Chapter nine:cang ming
After the first wisp of qi entered Xiao Chen's dantian, what he expected to happen… did not happen.
He had been prepared for the familiar outcome—the white mass of light within his body absorbing the qi instantly, leaving nothing behind. That had always been his fate.
Yet this time, nothing was taken.
The qi remained.
Xiao Chen's breath caught.
He carefully sensed the qi inside his dantian and immediately noticed something strange. Although it could not be seen with the naked eye, its nature was different. Ordinary qi in the world was colorless—perceived as pure white through spiritual sense.
But his qi was not.
It was half blue and half black.
The two colors did not repel each other. Instead, they coexisted in a strange balance, circulating slowly within his dantian as if they belonged together.
"What kind of qi is this…?" Xiao Chen murmured, his heart pounding.
Suppressing his shock, he continued.
For the second wisp, Xiao Chen followed the method recorded in the Heaven Devouring Emperor Scripture. Instead of directly absorbing qi into his body—as the sect's technique instructed—he gathered the scattered wisps outside himself.
This was the true difference between the two cultivation methods.
The sect's technique forcefully pulled tiny strands of qi into the body, crude and inefficient. But this scripture condensed qi first, refining it before absorption.
Wisps of qi gathered outside Xiao Chen's body, slowly merging into a denser mass. Only when it reached its limit did he guide it through his meridians.
Unbeknownst to him, what he was doing was something no ordinary cultivator could replicate.
Qi could not normally be fused in this manner. If others attempted to forcibly condense qi outside their bodies, it would instantly destabilize and explode. Yet for Xiao Chen, the process was smooth—as if the qi willingly obeyed him.
The second wisp entered his dantian.
Then the third.
Xiao Chen soon discovered another change.
The more qi he absorbed, the longer it took to condense the next portion. Each cycle demanded more focus, more time, and more control.
Time passed without him noticing.
Suddenly—
Boom.
A dull explosion echoed from within Xiao Chen's body.
At the same time, a sharp crackling sound rang out from his joints. His knuckles, elbows, shoulders—every bone in his body seemed to shift and realign.
In the cultivation world, it was well known that microscopic gaps existed between a person's bones. When those gaps were completely eliminated, the body would reach a state known as Perfect Bone Alignment.
This marked the First Stage of the Body Strengthening Realm.
At this stage, even without circulating qi, one could release twice their natural physical strength.
Xiao Chen slowly opened his eyes.
He stood up.
The moment he straightened his body, a powerful sensation surged through him. His muscles felt firm, his movements light yet explosive, as if every inch of his body had been reforged.
"So this… is power."
However, before he could revel in it, he noticed something unpleasant.
A sticky black substance coated his skin, emitting a faint, foul odor. Xiao Chen sighed and quickly went to wash himself.
After bathing, he returned to the room and looked at the spot where he had been cultivating. The same dark substance stained the floor.
"How am I supposed to clean this…?"
Before he could think further—
BOOM!
The door exploded inward.
Wood splintered apart as dust filled the room. A figure strode through the debris, eyes filled with arrogance and disdain.
"You trash," the man sneered, staring at Xiao Chen. "You dare skip your duties as a servant? You locked yourself in your quarters for five whole days just to avoid work?"
Xiao Chen recognized him immediately.
Cang Ming.
An outer disciple.
Every servant in the sect was assigned to clean the residences of outer disciples. Xiao Chen's assignment had been Cang Ming's cabin.
Five days.
That meant Xiao Chen had been cultivating for five full days.
Cang Ming clearly had no intention of listening.
Seeing that Xiao Chen remained silent, his expression darkened. "Since you don't know how to speak, I'll teach you with my fist."
He stepped forward and threw a punch straight at Xiao Chen's face.
"Trash—take this as punishment!"
Xiao Chen's eyes narrowed.
In that instant, something strange happened.
The punch… was slow.
No—everything was slow.
Cang Ming's movements, the drifting dust, even the air itself seemed to crawl. Xiao Chen stared at the incoming fist with disbelief.
"This counts as a punch?" he thought calmly. "Has the world… degraded this much?"
Surprise flickered across his face.
What Xiao Chen did not realize was that at that very moment—
His left eye glowed blue.
His right eye turned black.