Chapter 32: Chen Xinglan

The Qi-Replenishing Elixir was merely a first-grade medicine, its formula even inscribed on the glass bottle. Yet, throughout the entire Immortal Sect, only cultivators from the Gou Mang Daoist Academy and the Imperial Medical Palace possessed the knowledge to refine it.

The girl in the white nursing uniform hadn’t started university yet and was around Chen Mobai’s age, so it was unlikely that she had extracted or prepared it herself.

Chen Mobai recalled his two purchases at the pharmacy.

The girl had mentioned she had a master, an alchemist. So, she was likely assisting; the earlier batches of spirit water would have been refined by her master, and the final packaging process, which he happened to witness, was completed by her.

Chen Mobai mused on this theory. He picked up the empty glass tube and placed it in his backpack.

Next, he retrieved his Needle Casket. He had possessed this magic tool for over a month. After discovering it was manipulated by magnetism, he spent his time in the school’s cultivation room, not just reading and studying, but also meticulously exploring how to use the tool.

His diligent efforts had paid off. He had largely mastered the use of the Needle Casket and its twelve flying needles. A simultaneous release of three needles was his standard attack. In this state, only a minimal amount of spiritual energy was required to perfectly control the flying needles using the casket's magnetic force. Their speed could be varied, reaching bullet-like velocity at their fastest. He had tested this, and at such speeds, the needles effortlessly pierced through the floor tiles of the Water Mansion.

Chen Mobai could manage up to six needles simultaneously. While controlling more wasn't impossible, it became unwieldy, with the needles interfering with each other and their power plummeting.

However, he had never truly tested the full power of this magic tool set in actual combat, so he had no clear measure of its capabilities. The Immortal Sect had enjoyed a long period of peace. To test a magic tool's power, one had to visit specialized clubs, but these were all fee-based, and Chen Mobai was unwilling to waste his merit points on such activities.

As he practiced with the Needle Casket for a while and prepared to put it away, Chen Mobai suddenly had an idea. He took out his phone and typed “magnetism” into his auxiliary cultivation software. As expected, he found several documents on manipulating magnetism with spiritual energy, and even two demonstration videos.

After spending two hours reviewing all the documents and videos, Chen Mobai gained significant insight. When he used the Needle Casket again, he was astonishingly able to control eight flying needles simultaneously.

He felt that if he could fully internalize the uploaded experiences of manipulating magnetism, complete mastery of all twelve flying needles would be within reach. Unfortunately, it was nearly dawn on Geomagnetic Star, and Chen Mobai had to rush to class.

“Sigh, I’m starting to feel like school is hindering my cultivation progress.” Chen Mobai suddenly understood why Yan Bingxuan had dropped out. Once one reached the late stage of Qi Condensation, the free cultivation rooms provided by the school became largely useless. As for knowledge, that could be gradually acquired after entering university.

After all, in the Immortal Sect, cultivation realm was paramount. Were it not for the representatives from the various Daoist Academies and Study Palaces who set examination questions in techniques, alchemy, artifacts, and formations during the college entrance exam, selecting students based on merit, many late-stage Qi Condensation geniuses would likely never even attend school.

“I just wonder which area will be emphasized in this year’s exam,” he mused. Everyone's college entrance examination paper was identical, but the score merely served as an entry threshold for the major Daoist Academies and Study Palaces. Only with a sufficient exam score and a cultivation realm that met the minimum requirements could one even consider applying to a Daoist Academy or Study Palace.

Then there were the Daoist Academies’ own entrance examinations. Last year, half of them focused on formations. Chen Mobai felt there was a high probability that this year’s exam would emphasize techniques. However, despite choosing the Techniques discipline, his scores had always been middling, so even if it matched his focus, it likely wouldn’t be of much benefit.

“Sigh, I should just focus on breaking through to the seventh level of Qi Condensation first.” Reaching the late stage of Qi Condensation would likely secure him a spot in at least one of the bottom-ranked Ten Great Academies, even with an unsatisfactory college entrance exam score. That alone would bring great honor to his family and make his parents immensely proud and happy for a long time.

Upon returning to his room, Chen Mobai feigned just having woken up. After washing up and preparing to leave for school, he was surprised to find his father making breakfast in the kitchen.

“Oh, Dad, are you off today? I thought the factory was busy lately.” Chen Mobai’s father, Chen Xinglan, was a middle-aged man with a square face, of average height and build. Though father and son didn’t spend much time together, they shared a very close bond.

“You’re up early,” Chen Xinglan replied. “Breakfast will be ready in a moment. Go call your mother.” Chen Xinglan continued his work, turning off the heat and bringing a pot of steamed custard buns to the dining table.

“Coming, coming, no need to call,” a voice announced. Tang Pancui descended from the second floor, carrying a basket of laundry. Her voice reached them before she did.

“Son, how’s your cultivation progressing?” At the dining table, the rare family gathering was filled with warmth as they enjoyed breakfast together. Chen Xinglan casually inquired about Chen Mobai’s cultivation progress, and the latter, without hesitation, revealed he had broken through to the sixth level of Qi Condensation.

“Oh, didn’t you just advance to the fifth level of Qi Condensation during summer break? How did you break through again in just over a month?” Chen Xinglan had initially planned to share his own good news by asking about his son's cultivation, but unexpectedly, Chen Mobai delivered good news first.

“It seems that after burning incense at the temple back in my hometown during summer break, I felt a sudden enlightenment, and my understanding of the Five Elements Art deepened significantly,” Chen Mobai explained, half-truth, half-fiction. However, saying it aloud made him realize that it might be worthwhile to visit his hometown again during the winter break.

Since the turtle shell originated from that temple, perhaps the abbot, with whom his mother had fiercely argued over the merit of the first incense offering, was actually an extraordinary reclusive master.

“See? I told you that temple is incredibly spiritual! The village chief’s son, for instance, was practically gasping for breath when he was born…” Tang Pancui seemed to have entirely forgotten her curses against the temple when Chen Mobai was hospitalized because of the turtle shell. She launched into an effusive recounting of childhood legends she had heard about the temple.

Chen Xinglan, utterly uninterested in these tales, interrupted with a soft cough. Immediately, an aura of a ninth-level Qi Condensation cultivator burst forth from him.

“Dad, you broke through!” Chen Mobai’s face lit up with excitement.

Chen Xinglan’s aptitude was slightly better than his son’s. His highest affinity, the Fire Spirit Root, scored 34 points. However, he failed the college entrance exam and only managed to get into the local Chixia Academy after repeating a year. Unfortunately, a single setback often leads to a chain of delays. He spent a full ten years at Chixia Academy, barely breaking through to the seventh level of Qi Condensation, before being compelled to join the military and participate in the development of sea regions.

Yet, fortune often intertwines with adversity. It was during his time developing sea regions that he met Tang Pancui; they fell in love and became husband and wife.

After a decade of such efforts, Chen Xinglan returned with Tang Pancui to Danxia City, and the following year, Chen Mobai was born.

It was the birth of his son that elevated Chen Xinglan’s mental state, allowing him to break through to the eighth level of Qi Condensation. Now, with Chen Mobai eighteen years old, Chen Xinglan had finally reached the ninth level of Qi Condensation. His next step would be to prepare for Foundation Establishment.