Chapter 6: Second Stage of Qi Cultivation

Sitting up straight from the reclining chair, Du Long spread his hands, a helpless, bitter smile on his face. “Cai Ni, you know as well as I do—I can’t stand even looking at that guy, much less provoke him! If he insists on bothering me like a fly, what can I do about it?”

Understandingly, Du Cai Ni patted his shoulder and leaned carelessly against the stone table, her proud figure on full display before him. Without hesitation, she grabbed a pastry from the table and popped it into her mouth.

“Mmm, this is delicious! As expected of the capital’s infamous young master of luxury. I’ve been training all day—I really am a bit hungry, haha!” she teased, her words muffled by her hearty chewing.

Du Long rolled his eyes, not bothering to explain. His reputation was already well established; he had nothing to fear from gossip. “Cai Ni, I heard your Royal Academy just finished its enrollment not long ago. I suppose the next one won’t be until next year? How many students did you take this time—and how strong are they, overall?”

A cough. Du Cai Ni looked startled by his question. Ever since that mishap ten years ago, when his body failed him, he’d never shown any interest in cultivation. Why bring up the Royal Academy now?

She grabbed his teacup and gulped it down, then reached out to feel his forehead. “Are you feverish? Why the sudden concern? My father told me about your recent divorce, and I can see you seem a little different today. Did you meet some wandering spirit during your trip to Lingyun Mountain?”

He brushed her hand away with a look of exasperation. “You’re the one haunted! I was just curious, that’s all. No need to make such a fuss.”

Scrutinizing him with suspicion, Du Cai Ni began to wonder if she was overthinking things. She let out an awkward laugh. “Well, what can I say? You handled your divorce brilliantly! I never expected that from you. That Zhao Lin’er—so prim on the outside, but rotten to the core. I never liked her. To march right into our house and demand to break off the engagement? She dug her own grave!”

“Sis, I have no interest in discussing that woman any further. From this day on, she and I have nothing to do with each other.” Du Long clearly did not want to pursue the topic.

“Good, as long as you think that way, I’m relieved! As for the Royal Academy, enrollment just ended. The next round won’t be for nearly a year. We took thirty students this time—the weakest had to reach the ninth rank of Qi Accumulation at least. Why do you ask? Do you have plans?” Cai Ni smoothly changed the subject.

“I’m a cultivation invalid, what plans could I possibly have? Just idle curiosity.” Perhaps because he was lying, Du Long unconsciously touched his nose, a faint blush coloring his cheeks.

Looking at her refined and handsome cousin, Cai Ni recalled how, ten years ago, she was ten and he was five, yet this little prodigy’s strength rivaled her own. But then, disaster struck—his cultivation regressed, and overnight, the most dazzling genius of the Du family became a shadow of his former self.

Yet today, the despair once clouding his eyes was gone—replaced by a subtle confidence, a depth that made him unreadable, even to her. It felt… strange.

...

That night, in his room, after dinner, Du Long bolted the door from within and sat cross-legged on his bed to begin cultivating.

After his encounter with Du Wei and the others that day, he’d felt his weakness acutely. If not for his cousin Cai Ni’s timely appearance, he would have been in real trouble. Du Wei was already at the eighth rank, and the other two, though slightly weaker, were still beyond what Du Long could handle now.

Entering a state of deep meditation, he felt torrents of Haotian True Qi surge through the crown of his head, coursing along his meridians, then flowing into his limbs and finally gathering in his dantian.

At the center of his dantian, a ball of Haotian True Qi hovered steadily, growing as more qi was absorbed. The current focus of cultivation was to expand this ball to its limit—only then could he reach the peak of the first rank and attempt to break through to the second.

Although his strength was improving with the steady influx of Haotian True Qi, something felt off to Du Long. In the depths of Lingyun Mountain’s ravine, he had absorbed qi several times faster—reaching the first rank in just a few hours. Now, advancing from the first to second rank was supposed to be exponentially harder, but with his absorption rate slowed further, his progress was even more sluggish.

What Du Long didn’t realize was that after being bitten by the golden snake, his constitution had changed. Even now, his absorption of Haotian True Qi far surpassed the average cultivator.

By dawn, after exhaling a long breath and opening his eyes, Du Long was frustrated to find that, after an entire night, the qi in his dantian had not grown as much as he’d hoped. At this rate, it would take at least another half month just to break through to the second rank.

No, this won’t do! Next year is the Royal Academy’s enrollment, and I must get in. I’ll be sixteen then—just eligible. But with this pace, reaching the ninth rank in a single year is impossible. The early stages are hard enough; each rank after the first gets exponentially more difficult to break through.

Shaking his head, Du Long began to strategize. He had to find a way to make up for the ten years lost due to his physical limitations.

Clearly, he couldn’t just train at home—he needed to use every resource possible to accelerate his progress, or he would never reach the required level in time.

Soon, Du Long made up his mind. Since that was the case, he would put his plan into action at once.

...

“Agui! Where has the young master run off to again? Not even showing up for meals—what’s he doing?” In the eastern dining hall, where Du Zhentian’s family took their meals, Madame Zhou began interrogating the servant Agui when Du Long failed to appear.

“Madam, the young master said he had business early this morning and wouldn’t let me accompany him. I… I really don’t know where he’s gone…” Agui replied, a little aggrieved.

“Enough! Like a dog can’t change its ways. Let’s just eat and ignore that unfilial brat.” Zhang Zhentian spoke darkly, obviously furious with his wayward son.

Madame Zhou shot her husband a glare—his words were harsh, but she held her tongue, sighing. “I thought he’d finally mended his ways. Was I mistaken?”

The atmosphere in the dining hall grew heavy with Du Long’s absence. Ever since his physical problems had begun ten years ago, there had been little true harmony in the family. Neither parent realized that their son was not, this time, out carousing with his disreputable friends.

At the edge of the secluded pool in the chasm of Lingyun Mountain, Du Long sat cross-legged, a faint smile on his lips. As expected, the Haotian True Qi here was several times richer than outside, and his cultivation speed had soared. At this rate, he would break through to the second rank in three to five days.

Early that morning, after a quick meal in the city, he’d bought provisions and come straight to the chasm to cultivate, clearly intent on a long stay. In recent years, as the capital’s notorious playboy, it was normal for him to be out all night with his friends; no one would suspect he was in the mountains training.

Time passed swiftly. Du Long devoted himself to absorbing and refining Haotian True Qi. When hungry, he stopped to share some food with the little golden snake; when thirsty, he drank the sweet spring water from the pool. Days flashed by, and soon, four days had passed.

After four days of arduous cultivation, the qi in his dantian finally reached its limit; it could absorb no more. Following the instructions of the Haotian True Qi Manual, he compressed and integrated the qi as much as possible. As time went on...

With a deep breath, sweat pouring from his brow, Du Long sensed another qualitative leap in his strength. The ball of qi in his dantian swelled again and could now draw in even more Haotian True Qi.

Leaping to his feet, feeling a surge of strength radiating through his body, he couldn’t help but let out a long, triumphant howl. He had finally broken through to the second rank.

He remembered: before he was even four years old, he had reached the second rank. How could he have imagined that he would one day have to start from scratch? Who could truly understand all he had endured over the years?