4: cultivation

At this point in the conversation, the youth sat back on his stool like a deflated ball.

Storybooks were just storybooks after all; how could such a miraculous encounter exist in this world?

Going from a beggar to the Aotian Sword Immortal—such a legendary figure was naturally a character from a storybook.

How could he compare himself to a character in a book?

Master was just trying to comfort him. Didn't he know his own worth?

The dejected youth could only turn his resentment into strength, clearing the dishes to wash them in the kitchen.

Having eaten and drunk his fill, Su Yi sat on a reclining chair in the courtyard, staring blankly at the starry sky.

Meeting an old friend and remembering old times made it easy to fall into memories.

Although a long time had passed, recalling it felt as if it were only yesterday.

“That kid Yu Zhen is over two hundred years old, yet he's actually learned how to find a replacement!” Su Yi turned his head slightly to look at the busy youth in the kitchen, finding it somewhat amusing.

When Yu Zhen brought Gu Wanquan before him, Su Yi knew in his heart that he had no way to refuse Yu Zhen's request.

The reason was simple: someone capable of inheriting that guy's Legacy was one in a hundred million.

That guy was just like the youth before him—both possessed the Innate Sword Body!

The moment Su Yi placed his hand on the youth's wrist, he knew that Gu Wanquan was the most suitable successor for that guy!

He was even more suitable than Yu Zhen. Back then, it took Yu Zhen a whole year just to barely touch the threshold of that guy's Sword Dao.

Hiss, looking at it this way, Yu Zhen really did find a good replacement!

“What a hassle. I don't even know how to teach a disciple. Even if he is the most suitable successor, what's the point of dumping him on me?” Su Yi closed his eyes with a headache, unsure of what to do for a moment.

While Su Yi was resting with his eyes closed, light footsteps came from behind. Turning to look, he saw Gu Wanquan sitting on the open ground beside him, waiting respectfully.

“Didn't I tell you the room from yesterday is empty? Why haven't you gone to sleep, kid?” Su Yi asked, looking at Gu Wanquan questioningly.

Gu Wanquan answered honestly, “Master, when will you teach me how to Cultivate?”

“Cultivate? I don't even know how to Cultivate myself, so how can I teach you?” Su Yi replied somewhat gloomily. Whatever he feared most seemed to happen; he was just having a headache over this, and the kid had already come looking for him.

“How is that possible! You're an immortal from the same era as the Aotian Sword Immortal. Are you like the Taoist Grandpa, just not wanting to teach me?” Gu Wanquan asked, feeling a bit aggrieved.

In Gu Wanquan's heart, once he learned that the former Aotian Sword Immortal was his Master's friend, he became full of anticipation for Cultivation.

Once he became a Sword Immortal, he would be like the Aotian Sword Immortal—slaying demons, eliminating monsters, and upholding justice for the world!

He would become the number one under heaven Sword Immortal and not let his sect's reputation fall!

“I'm not lying to you. Although I've lived a long time, I really don't have any cultivation base right now!” Su Yi spread his hands and answered seriously.

“Then... what should I do?” Gu Wanquan pointed at himself blankly and asked.

“Comprehend it yourself. I didn't see anyone teaching that guy, yet didn't he still become a Sword Immortal?” Su Yi replied casually.

“How can I compare to the Aotian Sword Immortal? That's a Sword Immortal!” Gu Wanquan argued urgently.

“I've already said, you're stronger than him. Whatever he could do, you certainly can too!” Su Yi emphasized while lying on the chair.

“Master, please stop joking with me,” Gu Wanquan replied helplessly.

“Then why do you want to Cultivate?”

“Naturally to become the number one under heaven! To uphold justice and eliminate demons for the Dao.”

“What's the fun in that?”

“Isn't that what Cultivation is for?”

“That's quite boring...”

Su Yi was truly getting a bit annoyed by Gu Wanquan's pestering, so he leaned on the armrest of the reclining chair, looked at Gu Wanquan sitting nearby, and said, “What do you think a Cultivator in this world is like?”

“Naturally like the Taoist Grandpa—shattering the heavens and earth with a casual gesture, just like an immortal!” Gu Wanquan answered as if it were obvious.

“Mm, once a practitioner reaches his level, they can indeed do that!” Su Yi nodded, but he also realized that the Gu Wanquan before him knew almost nothing about Cultivation, so he had to patiently start from the beginning.

“What all Cultivators practice is the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and the Laws of this world.”

The so-called Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi is actually everywhere. It's in the air, and ordinary people inhale it with every breath, but they lack the ability to store the Qi within their bodies.

Therefore, they cannot guide the Qi to open their Dantian and Qi Sea to take the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi for their own use.

However, this requires enlightenment; there is no fixed routine.

Some people spend a hundred years on Qi Refining and still cannot enter the threshold, ending up as nothing but yellow earth in regret.

Others can peer within themselves in a single breath and see the specks of Spiritual Qi between heaven and earth.

This is talent, and it is the entry point for an ordinary person to become a Cultivator.

This first step of talent alone is one in a hundred.

And storing Qi in the Dantian makes one a Cultivator.

The Cultivation Ranks in this world total nine stages.

From one to nine, from low to high.

After the fifth Rank, storing Qi transforms into Essence. Once one develops True Essence, they are already a Great Cultivator, and the remaining path depends entirely on one's own comprehension.

All peerless Cultivation Techniques and supreme Secret Manuals, when traced back to their source, are nothing more than using Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to manifest what is in one's heart.”

“So, do you understand?” Having said all this, Su Yi looked at the bewildered Gu Wanquan and asked.

Gu Wanquan shook his head, looking at Su Yi with a face full of confusion.

“How is this kid so much stupider than Yu Zhen?” Su Yi was now starting to doubt if he had misjudged him.

“The first time I met Yu Zhen, he was about your age. Besides telling him what I just told you, I didn't teach him anything else!” Su Yi said, spreading his hands.

“???! You're saying the Taoist Grandpa was also taught by you?” Gu Wanquan asked in shock.

“Wait, that's not right. You're the Junior Martial Uncle, how could the Taoist Grandpa have been taught by you?” Gu Wanquan suddenly found the logical flaw and immediately retorted.

Hearing Gu Wanquan's rebuttal, Su Yi's old face actually turned red, and he said somewhat exasperatedly, “This is why Sword Cultivators are all bastards. Just because they can fight, they get to be the boss? Ungrateful wolves! Walking around with their noses in the air all day, I don't know what they're so arrogant about. They don't even know how to teach a disciple!”

It was as if a sore spot had been poked; the original teaching session turned into Su Yi's one-sided criticism of the Aotian Sword Immortal.

“What kind of bullshit Sword Immortal? He was chased all over the mountain by a wild boar, crying.”

“When he got beaten up, he just knew how to smile. His face was swollen like a pig's head, yet he still said he'd definitely win next time, only to be beaten into a pig's head again.”

...Listening to Su Yi's incessant grumbling, Gu Wanquan, on the other hand, had a look of yearning.

“You and the Aotian Sword Immortal must have had a really good relationship!” Gu Wanquan said with a sigh.

“...”

Su Yi, who had been non-stop revealing the Sword Immortal's dark history, suddenly felt as if his throat had been squeezed shut.

“What nonsense are you talking about, kid?”

“After so many years, you still remember it so clearly. Grandmaster and you must have been very close back then!”

Su Yi wanted to argue, but the words reached his lips and he swallowed them back. He then threw a book at Gu Wanquan and turned to walk toward his room, leaving only one sentence behind:

“Go and feel the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi as I said. If you can't feel it, don't sleep!”

Gu Wanquan hurriedly caught the book:

“Notebook of the Number One Sword Cultivator Under Heaven”