Life Flame
Sporting a bewildered expression, Jie Xiulan stared at Lin Shen. 'Brother Lin is amazing! To already be in the Qi Refining stage in just a few minutes...such a genius!'
Feeling bored, she looked around Lin Shen's room.
'Brother Lin's room is really simple. There's only a bed, a wooden closet, a desk, and a laptop. It's so different from mine.' Jie Xiulan had a peculiar smile on her face. 'Seeing as the only thing he has of value is the laptop, he must have some secrets hidden in it.'
The laptop was placed on the table just behind Lin Shen. With a mischievous smile, she tiptoed around the focused Lin Shen and stood before the desk, her hands outstretched.
When she opened the laptop, what she saw made her disappointed. 'Of course there'd be a password.' Jie Xiulan pouted as she closed the laptop.
At this time, at the door, Jie Zheng poked his head out, looking around inside the room, before he made his way in. Noticing his arrival, Jie Xiulan quickly tiptoed over, her hand gesturing to be quiet.
She whispered, "Father, what brings you here?"
"I came to investigate the cause of the disturbance, but it seems it was just little Lin refining his Qi."
Jie Zheng observed Lin Shen's cultivating form, pleased. "I was tipsy earlier from the wine, I didn't know such a long time had already passed. Little Lin has already started refining his dantian."
"Oh yeah, Father, how long did it take for you to reach the Qi Refining stage?"
Jie Zheng touches his chin. "Hmm, if I can remember correctly, it took me around 2 days, and that is already considered a prodigy. Most people take months to perceive the elemental Qi that they have a high affinity for, then a few weeks more to sense and materialize the Qi inside their mind space. The last step, refining the dantian would take more than a month, although the process would be much faster the more familiar to the element you were." Jie Zheng felt proud to be such a genius father that he couldn't help praising himself in his mind.
"Wow…"
"Yes Xiulan, your father is such a—"
"Brother Lin is a super genius, to actually only use half an hour to reach Qi Refining…"
Jie Zheng was stunned at his daughter's remarks. "W-wait a minute, Xiulan. Can you repeat what you said?"
"Brother Lin is a super genius?"
"No, the one after that."
"He took only half an hour to reach Qi Refining?"
"Yes that one! Are you sure you counted correctly? Such a cultivation speed has never been heard of before."
Jie Xiulan nodded her head. "It's easy. Isn't Brother Lin cultivating right now? You can just count the speed at which he's refining his dantian."
Being reminded of such a fact, Jie Zheng paid attention to Lin Shen's refining speed. His discovery had him shocked.
10 minutes, one cycle…
9 minutes..one cycle.
Each refining cycle got faster, until finally, one cycle was equal to one minute.
"A-a genius..! He's a genius! There has never been anyone with such a talent, not even in the Saint's Council."
Jie Zheng's heart pumped rapidly out of excitement. Right now, Lin Shen was just a beginner at the Qi Refining realm, and had started cultivation for not even a full hour. If taught correctly and with the right resources, he might be able to reach the realm beyond Immortal Ascension…
Maybe at that time, he could cure his daughter?
His heart always hurt seeing his daughter unable to cultivate. Ever since she was a child, she would often see other kids training with their parents and cultivating. They had to work hard, bound by their will to go against the heavens.
She was the only one who was free, but that freedom came at a cost.
Her special physique blocked her meridians and also weakened her body, making her no different from a cripple. She could rely on pills to stabilize her body, but she yearned for the life the other children had.
Although he might just be getting his hopes up, he wanted to grasp onto that hope, no matter how tiny it currently was, until it grew and achieved his goal.
"I've decided." Jie Zheng took out a jade medallion from thin air. The medallion was circular in shape and had outer edges decorated with an unknown material dark in color. It's surface was engraved with the words "Prime Disciple". He grasped this medallion securely in his hand, the importance very clear.
"Father, is that…?" Jie Xiulan's voice paused midway, her shock clear. The medallion her father held was not just a simple medallion. It held a much bigger meaning.
"The Prime Disciple's token, a token that only the disciple of the sect master of Four Seasons Sect can have. I will hand it to little Lin so he can receive my full support." Jie Zheng confirmed and stated his reason.
"But would the grand elders agree? Brother Lin wasn't born inside the sect after all."
"No worries. Little Lin has a lot of potential, no way the grand elders wouldn't agree." Jie Zheng clenched his fist tightly. "If not, I'll force them to agree. I am the sect master after all."
~+++~
Lin Shen didn't know, but his future had already been decided. He was doing his best to cultivate, but time passed and he started feeling bored. The rate at which he was progressing felt too slow, it made him lose his interest.
He got up and stretched his sore body until he was stopped.
"Brother Lin, you've finally finished. My father has something to tell you." Jie Xiulan hopped over to Lin Shen, her excitement clear.
"What's the matter?"
"Come on, it's important." She dragged him to stand in front of her father. Lin Shen was confused about what was going to happen but he decided to wait and see.
He noticed Jie Xiulan's father, Jie Zheng, who sported a happy expression.
"Uncle, did you need something?" Lin Shen inquired.
"Yes, actually…" Jie Zheng told him what he discussed earlier with Jie Xiulan. He also told him about the exact conditions of Xiulan's physique. As Lin Shen listened on, he felt more empathetic of her life.
She was just an innocent and fragile girl, yet the world robbed her of her chance at immortality.
Jie Zheng sighed. "You are very talented, I can imagine you one day achieving the realm beyond Immortal Ascension. When that happens, I want you to cure my daughter if you can."
"...can you give me some time to think about it?" Lin Shen needed some alone time to think.
"Alright. Xiulan, let's go." Jie Zheng dragged his daughter out of the room to give Lin Shen some thinking space.
Now that he was all alone, Lin Shen lay on his bed and thought over the topic.
Sure, he wanted to cure Xiulan if he could, but the position of the Prime Disciple was heavy. They would be using their resources on him to cultivate him beyond Immortal Ascension, but what if he never reached that realm? What if he couldn't cure Xiulan in time, would she die a mortal life?
He was scared of all the potential "ifs" that arose from his thoughts.
Lin Shen regulated his breathing and calmed down. Since he wasn't in the right mind to make decisions, he should just relax his tension and let the answer come naturally.
While waiting, he decided to check on his phone. He opened up the Rebirth app which brought him to the simple screen he was starting to get familiar with.
[Name: Dust]
Talent: 15
Will: 52 / 100
Mental Capacity: 100
[Training]
[Inventory]
'System, can you tell me what changed?'
(Certainly. Beginning with the easiest one, your "Will" stats increased by 2 as your emotional state had grown. Your total Talent rose to 15 because you began cultivating, which also unlocked a new category.)
'A new category? Open it up please.'
As soon as he asked that, a new screen appeared.
[Cultivation]
Qi Element: Life Flame
Realm: Qi Refining Stage
Cycle: 33
Cultivation Speed: 1 Minute
'Tell me what they do.'
[Qi Element: Your Qi element is Life Flame; it has both healing and destructive properties.]
[Realm: The current stage you are in.]
[Cycle: The amount of cycles you've done between Qi Sensing, Qi Forming and Qi Condensing. Subject to change upon realm advancement.]
[Cultivation Speed: The speed at which you complete a cycle. Subject to change.]
'System, this element, Life Flame, does it have anything to do with you?'
(Yes, that is correct. The training you completed for Mental Capacity required you to collect flame droplets, and every droplet collected infused it's essence into your body.)
(However, the essence mutated from a flame essence to the Life Flame you have now because you tried sensing the 'heat' in your body, but you didn't specify which heat, causing your life heat and the flame essence to merge.)