Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Despite being a Rank-1 elixir, the Qi-replenishing Spirit Water was challenging to concoct.
The recipe was written on the glass bottle, but only cultivators from Jumang Daoist Academy and Imperial Medical Academy knew how to make it.
The young girl in the white nurse uniform didnât go to college just like Chen Mobai, so she probably didnât extract and mix it herself.
Chen Mobai recalled his purchases at that pharmacy.
The girl mentioned having a master who was an alchemist.
It was probably her master who prepared the spiritual water. She merely helped with the final bottling process, which he had witnessed.
Chen Mobai speculated in his mind.
He picked up the empty glass tube and put it into his backpack.
Then he took out the needle box.
He had possessed this magic artifact for over a month. After discovering that it could be controlled via magnetism, he had spent most of his free time in schoolâs Cultivation Room studying it, outside of reading and studying.
Hard work paid off; he had nearly mastered the use of the needle box and the twelve flying needles.
Utilizing three needles simultaneously became his standard attack.
In this mode, he could skillfully manipulate the flying needles using only a small amount of spiritual power and the magnetic field of the needle box. He could control their speed, which could be as fast as a bullet. In his experiments, at such speeds, the flying needles could effortlessly penetrate the floor tiles of the Water Mansion.
Chen Mobai could launch six needles at most at the same time.
Any more and he couldnât manipulate them as effectively. The needles would interfere with each other, greatly decreasing their power.
Yet, he didnât know the true power of this magic artifact, as he hadnât been able to put it to practical use.
In times of peace, testing the power of a magical device could only be done at specialized clubs that charged a fee â something Chen Mobai didnât want to waste his Good Deed Points on.
Just as he was about to put away the needle box after practicing, Chen Mobai suddenly had a thought.
He took out his smartphone and input âmagnetic forceâ into his Auxiliary Cultivation app. Sure enough, he found several articles about controlling magnetism with spiritual power and even two demonstration videos.
After spending two hours reading the articles and watching the videos, Chen Mobai gained much insight. He could now manipulate eight flying needles simultaneously using the needle box.
He felt that, given time to fully digest the experiences of controlling magnetism shared by others, he would be able to control all twelve flying needles soon.
Regrettably, it was almost dawn on Earth, and Chen Mobai had to go to classes. âSigh. I never thought going to school would slow down my cultivation progress.â
Chen Mobai suddenly understood why Yan Bingxuan dropped out of school. After reaching the late stages of Qi Cultivation, the free Cultivation Room provided by the school didnât offer much benefit. The knowledge could be slowly acquired after entering university.
After all, in the world of cultivators, Realm is the top priority.
If it werenât for the entrance exam questions about Technique, Pill, Instrument, Array set by representatives from the Daoist Academy, Qi Cultivation geniuses in the late stages probably wouldnât attend school at all.
âI wonder what will be the focus of this year s exam?
Everyoneâs entrance exam paper was the same, but their scores only served as the baseline for the Daoist Academyâs admission criteria.
Only if your score and personal Realm met the lowest requirements could you choose to apply to the Daoist Academy.
Besides, there was also the entrance test of the Daoist Academy itself. Last
year, half of it was about Formations.
Chen Mobai felt it was highly likely that the questions this year would be about technique law. Despite his selection as a Technique major, his grades were always mediocre, so even if he got luck with the questions, it wouldnât make much difference.
âSigh. I should focus on breaking through to the 7th level of Qi Cultivation.â If he could break through to the late stages of Qi Cultivation, even if his entrance exam results were not good, he should still be able to enter the lower-ranked institutions among the ten academies. It would be a great achievement that could make his parents proud for a long time.
After returning to his room, Chen Mobai pretended to have just woken up. After freshening up, he was about to leave for school when he noticed his father cooking breakfast in the kitchen.
âHuh, Dad, did you take the day off? I heard the factory has been quite busy recently.â
Chen Mobaiâs father, Chen Xinglan, was a man with regular features, of average height and weight. Though father and son didnât see each other very often, their bond was strong.
âYouâre up early. Breakfast will be ready in a bit. Go wake up your mom.â Chen Xinglan carried a pot of steamed egg yolk-filled buns to the dining table.
âIâm here, no need to wake me up.â
Tang Panchui came downstairs with a basket of laundry. Even before she reached them, they heard her voice.
âHow is your cultivation going recently, son?â
Over breakfast-a rare occasion when all three family members were together âChen Xinglan casually asked about Chen Mobaiâs cultivation progress. Chen Mobai didnât hide anything and told them that he had broken through to the 6th level of Qi Cultivation.
âHuh, didnât you just advance to the 5th level of Qi Cultivation during the summer break? How did you break through again in just over a month?â Chen Xinglan was originally planning to share the good news of his own breakthrough with his son, but instead got to hear about Chen Mobaiâs progress first.
âIt seems that after praying at the temple in our hometown during the summer break, I had an epiphany, which deepened my understanding of Five Elements Cultivation.â
This was a half-truth from Chen Mobai, however, it did make him consider taking another visit to his hometown during the winter break.
Since the turtle shell came from that temple, the abbot who argued with his mother over a stick of incense could be a hidden expert.
âI knew there was something extraordinary about that temple. The son of our village head was born almost dead, andâŠâ
Despite her previous complaints about the temple when Chen Mobai was hospitalized due to the turtle shell, Tang Panchui now eagerly relayed the stories she had heard about the templeâs miracles when she was a child.
Chen Xinglan had no interest in those tales. He coughed lightly to interrupt her and released the aura of a 9th level Qi Cultivator.
âDad, youâve broken through.â
Chen Mobai was very excited.
Chen Xinglanâs spiritual roots were slightly better than his. His highest, Fire Spirit Root, was at 34 points. However, he didnât perform well in the entrance exam and had to spend an extra year studying before he was admitted to the local Chixia Institution.
Unfortunately, once someone falls behind, he tends to stay behind. After staying at Chixia Institution for ten years, he barely managed to break through to the 7th level of Qi Cultivation before he had to join the marine corps to expand their Sea Territory.
Fortunately, it was during this time that he met Tang Panchui. The two hit it off and got married.
After ten years with the marine corps, Chen Xinglan brought Tang Panchui back to Danxia City. A year later, Chen Mobai was born.
It was the birth of their child that facilitated Chen Xinglanâs breakthrough to the 8th level of Qi Cultivation.
And now, when Chen Mobai was eighteen, he finally reached the 9th level of Qi Cultivation.
Next step, he would start preparing for Foundation Establishment..