A Young Man's Ambition

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Chapter 5: A Young Man's Ambition

Back in the familiar cultivation room, Chen Beiwu immediately sat cross-legged to refine the immense Spirit Power within him.

More than half an hour passed as he sat there.

Not bad. My cultivation has improved again!

Chen Beiwu opened his eyes. He looked somewhat drained, but his aura was noticeably stronger than before.

Activating Nine-Breath Chaos did not require him to supply all the magical power it needed. A mere thread of power was enough to switch it on, but Chen Beiwu emptied his reserves every time, all to shear a little wool off Nine-Breath Chaos.

The Spirit Power Nine-Breath Chaos bestowed was of exceptionally high quality, and its absorption efficiency surpassed that of low-grade spirit stones by dozens of times. If he could receive it once a day, Chen Beiwu was confident he could charge straight into Foundation Establishment this year.

Unfortunately, his attempts to shear wool off this supreme treasure did not succeed every time. All told, Chen Beiwu had only managed it five times.

Yet those five baptisms alone had made the magical power within him surge endlessly like a mighty river. Its concentration and purity far exceeded those of other cultivators at his level.

Satisfied, Chen Beiwu rose and pushed open the cultivation room door. The first thing he saw was Iron Egg, balancing a tea tray on his head with a cup resting on it.

That was right. Iron Egg could clean and scrub toilets, but the one thing he could not do was brew tea. It looked like Mom was home.

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

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

Iron Egg nodded.

His cultivation was shallow. He could not draw on the surrounding Spirit Power of heaven and earth or spit fireballs to kill enemies, but using Spirit Power to keep a tea tray warm was effortless.

"If the tea gets cold, let it get cold. Don't do this next time. You might burn out your head." Chen Beiwu stroked Iron Egg's scalding head. "You're already stupid. We can't have you getting any stupider."

Iron Egg nodded guilelessly and followed his master downstairs.

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

Hearing footsteps, Huang Xiaoling turned around as she continued to grumble, only for her words to suddenly catch.

"You broke through to the seventh layer of Qi Refining?" she asked at once.

Although her attempt to reach Foundation Establishment years ago had failed and left her with a hidden injury, Huang Xiaoling still had a discerning eye.

She knew that when cultivators opened their ancestral aperture and entered the seventh layer of Qi Refining, their hair often became thick, glossy, and jet-black, lending them an air of graceful vitality. This was one of the distinguishing features of Late Qi Refining cultivators.

"It's only the seventh layer of Qi Refining. Do you even need to ask? That's a piece of cake for me," Chen Beiwu said smugly.

If he did not show off a cultivation breakthrough to his family, wouldn't he have broken through for nothing?

"Good, good, good." Huang Xiaoling went into the kitchen and cut off four liang of cured spirit beast meat, marbled with fat and lean. "We'll add another dish tonight. The two of us should celebrate."

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

"Yes. His project has been pretty busy lately, so he often works overtime in the evenings." After his mother finished speaking, enticing aromas began drifting out of the kitchen.

Before long, the food was ready and brought to the table. A plate of translucent cured meat slices gave off an irresistible fragrance.

Iron Egg could not tear his eyes away. He kept slurping at the corners of his mouth, while a glistening strand of drool stretched up and down, nearly dripping onto the floor.

Smelling the food, Chen Beiwu swallowed too.

Ordinary meat was common these days, but spirit beast meat-which could nourish the body at the dinner table, strengthen one's constitution, and be exchanged for spirit stones in a pinch-was not. Calling it a precious delicacy was no exaggeration.

In recent years, the Immortal Alliance's standards for slaughtering demonic beasts had grown increasingly strict. Even farm-raised exotic beasts had to be slaughtered according to procedure by certified butchers, ensuring that the sources of all processed and sold exotic beast meat were legal. Spirit beasts faced even higher standards.

There was a folk saying in Far Sky County: "A thousand spirit stones may shine, but a spirit beast's worth outshines them."

Though exaggerated, the saying held some truth. Pound for pound, spirit beast meat cost at least ten times as much as exotic beast meat. Certain special varieties were offered on the market with no price attached; only Golden Core True Persons were qualified to enjoy them.

The large slab of cured spirit beast meat hanging in Chen Beiwu's home was older than he was, and it was not a special variety, but it was still hard currency that could be exchanged for low-grade spirit stones.

;psme&;psme&

"Eat more."

Huang Xiaoling smiled and transferred some meat from the plate into Chen Beiwu's bowl with her chopsticks.

...three pieces, two pieces, one piece;psme&;psme&

Before long, a small mountain had risen in Chen Beiwu's bowl.

He glanced at the nearly empty plate of cured meat and hastily moved his bowl and chopsticks away.

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

If she kept feeding him like this, he reckoned he could finish all the spirit beast meat by himself.

"You know how nourishing this Spirit Deer meat is. I can only eat a piece or two. Any more and my body won't be able to take it." Huang Xiaoling smiled.

She knew that when cultivators practiced Qi Refining, some of their qi came from their own bodies, while the rest came from the Spirit Vigor of heaven and earth they absorbed in their daily cultivation.

She had only cut off a little Spirit Deer meat this time, just enough for a cultivator at the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining to nourish his body through food and prevent her son's rapid cultivation from leaving him physically depleted. Otherwise, she would never 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, an immense current of warm Spirit Power swiftly seeped into every limb and bone. Like spring rain, it nourished his internal organs, and even his body felt considerably lighter.

No wonder spirit beast meat always has a price but no supply. The Spirit Power in this mouthful is actually no weaker than a Clear Water Pill's, and its nourishing effects are even better. Delight showed on Chen Beiwu's face as he quietly felt the changes within him.

"Oh, right. Are you livestreaming tonight?" Huang Xiaoling suddenly asked.

"Not tonight. I'm taking a few days off."

"Why don't you stop livestreaming altogether? Cultivation matters more," she said bluntly.

Things were different now.

Her son was highly talented, having reached the seventh layer of Qi Refining at just sixteen.

If he could maintain this pace, gaining admission to the Seventy-Nine Upper Sect through the college entrance examination was practically assured. He might even have a chance of entering the Thirteen Immortal Sects, which countless cultivators dreamed of joining.

Sadly, she might not live to see that day.

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

Huang Xiaoling's gaze dimmed slightly. "All right. Do as you like."

Seeing the meter-long strand of drool hanging from Iron Egg's mouth, she picked up a piece of spirit beast meat and held it to his lips, saying nothing more about livestreaming.

Chen Beiwu breathed a sigh of relief.

In truth, he did not like livestreaming.

He preferred cultivating and fishing, but livestreaming earned spirit stones to supplement the household income.

His mother's failed attempt to reach Foundation Establishment years ago had left her with a hidden injury, forcing her to endure the agony of cold poison every year. Fortunately, it could be suppressed with a Low-Grade First Tier exotic pill, the [Pure Frost Pill], sparing her its torment.

But exotic pills were expensive. A bottle of Pure Frost Pills cost two low-grade spirit stones and lasted only a month. Over a year, the medicine alone cost twenty-four low-grade spirit stones.

Meanwhile, his parents worked hard all year only to earn a hundred or so low-grade spirit stones. That barely covered everyday expenses, leaving them unable even to repay the debts they had incurred years earlier.

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

People said that shallow waters could hardly nurture a true dragon, that the poor struggled to ascend the steps to immortality, and that the hardest disease in the world to cure was poverty.

Since he had obtained the supreme treasure passed down by his ancestors, even if he could not attain immortality and roam freely through heaven and earth, he would at least send the Chen Household soaring into the azure clouds, free from the troubles of worldly necessities!

(End of chapter)