Reaching the Aperture Opening Realm in One Day-Cheating Feels Good, and Cheating Forever Feels Good Forever

Inside the quiet chamber:

Chen Qingyu recovered, his excitement gradually ebbing as he felt a little tired.

He yawned.

Cultivate? Cultivate my ass!

Better get some sleep. I'm still a child, after all. I need plenty of sleep.

The great divine ability [Qi Absorption in Nine Breaths] would circulate automatically as long as he kept breathing, increasing his cultivation without end.

With his cultivation method working automatically, what did he have to worry about?

Time to sleep.

He shifted, rolled up the meditation cushion for a pillow, and lay down contentedly.

Before long, he drifted into dreams, his breathing long and steady.

And while Chen Qingyu slept soundly:

Outside, in Divine Capital Changluo, the other six children of the direct bloodline who had completed their talent assessments were all burying themselves in arduous cultivation.

"Dad!"

Chen Qingyuan emerged from his family's cultivation chamber and said dejectedly:

"My cultivation is too slow."

"I need a whole day of hard cultivation just to open one martial meridian. Just reaching the Aperture Opening Realm will take several months."

The burly man frowned at this and scolded him:

"What kind of bullshit is that?"

"You should know that cultivation is as difficult as moving mountains. Most martial artists in this world spend their entire lives lingering in the Meridian Opening Realm."

"And the trash cultivation methods they practice only allow them to open one or two martial meridians at each stage, yet they can go over a decade without making an inch of progress, unable to open even a single martial meridian."

"Even so, they never slack off in the slightest. Dripping water pierces stone, and a rope saws through wood. They cultivate tirelessly, day after day."

As he spoke, a note of frustration at his son's failure to measure up entered his voice:

"But you are of the direct bloodline of our Chen Clan of Changluo, with seven-star talent and the Pure Yang Sacred Physique. Opening one martial meridian a day is already an immense blessing. How can you be so dissatisfied?"

"If that's your attitude, why cultivate at all? Get out of Changluo and go raise pigs!"

Chen Qingyuan shrank back and said quietly:

"I was just thinking about that hateful Chen Qingyu. He has the strongest nine-star talent in the world. He must cultivate much faster than me..."

The burly man snorted and rebuked him:

"With your seven-star talent and Pure Yang Sacred Physique, coupled with the Great Sun Supreme Scripture, you cultivate faster than someone with eight-star talent."

"Even if he's faster than you, how much faster can he be?"

"As long as you chase him courageously and push yourself every day, you'll surpass him if he slacks off even slightly and lets his guard down."

"But if you don't even have the courage to chase him, you're destined to spend your entire life beneath his feet."

At this, Chen Qingyuan drew a deep breath, a trace of resolve appearing on his little face:

"Dad, I understand!"

"I'm not much worse than him. I'll definitely catch up!"

The burly man nodded in satisfaction:

"Now that's my boy."

"Go on. Cultivate properly and strive to open your first martial meridian today, officially becoming a Meridian Opening martial artist."

"Yes!"

Chen Qingyuan answered loudly, brimming with fighting spirit, and turned back into the cultivation chamber.

Over half a double-hour later.

Chen Qingyu suddenly shuddered, the roaring of blood within his body startling him awake.

What's going on?

He rubbed his eyes and looked around blankly before remembering something, hurriedly inspecting his body internally:

Within the pitch-black depths of space:

Nine paths of light had already extended to their endpoints, intersecting and shifting to form a complete cycle.

And beyond those nine paths of light:

An entirely new path of light had taken shape and was growing little by little.

Wisps of pale blue Qi, glittering with points of light, emerged continuously and circulated ceaselessly through the nine paths of light.

This is Star True Qi.

Nine Heavenly Martial Meridians have opened. I've already entered the Second Heaven of the Meridian Opening Realm.

This feels incredible!

Coming to his senses, Chen Qingyu burst into laughter, his face lighting up.

Sleeping for over half a double-hour had equaled several months of cultivation for others.

The others, including that silly kid Chen Qingyuan, were probably still cultivating bitterly, without having opened even their first martial meridian.

And I'm already a martial artist at the Second Heaven of the Meridian Opening Realm.

Sure enough, cheating feels good for a moment, and cheating forever feels good forever!

Chen Qingyu smiled contentedly.

The art of [Qi Absorption in Nine Breaths] had given him a cultivation speed far beyond anyone else in the world.

Moreover, as a great divine ability among the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Transformations, its upper limit was unimaginably high. As his cultivation advanced, its might would rise like a boat on a swelling tide.

He was destined to remain ahead of every peer forever, until he left them so far behind they could not even see his taillights.

Mm, not bad at all.

At this rate, I'll probably enter the Aperture Opening Realm tomorrow morning.

Ah, the life of cultivation is just so simple, monotonous, and dull.

Chen Qingyu chuckled, stood up, and walked to the door to press the mechanism.

The green jade partition slowly rose with a rumble. The formation's spiritual light dispersed, and he stepped out of the quiet chamber.

In the courtyard:

Chen Zhengxing was still sitting where he had been. He immediately turned toward him and asked:

"How did your first cultivation session feel?"

Chen Qingyu answered honestly, "It felt amazing."

"But I'm hungry now. I don't want to cultivate anymore. I want food."

At this, Chen Zhengxing nodded:

"The path of cultivation requires both tension and relaxation. Cultivating bitterly with all your strength isn't the proper way either."

"Besides, you're still young and need plenty of nourishment to grow. You can't cultivate on an empty stomach."

He paused before asking:

"What would you like to eat? I'll tell the kitchen to prepare it."

Chen Qingyu immediately lit up:

"I want roasted dragon liver, and Blazing Fire Demonic Bull steaks, and hundred-flower jade dew soup, and..."

He rattled off seven or eight delicacies in one breath, each a rare treasure from mountain or sea. A single dish could empty a small country's treasury.

"All right."

Chen Zhengxing nodded slightly and said:

"I happen to be hungry too. Let's eat together."

After their meal, father and son parted.

Chen Zhengxing gave him a few reminders to make the most of his time cultivating, then went into his own cultivation chamber and shut himself away to cultivate diligently.

Chen Qingyu, meanwhile, slipped into the study, took a few novels and storybooks about gods and supernatural wonders, and hid in his cultivation chamber to read them with relish.

Not until evening, as the sun sank in the west:

Did Chen Qingyu leave the quiet chamber. After eating dinner alone, he read for another double-hour, washed up, and climbed into his little bed to sleep.

Early the next morning.

Chen Qingyu rose, bleary-eyed, and instinctively inspected his body internally:

Within the pitch-black depths of space:

A full eighty paths of light crisscrossed, forming an almost complete system;

The final martial meridian was also being opened, with only half the process remaining.

The strength and vastness of the Star True Qi flowing through those eighty martial meridians had multiplied an unknown number of times compared with when he had first opened his meridians yesterday.

Not bad.

He whistled, full of delight.

He rolled out of bed and dressed himself. Servants brought jade dew, pearl powder, and other supplies for him to wash up.

Holding his spirit-ivory toothbrush, Chen Qingyu was halfway through brushing his teeth when his whole body suddenly shuddered and True Qi surged within him.

Inspecting his body internally, he saw that all eighty-one martial meridians had opened, forming a complete cycle through which vast Star True Qi flowed back and forth.

Boom!

After another nine-breath cycle, all his True Qi surged together, violently striking the junction of the eighty-one martial meridians.

In an instant:

Boundless light bloomed. Amid the crisscrossing paths of light within the pitch-black depths of space, a brilliant star was born.

This was an Earthly Acupoint!

The instant the acupoint formed, all his True Qi poured inside without a drop remaining, paused for an instant, then erupted outward in its entirety.

With that contraction and expansion, the True Qi was compressed and refined once, becoming stronger.

After a full nine such contractions and expansions, the pale blue Star True Qi had undergone a complete transformation.

If the True Qi of the Meridian Opening Realm was an intangible current;

Then the True Qi of the Aperture Opening Realm had begun to turn into mist, as though countless tiny droplets were floating within it.

Whether in cohesion, explosive force, or endurance, it far surpassed the Meridian Opening Realm.

Very good.

Chen Qingyu nodded in satisfaction and resumed brushing his teeth.

As he breathed, countless streams of primordial Qi essence flooded in without end. A new star gradually condensed, turning from dim to brilliant...

A quarter of an hour later:

In the dining hall, father and son were eating breakfast.

Chen Zhengxing was drinking congee, while Chen Qingyu ate with grease all over his mouth, thoroughly enjoying himself.

"Eat more slowly."

Chen Zhengxing looked at him and said helplessly:

"My leave is almost over. Starting tomorrow, I'll be on rotation at the Great Yin Grotto, so I won't be able to keep you company for the next half month."

"No one will be supervising your cultivation during that half month. You'll have to rely on your own discipline."

"Oh."

Chen Qingyu answered indistinctly:

"Got it, Dad."

At this, Chen Zhengxing set down his congee and asked casually:

"By the way, you cultivated for most of yesterday. Have you opened your first martial meridian yet?"

"My first martial meridian?"

Chen Qingyu blinked, swallowed the little phoenix drumstick in his mouth, and chuckled:

"Dad, aren't you underestimating me a bit too much? I've already broken through to the Aperture Opening Realm."

Chen Zhengxing nodded reflexively and said:

"Oh, really? You've already opened..."

As he spoke, he suddenly sensed something amiss. His eyes flew wide, and he asked blankly:

"What did you just say?"

"You said you-you broke through to what?"

"The Aperture Opening Realm."

Chen Qingyu wiped his mouth and chuckled:

"If you don't believe me, look for yourself."

Without pausing to speak, Chen Zhengxing immediately let streaks of starlight rise in his eyes and swept his gaze over Chen Qingyu's body.

At that instant:

Chen Zhengxing abruptly froze, as though struck by lightning, a look of disbelief appearing on his face.

He saw it clearly-

Within Chen Qingyu's body, all eighty-one Heavenly Martial Meridians had formed, and three Earthly Acupoints glittered brilliantly.

This was unmistakably Aperture Opening Realm cultivation!

"Th-this?!"

Chen Zhengxing was dumbfounded.