Chapter 6: Cultivation

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Upon hearing this, Lin Fei slightly raised his eyebrows, a faint, enigmatic smile playing on his lips as he replied, “To become the most outstanding female disciple in the Sword Sect, and yet, in your eyes, that has become a scapegoat?”

Lin Fei lazily stretched and countered Xia Yi, “But didn’t all the spirit fruits in my room end up in your belly?”

Xia Yi’s eyes widened in surprise, her cheeks puffed with indignation. “I can’t attract too much attention! What if I get discovered? What then?”

As time passed, the two grew closer, and Lin Fei’s words became more frequent than before.

Closing his eyes briefly to gather his spirit, Lin Fei spoke calmly, “If you had such concerns, you should have distanced yourself from the Sword Sect earlier.”

The young girl, unwilling to concede, retorted, “Master said that my transformation ability is so profound that even experts of the third realm would find it difficult to discern at a glance!”

Lin Fei’s expression remained as serene as still water. He slowly said, “Your master must have forgotten to mention one thing—the third realm sword cultivators are an exception. They are most sensitive to the fluctuations of the world’s spiritual energy, especially within the Sword Sect, where sword aura permeates every corner.”

A flicker of fear crossed Xia Yi’s eyes. Her voice lowered, tinged with unease, “Then what should I do?”

Lin Fei reached out casually, tapping three light knocks on Xia Yi’s forehead with his fingertips.

Covering her forehead, Xia Yi frowned slightly, puzzled. “What are you doing?”

His voice calm and unruffled, Lin Fei answered, “Now, except for the Sword Sect’s sect leader, no one else should be able to discern your true identity.”

“Really?” Xia Yi’s eyes grew as large as copper bells, disbelief etched all across her face. “If you’re so powerful, why don’t you train properly?”

Lin Fei tapped the armrest of his bamboo chair lightly, his tone easygoing. “I have been training all along. As for you, if you don’t put in more effort, you might never even catch a glimpse of my back in the future.”

“Hmm…” Xia Yi tilted her head, seemingly pondering his words sincerely. After a moment, she said earnestly, “Alright then, I will work even harder from now on.”

Being the only one privy to Lin Fei’s secret, Xia Yi harbored an inexplicable trust in him.

Thus, she did not dismiss his words as others might have.

Their conversation gradually fell back into silence.

As night descended, Lin Fei opened his eyes—eyes that seemed to see through the world—and exhaled a long, gentle sigh.

He had deceived no one; in truth, Lin Fei had been training continuously, never ceasing.

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The Qi Refining Realm, as its name suggests, emphasizes the refining of qi.

For Lin Fei, refining qi was as natural as breathing, for he had already walked this path three thousand years ago.

Walking was training, speaking was training, even breathing itself was training.

If every moment of life was cultivation, why be bound by form and deliberately chase superficial hours of practice?

As for why his realm remained stuck at the first level of Qi Refining, Lin Fei had only recently realized the cause.

The sea of qi within his body was unlike that of ordinary people; the amount of spiritual power it required was beyond imagination.

If the qi sea of a typical novice disciple was like a small stream gradually widening with cultivation, Lin Fei’s qi sea was an expansive ocean, capable of holding all the spiritual energy from Qi Refining Level One to Level Nine.

Such a vast qi sea could not be filled in a short time.

In his previous life, Lin Fei’s talent was far inferior to the body he now possessed—indeed, it was worlds apart.

Yet fate seemed to have granted him a surprise, allowing him to be reborn with talents surpassing all before.

Even so, Lin Fei now felt a trace of helplessness. The path of cultivation required perseverance and steady progress.

Therefore, his daily routine, beyond mountain climbing and enjoying the scenery, seemed to harbor no other pursuits.

…

A muffled thunder rumbled across the sky, dark clouds swirling, heralding an impending heavy rain.

Snapping out of his reverie, Lin Fei stood and fixed his gaze upon Xia Yi, who still remained seated in meditation.

He studied her familiar yet unfamiliar profile carefully and finally reached a conclusion.

But then, Lin Fei’s expression grew strange.

From Xia Yi’s delicate nose came a faint snore—though subtle, it sounded distinctly clear atop the tranquil peak.

Raindrops fell densely like woven threads, gently pattering against Lin Fei’s face. He sighed softly, tenderly lifted Xia Yi onto his back, then raised his bamboo chair in his right hand and strode steadily toward home.

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Passing through the purple bamboo forest, the sound of rain accompanied Lin Fei’s footsteps, a soft, persistent drizzle.

“There was once a little demon who was more sensible than you but less fortunate, because he met the irritable me of that time.”

“But you are different. You are lucky because you met the me of today.”

“Back then, some fool misunderstood my words and claimed that humans and demons, good and evil, could not coexist. If it were today, I would have struck him down with a single sword.”

…

Time passed like a fleeting horse, spring giving way to autumn, and in the blink of an eye, a year had quietly slipped away.

At Tianya Peak, even the disciples with the lowest talent had broken through to the fifth level of Qi Refining, while Xia Yi had astonishingly reached the pinnacle of the ninth level—just one step away from transcending the mortal realm, venturing to the Sword Tomb to claim her own sword, and thus becoming a personal disciple of the Sword Sect.

Legend held that Senior Sister Lu Shuili of the Sword Sect had broken from the Qi Refining Realm to the mortal realm in merely a year.

Now, faced with Xia Yi’s achievements, no one doubted she would repeat or even surpass this legend.

Yet, atop Tianya Peak, there was still a disciple named Lin Fei.

For a year, his name had stirred much discussion among the disciples—not for any remarkable breakthrough, but because he remained steadfast at the first level of Qi Refining, showing no progress whatsoever.

While all disciples trained hard for the sword-seeking journey two years hence, an exhilarating announcement echoed above Tianya Peak—the initiation trial was about to commence.

The Sword Sect had recruited two hundred thirteen new disciples last year. One hundred had settled at Tianya Peak, while the other one hundred thirteen practiced at Tengyun Peak under the guidance of Ye Liuguang, another second-generation disciple.

According to the Sword Sect’s tradition, after a year of cultivation, the disciples would hold an initiation trial.

Tianya Peak and Tengyun Peak would each select the highest-level disciples for a fierce exchange competition.

At this contest, the senior elders from the thirteen peaks would personally attend to observe the battles, discerning the disciples’ talent, temperament, and potential.

This was not only the first major trial after the disciples’ cultivation but also a prime opportunity to showcase their achievements.