Chapter 6: Mastery of Vital Energy

“Are you a self-study disciple sent by my sect?”
The speaker was that handsome disciple, his tone and expression clearly showing arrogance.
These outer sect disciples usually acted in such a manner when facing self-study disciples. Of course, when dealing with higher-ranked inner sect disciples or even direct disciples, their attitude would be completely different.
“I am disciple Su Che,” Su Che said with a slight bow.
“Hmm.”
The handsome disciple nodded and pointed at the bear’s carcass, asking, “What happened to this Red-Backed Berserker Bear?”
They naturally knew that the bear couldn’t have died at the hands of the weak Su Che; someone else must have killed it.
“Two days ago, Uncle Yu Qing from Mysterious Peak chased this bear here…” Su Che selectively described what had happened that day.
“So it was Brother Yu Qing!” A faint blush appeared on the female disciple’s face, as if he had mentioned her dream lover.
Seeing her reaction, the handsome disciple’s expression became somewhat awkward. He must have felt jealous but couldn’t express it directly, so he took it out on Su Che.
“Speak!”
His tone turned icy, and his gaze was hostile. “Did Brother Yu Qing take all the materials from the Red-Backed Berserker Bear?”
“I guess so,” Su Che nodded honestly. “When I arrived, only these bones and flesh were left. In these two days, I’ve only eaten this much meat.”
As he spoke, he showed the size with his hand. Indeed, he had eaten quite a bit over those two days.
“Hmph!” The handsome disciple sneered. “You’re lucky.”
“Brother Bai Ji, stop wasting time with him,” the female disciple said impatiently, waving her hand to urge him. “It’s already good that so much flesh and bones remain. Let’s quickly collect them.”
“Okay, Sister Yun Lan, you go first,” the handsome disciple said gently, smiling.
Thus, they completely ignored Su Che’s presence. Without regard for who came first, nor any notion of eating first and leaving soup for others, they quickly divided the bear’s carcass into three parts and put each into their own Qi Bag, leaving not a single trace for Su Che.
It was fortunate that they were official disciples of a top-tier sect—their Qi Bags were nothing ordinary, with considerable capacity. Even such a large pile of meat could fit inside. Even after being divided into three parts, each part still weighed over a thousand pounds.

Moreover, that plain-looking male disciple never spoke, seemingly acting as the follower of the handsome disciple, as the portion assigned to him was clearly the worst and smallest among the three. To be honest, they didn’t suspect Su Che of keeping anything for himself, because in their minds, if it were them who had killed such a monstrous beast, they wouldn’t even leave behind the bones and flesh—they would definitely try to take everything away. It was clearly judging a gentleman by a petty standard; they had no idea that there were many things the immortal Yu Qing disdained! And so, the three of them left the valley without even leaving a trace, never giving Su Che another glance—except for that plain-looking disciple, who glanced at him before leaving. Even that glance seemed malicious to Su Che; his eyes held a smirk, likely mocking his pitiful state… “Bai Ji, Yun Lan, and that other plain-faced guy…” Su Che thought to himself, “I’ve remembered them. One day, I’ll repay kindnesses and vent grievances.” He had indeed remembered them, but to be honest, he wasn’t really holding a grudge. He had already prepared by hiding the more valuable parts in advance. There was too much bear meat for him to consume alone, and without a storage bag, it would eventually rot and be wasted. Besides, the cultivation world was inherently a place of survival of the fittest, where strength determined everything—well, not only in the cultivation world but also in the mundane world. So, Su Che was open-minded and didn’t see reason to get upset; it was pointless to let it spoil his mood. After waiting patiently for a while, realizing that the three of them were unlikely to return, Su Che took out the bear meat he had hidden earlier. This time, he separated the meat from the other materials and hid them again. It was the same principle—never put all your eggs in one basket. Still relying on meat for cultivation, four days passed, and the remaining bear meat in Su Che’s possession was clearly no longer edible, having developed a foul smell. Even if it didn’t cause illness, its original nutrients and spiritual energy had long since vanished. Snap! The last piece of bear meat, weighing about ten pounds, was casually discarded by Su Che without any regret. In high spirits and in excellent form, he decided to attempt to gather true energy today! This was the first time Su Che, after his rebirth, had tried to gather true energy, yet somehow, he felt full of confidence.

To avoid disturbance as much as possible, Su Che found the most concealed gap in the valley and used enough bushes to block himself, so that unless someone specifically searched, it would be hard to spot him. Sitting cross-legged on the ground, he began practicing the Su family’s qi cultivation technique, the “Hunyuan Qi Cultivation Method.” The name of this method sounded quite mysterious, but in reality, it was just an extremely ordinary basic technique—its quality was hard to even classify. With no other qi cultivation techniques available, he had no choice but to practice it. As long as he could cultivate true qi, he could then find a way to enter Tianxuan Sect and become a formal disciple. There were countless techniques and skills out there; one could spend a lifetime studying them without ever mastering them all. Tianxuan Sect was said to be one of the top ten great sects, with authentic Taoist techniques. Su Che adjusted his mindset, staying calm and unperturbed, and quickly entered a state of meditation. The “Juyu Qi Absorption Method” began to function automatically. Although it was his first time practicing this technique since his rebirth, his body had already ingrained these movements deep in its bones—perhaps even countless times in his dreams. As the technique took effect, all his internal energy was compressed into his dantian, compressed again and again. This was the crucial step in transforming internal energy into true qi, and also the most difficult one. It could be said that cultivators with spiritual roots, as long as they had the right techniques, could eventually cultivate true qi. However, if one exceeded the age of fifteen without achieving it, it indicated poor aptitude or insufficient fortune, preventing them from entering a great sect like Tianxuan Sect. They would have to settle for lower-ranked sects or remain an unaffiliated cultivator for life. Su Che was considered to have above-average aptitude, which was why he bore the expectation of revitalizing his family and strived to become a disciple of Tianxuan Sect. Compressing further… When Su Che felt a distinct stinging sensation in his dantian, he prepared to begin transforming the energy into true qi. Though confident, success still depended on fate. Unexpectedly, another change occurred! This time, it was good news—a strange warm current originating from the small tower appeared once again on his forehead and flowed downward into his dantian. The stinging sensation vanished immediately, and Su Che vaguely realized that this might mean he still had potential and could continue compressing his internal energy. The deeper he compressed his internal energy, the better—not only did it increase the chances of successfully forming true qi, but it was also said to improve its purity.

This effectively laid a more solid foundation, bringing great benefits to the entire Qi Cultivation stage.
Continuing to compress…
It wasn’t until Su Che’s dantian, with the support of the warm currents in the small tower, began to feel unbearable pain that he reached this stage of energy transformation.
As expected, thorough preparation led to smooth transformation—the first trace of true Qi appeared naturally.
With true Qi formed, his body underwent a complete transformation.
The energy level of his body soared by countless degrees; the flow of true Qi began to strengthen and reshape his physique, fully releasing the energy essence accumulated from consuming the flesh of monsters over the past days.
His skin, muscles, bones, blood, marrow, and internal organs were all refined and transformed, while hidden toxins and impurities were expelled. Even the hard scars on his skin healed further until they completely disappeared without a trace.
With true Qi established, his wisdom grew as well, significantly improving his mental acuity. The numerous other transformations are beyond description in just a few words.
Soon after, Su Che leaped out from his hiding place and unleashed a series of punches and kicks, demonstrating his abundant energy at that moment.
So comfortable!
Although many impurities had been expelled through his pores, leaving a sticky feeling, he still had to admit that his current state was extremely comfortable!
Qi Cultivation Level 1.
It might not seem remarkable, but it was indeed the first step on the path of cultivation.