This time, Han Yu got creative. Since he couldn’t find any real enemies without offending the wrong people, he decided to simulate a combat scenario using one of the sect’s spiritual projection arrays.
He could’ve technically sparred with a Senior disciple but he didn’t want the risk of something going wrong if he consumed the pill. The chances of it being embarrassing were far too high to risk it.
The Spiritual Projection Array was something usually reserved for inner sect disciples, but he had Li Mei’s recommendation—so he got in.
He set the difficulty to "Moderately Unwise" and loaded in a simulation of a Qi Refining realm specter infused with aggressive energy which could execute mental attacks.
It went well... for about thirty seconds.
The simulated beast nearly crushed his mental defenses, and he was forced to activate Memory Echo and Soul Needle in rapid succession. By the end of it, Han Yu was sweating, mentally exhausted, and half-convinced he had been fighting his childhood regrets in beast form.
He popped the final pill into his mouth.
This time the effect was... more intense.
His body went still, his breathing slowed to a crawl, and a deep pulse of qi washed through him like a tide. Unlike the first two, this wasn’t just cleansing—it was resetting. His mind cleared entirely for a brief moment, like standing in the eye of a storm.
Then, suddenly, he shuddered as dark smoke-like threads rose from his arms and dissolved into the air. A strange pressure lifted from his chest.
"Holy... did that just pull out some kind of soul gunk?" he asked the empty air.
The feedback stone pulsed.
Qi Stabilization: 91%
Impurity Expulsion: 76%
Spiritual Residue Removed: Minor mental trauma neutralized.
Side Effects: Temporary dizziness, goosebumps, and slight existential dread.
"...What kind of side effect list includes existential dread like it’s a seasonal allergy?"
But despite the weirdness, the results were undeniable. His body felt lighter. His meridians were clear. His focus was razor-sharp. Even the slight haze he hadn’t realized was clouding his cultivation had vanished.
Now it was time for reporting to Li Mei.
The next morning, he walked into the Li Mei’s place with the jade slip in hand and a resigned look on his face.
Li Mei was already there, grinding ingredients with deadly elegance.
"So?" she asked without looking up.
Han Yu dropped the stone on the table. "Your pills work. Too well. The last one made me feel like my soul got exorcised and then hugged."
Li Mei raised an eyebrow. "That’s... good, right?"
"I think so. I’ll let you know if I wake up speaking in tongues."
She picked up the stone, scanned it with a formation light, and her eyes widened.
"These numbers..." she muttered. "This is better than I expected. I might’ve actually... created something breakthrough-worthy."
"You’re welcome for being your guinea pig," Han Yu muttered, flopping into a nearby chair. "If I die, at least put on my gravestone that I had a stabilized foundation."
Li Mei smiled faintly. "You won’t die. Yet. I have more prototypes coming."
Han Yu groaned, covering his face. "You say that like it’s good news."
Three months passed in peaceful monotony, a rare and precious thing in the Twin Leaf Peak Sect for Han Yu.
He spent his days training with his custom glaive, sparring with Outer Sect disciples (and occasionally stunning them with unexpected tricks), and half-heartedly dodging Li Mei’s increasingly "creative" pill-testing summons. His cultivation had progressed steadily.
Though not yet at a new realm, his control, his soul power, and his battle instincts had grown noticeably sharper. He had also been harvesting Eight Emotions Energy during his spars and interactions with the other disciples.
While it might not be as high as when he was causing trouble, it was still a slow but steady growth.
It was a rare sunny afternoon when someone knocked at his courtyard door.
Han Yu was halfway through a bowl of fried spirit noodles when he lazily answered, "If it’s about the pills again, I already told you my dreams are haunted by floating mushrooms and—"
Standing there wasn’t Li Mei, nor some random sect disciple.
It was a plump, slightly awkward youth dressed in standard-issue Outer Court Disciple robes. They didn’t fit him perfectly—the sleeves were tight, and the sash was clinging for dear life around his generous middle—but it was unmistakably a cultivator’s uniform.
"Fatty Kui... number two?" Han Yu blinked.
"Brother Han!" Kui Number Two beamed, his cheeks stretching wide with pride. "You remember me!"
"...Of course I remember you. You used to help wash my robes. You once fell asleep face-first in a laundry bucket."
Kui Number Two looked slightly embarrassed. "A lot’s changed since then!"
Just then, a heavy set of footsteps approached from behind. The real Fatty Kui Number One—the one and only original—trudged up the path, munching on a skewered spirit beast leg. He stopped when he saw the scene.
"...Wait. Is that you, me?"
Kui Number Two turned and gave a nervous salute. "Brother Kui! It’s really me. I—uh—I’m an Outer Court Disciple now!"
Then he blinked again.
Then, like a spirit puppet breaking free of a trance, he dropped his half-eaten skewer and lunged forward. "You really did it"
"of course! I didn’t want to betray your trust!" Kui Number Two stepped back. "You gave me that pouch of resources months ago. I used it like you said... and then I actually broke through! I passed the outer sect trial and everything!"
Fatty Kui blinked again, this time slower.
"...Wait. You mean that was you? The one Elder Duan mentioned who fainted mid-attack during the combat trial but still got promoted because your fat body helped you absorb enough ambient qi?"
Kui Number Two flushed red. "I—yes. I did faint. But I stood up again! Eventually!"
Han Yu snorted and rubbed his forehead. "This is... a lot."
Fatty Kui crossed his arms and huffed in fake anger. "I gave you those herbs and pills out of brotherhood. Now you’re suddenly standing here in my clothes?"