In the dead of night, Luo Feng was pulled from sleep by pain.
It struck without warning, ripping through his body like a blade. His eyes snapped open as a violent wave of spiritual energy surged into him, fierce and overwhelming. Before he could even gather his thoughts, the energy flooded his meridians, crashing through him with terrifying force.
His breath caught.
The sensation was nothing like what he had experienced before. This was not the slow, subtle strengthening he had grown accustomed to. It was raw, concentrated power, unrestrained and merciless.
Luo Feng reacted purely on instinct.
He rolled off the bed and sat upright, legs crossing as he forced himself into the lotus position. His teeth clenched so hard that his jaw ached, but he ignored it, focusing everything he had on circulation.
Circulate. Stabilize. Endure.
The spiritual energy fought him every step of the way. It tore through his body in surges, battering his meridians as though they were fragile channels on the verge of collapse. His breathing grew uneven, sweat pouring down his back as pain radiated outward from his core.
Only now did Luo Feng truly understand how difficult the situation was.
Before this, when he had been receiving feedback from Huang Lei, he had not even stepped into Qi Refinement. His body had absorbed everything silently, passively. Even after Huang Lei awakened his saint physique, the increase Luo Feng felt had been gradual, almost gentle.
He had never realised how much power had been flowing into him.
Now, everything was different.
Now he was a Qi Refinement cultivator.
His body could no longer quietly swallow that level of feedback. The energy was no longer diluted. It was direct, violent, and amplified by the karma he had invested.
He had made a mistake.
The realisation surfaced sharply, even as he struggled to maintain control. If he had continued to receive Huang Lei's cultivation naturally, without accelerating it, his cultivation would have risen rapidly but safely. He would have adapted step by step, allowing his body to keep pace.
Instead, he had poured karma into acceleration without understanding the consequences.
Too much, too fast.
Even so, there was no time for regret.
The energy continued to surge, and Luo Feng could barely spare a thought beyond survival. He forced the spiritual energy into circulation, guiding it through the basic pathways of Qi Refinement. Each cycle was agony. His meridians burned, stretched, and trembled under the strain.
Time lost its meaning.
Minutes blurred together as the night deepened outside. The courtyard remained silent, oblivious to the struggle unfolding within its walls. No alarms were raised. No one sensed the danger.
An hour passed.
Slowly, the violence began to subside.
The raging tide of spiritual energy weakened, its edges smoothing as it merged with Luo Feng's own qi. The pressure eased, no longer threatening to tear him apart. What remained was dense, potent energy circulating steadily through his body under his control.
When the last remnants were fully absorbed, Luo Feng's shoulders sagged slightly.
He released a long, shaking breath.
The pain faded, replaced by exhaustion so deep it made his limbs feel heavy. His clothes were soaked through with sweat, his hair clinging to his forehead, but he remained seated, unwilling to move too quickly.
After a moment, he examined his condition.
The difference was unmistakable.
His spiritual energy was far thicker than before, no longer thin or tentative. It flowed with confidence through his meridians, stable and obedient. His body felt solid, grounded, as though reinforced from the inside.
His eyes widened.
Qi Refinement Level 5.
The realisation hit him like a second wave, washing away the lingering fatigue. His eyes sparkled with delight, and a grin slowly spread across his face.
Level 5.
He had crossed four levels in a single night.
For a brief moment, laughter escaped him, low and incredulous. People liked to say that good things came to those who suffered. He knew better. That saying was comforting, not true.
Suffering alone gave nothing.
What he had gained tonight was not a reward for pain. It was the result of circumstance, of connection, of Huang Lei standing at the centre of a rising storm.
Somewhere far away, Huang Lei was likely feeling invincible. Awakening a saint physique, breaking through in cultivation, stepping into a future filled with endless possibilities.
Luo Feng's excitement cooled as quickly as it had risen.
He forced himself to calm down.
More than ever, he could not afford to act recklessly. At Qi Refinement Level 5, he was still not exceptional within the Luo family. Many were stronger. Elders, guards, and talented descendants caused far greater disturbances whenever they broke through.
Tonight's surge could be overlooked.
For now.
But if his cultivation continued to rise at this pace, concealment would soon become impossible. Worse, if anyone noticed his sudden advancement, there would be no explanation that made sense.
He had no resources. No guidance. No reputation.
Being placed under scrutiny was the fastest way to lose everything.
Luo Feng steadied his breathing and rose to his feet. His legs felt firm, strength coiled tightly within his frame. After carefully restraining his aura, he summoned the system panel.
It appeared silently.
[Bound: Huang Lei (Qi Refinement Level 3)]
Luo Feng's gaze sharpened.
Huang Lei had broken through again.
The violent feedback finally made sense. When a cultivator advanced, their spiritual power surged dramatically. That surge, amplified by the karma Luo Feng had invested, had slammed into him without warning.
It had not been a malfunction.
It had been timing.
Dangerous timing.
Had Huang Lei broken through while Luo Feng was completely unprepared, the outcome might have been far worse. Even now, he had only barely endured it.
His eyes shifted downward as he continued inspecting the panel.
Beneath the bound information, new entries had appeared.
[Nine Cauldron Hegemon Body Art (+)]
[Cloudburst Stride (+)]
Luo Feng froze.
He stared at the words for several seconds, ensuring he was not imagining them. These were not vague indicators or passive effects. They were named arts. Techniques.
And they were marked with a plus.
He did not need an explanation to understand what that implied. These were cultivation arts and movement techniques associated with Huang Lei. Somehow, through the binding, they had been mirrored or transmitted to him in an incomplete or dormant form.
His heart beat faster.
This system was far deeper than he had initially assumed. It did not merely share cultivation levels. It shared foundations. Paths. Methods.
As his gaze lifted, he noticed a small icon at the top of the system panel.
A bell.
It was empty.
No notification accompanied it. No explanation appeared when he focused on it. The system remained silent, as though it expected him to figure things out on his own.
Luo Feng frowned faintly, then dismissed the thought.
Whatever that bell represented, it would reveal its purpose in time.
He closed the panel and sat back down, allowing the tension in his body to finally ease.