Chapter 3: When Talent Falls Short, Think of Your Family

“This is completely useless!”

In one of the mountain peaks of the Sanshan Sect, inside a hastily constructed, shabby cave residence, Su Bai tossed and turned the Qi Condensation Manual in his hands, reading it over and over, but he just couldn’t manage the first step—drawing spiritual energy into his body.

On the path of cultivation, talent was only the entry pass; comprehension was the real key.

But as someone from the modern world, Su Bai was utterly lost when it came to this so-called Qi Condensation Manual.

What did it mean to “empty your mind and calm your spirit”? What was “sensing the heavens and earth, and drawing in spiritual essence”? And what exactly did “soothe your mind and enlightenment shall follow” mean?

There were no explanations.

No instructions.

It expected him to just figure it out on his own!

After failing to draw spiritual energy into his body multiple times, Su Bai started to suspect that this manual’s self-study mechanism was as ridiculous as a Federation-level science textbook.

‘Wait a second! Don’t I have the Sunflower Manual from the simulator? How could I forget something like that?’

He slapped his forehead in realization.

Once a cultivation technique was learned through the simulator, practicing it was practically effortless.

And this version was flawless—it didn’t even require… self-castration.

As for whether he’d become more feminine from cultivating it—if there was no self-castration involved, and it was the flawless version, then those minor side effects had surely been eliminated.

With that comforting thought, Su Bai set aside the Qi Condensation Manual and began operating the Sunflower Manual, which he had already memorized to the bone.

It was practically muscle memory at this point.

“Huuh…”

“That fast?”

While silently chanting the mantras of the Sunflower Manual, Su Bai followed the memorized sequence, calming and focusing his mind.

Very quickly, a wisp of pure spiritual energy rose within his dantian.

Seeing this thread of energy—clear proof he had drawn in spiritual qi—Su Bai didn’t stop.

He continued cultivating.

With each breath, his skin became rosy, his body gradually turned hot, and a warm current surged through his limbs and bones.

A strange but wonderful sensation spread across his entire body.

Su Bai felt as if the whole world had become clearer.

The air around him seemed like flowing rivers, and it was as though he were soaking in a hot spring—relaxing to the extreme.

***

[Despite repeatedly failing to draw spiritual energy into your body, you never once questioned your own aptitude. Instead, you blamed the Qi Condensation Manual’s flawed self-study mechanism.]

[After numerous failed attempts, you decided to cultivate the Sunflower Manual gifted to you by the simulator. Within a single cycle, you successfully drew in spiritual energy and broke through to the Qi Condensation stage.]

[The next day, when you went to meet Master Cang Yue, she discovered you had not only managed to draw in spiritual qi overnight, but had also already advanced to the first level of Qi Condensation—surpassing your four senior disciples.]

[Impressed, Master Cang Yue praised your talent and rewarded you handsomely.]

[Motivated by the reward from a Foundation Establishment cultivator, you became even more determined to devote yourself to cultivation. From then on, for a long period, you focused solely on becoming immortal, shutting out the outside world.]

[During this time, your body underwent a silent and mysterious transformation.]

[At first, all the hair on your body—body hair, underarm hair, even your eyebrows—began to fall out and regrow. Then came a dull pain and tingling around your bones and joints.]

[This sensation wasn’t noticeable during movement, but whenever you stayed still, the discomfort became much more pronounced.]

[Over time, you noticed that the cultivation efficiency of the Sunflower Manual spiked dramatically between 11 PM and 3 AM.]

[You suspect this is part of a “Cleansing of the Meridians and Marrow” process.]

[Your guess isn’t unfounded. With each cycle of the Sunflower Manual, your sensitivity to spiritual energy grows stronger. It now feels as if the energy of heaven and earth rushes toward you at the slightest gesture.]

[You even suspect that if you were to retest your spiritual aptitude, you might no longer rank as Class B.]

[Thus, while you were seemingly running in place, your cultivation level skyrocketed.]

***

“Mom, I’m full!”

“I’m going back to my room to play some games.”

Su Bai had just finished a bowl of wontons and rushed upstairs without even touching the fruit his mother had set out.

“Hey! You little rascal! The fruit…!” Watching her son’s disappearing back, Su’s mother could only sigh helplessly.

But Su Bai didn’t hear her call.

He threw himself into his room, pulled out his phone, and tapped into the Cultivation Simulator.

Magnificent palaces, ethereal mountains and rivers, and that intoxicating increase in cultivation power with every breakthrough.

Immortality. Ascension.

The dream etched into the bones of anyone who’d ever read web novels.

So…

Cultivation Simulator, activate!

***

[Time flies. In the blink of an eye, five years have passed. You spent those years in secluded cultivation inside your cave dwelling. Fortunately, after breaking through to the early stage of Qi Refining, you reached a state of inedia and no longer needed food.]

[In five years, you’ve successfully advanced to the mid-stage of Qi Refining. With your cultivation at this level, you decide it’s time to end your seclusion and visit your conveniently acquired master.]

[When Cang Yue hears that you’ve reached the mid-stage of Qi Refining in just five years, she praises you as a potential Foundation Establishment cultivator. If luck favors you, she even says it might not be impossible for you to catch a glimpse of the Golden Core stage in this lifetime.]

[But you pay no mind to your master’s praise. Having grown up immersed in webnovels, you scoff at mere Foundation Establishment. Golden Core? Laughable. Nascent Soul True Lord is the real starting point! Ascended Heaven Sovereign is where the journey truly begins!]

[That said, the moment your master waves her hand and bestows another generous round of rewards upon you, you immediately shout, “Master is wise beyond compare! I will always be your loyal disciple! In my heart, there is only you, Master, the sun that lights my world! Loyalty! Devotion!!”]

[Cang Yue only chuckles in response and says nothing more. But once you’ve left, arms full of rewards, rumors begin to spread: “My disciple Su Bai may very well reach the Golden Core stage.”]

[Back in your modest yellow-grade cave dwelling, you begin sorting through the rewards. Among them, you find a cave dwelling token—one with a faint scent of rouge. You know what that means. The cave dwellings in the sect are divided into four grades: Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow. The higher the grade, the more luxurious the dwelling. Your current place is at the lowest grade—Yellow.]

[Receiving a new dwelling after reaching mid-stage Qi Refining in five years is normal. But why does this one smell like makeup?]

[Curious, you contact your senior brother from the same lineage. Soon, you receive an answer.]

[It turns out that your new Earth-grade cave dwelling token once belonged to your second senior sister—a woman you’ve never met. She passed away two years ago during a mission to exterminate demon cultivators. Most of the wealth you now possess was originally her estate—no, her inheritance.]

[After a few seconds of solemn silence in her memory, you return to looting—er, respectfully collecting—her belongings. Just then, your communication jade slips lights up with a new message.]

[Senior Brother Su, it’s been five years since we last met. Do you have time to see me? —Junior Brother Fang Xiu.]

***

The sun was setting, casting its final glow across the sky.

Su Bai stood on a mountaintop, dressed in a simple white Daoist robe.

Beside him stood another man, also robed in Daoist attire.

In five years, the young boy who had once shone so brightly on the flying boat had grown up.

Now, Fang Xiu stood tall and proud, with striking features and an air of righteousness.

His eyes were especially deep—so deep that they seemed to hold the most complex emotions of the world.

“Senior Brother Su… is it true that someone with poor aptitude really can’t form a Golden Core?” Fang Xiu gazed at the sky, his eyes lost in confusion.

Su Bai frowned.

With a single glance, he could see through Fang Xiu’s cultivation—early-stage Qi Refining.

With a few more decades of effort and a little luck, Fang Xiu might manage to reach Foundation Establishment.

As for Golden Core? Unless a miraculous opportunity appeared, it was nothing more than a pipe dream.

But saying that outright felt too cruel.

He let out a soft sigh and gently patted Fang Xiu’s shoulder.

“Junior Brother Fang, when your aptitude is lacking, think more about your family.”

“I may have been in seclusion for five years, but I’ve still heard things. Cultivation isn’t the only path in life. I’ve heard from our senior brother that every few years, there are disciples who choose to leave the sect and return to their hometowns.”

“The path of cultivation is incredibly difficult—each step is paved with white bones. Who can guarantee they’ll make it to the end?”

“Instead, why not gather your belongings and return home? With your current cultivation, you could live a prosperous life. Enjoy wealth and comfort, spend more time with your family.”

“After all, when a tree wants to stay still, the wind never stops. When a child wants to care for their parents, it may already be too late. Don’t let regret become your legacy.”

Fang Xiu was silent for a moment, giving no reply.

Seeing this, Su Bai said nothing more.

He stood there for a while longer.

Once he felt the time was right, he turned and flew off, transforming into a streak of light that disappeared into the horizon.

He and Fang Xiu had only met a few times.

The only reason they even exchanged contact information was because they had joined the same mountain when they entered the sect.

It was only because of this faint connection—and the fact that Su Bai had shamelessly freeloaded intelligence about this world from Fang Xiu all those years ago—that he came here at all, now that he was out of seclusion.

Only after Su Bai’s light completely vanished into the sky did Fang Xiu finally sigh.

“My family…?”

He muttered to himself.

His fingers unconsciously reached up to touch the necklace hanging from his neck.

It was made of simple materials, with no spiritual energy to speak of.

The pendant was a finely carved jade skull—nothing more—but that tiny detail gave it just enough value to be worth keeping.