Chapter 27: The Gift

A profound sense of frustration welled up within Li Zhen; he had never imagined the disparity between his swordsmanship and Curator Zhang’s would be so vast.

Curator Zhang didn’t even use his full late-stage Qi Refining strength to overpower me just now, Li Zhen realized. He relied solely on his mastery of the blade.

“There’s no need for discouragement,” Curator Zhang said reassuringly as he retracted their practice swords. “You’ve only been studying swordsmanship for a few days, and you’ve barely scratched the surface of basic techniques—there are still intermediate and advanced forms waiting for you!”

“Do you want to know how many mistakes you made in that last strike?” he asked.

“Please enlighten me, sir!” Li Zhen replied earnestly, eager to learn from his shortcomings.

“First, you didn’t hold back at all when attacking. I appreciate your fearlessness against high-rank cultivators, but it affected your attack, making your technique less fluid and more forced. Second, you failed to capitalize on your superior reflexes.” Curator Zhang explained patiently.

“I am deeply grateful for your guidance, sir!” Li Zhen bowed respectfully.

“Your aptitude for swordsmanship is promising. If you’re confident about getting into a good university, my personal recommendation is this: focus on mastering the Xian Nation’s beginner-level sword techniques during middle school. Then, in high school, move on to the intermediate level, and finally, tackle the advanced techniques in college. This curriculum covers everything from close-quarters combat to controlling flying swords—it’s a comprehensive system,” Curator Zhang advised with care.

Li Zhen hadn’t anticipated Curator Zhang’s advice. Previously, both Han Wenqin and Yu Nan had introduced him to more advanced sword techniques. At the time, he believed his foundational skills were inadequate and thus declined their offers.

Little did he know that Curator Zhang held him in high regard.

The curator assumed Li Zhen wished to follow the orthodox academy path for swordsmanship—a route where one would sequentially learn basic, intermediate, and advanced sword techniques taught by educational institutions.

This set of sword forms appeared simple but was actually meticulously crafted by several renowned sword cultivators. It allowed average-talented cultivators to grasp it easily.

However, the greatest challenge with this approach lay in its ease of learning yet difficulty in mastering. To become a true sword cultivator through these forms required exceptional innate talent.

Even Curator Zhang himself had plateaued at the pinnacle of mastery in basic sword forms, making little progress over many years. He too had not adhered strictly to the orthodox academy path.

Under Curator Zhang’s guidance, Li Zhen found answers to numerous questions about his sword technique. This single hour-long lesson proved immensely beneficial.

Of course, Curator Zhang couldn’t provide daily instruction. From now on, he would only be able to spare an hour each week for lessons.

Li Zhen was immensely satisfied with this experience; one lesson from Curator Zhang far surpassed many days of training with Coach Wu.

As he headed home, the sky tinged with dusk, Li Zhen noticed a significant increase in patrolling security officers on the streets, each armed with rune darts.

Dressed in his cultivator class uniform, he wasn’t stopped himself, but he observed numerous individuals being detained for checks by the security officers.

He understood that as the annual auction hosted by the Nine Heavens Group approached, more incoming cultivators would flock to the area. While strict measures were common, the current level of scrutiny seemed unprecedented.

Upon reaching home, he found Father Li and Mother Li engrossed in the news.

“The Yunxi County authorities dismantled the ghost market last night,” announced the newscaster solemnly. “Multiple homicides occurred near the site—a direct provocation against the Security Bureau. They take this matter extremely seriously and assure the public they will protect citizens’ lives and property!”

The screen displayed images of the ghost market, scenes of mass arrests, and finally, several gruesome shots of corpses—including those of the two Cataclysm Cultivators Li Zhen had slain.

“Zhen’er, from now on, let your father pick you up from the Going Beyond Swordplay after school!” Mother Li said uneasily, her concern palpable even after the broadcast ended.

“Mom, there’s no need for Dad to come get me,” Li Zhen hastily replied. “The road from the Going Beyond Swordplay is a main path—no one would dare cause trouble on it!”

In truth, his strength had long surpassed his father’s. Even without invoking his dragon might, his swordsmanship alone made him far more powerful than Father Li.

He was actually concerned about his father’s safety if he were to pick Li Zhen up himself.

“Still, you must be careful,” Mother Li said, her concern evident. “If anything seems off, report it to the Security Bureau immediately!”

Son, look at what I’ve got here!” Father Li said with a smile as he took out a bottle of medicinal pills and placed it in front of Li Zhen.

Li Zhen had sensed the spiritual object’s aura on his father earlier, and now seeing this bottle of pills stirred mixed emotions within him.

He knew all too well where these pills came from—the ghost market—and the danger his father had faced to obtain them.

Had Li Zhen not been there last night, his father might never have returned home.

Yunxi County’s security situation had deteriorated significantly over the past few weeks.

Many cultivators from outside had arrived, preparing for the annual auction, bringing immense instability to Yunxi County.

Take yesterday’s raid on the ghost market, for instance. It wasn’t just those two Cataclysm Cultivators who had their eyes on Father Li; similar incidents happened more than once.

Out of all the bodies reported in the news, only two were actually killed by Li Zhen. The rest were either victims of robbery or rogue cultivators who met their end at the hands of others.

Li Zhen accepted the medicinal pills from his father. The bottle was labeled with “Mid-Grade Qi Guidance Pills,” identical to the ones awarded by the school to Cheng He.

He couldn’t fathom how many merit points Father Li must have spent. Recalling Mother Li’s words, he knew she had been planning to buy a Boundary Breakthrough Pill.

“Father, I swear I’ll get you that Boundary Breakthrough Pill someday!” Li Zhen vowed earnestly.

“Oh, son, your old man doesn’t want any Boundary Breakthrough Pill nonsense,” Father Li chuckled, shaking his head. “Don’t listen to your mother. Saving up merit points for such a pill is just a pipe dream. Even if one were right in front of me now, I wouldn’t touch it!”

“Why not?” This time, it was Li Zhen’s turn to be puzzled.

As far as he understood, Father Li was stuck at the peak of the third layer of Qi Refinement, unable to break through. If he consumed a Boundary Breakthrough Pill, there’d be a high chance he could ascend to the mid-stage of Qi Refinement.

Becoming a mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator would not only dramatically increase Father Li’s strength but also elevate his social status immensely.

“Do you know why your father and I can grow spirit rice safely within the city?” Mother Li explained to Li Zhen. “All Qi Refining mid-stage cultivators must annually go to the front lines of the Yao Kingdom unless they have a special reason not to. We’re spirit farmers who haven’t learned combat skills; if we were promoted to the mid-stage, it would actually be more dangerous!”

Li Zhen finally understood. Ever since he could sense the spiritual energy of cultivators, he had noticed that most were only at the initial stage of Qi Refining.

He initially thought there were simply many more early-stage cultivators, but now he realized that most mid-stage ones weren’t even in the city.

Li Zhen wasn’t sure whether he should bring out the Boundary Breakthrough Pill. His parents’ lives were already quite good as they were.

Of course, his current strength was too weak. If he had Foundation Establishment power, he could easily use large quantities of medicinal pills to enhance his parents’ abilities. The stronger a cultivator became, the longer their lifespan grew, so there wouldn’t be any risk of putting them in danger by increasing their strength.

Father Li changed the subject to the mid-grade Qi Guidance Pills. “These are ten mid-grade Qi Guidance Pills. Although the pill toxins from these won’t greatly harm a cultivator’s body, you still need to wait five days between taking each one!”

“Even I know about the dangers of pill toxins!” Li Zhen said, slightly taken aback.

The risks associated with medicinal pills were rarely discussed among low-tier cultivators; Li Zhen suspected that the pill companies might be deliberately withholding this information.

“Before purchasing these pills, I consulted several people about their various contraindications,” Father Li explained with a hint of pride in his voice. “Besides, didn’t your classmate recently have an incident from overusing such pills? I bought mid-grade Qi Guidance Pills. Since the school uses them as awards, it must mean they’re safe for students to consume!”

“Don’t get too full of yourself now,” Mother Li chided, unable to let her husband bask in self-satisfaction.

Seeing the potential for an argument between his parents, Li Zhen quickly excused himself to complete his daily cultivation routine in the practice room. After finishing, he returned to his own space.

He had no intention of intervening; this bickering was just part of how his parents interacted.

First, he had the Dragon Heart Space swallow three Inferior Qi Guidance Pills. Three spheres of pure energy then floated within the Dragon Heart Space.

He sat on the bed with his legs crossed, circulating the seventeenth version of the Foundation Qi Refining Technique to digest and absorb this pure energy.

He thought he could continue cultivating indefinitely, transforming all three spheres of pure energy in the Dragon Heart Space into spiritual power.

However, when he had absorbed about half of the second sphere of pure energy, he realized that his mind was no longer capable of maintaining further cultivation.

“In the future, I must plan my cultivation time anew!” He understood that this was due to excessive mental strain.

Each practice session of the seventeenth version of the Foundation Qi Refining Technique consumed a certain amount of one’s spirit. The spent spirit would recover after several hours. Therefore, if one wished to cultivate multiple sessions of the Foundation Qi Refining Technique in a day, they needed to schedule their practice times wisely, allowing for periods of recovery between sessions.