Li Yun circulated the cultivation technique of the Primordial Essence Chaos Codex and began his cultivation.
The first stage of the Primordial Essence Chaos Codex required him to form a Chaos Seed inside his body. The formation of this seed would be his first step towards the peak of Martial Dao.
Diligently, Li Yun immersed himself in his cultivation.
However, he soon noticed something strange inside his body, but he chose to ignore it for the moment and continued to focus on his technique.
Time passed. The sun rose in the blue sky and set again, repeating this cycle for six more days before wild and unrestrained energy burst from Li Yun's body.
At that moment, he opened his eyes, his face beaming with joy. "I have finally reached the first level of Qi Training."
He had been cultivating in the Mystic Cloud Sect for four years without success, so he felt emotional having finally stepped onto the path of Martial Dao.
'A week has passed...'
Even though he hadn't eaten for a whole week, he felt at his peak—no, he felt even stronger than before. Strength coursed through his veins, overflowing throughout his body.
But then, Li Yun suddenly felt a restraining force acting upon his body, and before he knew it, almost all the Qi inside him had been sealed.
"What happened?!"
Panic surged through him as he quickly circulated his cultivation technique, but it was too late.
"No!"
Despair filled his face as he assessed his strength. "My strength! It's only 10% of what it was when I first reached the level of Qi Training."
In disbelief, he circulated the Primordial Essence Chaos Codex again, but the result remained the same.
"No, no. This is bad..."
He paced back and forth in his room, anxiety overwhelming him. 'Let's calm down and assess the situation first.'
Forcing himself to calm down, Li Yun pondered what had just happened. He recalled feeling immense strength before the restraining force took over, leaving him with only a fraction of his power.
'Why did this happen?' he wondered, remembering the strange sensation he had noticed earlier during cultivation. 'For some reason, all the energy from the pills I've taken over the years hasn't been digested. If not for my new cultivation technique, they would have remained stored inside my body forever.'
He believed this might be why he couldn't reach the first level of Qi Training despite cultivating the Cloud Sutra to its highest fifth layer.
But why had this happened? And more importantly, why was his strength now restricted to only 10%?
He pondered hard for a long time but he drew a blank.
Unable to find answers, Li Yun decided to set aside the problem for now.
He didn't worry too much about his strength, knowing that two combat-oriented martial techniques were stored within the Primordial Essence Chaos Codex, both of which could enhance his strength.
The first was the Chaos Devourer Art, which cultivated the Chaos Seed inside his body.
If one looked inside Li Yun's dantian, they would see a black seed floating quietly.
This was the Chaos Seed he had formed upon reaching the first level of Qi Training.
It was the first of four forms it would transform into before fully developing. The forms were: black, bright red, sky blue, and finally, white.
'To reach the second form—the red-colored form, I need to absorb Qi from beasts.'
This was where the Chaos Devourer Art came into play. With its help, Li Yun could absorb the Qi stored in beasts to facilitate the cultivation of his Chaos Seed.
'If I can reach the second form of the Chaos Seed, my usable strength should also increase. And then there's the second technique.'
The second technique was the Heaven Raging Chaos Art, which had seven stages.
The first stage was called Raging Heaven.
If Li Yun used Raging Heaven now, he could easily defeat a martial artist at the second level of Qi Training without breaking a sweat.
However, he couldn't maintain that state for long.
The Heaven Raging Chaos Art was directly connected to the cultivation of the Chaos Seed, and at its initial black form, he could only sustain Raging Heaven for a limited time.
Higher forms of the Chaos Seed would allow him to use Raging Heaven for longer periods.
For now, Li Yun had to be satisfied with what he had.
'Now is the moment of truth.'
His new cultivation technique assured him that he needn't to fear the sun after reaching the first level of Qi Training, but he couldn't help feeling worried. If it was wrong, he might die here.
'If I want to follow the road of Martial Dao and find my parents, then hesitation is the least of my worries.'
Encouraging himself with these words, he walked out of his hut, determined to face whatever came next.
Li Yun's heart beat like a drum when he took that one step, and then... nothing happened.
"The sun doesn't affect me now!"
Li Yun excitedly jumped into the air, feeling a deep sense of gratitude for his cultivation technique.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the task]
[Reward Obtained - 5x]
"I completed the mission too!"
Li Yun smiled and checked his status.
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« Status »
[Name : Li Yun]
[Cultivation: First Level of Qi Training]
[Multiplier: 5x]
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« Mission »
[Task - Emerge Victorious in the Outer Disciple Selection Assessment and Become an Outer Disciple]
[Reward - 10x]
---
"Outer Disciple Selection Assessment?"
Li Yun had completely forgotten about this matter.
"Right! A week has passed. So, today should be the day for the assessment."
He looked around and saw that the sun had only risen an hour or so ago. He still had some time to prepare.
He went back to his hut and stored every valuable item in his storage ring before stepping outside.
'I am gonna miss this place, but it is what it is...'
He shook his head, feeling a bit emotional. He had spent almost four years living in this hut, but he knew he had to leave it behind one way or another.
'I wonder what the assessment will be...'
He thought as he headed deep into the sect.