The Science of Cultivation [Xianxia]

Chapter 187: Start Line on the Horizon

The children all stared with their mouths agape at the unexpected turn of events. Their teacher’s Qi spontaneously increased in intensity. It hadn’t directly affected or hurt them in any way, but it didn’t change the fact that it caught them all off-guard.

“Teacher Long, what is happening?” Xiao Dong shouted from amidst the shocked flock of students.

“Keep moving back. Li Lang is breaking through!”

“Isn’t that a good thing? Why do we have to retreat?”

“When he finishes, he probably won’t be in complete control of himself after breaking through. He’ll likely jump up and release his pent-up power. It could easily hurt you, so you kids can’t approach him!”

Without a word, Wei Ping had already begun dragging one student after the other back into the house. If he wasn’t so mindful to be gentle with them, he likely would’ve picked them all up at once.

Despite his efforts, the curious children still poked their heads out from the building to continue spectating. Instead of pushing them back inside, Long Yi and Wei Ping positioned themselves between them and Li Lang.

Everyone then watched as they felt the ambient Qi twirl around them, rushing toward the man experiencing an untimely breakthrough.

It wasn’t exactly Li Lang’s fault, though. Spontaneous breakthroughs happened when one had adequate accumulation and luck. Some said it was when a cultivator had an epiphany. It was the preferable method of breakthrough, as opposed to the forcefully induced method. The only downside was that once it started, it couldn’t be stopped. Otherwise, it could cause severe damage to the cultivator.

After all the training he had done in the past few years, combined with the creation of his first artifact, Li Lang obviously met the first condition. However, right now, Li Lang’s mind was racing to understand what the trigger was. At the same time, he tried to memorize his experiences.

They do say teaching is the best way of learning. Is that simply it, or did my accumulation hit the limit, causing this breakthrough?

With so many thoughts going through his head, Li Lang visibly frowned with a scrunched-up expression.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

To the onlookers, they suspected he was enduring unimaginable pain because of the breakthrough.

“Will Teacher Li really be okay?” one of the children muttered.

Their words caused the seed of anxiety to spread among the others. They were all worried about their mentor, who had only just begun his lessons. They all still needed him to become cultivators themselves, so they all cheered him on.

“You can do it Teacher Li!”

“Show us how to overcome a breakthrough!”

“Endure it! Teach us by example!”

Unfortunately, none of their words reached Li Lang’s ears. He was too focused on what was happening to his body.

He could feel the Qi inside him constantly burst outward in all directions, trying to rip him to pieces, but then it would reverse its flow, trying to converge to his navel. While the change in pressure was torturous, it still wasn’t worth his attention at the moment.

He was single-mindedly focused on how his body was changing. He felt like every possible part of him that had the potential to hold Qi was exhausted, and his navel was feeling strange.

Before he could grasp exactly what this strangeness was, it all stopped as quickly as it had started. The energies inside his body returned to being under his control. He was brimming with power.

Having experienced multiple breakthroughs by now, Li Lang didn’t give in to the urge to just stand up and release everything. Instead, He gathered his power, made it exit his body, and had it whirl around him before calmly returning.

It managed to alleviate his urge for release, and everything soon returned to normalcy.

“Congratulations! It seems you’ve caught up to me!”

Li Lang turned to find Long Yi walking over with a wide smile.

“C-congrats, Boss. I’ll make sure I-I make the most of my trip and catch u-up soon!”

Witnessing the adults relax, the children knew the danger was over. They all poured out of the building and surrounded Li Lang with excitement.

“Teacher, do you really have grade-one aptitude? How is it possible that you’ve reached the peak of Energy Gathering before your twenties, if that is true?”

Some barraged Li Lang with questions, while others suddenly got down to the lotus position on the spot and began cultivating themselves. They used the method they had just learned in a desperate attempt to follow suit. Some mistakenly believed the cultivation method was what was special.

They couldn’t be faulted, as Li Lang had yet to release any details about the Cleansing Drug. It was just too sensitive of a matter when he couldn’t predict how the cultivation world would react to it. Still, he resolved himself to reveal some of its secrets to his students. He needed them to cooperate with his experiments.

“Everything will be explained one step at a time. For today, all of you should focus on learning this new cultivation method and sensing Qi. Remember to call one of us once you’ve reached your limit. We will tell you the next step then.”

The lesson soon resumed. Inspired by Li Lang’s breakthrough, all the children worked extra hard toward mastering what they were taught.

One by one, they would raise their hands once they’d cultivated to their limits, and one of the trio would lead them inside. Only in the privacy of the house would they then reveal the white powdery substance to them, giving them a brief introduction and how to use the Cleansing Drug.

After teaching the student about the drug, Li Lang made his way back out to tend to the others when he happened to catch a glimpse of Long Yi explaining to yet another student.

“Don’t sweat the details. Just stick to the dosage and cultivate without thinking too hard about it. You can dissolve it in water or directly consume it. Just don’t snort it, or so I’ve been told.”

It was at those words that Li Lang suddenly realized how sketchy their actions appeared. They each guided a child into the house and dealt them a white powdery substance in a bag for consumption. It was the result of Li Lang’s attempt to save time by forgoing the film coating for the Cleansing Drugs.

Hmm, maybe it’s time I refine this into a pill or at least get better packaging for it. It may be a drug, but I don’t want to look like a drug dealer.

Many things were learned on the first day of lessons. The trio were new teachers themselves. They all gathered after dinner to discuss and refine their education plan based on the experiences from the day.

“I t-think we should hire some mortals to do t-the odd job. Even if the k-kids can do the cleaning, we still need a cook. It’ll s-save us a lot of time.”

“Wei Ping is right.” Long Yi nodded in favor. “I didn’t even get to have seconds today because we didn’t make enough for the ravenous children!”

“Agreed. I’ll ask around tomorrow. Hiring a regular person shouldn’t be that difficult. I wanted to have the kids learn how to do everything eventually, as these are skills they need to survive. I guess I’ve been too hasty.”

“Umm, I-I’ve decided to leave tomorrow. Sorry, I won’t b-be able to help.”

“No problem. Make sure to send regular letters to us through The Orchid Covenant if you stray too far from Emberglow. We’ll be waiting for you.”

“Ha, do pick up any interesting souvenirs if you travel to novel places,” Long Yi chimed in. “As for now, let’s drink and snack! It’ll be some time before you return home, right?”

“Stop making it sound like we’re drinking alcohol. It’s just tea. Don’t want to let those kids get the wrong idea,” Li Lang reprimanded.

“As if drinking alcohol is a big deal. We’re adults now. Plus, we won’t be able to get drunk on mortal drinks once we reach the Foundation Establishment Realm. We should try things out while we still can.”

Their conversation soon devolved into mundane chatter and the three friends partied amongst themselves. They merrily chatted and reminisced about everything they had experienced so far. The mood was melancholic, as they finally got to the point where things appeared would settle down. To them, it felt like a much-needed break after years of nonstop training and events. Like that, the three of them naturally decided to spend the night in Li Lang’s room.

The large houses were spacious, and they had ample bedding in their space rings. While they regularly traveled together, Li Lang couldn’t remember the last time they sat down and relaxed, like tonight.

There’s a huge difference between going from inn to inn and finally having a place you can call home.

“You two asleep?” Li Lang muttered after being lost in thought for some time.

Only the sound of snoring came, so he soon turned in for the night himself.

This is nice. I’d love for this to continue, having a carefree life while I leisurely researched what I wanted. However, Zi Xi and Zi Xiaomei are waiting for me somewhere. I’m sure they’re still alive if that demonic cultivator managed to earn the moniker The Abductress, and not The Killer.

I’m finally at the peak of Energy Gathering. I’m only a small step away from truly walking the path of a cultivator. I wonder if there are real immortals around?

Li Lang’s thoughts began to wander, as he inevitably slipped into slumber.