After leaving the Imperial Library, Qi Shiyun looked at Lianshan Xin clutching the box tightly and could not help laughing. "There's no need to get so excited. It's nothing particularly precious."
Lianshan Xin said earnestly, "Something you can obtain with a wave of your hand, my lady, is a treasure I spent the first eighteen years of my life longing for without ever getting."
Qi Shiyun froze.
Lianshan Xin said nothing more either.
Because the world had always been this way.
Some people were born with what ordinary people spent their entire lives striving for.
And most importantly, even a lifetime of striving did not necessarily mean ordinary people would obtain it.
By comparison, Lianshan Xin was fortunate.
At least he had his cheat and had seized his opportunity.
Even so, he had already lost to plenty of people at the starting line.
He could only catch up in the days ahead.
The two walked on in silence, the smile fading from Qi Shiyun's face. Suddenly, she stopped and told Lianshan Xin, "Go to the Seclusion Room. I'll stand guard and help you break through to the qi condensation realm."
"Thank you, my lady."
Lianshan Xin did not stand on ceremony.
He had never taken a Qi Condensation Pill before and had no experience breaking through realms. He really did need someone experienced beside him to watch over him.
"My lady, will breaking through to the qi condensation realm affect my immortal cultivation?"
"No. Martial cultivation is the system best suited to the world as it is today, and it doesn't conflict with our immortal cultivation. In fact, because many immortal methods have been lost and the world's conditions have changed, the old realms of immortal cultivation no longer apply. These days, we mostly use the martial system to classify our cultivation realms too. We're simply more mysterious than martial artists, and can't be judged by ordinary standards."
"More mysterious?"
"Put simply, a qi condensation realm martial artist is just a martial artist in the third realm, the qi condensation realm. It's very difficult for them to defeat a martial artist in the fourth realm, the true intent realm. But we're different. An immortal cultivator in the qi condensation realm has mysterious, unfathomable methods, and might even defeat a martial artist in the fifth realm, the grandmaster realm."
"That powerful?"
"Of course. Back then, an immortal cultivator in the qi condensation realm slew a fifth-realm grandmaster against all odds, making her name in a single battle and earning a place on the Hidden Dragon Ranking."
Admiration and anticipation flashed in Lianshan Xin's eyes. "She must have been a true darling of heaven."
Qi Shiyun nodded. "She certainly was. That was me."
Lianshan Xin: "..."
You really have a knack for blowing your own trumpet.
Still, credit where credit was due: that really was impressive.
As Lianshan Xin understood it, fighting above one's realm meant a minor Core Formation cultivator taking down a Foundation Establishment Ancestor.
What Qi Shiyun had done was equivalent to a mighty Qi Refining cultivator taking down a minor Core Formation cultivator.
Calling her a darling of heaven was no exaggeration.
"Work hard under me, and you'll have your day on the Hidden Dragon Ranking too. I have a feeling your talent for immortal cultivation is no worse than mine." Qi Shiyun began painting him a rosy picture.
But it was not entirely an empty promise.
Searching her heart, she knew that when she had still been a nobody, she would never have dared oppose the Crown Prince outright.
Lianshan Xin had.
On that count, Qi Shiyun admitted she fell short.
"My lady, can't you measure the level of my talent precisely?"
Qi Shiyun explained, "In the Primordial Era, there were supposedly treasures that could test the quality of a spiritual root. But they've long since been lost, which is why immortal cultivation seeds are so hard to find anywhere in the world, and impossible to predict. Still, the perception granted by the immortal art I practice cannot be wrong. You must be the Chosen One Son of Heaven of our lineage."
Seeing how certain Qi Shiyun was-and, more importantly, how much she had already invested in him-Lianshan Xin chose to believe her.
"We'll discuss immortal cultivation later. First, swallow the Qi Condensation Pill, advance to the qi condensation realm, and then open your whole-body meridians."
"Wait. Open my whole-body meridians after advancing to the qi condensation realm?"
Lianshan Xin was somewhat bewildered. "Doesn't the Qi Condensation Pill let you skip the meridian opening realm and go straight from the body tempering realm to the qi condensation realm? Why do I still need to open my whole-body meridians?"
Qi Shiyun explained, "What are you thinking? How could there be such a thing as getting something for nothing? The Qi Condensation Pill only helps you condense qi ahead of time, something you should only be able to do after opening your whole-body meridians. But your meridians are blocked, and with your body tempering realm cultivation, you simply can't open them all. Only by using the power of qi condensation to force your meridians open can you become like everyone else: a martial artist who perfects body tempering, perfects meridian opening, and finally succeeds in condensing qi."
Lianshan Xin thought carefully for three seconds and understood what Qi Shiyun meant, as well as the true use of the Qi Condensation Pill-it let him board first and pay for his ticket later.
Normal cultivation meant tempering the body first, then opening the whole-body meridians, and finally condensing qi.
The Qi Condensation Pill simply swapped the second and third steps.
Sleep together first, get the marriage license afterward, and skip the bride price altogether.
Tsk.
The logic actually holds up pretty well.
"Did the expert who created the Qi Condensation Pill often dine and dash?"
Qi Shiyun gave Lianshan Xin a surprised look, then nodded. "You actually guessed right. They say that patriarch often dined and dashed while Wandering the Mortal World."
"Makes perfect sense."
Lianshan Xin even suspected that patriarch might have been a patriarch-level scumbag.
The principles behind the Qi Condensation Pill positively oozed a scumbag's worldly wisdom.
"We're here."
Qi Shiyun led Lianshan Xin into the Seclusion Room.
There were two meditation cushions inside, and Qi Shiyun took the one on the right.
Lianshan Xin sat opposite Qi Shiyun, opened the box, and saw the pill within, currents of energy swirling around it.
"This pill... is alive?"
"Of course it's not. It merely contains a certain amount of astral energy. Some of the Qi Condensation Pills circulating outside were only refined by the Celestial Master's disciples. The one in your hand is a genuine product of the Celestial Master, of the highest quality. If you achieve success in your cultivation someday, remember that you owe the Celestial Master a favor."
Qi Shiyun's expression was extremely solemn as she spoke.
"Lianshan Xin, you must remember what I said. A debt to a great figure is not so easily repaid."
"I'll remember." Lianshan Xin nodded solemnly too.
"You'd better truly remember."
Qi Shiyun's tone now carried some of the unfathomable mystery of an immortal cultivator.
"The Celestial Master came from Kuang Mountain, and quite a few disciples of Kuang Mountain have also entered the White Deer Grotto Academy to study. According to the academy's records, no small number received personal instruction from Thousand Faces."
Lianshan Xin: "..."
"This time, Lord Heavenly Sword came within a hair's breadth of slaying Thousand Faces. At the crucial moment, a mysterious expert appeared and rescued Thousand Faces from his blade. In his judgment, that mysterious expert probably came from the Six Teachings of Kuang Mountain.
"Lianshan Xin, you've accepted a kindness from the Celestial Master, taken on a task from Heavenly Sword, and joined my Chosen of Heaven lineage. With karma entwined around you, you're destined to find yourself at the heart of the maelstrom someday.
"This won't be an easy road. Do you still want to take this Qi Condensation Pill?"
Without another word, Lianshan Xin swallowed the Qi Condensation Pill in one gulp.
To hell with all that karma entwining me.
He knew only one thing-he would board first and pay later. Everything else could wait until he had condensed his qi.
Before you continue