That evening, Wang Qi didn’t crack hard problems after all. He stood on the roof all night, while Mao Zimiao went back to her room with the kids as the last rays of sun faded.
It only dawned on him that he had stayed so long when the first ray of sunlight peeked through the black clouds.
Today was the start of a new year.
Wang Qi stretched and slid down the roof. Zhen Chanzi asked, “How was it? No lingering feelings? Wasn’t this your first serious time with a girl?”
“Old man, you have a really disconnected morality… Were you ten thousand years ago as well?”
“If I acted the same ten thousand years ago in front of all disciples, there was no need for the Imperial Celestial Rift Sect to destroy Ephemeral Tranquility Palace.” Zhen Chanzi spoke with indifference. “Like they say, you are the company you keep. Also, in my many years, I’ve seen plenty of people with next to no morals.”
[I guess using offline, or disconected, to an old fossil that never went online or into All-immortal Realm isn’t exactly realistic.]
Jokes aside, Wang Qi said, “Old man, you can feel a person’s resolve from their spiritual power? What does mine look like?”
He spent the whole night on the roof to sift through his thoughts with that ancient visualization art.
Like a certain man of culture back on Earth would say, ‘Time heals all wounds.’
Zhen Chanzi hesitated. “I do have that skill, but first of all, resolve can’t be quantified. I am unable to offer precise values like modern cultivation. Also, I have no clue what modern mental arts’ meanings are and can only make a rough estimate.”
Wang Qi nodded. “Good enough.” The rıghtful source is 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝙣𝙚𝙩
“It’s perfect,” Zhen Chanzi spoke with no hesitation.
“The soul is sharp, the spiritual power flows naturally, the body, soul, and mind in harmony… I’ve never imagined I’d find this state in a Qi Refining cultivator. I can promise you that your adjustment of resolve has healed you of inner demons. With a few more years of experience, you’ll get to heal your heartache.”
Wang Qi tightened his fists. That meant his most pressing issue was about to be settled. In other words…
“Now I can bolster my spiritual power with no qualms!”
The stronger the resolve, the more stable the soul, which in turn smoothened spiritual power flow. The opposite applied as well. If a person’s spiritual power got too far above the user’s limits, the soul would be affected, and the mind would warp. Ancient cultivation was all about proving your Dao through force. Individuals with ruined resolve and on the verge of insanity were a dime a dozen. Like those ‘first be a man, then a swordsman,’ who carried a sword while on the crapper and even when sleeping with someone, or those going as far as killing their spouse to prove their detachment. To say nothing of Confucian scholars who plagiarized ancient texts but strutted about with smug righteousness, convinced they were the literary sages of the age…
Only with a firm Dao Heart could one grow his strength without qualms.
“With free rein, can you reach Foundation Establishment in three years?”
Zhen Chanzi wasn’t sure, but one thing he knew. Others believed Wang Qi’s slow growth was due to having too many mental arts that clashed with each other. Zhen Chanzi, however, had seen Wang Qi cultivate clearly. He would never turn all spiritual energy into spiritual power in any cultivation session. Most of the time was spent analyzing the mental arts.
He had a vague feeling his heart sprung a leak, so he put the brakes on cultivating. Even so, even the outstanding Ai Changyuan couldn’t put him down.
“Foundation Establishment… if I skip foundation quality, a couple of months is enough.” Wang Qi squinted with a confident smile.
A foundation had nine grades, each low, mid, or high. High first-grade was the best, with low ninth-grade the worst. Lu Renjia Quantization saw fifth-grade as the center, with zero value. High first-grade and low ninth-grade were seen as +5 and -5, respectively. In other words, ignoring the cultivators’ cultivation methods and magical arts, just the early Foundation Establishment cultivator with a high first-grade foundation could wipe the floor with a low ninth-grade late Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Oh, and Golden Core had the same classification too.
Wang Qi, if he decided to forgo foundation quality, he’d get all the spiritual power he wanted in a couple of months to form the low ninth-grade foundation.
It was a damning choice, however, as clear as day. Anything below fifth-grade meant being stuck at Golden Core. Wang Qi wasn’t dumb enough to make that choice.
“Yes, with your talent, anything but high first-grade is a waste in your case.”
“Here’s the rub.” Wang Qi entered his dorm room. “Which Divine Province’s Foundation Establishment is strong?”
“Are you asking about which sect or group has the better foundation?” Zhen Chanzi guessed Wang Qi’s aim. “Isn’t this info public?”
Wang Qi nodded. “Immortal Alliance summarized foundations into 379 types based on theory, style, and use—these three categories and ten subdivisions. Each foundation’s description is pretty much public, except the specifics and the research papers behind it.”
Merits, as usual, were the common currency.
“Plenty of the 300+ foundations use more than one cultivation method to achieve Foundation Establishment, like the Seven Opportune Foundation, Decimating Dragons and Executing Tigers Foundation, or Yin-yang Rise Foundation.” Wang Qi activated the heating seal on the bed and sat down. “The best I can get from these multiple cultivation methods foundations is a +3 grade.”
Majoring in multiple cultivation methods boosted a cultivator’s strength in the same realm, but it posed a problem when it came to advancing.
“What I need to do right now is unite the mental arts into a cohesive unit.”
“Wait,” Zhen Chanzi interrupted. “Let’s put this one on hol—are you cold?”
Wang Qi had his hands near the heating seal. “Uh, don’t sweat the details.”
“Do cultivators even feel cold? Don’t you also have two ‘heating’ mental arts as well?”
Wang Qi’s mouth twitched, “Well…”
Zhen Chanzi had a suspicious tone. “I do mind, a lot.”
“Shit, don’t use that line if you’re not a girl!” Wang Qi looked away. “Celestial Entropy and Celestial Hymn Odyssey are out of spiritual power…”
Wang Qi had kept the magnetic field up to keep the snow at bay, all to show off. Also, he used Celestial Entropy to warm up Mao Zimiao’s siblings and not risk letting the kids get sick, not to mention spending the entire night outside in the cold. The result? He was out of gas to burn and heat up.
“Can’t you just sift through your thoughts in the room? Why insist on staying outside?”
“Ha-ha, reflecting on life in the snow and winds shows character. I was just showing off…”