In the dim carriage, Jiangg Youfei stared at Li Qingxian, her eyes sparkling.
"What are you looking at me for?" Li Qingxian asked curiously.
Jiangg Youfei took a deep breath, lowered her gaze, and said in a low voice, "A life-saving debt must be repaid."
"Wasn’t there the Celestial Venerable Order?" Li Qingxian said.
"The Celestial Venerable Order was payment. Saving my life is a separate matter." Jiangg Youfei was weak, her voice growing fainter.
Li Qingxian smiled. "Alright, I’ll be waiting for the day you repay me."
Jiangg Youfei said helplessly, "You... you’re so shameless."
Seeing Jiangg Youfei show a girlish demeanor for the first time, Li Qingxian smiled faintly.
"How’s your body?" Li Qingxian asked.
Jiangg Youfei hesitated for a moment before answering honestly, "Even with the protection of a Talismanic Spiritual Artifact, I was still badly injured. But you shared some of your Divine Sky Celestial Thunder with me, which helped my Sword Body advance. It was a blessing in disguise. Soon, I’ll be able to achieve Five Qi Perfection and Four Phases Coexistence, and I might even reach the Third Grade."
Li Qingxian said thoughtfully, "So, does that mean you have to repay me a second time?"
"You..." Jiangg Youfei was stunned. ’How could someone so shameless exist in this world?’
Seeing Jiangg Youfei’s dumbfounded expression, Li Qingxian’s smile grew even wider.
"I... I taught you the *Divine Sky General Outline* to help you with Entering Grade. How does that count?" Jiangg Youfei couldn’t help but bargain.
"I’ve Entered Grade? I was so busy saving you, I forgot to check."
Only then did it dawn on Li Qingxian. He carefully inspected his body.
The carriage was covered, and originally, the only light was near the window. But now, everything seemed bright as day.
Li Qingxian looked down. His feet were aching and swollen, the tips of his shoes stretching to show the outline of his toes.
His thickened legs made his trousers tight.
Li Qingxian pulled open his collar, glanced inside, and grinned.
Swelling chest muscles, defined abs.
’The V-lines are decent. Good enough.’
"Entering Grade has such a big effect?" Li Qingxian raised and flexed his right arm, making a bicep muscle bulge like a large mouse, and gently patted it.
Rock-solid.
Jiangg Youfei watched Li Qingxian with resignation. She had never seen someone so boisterous. Before, never mind her fellow sect brothers, even a Prince and Dragon Grandson would be polite and refined in her presence.
At first, Jiangg Youfei didn’t want to speak, but then she thought about how she had already taught him the *Divine Sky General Outline*. In the future, she would probably have to ask her master to accept him into the sect, giving her a junior brother. The thought suddenly made her a little happy.
’I’ve never taught a junior brother before.’
Jiangg Youfei explained patiently, "I practice a Soft Skill, so I won’t grow taller. In my sect, there are those who practice Hard Skills. Once they advance to the Middle Grade, they all stand over seven feet tall. Your Guard Commander is over ten feet tall, and there are even taller ones, like that Third-Grade Demon Cultivator. There’s some common knowledge about Cultivation I’m not sure if you know. For example, Martial Cultivators focus on the Lower Dantian, Literature Cultivation on the Middle Dantian, and Daoist Cultivators on the Upper Dantian."
"Will being a Daoist Cultivator interfere with me Cultivating Fate?"
"Destiny Cultivators and Daoist Cultivators share the same origin. Both cultivate the Upper Dantian, which is the Spirit Platform. Fate Skills aren’t suited for direct combat, so to make up for this shortcoming, Fate Masters often also train in Daoist Skills for self-protection. Additionally, some Fate Masters are gifted a Righteous Sword, but this is extremely rare." Jiangg Youfei was like a little teacher, puffing out her small chest and lecturing with a serious face.
Li Qingxian said, "I’ve heard about that, but I don’t know if it’s correct. A First-Grade Grand Scholar can bestow a Righteous Sword Seed to judge a person’s good or evil character. If someone truly wicked and evil accepts the sword, their meridians will be destroyed. I remember a story about an Imperial Censor who was bribed to falsely accuse the famous minister Guu Banyu. Guu Banyu simply asked, ’Do you dare accept my gifted sword?’ and silenced the Imperial Censor. If a scholar who is not wicked accepts the sword, their Literary Qi will soar. If someone who is not in Literature Cultivation accepts it, their Middle Dantian will open, and they can wield this Righteous Sword. However, because it’s a gifted sword, it can only be used once. After that, it dissipates, and the Middle Dantian closes."
"That’s right. A non-scholar cannot retain the sword seed long-term unless they become a Poetry Master who helps others revise their poems. Uncle Zhou always wanted to find a Righteous Sword Seed for you, but unfortunately, Upper Three Grades Grand Scholars are already rare, and First-Grade ones are even rarer, almost impossible to find," Jiangg Youfei said.
"That’s very thoughtful of Uncle Zhou. How difficult it must be for a First-Grade Grand Scholar to gift a Righteous Sword Seed," Li Qingxian sighed.
Jiangg Youfei said, "Now, practice Mind Guarding Spirit Platform. You’ll be able to perform Insight Meditation. You’ll see a blurry space with flowing currents of air—that’s your Magical Power. The next step is to condense a Thunder Fire Pearl. However, you’ll have to be formally inducted into the Celestial Cloud Sect before I can teach you the condensation method."
Li Qingxian was silent for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "What does ’Mind Guarding Spirit Platform’ mean?"
Jiangg Youfei stared blankly for a second, then said helplessly, "In layman’s terms, it means to think about the spot between your eyebrows, to feel your consciousness resting there. It’s like ’seeing,’ but not with your eyes—you use your mind, your will. That is Insight Meditation."
"Okay."
Jiangg Youfei, as diligent as a master teaching a disciple, said comfortingly, "Practicing Mind Guarding Spirit Platform for the first time is extremely difficult. You need to fast, bathe, and sit cross-legged. Generally, it takes several hours to fully enter a meditative state. I was a bit better, it only took me..."
Jiangg Youfei suddenly stopped, staring dumbly at Li Qingxian.
Li Qingxian was just sitting casually, a faint glow at the spot between his eyebrows, his face radiating a jade-like light.
"Impossible..." Jiangg Youfei was bewildered. She couldn’t believe he had mastered Mind Guarding Spirit Platform on his first try.
Li Qingxian practiced Mind Guarding Spirit Platform, "looking" at the Thunder Dragon Fire Seal, silent for a long time.
’Weren’t you supposed to see a blurry space with flowing air currents? Weren’t you supposed to condense a Thunder Fire Pearl? Mine starts out as a Thunder Dragon Fire Seal. How am I supposed to cultivate this?’
After a moment, Li Qingxian withdrew from his Spirit Platform. He pondered for a moment, then decided to trust Jiangg Youfei and asked, "Sister Youfei, my Spirit Platform seems a little different."
Jiangg Youfei’s eyes flashed, and she asked in surprise, "Could you be a genius in Destiny or Daoist Cultivation? What exactly is the phenomenon?"
Li Qingxian said vaguely, "There’s a blurry Great Seal inside."
Jiangg Youfei mused for a moment, then said, "Your talent is average; no sect would accept you. But for a phenomenon to appear in your Spirit Platform... I’m afraid it must be related to the Divine Sky Celestial Thunder."
"Couldn’t it just be that I’m a peerless genius?" Li Qingxian said, unconvinced.
Jiangg Youfei glanced at Li Qingxian silently and asked slowly, "Who was it that couldn’t even get into a small Daoist Sect?"
"That purple crystal is called the Divine Sky Thunder Seed? Are there records of it in the Daoist Sects?" Li Qingxian smoothly changed the subject.
"Legend says that one who obtains this Thunder Seed is favored by the heavens and will become a hero of their generation. You... Well, even the heavens can have accidents..." Jiangg Youfei said, contemplating seriously.
"Sister Youfei, the Night Guard’s intelligence is inaccurate. I’ve been smart and clever since I was a child, I just lacked a famous teacher. Look at me, I obtained the Divine Sky Thunder Seed at fifteen, and immediately reached the Tenth Grade. In the future, I will surely soar to great heights!" Li Qingxian said.
Jiangg Youfei looked at Li Qingxian, her gaze filled with pity, and said, "With the Divine Sky Thunder Seed in you, if your talent was even a little bit better, you would have at least started at the Seventh Grade."
Li Qingxian was silent for a moment, then asked, "You were just saying, how long did it take you to succeed at Mind Guarding Spirit Platform?"
The two of them locked eyes. Li Qingxian had a serious expression, while Jiangg Youfei’s eyes sparkled.
Jiangg Youfei turned her small head to the right along with her body, and said in a tiny voice, "I’m tired."
Li Qingxian said with satisfaction, "As long as you understand my talent now."
The carriage suddenly moved. From outside, Zhou Henn said, "The carriage is hitched up again. I’ll drive myself. There are still remnants of the Demon Array at the edges, so it might be a bit bumpy as we pass through."
"Thank you, Uncle Xiaozhou." Li Qingxian glanced at Jiangg Youfei.
Jiangg Youfei didn’t move, her fair, slender neck seeming to glow.