Chapter 81: Qi Gathering Realm
Chapter 81: Qi Gathering Realm
Chapter 81
The news of the defeat of the Li Flash, coupled with the news that the failure heir was no longer a failure, spread throughout the entirety of Burnold and soon reached the rest of the Night Region as well.
Most were startled to hear it; after all, everyone knew that the Li heir possessed a broken spirit root, and as far as they knew, there was no cure for a broken spirit root. Wouldn’t that mean the Li Clan had somehow gained the knowledge of how to heal a broken spirit root?
That alone would shake the entire region. Still, no one made any move for now; after all, the Selection Tournament was drawing closer and closer, and every one of the three great clans was busy preparing their candidates to the best of their abilities.
Back in Burnold City, Li Yu sat across from the Clan Lord. He had been allowed to eat to his heart’s content, and Li Yu had thoroughly enjoyed every dish placed before him, from ordinary delicacies to the expensive spirit foods that were difficult to obtain and even harder to prepare.
Now that he was done eating, it was finally time to have quite a nice chat with his dear uncle. Li San looked at Li Yu, his gaze calm and composed. For a long while, he simply stared at him, making Li Yu feel slightly uneasy.
"Why is he looking at me like that...? He hasn’t learned about the fact that I wanted to rob the clan vault... has he?"Li Yu thought, suddenly feeling extremely nervous. Finally, the Clan Lord spoke, his tone gentle: "You did well."
Li Yu blinked. "Is that what he wanted to say? And he was staring at me like a hawk all this while?" he couldn’t help but think.
Li San continued, "I don’t know how many challenges you faced inside the Beast Forest, nor how many times you had to wrestle with death just to survive and grow this strong. But... I am proud of you, kid. You are strong enough... stronger than any Body Refinement cultivator I have ever met."
Li Yu grinned proudly. "What do you expect? I’m amazing after all. Don’t you always say that, Uncle?" Li Yu said with a smile that looked just a little too prideful. Looking at the boy before him, Li San couldn’t help but see the child he had always known.
He smiled, "Okay... time to get to the serious part of this discussion. You can act even more cheeky after you win the upcoming tournament." Li Yu raised an eyebrow, as if saying that of course he was going to win.
Seeing his cocky expression, the Clan Lord merely shook his head: "You have to know that your opponents in the upcoming tournament are almost certainly Qi Refining cultivators, and they are far from weak. Don’t underestimate them... or you might end up paying dearly."
Li Yu’s expression gradually became solemn. He had managed to defeat a strong Qi Refining cultivator once without much difficulty, but that opponent had been nothing more than a rogue cultivator.
This time was different; his opponents would be the unparalleled geniuses of the Shi Clan and the Guan Clan. The fact that both clans had kept the cultivation realms of their candidates a complete secret could only mean one thing... they were confident.
Those geniuses might very well all be in the Qi Refining Realm, and perhaps a few had even reached its peak. That... was an opponent even Li Yu would have to take seriously. Well... he had never actually fought someone like that before, so he couldn’t really tell whether he would win or not.
Seeing the seriousness in his eyes, Li San nodded inwardly. Good; the kid had realized the danger before it was too late. "That said... seeing your performance now, I believe your chances of winning are rather decent.
If you manage to step into the Qi Gathering Realm before the tournament begins, then your chances will increase even further." Li Yu’s eyes shone brightly. Sincerely speaking, he had also been looking for an opportunity to ask how to enter the Qi Gathering Realm.
After all, just as he had blitzed through the Body Refinement Realm, he believed he would do the same with the Qi Gathering Realm; all he needed now was the proper cultivation method and the knowledge of how to officially step into the realm.
Seeing his excitement, the Clan Lord smiled. He then began explaining everything Li Yu needed to know... well, not everything, only the most important fundamentals that every cultivator absolutely had to understand.
He looked at Li Yu before asking, his tone soft yet filled with wisdom: "Tell me... what is the difference between a mortal... and a cultivator?" Li Yu frowned. "Isn’t that question a little too simple?" After thinking for a moment, he answered, "Qi."
The Clan Lord smiled before shaking his head: "Not quite." He pointed toward the largest tree standing within the compound. It was an ancient tree, said to have stood there for more than two hundred years.
"That tree... is surrounded by the world’s qi. No... let me rephrase that. Every blade of grass... every tree... every rock... every flowing stream... and every single human... is bathed in qi every single day. And yet... not all of them are cultivators. Do you know the difference?"
Li Yu shook his head, and Li San explained: "The difference between cultivators and mortals is not the existence of qi... instead, it is the ability to make it your own." He grabbed his teacup and took a small sip before continuing:
"Body Refinement is not just about boosting one’s physical capabilities, although that is how many cultivators see it. But in reality... it is a preparation. An unrefined body is like a cracked vessel; no matter how much water you pour into it, it will eventually leak, and it might even burst if the cracks widen under the pressure."
"The same is true for qi. If your body hasn’t been sufficiently tempered, then forcing qi into it is no different from pouring molten metal into paper; it would burn everything to ashes. It would tear apart every fiber of your body until nothing remains whole." Li Yu nodded; he was beginning to understand.
Li San extended a finger: "Only after your body has been fully tempered and becomes capable of bearing qi may you begin the first true step into the Qi Gathering Realm." He then proceeded to explain how the Qi Gathering Realm actually worked: "Just as its name suggests... you will have to gather qi. But not rivers... not streams..."
His raised hand stopped in front of Li Yu as he continued, "You only need to gather threads of qi. The finest threads imaginable; so fine that they cannot be seen with the naked eye and can only be felt. Many eager fools attempt to absorb thicker strands of qi, believing they will cultivate faster. They are wrong."
"The thicker the strands, the more violent the qi becomes. Without absolute control... which is, by the way, impossible to achieve in the Mortal Stage... those violent strands would rupture their meridians, shatter their dantian, and leave behind injuries that may never heal."
He paused once more, making sure Li Yu understood the severity of trying to absorb larger strands of qi. "A wise cultivator never seeks more; he seeks better."
Liyu listened attentively, absorbing every word of knowledge. "Once enough qi threads have been gathered, they will naturally condense together, and then... they will form a Qi Bead. A single Qi Bead possesses only a limited amount of power."
Feeling curious, Li Yu asked the question that had just popped into his mind: "So forming a Qi Bead means one has stepped into the Qi Gathering Realm?" Li San smiled before slowly shaking his head: "No, you are mistaken.
As I said, a single Qi Bead possesses very little power, but cultivation has never been about one; it has always been about accumulation." He traced several tiny circles in the air using spiritual energy, creating a beautiful sight before Li Yu’s eyes.
"One bead... two beads... four... eight... Depending on many factors, primarily one’s spirit root grade, the number of Qi Beads required before they can synchronize will vary."
"They continue gathering... and gathering... until they can no longer remain isolated. So they begin to resonate; they attract one another." His finger slowly rose as he connected all the circles he had drawn with a perfect ring.
"The moment that synchronization is completed... a ring will bind them together, and they will form a Qi Cluster. And that... is the true beginning of the Qi Gathering Realm." Li Yu stared at the drawing suspended in the air, momentarily fascinated by it.
After a while, he looked back at Li San and asked another question: "So... advancing through the Qi Gathering Realm simply means creating another Qi Cluster?" To Li Yu, that sounded like the perfect explanation, and he believed he had gotten it right.
Li San only nodded before slowly shaking his head: "You are both right... and wrong. Simply forming Qi Clusters is not the way to advance through the Qi Gathering Realm, but rather... creating the space for another."
He gently tapped Li Yu’s lower abdomen: "Your Spirit Core, also referred to as your dantian, is your very foundation. No matter how many Qi Beads or Qi Clusters you can create, they will all become meaningless if your Spirit Core cannot contain them.
So every breakthrough within the Qi Gathering Realm begins not with gathering more qi or forming more Qi Beads and Qi Clusters... but rather with expanding the Spirit Core itself. A larger Spirit Core can support more Qi Clusters... which in turn leads to higher cultivation realms and future breakthroughs."
Li San smiled before continuing: "In cultivation, the most important rule remains the same... no speed. Never chase speed at the expense of building a sturdy foundation for every single breakthrough.
The strongest cultivators are not those who gather qi the fastest... but those whose foundations are immovable and unshakable." He slowly lifted his gaze toward the moon that had begun rising into the night sky: "Remember this: a pagoda is not supported by its roof... it is supported by its foundation. Cultivation is no different."
Li San finished. Li Yu nodded; he understood everything. After a few moments of silence, the Clan Lord suddenly spoke again: "Li Yu... you need to win this upcoming tournament."
Hearing the seriousness in his uncle’s tone, Li Yu instinctively nodded. His own expression also became serious, although, for now, he was mostly putting on that look. "Don’t worry. I promise... I will definitely win."
Almost as though it had been waiting for those exact words, the system’s mechanical voice suddenly rang inside his mind:
"Ding! A new quest has been received. Quest: Win the Tournament of the Worthy. Objective: Prove you are worthy and obtain the token to the Gold Valley Sect. Quest Reward: 100 EXP, 2,000 Essence Points.*
Remark: Host, you’ve finally received your first mission. Complete it without bringing trouble or shame to me. You got this.
Li Yu’s eyes immediately shone. If before he had only been about fifty percent confident in winning the upcoming tournament... then now... after seeing his very first quest and those mouth-watering rewards... his determination instantly soared to over three hundred percent.
No matter what... he was going to win that tournament.