49 No Reason to Complain

That same night, the weather around the academy shifted in a scary way. Throughout the night, there were small surges of summer heat, cool spring breezes and sprinkles, snowfall, and random gusts of wind, thunder, and hail. The academy seemed to be experiencing a calamity. Many disciples were too afraid to fall asleep and could only hope this calamity passed by quickly.

In his private room, far off from the bizarre occurrences, Chu Fan slept cozily in his bed with Nian Gao by his side and Chun Juan guarding the door. Little did he know of the storm brewing just outside his comfy private room.

The sun rose from the east as it did every morning, the anomaly from the night before vanished as if it had merely been a bad dream for the sect. The disciples began to pop their heads out of their rooms as peace returned to their sect. Breathing a sigh of relief, many of them noticed that the sect was rather plentiful in the amount of qi it had. The quality and depth of qi present made for a great environment and opportunity to cultivate.

Neglecting their fatigue, many disciples consumed stamina recovering/enhancing pills to stay awake and cultivate for the day. At this moment, Chu Fan had just gotten up and began his morning routine. When he was done, he went into the kitchen to help with the morning rush. He found it shocking that the usual morning rush of disciples had not shown up yet.

"Strange, where is everyone?"

He stepped out of the kitchen into the dining area and found it to be mostly empty save for a select few disciples, whose love for his food knew no end. Chu Fan walked up to one of the disciples who stood from his seat to greet Chu Fan.

"Ah, hello fellow disciple Chu Fan. The food is as great as always."

Chu Fan greeted him back.

"Thank you, I try to keep a good consistency everyday. Might I ask what's happened to everyone? The usual morning rush hasn't come in today?"

The disciple gave Chu Fan a confused look.

"You mean, you don't know about what happened?"

"What could have happened overnight that would drive the disciples away from their morning meals?"

The disciple was shocked. He scratched his chin as he gathered his thoughts.

"This fatty, really slept through that horrendous ordeal from last night?" he mumbled to himself.

Chuckling, the disciple turned to face Chu Fan.

"Last night, throughout the sect, a a number of strange phenomena took place around the sect." he began to recall all the events of the former night and how he cowered in beneath his blankets with his fellow dormmates. And he went on to explain how the sect seemed to have been blessed by the heavens as a newfound atmosphere of high quality qi enveloped the sect grounds; and how many disciples were not willing to pass up the chance to train and cultivate in this environment. As he explained it all, Chu Fan felt a stray gust of wind tickle the hairs behind his neck.

Turning around, Chu Fan saw a shadow appear before him before his vision turned black as he instinctively blinked. In a split second, he opened his eyes again to find that he was not in the Cafeteria anymore.

"Did I black out? Was I abducted? Naw, nobody would have the gall to try that on sect grounds. Nn?" he said to himself as he examined the familiar place.

As he looked around, he felt that he was not alone. In the shadows, their stood many figures watching Chu Fan. He felt his skin crawl as he remembered where he was. In the Hall of Elders, Chu Fan once again stood on a very familiar platform in front of very familiar faces. He quickly clasped his hands and bowed.

"Disciple Chu Fan offers his greetings to the many elders once again."

*Bam* an elder pounded his bench to dust.

"Chu Fan, do you know why you are standing here today?"

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Chu Fan gave his answer in a monotone voice.

"No, elder. This disciple knows not what he has done."

On the platform where Chu Fan stood, figures blurred into the light where he stood, showing their identities. There stood the five elders and Su Chow who were at the cooking match; around them was a peerless aura. In their presence, Chu Fan felt that he was no more than a speck of dust to them, he felt as though a single breath from one of them could vaporize him in an instant.

Noticing what was happening, Chu Fan nervously chuckled and bowed to the elders.

"Greetings elders...or shall I say elder sisters and brothers. Congratulations on our breakthroughs. The light of youth has returned to many of you.... Especially Elder Wang, what a dashing man."

In a mere night as he made a breakthrough in his cultivation, his body was reborn and full of life-force once again. Vault Keeper Wang truly was a dashing man in the past, he held the nickname "Eastern Casanova" by many in his youth. At the moment, he stood upright and just with a sharp gaze that could cut down mountains. His black hair fluttered about as he slowly approached Chu Fan.

"Chu Fan, how have you done this? Have you discovered the Fountain of Youth? Or have you stolen the Nectar of the Immortals? Tell us please?" asked an elder.

From the darkness an old man with a long grey beard appeared and kowtowed to Chu Fan. He was followed by five other elderly men and women. These elders had aged progressively over the years, signifying the unnerving end to their years of dedication and pursuit of immortality. Desperate for more time, they cast away their pride and begged the little fatty who was clueless as to what he might have discovered.

"Please, elders. I am not worthy of such praise. I have not achieved much in my small lifetime. Please stand and we can discuss matters."

Chu Fan knelt down and picked up the kowtowing elders. He looked at Su Chow and the others and spoke.

"I have not found the Fountain of Youth or stolen the Nectar of the Immortals. I merely discovered a mere flaw in Qi Formation's beliefs."

"What? What nonsense is he spouting this time?" said an elder. He had once again lost respect for Chu Fan as he thought the child could have been a genius; but he was in fact just another heretic.

"Hear me out elder, because these elders who stand before you are proof of my discoveries. I assure you that there is no reason to complain here. Though these elders may have suffered a little, they have gained more benefits than what they have lost around their waist line."

"Y-You little rascal!" said a female elder with snowy jade-like skin and brown hair. Her eyes fluttered and her lips flushed red as she pouted at Chu Fan. This made two or three of the elderly looking elders blush as their hearts thumped.

Su Chow raised his hand and shushed the crowd.

"Let him explain."

Chu Fan nodded his head and continued with his lecture.

"As you all believe, cultivators are born with inborn pure qi and blood essence and such things shall never be consumed or wasted lest the cultivator sacrifices a great portion of his lifespan in using this qi and blood essence. Am I right?"

"Yes, what are you getting at here?" said a heckling elder.

Chu Fan waved his fingers about.

"And where is the definite lifespan of a person written? Is it determined upon birth, is it determined when one chooses to pursue cultivation and the path to immortality? If I burnt a thumbs worth of blood essence, how does it take away half of my lifespan? Is there a visor that allows me to detect it all? Inborn pure qi also: if I am created from a human who has lived many odd years with built-up impurities, how is this inborn qi therefore pure?"

"This child is crazy, no more of his nonsense. I say throw him out. What say you elders? Elders?"

The elder looked at his peers who looked like obedient schoolchildren attentively listening to their old teacher's ever-so-fascinating lecture. With no choice, the elder listened with scorn as he found Chu Fan's words pretentious and without solid backing.

"The body of a cultivator replenishes the blood essence with time and cleanses his body of impurities while simultaneously refining their inborn qi into its 'pure' state. The cultivator is the key to the problem as they limit themselves to rules that came from old philosophies. You elders have lived for countless decades and seen many centuries come to pass have you not?"

They all nodded in agreement with puzzled faces. They did not understand where Chu Fan was leading his argument.

"Elders, you are like fine wines. Your inborn pure qi has been refined for a millenia without having ever seen the light of day. A wine left in the cellar for a hundred years may be mellow, but a wine left for a millenia is one that will rot. Elders, you have what I call Qi Constipation."

The elders all choked on their blood as they heard Chu Fan bellow out the name of his diagnosed problem.

"Bullshit! What are you talking about? What Qi Constipation?" said the elder who was doubtful of Chu Fan.

"From the beginning of your cultivation until now, you have lived with the knowledge of this unspoken rule of avoiding the usage of your inborn pure qi and blood essence. You've inadvertently created a blockage of amassed qi and blood essence inside yourselves; restricting the amount of newer and possibly higher quality qi and blood essence from inside of you. Why is it, do you think that some cultivators are able to make a breakthrough mid-battle. They are able to use and deplete their old supply of qi and blood essence and create more as they grow in strength."

Hearing Chu Fan's rant, they all ate their words and thought about the possibility that the little fatty in front of them might be right. It was a new perspective on cultivation that they had never dared to think of, yet this child before them seemed oblivious to the possible consequences of his practices and thoughts.

After discussing amongst themselves and evaluating the five elders who had made their breakthrough, they had come to a consensus that Chu Fan was in fact speaking the truth about his theory of "Qi Constipation". The elders that had tried Chu Fan's cooking could, in fact, feel that the qi and blood essence in their body did feel more refined after consolidating their cultivation.

With a glint in their eyes, the elders looked at Chu Fan with much praise. They had finally found a genius among their disciples. It had many years a genius last appeared within the sect. Many of the disciples of prior generations were subpar in quality: lot of them road on the coattails of their predecessors but were not willing to put in the time and effort to be worthy of the pride and respect that their name received. Never would these elders expected that a small kitchen servant from a small town would have such potential for greatness.

"Hahaha, Chu Fan, it seems that us elders have truly underestimated your abilities. We did not know that there was a hidden talent among our newest generation of disciples. Forgive us if we may have offended you in the past."

Chu Fan waved his hands.

"No, no it's me that should be saying that. This disciple was raised in a modest household and did not learn the proper etiquette when being around elders such as you all. If I was brash and immature in any way, please forgive me. Through the guidance of my Hallmaster Chen Si, I have come to understand and respect you elders."

"Oh, so this child is true to the rumors. He is rather sly in his flattery." said a female elder as she chuckled.

The elder who was skeptical earlier was now in a neutral mood, he had thought about Chu Fan's words for a while before ultimately agreeing with him. He walked up to Chu Fan.

"Chu Fan, these Gourmet Elixirs of yours, how long have you thought of them? And why do you choose now of all times to present them?" he asked Chu Fan in a serious tone.

Chu Fan looked up at him in the eyes.

"I have thought of them ever since I entered the sect. I was simply too weak at the time to try my own cooking with magical ingredients. As for why I chose to show the world of my Gourmet Elixirs? The reason is rather simple. To beat the other sects in the upcoming inter-sect tournament."