Chapter 25: The Innate Qi Body

Bai Chen jogged all the way toward the green bamboo clearing.

A mixed Spiritual Root had drawn Qi into the body even faster than a three-element Spiritual Root?

There had to be something behind this!

Either this person had extraordinary luck and stumbled into a windfall.

Or this person possessed some talent that accelerated their cultivation.

He needed to go confirm whether it was a Talent Trait he could make use of.

If it was, he would copy it the next time his copying ability became available.

Bai Chen jogged all the way to the green bamboo clearing.

He had barely rounded a few rows of scattered wooden cabins when he spotted a crowd of newly inducted disciples packed three layers deep around an open space between two rows of cabins in the clearing.

At the center of the crowd stood a lean, slender youth.

The youth wore the sect's standard disciple robes, his cheeks still flushed with the faint rosy warmth that came after drawing Qi into the body, and a thin halo of Spiritual Energy hovered around him — so faint it nearly dissolved into the night.

When the meridians first opened during the initial stage of drawing Qi into the body, Spiritual Energy could not yet be controlled at will.

The Spiritual Energy freshly merged with the flesh would involuntarily seep outward in a slight overflow, condensing into this thin luminous glow.

Once cultivation stabilized and the practitioner could command their Spiritual Energy freely, this overflowing glow would be drawn back inside the body, leaving nothing visible from the outside.

How quickly that happened depended entirely on the cultivator's innate talent — as fast as two to four hours, or as slow as a day or two.

Because of the Spiritual Energy radiating off the youth, the disciples surrounding him were buzzing with excitement.

"Zhang Wenxuan, how did you do it so fast? Do you have some secret? That's incredible!"

"Seriously, we've only been in the sect for a few hours and you've already done it?"

"Look at that glow around you — are you really a four-element Spiritual Root? I feel like even dual-element Spiritual Roots can't match you!"

"Brother Wenxuan must be a heaven-sent genius! Your cultivation will surely be limitless! You'll have to look after us fellow disciples from now on!"

"Exactly! We all joined the sect together — if you ever figure out any tricks to cultivation, you have to share them with us."

Zhang Wenxuan wore a modest smile and cupped his hands toward the crowd.

"You all flatter me. It was truly just a stroke of luck."

As he spoke, he lightly tossed the hair falling across his forehead and said in a deliberately understated tone: "I simply happened upon a small Fortuitous Encounter and grasped a few things — nothing worth mentioning."

His back was ramrod straight as he spoke, and no matter how hard he tried to suppress it, the corners of his mouth kept curling upward in a shallow arc.

He wanted to appear humble, yet every ounce of his inner smugness was on full display.

Seeing him like this, the crowd pressed in even closer with more flattery.

"Brother Wenxuan, stop being modest — your talent is genius among geniuses! We all joined the sect together, and since you've drawn Qi into your body first, we're counting on you to help us out and let us get a feel for Spiritual Energy sooner."

Those words struck a chord with everyone, and a chorus of agreement immediately rose from the crowd.

Zhang Wenxuan was overjoyed and slapped his chest at once: "Of course, of course! We're all fellow disciples — we should look out for one another. From now on, if any of you have questions about Qi Refining, just come ask me!"

The moment those words left his mouth, a disdainful snort rang out from somewhere in the crowd.

The sound wasn't loud, but it cut sharply through all the flattery.

In an instant, the clamor died completely.

The disciples who had been chattering and fawning all fell silent and turned in unison toward a figure at the back of the crowd.

A tall, stocky youth stood with his arms crossed, meeting the gazes directed at him without flinching — his brow raised, his entire face radiating defiance.

Beside him stood a shorter, thinner youth who hurriedly reached out and tugged at his sleeve, lowering his voice to urge: "Cheng Jinfeng, we're all fellow disciples — don't do this."

Cheng Jinfeng impatiently shook off his hand, stepped half a pace forward, and raised his voice sharply.

"Drawing Qi into the body in four hours — what's so impressive about that? If you've got the guts, go compare yourself with Senior Sister Shen Wanning from the Inner Sect!"

Those words sent a ripple through the crowd.

The name Shen Wanning was far too well known within Hexu Sect. Even these newly inducted disciples, barely half a day in, had already heard it like a clap of thunder.

Bai Chen was lurking at the back of the crowd beneath a green cypress tree, his face full of confusion.

Shen Wanning?

Who was that?

From the moment he had joined the sect until now, he had been running around dealing with pill matters and had no time to listen to gossip — he had absolutely no idea who this person was.

He turned to Zhou Shi and Fang He, who were standing beside him watching the spectacle, and lowered his voice to ask: "Who is this Shen Wanning? Sounds like quite a name."

Zhou Shi raised an eyebrow. "Brother Bai, you haven't heard of Senior Sister Shen?"

Seeing Bai Chen shake his head, Zhou Shi's gossip instincts immediately kicked in. He leaned close to Bai Chen's ear and explained with great enthusiasm.

"Senior Sister Shen Wanning joined the sect last year. She has a single-element Metal Spiritual Root, and on top of that, she possesses the Innate Qi Body — a constitution that appears only once in ten thousand years. She drew Qi into her body and achieved Foundation Establishment all in a single day! The very next day, Elder Wen took her as a Personal Disciple."

Bai Chen gave a slight nod, then asked: "What is the Innate Qi Body?"

Zhou Shi stared at Bai Chen in disbelief. Seriously, he didn't even know that?

Seeing his expression, Bai Chen immediately turned to Fang He and asked: "What is the Innate Qi Body?"

If one person didn't want to answer, he'd ask someone else.

Zhou Shi hurriedly pulled Bai Chen back.

"Hey, hey, hey — I never said I wouldn't explain!"

He apologized with a fawning grin and continued his explanation.

"The Innate Qi Body is a supreme constitution that appears in perhaps one in ten thousand across the entire cultivation world. Simply put, it's someone born as a child of the Heavenly Dao — born with the purest primordial innate Qi already within them. Unlike the rest of us who have to accumulate step by step and might not achieve Foundation Establishment even after three to five years of grinding, someone with this constitution only needs to draw Qi into their body, and the innate Qi inside them will automatically condense a Dao foundation — ascending in a single step!

"And the constitution is absurdly overpowered on top of that. Even after Foundation Establishment, while they still need to cultivate progressively, Spiritual Energy automatically gathers around them. So cultivators with the Innate Qi Body are almost always unmatched at the same cultivation stage.

"Senior Sister Shen is only at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage right now, but even those at the Mid Foundation Establishment Stage can't beat her."

Bai Chen's eyes lit up as he listened to Zhou Shi's explanation.

This was exactly why he had to join a sect!

He had scraped and clawed his way through Shunhe Quarter, panning for gold in the mud every single day, and still hadn't come across any decent Talent Traits.

He had been in the sect for less than a day, and already he was surrounded by heaven's chosen.

He didn't even know whose Talent Trait to copy first.

"Heh."

Bai Chen couldn't help but laugh at his own thoughts.

Someone like Shen Wanning — a true child of heaven — was in the Inner Sect. He couldn't reach her for now.

He should focus on copying the Talent Traits right in front of him first.

* * *

While Bai Chen was getting up to speed on what the Innate Qi Body was, Cheng Jinfeng had already resumed his assault on Zhang Wenxuan.

"Senior Sister Shen has the Innate Qi Body — a once-in-ten-thousand-years constitution. With a single-element Spiritual Root and that constitution, she achieved Foundation Establishment the same day she drew Qi into her body! Can you do that?"

Hearing this, the admiration on many faces dimmed slightly. They privately conceded that it was true — compared to someone with talent like Shen Wanning's, Zhang Wenxuan drawing Qi into his body in four hours with a four-element Spiritual Root was hardly the pinnacle.

But some disciples stepped forward to speak up for Zhang Wenxuan, turning to Cheng Jinfeng and saying:

"That's not a fair comparison. Senior Sister Shen has a single-element Spiritual Root plus the Innate Qi Body — she was born with every advantage. Brother Zhang has a four-element Spiritual Root, and drawing Qi into his body in four hours is already extraordinary talent. As for you — you have a three-element Spiritual Root and still haven't touched the threshold of Spiritual Energy. What gives you the right to be so harsh on him?"

"Harsh on him? I just can't stand the sight of him acting like a petty man who finally got lucky!"

Cheng Jinfeng let out a cold laugh as if he'd heard something ridiculous, his sharp gaze sweeping over Zhang Wenxuan.

"For a four-element Spiritual Root to draw Qi this quickly is no small feat — just go back to your room and quietly cultivate to consolidate your Spiritual Energy. Instead, you have to stand here showing off, desperate for everyone to crowd around and flatter you. What's the point?"