New Discovery

That evening, after returning to his quarters, Zhou Qing thought again of Chen Qingxuan's warning about cultivation time as he circulated his qi.

This time, he deliberately devoted some effort to observing the damage spiritual energy caused to his meridians as it flowed through them.

Zhou Qing discovered that as more and more spiritual energy was drawn into his body, the energy density within his meridians grew ever higher, indeed placing enormous pressure on them.

He had no way of directly observing damage to his meridians, but he could sense the activity of electrical signals in nearby cells through the magnetic field.

Those cells had suffered injury and were repairing themselves at a furious pace.

There was a limit to this cycle of injury and repair.

Once the speed of repair could no longer keep up with the speed of injury, one should stop circulating qi.

This was likely the two-hour limit the Cultivation World had arrived at through trial and error.

However, Zhou Qing greatly doubted whether this limit was truly impossible to break.

For the gifted prodigies of those Dao Palaces and Dao Grounds, who could guarantee that they did not possess pills capable of rapidly repairing their meridians, allowing them to extend their daily qi circulation time?

In the Cultivation World, talent and sect were the two great restrictions upon cultivators. If he had not possessed his special ability, he could never have crossed those two barriers and contended with the gifted prodigies of the Dao Palaces and Dao Grounds.

Two hours soon passed. Just as Zhou Qing was about to end his qi circulation, he suddenly discovered that the cells near his meridians remained highly active, without the slightest sign of fatigue. It was as though they had not reached their limit at all.

What was going on?

Could Uncle Chen's claim of a two-hour limit be wrong? Could cultivators actually endure a longer period of qi circulation?

After pondering for a moment, Zhou Qing quickly found the truth.

Uncle Chen had not been wrong. It simply did not apply to him.

At its root, the limit on qi circulation time was a contradiction between high energy density and a fragile physical body.

A cultivator's body grew stronger alongside the advancement of their realm, because spiritual energy flowing through the body naturally nourished the flesh.

According to the cultivation manual, each time a Qi Refinement cultivator advanced one minor realm, their physical strength increased by a thousand jin, and the toughness of their body naturally rose accordingly.

Yet the rate at which the body strengthened was still far slower than the rate at which spiritual energy was compressed, so cultivators had no choice but to shorten their daily qi circulation time.

But Zhou Qing was different.

He had no spiritual roots, so he had to use his magnetic field to forcibly draw spiritual energy into his body.

During this process, four-fifths of the spiritual energy would be absorbed by his body and used to strengthen it.

In other words, the rate at which his body grew stronger far exceeded the rate at which spiritual energy was compressed.

He was not restricted by cultivation time at all.

His only limitation was the drain the magnetic field placed upon his own mental energy.

Zhou Qing was overjoyed.

As his cultivation time increased, he felt his mental energy growing ever more abundant. By now, the time he could maintain his magnetic field each day had long surpassed two hours.

He decided to continue cultivating and see what his current limit was.

Zhou Qing continued circulating qi.

Another hour passed before he finally felt his mental energy beginning to run dry, so he followed the flow and ended his qi circulation.

Feeling the spiritual energy brimming within him, Zhou Qing's heart overflowed with delight.

This meant he could cultivate one hour more than others every day.

His original cultivation speed was roughly equivalent to that of someone with four spiritual roots. Now, if he cultivated for three hours a day, it would be comparable to having six spiritual roots.

It had only been a little over ten days since he began cultivating, yet he had already made such tremendous progress. It filled him with hope for the future.

Another five days passed. The new batch of disciples had all but mastered sensing spiritual energy and could begin cultivating the manual.

Meanwhile, Wei Xu and the other two had already circulated their qi past the Platform Passage and were launching their assault on Mingtang Gate.

At this pace of cultivation, apart from Zhou Qing and Wei Kuang, only three to five disciples from the Azure Cloud Sect surpassed them.

These dozen or so people became the first echelon of this batch of disciples, the popular candidates to become Inner Disciples.

The other disciples were naturally exceedingly envious, yet helpless. They could only stare eagerly at Chen Qingxuan, waiting for him to teach them the cultivation manual.

Chen Qingxuan did not leave the disciples waiting empty-handed. That very day, he imparted the manual, explained its key points clearly, and then had the disciples attempt qi circulation in batches.

The first batch of ten no longer needed his supervision.

Of the remaining fifty disciples, ten cultivated at a time. Chen Qingxuan personally stood guard over them and instructed them on how to grasp the proper measure.

A cultivator's first attempt at qi circulation was extremely dangerous, and Chen Qingxuan could only watch over ten people at once.

Zhou Qing had long prepared himself for Chen Qingxuan to ask him to stand guard for the other disciples, just as he had guarded them during their celestial-human resonance.

He had no complaints about this whatsoever.

Chen Qingxuan was the first, and also the greatest, benefactor he had encountered in his cultivation journey.

Without Chen Qingxuan, he would never have had the chance to enter the immortal sect.

Anyone who had spent even a little time making their way through society understood how rare it was to meet a benefactor willing to give you a lift at a crucial turning point in life.

Even without considering matters of Karma, Zhou Qing was willing to do something for Chen Qingxuan in return.

Who would have thought that Chen Qingxuan never mentioned such a request at all? This could not help but leave Zhou Qing puzzled.

That evening, after Chen Qingxuan dismissed the disciples, Zhou Qing stepped forward with a smile. "Uncle Chen, you've worked hard."

Chen Qingxuan glanced at him and smiled. "If you have something to say, say it directly. Why bother with empty pleasantries?"

Zhou Qing said, "This disciple has already prepared himself to serve Uncle Chen by standing guard for the other junior brothers and sisters. Yet Uncle Chen has never brought it up, which has left this disciple somewhat puzzled. That is why I came to ask—could it be that Uncle Chen feels this disciple is not qualified?"

Chen Qingxuan smiled. "You are more than qualified. With your sensitivity toward qi circulation and your ability to offer guidance on the spot, if you taught them, you would likely do even better than I could. It's just..."

At that point, Chen Qingxuan suddenly stopped. He paced back and forth a few steps, seeming to consider something, before finally saying, "Guiding cultivators in qi circulation and standing guard for them while they sense spiritual energy are two entirely different matters."

"Once one can circulate qi, one is already a cultivator. Therefore, the first person to guide you in qi circulation is the master who leads you onto the immortal path."

"In a cultivator's life of cultivation, there are few favors greater than this. That is why every sect regards its instructors and the disciples of that particular class as a community of shared interests."

"It is too great a favor for me to decide on your behalf."

"If I order you to stand guard for them, then that favor will be credited to me. But if they are too impatient to wait and come to seek you out themselves, then that favor will be credited to you."

"I should not take advantage of you."

Zhou Qing was somewhat moved. He said solemnly, "During this time, Uncle Chen has shown this disciple much care. It is only right for this disciple to repay you somewhat. Why draw the line so clearly?"

Chen Qingxuan smiled. "Uncle Chen is already very pleased that you have such intentions."

"Still, the road ahead for you will likely be difficult. Gathering some helpers around you will let you go farther. Uncle Chen cannot bear to see talent like yours go to waste."

Zhou Qing understood Chen Qingxuan's meaning.

With only one spiritual root, his cultivation would advance slowly. If he could not become the Senior Apprentice, it would be difficult for him to advance to Inner Disciple in the future. Ten years later, he would have to leave Three Peaks and handle miscellaneous affairs for the sect.

If all the disciples of this class received his favor, then should any of them rise to prominence in the future, they might speak up for him within the sect.