Ye Ling let out a slow breath, expelling the stale air from his lungs and pushing the stray thoughts from his mind.
Then his Mental Force extended outward like invisible tendrils, spreading like a sheet of cloth as it wrapped around the Spiritual Qi resting on Bai Yiyi's palm.
But he had overestimated himself. No matter how hard he pressed, the Spiritual Qi did not budge in the slightest.
"My dear disciple, you're still far too weak. Take it one step at a time."
Bai Yiyi's wine-red eyes brimmed with encouragement as she looked at Ye Ling. "You can't become strong overnight. No matter how gifted you are, growth takes time."
Ye Ling had only just cleared his mind, yet her words instantly shattered his composure. Thoughts he shouldn't have had crept up unbidden. Still, when he met the genuine encouragement in Bai Yiyi's eyes, he could only take a deep breath and force those darker impulses back down.
Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west. One day, you'll see!
Having steeled his resolve, Ye Ling forced a faint smile. "I was too hasty. Thank you for your guidance, Master."
Bai Yiyi looked delighted. She lifted her other hand and gently patted his head a few times, murmuring, "Such a good disciple."
For a brief moment, Ye Ling felt as though he had been sent back to kindergarten.
It was actually quite comfortable, and he didn't feel offended at all. After all, despite Bai Yiyi's girlish appearance, Ye Ling was convinced she was at least a few hundred years old.
Because of that, he didn't feel much resistance. Still, his pride as a man left him feeling more than a little embarrassed.
He didn't say anything more and began slowly absorbing the Spiritual Qi from Bai Yiyi's hand.
At its core, the Qi Cultivation stage was simply a process of storing energy. For cultivators, the ultimate goal was to draw Spiritual Qi into the dantian.
Normally, during this process, Spiritual Qi would circulate throughout the body. On one hand, it strengthened the cultivator's physique; on the other, it helped tame the Spiritual Qi itself.
For Ye Ling, however, things were different. His Mental Force could directly suppress the Spiritual Qi, making it effortless to send it straight into his dantian. As for strengthening his body, Bai Yiyi already had body-tempering lessons prepared for him later. He didn't think missing this bit of reinforcement mattered much.
Cultivators were generally divided into two types. The first were Dao Cultivators, experts in spells. But once they ran out of magical power, they were no different from lambs waiting to be slaughtered. Even ordinary martial artists from the secular world could defeat them.
The second type were Body Cultivators. It wasn't that they couldn't use spells, but most of what they learned were enhancement techniques. They relied on bodies as hard as magical artifacts to crush their enemies head-on.
A truly powerful Body Cultivator could shatter the heavens and earth with sheer physical strength alone. That was something no amount of sitting cross-legged in meditation could ever achieve.
Since Bai Yiyi wanted Ye Ling to strengthen his physique, even if she didn't intend for him to walk the path of a true Body Cultivator, the training she had prepared was definitely beyond what ordinary Dao Cultivators could even imagine.
Because of that, Ye Ling saw nothing wrong with skipping the step where Spiritual Qi circulated through the body. What he hadn't considered, though, was how Bai Yiyi would feel about it.
Not only could he draw qi into his body, he could even send it straight into his dantian in one go?
Wuwuwu!
So sour. Like biting into a lemon!
Thinking back to how long she'd spent back then just trying to locate her own dantian, a trace of bitterness welled up in Bai Yiyi's heart.
Cultivators could only use Inner Vision to observe their own bodies after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage. Back then, she had been forced to guide Spiritual Qi through her entire body before finally locating her dantian. Her sense of direction had been terrifyingly bad.
Can you really blame me?
It was obviously because the cultivation method Master gave me was far too obscure!
And what kind of name was that, "Cultivation Manual Even a Qiuqiu Monkey Can Understand"?
This was clearly just making things difficult for me, Bai Yiyi!
My aptitude really is awful…
Qiuqiu Monkeys were a type of spiritual beast found in the middle region of Heavenly Peak. Naturally intelligent and capable of understanding human intent, they could even learn written language if someone was willing to teach them. The Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden had once imparted some basic cultivation knowledge to them, which was why Qiuqiu Monkeys served as the outermost sentries of the Heavenly Gate Sect.
In Bai Yiyi's eyes, the fact that she couldn't understand a cultivation manual that even Qiuqiu Monkeys could grasp meant only one thing. Her aptitude was terrible.
Especially when she saw Ye Ling absorb the Spiritual Qi from her hand straight into his dantian without even glancing at a cultivation method, the contrast left her feeling utterly ashamed.
Can a Master as useless as me really teach such a good disciple?
Before she realized it, Bai Yiyi began to waver.
She did want to be a Master, but she didn't want to ruin someone else's future.
However…
She couldn't let him slip away either. A disciple this talented would be perfect to introduce to her junior sisters once they returned. After all, why let such a treasure fall into someone else's hands?
Bai Yiyi's impression of Ye Ling was extremely positive. He was handsome, polite, and showed genuine respect toward his Master.
Because of that, there was no way she would let Ye Ling leave. All she could do now was hope her junior sisters would come back soon.
"Thank you, Master."
While Bai Yiyi was lost in thought, Ye Ling successfully absorbed the Spiritual Qi into his body. To be honest, his dantian felt a little swollen.
But that was normal. He had directly taken in Spiritual Qi equivalent to the third level of the Qi Cultivation stage. The fact that his dantian hadn't burst already spoke volumes about his talent.
The Qi Cultivation stage was a process of accumulating power, but also one of expanding the dantian. Filling it up so abruptly wasn't exactly a wise approach.
Still, it wasn't a serious problem. Once energy reached a certain threshold, breaking through a realm would happen naturally, almost like an instinct of life itself. Otherwise, how else did those protagonists who swallowed heavenly treasures or divine pills advance so easily?
The Spiritual Qi Bai Yiyi provided had already reached the level of Spirit Liquid. As long as Ye Ling could absorb it, advancing directly was not an issue at all, and there were no toxic side effects to worry about.
Therefore…
"Master, I—"
Ye Ling had only just begun speaking when his body suddenly shuddered. In the next instant, his dantian, swollen with the Spiritual Qi Bai Yiyi had provided, felt as though it burst open with a loud boom.
Before he could even react, Bai Yiyi happily grabbed his hand.
"As expected of my good disciple. You actually reached the first level of the Qi Cultivation stage purely through talent."
Ye Ling wanted to speak, but for a moment, no words came out.
Because—
Boom!
A second explosive sound echoed from within his body.
Wasn't this breakthrough way too fast?
Ye Ling hadn't even had the chance to claim the system's reward. Relying solely on the Spiritual Qi provided by Bai Yiyi, he had already reached the second level of the Qi Cultivation stage.
Only then did the remaining Spiritual Qi in his body finally begin to calm down. It was still extremely abundant, but there was now some distance left before the next breakthrough point.
"Qi… Qi Cultivation stage, second level!?"
Bai Yiyi's beautiful wine-red eyes flew open.
After she learned how to draw qi into her body, it had taken her a full day to advance to the first level of the Qi Cultivation stage, largely because she'd spent most of that time just searching for her dantian.
But when she broke through to the second level, three days had already passed.
Although she didn't have a Master to condense Spiritual Qi for her, she did have a Spirit Gathering Formation. Its effects weren't much worse than what Ye Ling had just experienced.
Good grief… she'd picked up an absolute treasure.
The way Bai Yiyi looked at Ye Ling changed completely.