Although he had slept quite late last night, Yi Chen’s eyes opened up earlier than usual.
Not taking his tired body into account, he pushed himself off the bed and shook his sleepiness away.
Gauging the time by looking at the dim light outside, he thought to himself, "I should still have around thirty minutes before Qin Yao wakes up."
With that thought in mind, he went out to the courtyard and started practising his swordsmanship.
Swing!
Slash!
After every 50 or so strikes, Yi Chen’s gaze fell on the system panel in front of his eyes to see the minute increase in his swordsmanship proficiency.
Yesterday, before he fell asleep, he was going through the cultivation Arsenal panel and was surprised to see the changes in it.
======Cultivation Arsenal ======
#Weapon Arts
1) Basic Swordsmanship [Progress: 53.4 / 1000 -> 153.4 / 1000]
#Cultivation Arts
1) Crimson Fire Arts [Comprehension: 35.5% -> 40%]
#System Items
NIL
============ END ===========
His swordsmanship proficiency had jumped by a full hundred points after he had successfully conducted that Qi-laced strike last night.
It was for this reason that practising his swordsmanship was the first thing that came to his mind when he woke up early.
Half an hour soon elapsed, and after freshening up, Yi Chen busied himself with the breakfast preparation.
In the morning class that started around nine, Yi Chen’s focus was at an all-time high as he pushed his mind into understanding concepts that he would have normally just kept for later.
After a few hours, when Elder Lei took his leave, Yi Chen checked his Comprehension percentage.
It was still stuck 40%, making him take a deep breath.
By now, it was clear as day to him that he had reached a plateau and any improvement from here would require effort and consistency.
Not losing hope, he turned towards Qin Yao and said, "Let’s hurry up with the cleaning so that we can focus on our practice."
’Brother Chen seems a little different today...’ Qin Yao thought as he took in the subtle changes in his actions this morning.
The next moment, he responded affirmatively, "Yes, Brother Chen,"
An hour passed with them training under the intense rays of the sun.
With that done, they freshened up and were soon sitting at the dining table.
Unlike earlier, when they used to talk about random things to pass their time while eating, Yi Chen began talking about the Crimson Fire Arts and invited Qin Yao to state his understanding as well.
As a result, a conversation with the Crimson Fire Arts as the centre began to flow.
Although Qin Yao was much younger than Yi Chen, he had been using the Crimson Fire Arts much longer than Yi Chen.
Therefore, Yi Chen didn’t underestimate him at all and seriously listened to his words with an open mind.
By the end of their lunch, they both felt that they had gained something from this brief exchange of understanding and opinions.
After doing the dishes, they returned to their rooms to focus on their cultivation.
An hour passed by, and after Yi Chen had refilled his Qi pool, it was time for him to finally start cultivating.
There was a hint of anticipation in his heart as he was curious to see if there would be any changes now that he had entered the Second Level of Meridian Refinement Stage.
Circulating his inner Qi, he targeted one of the remaining eight sets of Mortal Meridians and began the refining process.
After every refined meridian, he found that the density of the impurities he was finding in the next one was considerably higher.
As a result, despite the increase in his Qi Pool, it was always being fully utilised in refining each meridian.
It was the same case now as well.
However, there was another change which he noticed now. Staring at the forty-first meridian, the refining process has become even more mentally taxing.
With a creased forehead, Yi Chen focused all his attention on the refining process.
Time passed, and it was soon seven in the evening.
Yi Chen had just finished refining two of his Meridians.
However, unlike earlier when he used to feel only somewhat drained, his head was currently aching as if he had already refined four meridians and could not refine another one.
Pressing the sides of his head, he went towards the kitchen to get some water.
’It seems two is the limit for me now. Well, it’s still faster than others, so I don’t really mind...’ he thought while gulping down the cold water.
It was at that moment that Elder Lei’s words flashed in his mind.
’Your talent is not a privilege... It’s a reminder to break your limits... if not...’
"I was about to make the same mistake again, even though I promised myself that I won’t be doing it!" Yi Chen clenched his jaw in anger as he was reminded of last night.
The uncomfortable feeling from yesterday, when he was forced to confront the truth by Elder Lei, revived in his mind.
It was at that moment Qin Yao arrived in the kitchen, "Oh, Brother Chen, you’re already here? Good! Let’s start making dinner the-"
Before Qin Yao could complete his words, Yi Chen cut him off, "I’m sorry, Brother Qin. It seems I won’t be eating today."
Yi Chen said with a serious expression and, without explaining any further, walked out of the kitchen.
"Wait! Where are you going?" Qin Yao asked in confusion while turning towards Yi Chen’s back.
He was already making his way towards his room through the corridor.
Hearing Qin Yao’s question, Yi Chen didn’t stop and continued walking towards his room.
However, just when Qin Yao was losing hope about getting an answer, the following words entered his ears.
"To Cultivate."
With those words, Yi Chen entered his room.
"Brother Chen..." Qin Yao muttered when he saw this scene while thinking, ’Just what happened to you so suddenly...’
Yi Chen’s state was different the whole day, and seeing that he even decided to skip dinner, Qin Yao couldn’t help but worry.
As for Yi Chen, he immediately sat cross-legged after entering his room and began filling his Qi pool.
It took an hour, and after his Qi pool was filled, he began circulating his Qi.
The piercing pain from earlier returned, but Yi Chen forcefully suppressed the weak thoughts in his mind and continued to circulate his Qi with gritted teeth.
’If I can’t even resist this much pain, then how can I even dream of ascending to the next realm?’
’Although I have the system to make things a little easier, what if there comes a time when I have no choice but to rely on him....at that moment, will I just give up?’
’No! I refuse!’
Using his thoughts as fuel, he finally attacked his clogged meridians.
’Argh!’
The stabbing pain in his head intensified the very next moment, making him groan, but Yi Chen didn’t stop circulating his Qi.
As his innate Qi touched the impurities and sizzled them, the pain reached its peak, and a feeling of several knives twisting and stabbing his head from all sides engulfed his entire being.
’This!’
The pain was so much that he wasn’t even able to shout or scream, and his consciousness started to fade.
’Will I be forced to give up just like this...what about my conviction...’
Elder Lei’s disapproving expression flashed in his eyes as a feeling of guilt started taking over him.
’Yes...it seems like this is my limit...maybe I’ll try again tomorrow. The chances would be much better then, right?’
Just when he was about to fully let go of his control of the Qi and lose his consciousness, Feng Yu’s image flashed in his mind.
Her face had a longing expression on it as a voice he had not heard in ages rang in his mind.
’Chen’er...you’ll fulfil your promise, right?’
As if kindling had been provided to a dying flame, Yi Chen’s consciousness was stirred awake the very next moment.
A wave of energy like he had never experienced before recharged his exhausted self and gave him enough momentum to push through.
At half past eleven, Yi Chen finally opened his eyes.
His third meridian was finally refined.
The floor underneath him had become wet with sweat, not to mention his already drenched robes.
He was a bit disappointed that his daily range of four meridians had reduced to three after levelling up.
However, in his heart, he also knew that if he hadn’t pushed himself today, then he would have settled for two meridians per day.
’From now on, I’ll always attempt to break my limits before declaring them as one...’ he exhaled subtly and stood up the next moment.
After freshening up, which gave some life to his tired body, he went to the kitchen to cook something.
’I’m starving....’
Thinking about how we would need to cook something in the middle of the night, he became even more tired by the time he opened the kitchen door.
However, the very next moment, he saw a few covered dishes which were neatly laid on the table.
’Qin Yao...’ A smile formed on his face the very next moment, as he fully enjoyed the meal.
When he returned to his room, it was half past twelve now, which was much earlier than his regular sleeping time.
Therefore, even though he felt extremely exhausted, he forced himself not to sleep.
Sitting in a cross-legged position, the next moment he took out a few sets of paper and started going over them.
These were the notes he had prepared for reference after each of Elder Lei’s lessons. It was a habit he had adopted from Qin Yao.
Reading the notes, he closed his eyes to contemplate what he had just read in an attempt to understand the Crimson Fire Arts better.
Time passed, and only when it was half past two in the morning did Yi Chen call it a night and go to sleep.
This same routine repeated itself for another couple of days.
Fourteenth day since his arrival at Jade City.
Morning.
Alright, contemplate over what has been taught today, like usual." Elder Lei said what he always does after finishing his lessons and soon left the residence.
Now that the lesson was over, Yi Chen’s gaze once again went to his status panel to check his Comprehension percentage.