Parting

While Aisafu was personally passing down the qigong teachings to Mu Yang, Yula and several other elders were telling Meixia about the Superpower Academy in the southern region.

When she learned that she would soon be going to a place called the "Superpower Academy" to study, Meixia's little mouth opened and closed. Other than being filled with anticipation for the future, she did not know what to say.

Before long, the rising sun had climbed above the mountaintops, and its rays were already bringing warmth to their bodies.

Once the method of cultivating qi had been taught, everyone hurriedly dispersed. Due to insufficient stockpiled materials, Xis and Carl would soon form a team and venture deep into the Primeval Mountains in search of resources. It was an extremely dangerous undertaking, and Aisafu and the others needed to prepare for it.

On the way back, Mu Yang and Meixia walked side by side. Perhaps because she had suffered such a great shock today, the usually lively Meixia seemed somewhat subdued.

They walked all the way to a fork in the road before Meixia suddenly stopped. Her two emerald-green eyes, like clear lake water, gazed at Mu Yang.

"Senior Brother, Aunt Yula said I'll be going to the Superpower Academy in the southern region to study. I'll be leaving for a very, very long time."

"Superpower Academy? What kind of place is that?"

Mu Yang froze for a moment and stopped walking.

"I don't know. I heard it's a place specifically for training Psychic Power."

Mu Yang nodded lightly. He was certain he had never heard that name before, so he asked, "About how long will you be gone?"

"I don't know either." Meixia shook her head, looking somewhat dejected.

For Meixia, who had never left the nearby villages since childhood, suddenly heading to the unfamiliar southern region clearly made her feel uneasy.

"..."

Mu Yang did not know what to say at a time like this. Although he was unclear about the origins of this Superpower Academy, since it was a place for training Psychic Power... it did stir up some of his memories. In the original story, Oolong and the others seemed to have attended some Superpower Academy when they were young. Later, for reasons unknown—perhaps they lacked the qualifications or for some other reason—they never entered the main campus. Instead, they graduated from the affiliated Transformation Kindergarten and left directly.

The decision to send Meixia to the Superpower Academy had been made by Master Aisafu. Mu Yang had no standing to interfere. Perhaps for Meixia, who possessed Psychic Power, studying there would better strengthen her abilities.

But that also meant Meixia would be gone for quite a long time, throwing Mu Yang's established cultivation plans into disarray.

Slap! A crisp clap suddenly rang out, snapping the dejected Meixia back to her senses.

Mu Yang forcefully clapped his hands together, then placed one hand atop Meixia's dark green hair and patted her head.

"This is a rare opportunity. Your senior brother has just obtained a method for cultivating qigong, and you're about to enter the Superpower Academy to study. How about we have a competition and see who becomes stronger in the future? Don't cry when you can't beat me."

"I won't!"

Meixia rolled her eyes at Mu Yang and pushed away the hand on her head. "I'll definitely become stronger than you, Senior Brother."

"That's not certain!"

Looking at the little girl's adorable face, Mu Yang shook his head confidently.

"I'll definitely win. Just like now—if I use my Psychic Power, Senior Brother is no match for me at all." As she spoke, Meixia waved her fist proudly.

Mu Yang was left speechless. What she said made perfect sense; there was no way to refute it.

Indeed... when they sparred normally, Meixia was no match for him. But once she used her Psychic Power, Mu Yang could do nothing against her.

Meixia's Psychic Power was just like Chiaotzu's telekinesis. At his current level, there was simply no breaking free from it.

This topic was rather humiliating, so Mu Yang wisely stopped talking about it.

Over the next few days, Mu Yang kept a low profile. Aside from keeping an eye on news of Elders Xis and Carl's expedition into the depths of the Primeval Mountains, he shut out all outside concerns and focused wholeheartedly on condensing the qi within his body on his little mountain peak.

At last, heaven did not disappoint the diligent. On the seventh day of cultivation, Mu Yang faintly sensed a warm current forming within his chest.

This was more than twenty days earlier than the month Aisafu had expected.

Looks like I'm not too bad myself. The first step is tentatively complete. Next, I just need to let this qi gradually grow according to the key points of cultivation. Thinking happily, Mu Yang closed his eyes and sensed that strand of qi.

Pfft!

It was as though a hollow tremor had sounded within his body. The qi that had just formed suddenly began rushing wildly through his body beyond his control. Mu Yang's face turned pale, and he nearly failed to catch his breath. Only with great difficulty did he suppress that qi.

"Hiss... This qi is far too difficult to control. Good thing nothing went wrong. It seems it will take some time before I can truly master it. Perhaps this is the difficult part of qigong cultivation!"

Mu Yang sat cross-legged, slowly acclimating to the heat that had suddenly arisen in his body. Then he stood up and dashed down the mountain with a single leap.

Today was the day Meixia would leave the Da Qingshan Mountains for the Superpower Academy in the southern region. Aunt Clarissa, one of the six elders, would personally escort her to the academy.

Meixia had always been very close to him. Mu Yang felt that he should see her off at a time like this.

That day, halfway up the Da Qingshan Mountains, every disciple of the Tianxin Style had gathered. Looking at all the people who had come to see her off, Meixia turned back every few steps. Like an abandoned kitten, she waved reluctantly before Aunt Clarissa finally tugged her away from the Da Qingshan Mountains.

Watching her increasingly blurry figure, Mu Yang suddenly let out a melancholy sigh.

With Meixia gone, one of the little companions who had cultivated alongside him had suddenly disappeared. Without that chirpy voice in his ears, Mu Yang felt somewhat unaccustomed to it. More importantly, he had lost a sparring partner.

Because Meixia's Psychic Power could increase pressure, Mu Yang normally did not need to strap weights onto himself while training. Now that Meixia had left, he could only think of another way.

But he soon discovered that even if he strapped sandbags all over his hands and feet, it was difficult to achieve the previous effect that worked across his entire body. After several training sessions, the results were far from ideal.

After removing the weights from his body, thud, thud, thud, several sandbags hit the ground, while Mu Yang himself was left worrying.