A Young Man's Ambitions

Back in the familiar Cultivation Room, Chen Beiwu immediately sat cross-legged and refined the surging Spirit Power within him.

He sat there for over half an hour.

Not bad. My cultivation has improved a little more!

Chen Beiwu opened his eyes. His spirits were somewhat low, but his aura was clearly stronger than before.

Activating Nine-Breath Chaos did not require him to provide all his Magic Power. He only needed to use a wisp of it as a switch to get it started. But every time, Chen Beiwu would drain his own Magic Power completely, all so he could fleece Nine-Breath Chaos.

The Spirit Power bestowed by Nine-Breath Chaos was extremely high in quality, and its absorption efficiency was dozens of times greater than that of Low-Grade Spirit Stones. If he could do this once every day, Chen Beiwu was confident he could break through to Foundation Establishment this year.

Unfortunately, he could not successfully fleece this supreme treasure every time. All told, Chen Beiwu had only managed it five times.

But those five baptisms alone had made the Magic Power flowing through his body surge without end, like a mighty river. Its density and purity far surpassed that of cultivators at the same level.

Chen Beiwu rose with satisfaction and pushed open the door to the Cultivation Room. What met his eyes was Iron Egg, holding a tea tray over his head, with a teacup resting on it.

That was right. Iron Egg could clean, and it could scrub toilets, but it was the one thing that could not brew tea. It seemed his mom had already come home.

Chen Beiwu picked up the teacup and found the tea was still warm.

"Did you keep it warm on purpose?" Chen Beiwu asked softly.

Iron Egg nodded.

Its Dao Practice was shallow, so it could not draw on the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spirit Vigor to spit fireballs and kill enemies. But using Spirit Power to keep the tea tray warm was a piece of cake.

"If the tea gets cold, then let it get cold. Don't do this next time. You might burn your brain." Chen Beiwu patted Iron Egg's scalding head. "You're already dumb, so you can't get any dumber."

Iron Egg nodded earnestly and followed its master downstairs.

"Why are you so late today? You haven't even eaten..."

Hearing footsteps, Huang Xiaoling turned around as she muttered, then abruptly stopped speaking.

"Have you broken through to the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining?" she asked hurriedly.

Although her attempt to break through to Foundation Establishment had failed years ago and left her with hidden injuries, Huang Xiaoling's eye for these things was sharp.

She knew that cultivators who opened their Ancestral Apertures and entered the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining often had hair that became dark, thick, and lustrous, giving them an elegant, lively appearance. This was also a characteristic sign of cultivators in Late Qi Refining.

"It's only the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining. Do you even need to ask? For me, that was easy." Chen Beiwu said smugly.

If he didn't show off his breakthrough to his family, what was the point of breaking through at all?

"Good, good." Huang Xiaoling turned and went into the kitchen, where she cut off four ounces of fatty, marbled Spirit Beast cured meat. "Let's add a dish tonight. We'll celebrate, just the two of us."

"Is Dad working overtime tonight?" Chen Beiwu asked.

"Yes. He's been busy with a project lately, so he often works overtime at night." After Mom finished speaking, a delicious aroma began wafting out of the kitchen.

Before long, the dishes were ready and set on the table. A plate of glistening slices of cured meat gave off an enticing aroma.

Iron Egg couldn't tear its gaze away. Its mouth kept smacking, and shiny strings of drool stretched up and down, nearly dripping onto the floor.

Smelling the aroma, Chen Beiwu swallowed as well.

These days, meat was common, but Spirit Beast meat-which could nourish the body and strengthen the constitution when served at the table, and could be exchanged for Spirit Stones in a pinch-wasn't. It was no exaggeration to call it a rare delicacy.

In recent years, the Immortal Alliance had become increasingly strict about the slaughter of demon beasts. Even farm-raised exotic beasts had to be slaughtered according to procedure by certified butchers, to ensure the meat's processing and sale came from legal sources. Needless to say, the standards for Spirit Beasts were even higher.

There was a common saying among the people of Far Sky County: "A thousand Spirit Stones gleam bright, but none can match Spirit Beast meat's worth."

The saying was an exaggeration, but for the same pound of meat, Spirit Beast meat cost at least ten times as much as exotic beast meat. Some special kinds of Spirit Beast meat were even so rare they had no market price, and only Golden Core True Persons qualified to enjoy them.

The huge slab of Spirit Beast cured meat hanging in Chen Beiwu's house was older than he was, and it wasn't even a special variety. But it was still hard currency that could be exchanged for Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

"Have some more."

Huang Xiaoling smiled and placed the meat from her plate into Chen Beiwu's bowl.

One piece, two pieces, three pieces...

Before long, a little mountain had piled up in Chen Beiwu's bowl.

He glanced at the nearly empty plate of cured meat on the table and hurriedly pulled his bowl and chopsticks away.

"Mom, you should eat more too. I can handle it myself."

If she kept feeding him like this, he figured he could finish all the Spirit Beast meat by himself.

"You know this Spirit Deer meat is very nourishing. I can eat one or two pieces at most. Any more, and my body couldn't take it." Huang Xiaoling smiled.

She knew that a cultivator's Qi came partly from within and partly from the Heaven and Earth Spirit Vigor absorbed during daily cultivation.

There wasn't much Spirit Deer meat in the portion she had cut. It was just enough for a cultivator at the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining to nourish his body with food, preventing her son's rapid cultivation from leaving him depleted. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been willing to use the Spirit Deer meat she had treasured for so many years.

"This is delicious. Mom, your cooking has gotten even better lately."

Not long after Chen Beiwu swallowed the Spirit Beast meat, a warm, surging Spirit Power quickly permeated every part of his body. It was like spring rain nourishing his internal organs, and even made his body feel lighter.

No wonder Spirit Beast meat is always in short supply. A single bite contains as much Spirit Power as a Clear Water Pill, and its nourishing effect is even better. Chen Beiwu's face lit up as he quietly sensed the changes within his body.

"By the way, are you streaming tonight?" Huang Xiaoling suddenly asked.

"I'm not streaming tonight. I'll take a few days off."

"Why don't you quit streaming from now on? Cultivation is more important." She was direct.

Things were different now.

Her child had excellent aptitude and could break through to the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining at just sixteen.

If he could maintain this rate of cultivation, getting into the Seventy-Nine Upper Sect through the College Entrance Examination was all but certain. He might even have a chance to enter the Thirteen Immortal Sects, a dream shared by countless cultivators.

Unfortunately, she might not live to see that day.

"I only stream three times a week. It doesn't interfere with my cultivation." Chen Beiwu looked at his mom. "You promised before that you wouldn't interfere with my streaming."

Huang Xiaoling's eyes dimmed slightly. "Fine. Suit yourself."

Seeing the meter-long string of drool hanging from Iron Egg's mouth, she picked up a piece of Spirit Beast meat and held it to its mouth, then didn't bring up streaming again.

Chen Beiwu also breathed a sigh of relief.

Actually, he didn't like streaming.

He preferred cultivation and fishing, but streaming could earn Spirit Stones to help cover household expenses.

Back then, Mom had been left with hidden injuries when her attempt to break through to Foundation Establishment failed, and every year she had to suffer from the bitter cold poison. Fortunately, a Low-Grade First Tier Variant Elixir called the Pure Frost Pill could suppress the cold poison, sparing her its torment.

But Variant Elixirs were expensive. A bottle of Pure Frost Pills cost two Low-Grade Spirit Stones and lasted only a month. Over the course of a year, the medicine alone cost twenty-four Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

His parents worked hard all year, yet they only earned a little over a hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones. It was barely enough to cover their daily expenses, and they couldn't even repay the debts they had taken on in previous years.

At the thought, Chen Beiwu lowered his head and glanced at his heart.

People said that shallow waters could not give rise to a True Dragon, and the poor could not ascend to immortality. They also said the hardest illness in the world to cure was poverty.

Since he had obtained the supreme treasure passed down by his ancestors, then even if he couldn't become an immortal and roam freely between Heaven and Earth, he had to at least raise the Chen Household straight into the clouds, so they would no longer be troubled by worldly things!