C24 I Want to Have Dinner with Him

The three chunks of pitch-black wood bore a striking resemblance to thunderstrike wood, occasionally emitting a flicker of green light. Yet, when one closed their eyes to sense them, they felt like a fist-sized orb of blue-green energy, with streaks of lightning dancing within.

"Only geniuses have the right to speak," Lee Yu whispered to himself.

True to his word, he went from coaxing out a mere wisp of energy to unleashing his full power without restraint, bombarding the thunderstrike wood. The energy orb visibly shrank before his eyes.

To any onlooker, this would be a jaw-dropping spectacle. At this stage, most people absorb spiritual energy at a snail's pace, because until reaching the Seventh Grade, impurities build up in the meridians, hindering the flow and uptake of spiritual energy.

Where many would spend over half of their absorbed spiritual energy on opening and reinforcing their meridians, Lee Yu could channel it all directly into his dantian.

Peering inward at his dantian, he saw the life force from his Heart Aperture blending seamlessly with the absorbed thunderous energy, which then settled in his dantian with virtually no loss of spiritual power.

With a mere thought, the energy within his dantian responded, moving at his command.

"Not bad, I'll absorb the other two as well," Lee Yu said, a hint of surprise in his tone. The spiritual energy coursed through him, and he sensed a significant shift in his strength. He was confident that he could now easily toss a person-sized boulder from Stone Village.

The piece of thunderstrike wood in his grasp had lost its green shimmer, appearing as mundane as any ordinary wood. Indeed, even upon trying to sense it, he could detect no trace of the spiritual energy it once held.

Lee Yu picked up another piece of thunderstrike wood and began the 'Drawing Technique', siphoning the spiritual energy into his body to meld with his Qi and blood—bypassing the steps of opening his Heart Aperture and Dantian.

As time ticked away, the system chimed in with an alert.

The double experience points had reached their three-hour limit, and the system had automatically turned off the bonus.

It's worth mentioning that during the few days Lee Yu spent on Blue Star after being taken to the Qing's territory, he remained true to his original mission. He diligently checked in, earning himself a Purification Pill and an additional three hours of double experience points.

Before returning to Blue Star, he would always activate his phone's recording feature and tuck it away in a hidden corner. That way, he could check if anyone had entered while he was gone.

"System, why haven't I felt the effect of the doubled experience points?" Lee Yu wondered, somewhat perplexed. Time had passed, yet there was no discernible impact.

Had he used an ineffective experience point?

Please examine your dantian carefully.

Dantian?

Lee Yu peered into his dantian and noticed an energy mass about the size of three fists. His eyes swept over it, then quickly refocused on the energy mass. Hold on, three fists' worth of energy?

The thunderstrike wood in his grasp may have dimmed in its green glow, but that didn't mean it had vanished. After the system notification interrupted the absorption process, there should have been half of the thunderstrike wood's energy remaining.

And even with the second piece of thunderstrike wood accounted for, it shouldn't amount to the size of three fists, should it?

"Does the double experience points effect extend to the physical realm? The energy I've cultivated could also double under the influence of experience points!" Lee Yu realized this possibility. He had been so engrossed in drawing energy from the thunderstrike wood that he had overlooked the anomaly in his dantian. Unexpectedly, the double experience points had actually doubled the energy he absorbed.

He stroked his chin, now harboring a glimmer of excitement about this turn of events.

The first reward was the Purification Pill, followed by elementary level proficiency and double experience points. Over the past six days, these rewards had alternated. What would the seventh day bring?

He discreetly pulled out his phone to check the time—three hours to mealtime. Lee Yu pondered for a moment and decided to utilize the remaining three hours of double experience points, then resumed absorbing energy from the thunderstrike wood.

...

"Young Master, is it time for your meal?" Cui inquired gently, tapping on the door.

"Yes, please open the door to let some air in! I'll be there shortly," Lee Yu responded.

Cui had been assigned to look after Lee Yu and had been briefed on certain matters beforehand. With no activity from the room all afternoon, she didn't need to guess to know that the young master was immersed in cultivation. So upon entering, she was extra observant.

"What an intense surge of spiritual energy," Cui mused to herself, feeling a sudden shock as she stepped into the room. As a Sixth Grade cultivator, her sensitivity to spiritual energy was quite acute. To her, Lee Yu seemed enveloped in a storm of lightning.

Her eyes caught sight of three pieces of thunderstrike wood beside Lee Yu, now devoid of their lightning spiritual energy. Cui's mouth fell open in surprise. "All the lightning spiritual energy has been absorbed from these?"

For someone like her, it would likely take several days to exhaust the energy within just one piece of thunderstrike wood!

"Cui, could you fetch a few more of these for me?" Lee Yu inquired, gesturing toward the thunderstrike wood. He had recently attempted to absorb spiritual energy from the void. He found that converting ordinary spiritual energy into lightning spiritual energy was slightly more wasteful than direct absorption, with a loss fluctuating between one to three percent.

This was somewhat troubling for Lee Yu; the spiritual energy within the thunderstrike wood was far more convenient to use.

"I'll need to put in a request for that, but it should be approved quickly," Cui replied, nodding. She then asked, "Young Master, have you advanced to the Ninth Grade Transcending Mortality Realm in your Heart Aperture?"

It was possible that the spiritual energy had escaped while the Young Master was opening his Heart Aperture.

"I believe I've reached the Eighth Grade. I've completed the practices in the small booklet," Lee Yu responded.

"The Eighth Grade True Master Realm? Impossible!" Cui exclaimed in disbelief.

Among the million-strong Qing's clan, countless young masters and ladies had been cultivated from a young age with abundant resources. Even the quickest among them took nearly a month to open their Heart Apertures, and that was with the benefit of marrow-cleansing by their elders to reduce bodily impurities.

And what did he mean by having cultivated everything in the small booklet? Cui herself had toiled for four long years just to achieve what was written in her manual: 'Opening the Eight Extraordinary Meridians.'

"Hehe, you truly don't believe me," Lee Yu chuckled, knowing further explanation was futile. With a mere thought, the spiritual energy within him stirred—and then there was silence.

Cui offered a gentle reminder, "Young Master, externalizing spiritual energy is a technique of the Sixth Grade."

Although practitioners at the Eighth Grade can use their Heart Aperture to connect to the Dantian and gradually store absorbed spiritual energy within it, releasing this energy is only possible at the Sixth Grade. Otherwise, the moment the energy is released, it would dissipate back into the cosmos.

Lee Yu awkwardly lowered his hand, realizing he wasn't too clear on the matter. Yet, Cui had detected the fluid movement of spiritual energy within his body. She was somewhat disoriented by the sensation but chose to believe Lee Yu's claim of being at the Eighth Grade. After all, someone at the Ninth Grade would lack the ability to control the flow of spiritual energy.

...

Shortly thereafter, an expedited document landed atop the urgent pile on Qing Heng's desk. Once he finished with his current paperwork, Qing Heng looked up and spotted Lee Yu's name on the document, prompting him to wonder, "Is there an issue with the cultivation technique?"

He had only dispatched the cultivation technique that morning, expecting that it would be at least a month before he saw another document bearing Lee Yu's name. Yet, here it was, delivered by evening.

Qing Heng's brow furrowed as he considered another possibility: "Or is there a complication in the cultivation process?"

"County Duke, it's actually good news," the man in the black robe interjected, this time not lurking in the shadows but standing to the side with a complex look on his face.

Relieved by the prospect of good news, Qing Heng chuckled, "Qing Yi, since when did you start speaking in riddles?"

He scanned the document, oblivious to the few beard hairs that came loose in the process, then swiftly read through it a second time.

"Eighth Grade?" Qing Heng echoed, setting the paper down, his expression mirroring the complexity of his thoughts.

At this pace, could Lee Yu advance to the Sixth Grade by tomorrow and reach the Fourth Grade the day after?

Qing Heng allowed himself a smile at the thought, though it was mere fancy. Still, he couldn't quite settle the tumultuous excitement within him. After a brief pause, he declared, "I haven't had dinner yet. Make arrangements—I want to dine with him tonight!"

Qing Yi acknowledged the order and was just about to exit when Qing Heng called out to him once more.

Qing Heng waved off the concern, "Never mind, summon all the elders to join us for a meal."

With the elders conducting their inspections in the square and over a dozen experts thoroughly reviewing the situation, plus the successful cultivation of the Thunder Bloodline and its inherent exceptional talents, Qing Heng was confident there could be no errors with the Thunder Bloodline. Now, the crucial question was how to proceed from here!