"Immortal Master?"
Chen Che's brow twitched.
'He's just a Loose Cultivator who gave up on cultivation after seeing no future in it and returned to the Mortal World.'
'I heard he's only at the Qi Refining Third Layer.'
'What could a Loose Cultivator like that possibly teach? He'd probably hold something back, too.'
However, for the common folk who could never enter Jinyun Valley, this was no less than a chance to defy fate. Even learning just a move or two could allow one to escape a life of farming and rise above the rest. That alone was enough to make countless people burn with envy.
It was a classic tale of a sudden reversal of fortune.
Chen Shan and Mrs. Fang of the Chen Clan, whose reputations hadn't been the best, were suddenly being showered with congratulations from the villagers.
The more shrewd villagers were already planning to visit them with gifts of meat.
"The *Longevity Skill*, the *Five Tigers Breaking Gate Saber*... Hmph!"
A soft chuckle came from a distance, and Chen Che suddenly turned his head to look.
He saw Master Hu, one hand behind his back, the other spinning a jade ball, a mocking look in his eyes. He was still here collecting grain and hadn't left, happening to witness the previous scene. The expression on his face was almost identical to the one he'd had when he heard Chen Che had supposedly met an Upper Immortal and received a Cultivation Technique.
That's right. As an Outer Sect Steward of Jinyun Valley, he was one of only two people present who had the right to look down on this matter.
'If I didn't have my own secret advantage, I'd probably be just as envious!'
'After all, in this world, it's the only way to change your destiny.'
Lost in thought, Chen Che didn't slow his pace, carrying his empty bowl back home.
...
「When he opened his eyes again, he was back on Earth Element Star.」
He walked to school with Lin Yi. The students were all chatting in small groups; summer vacation had just ended, and they clearly hadn't gotten used to the school routine yet.
"I'm gonna take a quick nap."
Lin Yi yawned.
He'd been up all night reading a novel and was running on fumes. If he got caught sleeping in class, he'd be toast.
"Go ahead and sleep. I'm heading to the office."
Seeing there was still some time before class started, Chen Che left the classroom and took a detour to the faculty office.
His Pill Formation efficiency was too low, so he planned to ask Ding Dawei if there was a good way to improve it.
Unexpectedly, Ding Dawei wasn't there.
Inside the office, only Li Xiaoshuang was present, sitting there sipping tea and casually flipping through a book. Chen Che took one look and was about to leave, but as luck would have it, the man had already seen him.
"Do you need something?"
Because Li Xiaoshuang was so strict, most students were afraid of him. A more timid student would have definitely said "no" and turned right around. But Chen Che wasn't afraid of him, simply because Old Li was a man of principle who never hassled students without reason.
"Uh, yes. I refined some Pills yesterday, but the formation rate was a bit low. I was hoping to ask Teacher Ding for some advice."
"What kind of Pill?"
"A Tier One Healing Elixir: the Body Nourishing Pill."
Li Xiaoshuang seemed quite surprised to hear this.
"I recall your class just officially started learning Alchemy yesterday. You shouldn't have reached this lesson yet, right? And you can already achieve Pill Formation? Hmm. Hand the Pills over and let me see."
Chen Che walked into the office, took out a Jade Bottle, and handed it over.
"The quality is a bit poor, making it Inferior Grade. It contains Pill Poison, and its efficacy is only about thirty percent of what you'd find on the market. But for your first time doing Alchemy, this result is already quite good..."
Li Xiaoshuang casually set his book aside, tipped out a Pill, scraped off a bit of powder with his fingernail, and tasted it, giving his assessment immediately.
"Now, describe your Alchemy process to me in detail."
Chen Che held nothing back and immediately recounted the process.
'Li Xiaoshuang is a Foundation Establishment Cultivator; his judgment couldn't be that far off.'
"Mm, based on your description, the problem was most likely with heat control. I suspect you didn't preheat the Pill Furnace enough."
Although Li Xiaoshuang had a strange personality, he was impeccable when it came to students who proactively sought his guidance. He quickly analyzed the problem and even added a very meticulous piece of advice:
"I'm not a professional Alchemy Teacher. Teacher Ding doesn't have classes this morning, so you'd best come back this afternoon and ask him again."
Chen Che thanked him profusely.
Even though the man had just mentioned it casually, his advice could save Chen Che from a great deal of wasted effort. If this were Yunzhou, that kind of knowledge would be the secret a Pill Master uses to make his living.
After all—
the saying "teach the apprentice, starve the master" was no joke.
Even craftsmen like chefs, carpenters, blacksmiths, and tofu makers would have a secret technique they wouldn't easily pass on, perhaps only revealing it on their deathbeds.
If that was true for ordinary crafts, how much more so for the Hundred Skills of Cultivation?
Just as he was about to leave, he saw the book lying face-down on the desk and froze for a second, because the title was incredibly bold:
"*On How Qi Refining Cultivators Can Infinitely Increase Their Combat Power*. Teacher Li, where did you buy this book?"
"This book? It's an old one, from over a hundred and seventy years ago. You can't buy it on the market anymore, and high school students are forbidden from reading it."
"A Forbidden Book?"
Chen Che had only asked out of curiosity, but the answer made his eyes go wide.
"Is it a book by an Evil Cultivator?"
Most of the books officially designated as Forbidden Books by the Immortal Sects were related to Evil Techniques.
But even so, they weren't truly sealed away. There was just a certain threshold one had to meet to buy or borrow them.
"Not exactly. It's just that the contents of the book caused some controversy. It's a bit complicated to explain, but there's a lot of news about it online. You'll understand why if you take a look."
Li Xiaoshuang took out his phone, found links to a few news articles, and sent them to Chen Che while explaining:
"The True Essence that a Cultivator forms by drawing Qi into their body is normally stored in the major meridians. But the major meridians are limited, so someone came up with an alternative path: they started widening the tiny, minor meridians to store more True Essence."
"These minor meridians may seem insignificant, but there are a vast number of them. If they were all widened, one's True Essence reserves could be hundreds of times greater than what the major meridians can hold."
Chen Che's heart pounded with excitement as he listened, but after briefly skimming a few news articles, it sank completely.
At the same time, he also understood why the book was forbidden for high school students.
While widening more minor meridians increased one's True Essence reserves and meant being unrivaled at the Same Tier in every stage,
it sounded wonderful, but in reality, it was fraught with problems.
Because.
Widening the meridians required a massive amount of time. Consequently, it meant less time for actual Cultivation.
Furthermore, the more meridians you widened, the more Spiritual Qi was needed to advance your Realm, which further increased your Cultivation time, creating a vicious cycle.
High school students lack good judgment.
In the years after this book was published, many students tried to practice it in secret, causing their Realms to stagnate. Students who should have scored well enough to get into a Yiben Daoist School ended up with scores too low for even a College Daoist School. This sparked a controversy, which is why it was forbidden for high school students.
"So, in other words, it's not practical."
Chen Che was a little disappointed.
"Not necessarily."
Li Xiaoshuang glanced at the time. Seeing that there was still a while before class, he decided to explain it to Chen Che.
"If the Spiritual Qi concentration is high enough, or if one's Spirit Root Level is exceptionally high, there's still a chance of success."
"It's just that no one is willing to learn it these days. After all, the three years of high school are precious. Every extra quarter-hour spent on Cultivation can improve your score. What's more, a Qi Refining Cultivator has a lifespan of sixty years. Who would want to waste time during the Qi Refining Stage?"
"Only those Cultivators with no hope of reaching Foundation Establishment would bother to look at it..."
'Sufficiently high Spiritual Qi concentration?'
Chen Che's first thought was of Yunzhou. He scratched his head and said sheepishly:
"Teacher Li, could I borrow this book to have a look?"
"You want to cultivate it?"
"I was just very interested after hearing about it. I just want to read it."
"There's nothing wrong with learning some extracurricular knowledge, but you must not get obsessed with it. Remember to return it to me after you're done."
"Thank you, Teacher Li!"
Taking the book, Chen Che could barely contain his excitement.
He had only asked on a whim, figuring he had nothing to lose even if he were rejected on the spot. He never expected Li Xiaoshuang to actually lend it to him.
Just then, a figure hurried into the office. It was Ye Youwei. She seemed slightly taken aback to see Chen Che in the office, but she immediately exclaimed, "Teacher Li, bad news! The class president is fighting with students from another class!"