Breezing Through Cultivation

"Huh? Am I really cultivating that quickly?" Bell could not help but ask in response to Sixth Void's out-of-the-blue question. The thought of him thinking whether he was cultivating faster compared to other beings never occurred to him in the first place. Then again, at this moment, he was focused on the path of cultivation itself instead of things that were happening around him.

In any case, seeing as how Bell was oblivious to his cultivation speed, Sixth Void could not help but enlighten Bell on how fast he was cultivating. A hint of a greed flashed through his eyes for a bit, though this soon disappeared as he went silent. After a while, Sixth Void looked at Bell, who had now stopped absorbing qi, and said, "With your Two-Branch Mortal Qi Root, you're definitely cultivating at a speed far beyond it."

"If I were to guess your Qi Root based on how fast you were absorbing qi, then I'd guess that you would have an Eight-Branch Mortal Qi Root," he continued before adding, "Of course, if you had a cultivation technique, then my guess would be different."

'Eight-Branch Mortal Qi Root? Ain't that the second highest grade of Qi Root in this place?' Bell could not help but think to himself, only now understanding the importance of having a cultivation technique. While pondering over it, he could not help but recall that he had obtained a skill from undergoing his third bloodline awakening.

'Now that I think about it, didn't I obtain a skill named Strengthened Qi Root or something? How do I check that?' With that in mind, he soon commanded the system to show the list of skills he had obtained from the bloodline awakenings. Not too long after, a small screen showing the two skills he had obtained appeared in front of his field of vision.

Ding!

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Bloodline Awakening Skills:

[Stealth Lv. 1], [Mass Siphon Lv. 1], [Strengthened Qi Root Lv. 1], [Vitality Siphoning Lv. 1]

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'If I remember correctly, the second evolution gave me the ability to level up my skills,' he thought, deciding to order the system to show him information regarding [Strengthened Qi Root]. At this moment, Sixth Void was looking at Bell in silence, thinking that he was pondering of what he was going to say to him. Never would it cross his mind that Bell was actually fiddling with his system right about now.

Leaving that aside, the system obliged to Bell's request, bringing up a screen filled with text a few seconds later. Reading through the skill's description, as well as cross-referencing what he had heard from Sixth Void just a moment ago, Bell now had a better understanding of his Qi Root.

Ding!

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[Strengthened Qi Root Lv. 1]

A skill obtained from evolving to Void Erudite Mosquito. This skill increases the efficacy of the owner's Qi Root, allowing one to show the effects of a being that has a higher-grade Qi Root even at a lower grade.

Current multiplier: 2x efficacy

Upgrade cost: 500 Impure Blood Energy

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'So, with my knowledge of basic math, someone with a One-Branch Mortal Qi Root would basically be absorbing 1 point of qi every second if they had my system,' Bell concluded. 'Other than that, it's quite surprising that the effect of [Strengthened Qi Root] and the cultivation technique I got stacks on top of each other.'

'Nevertheless, I'm quite curious as to how much this multiplier would increase once I level it up,' he muttered inwardly, eventually deciding to spend 500 of his Impure Blood Energy to upgrade [Strengthened Qi Root] to Level 2.

After confirming to the system that he wanted to upgrade the skill, he soon felt that his brain, or to be more specific, his Qi Root, had expanded by a considerable amount. With such a change, he felt that he could take in a bit more qi than what he could previously. Then again, that was the effect of [Strengthened Qi Root], after all.

With the upgrade now done, he then looked at the description of the skill once again, noticing that the multiplier had now increased to 2.25x. Doing some quick calculation in his mind, by the time the skill reached Level 10, this multiplier would be at 4.25x. Combined with the knowledge he had obtained from before, he thought that he would be able to show the absorption speed of someone with a Seventeen-Branch Immortal Qi Root with the skill at that level.

Of course, he still had to siphon a ton of Impure Blood Energy before that would happen, so he placed those thoughts at the back of his head, quite satisfied with the conclusions he had obtained. With that, he then focused his attention back on Sixth Void, who was looking at him all this time.

"Er…did I zone out?" Since Bell did not know how much time had passed since he started to check on the system, he decided to ask Sixth Void this question.

"At first, I thought you were pondering over what you were going to say. To think that you zoned out," Sixth Void said in response. "Anyways, could you answer my question as to how you're cultivating so quickly?"

Deciding to use a trick he had used earlier, Bell responded with a hint of hesitation, "Well, the truth is…I have a cultivation technique."

"Really? Where'd you get your cultivation techni—" Sixth Void asked in response, only to recall that Bell had obtained certain information from his bloodline. With that, he had a gaze of understanding as he looked at Bell once more and said, "What grade of cultivation technique did you get from your bloodline?"

"Only Mortal-Low grade. Nothing special," Bell said succinctly, prompting Sixth Void to say in response, "With that, I would have guessed that you had a Four-Branch Mortal Qi Root."

"But that still begs the question…how are you showing the absorption speed of someone with a Four-Branch Mortal Qi Root if you only have a Two-Branch Mortal Qi Root?" Sixth Void said not long after, not letting Bell move away from the topic.

"Hmm…I guess my bloodline enhances the effects of my Qi Root to a greater level." Of course, Bell would use the same trick. "Surely you must've heard of other species with that type of bloodline as well, right?"

"Well…I have heard of some, but they're quite rare," Sixth Void said, deciding to end the topic since it seemed like Bell was telling the truth to him. "To think that you would also have that type of bloodline as well."

After that, the two of them went silent, seeing as there was no other topic for them to talk about. Of course, they could think up of a few topics here and there to talk about, but Bell thought that it would be better for him to focus his attention towards cultivation instead of conversing with Sixth Void. Although being social would end up being beneficial to him in the long run, for someone who had next to no strength in the grand scheme of things, he felt like he needed to get stronger.

And so, he did, focusing all of his attention on absorbing qi…or well, wondering if he could absorb more qi since his Qi stat was already full. At the moment, he felt like if he let things move naturally, the amount of qi he had absorbed from the surroundings would condense together and form a qi wisp. Though, after obtaining the Crimson Soul Manual from the system, Bell could not help but feel like if he did that, it would become detrimental to his future.

'Is this a feature of the system?' Bell could not help but think, wondering as to whether he could read the cultivation techniques he had received from the system. Fortunately, it did not take long for him to obtain his answer as he commanded the system to let him read through the technique.

Whoosh!

Not long after he had ordered the system, an influx of information filled to the brim with cultivation-related things soon entered his mind, prompting him to hastily process it and organize it. At times, he would give off the feeling of struggling, while at other times, he would give off the feeling of sheer excitement. By the time he was finished processing the information, he could not help but mutter inwardly, 'To think that what I said after obtaining these cultivation techniques would turn out to be true.'

What Bell was referring to was the fact that the cultivation technique he had obtained from the system had restricted him from going any further than the Qi Gathering Realm. In other words, the peak of the Qi Gathering Realm would be his limit at the moment.

Fortunately, he had obtained the methods as to how he would be able to cultivate beyond the Qi Gathering Realm, needing to meet some requirements such as increasing his lifespan to a hundred years…among other things.

'I guess I should start cultivating so I could have more time fulfilling these requirements,' Bell thought as he recalled the information he had obtained from reading the Crimson Soul Manual.

Just like what he had felt from his hunch, the Crimson Soul Manual told him that it would be detrimental to his future if he allowed the qi he had amassed to condense into a qi wisp naturally. Instead, what the Crimson Soul Manual told him to do was to imagine the image of a blood drop as he condensed the qi wisp, allowing it to become more compact and hold more True Qi.

According to what he had read from the Crimson Soul Manual, True Qi was the type of qi that cultivators had control over. Unsurprisingly, this thought process made sense in Bell's mind, recalling how he had read a few novels in the past where cultivators had to convert the energy they absorbed into their own.

With that, Bell followed the instructions from the Crimson Soul Manual, imagining a blood drop forming inside his body as he allowed the qi that had taken a spot up in his body to condense.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

As if it was their purpose in life to condense into a blood drop, the qi Bell had absorbed hastily condensed at a more open spot in his body, gradually losing the light blue hue it originally had as it slowly took on a crimson color. After about half a minute or so, the conversion process was over, leaving Bell with no qi and a blood drop made out of condensed qi.

Well, although the manual told Bell to imagine a blood drop, from what Bell could see inside him, it looked more like a well-polished ruby. Nevertheless, this single ruby was enough for Bell to feel that his strength could now reach a greater limit as long as he filled up this ruby with qi.

Ding!

[You have obtained the 'True Qi' stat. Currently, you have 0 points of True Qi.]

With the system telling him that he could now create True Qi, Bell took a look at his status screen and noticed that his Qi stat was now back to 0. On top of that, the limit had increased by 100 points, totaling to 200 points. Seeing this, he could not help but think, 'Does that mean that with every qi wisp I create, I need an additional 100 points of qi for the next one?'

Even though he felt like his path of cultivation was going to become harder and harder the more he progressed, he could not help but lightly chuckle since this kind of difficulty was something he lacked in his previous life. To him, such difficulty made his current life all the more enjoyable.

In any case, with the first qi wisp now formed, he went ahead and started to absorb more qi from the surroundings once more, deciding to fill up his first qi wisp with qi first before going ahead and filling up his Qi stat to create another qi wisp.

While that was happening, Sixth Void, who was passively absorbing energy all this time, noticed a slight difference in the speed at which Bell was cultivating. Doing a quick scan on Bell's body, he could not help but mutter inwardly in shock, 'Bell's cultivation speed has increased yet again?'

'If he had no cultivation technique, his speed is already equivalent to someone who has a Nine-Branch Mortal Qi Root,' he thought, slightly becoming curious as to how Bell was able to improve his cultivation speed. Soon, multiple thoughts appeared in Sixth Void's mind, changing this curiosity into greed as he thought that Bell's bloodline gave him access to a technique that allowed him to improve his Qi Root.

Fortunately, his rationality reined in on his greed, telling him to not make impulsive actions to obtain benefits for the short term. With that in mind, he took in a few deep breaths as he thought that such a technique in Bell's hands would definitely have a greater impact a thousand years from now.

And so, throughout the night, both Bell and Sixth Void focused on absorbing energy from the surroundings, transforming it into their own strength. In Bell's case, he was converting the qi he had absorbed into qi wisps that looked like crimson rubies.

By the time the sun was slightly peeking out of the horizon, Bell opened his eyes with a feeling of satisfaction as he had finally created his 10th qi wisp. Of course, if Bell was able to, he would continue absorbing qi and create his 11th qi wisp. But before he could so, a prompt from the system had appeared in his mind, making him think, 'I guess this is my true first step into the world of cultivation.'

Ding!

[You have created 10 qi wisps, meeting the prerequisite to advance to the next level. Would you like to break through to the 2nd Stage of the Qi Sensing Realm?]