Chapter Fifty-One: The Conclusion of the Second Round

The conversation provided Li Chengzhu with insights into realms he had never encountered before.

For instance, the distinction between chaotic spiritual energy and the energy of the five elements. While both allow a cultivator to restore their own internal spiritual energy, they are not identical—much like the difference between ordinary spiritual energy and immortal spiritual energy.

One could say that chaotic spiritual energy is a substance formed by the convergence of the five elemental energies. If someone with great divine power were to extract and separate the chaotic energy, they could obtain pure elemental energy, such as wood energy, earth energy, and so on. The most intuitive example was the "Wood Essence" currently in Li Chengzhu's possession; it was a substance that transcended ordinary spiritual energy. Its energy was so immense that spiritual energy was tightly anchored within it, much like a black hole pulling in any matter that dared to intrude. It was also highly likely that it had developed a spirit of its own.

Knowing or not knowing a concept makes a world of difference. For example, if you know the name of a martial technique, you might unleash its full potential; if you don't, you might only be able to muster seventy percent of its power.

That was exactly how Boss Li felt right now.

Because of the Wood Essence, he naturally absorbed more wood-attribute spiritual energy from the environment. Theoretically, now that he understood these subtle nuances, it should be easier for him to distinguish the attributes of the energy he drew into his body.

However, after testing the sensation techniques taught to him by Kebar several times, Boss Li felt absolutely no difference.

Kebar explained that this was due to his low cultivation base or his dull responsiveness. After all, cultivators who could perceive the subtle differences between spiritual energies were few and far between. It was entirely possible for one to reach the point of ascension without ever realizing it, provided they had stored enough high-quality spiritual energy to break through the psychological barrier required to become an immortal.

Kebar’s theory of spiritual energy separation implicitly explained the variance in potential between immortals and cultivators. In the same span of several hundred years, why was one person’s cultivation higher than another’s? This was not merely due to the quality of one's meridians, the external environment, or the cultivation techniques; it was highly likely that these cultivators had never deliberately paid attention to the attributes of the spiritual energy they absorbed.

Take Li Chengzhu as an example: wood-attribute spiritual energy was more compatible with him. If his body could hold one hundred units of energy, his maximum potential would be defined by one hundred units of wood-attribute energy. While other attributes could be stored, their combat effectiveness and the potential they manifested would be far inferior to wood-attribute energy.

"Of course, this does not mean you should only absorb one type of energy. If you truly did that, you would not be far from death. The five elements generate and restrain one another; you must maximize the absorption of the energy that belongs to you to ensure your potential is fully developed," Kebar warned, watching Li Chengzhu’s excitement with cold eyes.

This trip into the Jade Blood Ring had been a massive harvest for Boss Li. Although he hadn't gained any tangible items, what Kebar had told him was enough to shock him to his core. His master and everyone he knew had never mentioned these things—not even Gu Linglong, who had cultivated for a thousand years before ascending. It was certain that no one he knew possessed this knowledge.

It seemed that Kebar's words were neither alarmist nor intended to curry favor. Although Kebar repeatedly emphasized that these were merely his conjectures, Li Chengzhu preferred to believe they were true.

After safely exiting the Jade Blood Ring, he set up a Spirit Gathering Array for the two nascent souls before leaving, ensuring their cultivation wouldn't regress and jeopardize his future plans.

The little creature was still dutifully guarding the ring. As soon as it saw Boss Li appear, it snatched up the ring and scurried into his arms, its tiny claws scratching at his chest. Boss Li patted its head and took out a few high-grade spirit stones from the ring to give to it. The creature took them joyfully and vanished back into the ring, emerging moments later with just one, which it held to its chest and began to nibble on.

After waiting in the room for a long time, Gu Linglong finally walked in, laughing, accompanied by Xiaoying. The little creature teleported instantly into Gu Linglong’s arms, clutching her chest tightly, which made her blush deeply. She hurriedly bent her arms to embrace it before it finally released its grip.

"Zhuzi!" Xiaoying threw herself into Boss Li’s arms the moment she entered.

"Shameless woman," Gu Linglong muttered, feigning jealousy, though the smile in the corners of her eyes betrayed her.

"Where did you go? You couldn't be seen anywhere during the tournament," Xiaoying asked, pouting.

"I had a minor matter to attend to," Boss Li reached out and pulled Linglong into his embrace as well. "How was the tournament?"

"Qiufeng and my father both advanced to the third round," Xiaoying said excitedly, then began describing the matches to her husband.

The cultivator who faced Qiufeng was only at the early stage of the Mahayana realm and was no match for Qiufeng, who was at the late stage. Furthermore, the opponent had been injured in the previous round. When Qiufeng unleashed the Nine Heavens Great Luo Cauldron, the fellow immediately pulled out his protection token and conceded early. As the third-place winner of the previous tournament, Qiufeng was the first to finish his opponent.

His father-in-law’s fight, however, was a bit more troublesome. Their cultivation levels were similar, and both were wary of saving their strength for the next round, so neither went all out. After fighting for half the day without a clear winner, his father-in-law had no choice but to unleash the Hehuan Sect’s heirloom immortal artifact—the Hehuan Bell—which bewildered his opponent and caused him to shamefully leave the stage.

While they spoke, the three of them moved to the bed. Boss Li placed his large hand over Xiaoying’s stomach, as if feeling the life within. This sight filled Gu Linglong with envy.

"By the way, Linglong, did you see my Sixth Martial Uncle?" Li Chengzhu suddenly remembered the words of his beautiful grand-martial aunt; the uncle he disliked must have come to participate in the competition as well.

"Your Sixth Martial Uncle?" Gu Linglong asked, slightly confused. "Elder Mie of the Illusion Sword Sect?"

"Yes." Boss Li nodded. He had heard about the sect's internal affairs from his beautiful grand-martial aunt before.

There were seven people of the same generation as his master in the Illusion Sword Sect. His First and Second Martial Uncles had been killed two hundred years ago. The third was his own master, Liqing, followed by Fourth Martial Uncle Jiang Ziyin, Fifth Martial Uncle Zeng Zhixiong, Sixth Martial Uncle Chao Bumie, and Seventh Martial Uncle Qi Canghai.

Among these, the Fourth and Fifth were rumored to be "mountain-backed" (a term implying a romantic relationship between the two), a secret his grand-martial aunt had whispered to him with a giggle. They were obsessed with martial arts and spent all their time hiding in their rooms to cultivate. The Sixth, however, had grand ambitions and wanted to surpass his master to become the Sect Leader. But since the Patriarch had passed the Jade Blood Ring to him, it seemed the Sixth Uncle had little hope left.

Of all the uncles, the Seventh was the most bizarre, yet his cultivation progressed the fastest. According to his grand-martial aunt, the Seventh Uncle had reached the late Mahayana stage in just one hundred years, but for some unknown reason, his cultivation stopped growing entirely after that point. He neither regressed nor advanced, remaining perpetually one step away from ascension. He was indifferent to worldly affairs, disliked conflict, and the strangest thing was that he had stopped cultivating entirely once he reached the Mahayana stage, spending his days doing nothing at all.

Hearing Zhuzi ask about Elder Mie of the Illusion Sword Sect, Xiaoying, sitting on his lap, smiled and said, "I know, I saw him."

"How is he doing?" Boss Li was itching for someone to beat him until he was begging for mercy.

"It seems he won as well," Xiaoying said after a long pause.

"What a pity," Boss Li sighed, his face filled with regret.

"Zhuzi," Gu Linglong glared at him reprovingly. "If you ever have the chance to return to the Illusion Sword Sect, you must never say such things."

"I know," Li Chengzhu smiled bitterly. "I'm only saying this because it's just the three of us."

"Whether in the immortal realm or the mortal world, respect for one's elders is paramount. A teacher for a day is a father for life. Regardless, he is still your martial uncle."

"Yes, I understand." Li Chengzhu nodded helplessly. If there was anyone who could make Boss Li listen, it was Gu Linglong.

"And you, Xiaoying," Gu Linglong assumed the role of the First Wife. "You're already pregnant, yet you’re still jumping around like this. Even though we are cultivators, we must be careful."

"Big Sister is just jealous," Xiaoying joked, pouting.

"I am not!" Gu Linglong’s face flushed red as she protested.

"Come here, one on each side." Li Chengzhu opened his arms, pulled Gu Linglong over, and sat her on his other thigh.

"What a sight," Gu Linglong muttered, head lowered, but a look of happiness rippled across her face. She reached out to pet the little creature still in her arms, which let out a contented groan.

Taking this opportunity, Li Chengzhu shared the news he had heard from Kebar with his two wives. Not only did Xiaoying look astonished, but Gu Linglong also wore an expression of complete shock.

"If this is true, does that mean we still have the potential to improve?" Gu Linglong’s thirst for higher cultivation was far greater than Xiaoying’s.

"Yes," Li Chengzhu nodded. "But I cannot perceive any difference in the spiritual energy."

"Let me try." Hearing this, Gu Linglong handed the little creature to Li Chengzhu and sat cross-legged on the bed.

"I'll try too," Xiaoying said excitedly.

"No, no, my dear, please just stay still. Think of the baby," Boss Li hurriedly restrained Xiaoying; he couldn't afford any mishaps at such a critical moment.

"Then I want a candied hawthorn," Xiaoying said, extending her hand with a smile.

"Here." Li Chengzhu pulled a skewer of candied hawthorns from his ring. *Anything you want, just be careful.*

After a long while, Gu Linglong opened her eyes. Xiaoying asked while chewing, "How is it, Big Sister?"

Gu Linglong looked at Li Chengzhu and shook her head. "I can't feel anything."

"Forget it, we'll talk about it later," Li Chengzhu said, feeling frustrated, but he began to comfort his wives instead.

Kebar, oh Kebar... was what you told me true or false?