Chapter 10: The Teaching Hall
Chapter 10: The Teaching Hall
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, Chu Ning practiced the Nine Yin Body Refining Technique before starting a fire to cook breakfast.
By the time Chu Ning had finished cooking, Cao Dongxin also emerged from his room.
The moment Cao Dongxin laid eyes on Chu Ning, he paused slightly, taken aback.
Although his cultivation was not particularly high, he had been a cultivator at the fifth layer of Qi Refining for quite some time, and as such, he had developed a certain sensitivity to fluctuations in spiritual power.
The completely different aura emanating from Chu Ning, now tinged with a hint of spiritual power, immediately clued Cao Dongxin in.
"You've started Qi Refining?" Cao Dongxin asked, his tone complex.
Chu Ning chuckled inwardly but maintained a timely expression of excitement on his face.
"Yes, Senior Brother. Last night's cultivation was extremely enlightening, and I made a breakthrough all at once, muddle-headedly completing the Qi Refining process."
Upon hearing this, Cao Dongxin fell silent, the complexity in his eyes deepening.
The most prominent emotion in his eyes was jealousy.
At that moment, Cao Dongxin's heart was filled with constant grumblings.
"Fifteen days... This kid has achieved Qi Refining in just fifteen days, even with me restricting his cultivation time like this. Is the difference between a four-attribute spirit root and a five-attribute spirit root that significant?"
Cao Dongxin clearly remembered his own struggles—the countless attempts and over two months it had taken him to finally achieve Qi Refining.
Comparisons are odious.
Chu Ning could naturally sense the jealousy in his senior brother's eyes, but he pretended not to notice, continuing to smile to himself as he sat down to eat.
In his heart, he thought, "If Senior Brother Cao knew that I actually achieved Qi Refining on the first day, and that the aura I'm revealing now is just me intentionally leaking it, he would probably be so shocked that his eyes would fall out."
Cao Dongxin ate his breakfast that day without much appetite.
However, when Chu Ning mentioned that he wanted to go to the Teaching Hall that day, Cao Dongxin didn't stop him.
It was a rule set by the sect that new disciples could visit the Teaching Hall once every half month, and Cao Dongxin wouldn't dare deprive Chu Ning of this right, no matter how much he wanted to oppress him.
As the two of them reached the courtyard entrance, Shang Zhaoxiang and Qiu Shunyi from the neighboring courtyard also happened to come out.
This time, Qiu Shunyi didn't follow behind Shang Zhaoxiang but walked ahead.
Upon seeing Chu Ning, he immediately greeted him joyfully, "Chu Ning, let's go! We're off to the Teaching Hall."
"It looks like Qiu Shunyi successfully achieved Qi Refining last night," Chu Ning judged upon seeing his demeanor.
Just as he was about to respond, Shang Zhaoxiang suddenly smiled and spoke up, "Congratulations, Junior Brother Chu!"
Hearing this, Chu Ning knew that Shang Zhaoxiang had "seen through" his cultivation progress, and he hastily cupped his hands in gratitude, "Thank you, Senior Brother Shang. It was just a stroke of luck."
Qiu Shunyi, who was standing beside them, was slightly taken aback and asked in confusion, "Senior Brother Shang, what are we congratulating him for?"
"Naturally, it's to congratulate Junior Brother Chu on achieving Qi Refining and formally stepping into the first layer of Qi Refining, just like you," Shang Zhaoxiang said with a smile.
Qiu Shunyi turned to Chu Ning, surprised, "Chu Ning, you've also achieved Qi Refining?"
Chu Ning nodded slightly, "Just a stroke of luck!"
Shang Zhaoxiang smiled and continued, "There's no such thing as luck on the path of cultivation. Junior Brother Chu has quietly given us all a pleasant surprise."
As he spoke, Shang Zhaoxiang couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
"I've already given Shunyi more than enough time to cultivate, and yet Junior Brother Chu has also managed to achieve Qi Refining within the same time frame.
Either he has significantly better talent, or he has been diligently cultivating without rest.
He was assigned to the Ding District, so he's most likely of average talent. The fact that he could still find so much time to cultivate under Cao Dongxin's oppression shows that he's a persevering individual."
Chu Ning was unaware of the many thoughts running through Shang Zhaoxiang's mind at that moment. He found it difficult to respond to his words and could only smile in response.
At this moment, the joy and pride on Qiu Shunyi's face had noticeably faded, and he muttered, "I was just about to brag about achieving Qi Refining, and now it turns out you've done the same."
Previously, he had felt proud upon hearing Shang Zhaoxiang's praise, as it had taken the senior brother a whole month to achieve Qi Refining, and he had done it in half the time.
But now that he knew Chu Ning had also achieved Qi Refining, his sense of pride instantly vanished.
After parting ways, Shang Zhaoxiang and Cao Dongxin went to the fields, while Chu Ning and Qiu Shunyi made their way to the Teaching Hall.
Qiu Shunyi had a relatively simple mind, and although his pride had diminished slightly, he didn't have any other thoughts about Chu Ning.
On the way, he shared with Chu Ning some of the things he had heard from Shang Zhaoxiang.
"Previously, Senior Brother Shang specifically instructed that those who haven't achieved Qi Refining will most likely focus on asking the Teaching Hall disciples about sensing spiritual energy and the Qi Refining process.
As for us, who have already entered the first layer of Qi Refining, we can ask the Teaching Hall disciples about spellcasting.
It's best to first learn the basic spells from them, and then practice on our own when we get back.
These Teaching Hall disciples have a deeper understanding of spells than Senior Brother Shang and the others."
As Qiu Shunyi spoke, he added, "By the way, Senior Brother Shang said that the four spells we need to learn the most are the Stimulation Spell, the Cleansing Spell, the Sweet Rain Spell, and the Blade Spell.
Then, we can focus on the first three spells because we'll need to use them when we're assigned to plant spirit herbs in three months' time. The Blade Spell is only used during harvesting."
Chu Ning made a mental note of this and couldn't help but feel grateful for the thoughtful Senior Brother Shang and the straightforward Qiu Shunyi, who had shared this information with him. Otherwise, with Cao Dongxin keeping him in the dark, he would have had to figure things out the hard way.
So, he sincerely thanked Qiu Shunyi, "Shunyi, thanks for letting me know."
"Thank me?" Qiu Shunyi was initially puzzled but then immediately broke into a grin.
"Hey, there's no need to thank me. It wasn't even my idea."
The two arrived at the Teaching Hall, which was an internal teaching area within the Hundred Arts Hall. The Teaching Hall disciples were assigned by the Sect's Teaching Hall.
As new and menial disciples, Chu Ning and the others naturally didn't have the qualifications to go directly to the Teaching Hall to learn spells.
Along the way, they ran into quite a few disciples who had entered the Sect together. Chu Ning observed that a small portion of them had also entered the Qi Refining stage.
Upon arriving at the Teaching Hall, they found several Teaching Hall disciples already inside.
After Chu Ning and the others entered, the first thing they had to do was determine whether they had achieved Qi Refining.
Then, those who had achieved Qi Refining were separated from those who hadn't.
When the rest of the disciples who hadn't achieved Qi Refining saw Chu Ning and his group being led away, envy filled their faces, accompanied by hushed discussions.
"They achieved Qi Refining in just half a month. That's only a few days slower than the outer sect disciples!"
"I heard that the guy from the Spirit Beast Hall achieved Qi Refining in just ten days, attracting the Sect's attention. They said that if his progress in reaching the middle stages of Qi Refining is good, he'll be able to enter the outer sect and become an outer sect disciple!"
"I heard that although he has a four-attribute spirit root, his Earth spirit root is much better than the other three attributes, which is why his cultivation progress is so fast."
"He's a genius! As for us, who knows when we'll be able to achieve Qi Refining."
...
Hearing these discussions, Qiu Shunyi and the others were beaming with pride, unable to hide their joy. Among them, a boy with thick eyebrows and big eyes even had a hint of arrogance on his face.
This person was Lin Yong, the disciple from the Spirit Beast Hall they had mentioned earlier.
Chu Ning kept a low profile among the crowd.
At this moment, Chu Ning quietly estimated the number of people and found that his group accounted for about one-fifth of the total number of disciples. He breathed a sigh of relief.
The timing of his "breakthrough" wasn't too abrupt, and if he had chosen to break through later, he would have only been able to listen to the explanation of the cultivation technique today without being able to practice spells.
Now, the timing was just right.
As for revealing his cultivation talent like Lin Yong and getting the chance to enter the outer sect, Chu Ning hadn't even considered it.
With his four-attribute pseudo-spirit root and average talent, none of his spirit roots held a particular advantage. If he suddenly displayed an exceptionally fast cultivation speed, wouldn't he be announcing to everyone that he had a big secret? Before figuring out the secret of his spirit body, he decided it was best to keep his Yin Wood Spirit Body a secret for now to avoid any unnecessary trouble.
(End of Chapter)
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