Xiang Yu settled into a lotus position. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and stilled his thoughts. Unlike others who needed to study a Qi Refining scripture to be able to gather qi, Xiang Yu simply allowed his body to follow its natural instincts. The transcendent dao physique was a perfect conduit for spiritual energy, allowing him to gather and refine all sorts of energies easily without the need for a scripture.
As his breathing slowed to a gentle rhythm, Xiang Yu felt a strange tingling sensation across his skin. The qi around him had begun to respond to his presence. Threads of energy pressed against his skin, seeking entry. Then, without conscious effort on his part, his pores dilated, and the qi flowed inward.
The feeling was quite foreign to Xiang Yu but still pleasant nonetheless. The qi was neither hot nor cold but somehow both at once. It carried a vitality that made every cell in his body vibrate with new life. Each breath drew more energy inside, all of it naturally flowing toward his lower abdomen—his dantian.
The pleasure of the experience was unlike anything Xiang Yu had known before, only a few levels below the feeling of his enlightenment increasing. But unlike the feeling of his enlightenment increasing, this feeling was more physical as it occurred on his physical body directly instead of just his mind. Now he understood why cultivators would seclude themselves for decades, lost in the ecstasy of meditation. If ordinary cultivation felt this refreshing, how much more profound must the higher realms be?
Time lost meaning as Xiang Yu continued absorbing qi. Minutes stretched into hours, but his awareness remained fixed on the growing reservoir of energy in his dantian. With each passing moment, the sensation intensified, the spiritual energy condensing into a glowing pool within him.
Suddenly, he felt resistance. His dantian had reached capacity—a natural limit for a body that had never channeled qi before. Just as panic threatened to break his concentration, something shifted.
The gathered qi began to move on its own. Pressure built within his core, uncomfortable but not painful, and then—release.
The accumulated energy surged outward from his dantian in all directions. Xiang Yu could perceive the qi carving pathways through his body. His meridians, that had been dormant since birth, finally awakened. Channels opened throughout his body, creating a network for the energy to flow.
He felt a transformation occurring within his body, his cells becoming attuned to the spiritual energy now coursing through him. His body hummed with newfound power, and something clicked into place.
Xiang Yu's eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the dim light of his chamber. Forty-one days after his transmigration, he had finally reached the Qi Gathering realm. Officially beginning his cultivation journey.
He raised his hand before his face, slowly clenching his fingers into a fist. He could feel qi responding to his will, flowing into his arm and hand. The raw physical strength increase after breaking through to the Qi Gathering realm wasn't that much, but the realm still had its own benefits. Now he could reinforce his muscles with qi, enhancing his physical abilities.
After the initial wave of excitement subsided, Xiang Yu centered himself once more. Since it was still dark outside, he returned to his meditative state. He didn't want to waste time now that he could finally cultivate.
Throughout the night, faint wisps of energy could be seen dancing around his motionless form, being endlessly drawn to his body. He stayed in this state until the first rays of dawn pierced through his window.
Xiang Yu opened his eyes gently, taking a moment to appreciate the golden light spilling across his chamber. With a deep exhale, he released the last of the tension from his body, feeling more alive than ever before.
"This is truly addictive," he thought, he really wanted to just sit down and do this for the rest of his life. With his transcendent dao physique, he no longer needed food to sustain himself—he could theoretically cultivate without interruption. Still, he couldn't just do that. The others would certainly notice if he vanished entirely, and questions would follow which he didn't feel like dealing with at the moment. If he wanted to cultivate all day, he needed to find a good reason for his retreat.
...
Xiang Yu dismissed his scattered thoughts with a shake of his head. Those could wait—what he cared about at the moment was seeing his results. With just a thought, he summoned his system interface, eager to see how his breakthrough had affected his overall status:
[Name: Xiang Yu]
[Realm: Body: 11th Layer (1/11,000); Spirit: Qi Gathering 1st Layer (5/100); Mind: Level 4 (1/4000)]
[Species: Human]
[Spiritual Root: Medium-Grade Omni-Element]
[Physique: Transcendent Dao Body: Level 1 (1/1,000,000)]
[Enlightenment: High (60/3000)]
[Battle Instinct: Mortal (100,000/100,000)]
[Spirit Flame: Abyssal Void Flame: 6th Grade (630/40,000)]
[Professions: Cook: 5th Grade (70/500)]
[Techniques: ]
[Scriptures: ]
[System Function: Double Exp (Cooldown: 24hrs); Fusion]
Xiang Yu noticed that not much had changed from before. The only notable change was the new "Spirit" section that had appeared under his realm category. Seeing how the system created a new section for his qi cultivation, it seemed that it was indeed true that one could still continue their body refining even after advancing to the Qi Gathering stage.
Most cultivators likely abandoned body cultivation after developing their qi pathways, either because they reached their physical limits or because the increasingly demanding requirements outweighed the benefits. After all, it was easier to just meditate and gather qi to advance rather than lifting weights just to barely advance in body cultivation.
For Xiang Yu, however, such concerns didn't bother him at all. With his transcendent dao physique he didn't believe that he'd reach the limit for his body anytime soon, and with his system's exponential growth, even painfully slow progress would eventually yield results. He wouldn't be abandoning either path.
As his eyes scanned down the list, Xiang Yu suddenly noticed something he'd ignored before. The techniques and scriptures sections were completely empty. Though he understood that it was because of the fusion, it still stung his heart to see the section so empty.
Still, it wasn't like they were gone completely, Xiang Yu could still feel their effects. For the Mountain Heart Sutra, he could still continue body refining, for the sutra, his mind level that had hit a bottleneck had actually resumed its advancement. As for the other techniques, he could still feel their mastery within him. He could feel his perfect level mastery of every technique, in fact, it felt even stronger than before.
Testing this theory, he reached for an imaginary knife, flowing through a complex series of cuts and parries. The movements felt natural, perfect, as though they'd been engraved into his very essence rather than merely memorized.
He concluded that the transcendent dao physique must have integrated their fundamental principles. He wondered if it had an innate mastery of weapons.
Despite this rationalization, Xiang Yu couldn't suppress a twinge of regret. The system's most powerful function was its ability to double accumulated experience, and without techniques or scriptures listed in the interface, he couldn't leverage this advantage. Leaving it like this would be quite a loss.
"I need new techniques," he decided. His martial aunt had recently given him eighteen techniques so he couldn't request for more so soon—not without explaining how he'd managed to master the previous batch, which would raise uncomfortable questions about his abnormal learning speed. There was no way this sort of speed could be attributed to just genius level enlightenment.
After pondering several approaches, Xiang Yu settled on a strategy. He would confess to an error in judgment, admitting he'd been overly ambitious in requesting twenty techniques simultaneously. To preserve his reputation, he would claim to have perfected two of them but recognized his folly in attempting to master so many at once. Now, he would explain, he sought deeper knowledge—a few high-level techniques rather than many basic ones.
"Yes, that should work," he concluded, a smug smile spreading across his face. His martial aunt didn't seem like a petty person and would likely appreciate his apparent humility and willingness to acknowledge mistakes.
His self-congratulation was interrupted by a gentle knock at his door.
"Senior brother?" Li Yao's familiar voice called from outside.
In an instant, Xiang Yu's blood ran cold. He realized that he had made a critical oversight—now that he had broken through to the Qi Gathering realm, his spiritual energy would be perceptible to other cultivators. Without concealment techniques, his newfound cultivation base would be instantly exposed. Li Yao, with her extraordinary cultivation, would detect his breakthrough immediately.
Before he could formulate a plan, the door swung open with a decisive push, and Li Yao stood framed in the doorway...
"Senior brother?" Li Yao's voice filled the room as the door swung open. She stepped inside with a concerned expression. "You didn't answer for so long, so I thought something happened." She offered a quick apologetic bow for entering uninvited, but as her gaze settled on Xiang Yu, her expression shifted. "Senior brother...you..."
Xiang Yu's heart rate intensified. Had she detected his breakthrough? His mind raced through possible explanations, excuses, anything to divert her attention from his newly acquired qi. But before he could stammer out a response, Li Yao continued unexpectedly. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮
"Were you practicing that scripture you received from Master?" she asked, her head tilting slightly in curiosity.
"What?" Xiang Yu couldn't hide his surprise. Relief washed over him as he realized she hadn't noticed his cultivation breakthrough. He quickly composed himself. "Yeah, that's what I was doing," he confirmed.
Li Yao studied him for a moment, making him slightly nervous. "You should practice it less," she finally said. "I heard that mind techniques are very dangerous."
Xiang Yu rose from his seated position, offering a reassuring smile. "Yes, I'll be more careful next time." He seized the opportunity to change the subject. "Why did you come here?"
"Well, the Heaven-Testing Pagoda will be opening soon, so I won't be able to practice with you like usual anymore," she explained, a hint of reluctance in her voice. "I just came to say goodbye."
Xiang Yu nodded slowly. He had nearly forgotten about the Heaven-Testing Pagoda. "How long will it last?" he asked.
"About a week," Li Yao replied. "But don't worry, I'll come back as soon as it's over." She maintained her cheerful expression, though internally she knew this was a lie. Her true plan was to go in search of the Rebirth Pill immediately after the testing concluded. But he didn't need to know that.
Xiang Yu acknowledged her words with another nod. "Master and Martial Aunt will be the ones overseeing the event," she continued. "Master said that you should take care of the pavilion when he's away."
Disappointment flickered across Xiang Yu's features. If both Elder Guo and Elder Huang would be absent for a week, his plans to request new techniques would have to wait. He suppressed a sigh, resolving to address that problem later.
"Junior sister, since you'll be gone for a week, let me pack some meals for you," Xiang Yu offered.
Li Yao's eyes immediately sparkled with anticipation when she heard him mention food.
As he made his way to the kitchen, Xiang Yu reflected on Li Yao's upcoming challenge. She was the quintessential protagonist archetype in this cultivation world—talented, determined, and destined for greatness. Yet even main characters faced trials and tribulations. The Heaven-Testing Pagoda would undoubtedly present challenges, perhaps even dangers. The least he could do was provide her with meals that would aid her recovery if she encountered trouble.
In the kitchen, Xiang Yu moved at frightening speeds. Preparing meals for an entire week would have been daunting for most, but his advanced cooking skills made the task manageable. Now, with qi flowing through his meridians, he could finally combine his spiritual energy with his Abyssal Void Flame, accelerating the cooking process and enhancing the quality of his dishes.
For the first time, Xiang Yu attempted to create 6th grade spirit food. To his surprise, even though he had not prepared 6th grade meals before, his fifth-grade mastery made it seem so effortless, as if he'd done it thousands of times before.
As he finished preparing the main meals, an idea struck him. He decided to prepare one additional dish.
When he returned to Li Yao, she had already completed her preparations for departure. "Junior sister, here are the meals I prepared for you," he said, presenting her with a neatly packaged collection of containers. "I recently had a breakthrough in my cooking, so they might be a little different from before."
As Li Yao accepted the meals, her eyes widened slightly at the spiritual energy emanating from the food. Even the empress's soul residing within her salivated at the potent qi infused in each dish. Li Yao quickly composed herself and stored the meals in her spatial pouch.
"Take this too," Xiang Yu added, extending a small, carefully wrapped package.
"What's this?" she asked curiously.
"This one is a special dish I made. It has some special properties," he explained. Seeing her eyes light up with excitement as she reached for it, Xiang Yu pulled his hand back slightly. He cleared his throat. "This one is not for eating casually. You should only take it when you absolutely have no other choice. Otherwise, you'll have wasted it."
Li Yao's expression shifted to surprise, but before she could respond, the empress's voice echoed in her mind.
[Your senior brother is right. Though I would really like the essence in that spirit food, you should keep it as a trump card. Who knows, it might even save your life.]
Li Yao was genuinely shocked by the empress's assessment. Had her senior brother truly reached such a level of skill? She nodded solemnly and accepted the small wrapped meal.
Xiang Yu watched her, wondering if she really understood him. That meal was a fifth-grade creation he had poured all his skill into, teetering on the verge of breaking through to fourth-grade quality. If she didn't use it at precisely the right moment, its potential would be wasted. But he dismissed his concerns—what serious dangers could possibly threaten someone like Li Yao?
The two disciples exchanged formal farewells, and Li Yao departed, her slender form rising gracefully into the air as she flew away. Xiang Yu watched until she disappeared from sight before returning to his room.
Though disappointed by the delay in acquiring new techniques from Elder Huang, he recognized that cultivation was the best use of his time. Settling back into his meditative position, Xiang Yu closed his eyes and began absorbing qi once more, the energy flowing into his body easily.
...
In the Scripture Pavilion, Elder Mei Zhiyuan's lips curved into a satisfied smile as he gazed out the window.
"Perfect," he murmured to himself. "Everything is falling into place."
He had noticed that Elder Huang of the Phoenix Ascension Pavilion and Elder Guo of the Mountain Heart Pavilion had been spending considerable time together at the Mountain Heart Pavilion. After using some of his connections, he had successfully arranged for both elders to oversee the Heaven-Testing Pagoda event.
With both elders absent for the duration of the event, the Mountain Heart Pavilion would be virtually defenseless, guarded only by that unremarkable senior disciple. Just a trash mortal with no spiritual roots.
Any other time, elder Mei would never have thought of the boy as anything worth considering at all, but this time was different. Even though the disciple did not specifically do it, he was still partially involved in the death of one of his most valuable pawns, he just wouldn't let this grudge go.
Now that the boy was alone in the pavilion, he would use this opportunity to eliminate the loose end that had been troubling him. That useless pawn had failed in his mission to deal with Li Yao, and had instead lost his life in the process. But now Elder Mei could rectify that failure and remove both disciples in one coordinated strike.
For the senior disciple, he had already selected a trusted subordinate who would infiltrate the Mountain Heart Pavilion, making quick work of the lone disciple.
As for Li Yao, he had deployed a different strategy. Several of his most capable subordinates had been instructed to enter the Heaven-Testing Pagoda as participants. Their mission was clear: find the girl and ensure she never emerged from the testing grounds. In such a dangerous environment, deaths were not uncommon. Her demise would be attributed to the rigors of the test itself, arousing no suspicion.
Elder Mei reached for a delicate porcelain cup and took a measured sip of spirit tea, savoring both its refined taste and the imminent success of his schemes.
"As long as nothing unexpected occurs," he whispered to the empty room, "everything will proceed according to plan."