"Method?"
What Ye Ling hadn't expected was for Bai Yiyi to look genuinely puzzled as she asked instead, "Isn't that how everyone cultivates?"
Huh?
What do you mean everyone does it like this?
If everyone could directly absorb already purified Spiritual Qi, then cultivation speed—speed—
A bolt of insight flashed through Ye Ling's mind. He seemed to realize something.
Still, playing it safe, he asked again, "Master, was it the same when you first started cultivating?"
"Of course."
Bai Yiyi nodded, then added, "The Spiritual Qi I absorb has always been of this quality. It's never changed."
Her expression was completely casual, and Ye Ling had no reason to think she was lying.
Seeing him fall silent, Bai Yiyi asked with a trace of confusion, "Purified? My dear disciple, are you saying that the Spiritual Qi you cultivate is full of impurities?"
Obviously!
Everyone cultivates impure Spiritual Qi. Otherwise, why would there even be a process of refining it within the body?
Though he was complaining inwardly, Ye Ling didn't answer right away. Instead, he began quietly working out a plan that would maximize the benefits.
"My dear disciple…"
Just as Bai Yiyi was about to continue, Ye Ling suddenly raised his head.
"Divine Power. It's Divine Power!"
"Hm?"
Bai Yiyi tilted her head cutely, her confusion deepening as she looked at Ye Ling. Her wine-red eyes seemed filled with tiny question marks.
"My dear disciple, hasn't the inheritance of Divine Power already been lost?"
Bai Yiyi might be clueless when it came to major cultivation events and the Six Arts, but when it came to cultivation itself and combat-related matters, her memory was rock-solid.
After all, she believed this was the only thing she truly excelled at.
So she was quite familiar with Divine Power.
So-called Divine Power referred to a mysterious ability that a cultivator might awaken with a certain probability when breaking into a major realm, in conjunction with specific secret techniques.
However, that was already a legend from ancient times. The inheritance of Divine Power had long since been severed, and modern cultivators treated it as nothing more than a myth.
Even in antiquity, those who possessed Divine Power were exceedingly rare.
In the end, it was like drawing a lottery ticket. A once-in-a-lifetime stroke of luck that couldn't be forced. Those cursed with bad luck would never have Divine Power no matter how long they lived.
Because of that, Bai Yiyi had never once considered the possibility that she herself possessed Divine Power. She had always thought she was just a little faster than others at cultivating.
"Master, it's the Great Void Record!"
Ye Ling's gaze was firm as he overstepped his bounds and placed both hands on Bai Yiyi's fragrant shoulders, speaking with barely contained excitement.
"The essence of the Great Void Record is to guide us toward our own Dao. And Divine Power, based on my speculation, is something we're born with. So for the Great Void Record to awaken your Divine Power isn't strange at all."
Caught off guard by Ye Ling suddenly grabbing her shoulders, Bai Yiyi panicked for a moment. But once cultivation was involved, she was instantly wide awake.
She thought it over briefly and found his reasoning made sense, yet something still felt off.
"My dear disciple," she asked, "there's no definitive conclusion about Divine Power, and its inheritance has been lost for a very long time. Isn't your judgment a bit too hasty?"
"Hasty?"
Ye Ling chuckled softly. Only after letting go of Bai Yiyi did he continue.
"Then how do you explain your ability, Master?"
"My ability?"
Bai Yiyi pointed at herself, looking a little flustered.
"Master, ordinary cultivators can't directly gather the purest Spiritual Qi."
Ye Ling smiled wryly. "I originally thought it was some special method, but I never imagined it would be your Divine Power."
"That doesn't seem right, does it?"
Bai Yiyi still wasn't convinced. "Isn't Divine Power something you only have a chance to obtain when breaking through to a major realm?"
"Master, when mortals step into the Qi Cultivation stage, isn't that also a breakthrough?"
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Ye Ling's lips. He knew exactly how long Bai Yiyi had spent at the Qi Cultivation stage.
Over the past few days, she had repeatedly brought it up as if it were some embarrassing secret, all so he wouldn't feel pressured about slow cultivation.
Yet she had cleared the Qi Cultivation stage in a single month and still thought she was slow. If that ever got out, countless Qi Cultivation cultivators would probably feel like punching someone.
More importantly, she had spent half that time merely drawing qi into her body, not actually cultivating. Her true cultivation time was only half a month, already an achievement that could look down on the masses.
Unless someone was force-fed pills, no one would dare compare cultivation speed with her. Even demonic cultivators known for their terrifying pace would have to admit defeat.
Moreover, the realm she had cultivated was exceptionally stable. While it could not compare to Ye Ling's flawless perfection, it was still far more solid than that of ninety-nine percent of cultivators in this world. Otherwise, she would not have been able to break through subsequent realms so easily.
"Th-this… counts too?"
Bai Yiyi still had her doubts. Being suddenly told that she had awakened Divine Power was something she genuinely needed time to process.
"Of course it does."
Seeing that Bai Yiyi was starting to waver, Ye Ling immediately pressed on.
"Master, haven't you always wondered why it took you half a month just to draw qi into your body?"
"Mm…"
Bai Yiyi nodded. She seemed to be starting to understand.
But Ye Ling did not give her a chance to speak, cutting in at once.
"Exactly! Awakening Divine Power takes a lot of time. It's not that your aptitude is poor, Master. You simply spent all that time awakening your Divine Power."
To be honest, Ye Ling himself had no idea how long awakening Divine Power actually took.
There was very little recorded about it in the books. But adding that final line, that her aptitude was not lacking, was guaranteed to hit Bai Yiyi right where it mattered.
And sure enough—
"Eh? Eh?"
Bai Yiyi's eyes widened as she muttered to herself, "So… so my aptitude isn't actually bad?"
Poor aptitude had always been a knot in her heart.
People were like that. What they lacked was always what they obsessed over, while those who were favored took their advantages for granted.
Despite cultivating quickly, what Bai Yiyi envied was her junior sisters' mastery of the Six Arts. She had never felt that cultivating fast or being strong in combat was anything worth boasting about.
After all, even though her junior sisters were weaker than her, they were not weak by much.
And once her junior sisters brought their own strengths in the Six Arts into play, she could hardly put on airs as the Sect Master in front of them.
If anything, despite being the Sect Master, it had always been her junior sisters who doted on her.
But now things were different.
Her aptitude was actually outstanding, and she even had Divine Power.
Wuhu. Taking off.
The world in front of her suddenly looked completely different. She could not wait for her junior sisters to return so she could show off her Divine Power to them.
Oh, and her newly accepted disciple too.