Qi Cultivation Starting from the Repair Panel

Chu Zheng's eyes flashed with a faint spiritual light, and Song Lingxue's inner aura had been polished to an ever smoother sphere, just one step shy of "Embracing Aura into Pill," the third major realm in cultivation.

In the Martial Path, "Embracing Pill" is equivalent to the Immortal Path's "Soul Condensing," marking the third great realm of cultivation.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Besides the innate talent she was born with, Song Lingxue's own diligence accounted for a large part of her progress.

"Sorry, I'm still a step behind," he said.

Chu Zheng was the first to speak, his voice tinged with a hint of apology:

"My current strength is still lacking a lot."

To keep Song Lingxue from the hands of the Martial Hall, his current level of cultivation was simply not enough.

Now, with less than two years remaining, even if he were to transform and experience tribulations again, with significant gains, he could at most reach the level of entering Tong Xuan.

In the face of the Immortal Alliance Martial Hall, a colossus that suppressed the myriad star domains, he was utterly insignificant.

In other words, he did not have the power to break the rules.

"You have no debt to me, why speak of apologies?"

Song Lingxue came back to her senses, her lips curving into a faint smile:

"There is still a long future ahead..."

Over the years, Chu Zheng often went into seclusion, each time spending a long time in isolation, and she was well aware of what it was for.

Sometimes, Song Lingxue even thought about stopping Chu Zheng, asking him to take a break and enjoy the little time left between them.

Chu Zheng had already become the Taixuan Holy Master, facing no threats in Cangyun, but he still chose to keep to his ascetic practice year-round, and she knew the reason well.

Thus, she could only watch as Chu Zheng kept moving forward, watching the limited time they could spend together dwindle away bit by bit.

During this process, all she could do was devote her energy entirely to cultivation, so her mind wouldn't be occupied with too many thoughts.

When the people from the Martial Hall come, what follows will become completely uncontrollable.

Any developments from that day forward are unpredictable, and whether she and Chu Zheng will ever meet again in this lifetime may be left with a question mark.

She didn't doubt Chu Zheng's talent; it was just her own confidence that fell short. For nearly a decade, she had lived almost entirely under Chu Zheng's protection.

The universe is so vast it chills the heart—the distance between stars so great that even light takes eons to traverse, let alone flesh and blood.

Whenever she thought of this, she found herself in a state of extreme anxiety day and night.

But in the face of Chu Zheng, she could not reveal even a trace of this feeling and had to continue greeting him with a smile, because she really did not want to add to Chu Zheng's burden.

Chu Zheng had already done very much for her.

Calming the turmoil in her heart, Song Lingxue took slow steps toward Chu Zheng, sitting down at the edge of the practice field, her long legs swinging gently; her delicate face had gained a touch of mature composure over time.

"Since I was a child, I had a high aptitude for martial arts, and Father had great expectations for me, so from the beginning of my practice, I rarely dealt with the trifles that ordinary girls do. At the age of three, I could already differentiate among swords and spears."

Gazing at the rising morning sun, Song Lingxue looked a bit lost, a look of reminiscence flashing in her eyes:

"Do you remember, the year you first came to the Song Residence?"

"You must have been seven years old, and I had just celebrated my tenth birthday not long before, near the New Year festival. Father had acquired a batch of new servants and maids for the house, and you were standing in the crowd, skinny and inconspicuous, but I still noticed you immediately."

"Ling Qing was still naive back then, and Mother had already passed away. Furthermore, since her aptitude for martial arts was lacking, Father always showed her some favoritism. With the arrival of new servants, he let her choose first."

"I still remember clearly, that day, she asked me whom I wanted, and I pointed at you. Then she chose you," said Song Lingxue, the corner of her mouth curling up into a light laugh. "Her temperament was not obvious on usual days, but I knew it well. She wasn't domineering, but she had a bit of arrogance and didn't care much about others' thoughts."

"As the elder sister, I should have indulged her, and Father also told me not to mind too much, so I let it go."

"Back then, you were quiet and straightforward in your ways, not very popular in the house, but since Ling Qing was willing to protect you, you didn't suffer too much."

Chu Zheng listened silently; these memories were also in his mind, it's just that at the time, the spiritual wisdom within him as a fetus was sealed, and his spiritual perception had yet to awaken, naturally rendering him somewhat dull and inflexible to change.

"Later, Ling Qing entered the Immortal Sect. After she left, I improved your treatment to match that of an escort master within the residence. Even when game was scarce in winter and there was a shortage of meat, your portion was always ensured."

With a soft sigh, Song Lingxue's eyes filled with loss, and it seemed she held a faint grievance:

"I thought you would be more grateful, but instead you became even more distant from me. Every day, when you saw me, you would stay far away. Whenever I asked you to come and work by my side, you always made excuses. Do I really look that frightening?"

The reasons for this, Song Lingxue had never understood, but the current Chu Zheng was very clear.

A mere servant, whose livelihood was no different from that of an escort master risking his life at the edge of a blade, naturally aroused envy. He unknowingly suffered many covert losses and ostracism. Coupled with his slow wits, he had offended many people, and life was naturally very hard for him.

At that time, he only knew these troubles originated from Song Lingxue, and naturally thought to keep a respectful distance from her.

Later, when Chu Zheng's spiritual perception recovered, he couldn't be bothered with those past messes, and never took the time to reflect on them.

Now, thinking more carefully, even the incident where he accidentally broke the Jade Cup might very well have been a deliberate setup by someone else.

However, these trivial matters had long since scattered with the wind, and even the Song Residence no longer existed.

"Chu Zheng, I've always wanted to ask you."

Song Lingxue hesitated for a while but finally mustered the courage to ask:

"If nothing had happened, if Ling Qing hadn't entered the Immortal Sect, if everything at the Song Residence had remained the same, whom would you have chosen?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Zheng couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle lightly, "If nothing had happened, would it have been up to me to choose?"

Before his words had faded, he reached out to pick up Song Lingxue in a bridal carry and walked towards the interior of the palace.

"After a long period of seclusion, first allow me to bathe and change clothes."

There aren't many novelties in the world, merely a sequence of coincidences and errors.

...

...

Regarding the matter of the great Sect competition, Fu Quanliang quickly finished the overall planning.

After reporting the basic process to Chu Zheng, he began the selection methodically.

Because there weren't many disciples and quite a few of them were only seven or eight years old, just beginning to understand things, it took less than three days to conclude this competition.

More than three hundred disciples successfully entered the Inner Sect, and for the top three, Chu Zheng presented three top-quality magical treasures as rewards.

At the same time, he gave all the disciples in the sect the opportunity for individual guidance.

His cultivation had reached this level, and his understanding of the Taixuan Divine Fire Scripture was not shallow. Coupled with the Spiritual Eye, the slight confusions these disciples faced could almost be seen through at a glance, requiring hardly any effort at all.

In the blink of an eye, more than a month had passed.

This month, Chu Zheng did not enter seclusion again, as Song Lingxue had become quite clingy, almost always sticking by his side with few moments apart.

Because of this, Song Lingxue even put aside her arduous cultivation, spending her days immersed in the pleasures of the couple, rarely leaving the jade couch.

Only when the time approached for the meeting agreed upon by the several great Holy Lands did Chu Zheng finally manage to leave, setting out on the road to the site of the Great Tournament of Ten Thousand Sects.

Times had changed. As the Taixuan Holy Master, Chu Zheng's presence was not yet among them, and the other great Holy Lands could only wait patiently.

Because he was delayed, by the time he arrived at 'Biluo Country', the other great Holy Lands, as well as families of True Immortals, had already been there for quite some time.

"There's only two years left until the Great Tournament of Ten Thousand Sects, this is a once in a hundred years grand event for my Cangyun. I'll need all esteemed friends to take this to heart."

"In that case, we should set the regulations. For this competition, which party should take the lead?"

After a round of pleasantries, the conversation quickly turned to Chu Zheng.

"The Taixuan Holy Master has now reached a level of cultivation that is in harmony with the universe and naturally doesn't need to compete with the younger generation. Currently, of the great Holy Lands, only Tai Xu and the Taixuan Holy Master are present. Why not let the two of you oversee the entire competition?"