Refining Spirit-Gathering Powder

After saying goodbye to Cui Qianqian, Wen Xiancheng returned home, but he did not start cultivating right away.

Applying illusion arts to three hundred textbooks was no easy task, after all.

Although Cui Qianqian was more proficient in illusion arts and could work faster, Wen Xiancheng still wanted to help as much as he could.

After all, the money they earned was mainly for his sake.

He even felt quite guilty toward Cui Qianqian.

For now, though, he could only be a little selfish and find a way to make it up to her later.

After lunch, he began applying illusion arts to the text in the books as well.

Perhaps because his mastery of illusion arts had improved, he could clearly feel that working on the text took much less time than before.

He worked until two in the afternoon, then picked up his phone and called the principals of the four kindergartens whose business cards he had received that day, one after another.

"Hello, my name is Wen Xiancheng. Principal Xu from Red Star Kindergarten referred me to you." Wen Xiancheng opened with those words as soon as each call connected.

As it turned out, invoking Principal Xu's name in his introduction made a huge difference.

All four kindergarten principals agreed to meet Wen Xiancheng.

Their available times were simply scattered far apart.

One principal would meet him that very evening, though the meeting had to be before four in the afternoon, and Wen Xiancheng would only have ten minutes.

Not daring to delay, Wen Xiancheng took ten children's books enhanced with illusion arts and headed over.

Yet he waited from three until five before he finally met the principal.

Wen Xiancheng got straight to the point and immediately demonstrated the children's books.

At first, the principal was actually quite impatient with him.

He had only agreed to give Wen Xiancheng ten minutes out of respect for Principal Xu of Red Star Kindergarten, after which he intended to send him away.

However, after seeing the children's books enhanced with illusion arts, he gradually became interested.

In the end, he had Wen Xiancheng give him one of the children's books, then sent him on his way.

Although Wen Xiancheng felt somewhat discouraged, he did not give up.

After returning home that evening, he spent two hours applying illusion arts to four textbooks before continuing to practice the material on page eleven of Cui Qianqian's notebook-

After constructing curved lines with illusion arts, use those curves to construct curved-surface patterns.

Wen Xiancheng practiced until the next morning, then washed his face, brushed his teeth, and went into the kitchen.

The night before, the Mouse Clone and the three little mice had stolen enough ingredients for several batches of Spirit-Gathering Powder from the Royal Academy's medicinal fields!

And that morning, he had nothing else particularly important to do.

So he began refining Spirit-Gathering Powder according to a recipe he had found online.

Spirit-Gathering Powder was a first-grade medicinal preparation, one of the simplest to refine.

Even a novice like Wen Xiancheng successfully refined his first batch after three failed attempts!

Wen Xiancheng put the Spirit-Gathering Powder into a glass bottle, setting aside a small portion.

He then mixed that small portion with cold water and mashed it into a paste.

Stripping off all his clothes, Wen Xiancheng coated his entire body with the Spirit-Gathering Powder paste.

He sat cross-legged and once again sensed and absorbed the spiritual energy in nature.

Sure enough, his rate of spiritual energy absorption increased dramatically!

It even gave Wen Xiancheng the feeling that his body had become an hourglass!

Utterly absorbed, Wen Xiancheng cultivated until late into the night before finally stopping.

He felt his body's rate of spiritual energy absorption slow down, gradually returning to its original sluggish pace.

This time, after stopping, Wen Xiancheng did not continue cultivating.

Only by balancing work and rest could he go farther.

After sleeping until the next morning, Wen Xiancheng spent an hour finishing three textbooks, then went to the second and third kindergartens to meet their principals as arranged.

The principals of these two kindergartens treated him much better than the first principal had.

One kindergarten placed an order with Wen Xiancheng for five junior classes, totaling one hundred textbooks.

When he returned to his rented room, the principal of the first kindergarten actually called, wanting to order four hundred textbooks!

Overjoyed, Wen Xiancheng immediately rushed to the kindergarten and signed an agreement with them.

Another day passed, and Wen Xiancheng visited the fourth kindergarten.

This time, however, he failed to persuade them.

After that, Wen Xiancheng became busy.

In the mornings, he visited kindergartens and elementary schools to demonstrate children's books or exercise workbooks enhanced with illusion arts.

At noon, he returned and spent two hours working on textbooks, then covered himself in Spirit-Gathering Powder paste and cultivated until dawn the next day.

After sleeping for a little over two hours, he dragged himself out of bed and used the internet to identify the medicinal herbs the Mouse Clone and the three little mice had stolen from the Royal Academy's medicinal fields.

Then he ate breakfast, returned to his rented room to spend another hour applying illusion arts to textbooks, and headed to kindergartens and elementary schools elsewhere in the Imperial City to demonstrate the enhanced children's books and exercise workbooks.

The cycle repeated over and over.

During this time, Xue Ruigao came back three times.

Seeing the dark circles beneath Wen Xiancheng's eyes grow heavier and heavier, Xue Ruigao wanted to say something, but ultimately said nothing.

For nearly half a month after that, Xue Ruigao did not come to see Wen Xiancheng.

A month later, Wen Xiancheng delivered a stack of elementary school exercise workbooks to an elementary school called Minghui, then walked out carrying a bag of spirit stones.

Standing outside the school gates, Wen Xiancheng stretched his limbs and let out a long yawn.

For a month and a week, he had not had a proper night's sleep.

Looking at the bag, Wen Xiancheng smiled in satisfaction.

During that time, he had visited all fifteen elementary schools and twenty-one kindergartens in the Imperial City, running his legs ragged and talking until his mouth ran dry.

At last, as of today, he had earned eighty-three thousand three hundred low-grade spirit stones.

That was more than enough to buy Marrow-Cleansing Liquid!

After returning to his rented room, Wen Xiancheng slept straight through until the next morning before climbing out of bed.

Today, he was going to give himself a day off!

Of course, the main purpose of his day off was not to have fun. He had two things to do.

First, he planned to take twenty thousand low-grade spirit stones to Cui Qianqian.

Second, he was going to buy Marrow-Cleansing Liquid to cleanse the Mouse Clone's marrow, then cultivate with both bodies at once!

The thought of cultivating with both bodies in the future, multiplying his cultivation speed, filled Wen Xiancheng with barely containable excitement.

When he reached the foot of Cui Qianqian's building, she came running downstairs.

Seeing that Wen Xiancheng was empty-handed, Cui Qianqian smiled. "What's going on today? You didn't even bring those workbooks?"

Smiling, Wen Xiancheng pressed a small bag of low-grade spirit stones into Cui Qianqian's hands. "Here. This is your reward for over a month of hard work."

Cui Qianqian opened the small bag and stared at the low-grade spirit stones inside, somewhat stunned. "What's this supposed to mean?"

Wen Xiancheng ruffled her hair. "What else could it mean? It's just a reward. I told you I'd turn your name into a brand, and now we're steadily making that happen. At least half the elementary schools and kindergartens in the Imperial City know your name now, Cui Qianqian."

"And you've been working hard for so long. Take these spirit stones and buy yourself something nice to eat as a little compensation."

Cui Qianqian covered her mouth, her eyes reddening.

Wen Xiancheng grew flustered. "What's wrong? Is it too little?"

Cui Qianqian hurriedly shook her head. "No, no."

Lifting her head, Cui Qianqian said in a trembling voice, "Thank you. I'll accept it."

"Ooh, Cui Qianqian, you've even got yourself a boyfriend? And you're so touched you're crying? Tsk, tsk, he's pretty handsome, too. Careful, he might just be playing you! You're fat and ugly. Who would actually like you?" Just then, a woman's snide voice rang out.

(End of chapter)