The next day, early morning.
Ji Changfeng slowly opened his eyes, exhaling a breath of stale air.
"Hoo..."
Last night.
He had cultivated throughout the night. Not only was he not tired at all, but he was also surprisingly energetic.
So this is what cultivation feels like? Not bad at all.
"Woof woof woof~"
At that moment, several barks echoed from outside the courtyard.
Simultaneously, a clear voice rang out.
"Shh～ Xiaofan, don't make a sound later. I'm going to give that Ji Changfeng a good scare!"
That voice was unmistakably Tian Linger's.
Seeing this, Ji Changfeng couldn't help but shake his head gently.
A little girl was indeed a little girl.
She held a grudge exceptionally well.
Ji Changfeng simply washed up a bit, and before Tian Linger could rush in to scare him, he directly opened the courtyard gate...
Crack!
The door opened.
Tian Linger outside was immediately stunned.
"You, how did you wake up?"
Tian Linger asked, feeling a bit guilty.
"Hmm? Aren't we supposed to do morning lessons today?" Ji Changfeng looked at her with a smile.
"Y-yes, we are." Tian Linger stammered.
Looking at the smile on Ji Changfeng's face, she immediately understood that he had probably heard her conversation with Zhang Xiaofan.
"Whoosh——"
Tian Linger's pretty face flushed crimson.
After all, she was still just a little girl.
It was embarrassing to be caught in a prank, alright?
"Since you're going to do morning exercises, aren't you going already?" Ji Changfeng said casually.
Then, his gaze fell on Zhang Xiaofan, and seeing him holding two Chopping Knives, he asked:
"Xiaofan, is this knife mine?"
"Ah? Yes, yes, Seventh Senior Brother." Zhang Xiaofan replied honestly.
He wasn't particularly close to Ji Changfeng in Caomiao Village; they were only acquaintances.
Therefore, he simply addressed Ji Changfeng as senior brother.
"Thank you."
Ji Changfeng took the Chopping Knife from Zhang Xiaofan.
Then, he walked up the mountain without a word.
Seeing this scene, Tian Linger stomped her foot in anger.
"Hey!"
"Do you even see me, your senior sister?"
"Of course, Senior Sister."
"Why did you add the word 'little'?"
"Because you're little."
"I'm not little! I'm not little at all!"
"Mmhmm..."
On the mountain path, Tian Linger's delicate face flushed red with anger.
She glared at Ji Changfeng, as if she wanted to chop him into pieces.
Such a scene.
It made Zhang Xiaofan, who was following behind, envious.
I really envy Seventh Senior Brother, being able to say so many words to Senior Sister…
Zhang Xiaofan followed silently.
The three of them arrived at the bamboo forest on the back mountain.
Tian Linger lightly harrumphed, "Our daily task is to chop down a bamboo. How is it? Isn't it simple?!"
She said this at the end.
Tian Linger's eyes sparkled with a hint of cunning.
Ji Changfeng smiled slightly, not saying anything.
Zhang Xiaofan was surprised. "Just cut one bamboo? That simple? Don't we need to cut a few more?"
With that, he rolled up his sleeves, raised the Chopping Knife in his hand, and slashed hard at a Black Knot Bamboo in front of him.
"Dong—"
The sharp Chopping Knife struck the bamboo, but only left a white mark.
Immediately, a force of recoil came.
It directly shocked Zhang Xiaofan so that his tiger's mouth ached.
"Hahahaha!"
Tian Linger burst into laughter.
"You idiot, this is our Dazhu Peak's Black Knot Bamboo. It's not easy to chop through it."
Ji Changfeng, standing to the side, was carefully observing Zhang Xiaofan's technique for chopping the bamboo.
He was deep in thought…
[You observed others chopping Black Knot Bamboo, realizing that brute force is ineffective and that flexibility is needed to overcome rigidity. You have grasped the optimal method for chopping Black Knot Bamboo!]
Aptitude triggered!
Information flooded Ji Changfeng's mind.
"So that's how it is."
Ji Changfeng nodded inwardly.
He picked up the Chopping Knife in his hand, circulated the meager Magical Power within him, and slashed towards the Black Knot Bamboo with a special method…
"Swish!"
The next moment.
A thick Black Knot Bamboo, as thick as an arm, had a large chunk chopped out of it.
Judging by the look of it, about a third of it had already been severed.
He only needed two more strikes to completely chop through this Black Knot Bamboo.
Ji Changfeng, emboldened, struck twice more.
Crack—
The arm-thick Black Knot Bamboo was directly chopped in half.
"You…"
Tian Linger's eyes widened instantly.
How could this be possible?
How could he possibly chop a Black Knot Bamboo in half with only three strikes?!
Fake!
It must be fake!
Tian Linger thought angrily.
But the truth was right in front of her, leaving no room for doubt.
Zhang Xiaofan stared, dumbfounded, and asked, "Seventh Senior Brother, how did you do it?"
"Want to learn?" Ji Changfeng smiled.
"Yes!" Zhang Xiaofan immediately nodded.
Seeing this, Ji Changfeng turned to Tian Linger, who was standing nearby, and said with a smile, "Little Senior Sister, what about you? Want to learn?"
"No! Not at all!"
Tian Linger was very curious.
But she would absolutely never lower herself to Ji Changfeng, this difficult junior brother!
With that, Tian Linger angrily turned and walked to the side, silently chopping bamboo on her own.
Ji Changfeng couldn't help but shake his head and laugh.
He didn't bother to coax the little girl. After teaching Zhang Xiaofan how to chop the Black Knot Bamboo, he went down the mountain on his own.
"Hmph!"
Tian Linger watched Ji Changfeng leave, and stomped her foot in anger.
"Whoosh—"
She channeled her Magical Power and chopped the Black Knot Bamboo into several pieces.
Then, she also went down the mountain angrily.
Zhang Xiaofan:…
So, he was the only one suffering?
Zhang Xiaofan silently swung his Chopping Knife, chopping at the bamboo.
Fortunately, he had Ji Changfeng's guidance, so he managed to finish chopping one Black Knot Bamboo, about the size of a thumb, in just a morning.
Zhang Xiaofan, feeling somewhat tired, returned to Shoujing Hall.
He was surprised to find the entire Dazhu Peak disciples waiting for him to eat together.
Seeing this, Zhang Xiaofan quickly sat in the last seat, ready to eat with everyone.
"Let's eat," Tian Buyi, seated at the head, said lightly.
As soon as he spoke,
everyone immediately began to eat.
Midway through the meal, Ji Changfeng lost his appetite.
There was a reason.
Du Bishu's cooking was awful.
After finishing the meal.
Tian Buyi calmly glanced at Ji Changfeng and Zhang Xiaofan, and said:
"Seventh and eighth, how did your cultivation go last night?"
As soon as he said this, everyone turned their gazes towards them.
Zhang Xiaofan said nervously: "Master, this disciple hasn't sensed any spiritual energy yet."
Tian Buyi nodded calmly.
His gaze then turned to Ji Changfeng.
"Reporting to Master, disciple has successfully drawn Qi into his body and has circulated it through thirty-six major cycles."
Ji Changfeng said respectfully.
"Oh, circulated it through thirty-six..."
"What!?"
Tian Buyi was initially calm, but when he fully understood what Ji Changfeng said, he couldn't help but widen his eyes.
Drawing Qi into the body, circulating it through thirty-six major cycles?! Isn't that just reaching the first level of cultivation?
Fake, right?
He cultivated to the first level in one night!?
"Whoosh—"
A blur flashed across the dining table.
Everyone looked, and saw that Tian Buyi, who had been sitting in his seat, appeared in front of Ji Changfeng the next second.
Tian Buyi roughly grabbed Ji Changfeng's arm and then probed with a wisp of Magical Power.
The next moment.
A wildly triumphant smile suddenly appeared on Tian Buyi's face, which was covered in flesh:
"Hahahaha!"
"Good! Good! Good!"
"Cultivated the first layer of Taiji Xuanqing Dao in one night?!"
"Dazhu Peak has produced a genius?!"
Genius? This is more than just a genius!
Cultivating the first layer in a single night.
This is a monster!
The surrounding senior and junior brothers were all dumbfounded.
Even Mother Su Ru put down Tian Linger in her arms and excitedly came to Ji Changfeng's side.
Tian Linger: ...