Chapter 12
Chapter 12: A Lesson
The sky was a flawless blue, cloudless to the horizon. Wild grass surged with life beneath Zhao Chun’s feet. Everything around her felt sharpened, as if the world itself had been magnified.
After breaking through to the first level of the Qi Refining Stage, her senses were keener, but nothing else seemed dramatic.
Just as Mentor Xun had said, in the early Qi Refining Stage, strength didn’t show and qi wasn’t yet abundant. Compared to ordinary people, there was little difference.
At this stage she needed to lay a firm foundation—accumulate steadily, open the first meridian, and push into the second level in one clean surge.
The first three levels of the Qi Refining Stage were clearly separated.
The divide between the first and second levels depended on whether the meridians were opened. Only after all twelve meridians were open could a cultivator shatter the first single acupoint and enter the third level.
As for the mid Qi Refining Stage, the hallmark was forming a full internal cycle. That was still far ahead.
Whether advancing from the first level to the second was difficult depended on the meridians themselves. Narrow meridians were easier to clear but made later cultivation harder. Wide meridians were difficult to clear, yet allowed faster progress later. Gains and losses—always both.
Now that she had drawn qi into her body, Zhao Chun’s most urgent task was to choose a main spirit root, convert attribute qi, and begin opening her meridians.
Her metal and fire were strong. Wood was weak. She knew she should choose between the first two, yet the moment she tried, she found herself stuck.
Mentor Xun had taught that spirit roots generated and restrained one another, but did not truly merge; separating cultivation by element was common for multi-root cultivators.
But Zhao Chun’s Metal-Fire Spirit Root was knotted together. The two kinds of qi refused to separate. The moment one stirred, the other surged in response, pressing down so hard that her wood root didn’t dare move at all.
She planned to ask about it at the next class. For now, she could only cultivate both kinds of qi together.
A few days later, Zhou Pian Ran came to her, eyes bright. “I heard there’s a place in the Outer Sect called the Hundred Treasures Market. They sell things cultivators use. Do you want to go?”
Zhao Chun was short on money and didn’t lack essentials. She shook her head. Seeing Zhou Pian Ran’s eager expression, she added, “If you want to go, wait until the Senior Sisters have a rest day and let them take you. Those places are crowded. Going alone isn’t safe.”
Zhou Pian Ran nodded, then hesitated as if gathering courage. “I’ve been cultivating these past few days and… I’m not making any progress. I can’t understand the book. I can’t even memorize the formula you taught me.”
Her voice shrank. “I think I finally understand. I’m not made for this.
“So I thought… instead of wasting days, I should find something to do. I talked to Senior Sister Lian. In the future I’ll go with her to the Reed River to tend the gardens. At least I can save things for later and bring them home for my parents.”
Then she added, indignant, “But they said I’m young, so they’ll only pay me half wages.”
Zhao Chun laughed. “How old are you, and you’re already going to work? They’re even willing to take you at all. That half wage is probably only because of Senior Sister’s face.”
Lian Jing’s assignment was at the Reed River, a tributary split from the upper reaches of the Sky-Piercing River. Spiritual qi there was abundant; the soil was fertile. Vast fields of medicinal herbs grew along the banks, the source of many of the Ling Zhen Sect’s daily medicinal powders. It was a place the sect valued highly.
The fact that Lian Jing could bring Zhou Pian Ran in said something about her connections.
Still, labor was labor. Zhou Pian Ran was young. Zhao Chun worried she wouldn’t endure it. But Zhou Pian Ran only smiled, confident. “With Senior Sister watching me, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”
After that, everyone left early and returned late, and the courtyard fell quiet. Zhao Chun sank fully into cultivation. Other than meals, she didn’t step outside.
By the time the second minor class arrived, she had become skilled at converting qi.
This time, Mentor Xun barely touched on basics. His focus was spells. He warned them bluntly, “Practicing spells can improve your control of spiritual qi, but do not learn too many, and do not learn them in a messy mix.
“Most spells you can access are only truly useful in the early Qi Refining Stage. If you indulge in those external things and neglect your cultivation, you will gain less than you lose.”
Zhao Chun thought of a tree. No matter how lush the branches and leaves, if the roots were shallow, wind would take it down.
But if nothing grew at all, it would wither just the same.
She decided she would choose one or two spells later—enough to train control, enough to survive.
When the time came to ask questions, she stood.
“Mentor Xun. This disciple wanted to cultivate spirit roots separately, but my metal and fire cannot be divided. When one moves, the other follows immediately. What is the reason?”
Mentor Xun lifted an eyebrow. After a brief pause, he said, “Separate cultivation requires you to choose the spirit root with the strongest momentum. In most cases, there is always a difference. A small difference is called balanced momentum; a large one is strong versus weak.
“But exceptions exist. The sect’s records mention a three-root disciple whose roots were perfectly balanced, differing by less than half a point. You are likely the same.”
Zhao Chun’s heart sank. “Then what should this disciple do?”
Mentor Xun shook his head, regret evident. “That disciple had no choice but to cultivate all three. He ultimately stopped at the mid Qi Refining Stage. You are better off than he was. You can attempt dual cultivation.”
So there was no solution.
Zhao Chun bowed in thanks and sat down.
Immediately, pitying looks turned toward her.
Her seat had moved forward since last class. She wasn’t the only three-root disciple to succeed in drawing qi into the body, but breaking through to the first level within the first month still made people look twice.
A light laugh sounded from the front. “So I thought she was a genius. Turns out she’s just a flashy shell.”
Zhao Chun looked up. The speaker wore purple robes and a golden crown, dressed nothing like the disciples around him. His eyes were narrow and upturned, full of lazy amusement.
Zhao Chun wasn’t soft. If anything, she was stubborn, with clear love and hate. Her voice went cold.
“A gentleman is sparing with words. Only petty men gossip about right and wrong.”
The boy’s brows shot up. He looked ready to leap at her. Someone beside him hurriedly tugged his sleeve. “Mentor Xun is still here!”
The boy’s nostrils flared. His chest rose and fell. He didn’t dare stand up and let Mentor Xun notice, so he only stared at Zhao Chun as if he wanted to tear into her.
Zhao Chun stared right back.
In the early Qi Refining Stage, the difference in strength wasn’t large. And this boy—dark circles under his eyes, thin and hollow—looked like someone drained from the inside. Instructor Zheng had called Zhao Chun “not strong enough” when comparing her to a martial adept. Against a weak, pampered disciple like this, Zhao Chun would have to worry about breaking him too easily.
She looked away and returned to her breathing, refusing to waste more attention on him.
The boy simmered through the rest of class. The moment the bell rang and Mentor Xun left, he moved.
Both hands curled into claws as he lunged for Zhao Chun’s throat.
Zhao Chun’s brows knit. She hadn’t expected him to strike so viciously at a ten-year-old girl. She twisted aside, braced one palm on the ground, and snapped her leg out into his chest.
He screamed and flew backward, slamming into a nearby desk.
Zhao Chun’s voice cut through the commotion, ice-calm. “I intended only to teach you a lesson and let you suffer a little pain. I didn’t expect you to be so vicious you’d attack a child.
“The sect rules forbid disciples from fighting at will. But if I broke your ribs today, it was because you struck first. If the Law Enforcement Disciples come, others witnessed it.”
Around them, faces went stiff. No one would protect a second-level Qi Refining disciple out of favoritism, but Zhao Chun kicking someone three heads taller than her across the room—and then calling herself a child with a straight face—still left everyone feeling oddly embarrassed.