4: Another entry: A little understanding

Regarding Li Yunfei's comfort, Lin Feng merely smiled faintly. With his System, even having the Five Elements Spiritual Root, the most useless miscellaneous Spiritual Root in the Cultivation World, he wasn't worried about the future at all.

He asked these questions purely to learn more basic knowledge about the Cultivation World and broaden his horizons. Because he and the Disciples of the Hall of Skill Transmission were not in the same group, and coupled with Lin Feng's recent strange behavior, no one was willing to talk to him, so he sought advice from Li Yunfei.

After listening to Li Yunfei's words, Lin Feng gained a clear, intuitive concept of the quality of Spiritual Roots in the Cultivation World. Lin Feng cupped his fist towards Li Yunfei and expressed his gratitude with a serious expression: "Many thanks for Senior Brother Li's guidance today; it has given me a deeper understanding of Spiritual Roots in the Cultivation World."

Li Yunfei, however, reverted to his aloof demeanor. Lin Feng had long grown accustomed to Li Yunfei's cold attitude, and then asked Li Yunfei, "Senior Brother, you spoke of the distinctions between Spiritual Roots. How then do you explain Aptitude and talent? Could Senior Brother please explain it to Junior Brother?"

Li Yunfei frowned at Lin Feng's numerous questions today, then pondered for a moment before informing Lin Feng, "Junior Brother, Aptitude and talent cannot be explained as clearly and straightforwardly as Spiritual Roots."

Lin Feng did not speak, but kept looking at Li Yunfei, wanting to hear his Senior Brother's insights. Seeing Lin Feng's eager expression, Li Yunfei reluctantly glanced at him and slowly began to explain what he knew about talent and Aptitude.

Li Yunfei took a deep breath and slowly informed Lin Feng of his views on Aptitude and talent.

Aptitude, as it is called, encompasses Spiritual Roots, and also includes talent and Physique. Physique, as the name suggests, means that some Cultivators are born with extraordinary Aptitude, possessing not only Spiritual Roots but also some special Physiques. For example, some common Physiques, like the Three Yang Body, allow one to increase their Cultivation speed by fifty percent to one hundred percent when Cultivating fire-attribute or yang-attribute Cultivation Techniques, in addition to their original Spiritual Root.

More powerful Physiques, such as the Profound Yin Body or the Five Elements Spiritual Body, or the Pure Yang Body, can even increase Cultivation speed by one to three times their original Spiritual Root. Of course, there are even more powerful Saint Bodies or Immortal Bodies, which are legendary Physiques rarely seen in tens of thousands of years. He was unsure of the strength of these legendary Physiques, as they only exist in legends and are extremely rare, with very few recorded instances.

Besides Physiques, some Cultivators possess special talents. For example, some Cultivators are naturally highly compatible with Spirit Beasts, making them very suitable for beast taming. Others are born with extraordinary Comprehension Ability, and some are naturally skilled in various Cultivation arts, such as Alchemy, Talismans crafting, Formation, and so on, the list is endless. Talent is also very difficult to judge in terms of strength; it only becomes apparent when used well, otherwise, it is wasted.

Lin Feng listened and fully agreed with Li Yunfei's explanation, nodding his head. Just as he was about to ask another question, he saw that Li Yunfei, perhaps tired of his questions, immediately slipped away, leaving Lin Feng with the retreating figure of a handsome youth walking quickly. The distant figure did not forget to instruct Lin Feng, "Junior Brother Lin, there's no need to overthink things. We Cultivators should focus on the present, Cultivate diligently, and not be overly ambitious or think about useless things."

Lin Feng watched the departing Li Yunfei, a slight smile unconsciously playing on his lips. Through Li Yunfei's introduction, Lin Feng was confident that he could go further on the path of Cultivation with the help of the entries System. He had only gained one green entry and could already catch up to Li Yunfei's Spiritual Root Aptitude through diligent Cultivation. With more entries in the future, his path to Cultivation would only become wider.

The days of being on duty at the Hall of Skill Transmission passed quickly. In the following six months, Lin Feng diligently Cultivated every day, maintaining more than six hours, or twelve hours, of Cultivation daily. Every day, Lin Feng's schedule was packed.

Aside from his daily duties, Lin Feng would basically return to his dwelling to Cultivate after eating at the Utility Disciple's cafeteria. A child just over ten years old, resting only three hours a day, using another three hours for duty tasks and basic necessities, and dedicating all the rest to Cultivation. This level of diligence earned the secret admiration of many Utility Disciples.

However, although these Disciples admired Lin Feng's diligent Cultivation, most of them felt pity and regret, because everyone knew that Lin Feng was merely a miscellaneous Spiritual Root complete with Five Elements Spiritual Roots, and his achievements, no matter how hard he worked, would be limited.

Under the enhancement of the entries, Lin Feng received a three-fold boost. His Cultivation speed was slightly better than Wang Sitong's and slightly worse than Li Yunfei's. After six months, he finally achieved a Breakthrough, and his Realm reached Qi Refining Stage 2.

At this point, Lin Feng's System panel changed, and three options appeared.

Character: Lin Feng

Qi Refining Stage 2

Gray entry One: Early Misfortune (Early Misfortune, but after experiencing misfortune, there will be an opportunity, affecting kin.) Note: Cannot evolve.

Green entry One: Diligence Can Compensate for Lack of Talent (Daily Cultivation for eight hours doubles the effect; every additional four hours adds another double.) Note: Can evolve once.

Breakthrough Realm, gain entry selection rights.

One: Gray entry · Frail and Sickly (Born frail and weak, easily gets sick.) Can advance once.

Two: White entry · Strong (Good Physique, naturally stronger than peers, also has greater strength.) Can advance.

Three: Green entry · Minor Comprehension (Comprehension Ability is twice as high as the average person.) Can advance.

Lin Feng looked at the panel and unhesitatingly chose three. At this moment, Lin Feng's panel also changed.

Character: Lin Feng

Realm: Qi Refining Stage 2

Gray entry One: Early Misfortune (Early Misfortune, but after experiencing misfortune, there will be an opportunity, affecting kin.) Note: Cannot evolve.

Green entry One: Diligence Can Compensate for Lack of Talent (Daily Cultivation for eight hours doubles the effect; every additional four hours adds another double.) Note: Can evolve once.

Green entry Two: Minor Comprehension (Comprehension Ability is twice as high as the average person.) Can advance.

The entries now included a Realm Cultivation, and the only other addition was one more entry.

Upon gaining another entry, Lin Feng felt his mind become clearer than before. Previously, as a Cultivator, Lin Feng could remember the general gist of things or books and miscellaneous notes, but compared to his current self, he was far behind. Now, Lin Feng felt he could read ten lines at a glance and also achieve photographic memory. The strengthening of his talent made him even more intelligent.

Lin Feng couldn't help but sigh, the concept of talent was indeed profound and mysterious. He, Lin Feng, became smarter just by obtaining a green entry.

For the past six months, Lin Feng had been researching how this so-called advancement worked, but he had never been able to grasp the knack, and multiple attempts failed to reveal how to advance. Lin Feng had conducted many tests without success, so he simply gave up and let nature take its course.

There was still one month until these Utility Disciples would undergo their official assessment. Although Lin Feng was not among them, he could sense their emotions from their usual expressions and behaviors. Disciples with good talent who had already Cultivated to Qi Refining Stage 3 were all high-spirited, while those who had not reached Qi Refining Stage 3 were downcast.

Lin Feng merely shook his head at the performance of these Disciples. He, Lin Feng, still had five years. Five years was enough time for him to Breakthrough to Qi Refining Stage 3. Therefore, Lin Feng could not understand the frustration and pain of those Disciples, just as they could not understand Lin Feng's diligent Cultivation while secretly being ridiculed.

Without the entries, even if Lin Feng worked harder, with his miscellaneous Spiritual Root Aptitude, it would be absolutely impossible to Breakthrough to Qi Refining Stage 2 in less than one or two years! This was assuming he worked as hard as he did now. And he had heard from Li Yunfei and the Utility Disciples in the Hall of Skill Transmission that the difficulty of Breakthrough from Qi Refining Stage 2 to Qi Refining Stage 3 would take nearly twice as long as the Breakthrough from Qi Refining Stage 1 to Qi Refining Stage 2.

Speaking of which, Lin Feng's friend Wang Sitong was quite vexed now. When he first arrived at Cloud-Soaring Pavilion, he was a bit too complacent and did not diligently Cultivate in the first year, spending his time playing around.

It wasn't until the second year, when many of the Utility Disciples who came with him had individually Broken Through to Qi Refining Stage 2, that he realized the importance of effort. Due to his initial laziness, he was now just a tiny bit short of Breaking Through to Qi Refining Stage 3. If he had another half a year, he would be confident in Breaking Through to Qi Refining Stage 3. However, with only one month left, no matter how hard Wang Sitong tried, he would not be able to Breakthrough to Qi Refining Stage 3.