Everything Is Under Control... Yeah, Right

[Successfully deployed the first wisp of Spirit Qi!]

[Successfully trained the first cultivator!]

Excited, Lu Fan read the system prompts again and again. A sense of gratification filled his heart, as if a planted seed was finally budding.

[Activate Transformation Reward and Access to (Quest)?]

Lu Fan's eyes lit up.

He felt a jolt of excitement and opened the stats page.

[Host: Lu Fan]

[Title: Qi Refiner (permanent)]

[Refined Qi Level: 1]

[Soul Strength: 1]

[Physique Strength: 0.5]

[Spirit Qi: 9 wisps]

[Transformation Reward: Fantasy Creation Qi Refining Manual]

[World Ranking: Wuhuang Continent (Low-Level Martial World)]

[Access: (Quest), (Dao Imparting Platform), (Spirit Qi Deployment)]

Lu Fan looked closely at the stats page and found some differences, as expected.

The entry of "Transformation Reward," which had once been blank, now had "Fantasy Creation Qi Refining Manual" in it. The very name of the reward thrilled Lu Fan so much that he started cheering in his mind.

A cultivation method!

A cultivation method that could improve his abilities!

Lu Fan had only obtained 10 wisps of Spirit Qi from his paralyzed legs.

The more wisps he used, the fewer he would have left.

He had been worried about what to do once he used them up. Now that he had a cultivation method, the problem was solved!

With his Fantasy Creation Qi Refining Manual, he didn't have to worry about running out of Spirit Qi anymore.

He really wanted to check it out.

Yet considering that Ning Zhao and the others were still in the room, Lu Fan forced down his excitement and focused on the (Quest) option, which was no longer grayed out.

A system message popped up.

[Please choose a quest, Host.]

Lu Fan took a deep breath and directed his consciousness to it.

A long message appeared.

[Main quest: transform Wuhuang Continent into Wuhuang Universe (accepted). Current rate of progress: Low-Level Martial World (Quest Rating: Not Activated).]

[Sidequest: saving Beiluo City from the immediate danger of falling into enemy hands. (Not accepted yet. Accept?)]

Lu Fan looked into the details of the requirements.

There weren't many quests. This was the only side quest besides the main quest.

Lu Fan didn't need much of an explanation of the main quest. Transforming Wuhuang Continent into a fantasy world was a long-term quest that would require tremendous effort and patience.

Between the levels of Low-Level Martial World and Fantasy Universe, there were two levels they had to go through: Mid-Level Martial World and High-Level Martial World.

Besides, Lu Fan had no way to decline the quest. The first time he looked at the stats page, it had already been considered accepted.

What Lu Fan cared more about was the side quest. He turned his attention to that.

"Save Beiluo City..."

Beiluo City was under the rule of Lu Fan's father, Lu Changkong, and it was also one of only six cities left under the control of the emperor.

"Accept the quest," Lu Fan told the system without hesitation.

He did so even though he had no idea what kind of crisis Beiluo City was in.

Lu Fan opened his eyes, and the look of pleasure on his face faded away.

Inside the room, the atmosphere was a bit bizarre.

Ning Zhao's eyes were closed, and she seemed completely mesmerized by the Spirit Qi in her body.

Yi Yue was staring at Lu Fan, astonished at what he had just done.

As for Ni Yu, the girl's eyes were huge, and her mouth was open wide enough to hold a boiled egg.

What she had just seen was way beyond her wildest imagination. It had blown her young mind.

Lu Fan coughed lightly to break the weird silence.

Ning Zhao's curvy body shivered as she slowly woke up. There was a glint in her eyes as she opened them.

"I thank you very much for sharing the results of your immortal encounter with me, Young Master!"

Ning Zhao bowed with deep sincerity, her arms crossed in front of her waist.

Spirit Qi!

There really was Spirit Qi in the world! Her longtime perspective regarding martial arts had been completely changed.

"Have you felt the Spirit Qi? As it entered your dantian, your level should have increased."

Lu Fan straightened the thin blanket over his legs. He was still sitting in the wheelchair.

Ning Zhao nodded with extreme excitement. "My abilities increased dramatically. It was a substantial transformation."

One wisp of Spirit Qi wasn't much, but to a martial arts practitioner from a Low-Level Martial World who had never possessed any Spirit Qi, it was a huge breakthrough. A milestone.

"Now I am one of the Grandmasters."

A radiant smile bloomed on Ning Zhao's beautiful face.

The Grandmaster was the ultimate level all martial arts practitioners could dream of. Ning Zhao was quite gifted. Otherwise, there would not have been any way that she could have hit the level of First Tier in her mid-20s.

If she had wanted to become a Grandmaster by normal methods, however, she would have required at least 10 more years of training.

Yi Yue looked envious upon hearing the news that Ning Zhao had reached the level of Grandmaster.

It was a practically effortless level-jump!

"The first wisp of Spirit Qi was only the beginning. The human body is like a furnace. Once you get one wisp of Spirit Qi, you can develop more and more, using it to fill your dantian. Then your abilities can further improve."

"Those are the basics of practice in the Qi Core Realm," Lu Fan told her.

Lu Fan had learned the term "Qi Core Realm" from previous system prompts.

As for the specifics of leveling, he didn't know much. But to create a legitimate Fantasy Universe, the cultivation realm was necessary.

When he got the chance, Lu Fan planned to look into the leveling of the cultivation realm with the system.

Ning Zhao bowed again. Her respect for Lu Fan grew even stronger.

It was a sort of respect that stemmed from mystery.

Maybe what Lu Fan had said was the truth, and he truly had encountered an immortal.

An immortal had touched the top of his head, and Spirit Qi had filled his whole body.

Even if that wasn't the case, now that Lu Fan had control over Spirit Qi, he had already obtained the key to changing the world.

The Young Master was destined to be extraordinary!

Plus, when Lu Fan talked about the Qi Core Realm, it sounded like he knew his stuff. She felt even more in awe of him.

Yi Yue, standing off to the side, suddenly addressed him. She bit her full, rosy lower lip as she spoke. "Young... Young Master..."

"What is it?" Lu Fan asked, a little confused.

"Young Master, could I also ask you to bestow upon me a wisp of Spirit Qi?" Yi Yue suddenly knelt in front of Lu Fan, bowing before him.

Ning Zhao stood next to Lu Fan. She looked at Yi Yue, her face expressionless. This was a rare opportunity that no practitioner would want to miss. She had expected that Yi Yue would ask Lu Fan for Spirit Qi for herself.

Lu Fan had known it as well.

Yi Yue wasn't slow in trying to catch the opportunity. Unfortunately...

"Come back and ask me again when you become a First-Tier martial arts practitioner."

Yi Yue shivered on the floor.

"Thank you, Young Master."

Lu Fan hadn't answered her with an absolute "no," which meant that she still had a chance.

Yi Yue stood up with her lips pursed. Her eyes blazed with determination.

She didn't appear upset or reluctant to accept Lu Fan's answer. She seemed to understand that Lu Fan had declined her request for her own good.

As a Second-Tier martial arts practitioner, receiving Spirit Qi wouldn't be enough to elevate her to Grandmaster. At this point, wouldn't it be a huge waste of the precious opportunity of the Young Master's immortal encounter?

"Young Master, I want it too!"

Ni Yu, who was still standing against the door, saw that both the older girls had either gotten something from Lu Fan or the promise of it. Her face was flushed red. She didn't want to be left out.

A corner of Lu Fan's mouth twitched.

He glanced at Ni Yu and rolled his eyes.

He refused her without thinking. "What do you think you're doing, kid? Behave yourself!"

Ning Zhao and Yi Yue both pressed their lips together in silence.

Ni Yu said nothing.

It was as if an invisible arrow had pierced through her young heart out of thin air.

The older girls had both gotten something, but Ni Yu had been left out and scorned.

Lu Fan ignored the disappointed Ni Yu.

He turned to Ning Zhao, and the look on his face became more serious. "Sister Ning, what is the current situation in Beiluo City? Do you know anything about it?"

Ning Zhao paused. She hadn't expected Lu Fan to suddenly act as if he were concerned with Beiluo City's fate. The Lu Fan she knew had never shown the slightest interest in it. All he cared about was reading Confucianist books.

As a martial arts practitioner, she always paid attention to the happenings in Beiluo City.

She parted her red lips and said in a soft voice, "The world is in chaos. Twelve counties have rebelled against the Great Zhou Dynasty and are trying to surround the capital city. West County's mayor, Xiang Shaoyun, has taken leadership of the rebels. They have officially declared that the Imperial Advisor has taken power and made the young emperor a figurehead, and that their people were suffering from it. So they decided to start a war against the Imperial Advisor to recover the Great Zhou Dynasty's lost power and prosperity."

Lu Fan weighed the situation as his fingers tapped the armrest of the wheelchair.

"So Beiluo City is facing the alliance of the twelve counties?" Lu Fan asked for clarification.

Ning Zhao shook her head.

"The city is under siege. But not all twelve counties have come against us yet. If that were the case, the master wouldn't have lasted so long. He would have retreated to the capital city by now."

"What does that mean?" Lu Fan didn't understand. Although he had inherited the previous owner's memory, it seemed like the former Lu Fan hadn't known anything about the situation.

"The master once spoke highly of the Imperial Advisor, who called on the heroes of the martial arts world to get together and fight against the rebel armies. That's why the twelve counties weren't doing very well in their fight against the emperor."

"Right now, there are only fifty thousand men laying siege to Beiluo City under the command of Tantai Xuan. He is the mayor of North County," Ning Zhao explained further.

She gave a confident smile.

"Don't worry, Young Master. The master has said that everything's under control."

Lu Fan fell silent.

Even the system's quest pointed out the truth.

Beiluo City was about to fall into the hands of the enemy.

Everything was under control… Yeah, right.