Chapter 92: The Mystical Physique
(This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation)
The battle on the White Jade Terrace of Ascension drew widespread attention, especially due to the quarrel between You Bu Yu, a direct disciple of the Inner Court, and the eldest daughter of the Pill Sect. This confrontation became the spark for the first time an Outer Court disciple dared to provoke a direct disciple of the Inner Court.
However, after fifty-three swords howled through the sky, the crowd’s interest shifted elsewhere. Their debates centered not on the initial conflict but on whether this duel represented Ji You’s true limits and how his reserves of spiritual qi could be so vast.
Some claimed his methods involved extreme extraction of his spiritual essence, while others speculated his cultivation technique differed fundamentally from the norm. As rumors spread, even the instructors of the academy began voicing varied opinions.
“Regardless of whether his technique involves essence extraction, Ji You’s spiritual qi is undoubtedly peculiar. Perhaps he obtained some unknown advantage from ancient ruins and failed to report it to the academy…”
“Nonsense,” another retorted. “He grew up in the countryside, teaching himself the ways of cultivation. Even before joining the academy, his refinement and manipulation of spiritual qi were extraordinary—you just didn’t know about it.”
“Before joining the academy?”
Within the instructors’ hall, Cao Jin Song sipped tea, his face radiant with satisfaction as he stroked his long beard, exuding the demeanor of a sage removed from worldly concerns. When Sun Bin issued the challenge, Ji You readily accepted, driven by a need for silver coins. By the time the instructors learned of the duel, the two had already ascended the White Jade Terrace.
Upon hearing the news, Cao Jin Song rushed to the scene, only to witness countless swords illuminating the sky, their cold glints dazzling like stars. Satisfied with what he saw, he puffed out his chest and returned to the instructors’ hall, skipping the spectacle’s conclusion entirely.
Now reclining with a cup of tea, he crossed his legs. As expected, the academy’s instructors soon began discussing the astonishing display of swordsmanship, leaving Cao Jin Song basking in their reactions.
“You’ve never mentioned Ji You’s life before he joined the academy,” one instructor remarked.
“I am modest by nature, unbothered by fame or humiliation, and dislike boasting. Naturally, I’ve said little. How would you know otherwise?”
The instructors exchanged skeptical glances, their eyes drawn to Cao Jin Song’s chest, which seemed to swell more than the academy’s most vigorous female disciples. [Modest? More like bloated!]
Casually placing his tea cup on the table, Cao Jin Song smiled faintly. “Do you know how Ji You came to join the Heavenly Script Academy?”
Lu Qing Qiu’s instructor, Ma Zhi Yuan, looked up. “Didn’t you say it was mere coincidence?”
“It was, but the details behind this coincidence are fascinating.”
He began recounting the story:
“The academy notified me that a cultivation quota in Feng Prefecture had been awarded to Fang Ruo Yao, the daughter of the county prefect of Yuyang County. I set out with a team, but upon arriving, I discovered an uproar about the Mystic Origin Immortal Palace’s manor abducting a young girl for alchemical purposes.”
Cao Jin Song’s tone turned grave as he continued, “The girl’s worth lay in her unparalleled spiritual potential. Humans are born with an innate essence, though its quantity varies. This girl’s essence was nearly overflowing, yet no cultivators had ever appeared in her family line. I couldn’t fathom it.”
He paused, his eyes glinting like a tiger’s. “That changed on the day the girl was taken.”
The instructors leaned in, their curiosity piqued. “What happened?”
Cao Jin Song smirked. “That day, a white-clad youth burst into my temporary residence. His aura surged like a roaring river, light emanating from his form, revealing he had achieved perfection in the Lower Three Stages. He sought the academy’s protection for the girl.”
His smile widened. “At that moment, I understood. The girl’s extraordinary essence was the result of years of spiritual qi infusion and nurturing by this white-clad youth.”
Silence fell over the room as the instructors exchanged incredulous looks.
It is widely known that mortal bodies, untempered by spiritual qi, are as fragile as porcelain, unable to withstand the internal circulation of such energy. Any mishap during the transfer process, or an excess of qi, would invariably lead to the destruction of the body and the soul’s demise.
Thus, even among families esteemed in the art of cultivation, none dare to recklessly employ such methods to nurture unawakened children. Yet, if Ji You truly managed to nurture a young girl with spiritual qi for three full years, his control and refinement of qi would indeed be beyond imagination.
Cao Jin Song cast a cold glance at the crowd. “Do not misunderstand,” he stated flatly. “That girl was merely one among the many children he nurtured.”
“What?”
“Ji You was born with an innate affinity for spiritual qi, his talent extraordinary. However, his swordsmanship overshadowed this gift, causing many to overlook it.”
“An innate affinity for spiritual qi…” Ma Zhi Yuan muttered, pondering the notion. “Could he possess an exceptional constitution as well? But such constitutions require an equally exceptional cultivation method. Who could have taught Ji You his method?”
Cao Jin Song raised his eyes slightly. “He is but a wandering rogue cultivator, unbound by any prestigious clan. That method of his? He comprehended it on his own.”
“He comprehended it himself?” The room erupted into murmurs of disbelief, and Cao Jin Song couldn’t help but feel a twinge of satisfaction.
Ji You was an enigma, with many mysteries surrounding him. Among them were his astonishing breakthroughs, achieving two realms in one night, and his ability to channel the flow of spiritual qi between heaven and earth—abilities he never divulged to others. His current strength wasn’t yet sufficient, and exposing too much would only breed envy.
Yet, as someone had questioned whether he had obtained unreported benefits from the Ruins of Ancient Times, Cao Jin Song could only testify to Ji You’s abilities before his admission to the Heavenly Script Academy.
“The mortal body is more delicate than porcelain,” Cao Jin Song continued. “I have attempted the same process multiple times since returning to the academy, only to fail repeatedly. This is his innate talent, one among countless.”
He lifted his tea cup, gently scraping away the foam with the lid.
His words weren’t an exaggeration. Since the last round of recruitments, Cao Jin Song had been experimenting with qi transfers using porcelain as a medium. Though Feng Prefecture was remote and desolate, it did not lack in talented individuals. Over the years, Cao Jin Song had encountered many promising youths during his recruiting trips, but most lacked the resources to meet the academy’s rigorous standards.
The more he experimented, the more he marveled at the sheer difficulty of what Ji You appeared to do so effortlessly. As the old saying goes, “From the smallest detail, one can infer the greater truth.” When Cao Jin Song declared, “This child is extraordinary,” it was no baseless claim.
On the eve of their departure, when spiritual qi converged unbidden at the Grain Yard, Ji You’s innate affinity for qi had become undeniably evident.
Meanwhile, Zhao, the instructor seated opposite Cao Jin Song, gazed thoughtfully into his tea cup. As he listened, a faint recollection surfaced. After the autumn recruitment last year, during their return to the academy, his tea cups had often shattered inexplicably.
He froze.
Cao Jin Song, you scoundrel!
“Hey, have you heard the story of Ji You’s admission to the academy?” someone asked.
“What story could there be?” another replied dismissively.
“It is said Ji You initially refused to join the Heavenly Script Academy. However, when a young girl of remarkable talent was discovered and marked for abduction by the Mystic Origin Immortal Palace for alchemical purposes, Ji You, still a rogue cultivator at the time, stormed into Cao Jin Song’s lodging. There, he unleashed his full power, revealing his cultivation to the Lower Three Realms’ pinnacle.”
“Only then did everyone realize Ji You had been nurturing the girl with spiritual qi for three years!”
As the sun set, casting its golden rays over a clear and windless sky, the battle on the White Jade Terrace came to a close. Ji You departed gracefully, his robes billowing as he left behind no trace of the storm he had caused.
Yet, discussions persisted among those who lingered nearby. Fresh rumors from the instructors’ quarters soon reached their ears, drawing even the departing crowds back to hear more. They learned of Ji You’s trials on the day of his admission—from a rogue cultivator’s mastery of the Lower Three Stages, to his confrontation with the Grand Commander of the Guards at the Immortal Worship Mountain Manor, and finally, his journey to the academy under Cao Jin Song’s guidance.
Among the listeners, a female cultivator with grand aspirations found her mind wandering. She envisioned a white-robed young master arriving gracefully, a figure so extraordinary it captivated an entire city.
Unlike the others, Fang Ruo Yao stood there with a dazed expression. The stories they were so vividly imagining were ones she didn’t need to conjure in her mind—she had seen it herself, that ethereal figure in white robes drifting like a celestial wisp.
It happened within her own family estate. Instructor Cao and Senior Sister Pei had been there for her, and that miraculous event unfolded before her very eyes. Though her cultivation was meager—barely half a year into Spirit Awakening and still far from the stage of Celestial Aura—she couldn’t forget the brilliance of that figure.
Listening to the disciples’ discussions now, she finally understood: the techniques Ji You used to nurture the Qiu family’s young girl were just as astonishing as they sounded.
“No wonder he insisted on dual-cultivating martial and Daoist arts from the moment he entered the academy,” muttered Lou Si Yi, her mind entirely occupied with the image of flowing white robes. “Could it be that his homeland was truly that treacherous?”
Sun Qiao Zhi leaned closer, lowering her voice as though revealing a great secret. “They say the Ji family once faced punishment from a passing immortal cultivator. Most of the clan fled for their lives. Maybe that’s why he’s so determined to master techniques for killing.”
Different origins, different goals.
Ji You’s pursuit of martial and Daoist dual cultivation had baffled everyone, but now there seemed to be a reasonable explanation. While others focused solely on sensing the Heavenly Tome, he must have been thinking: better to gain one more ounce of strength, to have one more life to take if necessary.
“Instructor Cao even said Ji You is blessed with a natural affinity for spiritual energy,” added Lu Qing Qiu, biting her red lips. After a moment, she murmured, “And his cultivation method is said to be self-created…”
Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I overheard something else. They were saying, if Ji You continues like this, a few decades from now, the phrase ‘No Esteemed Clans in Feng Prefecture’ will no longer be true.”
Fang Ruo Yao couldn’t suppress her curiosity any longer. She blurted out, “Why is that?”
Lu Qing Qiu turned to her. “Before we entered the academy, all of us cultivated within our family traditions. Each Esteemed Clan has its unique Qi cultivation techniques—those are their very foundations. But the most critical part…”
“What’s the most critical part?” Fang Ruo Yao pressed.
“The extraordinary physiques of cultivators—they can be passed down through bloodlines.”
“…?”
Fang Ruo Yao was stunned into silence. For a long time, she didn’t say another word.
The engagement had long since dissolved, yet no one knew she had personally led people to force the Ji family to abandon it. Later, when she learned she could enter the Heavenly Script Academy, she thought she had made the right decision. But as time passed, regret grew within her heart—regret that surged to its peak today.
The Chu family, for instance, had no Daoist lineage to speak of, yet they stood proudly among the heavens because their family’s natural gifts were inheritable.
With the academy’s Homecoming Month approaching, Fang Ruo Yao, who had once eagerly anticipated it, now found herself dreading it. How could she face the whispers of an entire county?
Meanwhile, Ji You had already returned to his courtyard, unaware of the conversations swirling outside. He knew nothing of the disciples discussing his physique, nor of the noblewomen contemplating schemes to preserve their families’ glory by having him sire their heirs. Some, even those with Daoist partners, pondered secretive ways to bear his child.
Yet Ji You’s abilities had little to do with his physique. His Spiritual Essence had shattered into brilliance purely through his own efforts. When the world’s spiritual energy infused his limbs and bones, it surged endlessly. Thus far, he had noticed no side effects.
Was this, perhaps, fortune born from calamity?
Sitting in his small courtyard, Ji You meditated quietly.
The overwhelming abundance of spiritual energy was a tremendous advantage in combat at his current stage. But the human mind was shackled by the body’s limits, making it nearly impossible to break through.
Pondering this, he lifted his gaze to the heavens.
Immortal cultivation, in essence, was about liberating the spiritual consciousness from the confines of the body—ascending dimensions. A being of three dimensions, free from physical restraints, could use spiritual awareness to perceive the fourth dimension. In that realm, time became as malleable as length, width, and height. Perhaps that was what immortality truly meant.
In this light, the path of cultivation seemed almost scientific.
“…?”
His wandering thoughts were interrupted as he noticed a group of senior sisters clad in light robes passing by the courtyard. Their laughter, accompanied by subtle glances in his direction, lingered in the air.
Soon, the sun dipped toward the horizon, bathing the academy in the golden hues of dusk.
At a distance, Bai Ru Long and Qian Yun Xiao approached, carrying low stools. They settled nearby, their gazes eagerly following the procession of senior sisters.
Since rumors of Ji You’s “extraordinary physique” and its potential heritability had spread, this corner of the academy had become particularly “enlightening” for their Daoist hearts.
“I recognize that senior sister,” Bai Ru Long remarked, stroking his chin. “Isn’t she already partnered with someone?”
“Not surprising,” Qian Yun Xiao chuckled. “Immortal cultivators pursue ultimate freedom. How could they let something like a Daoist partner bind them?”