Chapter 1 - Gu Xuan

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  Crescent Island, Moonlight Sect.

  Within a small wooden house, was a single bed, a desk, a closet, and a closed window.

  On top of the single bed, a young man was sitting in a cross-legged position.

  He had long black hair tied into a ponytail, and wore clean white robes. Although his robes didn’t appear to be of particularly high quality, they weren’t bad either.

  He slowly opened his eyes while muttering the words, “3rd Layer of Qi Gathering Realm…”

  Standing up from his bed, he stretched his body and couldn’t help but let out a sigh afterwards, ‘It’s been 14 years since I reincarnated but I’m only at the 3rd Layer? Looks like I’m not very talented.’

  This young man was Gu Xuan, a reincarnator from the modern era, as well as an orphan.

  According to the caretaker of the orphanage, his parents were cultivators at the 1st Layer of Qi Gathering Realm. However, they took a sect mission outside the sect, and haven't come back ever since.

  Although Gu Xuan was thankful to them for giving birth to him, he wasn’t particularly attached as he hadn’t met them. By the time he could see the world clearly, they were already gone.

  He grew up normally in the orphanage and as every 5 years old in the sect, he was given a cultivation technique. He started cultivating.

  He then discovered, unlike most cultivation novels he had read in his past life, in this world, the human body can’t directly absorb spiritual qi. One had to adapt to it first.

  According to the cultivation technique he was given, one needed to turn their mortal pathways into spiritual pathways to create a bridge between the spiritual qi from heaven and earth and the dantian.

  The dantian naturally exists in one’s body but the pathway isn’t naturally enabled for most mortals unless one is born to cultivate.

  He had many questions on how it worked but decided to put it to the back of his mind first and focused on cultivation.

  Due to the sect granting disciples in the lower district with a 20 year growth period before they had to do menial tasks for the main disciples in the upper district, he was able to cultivate peacefully in the house of his birth parents.

  If he didn’t have to take a bath, eat, and other physiological needs, he would have cultivated for 24 hours a day.

  Even then, it took him 2 whole years to fully adapt his pathways to spiritual qi. Only then was he able to pass spiritual qi from heaven and earth through his pathways, refine it in his dantian, turning it into inner qi.

  It then took him another year for his dantian to be filled with inner qi.

  Suddenly, as his dantian was filled with inner qi, his body went through a transformation akin to that of an evolution and each and every part of his body was strengthened to the point that it was far stronger than that of a grown adult.

  Not only was his physique strengthened, the dantian that he was filling also felt far larger than before.

  He doesn’t fully understand the logic behind such biological changes but he knew one thing. That was what was known by many in most cultivation novels he had read in his past life and even in this world as “breakthrough.”

  He liked to ask questions that are mostly unanswered in his mind so even he himself is annoyed at this trait but even then, he decided to put it at the back of his mind as what was important in a perilous cultivation world was strength to protect oneself.

  Although he broke through, he continued to cultivate and continue to absorb spiritual qi.

  He found out that the progress in which his dantian was filled with inner qi was still significant so he patiently and diligently cultivated.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  After 2 years, he had broken through to the 2nd layer of Qi Gathering Realm.

  However, unlike his breakthrough from mortal to 1st Layer of Qi Gathering Realm, there wasn’t a qualitative change in physique, there was only an increase in inner qi.

  He couldn’t be certain of the exact amount, but the increase was still noticeable. It was at least doubled.

  Another 4 years passed, he had turned 14 years old and broke through to the 3rd Layer of Qi Gathering Realm. Yet again, there wasn’t further change besides the doubling of the inner qi within his dantian and the expansion of it.

  Through initial observations, it looks like there wasn’t much increase in strength when one breaks through minor layers unlike when one first breaks through from mortal and into the first step of cultivation, the 1st Layer of Qi Gathering Realm.

  After walking towards the closed wooden window with light flowing through the gaps, he unlocked it from the lock inside and pushed it open.

  With the windows fully open, light suddenly went in and occupied the entire room. Although he was a cultivator with enhanced physique, he couldn’t help but slightly squint his eyes but he was still able to adjust quite fast.

  He had just started to walk the path of cultivation, at most, he was a mortal with superhuman abilities, he wasn’t invincible yet.

  With the windows fully open, he could see the open surroundings clearly. There were already people walking back and forth. Most, if not all of them wore white robes, some of the older ones would have slightly tattered robes, meanwhile the younger ones would have clean and neat looking ones.

  Occasionally, there would be disciples wearing robes with luxurious linen. Although not wrapped in gold, one could tell that they were of high quality.

  Coincidentally, that "occasionally" happened to be today.

  A group with such robes walked by, on the upper left chest area was a symbol of a crescent moon.

  Most of them had swords hanging by their waist, eyes as sharp as an eagle’s.

  This group happened to have dried blood in some parts of their robes, and it looked like they were in a battle at least a few days ago judging by the condition of the blood on their clothes.

  This group were from the upper district, disciples who had broken through the 1st Layer of Qi Gathering Realm.

  ‘Upper district disciples…’ Gu Xuan looked at them thoughtfully from inside his house, through the windows.

  Lower district disciples would politely nod their heads to them, and the upper district disciples mostly ignored them.

  This was the distinction of hierarchy in a cultivation world.

  The Lower district disciples were basically servants of the upper district disciples.

  After the 20 year growth period granted by the sect, lower district disciples’ main duty was to spend at least 4 hours a day doing chores for them or even taking them up the mountain as their servants to do their bidding depending on their mood.

  Thankfully, Gu Xuan was in a very low level sect and most likely, a continent at the corner in the large expanse of land in a cultivation.

  Why was he so sure? Because according to what he’s heard, the highest cultivator within the sect, which is the Sect Leader, is only at the realm above the 3rd layer of Qi Gathering Realm.

  That’s right, just a minor layer above Gu Xuan, that’s why he’s so sure.

  Gu Xuan had enough cultivation to flaunt and rival the elders but Gu Xuan hadn't revealed it so the elders and the sect master had no way of knowing.

  When Gu Xuan went out, it was either to hunt for food or to bathe in a river with minimal interaction with others but that doesn’t mean he’s anti-social, he can still fit in but decides that the best course of action for now, is to focus on cultivation because the progress was still significant.

  But now, he had other thoughts because the transition from the 3rd Layer to 4th Layer of Qi Gathering Realm will take at least 8 years judging by the current progression.

  Then most likely, that would happen again. If that’s the case, how long will it take him to reach the 9th Layer? He didn’t calculate but judging by the doubling progression, it will take him more or less enough time for his bones to turn to ashes before he even reaches it.

  With a slight frown, he thought in difficulty, ‘Should I gamble it and reveal my talent?’

  What dime a dozen in a cultivation world by stereotypes? It was envious narrow-minded disciples, elders, and sect masters.

  Furthermore, Gu Xuan had reached the 3rd Layer of Qi Gathering Realm at the age of 14. At this age, most of them would only be a martial artist, not even at the 1st Layer of Qi Gathering Realm because not everyone, most importantly, children, doesn’t have the drive to focus and cultivate for 24 hours a day like he did.

  Those who were talented and cultivated diligently for at least half or less than his amount of time in cultivation would have climbed the mountain but the number of such children only arrived once every decade.

  This is also one of the reasons why Gu Xuan was going to climb the upper district. Because he will not get too much attention, at most, he’s a rare case that arrives every decade but not a genius who had broken through to the 1st Layer at the age of 8.

  Because it was a low-level sect, as well as the fact that the physical strength of a Qi Gathering Realm doesn’t increase besides the 1st layer, they had no way of knowing that Gu Xuan was already at the 3rd layer.

  He then shook his head as he thought, ‘No, let's just take advantage of these next year or two to learn martial arts. Even if I climb the upper district now, I won’t stand out much besides being a slight genius that arrives every decade.’

  After thinking it through, he nodded to himself, ‘I’ll learn movement martial arts from the sect first if there are even any, then roam the mortal world to seek opportunity as well as to hone my battle senses. After honing it, I would come back to the sect to do sect missions that include fighting cultivators and then exchange sect points for cultivation resources and speed up my cultivation.’

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