Divine City

Tang Zhi grew eager to eat but suddenly remembered he had no sect points to pay for his food.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have any way to pay for my food..." Tang Zhi said, feeling down.

Suddenly, all three girls began chuckling, surprising Tang Zhi.

"We invited you out for a meal. It's only natural that we would pay for everything," Mei said, trying to hold back her laughter at Tang Zhi's expression.

"Plus, you're new to the sect, meaning you don't have sect points," Rui added. "We knew that when we asked you to join us for a meal."

Tang Zhi didn't expect this. Back in his village, it was common knowledge that a man must pay for the bill when taking a woman out to eat, even if he wasn't the one to suggest it.

In his village, if a man couldn't pay, he would be shunned by the woman. But here, it was different. Since he hadn't brought up the idea of a meal, he wasn't expected to pay for it.

But he still felt a little guilty inside, knowing he was going to let them pay for the meal. His father had always told him to be a gentleman toward women, to treat them like queens, especially in a world where they were often treated poorly.

"I promise that once I have enough sect points, I'll repay you all," Tang Zhi said earnestly.

"Your company is more than enough," Mei quickly replied. Yueqing and Rui nodded in agreement.

He was determined to repay them, regardless of their protestations. A few minutes later, the waiter returned to take their orders before leaving again.

"We apologize if the food isn't to your liking. As outer court disciples, this is our only dining option," Rui said.

"Don't worry about that! The food looks amazing, and the portions are incredible too!"

Seeing Tang Zhi's enthusiastic reaction to the low quality food, they started to wonder about his background.

"Zhi, where do you come from?" Yueqing asked.

"I come from a humble village a few days' journey from here. Coming to the sect was my first time leaving home, so everything is a new experience for me," Tang Zhi responded.

They all began to understand why he found the food so incredible. They couldn't fully grasp how different Tang Zhi's experience must be, having come from a humble background compared to their privileged upbringing. The food here, though satisfactory to him, would be of lower quality compared to what they were accustomed to at home.

"We originate from the same city known as the Divine City, renowned for its abundance of experts and the availability of valuable treasures," Yueqing explained, detailing their shared background.

"I've read about the Divine City in a book. It mentioned that it was founded by an unidentified expert who ascended to higher dimensions," Tang Zhi recounted, clearly impressed by the information of this unknown expert.

In the vastness of the cultivation world, dimensions were crafted by the heavens to segregate the powerful from the weak. These dimensions numbered ten, each surpassing the last in power and size.

They also established cultivation limits within each dimension, preventing stronger cultivators from entering lower realms and disrupting their order.

For the first dimension where Tang Zhi resides, the cultivation limit is set at the Master Qi Realm.

In the cultivation path before reaching the Master Qi Realm, there are four stages: Fundamental Qi, Mortal Qi, True Qi, and Earth Qi, and then Master Qi.

In each realm, there are ten sub-stages, with each stage progressively more challenging to advance through to reach the next.

Once a cultivator reaches the peak of the Master Qi realm, they can challenge the heavens. If deemed talented and worthy, they may ascend to higher dimensions. Otherwise, they remain forever in the peak of the Master Qi realm and the lower dimension.

The odds of a cultivator ascending are near impossible. The last person to ascend was the creator of the Divine City, which occurred two million years ago.

The Ancient Families are powerful and influential because their ancestors managed to ascend.

They would converse about cultivation and life for ten minutes before the waiter returned with their food.

Tang Zhi savored the food, relishing its heavenly taste bursting with flavor that hit all the right spots.

They conversed and enjoyed their meal together, and after two hours, they settled the bill and departed.

The waiter announced, "Your total comes to 52 sect points."

Mei handed her sect medallion to the waiter, who deducted fifty-two sect points from it.

"Thank you once again for the meal. I had a wonderful time," Tang Zhi said, bowing graciously.

They exchanged a few words before going their separate ways.

Upon returning to his room, Tang Zhi noticed Gu Yufeng still deep in cultivation. He quietly settled into a lotus position on his bed and began his own cultivation practice without disturbing him.

He swiftly absorbed cosmic energy and converted it into Qi, yet the Qi's quality remained poor. As a result, his cultivation progress stagnated, barely advancing.

He considered that perhaps impatience was clouding his judgment, and he might need to wait several days before noticing any tangible progress.

So he would sit there for hours on end, which didn't feel long at all due to how time seemed to pass differently when he was deeply absorbed in cultivating.

Those hours turned into days, and after a week, Tang Zhi finally stopped cultivating when Gu Yufeng spoke to him.

"Brother Tang, would you like to go check out some Martial Techniques with me?" Gu Yufeng asked tentatively, noticing Tang Zhi's narrowed gaze he began sweating, fearing he might have unintentionally offended him.

"Yufeng, how long have you been cultivating?" Tang Zhi asked, surprising Gu Yufeng with his question.

"I've been at it for a week and a few days. Why do you ask?" he responded.

"How much progress have you made towards reaching the second stage of the Fundamental Qi Realm during that period?" Tang Zhi inquired.

He considered for a moment before responding, "I've achieved about 13% progress, but advancing further is becoming increasingly challenging. If I maintain consistency, I think I'll reach that stage within a month," Gu Yufeng explained.

"Tang Zhi couldn't understand what was happening. He had been cultivating for a week but hadn't even made 1% progress."