Chapter 7: Cultivation

“Yu Nan, as class president, you’ll be responsible for leading your classmates to collect supplies,” Teacher Zhang announced hastily. “Han Wenqin will assist you as vice-president. Once everyone has collected their items, school will be dismissed!”

Teacher Zhang swiftly left the classroom after making her announcement.

Cheng He desperately wanted to stop her. Ever since learning he possessed mid-grade spiritual roots, he felt incredibly confident. With his high-quality fire elemental spirit root, he believed he should be the leader of this cultivation class.

Unfortunately, Teacher Zhang didn’t give him a chance to voice his opinion. But Cheng He refused to give up; he was determined to find an opportunity to change her mind.

Li Zhen wasn’t surprised by Teacher Zhang’s choice of class president and vice-president. The vice-president was not only the prettiest girl in class but also emanated at least a mid-tier first-rank spiritual aura. Li Zhen sensed a similar presence around the class president too.

To possess such high-tier spiritual artifacts even before mastering Qi Channeling clearly indicated their affluent backgrounds.

The class president, Yu Nan, proved capable. In no time, he had organized his classmates to efficiently collect their assigned materials.

Among these were two sets of clothing: one athletic attire and another formal ceremonial robe. Although they weren’t quite magical artifacts, their quality far surpassed that of ordinary fabric. Most importantly, both outfits proudly displayed the emblem of Yunxi Second Elementary Middle School’s Cultivation Class.

The uniform was for daily wear, while the ceremonial robe was reserved for formal events.

Like his classmates, Li Zhen changed into his uniform before leaving school.

As he stepped through the gate, he immediately caught sight of Mother Li.

Her eyes lit up upon seeing the standard cultivation class uniform on him, and she couldn’t help but scrutinize him excitedly from head to toe.

Having experienced the same journey themselves, both Mother and Father Li understood the immense significance of entering the cultivation class for Li Zhen.

Unwilling to risk missing a moment, they had waited anxiously outside the school all day. They weren’t alone; other parents were there too, their expressions ranging from joy to dejection.

For many, failure in Qi Channeling marked the stark divide between ordinary individuals and true cultivators. Some parents wept openly at the news.

Mother Li shared the good tidings with Father Li via her identity bracelet, then led Li Zhen home brimming with delight. She deliberately avoided asking about his spiritual roots, knowing that they could still improve over time. Li Zhen, aware of this possibility, also chose not to bring it up.

“Students,” Teacher Zhang began during the first lesson the next day, “today we shall delve into the seventeenth edition of the Foundation Qi Refining Technique. This will be your primary method of practice throughout the Qi Refinement stage. The seventeenth edition is uniquely suited for all types of spiritual roots, ensuring you establish an unshakably solid foundation!”

Due to the enactment of the Spirit Root Confidentiality Law, numerous great masters of the Xian Nation collaborated to develop a foundational qi refining technique. This method was designed for all cultivators upon their initiation, eliminating the need for newcomers to select practices compatible with their own spirit roots.

This unified introductory practice maximized protection for cultivators during their vulnerable early stages, preventing them from inadvertently revealing their personal secrets to others.

After years of refinement, the current version of the Foundation Qi Refining Technique stands at seventeen.

All students listened attentively. Although they had already achieved Qi Channeling, without practicing proper cultivation techniques, they still essentially functioned as ordinary individuals. Qi Channeling merely prepared their bodies to be more attuned to spiritual energy.

Teacher Zhang explained the material in meticulous detail, aided by demonstrations on the large screen. The students found it relatively easy to grasp.

The seventeenth edition of the Foundation Qi Refining Technique is not overly complex. After three classes of instruction, bolstered by the foundational knowledge taught in elementary school, all the students mastered it.

As the students completed the practice exercises on their desktop screens, Teacher Zhang announced that they could proceed with their first cultivation session.

Cultivation did not take place in the classrooms; the spiritual energy environment there was too poor for proper cultivation.

The school had dedicated cultivation rooms that could be reserved using one’s identity bracelet.

“Here at Yunxi Second High School, we have a first-class spirit vein branching off from the main artery,” Teacher Zhang explained to the students gathered outside the cultivation rooms. “Among all the high schools in Yunxi County, only First High can compare with us in terms of resources. You mustn’t waste these excellent conditions given to you.”

“You each have an hour of daily cultivation time—a benefit provided by our school.”

There were only thirty cultivation rooms available. Even with the older grades deliberately scheduling their practice times around them, it still barely left enough space for the freshmen.

Li Zhen’s luck remained as bad as ever—he was assigned to the second batch entering the cultivation rooms.

The rooms themselves were simple: just a prayer mat in the center with nothing else.

Following Teacher Zhang’s instructions, Li Zhen first activated the teacher guidance option. This allowed her to monitor his cultivation progress at any moment.

He sat down on the mat and began operating through his identity bracelet. Soon, he felt spiritual energy surging beneath him from the mat.

Simultaneously, the virtual projection in the cultivation room activated, placing him amidst a serene forest.

This virtual imagery was optional, allowing students to choose their preferred environment.

The seventeenth edition of the Foundation Qi Refining Technique began to circulate. Spiritual energy flowed into his body from below, traversing through his meridians.

Channeling this energy transformed his physique; as it circulated within his meridians, he felt no obstructions. With careful control, there should be no issues under normal circumstances.

Of course, even if an accident were to occur, it wouldn’t matter. During his first practice of the seventeenth edition of the Foundation Qi Refining Technique, his body contained minimal spiritual energy. Teacher Zhang could intervene at any moment through monitoring to rectify any problems.

As Li Zhen continued cultivating, his understanding of the seventeenth edition of the Foundation Qi Refining Technique deepened continuously.

In perception, the spiritual energy introduced by the seventeenth edition appeared as tiny specks of light. These specks exhibited various colors, but only the green ones—representing wood elemental spiritual energy—were accepted by his body.

He knew that these green specks signified wood elemental spiritual energy. Through the operation of the seventeenth edition of the Foundation Qi Refining Technique, approximately one-third of these green specks would be retained in his dantian region.

An hour passed in this state of effortless cultivation, and as Li Zhen savored its pleasures, he heard a notification from within the training room.

He slowly concluded his practice session. His dantian was no longer empty; it now contained a tiny amount of spiritual energy.

Li Zhen activated his identity bracelet, and upon scanning his retina, he saw that both his spirit essence and spiritual energy had numerical values: spirit essence at 1, spiritual energy at 0.1.

The spirit essence value wasn’t surprising; for those in the Qi Refining stage, the quality of spirit essence is typically 1. Unless one encounters some extraordinary circumstance, there’s little variation.

As for the 0.1 spiritual energy, he couldn’t tell if it was high or low. However, considering he has mid-grade wood elemental spirit roots, he likely ranked among the top students in his class.

It wouldn’t be appropriate to ask Teacher Zhang about this minor detail, so he decided to look up information when he got home.

With his current access level, he could browse online resources related to cultivators’ data.

“Too short! If I’d just been given more time, I would’ve reached the first level of Qi Refining!” Cheng He’s discontented voice echoed through the air.

His words were more boastful than anything else—he wanted to impress his classmates with how swiftly he could cultivate.

Teacher Zhang frowned, wanting to say something but remembering that Cheng He had publicly disclosed his own spiritual root values, she lost her motivation to persuade him otherwise.

After school, Mother Li took Li Zhen by the hand and led him into a storage room.

The storage room had been reorganized; its walls were lined with material to prevent spiritual energy leakage, and in the center sat a prayer mat.

“Mom, how did you divert spiritual energy from the spirit plant area here?” Li Zhen immediately understood this setup was for him - a dedicated cultivation chamber.

The spirit plant area served as their family’s primary source of income, and both parents usually hesitated to use even a fraction of its spiritual energy.

“I asked Mei Yun to calculate it,” Mother Li explained apologetically. “Every day, we can draw enough spiritual energy from the first-grade low-tier spirit vein in the spirit plant area for your one-hour practice session. It’s not comparable to the quality at school, I know. Your father and I can only provide this much!”

A steady supply of spiritual energy was the cornerstone of a cultivator’s practice regimen. Affluent families often went a step further by providing their children with spirit pills to accelerate their cultivation progress.

Spirit pills came in two varieties: those produced by established companies and privately crafted ones. The former were typically distributed to major cities, leaving little for smaller towns like Yunxi County. Beyond the allocated portions, most of these pills ended up in the hands of the elite.

The latter type—privately concocted spirit pills—offered no guarantees on quality and relied heavily on luck. In Yunxi County, neither Father nor Mother Li knew any alchemists or had access to channels for purchasing such pills.

“Mom, this is the best cultivation room ever!” Li Zhen exclaimed, feigning excitement as he circled around the room, offering praise at every turn.

Seeing her son’s delight brought a smile to Mother Li’s face.

“I can’t wait to start cultivating!” Li Zhen said, eager to test the effectiveness of his new space.

“Focus well on your training,” Mother Li nodded approvingly. “I’m sure you’ll go much farther than either your father or I could have.”