Chapter Seven: Zhou Tian Breakthrough (Part Two)

Night fell. When Zhao Li once again awakened from the chaos, he was shocked to find that this session of cultivation had lasted nearly two hours. After carefully examining his body and confirming nothing was wrong, the fear he’d felt before dissipated. When such things happen repeatedly, they lose their terror.

His father's earnest attitude also influenced Zhao Li. At the very least, though these episodes could not be avoided, he should attentively observe any differences from his ordinary state.

Daytime classes and nighttime cultivation became his routine after the semester began. Having successfully resisted his classmates’ persuasion in the first few days, they eventually accepted his choices and no longer bothered him.

The True Qi generated by the Fundamental Body Strengthening Technique lagged behind that produced by advanced methods, both in quality and speed. Yet its steadiness was its virtue: free from extreme attributes, upright and balanced, ensuring gradual progress so long as cultivation continued.

After two years of foundational training, Zhao Li could sense a fullness within his dantian. This was a sign unique to completing the foundation, but it was far from enough. Only upon this base could he proceed to first-level techniques.

However, after a concentrated push during the holiday, Zhao Li noticed something different. Originally, his dantian merely felt full, but now it seemed as though the True Qi was about to overflow, for reasons unknown.

He asked his parents, who offered some explanations. Since only two meridians were involved, they could only contain a limited amount of True Qi, and what was produced could not be promptly supplied to other meridians, resulting in this phenomenon.

Such situations only occurred at this stage. Once advanced techniques were practiced, unless breaking through a realm, these symptoms rarely appeared again.

After each cultivation session, Zhao Li sensed his dantian becoming increasingly abundant—a sign of growing True Qi. Knowing this was normal, he paid it no mind.

Late at night, awakening once more from a chaotic state, Zhao Li had now defined this condition as meditation. It had little to do with true Zen, but he borrowed the concept.

He had certainly completed nine cycles. Zhao Li calmly sat and checked his body. Strangely, his dantian now felt hollow, no longer overflowing.

Alarmed, Zhao Li found his body otherwise unharmed; only the True Qi in his dantian had decreased. When he tried to circulate his Qi, it seemed—perhaps illusion or urgency—that the circulation was slightly faster. This was not a concern, but where had the True Qi gone?

Pondering this question all night, Zhao Li discovered that the True Qi flowing through his meridians seemed slightly more condensed than before. He wondered if this caused the decrease. With no other explanation and his body feeling well, he concluded it must be so.

This amazed and delighted him. If true, such symptoms only appeared when breaking the fifth-level bottleneck. Could it be that the Fundamental Body Strengthening Technique, after nine cycles, produced this effect?

Inspired, Zhao Li's resolve to continue his cultivation grew stronger. In class, he found his mind more focused and the teacher's lessons much simpler.

The meditative state during cultivation now occurred almost daily without conscious effort, granting him ample rest. Furthermore, in this state, the warming and growth of True Qi happened much faster than in deliberate control.

During meditative cultivation, completing nine cycles became increasingly common—about once every half month, with a rising trend. As a result, his dantian was never overflowing, but he could clearly feel that his True Qi had changed.

It was not that the True Qi mutated, but that it became more refined. The nine-cycle cultivation condensed the True Qi, and after several repetitions, Zhao Li was certain.

This was an unexpected benefit. The advantages of condensed True Qi were obvious. It was thanks to Zhao Li’s persistent cultivation along two meridians; otherwise, as his parents said, the generated Qi would not fill the meridians, making breakthroughs impossible.

Another benefit: the production of new True Qi seemed to depend on the current degree of condensation. New Qi was generated atop refined Qi—the higher the quality, the easier new Qi formed.

The two meridians had reached their limit for holding True Qi. As a result, the Qi had to be further compressed. Fortunately, after nine cycles of the Body Strengthening Technique, it automatically compressed the True Qi. Otherwise, given Zhao Li’s cultivation speed, he would have had to move to advanced techniques already.

Calculating the time, Zhao Li realized that, by a stroke of luck, he could manage eighteen consecutive cycles—two sets of nine—resulting in even more refined True Qi and tougher meridians, both sides reinforcing each other.

Gradually, Zhao Li concluded that as True Qi became more condensed, the time required for compression increased. Two sets of nine cycles were no longer enough; next came three sets.

Sure enough, half a year later, before the final exam of the semester, Zhao Li successfully completed three sets of nine cycles. The compression efficiency soared.

During the holiday, after some adjustments, Zhao Li was certain his achievements in the Fundamental Body Strengthening Technique surpassed all those who had posted their trials online. None had achieved this level of condensation. He wondered, though, what it would be like to join the military.

His academic performance remained excellent, but he was still short of the requirements for Tsinghua University. After several mock exams, he had to admit that many were geniuses in learning. Although Zhao Li counted as a cultivation prodigy, he was clearly not so in academics.

Soon, he reached high school graduation. By chance, he took the college entrance exam, but missed acceptance to Tsinghua University by twenty points.

After bidding farewell to his parents, Zhao Li followed his plan and joined the army.