The Science of Cultivation [Xianxia]

Chapter 188: Observe and Learn

The next day, everyone gathered to send Wei Ping off on his journey. No one said much as everything that needed to be said had already been said the day prior. They watched as Wei Ping summoned a Skyrunner in the open courtyard.

“Are you sure you want to take the old Skyrunner?” Li Lang asked. “It’s not like we plan on traveling anytime soon, so you can take my new one if you want. It’ll save you a lot of time.”

“It’s o-okay. I’m not in a rush to go anywhere. Plus, I-I plan to finish my own Skyrunner s-soon.”

As a woodsmith disciple, Wei Ping had naturally learned how Skyrunners were made. However, it was a process that took a long time, but it seemed it would soon finally bear fruit.

“Well then, have a safe trip.”

Wei Ping nodded and boarded his transport. As he slowly took to the skies, everyone below waved. They continued to do so until his vehicle was just a blip in the distance.

“Okay everyone, since we’re gathered here already, let’s continue our training,” Li Lang declared.

The students quickly changed gears upon hearing that. Only Long Yi complained.

“Can’t we at least have breakfast first?”

“Take a Nourishment Pill if you can’t stand it.”

Li Lang threw over a small pill bottle at him. Long Yi immediately examined its contents and found a bright yellow pill.

“This a new flavor?”

“Yeah, try it and tell me what you think.”

“Hmm, maybe later. Nothing beats real food.”

“Then stand there and wait.”

With that, Li Lang directed his attention back to his students.

“Since we have gone over how to sense Qi and use it for your cultivation yesterday, today we will be going over how to utilize this power. Before I proceed, if any of you are still struggling with what we went over yesterday, please go to Long Yi now. Remember, there’s no shame in taking your time to learn properly.”

No one moved. The ability to perceive Qi wasn’t something difficult. There was a reason why almost anyone could cultivate if they wanted to. It was just that the efficiency was too low if they had low aptitude.

As for the cultivation technique Li Lang imparted to them, most of their questions were already resolved yesterday when they were receiving the Cleansing Drug.

“Okay, then I will proceed. Utilizing your Qi should be as easy as yesterday’s lesson. The hard part is to use it efficiently, which is what martial and Qi arts are for. To start, we’ll learn some easy applications that are most relevant to you right now.”

The young teacher gestured for his students to come close.

“You may already have noticed, but our little manor here is within the Southern Dark Spot of Emberglow City. I know some of you were having trouble moving about last night, so we’ll be learning how to see in the darkness.”

Seeing the children nod attentively, he pointed at one of them at random.

“You’ll be going first. Come stand in front of me.”

The selected student, a girl by the name of Shi Yan, fearlessly did as instructed.

“What do you need me to do next?” she gallantly shouted out.

“Grasp some of the Qi within your body. Try to move it around.”

The girl closed her eyes tightly and began sensing the energies in her body. Li Lang placed a hand on her back, tracking her progress. He patiently waited for her to get used to controlling Qi.

“Good, you’re moving it. Now try to bring it up to where your eyes are.”

Shi Yan struggled less by the second, but she was still clumsy with her control. However, precision wasn’t needed yet. She managed to successfully complete her task after a few seconds.

“Now, fuse that energy into your eyes. Remember, your intent is what matters here.”

“Am I doing it right?” the girl asked.

“Just open your eyes and check.”

While hesitant, as Shi Yan hadn’t felt any changes, she still opened her eyes and started looking around. To her surprise, everyone appeared with more clarity than usual.

A few gasps of surprise sounded out beside her, as she wasn’t the only one who had been doing as their teacher instructed. A few impatient students were also following along and they too successfully directed their Qi into their eyes.

“Feel free to walk around and get used to it. Teacher Long and I will go around to make sure you all get the hang of it.”

Like that, the group was soon engrossed in their training, swiftly moving on from Wei Ping’s departure.

They settled into a routine, and with the help of the Cleansing Drug, the newcomers broke through one after the other.

After an entire month, all of them were at least in the third stage of Energy Gathering, with several who were even in the fourth stage thanks to their grade two aptitude.

During this entire time, neither Li Lang nor Long Yi slacked off on their training.

Li Lang also continued with his various research projects, studying the effects of his new Nourishment Pill to ensure its efficacy and mapping the meridians for each of his students to study.

While a dozen cultivators were a sizeable number, it was nowhere near enough to satisfy Li Lang for all his experiments. After all, he also had to continue his research into his poisons and all the other things that piqued his curiosity. There was no way he could get his students to act as test subjects for so many topics.

That was why, after a month of observations, he concluded he needed more test subjects. He wasn’t going to find more cultivators right away, though. Instead, he went to procure Qi beasts just like many demonic cultivators would.

His trip also acted as a cover story for his students before they registered as members of The Orchid Covenant. It would only be too suspicious if a bunch of demonic cultivators had never ventured out or had a history of procuring Qi beasts to advance so quickly in their cultivation.

Before breakfast, Li Lang ordered everyone to assemble so he could explain to them the situation.

“Is everyone here?” Li Lang looked around the empty main hall, sitting in one of the only two chairs around.

One of his students, Wu San, politely stepped forward and clasped his fist toward Li Lang.

“We’re just missing Teacher Long.”

That Long Yi is only ever on time for breakfast.

“Someone go get him—”

Before Li Lang could finish his sentence, a distant voice interrupted him.

“Li Lang! I think I’m going to make my attempt!”

The familiar voice silenced the entire hall, as they all glanced in the direction it originated from. Then the students turned to the only teacher with them, waiting for his instructions.

“Everyone is dismissed. Do not approach Long Yi’s house for now. I’ll call for you when it’s over.”

Without waiting for his students’ response, Li Lang briskly walked out of the hall and toward the house where Long Yi lived.

He charged in without knocking to find his friend sitting with crossed legs on his bed. He had his eyes closed with a solemn expression. In his hand was a pill that exuded an aura of energy. Li Lang would never fail to recognize the Foundation Pill the received as a reward for helping Tai Xilun from the Bloodwave Conclave.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

He had been dying to study it, but it wasn’t an item he could easily obtain. If he allowed Ruby to consume it, it would prevent them from using it for their eventual breakthrough.

“You’re here,” Long Yi said. “I have to start soon. I have a feeling I can do it, so I don’t want to delay it any longer.”

“Don’t forget to cast the Tracing Origin Art every so often. Like we planned. I’m going to ask you questions as you go. You don’t have to answer.”

Long Yi nodded. He then threw the pill into his mouth and swallowed it in one go.

Seeing this, Li Lang retreated a few steps away and got into a meditative stance himself. While he couldn’t monitor what was going on in Long Yi’s body, he could still observe the surroundings.

Soon, the ambient Qi in the surroundings trembled as they whirled around the young man, attempting his breakthrough.

As instructed, Long Yi monitored the movement of this new gust of Qi by using the Tracing Origin Art. He had previously mapped out his meridians, so he was tasked with seeing if his breakthrough would change anything.

While watching this, Li Lang couldn’t help but remember Sima Xue’s words. She had said once they managed to step into the Foundation Establishment realm, they should immediately find an Earth-grade cultivation technique to complement it.

People say cultivation techniques become more important as they go up in realm, but why is that? It shouldn’t just be different ways to absorb Qi. Sima Xue said we’ll understand once the time arrives.

Please succeed, Long Yi. I need you to tell me the secrets of cultivation techniques. Maybe then I’ll be able to come up with a way to assist people with low aptitude like me to break through.