[Realm: Body: 12th Layer (3/12,000); Spirit: Qi Gathering 7th Layer (2/700); Mind: Level 5 (1/5000); Soul: Infant (1/100,000)]
As soon as the new stat appeared in the status screen, a torrent of knowledge flooded Xiang Yu's mind.
The soul, he now understood, developed through three distinct stages: infant, nascent, and adult. Under normal circumstances, when a cultivator reached the Golden Core stage, their core would migrate to the spiritual sea. There, bathed in nourishing qi, the core would transform into an egg. This egg would gradually absorb qi until it finally hatched, producing an infant soul.
This infant soul would then feed on the eggshell—essentially consuming the Golden Core itself—and advance to the nascent stage, marking the breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm. However, if a cultivator's core was damaged or insufficiently powerful, the infant might emerge without adequate nourishment, resulting in a kind of pseudo-Nascent Soul stage.
This was precisely the stage Xiang Yu had unexpectedly entered. Though it didn't grant him the overwhelming power of a true Nascent Soul cultivator or even that of a genuine pseudo Nascent Soul. All it did was provide some defense against soul attacks.
Ironically, this defense would likely prove ineffective against genuine Nascent Soul realm experts, who were the primary wielders of soul attacks in the first place. At the moment, this advancement seemed practically useless.
But Xiang Yu wasn't discouraged. The system's doubling effect was the key—if it continued working on his soul attribute, he might eventually advance to the adult stage. Such progress would render him immune to any soul attacks below the Soul Formation realm, which represented the pinnacle of power in the entire eastern region.
A question nagged at him as he studied the floating infant soul that resembled himself in miniature: what would happen if he reached the Nascent Soul stage without advancing his qi cultivation to the corresponding level? Would he somehow skip ranks to become a true Nascent Soul cultivator?
He sighed, reasoning that it probably wouldn't work that way. The Nascent Soul realm didn't rely solely on soul strength—it required mastery of qi as well. At best, he might be able to match such cultivators in pure soul combat, but would still fall short in conventional battle.
Then, a tantalizing possibility dawned on him. If he could learn soul attack techniques, wouldn't that make him virtually invincible against anyone below the Nascent Soul realm? After all, cultivators at lower stages lacked any form of soul defense. This realization sent a tingle of excitement down his spine.
"I should research this further," he thought, his mind already racing with possibilities. But first, he needed to assess his overall progress. Withdrawing from his spiritual sea, Xiang Yu summoned his system interface to examine what other changes had occurred during the daily reset.
...
The first thing Xiang Yu noticed upon returning to his physical form was the extraordinary power surging through his body. Examining the reset screen, he couldn't help but feel a rush of satisfaction—his suffering had yielded unprecedented results.
He had earned a staggering one thousand experience points in body refining, his highest single-day gain ever. After doubling, this achievement had propelled him into the twelfth layer of body refining.
As he had anticipated, advancing beyond the tenth layer of body refining represented a threshold similar to crossing a major realm. Though he could still feel his strength increasing incrementally, he intuitively understood that his current self could effortlessly defeat his previous self. While he lacked precise metrics to measure this growth, the sheer sense of power flowing through his veins was undeniable.
His qi cultivation had made equally impressive strides, gaining three hundred points which, after doubling, launched him into the seventh layer of qi refining. This milestone marked his entry into the late stages of qi refinement, bringing him tantalizingly close to the Foundation Building realm. The prospect of such rapid advancement, previously unimaginable, now seemed within reach.
Both his spiritual root and Chaos Body continued their steady improvement. Though he hadn't discovered a method to directly enhance his spiritual root during daily cultivation, it had nevertheless begun developing at an accelerated pace, with tangible effects on his cultivation efficiency. As for his bloodlines, they had surpassed the halfway point and would reach the common blood level after the next reset—another significant advancement that would further strengthen his foundation.
His various professions showed equally impressive progress. His cooking skill had reached the third grade, bringing with it new insights and recipes. However, as he had anticipated, creating third-grade spirit food remained impossible without access to mid-level herbs or spirit beast ingredients. This limitation drew his gaze toward the boar still swimming aimlessly in the spirit spring beside him. He shook his head in mild disappointment before returning his attention to the status screen.
To his surprise, his appraiser profession had advanced to seventh grade before the reset without him even noticing. The seventh grade was already quite impressive so he found himself eager to discover what additional capabilities the sixth grade might bring.
His talisman-making had broken through to the seventh grade as well, granting him insights into new talisman formulas while improving his mastery of existing ones. The urge to test the destructive potential of a seventh-grade explosion talisman tugged at him, but he suppressed the impulse for now.
A thought occurred to him as he reviewed his progress. He had originally given Li Yao eighth-grade talismans as a personal gift to thank her for providing the bloodlines. Since then, however, he had donated similar talismans to the sect, somewhat diminishing the specialness of his initial offering. Perhaps he should craft some seventh-grade explosion talismans exclusively for her, alongside several hundred for his personal use.
His remaining professions—alchemy, formation mastery, and blacksmithing—hadn't experienced breakthroughs yet, though they had all surpassed their halfway points and would advance after the next reset. The diversity of his cultivation path proved advantageous; with so many different attributes developing simultaneously, he could expect breakthroughs in at least one area every couple of days, maintaining a constant sense of progress.
The other techniques continued their gradual improvement, though at a slower pace since he wasn't actively practicing them. While he recognized the need to allocate time for their development, he wasn't prepared to sacrifice his focus on his professional skills, which remained his most valuable assets in the cultivation world.
With these considerations in mind, Xiang Yu formulated a revised cultivation schedule. The period from reset to dawn would remain dedicated to mind cultivation. Morning until lunch would be devoted to alchemy and blacksmithing.
The afternoon until dinner would focus on formation making and talisman crafting. After dinner, he would continue his bloodline stimulation, painful though it was. Throughout it all, he would continue using his appraisal skill at every opportunity, and his cooking practice would remain integrated with his daily meal preparation.
...
Early in the morning, Xiang Yu opened his eyes, marking the end of his mind cultivation.
Without hesitation, he summoned his status screen to confirm a suspicion that had been forming during his practice:
[Mind: Level 5 (60/5000)]
[Soul: Infant (20/100,000)]
A satisfied smile crossed his face. Just as he had theorized, practicing mind cultivation was simultaneously nurturing his newly discovered soul. It made perfect sense—the spiritual sea that housed his infant soul was directly strengthened by mind cultivation techniques, creating a beneficial environment for soul development.
Still, he couldn't detect any tangible changes in his capabilities, so he filed the observation away for later consideration.
Rising from the spirit spring, Xiang Yu stretched his limbs, ready to begin the next phase of his newly planned schedule. As he emerged from the shimmering pool, he took a moment to assess his physical condition. The breakthrough to the twelfth layer of Body Refining had fully stabilized overnight, leaving him with a profound sense of strength flowing through his every muscle.
Clenching his fist experimentally, power surged through his arm. He estimated he could now overpower at least three versions of his former self in direct combat—though such speculation was ultimately pointless without a proper method of verification. He dismissed these thoughts and focused on the tasks ahead.
After dressing, Xiang Yu carefully inspected his medicinal plants growing along the small garden he had made. The herbs were developing nicely, their leaves gleaming with absorbed spiritual energy. By his estimation, they would be ready for harvest within a day or two.
Retrieving his alchemy furnace, he arranged it precisely in the center of his workspace. Beside it, he placed a veritable mountain of herbs acquired from the sect's treasury. His recent appointment as Grand Elder had granted him access to resources—Elder Huang had personally escorted him to the treasury, where he had claimed all available herbs.
Though they were just low level herbs, their sheer quantity represented a tremendous opportunity for practice.
Xiang Yu checked his spatial ring, confirming he still possessed one hundred eighth-grade healing pills. This supply would suffice for today's bloodline stimulation training. After tomorrow's reset, his alchemy skill would breakthrough to the seventh grade, allowing him to refine the pills with minimal resource wastage. For now, he would focus on producing ninth-grade pills for the sect's benefit.
He arranged the selected herbs within the furnace and summoned his Abyssal Void Flame. The dark fire responded instantly to his will, enveloping the materials in perfectly controlled heat. As he guided the refinement process, Xiang Yu noticed a remarkable improvement in his efficiency—his success rate for ninth-grade pills had increased from sixty to an astonishing eighty percent.
His hypothesis had been correct—the pill refining success rate scaled off of mind and enlightenment level. With this improved success rate, he could produce far more pills than yesterday...
...
In the Celestial Summit Hall, Li Yao sat behind her ornate desk, examining the documents spread before her. She flipped one page over, her eyes scanning the detailed reports despite her internal disinterest in administrative matters.
"Is this the full report?" she asked, glancing up at the two sect masters standing attentively before her.
"Yes, Sect Master," Yan Xuelian and Zhao Tiangang replied in unison, their voices respectful but tinged with underlying tension.
Li Yao nodded appreciatively. Their thoroughness and speed in compiling these comprehensive reports had exceeded her expectations.
The Empress's voice resonated with disdain. [It's not that they're impressive, it's just that you're not,] she scoffed. [This is how a real sect master acts. You could learn a thing or two from them. Even that muscle-headed guy has a decent report.]
Li Yao chose not to retort. The truth was, leading a sect had never been her thing. She was a warrior at heart. These administrative responsibilities felt like shackles compared to the exhilarating freedom of battle.
"Good," Li Yao said simply, setting the documents aside. Her gaze fixed on Yan Xuelian, studying the elegant sect leader's composed features. "Your sect is primarily female, right?"
"That's right, Sect Master," Yan Xuelian responded, a flicker of nervousness crossing her otherwise perfect composure. Behind her carefully maintained expression, her mind raced with concerns. Was Li Yao planning to force her sect to accept male disciples?
Such a mandate would face fierce resistance from her elders. The Lotus Jade Palace's cultivation techniques had been refined over centuries specifically for female practitioners—they were fundamentally incompatible with male physiology.
"Control your people. Don't get any ideas," Li Yao stated firmly, her tone leaving no room for negotiation.
Confusion flashed across Yan Xuelian's face before understanding dawned. She bowed deeply, grateful that her assumption had been incorrect. "I understand," she replied with genuine relief. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
[What's wrong with female cultivators?] The Empress's voice echoed within Li Yao's mind, for the first time, the empress seemed genuinely confused.
"Well, I heard that female cultivators practice some weird techniques," Li Yao explained internally, maintaining her outward composure. "Since the Grand Elder isn't that strong yet, what if they try to get resources from him with some strange methods?"
[Strange methods?] the Empress inquired, her curiosity piqued.
"Balancing yin and yang," Li Yao replied, a subtle blush warming her cheeks despite her efforts to remain stoic.
When the Empress processed Li Yao's meaning, her spiritual manifestation erupted into peals of laughter that reverberated throughout Li Yao's spiritual sea.
"What are you laughing at? Am I wrong?" Li Yao demanded internally, indignation coloring her thoughts.
[No, you're completely right. It's nice to be cautious,] the Empress conceded, though her amusement remained undiminished.
"Then why are you laughing?" Li Yao pressed, but the Empress merely continued her laughter.
Refocusing on the matter at hand, Li Yao reached into her spatial ring. With a casual flick of her wrist, she tossed two identical storage rings toward the sect masters. The rings arced through the air, landing perfectly in their outstretched palms.
"This is—" Yan Xuelian began, her eyes widening as she sensed the contents.
"Since you are part of the Azure Cloud Sect now, I naturally won't let you suffer," Li Yao interrupted smoothly. Her voice hardened slightly as she continued, "Just make sure you're ready when it's time for us to fight the outsiders."
Astonishment registered on both sect masters' faces as they examined the rings' contents. They had approached this new arrangement with grim resignation, expecting to surrender resources to their new overlord.
Instead, Li Yao had gifted them treasures that exceeded their combined sects' annual production. Not only had they gained the protection of a formidable Golden Core cultivator, but they were also receiving material benefits that would dramatically strengthen their positions.
Without hesitation, both sect masters dropped to their knees, genuine gratitude replacing their earlier apprehension. "Thank you, Sect Master!" they exclaimed in perfect synchrony, their previous pride completely dissolved.
Li Yao waved her hand dismissively, affecting an air of nonchalance. "It's just some cheap resources. No need to be so formal."
Despite her outward indifference, Li Yao's internal dialogue continued. "This is half of what we received from Xiang Yu. Is it really okay to give it to them?" she questioned the Empress, unable to completely suppress her concern about such generous distribution.
[It's okay. Your senior brother will produce another batch anyway. With his talent, he should already have another batch ready by now,] the Empress reassured her.
"But..." Li Yao hesitated, still finding it difficult to part with such valuable treasures.
[Don't worry about it. It's an investment,] the Empress explained patiently. [If they see what we can offer them, they're less likely to defect. That's how you buy loyalty.]
"But didn't you say the other day that loyalty can't be bought?" Li Yao challenged, catching the contradiction.
[Did I say that?] the Empress responded airily. [Oh, look at the time! I'm tired from helping you go through all those documents, so I'm going back to rest.]
With that, the Empress retreated deeper into Li Yao's spiritual sea.
...