Shen Liqian grinned as he heard his father.
"Won't you steal all our Qi?" he asked.
Shen Lijian blinked in surprise before cracking a smile and stepping into the Training Hall.
He sat beside his son in the lotus position.
"I won't take much of your time before slipping back to my cultivation abode," Shen Lijian said, joking with his son.
Shen Yiren and Shen Jixian opened their eyes and bowed to the current Clan Chief, heads lowered.
Shen Lijian raised a hand to wave off the pleasantries.
"I apologize for intruding upon your cultivation session.
"I was just jealous of your rapid progress!
"Haha!"
It was rare to see Shen Lijian in such a cheerful mood, as people like Shen Yiren and Shen Jixian usually saw him either performing his duties as chief or returning from hunts.
In both cases, he was serious and strict, the opposite of his current self.
"I will, of course, enlighten you, Father.
"In the future, I will find a way to fix your broken Dantian, too."
Shen Lijian shook his head.
"You're doing more than I could have asked for.
"Focus on yourself and the Clan.
"I can handle myself."
Knowing he would never win an argument with his stubborn father, Shen Liqian nodded and signaled to Zhiyin to help his father with his cultivation.
She mewled and turned her eyes toward Shen Lijian.
A moment later, the old man closed his eyes and focused on the new knowledge.
It took him mere seconds to grasp it and unleash the storm.
Bursts of Qi snapped around Shen Lijian as though someone were forcefully bending steel around him.
None of the boys could cultivate in his vicinity in this state.
Shen Lijian opened his eyes and smiled at the group.
His smile was as sharp as that of a beast, not the kind he had shown minutes ago.
The boys flinched.
"I might be able to hold off my brother with this much Qi.
"I can cultivate so much that my body hurts, but that's a small price for this strength.
"You three can leave security to me and focus on sharpening yourselves.
"Forgive me for disturbing you."
Shen Yiren and Shen Jixian immediately shook their heads.
Shen Lijian turned to his son and patted his shoulder.
"Thank you."
"There's no need for thanks between us, Father," Shen Liqian said.
His father ruffled his hair and stood up, leaving the group and returning to his cultivation abode to wreak havoc with Qi there.
Please don't push past your limits, Father.
Around forty minutes later, Shen Jixian's hands were properly healed.
He made the not-so-hard decision to sever his cultivation.
Once he began cultivating from scratch, the vassal's first and most important cultivation session began.
———
It had been five days since Shen Liqian helped his vassals with their cultivation methods.
The first to reach a breakthrough was Shen Jixian.
It was expected, since he severed his cultivation and began from scratch.
[Your vassal, Shen Jixian, has reached breakthrough and advanced to the First Stage of Qi Attunement Realm!]
[You have earned your first reward!]
Shen Liqian's eyes snapped wide open.
He read the system messages, his stomach tingling with stress and anticipation.
It was then that Shen Jixian's screams reached him.
Ah, yes.
He's feeling the pain of his Dantian being crippled.
It hurts so damn much.
Hang in there, bro!
There was nothing else Shen Liqian could do, so he focused on the system windows again.
A new and much bigger system window spread in front of him.
A wheel with various icons then unfolded.
Is it… something like gacha?
Is that why Zhiyin said she doesn't even know what will come out?
It makes things fun, though.
Let's see… there's a scroll, possibly a cultivation method.
Is that a cultivation pill? No one here can concoct those!
And that fruit… it looks too much like some Devil Fruit!
I see a box of meat blocks, robes, accessories… wow!
That's a cool-looking spear! Shen Yiren would love it.
I can't see a bow, but that fan looks stylish, too.
So much stuff appeared on the wheel that Shen Liqian didn't know what he would love to obtain first.
A new cultivation method wouldn't do much for him since he was still limited to a single Spiritual Root.
Unknown fruits, herbs, or pills could be either hit or miss.
Weapons would help his vassals more than they would help him.
But in the end, it was all random and up to luck.
Shen Liqian spun the wheel!
It spun so fast that time seemed to slow down.
A pleasant ticking sound filled Shen Liqian's ears.
It slowed down, and down, and down… until the wheel stopped at the arrow.
And beneath the pointer, an accessory icon appeared.
It's a ring!
A small light appeared in front of Shen Liqian, then coalesced into a small box which landed on his palm.
He opened it and saw the item inside.
[Storage Ring(Spirit)]
[This storage ring has capacity of a small room and stores item in its unique spatial space, which preserves quality of items and raw resources.]
Shen Liqian couldn't believe his luck.
He had no clue such convenient items existed, and the first one he received was so useful!
He could store so many precious items in a safe spot and keep them to himself.
Also, he already had a cool idea in mind.
Sliding on the ring, which looked like a plain band with a small blue gem on top, Shen Liqian pressed the cold gem to his sword's sheath.
The weapon disappeared into the ring's spatial space.
He stood and extended his hand forward.
With a single thought, Shen Liqian made his sheath appear in front of him.
He caught it and rapidly unsheathed his sword, slashing the air with an addictive hiss.
That's so peak!
At his side, Zhiyin was surprised to see a primitive cultivator wielding the Storage Ring so well on his first try.
She was once again reminded of Shen Liqian's talent and will.
Roughly three days later, Shen Yiren reached his first breakthrough under Shen Liqian's guidance.
And because his cultivation base was much higher than Shen Jixian's, the rewards his breakthrough would give to Shen Liqian were at least six times better!
Shen Liqian's eyes sparkled as he waited for the wheel to appear.
Zhiyin shook her head and crawled into his lap, taking a nap.
He's still a kid.
I will let him have fun and answer when he needs me.
But for some reason, she couldn't fall asleep and only listened to Shen Liqian's happy noises as he waited for the wheel.