39: Chapter 38 Taking a break, why do I feel more tired the longer I rest?

Within the Rongfan Secret Realm, Spiritual Qi rippled. A massive amount of Spiritual Qi surged into Li Fan's body like a tide, irrigating and strengthening every one of his Meridians before finally gathering within his Dantian.

Inside his Dantian, the Spiritual Qi was constantly compressed and condensed, transforming into liquid true essence. Its purity skyrocketed, bolstered by Li Fan's Top-tier Qi Spirit Root, the Qi Sea Technique, and his peerless Qi Refining level.

The liquid true essence continued to compress, and in the end, it actually solidified into crystals.

Once the Spiritual Qi fluctuations calmed down, a white jade Spirit Platform hovered silently within Li Fan's Dantian.

Looking at this Spirit Platform, which he had never seen in any textbook, Li Fan felt excited.

"Did I break through to create a Top-Grade Spirit Stone?"

He naturally knew his Spirit Platform was extraordinary. According to what he had learned in Xuan Science, the Spirit Platform of an ordinary Cultivator was merely formed by a few drops of constantly rotating spirit liquid connected together.

How could it compare to his, which was practically a Top-Grade Spirit Stone?

Li Fan circulated his Spiritual Qi and pressed his palm against the stone pier beneath him.

The white jade stone pier's light intensified, becoming blinding. After flickering a few times, it shattered.

The maximum limit of the test stone pier was the Golden Core stage. Seeing this, Li Fan understood the total amount of his Spiritual Qi.

"It should be at the level of the Golden Core Early Stage."

Now that the Spirit Platform was formed, his Divine Soul could break free from the constraints of his mortal body, allowing his Divine Sense to extend several zhang.

If he were to practice relevant Cultivation Techniques, with his Spirit Platform, it would not be impossible for his Divine Sense to extend a hundred zhang.

But that was a matter for later.

Li Fan used his Spiritual Qi to piece the shattered stone pier back together and continued to sit cross-legged upon it, rubbing his hands together.

"I still have one thousand hard training points left unused."

"It takes 200 hard training points for the Qi Sea Technique to break through to proficiency?"

"Upgrade!"

"It takes 500 hard training points for Spiritual Root and Spirit Reflection to break through to 'Form Momentum'."

"Upgrade!"

"It takes 500 hard training points to repair the Sword Body."

"Upgrade!"

"Improving Human Illusion requires 1000 hard training points."

"Upgrade! ... Wait, why isn't it enough?"

Li Fan looked at his remaining 130 hard training points, while the System list still had a whole host of things waiting to be upgraded.

"The burden is heavy and the road is long... Since that's the case, then..."

He jumped off the stone pier and, before long, appeared on the lounge chair by the pond in the accommodation courtyard.

"I'll just surf the internet to rest for a bit."

Seeing that his terminal had finally connected to the network and the familiar interface appeared before his eyes, Li Fan felt as if he were meeting an old friend after a long separation.

"Nice. Let's see what kind of fun stuff has been happening lately."

As the page loaded, Li Fan finally remembered to check the date and discovered that a full twenty-plus days had passed since the school entrance exam ended.

"It's been that long already?"

He felt as though he had only spent a few days in the Wandering Cave Heaven.

"Doesn't that mean all the universities have already started the semester?"

He suddenly sat up from his reclining position, having realized something rather ominous.

"Did I bail on the bet between Qian Zhenzhen and Wen Xinran?"

However, no punitive measures had taken effect, perhaps because he had been officially declared dead.

Looking at the empty friends list on his new terminal bracelet, Li Fan sighed.

"So be it. Just pretend I'm already dead."

He couldn't be bothered to think about Qian Zhenzhen and Wen Xinran anymore, but the image of one woman appeared in his mind.

She wasn't particularly beautiful, but her cooking skills were remarkable.

The days he spent living with her were some of the most comfortable times Li Fan had ever experienced.

"I wonder if that Spirit Talisman managed to help Luo Qingqian escape."

Li Fan initially intended to search for relevant information online, but just as he began to type, he let out a soft laugh.

"If she did escape, so what? Should I call her over to keep cooking for me?"

"And if she didn't, then everything is for naught."

There wasn't much difference between the two outcomes. With that thought, Li Fan turned his attention to the trending news.

The terminal showed nothing more than the usual three things.

"Today's current events: The Xuan Nu authorities have finally issued a statement regarding the emergency incident in the school entrance exam Secret Realm."

"The school entrance exam rankings, which remain as popular as ever."

"Entertainment news: Luo Shuying is suspected to be a student at Xuanzhuan University."

Li Fan hadn't expected that the most popular topic in the entertainment section would be gossip about Luo Shuying, who had left her group a long time ago.

But on second thought, this was normal. After all, before she left the group, she had been the most popular member, and the number of fans across the entire civilization who still felt it was a tragedy must have numbered at least several hundred million.

Seeing that she was a university student, Li Fan couldn't help but think of Luo Qingqian, who had said in the Secret Realm that she wanted to attend Xuanzong University with him.

Li Fan then clicked on the school entrance exam rankings and soon found his own position.

His ranking was quite high, the kind that allowed him to choose whichever university he pleased.

"How about I see if I can try for Xuanzong University?"

Once this thought took root in his mind, he couldn't shake it off. Li Fan began searching online to research other methods of enrollment.

While researching, he unknowingly reached midnight. Li Fan yawned and fell asleep right there on the lounge chair by the courtyard pond.

...

Late at night, a rustling sound reached Li Fan's ears as he drifted between sleep and wakefulness.

"What should I do... I didn't expect that I would still be so short on Innate Qi."

The sound of soft footsteps echoed beside him. Dazed, Li Fan turned over on the lounge chair, facing away from the source of the sound, and continued to sleep.

The sound of him turning over caught the attention of the person pacing.

"Should I... try again?"

Not long after those words were spoken, Li Fan, in his dream, felt his body being rolled onto its back and his legs spread apart.

It felt as if his entire body had been tossed into the nearby pond, and he was sinking deeper and deeper.

The pond water was like a quagmire, constantly dragging him down with immense suction. He struggled in vain as a sense of suffocation washed over him.

Finally, Li Fan woke up, gasping for air.

Upon opening his eyes, Li Fan discovered Nangong Miao lying across his legs, appearing as if she were asleep.

"Being alone in a foreign land, I suppose she must be feeling uneasy deep down."

Seeing this, he subconsciously interpreted Nangong Miao's display of reliance as a form of timidity born from being far from home.

Nangong Miao's dignified features, now weary from her seclusion, with her hair in disarray, actually added a unique sense of beauty to her.

The peaceful manner in which she lay across his legs quietly soothed the terrified emotions Li Fan had felt in his dream just moments before.

However, Li Fan keenly noticed that his skin felt somewhat wet and slippery.

"Could it be that I really fell into the water when I turned over just now, and A-Miao fished me out?"

As he said this, his gaze fell upon Nangong Miao's head, which was resting on his legs.

"Or was A-Miao drooling while she slept?"

To verify, he was about to raise his hand to gently lift Nangong Miao's head, but his body inexplicably felt waves of soreness and weakness.

At this point, how could Li Fan not understand what had happened?

"She actually ambushed me while I was sleeping!"

He was so angry he nearly fainted. This was the little bit he had worked so hard to save up!

Nangong Miao stopped pretending. She raised her head, wiped her mouth, and gave an embarrassed smile.

Her face was flushed, and strands of hair clung to the corners of her lips. There was no trace left of the aloof princess she usually appeared to be.

"I'll do it again next time."

Then, she employed an escape technique and, in the blink of an eye, returned to the cultivation room.

Nangong Miao felt the warm power swirling within her body. It was not Innate Qi, but rather Luck from the Heavenly Dao.

This substance could perfectly substitute for Innate Qi to repair the flame between her brows, and it even had other benefits; she just wasn't sure if it would be enough.

Guiding the Luck from the Heavenly Dao from within her body to the space between her brows, Nangong Miao circulated her restorative technique. At the same time, she used her Divine Sense to peer through the wall, seeing Li Fan's grief-stricken expression from afar.

Nangong Miao's red lips parted slightly, revealing the tip of her tongue, her gaze hazy.

"Husband... I really will do it again next time."