Stuck

After the match with Xiao Bao, Jing Ling was looking forward to her other matches. She hoped she would get strong opponents but to her disappointment, they were all at green or blue mortal realm. Thus, Jing Ling breezed through her matches for the next four days.

During these four days, Jing Ling lived in the training hall. She neglected her martial arts practice and cultivation in order to fully immerse herself in her training. However, by the fourth day, Jing Ling still hasn't seen any improvements. She still couldn't last more than two seconds before she is knocked down to the floor. It didn't matter if it was during the day or at night.

"What am I doing wrong?" thought Jing Ling as she waited for her next match. "What is it that I lack?."

"Number 18 and 90 please head to the Southern platform." Grandmaster Tian announced.

Jing Ling headed to the platform and internally sighed. "Another blue mortal realm. Should I consider myself lucky or unlucky? I wish to fight strong opponents but at the same time, it is easy for me to advance."

"You may begin!" Grandmaster Tian announced.

"I admit defeat!"

"?!" Jing Ling didn't expect her opponent to give up before she had the chance to attack. All her previous opponents had at least tried to fight.

"Winner, Chen Xie." Grandmaster Tian announced. "There are only four more contestants remaining. An Academy's Hao Guiying, Monster Academy's Zou Delan, Crown Prince Huan Ying, and Miss. Chen Xie, congratulations on making it this far, you will be given a week to rest before we continue with the competition."

Jing Ling observed her opponents and found that all three of them were violet mortals and each of them gave her a dangerous feeling...especially the Crown Prince.

"Tsk, they're all stronger than me," Jing Ling cursed. "If I go against any of them in my current state I'll get crushed like a cockroach."

Thus, the moment she left the arena, Jing Ling headed home to train.

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"I don't understand!" Jing Ling shouted early in the morning.

"Ling'er what's wrong? You're scaring my soldiers," said Master Jing Jun.

"Father..."

"Why have you been shouting all morning?"

"I'm stuck. I've been training my reflexes for six days now but I have not seen any improvement at all. I can't even last a 5 seconds before I am hit."

"HAHAHA, six days and you already want to see improvements? That's too greedy of you Ling'er."

"I know I won't become a master overnight but at least I could improve a little."

"Sigh. You're already a violet mortal at 12 years old. That is amazing but you have become too used to immediate results Ling'er. Do you know how long it took me to break through into violet mortal realm? 7 years! It took me 7 years, and that is considered to be average. Your brothers took 5 years as well so don't rush yourself. Cultivation takes time even if you have violet potential. As you grow you will encounter bumps along the way in order for you to grow."

"But the competition is in 6 days and with my current abilities I won't be able to win."

"Why do you have to win?"

"I want to prove to myself that I am strong and I can be independent."

"Ling'er, becoming strong isn't only about training and being the strongest cultivator."

"But don't we cultivate to gain power and increase our realms?"

"Hmm... I see. Ling'er you don't understand what it truly means to be a cultivator. It isn't all about gaining power and being unbeatable. It also requires you to have an open mind so you can understand life and discover the path you wish to take. Right now you are too caught up in training and you are rushing. Have ever stopped to think about what is happening as you train? Let me ask you this. What is Qi?"

"I... I don't know," Jing Lings with her head down.

"Sigh. I think it's best if you take some time away from training for you to think about these things Ling'er."

"Mhm, thank you, Father."

"Of course."

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Jing Ling listened to her Father and is now sitting in her courtyard as usual but instead of cultivating she was thinking about what her Father said. Even though she can see Qi she has never tried to understand what it is.

"Why do we even need Qi in the first place?"

The more Jing Ling thought about it, the more questions she had so she decided to go to the library.

As Jing Ling walked through the city, she kept her eyes open an observed her surroundings. Qi was constantly coming out of the ground and entering people's bodies, there were even small streams of Qi flowing into the trees and plant life that were growing along the roads.

Before she noticed, Jing Ling had already arrived at Zhu City's public library.

"How can I help you, young lady?" The librarian greeted Jing Ling.

"I would like to do some research on Qi. Do you have any books for beginners?"

"Yes we do, but there is only one book. This way please."

The librarian leads Jing Ling through a large double door and they entered a room lined floor to ceiling with bookshelves. At the center of the room, there was a spiraling staircase that they used to head to the second floor.

The librarian heads to a bookshelf on their left and picks out an old dusty book.

"Koff, Koff. Apologies. It's been a long time since anyone has requested this book."

"No worries. Thank you for finding it for me."

Jing Ling took the book and found a cozy corner to read. Surprisingly the book is very easy to understand so she finished reading in no time.

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Jing Ling maneuvered her body to avoid the logs that were about to slam into her.

"Whoosh." The log flew past her with only 1 cm between them.

In the center of the Jing estate's training room Jing Ling was dodging 20 logs while keeping her eyes closed. Sweat began to roll down her face but she was so concentrated she didn't even notice.

3 days ago, Jing Ling read the book in the library a couple of times and she made a major discovery. Qi is the life force of all living things. It provides all life with energy and by accumulating Qi through cultivation, cultivators are able to gain longevity and an comprehension of the world's secrets.

"Since Qi is a vital part of all life, and I can see Qi, I can use Qi to sense everything around me," thought Jing Ling as she left the library.

"There are not too many people on the streets now, I can try this out now."

She walks into an alleyway and closes her eyes to sense the Qi around her. It takes her a few minutes but eventually she got it.

"Oh my, this is so cool!"

In Jing Ling's mind, she can see a map of everything within a 10-meter radius. It's like she's looking at her surroundings from a bird's eye view. Using her new technique, Jing Ling walked all the way home with her eyes closed.