Li Yingling's unreasonable request was, of course, swiftly rejected by Chu Xingchen.
After all, cultivation manuals provided by the system were supreme methods—flawless paths to immortality, perfectly attuned to the user's spiritual root.
Even the great sects might not possess such treasures. The fact that Li Yingling had the fortune to cultivate it should have left her speechless with gratitude—yet here she was, nitpicking.
More importantly, he didn't have any alternative manuals to give the girl even if he wanted to.
Night fell.
Li Yingling lay on the frigid wooden board, the absence of her soft pillows from home making sleep elusive.
Though still clothed, she felt uncomfortable without a blanket covering her stomach. Her body resisted rest, unsettled and exposed.
In a soft whisper, she called, "Master…"
A gruff voice replied with no trace of patience:"It's the middle of the night—why aren't you asleep?"
"There's a draft by the temple entrance… I'm cold."
Yawning, Chu Xingchen muttered, "Get up and walk around. Once you're warm, lie back down."
Li Yingling murmured in protest, "But the moment I lie down again, I'll just get cold again…"
With a sigh of mild exasperation, he responded,"I already told you, that manual is the Supreme Taiyin True Mystic Water Sutra. Just start cultivating boldly!"
"Once you reach the third or fourth stage of Qi Refining, you won't feel cold anymore."
Li Yingling slowly turned her head to glance at the so-called divine technique—Water Heart Sutra—resting beside her.
Master, how do you expect anyone to believe a word you're saying…?!
To hell with it. She'd chosen this master—now she would bite back her tears and walk the path.
Gritting her teeth, she stood up, picked up the manual, and sat down beside the fire. Opening the first page, she began to read.
"I, the True Sovereign of the Water Spirit, present this supreme technique—a secret art passed down by a true immortal."
Whoa! A method from a true immortal?
Hope flickered in her heart as she moved on to the second line.
"I, the Furious Wave Sovereign, found the above too bland. I've revised it. Stronger effects—cultivate with confidence!"
Wow, someone even revised it to improve the results? How considerate!
She nodded in approval and glanced down to the third line.
"I, the Sea-Flipping Sovereign, declare the two above to be utter fools. Their nonsense misleads disciples. I have now corrected their errors."
...…???
Li Yingling's eyes skimmed quickly across the rest of the page.
Good heavens.
The entire first page was filled with declarations beginning with "I," followed by tirades condemning the previous authors.
If it was to be believed, no fewer than seventeen powerful cultivators had edited this technique.
Seventeen revisions. This was practically a collaborative disasterpiece.
Trembling slightly, she turned the page.
Please, no more edits…
"I, the North Sea Emperor—stop rewriting this! You clueless hacks almost drove me into deviation! I've finalized this version. It's safe. Just shut up and stop revising it!"
Thankfully, the barrage of edits ended there.
However, layer upon layer of thick black ink had blotted out most of the original text. On the entire page, only a single line remained untouched:
"Water is the source of all life under heaven."
Wonderful. Utterly useless drivel.
She turned to the next page—blacked out again. Red ink had replaced the previous script, only to be blotted out again with more colors.
Eventually, the page had become a chaotic mess of ink, paint, and frustration.
These cultivators must've been in a competition to see who could rewrite the most.
The riot of colors made Li Yingling's eyes ache.
She lifted her gaze toward Chu Xingchen, still lying on his wooden board, and asked weakly:
"Master… if I go into qi deviation, will you be able to save me in time?"
Chu Xingchen propped himself up and looked at her sitting by the fire with the manual in her hands. With a sigh, he said,"Relax and cultivate. You won't deviate. Do you think your master would let you come to harm?"
"Are you sure this isn't something you picked up off a roadside stall?"
"You read it yourself. Do you really think you could find this at a street vendor?"
Li Yingling glanced down again.
...Fair point. No fraud would waste this much ink.
She whispered, "Master, if I really try… will you protect me while I cultivate?"
Getting up, Chu Xingchen walked over and nodded solemnly.
"Don't worry. I'll make sure nothing happens. Once you start cultivating, you'll understand just how powerful the Water Sutra really is."
Master… you just called it the Water Sutra again!
But what choice did she have?
Clenching her jaw, Li Yingling sat down cross-legged and began to read—this Frankenstein of a manual, rewritten so many times it likely bore no resemblance to its original form.
And as she began to follow its instructions, something changed.
The surrounding spiritual energy stirred.
Heaven and earth responded—Qi began to gather around her in swirling currents.
She followed the technique's pathways through her meridians…
And then—
Chu Xingchen stared, slack-jawed, as Li Yingling broke through to the first stage of Qi Refining.
Moments later, her aura stabilized, condensed—then surged again.
She broke through to the second stage.
What kind of monster was this girl?!
No wonder the system gave her the "cultivation prodigy" trait. He was envious beyond belief.
[First Disciple: Li Yingling has reached Qi Refining Stage 2.][100% cultivation energy returned.]
Chu Xingchen's eyes lit up. Wait—there's a rebate?!
A gentle, refined stream of spiritual energy entered his body.
He focused to absorb it—but… it was faint. Practically negligible.
Well, what could he expect? She was only at the second stage. He, on the other hand, was in the Golden Core Realm.
Still, at least he didn't have to worry about her catching up any time soon.
He would always be one golden core ahead.
Satisfied that there were no signs of trouble, Chu Xingchen returned to his board, yawned, and prepared to sleep again.
After all, this was a system-provided manual. It should be safe.
Li Yingling, meanwhile, seemed addicted to cultivation.
She cultivated straight through the night, from dusk till dawn.
As sunlight streamed through the broken temple door—
"Master! Master!"
Chu Xingchen groggily opened his eyes. Li Yingling knelt beside him, her wide eyes shimmering with excitement and admiration.
"What is it now…" he murmured, still half-asleep.
"Master, I've reached Qi Refining stage five! In one night! This Water Sutra is a true divine technique!"
Chu Xingchen yawned again, rolled over, and gave a perfunctory compliment.
"Mm, well done."
But just as he closed his eyes again—
"Master, I haven't reached Foundation Establishment yet, so I can't suppress hunger. I've gone a whole day without eating… There's nothing around here. Do you have anything I can eat?"
Chu Xingchen sighed deeply."You said it yourself—this place is desolate. Go outside and catch a wild chicken or something."
"You're already at Qi Refining stage five. Don't tell me you can't handle one little chicken?"
Li Yingling froze.
This wasn't what he'd promised when convincing her to become his disciple!
How had everything changed the moment she bowed her head?
She didn't know the first thing about catching wild chickens. But as she looked over at Chu Xingchen, who hadn't moved a muscle from his bed…
Maybe… maybe this really was what cultivation meant.
Just like that damned Water Sutra.
She consoled herself with this thought, grabbed a wooden stick, and stepped outside to hunt.
Just as she left, Chu Xingchen's lazy voice drifted out from behind:
"Remember to save two drumsticks for your master."
Li Yingling, now at Qi Refining stage five, very nearly tripped over the threshold.