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"Okay." It took a long time for Yang Ze to make this decision. Just like Ye Wan said, he could join them for some time and then decide his next course of action. If it were before he reached the realm of Innate, he would have rejected this proposal. After all, the last thing he wanted was to lose his freedom and be at the mercy of others. But now... At least he could take matters into his own hands. He wasn't powerless anymore. If worse comes to worst, he could just straight up leave. Besides, he desperately needed some common knowledge about this world. His entire understanding came from interactions with others and a few miscellaneous books that he read.

"Then, it's decided." Ye Wan immediately let out a smile when Yang Ze agreed. The old man, on the other hand, just shook his head in displeasure. 

"You should take some rest, I will prepare some food for you." Signaling him to take a seat beside the old man, she turned around before leaving the two of them behind.

"Senior." After her departure, Yang Ze gave the old man a polite nod and took a seat beside him. He could clearly see the displeasure on the old man's face, but there was nothing he could do about it. Even if the old man didn't like him, he would only pretend not to notice it.

As the two of them sat there in silence for a while under the shade of the cloudy sky, the old man finally decided to initiate the conversation. 

"So, are you going to tell me something about yourself?" Were it before, he couldn't have cared any less about him, but now that his dear disciple has decided to take the boy with them, he needed to know everything about him. 

"I.." Yang Ze seemed to be hesitant before speaking softly. "I don't remember." 

Yang Ze didn't want to involve them in his personal matters. The last thing he wanted to see was his benefactors getting in the way of harm because of him.

"I see." The old man didn't force him. From his years of experience, he already knew that the boy was worried for them. This improved his opinions about this brat a little. 

"You were attacked by an Innate powerhouse with corrosive qi." The old man stopped after this statement. Though he had a meaningful look in his eyes. He wanted the boy to know that he was aware of the risks that he brought with him and was willing to lend out a helping hand.

Yang Ze, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice it. His attention was still on the words that the old man had just said. "Corrosive Qi? What is it?"

His step into the Innate Realm was achieved entirely through the use of the panel. It wouldn't be wrong to say that his knowledge about the Innate Realm was almost nonexistent. He felt this deeply when he fought the man in black in Darati, and he was feeling it again now. His understanding was shallow—just enough to use the aura of heaven and heart. Beyond that, he knew nothing at all.

"It is a type of Qi that you..." The old man stopped mid-sentence, thought for a moment, and then changed his words. "How much do you know about the cultivation realms?"

When he tested the boy while treating him, he didn't feel any Qi from him. That's why the thought that the boy in front of him was a mortal. Besides, the big family normally wouldn't let their children practice before the age of sixteen. Some would even go as far as the age of eighteen just to make sure that the child has grown up properly before coming in contact with the Qi. This would maximize their potential, or so they thought. Till now, he still believed that the boy in front of them came from such a family. 

"I know there is Qi condensing, followed by Qi Guiding, and then Innate." This time, Yang Ze answered truthfully. He truly wanted to know more about it, hence he told him everything that he knew.

"You know about Qi condensing and Qi guiding, right?" If possible, he didn't want to go through such basic knowledge again. Thankfully, Yang Ze's answer relieved him.

"Yes." Yang Ze replied to the old man's question with a nod. Not only did he know about them, he had even surpassed them.

"Then I will skip them." The old man took another sip of tea to wet his dry throat before speaking further. "How much do you know about the Innate realm?" 

"Umm..." Yang Ze thought for a moment before giving a reply. "I know that they are strong and can use the aura of heaven and earth to their advantage."

"Go on." The old man nodded to him, signaling him to continue. Unfortunately for Yang Ze, this was all he knew, so the only thing he could do was let out an embarrassed smile.

"That's it?" Looking at his reaction, the old man was left speechless. When the boy asked what corrosive qi was, he already knew that the boy had little knowledge about the Innate realm, but listening to his response...

"It seems your understanding is superficial." The old man took a deep breath as he slowly removed his hand from the teacup from mid-air, and the moment he did, the teacup stayed fixated in front of him, floating in the air. 

"Using the aura of heaven and earth is only the most basic thing that one can do after reaching the realm of the innate." As he said these words, the cup slowly floated towards the table before resting there.

"Let's say a person's journey begins with sensing Qi. Once they're able to feel it and manage to condense a strand of Qi, they enter the Qi Condensation Realm. The Qi they condense at this stage is pure and without any attributes. It is the most basic and primal form of Qi—used mainly to strengthen the body."

"Then comes the realm of Qi Guiding, where one masters this very Qi and can manipulate it." Speaking till here, he took a short pause before speaking further.

"The Innate Realm, however, is completely different. Unlike the Qi Guiding Realm, Qi here is not used directly as a weapon. Instead, it acts more like a support for the Aura of Heaven and Earth. You can think of the Aura of Heaven and Heart as a tiny spark, and the Qi within the body as a massive boulder made of cotton. The more cotton you burn, the stronger the fire becomes. In the same way, the more Qi one uses in the Innate Realm, the more powerful the Aura of Heaven and Earth grows."

"And this..." With a smile, he continued softly. "This is where the Innate realm differs from the other realms."

"You see, unlike Qi Guiding, the Innate realm doesn't have early, mid, late, and peak stages. Instead, there are only two stages. 'Beginners', those who have just stepped into the realm, and then 'Masters', those who have mastered the intents for their Qi."

The more Yang Ze listened, the more confused he got. Though he could understand the meaning behind the old man's words, he still couldn't understand it completely. So after thinking for a moment, he asked his first question. "What's the difference?" 

"Hmm..." As if expecting this question, the old man let out a smile before explaining further.

"You see, when stepping into the Innate realm, the Qi doesn't go under any qualitative change. Yes, it becomes abundant, almost a thousand times more compared to the Qi guiding realm, but there are no other changes."

"Remember, when I said that Qi is like cotton, whereas the Aura of Heaven and Earth is like fire?"

"The Qi in a beginner's Innate Realm is like cotton. It can be used to support the Aura of Heaven and Earth, but just like cotton, it burns up quickly. This is where intent begins to play an important role."

"Adding intent to one's Qi is like changing the fuel from cotton to coal. Not only does one erupt with massive power, but they can sustain it for a much, much longer time."

Looking at the boy who still had a frown on his face, the old man didn't explain further, but just raised his hand, and the moment he did, Yang Ze, who was still digesting the words of the old man, felt an intense sense of danger.

With a thump in his chest, he snapped out of his trance and looked at the old man in front of him. Others might not notice it, but he could clearly see the Aura of Heaven and Earth violently roaring around the old man—so intense that it felt as if he were standing in the middle of a raging storm.

The old man just smiled at his reaction before slowly raising his hand, and the moment he did, an intense pressure overwhelmed Yang Ze, who seemed stuck in the chair. For the first time after arriving in this world, Yang Ze felt such an overwhelming sense of powerlessness and danger. It was as if the old man in front of him could decide his life and death in an instant. 

"This... THIS IS?" Narrowing his eyes, he was about to circulate the aura of heaven and earth around himself, but held back. The old man seemed to be displaying his abilities to help him understand better. 

So he just held his breath and looked at the old man who slowly pushed his hand down. And the moment he did, Yang Ze saw a scene he would never forget. 

The sky above him, which was filled with clouds, seemed to churn as a gigantic white translucent hand slowly formed in the sky. 

Looking at the massive hand that was almost a hundred meters wide and long hanging above their heads like a colossal piece of land, Yang Ze almost forgot to breathe. He was sure that if this hand were to fall down, he would be patted to near-death if not instant death. 

"This is what the Innate Beginners are able to do." It was the sound of the old man that brought him back to his senses. 

"Gulp!" Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Yang Ze looked at the old man in disbelief. But before he could speak further, the old man spoke again.

"And this..." With these words, his hand glowed in a white light, and with it, the translucent hand in the sky suddenly grew in size, becoming twice what it once was. But this time, the once translucent hand seemed to have changed. Instead of light, it was made out of water and brought an even more oppressive pressure. Under this pressure, Yang Ze felt like he was having trouble breathing. Looking at the gigantic hand that was completely made out of water, he felt like he was facing an ocean that was ready to submerge him completely.

"This..." With a smile, the old man waved his hand, and with it, the hand in the sky disappeared completely as if it had never been there in the first place. "This is what it means to have Qi intent."

"After comprehending an intent, be it of water, fire, air, lightning, poison, one can merge it with the aura of heaven and earth, resulting in overwhelming power. You have seen for yourself what adding water intent does."

Yang Ze didn't reply, but his eyes were still stuck on the sky. After stepping into the realm of Innate, his only understanding of this realm was that one can use the aura of heaven and earth. He never once thought about the part the massive Qi in his body played in it.

After witnessing this overwhelming power, it was only then that he realized how ridiculous his fight with the man in black truly was. It had been like a children's game, with the two of them mindlessly bashing their heads against each other. Back then, when the man in black said he was injured, Yang Ze thought he was just trying to scare him. Only now did he understand that the man had been telling the truth. Otherwise, with the kind of power the old man just displayed, that man would have easily wiped the floor with him.

Suddenly, Yang Ze remembered the saying that he once heard. 

"Those in Innate are like GODS." 

It was only now did he realized the meaning of those words.