Qi Cultivation Starting from the Repair Panel

Chu Zheng listened for a few moments and understood that the Imperial Court was preparing for war. Due to years of peace, there was a lack of military supplies, so an order was issued for forging weapons and armor in all regions.

The city he was currently in was called 'Iron Fate City.' Just outside the city was an iron mine that had previously been insignificant in various counties, but now it had become a key focus area for the Imperial Court, and the imperial envoy was already on the way.

Chu Zheng paid no mind to this useless information, quickly forgetting it as he blended into the crowd, keeping his head down and working hard.

By the end of the day, he was drenched in sweat; his clothes had soaked and dried multiple times, and a layer of salt had crusted at his waistline.

For Xue Qing, such circumstances were clearly nothing new, and she was well-prepared for them.

The blacksmith workshop always had plenty of hot water. After a hearty meal and a comfortable bath, the two finally returned by moonlight.

...

...

After helping out at the blacksmith shop from dawn till dusk for three days, Chu Zheng finally had some free time.

In those three days, because he had quite a bit of Qi Strength, his wages were substantial, and he returned five pieces of Spiritual Currency to Xue Qing, as promised.

Even after days of hard work, Xue Qing didn't rest. Instead, she got up at dawn, quietly pocketed her money, and with Chu Zheng, headed to a shop on the street.

This was the only place in the city that sold Martial Arts Heart Methods. Although most of the martial arts were common and just mundane martial arts, it was still a place out of reach for ordinary people.

Xue Qing carefully took out a neatly folded five hundred Spiritual Currency and traded it with the shopkeeper for a scroll of Heart Sutra, eagerly starting to peruse it.

Chu Zheng glanced over it from the side; it was a simple Breathing Technique and some Fist and Foot Techniques, extremely basic, worthless in his eyes. Any cultivation technique he casually created would be a thousand times more advanced than this.

Xue Qing, however, treasured it dearly, carefully putting it away. As they passed a pharmacy on the way home, she bought a good set of medicine, spending quite a bit of Spiritual Currency.

In the following days, Chu Zheng realized for the first time what it truly meant to be a Martial Arts Genius.

Using some rudimentary Breathing Techniques and the basic Fist and Foot Techniques to train her muscles and bones, Xue Qing crossed the mortal threshold within two days, fully entering the Martial Path and becoming a cultivator in the Martial Arts Qi Condensation Realm, comparable to an Immortal Dao Spiritual Spring.

With mundane martial arts scriptures, she shattered the extraordinary barrier and entered the First Realm of the Martial Path.

She even integrated various methods, creating a new Breathing Technique. Barely over ten years old, she already had the potential to establish her own sect.

This was entirely achieved through her self-exploration, without any guidance or assistance from anyone.

Whether it was the Hidden Dragon List of the Cangyun Realm or the Tribulation Crossing List of the Great Immortal Realm, and the Dao Inquiry Grand Competition, Chu Zheng had seen many gifted individuals, and to him, they were all just so-so.

But Xue Qing's talent was truly the greatest Chu Zheng had seen in his life.

...

...

Time flew by, and the days passed swiftly.

Chu Zheng stayed by Xue Qing's side, quietly watching as she gradually rooted herself in the Martial Path, growing at an astonishing speed.

He also had many martial arts scriptures in his possession, but he did not offer them to aid Xue Qing, only acted as an observer, watching silently.

For him, everything before him was just an illusion. He invested almost all his energy in observation, observing everything around him, observing all the living creatures that appeared, hoping to thereby discern the obsession of Zheng Chu, but it was all in vain.

Xue Qing's mother, long bedridden, finally did not make it through the winter, passing away on a snowy night.

The aftermath was handled very simply. Xue Qing found an ownerless plot of wasteland outside the city, erected a Green Stone stele, and buried her mother there.

Throughout it all, there was little sadness on her face.

A single comforting word at the sickbed was far more useful than heaps of ashes at the grave. For her, filial piety while alive was enough. When a person dies, they are extinguished like a lamp. There's no need to be excessively mourned.

With her cultivation accomplished, Xue Qing no longer performed arts on the street or did odd jobs. Instead, she took Chu Zheng, entered the martial world, and began to move between the surrounding cities, even starting to contact some Cultivation Sects.

Her actions remained righteous as ever, keeping away from deception, extortion, murder, and looting, merely constantly seeking to spar with experts, using cultivation method heart scriptures as wagers, gathering manifold techniques, and continuously enhancing her own knowledge.

As she delved deeper into the Martial Path, some of her qualities gradually emerged, and Chu Zheng noticed a certain familiarity developing.

Within a flash, another year had passed.

As heavy snow once again covered the world, Xue Qing's reputation had spread far and wide. She was now a top-tier powerhouse with a name known across several nations, and even Cultivation Sects had heard of her.

Because of her, a war that was about to break out vanished into thin air. The Imperial Court sent countless treasures, hoping for her to come forth, but she declined them all.

During her interactions with various parties, Xue Qing's state of mind remained unaffected, growing increasingly stable. She stayed in Iron Fate City, as immovable as a mountain, gaining quite some maturity.

During this period, Chu Zheng also discovered some differences.

Whether it was due to the illusion before him or because it was always the case, the Qi-refining Technique of this era indeed lacked the existence of Tribulation Qi.

He had been in Spirit Transformation Realm Perfection for a while, but never once sensed the slightest Tribulation Qi fluctuation.

Xue Qing's progress was much faster than his; in just a little over a year, she had already condensed Qi into Aura, moving into the Martial Arts Second Realm.

Without any profound heart techniques or cultivation methods, she merely relied on her deduction and mundane martial arts scriptures to reach her current state.

...

...

Another spring came, the icy edges of the city moat quietly melted, and trees and plants began to sprout.

A group of uninvited guests arrived in the riverside courtyard, five in total, wearing vestment robes and exuding different auras, clearly all fellows on the path of cultivation.

The courtyard gate remained firmly shut. The group descended from above, breaking in without announcing their presence, obviously not coming with good intentions.

The leader was a gaunt middle-aged man, with cultivation at the Third Order and over thirty years of age.

He glanced at the two in the courtyard, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes, his gaze settling on Xue Qing, nodding slightly, and he remarked:

"Entering the Martial Arts Second Realm at twelve is indeed an extraordinary talent."

Without waiting for Xue Qing to speak, he continued, "You surely have good fortune. I've heard of your remarkable talent. My master wishes to have you serve by his side; come with me."

Xue Qing's chest lightly shook, her lips lightly parted, exhaling a cold breath of early spring, her gaze calm. After scanning the visitors one by one, a hint of disappointment flashed in her eyes.

Seeing Xue Qing unmoved, the middle-aged man stepped forward slowly, speaking in a deep voice: "My master inherits the bloodline of the Upper Realm. You are still young, and if you are fortunate enough in the future, you might be favored by my master and be sent to a Martial Arts Giant Sect, where you can smoothly rise to great heights. Such an opportunity is once in a lifetime for ordinary people, and you should seize it well."

Before he finished speaking, Xue Qing had already drawn the longsword from her waist, striking fiercely.

Buzz—

The cold light tore through the air, the sharp blade aura dancing like a silver dragon, instantly ripping apart the five bodies.

The blood mist had not yet dispersed, and the blade light did not lose momentum, splitting open the courtyard wall and halving the moat more than ten feet wide, with the river water breaking noisily.

Xue Qing glanced at the scattered corpses on the ground, letting out a cold snort:

"Filthy scum, things like dogs, dare to come near me?"

The surrounding world gradually darkened, the blood-colored soil in the courtyard, Xue Qing turned to look at Chu Zheng, her expression calm:

"I've caused a big issue, trouble will follow. Will you leave or stay?"

Chu Zheng immediately stood up, but before he could move, a sudden coldness enveloped him.

In that moment, Chu Zheng's consciousness suddenly detached from his body, left behind, able only to gaze at the two figures walking out of the city.

Suddenly, a faint trace of reluctance surged in Chu Zheng's heart, a reluctance he couldn't quite explain.

Just like entering the Illusion Realm, he still hadn't figured out why these years were where Zheng Chu's obsession lay.

...

...

The familiar corridor reappeared before him, Chu Zheng took a deep breath, cutting away the distractions in his mind, no longer bothering about the truth of it, and continued forward.

In the blink of an eye, Chu Zheng had already moved three hundred feet down the corridor, the exit within reach.

In the next instant, the world around him changed color again, transforming into a pitch-black grand hall filled with Evil Qi.

Not far away, a figure sat with its back toward him, its head full of silver hair, white as snow.