Chapter 111: Taking Zhang Ziying Away

Night.

Honghong was curled up on the living room sofa, fast asleep. In the bedroom, Li Yunfei and Zhang Ziying sat cross-legged facing each other, their eyes tightly shut. Each raised their arms, palms pressed against one another.

Two spirit stones were held between their palms. Zhang Ziying’s spirit energy flowed out through her right arm, passed through the spirit stone, and, infused with the essence within, poured into Li Yunfei’s body through his left arm. Simultaneously, Li Yunfei’s spirit energy flowed from his right arm, carrying the essence from the spirit stones, and channeled into Zhang Ziying’s left arm.

The two formed a perfect cycle. Above their heads, a phantom Taiji diagram rotated slowly, drawing in massive amounts of heaven and earth energy and funneling it down upon them.

The speed of dual cultivation was truly incomparable to practicing alone. Zhang Ziying felt that her progress today was six or seven times faster than usual. Li Yunfei did not feel it quite as intensely; to him, it was merely two or three times faster than his solitary practice. This was because his own cultivation level was far higher than Zhang Ziying’s; thus, she reaped greater benefits. It was much like a high-level player carrying a novice.

There are two ways to dual cultivate. The first involves both parties practicing the same dual cultivation technique, working in tandem and coordinating their efforts. The second is led by one person, while the other simply relaxes their cultivation and offers no resistance, allowing the other to guide the flow.

The former is naturally far more efficient than the latter. Consequently, Zhang Ziying had specifically called Liu Bin to explain the situation. Although Li Yunfei had decided to join Zixiao, he had yet to complete the formal procedures, but Zixiao was not so rigid as to forbid this. Liu Bin immediately assured them it was no problem and promised to file a report on their behalf, telling them to proceed with their dual cultivation without worry.

As the grandson of the Qingcheng Sect leader, Liu Bin could have easily taken responsibility himself, claiming he had taught the technique to Li Yunfei, even without filing a report. When major sects contributed their techniques to Zixiao, it did not mean they lost their own rights to them. They could still take on disciples and teach their own methods, which did not conflict with serving the nation; it was merely a matter of formal status. Those taught by Zixiao’s cultivation academy were branded as Zixiao members and became state personnel upon graduation, whereas those taught by the sects themselves—even if they served the country—remained, in name, disciples of their respective sects.

The reason for the report was primarily because Zhang Ziying belonged to the academy, while Li Yunfei’s cultivation was so profound that Liu Bin could not simply pass him off as a Qingcheng disciple. Regardless, there was no issue with teaching Li Yunfei the Qingcheng techniques. Zhang Ziying passed the "Great Method of Harvesting and Supplementing the Heavenly Secrets" to Li Yunfei. Since they were both Taoist cultivation methods, he encountered no obstacles and quickly mastered the basics. Thus, they began their dual cultivation.

With Zhang Ziying’s current cultivation, a 200-gram spirit stone lasted her about two days, meaning she could absorb the energy of 100 grams of spirit stone per day. However, during their dual cultivation, she consumed an entire 500-gram spirit stone infused by Li Yunfei in a single night. Combined with the accelerated absorption of natural energy, her efficiency for that night was equivalent to an entire week of solitary practice. The other spirit stone, which she had channeled into Li Yunfei, was not fully depleted—only about half its energy was spent—yet even that amount was far greater than what she could usually absorb.

She had experienced the true benefits of dual cultivation for the first time. At the academy, she received a monthly subsidy of ten 200-gram spirit stones, which lasted her over half a month; for the rest of the time, she had no spirit stones to use. In the second month, she could trade in the drained stones for new, fully charged ones. The academy would return the empty stones to the Xuan Group, which would place them in a location rich in spiritual energy, equipped with a Great Spirit Gathering Array. After about three or four months, the stones would be recharged and ready for reuse; thus, Zixiao never feared running out of spirit stones.

Once the academy issued the stones, they did not care if you used them all or how you spent them. The rule was simple: one empty stone for one full stone. This was because, beyond cultivation, spirit stones had other uses, such as purchasing resources like beast meat, spiritual herbs, or medicinal materials. Beast meat not only boosted cultivation but its essence also tempered the physical body, which is why martial practitioners often used spirit stones to buy it. Meanwhile, some spiritual materials and herbs could temper the soul and primordial spirit, which cultivators also occasionally needed.

Furthermore, students could pay spirit stones to have the Xuan Group craft custom weapons or artifacts tailored to their needs. After all, the standard-issue weapons provided by the academy were uniform in specification and strength—not necessarily poor, but not always suitable for the individual. However, these were benefits for internal Zixiao members; outsiders could only trade one empty stone for half a full one, and the costs for purchasing materials or custom-crafting weapons were much higher.

With Li Yunfei’s support, Zhang Ziying would lack for nothing, whether in cultivation, weaponry, or magical treasures; her reliance on the academy had effectively vanished.

...

As the sky brightened, both opened their eyes and ceased their practice. Looking at the spirit stone, which had turned from milky white to a dull, lusterless gray, Zhang Ziying sighed, "After experiencing this speed, I don't know if I can ever adapt to practicing alone again."

Li Yunfei pondered for a moment and said, "How about this? I’ll accompany you to the academy and discuss it with your instructors. We can see if you can graduate early, and from then on, we can just practice together."

Zhang Ziying’s eyes lit up; she was clearly very moved. This was not just about the speed of cultivation; most importantly, it meant she could be with Li Yunfei at all times. "That would be wonderful, but would the academy agree?"

Li Yunfei thought for a moment, took out his phone, and dialed Liu Bin. The call was answered quickly.

Liu Bin: "Dafei, what's up?"

Li Yunfei: "Brother Bin, here’s the situation. I dual cultivated with Yingzi last night, and the results were excellent. I feel that her staying at the academy to practice is a complete waste of time. I want to talk to the academy directors to see if she can graduate early so we can practice together."

"But I don't know anyone there, so I was hoping you could help me make an introduction?"

Liu Bin thought for a moment. Li Yunfei was only asking for an introduction, not for him to act as a lobbyist, so it was not a difficult request.

Liu Bin: "Actually, one of my martial uncles arrived in Baling yesterday specifically for you. He is at the Xiangshan Island Academy right now. I’ll give you his number so you can contact him. He will help you arrange it. Don't worry, even though you don't know him, he is no stranger to you."

Li Yunfei replied happily, "Thank you. May I ask for your uncle's name?"

Liu Bin: "His surname is He. He is the son of my martial grand-uncle, He Zhidao, and he is the 'Wu Horse' of the twelve earthly branches within Zixiao."

Li Yunfei was secretly startled. The fact that He Zhidao’s own son had come to meet him, and that the man was a member of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, showed just how much importance Zixiao placed on him. Although Liu Suibin was the leader of the Qingcheng Sect, He Zhidao’s students were everywhere, both domestically and abroad. With disciples in countries like Great Britain, Japan, America, Siam, Canada, Australia, and Portugal, his status was effectively no less than Liu Suibin’s.

Because Liu Suibin had succeeded as the sect leader to govern Qingcheng, He Zhidao had gone out into the world to promote and disseminate Qingcheng martial arts. Consequently, he was revered as the representative figure of Qingcheng martial arts, to the point that many people once mistakenly believed he was the sect leader himself.