Yang Yitian lay in bed for three days after he fell asleep.
Three days later, the previously scattered and floating spiritual energy seemed to have a guiding direction, and all of it rushed towards Yang Yitian's direction.
Yang Yitian was still repairing his soul, and his cultivation level was constantly improving, as if he was trying to make up for the parts that were missing before.
About an hour later, Yang Yitian's cultivation level reached the seventh level of Qi Refining, and then he rushed into the peak of the seventh level with great speed.
Yang Yitian opened his eyes, sat up, and stretched, feeling an indescribable sense of comfort throughout his body.
"How are you feeling?" Qi Zhiheng stepped forward to check on the situation.
Yang Yitian gave someone a bear hug: "I feel like I have inexhaustible energy."
After Qi Zhiheng's soul power probed into Yang Yitian's sea of consciousness, the two, being bound by a Daoist contract, would not harm each other.
Once Qi Zhiheng confirmed that Yang Yitian's condition had indeed improved considerably, he felt relieved.
The two went out again, and Jin Yu came looking for them.
Jin Yu, with a hint of joy on his face, asked with a smile, "Brother Qi! Where have you been these past few days?"
Qi Zhiheng said, "I didn't go anywhere. The semi-annual competition is coming up, and I'm busy cultivating."
Jin Yu revealed the purpose of his visit: "I'd like to host a dinner party in a couple of days and invite you and your sister-in-law to come over."
"What are you doing? Aren't you going to cultivate anymore?" Qi Zhiheng casually sat down in the chair.
Jin Yu shook his head and said, "Work and rest should be balanced, work and rest should be balanced." He didn't stand on ceremony and found a seat to sit down as well.
Yang Yitian walked into the front hall, saw Jin Yu, and teased, "Jin Yu, you've lost quite a bit of weight! Looks like the Cleansing Pill is working really well. How about it? Have you sold out of pills yet?"
Jin Yu revealed a shrewd businessman's expression: "No rush. Such a good product should only be sold after everyone knows about its effects. Even if this case is sold now, it won't fetch a good price."
"You've got a good business sense, huh?" Yang Yitian plopped down next to Qi Zhiheng.
"I am not talented!" Jin Yu said, feigning modesty. "My family runs a business."
Qi Zhiheng explained, "The Jin family's businesses have spread almost all over the Holy Liang Kingdom."
"So it's a large national chain of supermarkets!" Yang Yitian muttered to himself.
Jin Yu came here mainly to introduce his small group to Qi Zhiheng, to let his underlings take a look, and to see if anyone had any disloyal intentions.
After understanding his purpose, Qi Zhiheng agreed to go out and show his face.
If someone has obvious intentions, they will probably connect with him directly in the future. Therefore, anyone who wants to bypass Jin Yu to befriend Qi Zhiheng is obviously not loyal to Jin Yu.
After leaving some gifts, Jin Yu took his leave and went home.
When the appointed time arrived, Qi Zhiheng took Yang Yitian to the meeting place. The meeting place was set in a courtyard at the foot of the mountain, which was a property of the Jin family, and Jin Yu was temporarily borrowing it.
Since Jin Yu's small group also includes several outer disciples, it is not feasible to hold the gathering in the inner courtyard. Therefore, they had to settle for a suitable place outside.
Qi Zhiheng walked around and saw Jin Yu's small group. There were a total of 34 people there, some of whom were from the outer academy, and the rest were mostly students from the inner academy's Class C and Class D.
Some people are born with poor aptitude, while others are of average aptitude but try to climb the ladder by consuming too many elixirs containing impurities, which leads to their eventual decline in ability.
Logically speaking, elders would usually remind people not to take too many pills or things containing impurities, but among these people, Jin Yu probably has the highest status in the family.
Those who are not of high status or high qualifications are not valued in the family, so naturally no one goes back to remind them.
Even though it's common knowledge that one shouldn't take too many pills, knowing it is one thing, but many people will still keep advising against it, willing to pay a price to gain attention.
The fact that they were able to enter the Source Academy despite their poor aptitude and difficulty in continuing their cultivation proves that the price they paid was not without results.
Entering the Source Institute doesn't mean they're without a way to solve their original aptitude problem; all sorts of temptations make it worthwhile for them to defend themselves and take a gamble.
Jin Yu had Qi Zhiheng examine the aptitudes of this group of people, and they had all undergone significant changes.
Jin Yu explained that the cultivation levels of this group of people had decreased to some extent, but everyone could feel that when they used spiritual power directly, it was much smoother than before.
Jin Yu wanted to ask Qi Zhiheng what other methods he could use to increase his attack power.
Qi Zhiheng shrugged: "How would I know?" He's just an alchemist, why would I ask him?
Even if he has some special abilities, they cannot be passed on to outsiders, since he possesses cultivation techniques from the cultivation world.
Jin Yu was somewhat disappointed. Qi Zhiheng said, "However, you can spar with each other and let each other find their own shortcomings and correct them. According to my cultivation progress, I believe that the fastest way to improve one's cultivation is to start cultivating only after one's spiritual energy is completely depleted."
Jin Yu nodded, indicating that he had learned something: "I will arrange for everyone to practice together later." In addition to their relatively high cultivation levels, these people also lacked practical combat experience.
After the banquet, Qi Zhiheng and Yang Yitian took their leave.
After Qi Zhiheng returned, three people visited him privately during the banquet.
Qi Zhiheng let Ran in. To avoid future trouble, he was still willing to trade with Jin Yu. It wouldn't be pleasant if the transaction went as planned.
Therefore, it is still necessary to eliminate potential risks.
As expected, these people's goal was to obtain the goods from Qi Zhiheng, and the price they offered was even fifty spirit stones higher than what they sold to Jin Yu.
Qi Zhiheng knew that if these pills were sold to someone who knew how to do business, they would definitely be worth more than three hundred spirit stones each. However, he had already sold them in a hurry with spirit stones, so he didn't pay much attention to the price.
Qi Zhiheng met with these people and accepted their gifts, but they wanted pills? No.
After dismissing the people, Qi Zhiheng handed the list of them to Jin Yu. He then went to cultivate with Yang Yitian.
Yang Yitian, whose cultivation was at its peak, finally broke through the seventh level of Qi Refining and entered the eighth level of Qi Refining while soaking in the medicinal bath.
Qi Zhiheng was extremely jealous of the fact that the two levels were broken through in such a short period of time, and he could only lament the difference in their spiritual roots.
The two secluded themselves to cultivate until three days before the start of the competition, when both the inner and outer academies were summoned.
Qi Zhiheng and Yang Yitian took their seats.
These two were among the most watched disciples of the same year, and at this time, some people also noticed the changes in Yang Yitian's cultivation.
"Why do I feel like Yang Yitian's cultivation has improved so much since I last saw him?"
"That's really true, how can someone improve so quickly?"
"Hey, what's so hard to understand? It's all about taking pills. The Qi family's pill shop is so famous, what's there to not understand?"
"It's so wonderful to have a husband whose family owns a pill shop!"
Hearing the news about the two people in the crowd, Yang Yiqian couldn't help but listen to it for a while. Thinking of Qi Zhiheng, who was fatter than a pig's head, and Yang Yitian, who was thinner than a bean sprout, Yang Yiqian couldn't help but sigh, "They have the same name but different fates."
"It's so great to have someone in the family who runs a pill shop. We don't have to be stingy with the pills we take." Yang Yiqian glanced at Yang Yitian and said to Ji Qiuhan. Even if she and Ji Qiuhan cultivated every day, they couldn't reach this level of cultivation speed.
Ji Qiuhan frowned. No man wants to be outdone by another man, especially since Qi Zhiheng's family background was not as good as hers. Yet her own woman was envying another man's husband.
Ji Qiuhan said, "Relying on pills to improve cultivation is ultimately not a sustainable method. It will affect future advancement. Look at Qi Zhiheng, he hasn't improved during this period either. It's likely that he consumed too many pills before, which limited his aptitude."
Yang Yiqian thought about it. Yang Yitian's cultivation had indeed improved a lot, but Qi Zhiheng's cultivation had not improved at all. So she nodded and said, "You're right. Their method is ultimately not reliable."
Yang Yitian was eating snacks and drinking tea when he saw Jin Yu and his group of people rushing into the venue.
Seeing this small group that looked like a gangster boss leading his underlings as he entered, he almost spat out his tea!
Jin Yu and his underlings were not in the same class after all, and after entering the arena, everyone dispersed.
"Jin Yu, that guy, seems pretty cocky, huh?" Yang Yitian muttered to himself, then turned to Qi Zhiheng and said, "How about we go and recruit a few henchmen?"
Qi Zhiheng shook his head: "It's troublesome. There are sincere people and hypocritical people. People's hearts are unpredictable. No one knows whether someone who was originally loyal to you will betray you in the end."
The things that happened to Xu Jin in his previous life were enough to teach him a lesson he would never forget.
Yang Yitian was just saying it casually, and then picked up the snacks and continued eating.
When Si Hao saw Jin Yu and his group, he scoffed, "A rabble."
Although Si Hao's voice was soft, the Class A disciples present could still hear it, and those who were on good terms with Si Hao chimed in with a few teasing remarks about Jin Yu.
Soon after everyone had assembled, the man announced the rules.
The competition rules are similar to those of the event held once every three months.
The inner and outer courtyards competed separately.
The inner courtyard is challenged by students from Class B who draw lots first.
The outer court is a challenge for everyone, and only the disciples of the outer court's Class A have the opportunity to challenge the inner court.
Qi Zhiheng was unaware of the situation in the outer courtyard, but among the people from the inner courtyard, the first to challenge Yang Yitian was...
Yang Yitian paused in his eating of pastries: "Why is it me again?"
He dusted off the pastry crumbs on his hands, went up on stage, and without saying a word, used a set of talismans to send the person off the stage.
Everyone gasped: It's the same trick again!
The people who were going to challenge Yang Yitian quieted down considerably after that.
Qi Zhiheng's side is doing well too; not many people are challenging him.
Yang Yitian grabbed a snack and continued eating: "What's wrong with these people? Do they all think I'm easy to defeat?"
Qi Zhiheng glanced at him and said, "You do look easy to defeat."
Yang Yitian rolled his eyes at him and continued eating.
Qi Zhiheng reached out and pinched his fair cheek: "Why do I feel like you've gained weight?"
Yang Yitian rolled his eyes again. "Listen to this, is this how a human being talks?"
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