7 Spirit Cultivation

While Xuefeng didn't have trouble surviving his first day in another world, someone dear to him was busy changing her tragic future.

That day in the Central Region was supposed to be remembered for centuries because the two most powerful families would be connected by marriage. Who would have thought that before the wedding even started, the Xiao Family's princess would be found half-dead in her own bed?

Xiao Fang, the Leader of the Xiao Family was convinced that someone tried to assassinate his daughter and promptly suspended the wedding until the culprit would be found. Only later did he find out no assassins were involved. Instead, it was revealed that his daughter had staged the incident as an attempt to escape from the unwanted marriage.

She was immediately summoned to the judgment hall for questioning, where she entered with a stoic expression, showing no hint of regret.

"Can you tell me what happened? I thought you liked that Tang brat?" Xiao Fang questioned in frustration, failing to read anything from his daughter's eyes.

His daughter Tianshi was the flower of their family, a beautiful and graceful lady whom anyone in the Central Region dreamed of marrying. She was also extremely obedient and rarely contested his parent's words, but everything changed after the incident.

"I never said I like him, you were the one who decided everything without even asking for my opinion," Tianshi said calmly as she looked straight into her father's eyes.

Xiao Fang felt uncomfortable under her sharp gaze. This was the first time he saw such determination in his daughter's eyes, to the point he began questioning if she was really his daughter.

"Then why did you not tell me earlier? Why did you try to kill yourself? Do you realize how sad your mother would be if you were gone?" He questioned, trying to understand the reasoning.

To his surprise, a tear rolled down Tianshi's cheek and she cried her heart out, "I told you many times, but you never listen! I said I wanted to be the one to choose my partner, but you said I am too young to decide my future! You are so stubborn that you even caused your daughter to try to kill herself. All you think about are profits, profits, and profits! Don't you have enough money already?!"

Tianshi had already been through similar ordeals many times, and now she finally had the chance to voice her suppressed feelings. She poured her heart out with no restraints, criticizing every action her father ever made in front of him.

Xiao Fang opened his mouth several times, trying to say something, but he was speechless. He was shocked that his frail daughter could confront him with so much energy.

"Hubby, how about we let her do what she wants? The bird has to fly from the nest one day or another," his wife's calm words drifted into his ears and he finally sighed.

Many elders were gossiping with each other but when Xiao Fang looked at them, the hall suddenly turned silent.

"Elder Yang," Xiao Fang called out in a commanding tone. "Announce to the public that the wedding is canceled. Apologize to all the guests and offer the Tang family one of the treasures as payment for breaking the agreement."

All the elders gasped at his decision, and immediately, an old man led the group out in protest.

"Leader Xiao, please reconsider! The consequences will be catastrophic!" Elder Yang warned in panic. "We should just give the princess some time. I'm sure she will eventually accept─"

"Are you fucking deaf?!" Xiao Fang bellowed, the sound wave from his voice alone causing all the elders to tremble. "My daughter said she doesn't want to marry that bastard so the wedding is canceled. If the Tang family has any complaints afterward, they can come over and fight it out with me. Is that clear?!"

No Elder dared to utter a single word of disagreement and they quickly walked out to carry out Xiao Fang's decision, leaving only the core of Xiao Family. 

"Thank you, father!" Tianshi's delighted voice reached Xiao Fang's ears and for the first time in a while, he felt his daughter's warm embrace. "You won't regret your decision."

Xiao Fang patted her head with a smile before turning to his wife. "Take Tianshi away for now. I need to clean up this mess before it's too late."

"Be careful," Tianshi's mother nodded in understanding and they walked out of the hall, returning to Tianshi's quarters.

"Tianshi, just cause you were forgiven by your father, don't think I'm done scolding you," her mother said as soon as they were alone. "Do you know how despaired I was when I saw you in that puddle of blood? Promise you will never do it again!"

"I'm sorry, I will not do that again," Tianshi promised sincerely, hugging her mother as well.

"Tell me, if you don't want to marry into the Tang Family, do you have anyone else in mind?" she asked while caressing Tianshi's lush brown hair.

To her surprise, Tianshi nodded while looking at the night sky. "There is a person I once knew and I can't stop thinking about him. I keep dreaming about our future together, so I'm sure he is the one for me."

"Who is he? Do you know which family he belongs to?" her mother pried for more details.

"The name he gave me was Liu Xuefeng, but I'm not sure if it's his real name. I will start by seeking out all individuals with similar names, and if I still can't find him, I will broaden my search to include all geniuses around my age. I will know it's him if I just see him once," Tianshi replied with confidence. "The best method would be to spread my picture everywhere in the continent. I'm sure he will come find me if he sees it."

Her mother was speechless for a moment, but she didn't contest the idea. "Is he worth such an effort?"

Tianshi smiled at the question, knowing very well he was. "Of course he is. He is someone who would die to protect me."

***

Xuefeng woke up at noon the next day, having enjoyed one of the best sleeps of his life. He dressed himself without waiting for Wuying and only sought her out when he was ready to eat breakfast together. He found her already on her feet, working out in the small training grounds inside his courtyard.

As he secretly observed her, he was instantly amazed by her moves, not expecting his servant to be this skilled with a pair of daggers. The way she swung her blades was agile and fluid, yet precise and deadly.

"How long are you going to spy on me?" Wuying's playful voice pulled him out of his daze, and he smiled innocently, stepping out of the shadows.

"I didn't know you were this good with blades. Now I know who will be teaching me how to battle later on," Xuefeng praised as she came to his side, her body covered in sweat. "Do you need to bathe before we eat breakfast?"

He tried his best to avoid staring, but she only wore a cropped shirt that resembled a sports bra, exposing her toned abs in full view. With the loose skirt rising each time she moved, any man would find it hard to resist.

Wuying didn't seem to mind his stares and instead pursed her lips, teasing him, "Why do you ask? Do you intend to join me, Xuefeng?"

"Since when did you become so bold?" he asked back in surprise, not expecting Wuying to be so daring. "You used to blush from a hug just yesterday, and look at you now."

Wuying only sheathed her daggers and walked past him with a provoking smile. "Yesterday you were my Young Master. Today you are my Xuefeng."

"Your Xuefeng, huh?" he repeated amused, watching her curved back as she walked towards the open bath area.

As much as he wanted to correct her behavior, he had allowed her to address him more friendly yesterday. What he didn't consent to was all the teasing, which started to weigh on his mind. How was he supposed to ignore a beautiful girl like her when she offered herself on a silver platter?

"I will be waiting inside. You are free to join me," Wuying called out as she winked from afar and closed the door behind her.

Xuefeng rubbed his face, trying to wash away his perverted thoughts. He was supposed to focus on his cultivation to raise his chances of survival, not chase after girls.

'But thinking about it, she did experience a dramatic change, which is quite unusual. Is it because I mentioned Tianshi? Don't tell me she thinks I have another girl, so she started to make her flirting more obvious?' Xuefeng wondered while walking to the kitchen instead of falling for her trap. 'If that's the case, we might have a problem...'

He was already struggling to resist her due to his old feelings for her, so he might eventually lose his rationality if she kept pushing him over the edge. Thankfully, he was saved by the elder who visited him at the right time, pulling him away from meeting the bathed temptress.

Based on his memories, his teacher was called Elder Ming, who also happened to be in charge of the Spirit Awakening Ceremony. Although he was stern-looking, he didn't seem to have any prejudice against him.

"It seems like I came while you were eating. That's fine; you can eat while I explain to you the rules of cultivation," Elder Ming suggested, not questioning why the young master was eating breakfast at this hour. "I assume you know nothing, so let's start from the very basics."

The explanation was much simpler than Xuefeng expected, with everything starting from awakening the Spirit. To start his cultivation, he had to split his consciousness into two portions and imprint one part into the Spirit in his dantian. Only with the spirit he could start gathering the Spirit Essence from the air and transform it into Spirit Qi that he could use.

"Most use Spirit Awakening Pill to wake up their spirits, but it's cheap and doesn't increase the quality of your spirit. In our Clan, we use an expensive Spirit Awakening Liquid, which also nourishes your spirit and increases its talent," Elder Ming introduced proudly. "With higher talent, you will be able to absorb more Spirit Essence into your dantian and in turn raise your cultivation stage faster."

"How does one measure talent?" Xuefeng asked curiously while snacking on the cold food Wuying prepared earlier.

"You can tell your talent by the color of your Qi. There are nine levels of Spirit talents: golden, black, purple, dark blue, sky blue, dark green, light green, red, and orange. The golden is the highest, and the orange is the lowest. If you possess at least a sky-blue talent, you are bound to become a well-known cultivator," Elder Ming explained, trying to lower his expectations. "You must know there were only a few people in history who had golden talent, and all of them were either Emperors or Saints. You can imagine how rare it is."

Xuefeng nodded firmly, showing he was listening attentively.

"Okay, now that you know the basics, let me tell you about the first hurdle in front of you. After you awaken your spirit, you will have to fill your dantian with Spirit Qi. This stage is called the Spirit Gathering stage. It can be a long process, but also a quick one. It all depends on how good your talent is."

'So everything depends on my talent...' Xuefeng noticed. "How long does it take?"

"The whole range is around a year for orange talents and one day for golden. Of course, most cultivators spend around one to three months, which should also be your spot unless you turn out to be a genius," Elder Ming replied while giving him a judging look. "Anyway, once you fill your whole dantian with Spirit Qi, you can start to increase its capacity by breaking the walls surrounding it. Breaking the first wall will make you a Spirit Master, a stage that many orange talents stay for their whole life."

"I guess I get it now. The better your talent is, the easier it is to gather Spirit Essence and the better Qi you will produce. It will also be easier for you to climb the ranks by breaking the walls of your dantian to increase its capacity," Xuefeng concluded, not happy with the whole system. "Isn't this quite unfair? Everyone's future seems to be decided at birth."

"The life of a cultivator is always filled with struggles. If you lack talent, you can only rely on expensive pills to help with your breakthrough or on Spirit Herbs to help increase the quality of your Qi," Elder Ming nodded with a sigh as if he knew this struggle very well. "I'm sure the Clan Leader will help raise your talent with the clan funds, so you don't need to worry."

As much as he wanted to stay calm, he couldn't help but swallow nervously at the thought of awakening with the lowest talent possible. His survival depended on having good talent, so he could only hope for the best.

'Let's hope the Fate Spirit I got in Middle Heaven will somehow improve my talent...' Xuefeng prayed while finishing his meal. "Is that all I need to know?"

Wuying would soon be done with her bath, so he wanted to finish before she got the chance to seduce him again.

"I guess you will learn about higher ranks after you start cultivating, but it doesn't hurt to know beforehand. Breaking the second and third walls in your dantian will make you a Spirit Grandmaster and Spirit King respectively. The latter is the stage of the Clan Leader, so you can tell it's not easy to reach," Elder Ming chuckled while rising from his seat. "Don't think about reaching that level for now. Becoming a Spirit Master after being delayed by a broken dantian is already good enough."

"Yes, I will make sure to cultivate diligently," Xuefeng nodded politely despite snickering internally. Since he was in a cultivation world that everyone dreamed about, he should have at least aimed to become a godlike being that flies through the skies.

"Tomorrow you will take part in the Spirit Awakening Ceremony but also get the chance to enter the Spirit Treasury. I have prepared a manual that explains everything you need to know about Spirit Artifacts, so make sure to read it carefully," Elder Ming advised as he placed a booklet on the table. "If you have any questions, you can always call me, and I will come to explain. Of course, I would appreciate it if you didn't since I'm quite busy preparing for the ceremony."

Xuefeng gave the booklet a casual read and was quite impressed with the gathered information. Not only did it contain information about all the known Spirit Artifacts, but it also summarized everything he needed to know about Cultivation. Considering he came from Earth, he was used to studying from books.

"Thank you, Elder, that's more than enough for me," Xuefeng thanked sincerely while glancing at the bathroom. "Besides, if I have questions, I will just ask Wuying. She is more than knowledgeable to help a newbie like me."

Elder Ming visually panicked at his words and coughed awkwardly as he retreated, "Is that so? I guess I will take my leave then. Hope you study well."

Xuefeng squinted his eyes at the suspicious behavior, but Elder Ming left before he could question him.

"What's up with him?"