold pool mud to dodge Zhao Xing’s fireballs while Wu Shang coached him.
• Chu Bai absorbed Wu Shang’s guidance and learned how spiritual qi and Divine Sense could guide a fireball as Zhao Xing exhausted his spiritual qi.
• After recovering, Zhao Xing focused his next round of attacks on Chu Bai, who pretended to be cornered and blocked a fireball with his shield.
• Wu Shang realized Chu Bai had chosen to take the hit to help Zhao Xing save face, praised both of them, and called for another round.

After earning three hundred wen for sparring at the Zhao Residence, Chu Bai bought food and pastries for his family and used what he learned from Zhao Xing to improve his cultivation. He ended the day more confident that he could gather spiritual qi faster.

• Zhao Xing praised Chu Bai and Gu Qinghe’s sparring, paid them three hundred wen each, and sent them home.
• Chu Bai bought fresh rice, white flour, pork belly, and osmanthus cakes at the market.
• Chu Bai returned home and shared the food and pastries with Xiao Man, Chu Xianglin, and Li Qing.
• Chu Bai recalled Zhao Xing’s Fireball Technique and gained insight into circulating spiritual qi.
• Chu Bai practiced the Minor Qi Gathering Technique and saw his proficiency rise to 7/200.

Chu Bai shared the family’s scarce pork and kept his earnings for cultivation after his parents refused his help with household expenses. After more than a month of training at the Zhao Residence, he was summoned by Master Zhang to Stillheart Hall at the academy.

• Chu Bai insisted that his family eat the braised pork with him, then felt its nourishment strengthen his body and cultivation.
• Li Qing and Chu Xianglin refused Chu Bai’s two hundred copper coins, urging him to save the money for cultivation and academy expenses.
• Over a month, Chu Bai improved his shield technique while sparring with Zhao Xing, impressing Wu Shang and Gu Qinghe.
• Wu Shang told Chu Bai that Master Zhang had summoned him to Stillheart Hall, and Chu Bai hurried to the academy.

Daoist Zhang tested Chu Bai’s cultivation and, impressed by his rapid progress, invited him to become his personal disciple. Chu Bai accepted and learned about his five senior disciples, including one who held an official post in the Qingzhou Water Bureau.

• Chu Bai visited Daoist Zhang’s residence and followed an attendant to the quiet chamber.
• Daoist Zhang asked Chu Bai to demonstrate the Lesser Qi-Gathering Art and was astonished by his cultivation speed.
• Daoist Zhang praised Chu Bai’s talent and said he could reach the first layer of Qi Refining before the Dao Academy Selection.
• Daoist Zhang invited Chu Bai to enter his lineage as a personal disciple, and Chu Bai accepted with a formal bow.
• Daoist Zhang told Chu Bai that five others had entered his lineage and that his eldest disciple served in the Qingzhou Water Bureau as a Principal Ninth Rank immortal official.

Chu Bai became Daoist Zhang’s sixth personal disciple, received practical gifts and had his tuition waived, lifting a major burden from his family. After sharing the news with his parents, he cultivated with his new jade ring and found that his destiny had awakened, greatly increasing his comprehension and cultivation speed.

• Daoist Zhang formally accepted Chu Bai as his sixth and last disciple, gave him a token, an Azure Cloud Robe, and a Tranquil Heart Jade Ring, and waived his inner academy tuition.
• Chu Bai returned home with an old hen and told Li Qing and Chu Xianglin that Daoist Zhang had taken him as a personal disciple and canceled his tuition.
• Li Qing and Chu Xianglin rejoiced that the family no longer had to pay ten taels of silver, and they celebrated together over dinner.
• Chu Bai wore the Tranquil Heart Jade Ring and circulated the Lesser Qi-Gathering Art, finding that he absorbed energy and followed the cultivation route more efficiently.
• Chu Bai’s destiny changed from unformed to active, granting him greater comprehension, more efficient energy conversion, and a fifty percent increase in cultivation speed.

Chu Bai discovered dense water-attribute spiritual qi at the dangerous Three-Bath River but decided not to absorb it until he understood the risks. He took half a day off from the Academy and went to the Zhang Residence with tea and pastries to show gratitude to his master.

• Chu Bai cultivated after working in the fields and found that his heightened senses let him gather pure-origin spiritual qi more effectively.
• Chu Bai followed an unusual fluctuation north and discovered water-attribute spiritual qi at the Three-Bath River.
• Chu Bai considered mixing water-attribute qi with the pure-origin qi in his dantian, but chose to wait until he could consult Daoist Zhang.
• Chu Bai arrived late to the Academy, requested half a day's leave from Tutor Liu, and received permission.
• Chu Bai bought Cloud-Mist Green and pastries before heading to the Zhang Residence to visit his master.

Chu Bai visited Daoist Zhang to ask whether he could cultivate water spiritual qi alongside Pure-Origin Spiritual Qi, and learned how to filter dangerous killing intent from wild spiritual qi. He cultivated at the Three-Bath River, discovered its Pure Bathing Spirit Flow, and left after noticing suspicious ripples in the water.

• Chu Bai brought tea pastries to Daoist Zhang and asked whether water spiritual qi could conflict with the Pure-Origin Spiritual Qi in his Dantian.
• Daoist Zhang explained that Pure-Origin Spiritual Qi could accept other attributes, recommended water cultivation in Qingzhou, and warned Chu Bai about killing intent outside the city.
• Daoist Zhang gave Chu Bai a Qi-Filtering Method and instructed him to filter each breath of wild spiritual qi before drawing it into his Dantian.
• Chu Bai went to the Three-Bath River, used the method to filter killing intent, and absorbed water spiritual qi that blended with his Pure-Origin Spiritual Qi.
• Chu Bai identified the river's spiritual qi as Pure Bathing Spirit Flow and cultivated until his meridians began to swell.
• Chu Bai noticed unnatural ripples on the river, grew wary, and left the riverbank.

After a month of cultivation, Chu Bai had accumulated twenty-seven threads of spiritual qi and planned how to improve faster before the Dao Academy Selection. He decided to seek a boat so he could explore the denser spiritual qi in the middle of the Three-Bath River.

• Daoist Zhang reviewed the students' progress and corrected Li Jinyuan's and Wang Xiaoliu's cultivation.
• Daoist Zhang praised Gu Qinghe for accumulating sixteen threads of spiritual qi and Chu Bai for reaching twenty-seven.
• Chu Bai credited his rapid progress to his fate destiny and the pure bathing spirit flow at the Three-Bath River.
• Chu Bai assessed his chances at the upcoming selection and resolved to leave time to learn an offensive spell art.
• Chu Bai considered seeking a boat to reach the center of the Three-Bath River, where he sensed denser spiritual qi.

Chu Bai rented a skiff and cultivated in a secluded bend of the Three-Bath River, where a monstrous fish attacked him. He killed it on the muddy shore and suspected its scales, teeth, and flesh could be valuable as demon-beast materials.

• Chu Bai rented a skiff from an old fisherman and rowed toward a bend where the water spiritual qi was unusually rich.
• Chu Bai cultivated in the mist until he sensed a dangerous presence rising beneath the river.
• A monstrous fish attacked and repeatedly rammed Chu Bai’s skiff as he paddled desperately toward shore.
• When the fish leaped onto the grounded boat, Chu Bai blocked its bite with an oar, escaped to the bank, and crushed its head with a river stone.
• Chu Bai examined the dead fish’s iron-hard scales and wondered whether its body could be a valuable windfall as a demon beast.