Li Zijun said in annoyance, “Xiao Che, do you still want me to teach you or not?”
Yun Che hurriedly said, “Yes, yes, yes. I misspoke for a moment and didn’t think it through.”
After a moment of silence, Li Zijun calmed down and said, “I can teach you the introductory method of Confucian cultivation.”
Yun Che was delighted, but then he heard her continue in a tone that brooked no argument:
“But you must agree to three conditions.”
“Miss Li, please go ahead. Let alone three conditions… even three hundred would be fine…” Yun Che said ingratiatingly.
“First, during these two hours, you must obey my guidance completely. You must rein in your mind and intent, and you may not act frivolously or overstep again. You are also strictly forbidden from prying into the memories of my sea of consciousness.”
“That is only proper. Xiao complies.”
“Second, what I teach will be limited to the most basic Qi-Nurturing Chapter and the introductory Correct-Mind Visualization. Their purpose is to let you experience the circulation of righteous qi and understand the doorway to Confucian cultivation.
“You may not ask about deeper mental methods, techniques, or my own cultivation secrets, and I will never teach them.”
“I understand, I understand. Got it all.”
“Third,” her tone grew especially grave, “after this, no matter why you come again, you must abide by today’s agreement. You may not use any means to coerce or harm me.
“If you agree, I will teach you;
“if not…”
She paused, and a trace of resolve entered her voice. “Then I will activate the Soul-Calming Spirit-Fixing Chapter. I may not be able to drive you out, but it will be enough to leave you with nothing to gain from these two hours, and even make you suffer for it.”
She revealed her trump card… if it came to that, she would use a self-destructive method and perish together with him.
Yun Che felt a chill. This woman was not only perceptive, but decisive. He replied without hesitation, “Xiao Chen swears on his own nine clans that he will abide by these three conditions. If I violate them, may I suffer heavenly punishment and have my nine clans wiped out.”
Yun Che thought to himself, “Anyway, I transmigrated to this world as an orphan. You’ll have to find my nine clans first!!!”
“Good.” Li Zijun seemed to accept his promise. “Then close your eyes and focus your mind. Sense carefully.”
“Xiao Che…” the woman softly repeated the name, as if thinking of something, and then said, “Since that is so, I’ll teach you the most basic cultivation method of our Confucian cultivation… nurturing righteous qi.”
“Righteous qi?” Yun Che became interested.
“Correct.” The woman explained, “Confucian cultivation does not value spiritual roots, but temperament and character.
“We cultivate righteous qi, and this qi comes from understanding the ultimate principles of heaven and earth, from upholding the right path of the mortal world, and from studying and practicing scholarship.”
“How exactly do I do it?” Yun Che asked eagerly.
“You should close your eyes… though even if I close mine, you won’t be able to see it… but please concentrate,” the woman instructed. “Feel the route of the qi channels within my body.
“In Confucian cultivation, the qi sea is not in the dantian, but in the heart chamber, which is the location of the Tanzhong acupoint.”
Yun Che followed her instructions and focused his senses. Sure enough, a warm and mellow power slowly spread from the center of his chest and circulated through his whole body along a specific meridian route.
This power was not as sharp and outwardly forceful as Daoist spiritual energy, but instead inward and profound. With each full cycle, he felt his mind grow a little clearer, as if even his thinking became more lucid.
“This is the basic circulation route of the Mind-Correcting Qi-Nurturing Art,” the woman continued. “Now try to guide the qi along this route on your own. Don’t worry about making mistakes. I will supervise and correct you from the side.”
Yun Che began to try. At first, he was a little awkward. After all, the original owner of this body had rather high cultivation, and he could not precisely control that massive righteous qi at once.
But soon, under the woman’s guidance, he gradually got the rhythm down.
As the qi circulated, Yun Che felt an unprecedented and wondrous experience.
It was as if countless tiny points of light gathered from the books, calligraphy, and even the air around him, merging into his body.
It was a kind of accumulation of knowledge and resonance of principles, not merely the absorption of spiritual energy. With every breath, it seemed as if he were communicating with some vast “order.”
『Ding! Detected that the host is cultivating through the bound partner. Enlightenment bonus activated: 500%. Efficiency bonus activated: 300%. Current cultivation speed is equivalent to 15 times that of the host’s original body.』
The system prompt sounded at just the right time.
Yun Che was shaken. Fifteen times! And that was only the effect of the basic bonus! If the original owner was a cultivation genius to begin with, and with the system’s bonus on top of that…
He did not dare to be distracted and devoted himself fully to the Mind-Correcting Qi-Nurturing Art.
Time passed little by little.
In the quiet room, the woman in the plain white ruqun sat on the meditation cushion with her eyes gently closed, and a faint golden scholarly qi flowed around her body.
If any Confucian cultivator were here, they would surely be shocked by the purity and efficiency of “her” cultivation today… as if every breath drew in the greatest possible amount of the world’s “principles” and “righteousness.”
Within the sea of consciousness, Li Zijun’s consciousness quietly observed all of this.
She really was surprised.
This “intruder” who called himself Xiao Che was extraordinarily focused after taking over her body, and in some details… even did better than she did herself.
That state of total immersion was like a student who had long yearned for knowledge finally receiving the scripture he had dreamed of.
Moreover, she could clearly feel her cultivation speed increasing several times faster than usual.
What on earth was going on?
Just as Yun Che was struggling to guide that thread of righteous qi…
Knock, knock.
A light knock sounded and broke the silence in the quiet room.
Then, a crisp and respectful girl’s voice came from outside the door: “Young lady, the vice dean of Cloud Deer Academy has sent a formal invitation.”
Yun Che stirred and stopped the circulation of qi. Although he was possessing this body, he still sensed the outside movements clearly.
“That is my maid Qingcha, who has followed me since childhood. She knows me too well, so I can’t let her stay here. Otherwise, she’ll notice something amiss,” Li Zijun’s voice immediately sounded in the sea of consciousness, carrying a trace of barely perceptible urgency.
“You should send her away quickly and keep your tone calm. Don’t give the game away.”
Yun Che understood. He cleared his throat and, imitating Li Zijun’s cool tone, said to the door:
“Qingcha, I’m at a critical point in my cultivation. Leave the invitation here for now, and I’ll handle it later.
“Go down first, and without my orders, do not let anyone else approach the quiet room.”
“Understood, young lady!” Qingcha’s voice quickly came from outside, still respectful. “This servant takes her leave.”
The maid’s footsteps gradually faded away.
Inside the room, Yun Che let out a slight sigh of relief and asked, “Zijun, your identity sounds very unusual.”
“The vice dean of Cloud Deer Academy personally delivered the invitation?”
He secretly marveled to himself. He had heard of Cloud Deer Academy after transmigrating; it was one of the four great academies of the Confucian school, and its vice dean was at least a Nascent Soul-level great cultivator. Someone who could make him personally deliver an invitation to a “young lady”…
This Li Zijun’s background was probably deeper than he had imagined.
“It’s just some mundane matters,” Li Zijun seemed unwilling to discuss her background any further. “Focus on feeling the circulation of qi and don’t be distracted.”
“Oh, okay.” Yun Che agreed, but he could not suppress his curiosity and tentatively asked, “Then, may I ask, Miss Li, what cultivation realm are you in now?”
Li Zijun was silent for a moment. Perhaps she felt this was not a secret that could not be revealed, or perhaps she wanted to intimidate him a little, so she answered briefly, “The Confucian school Gentleman Realm.”
Yun Che did not know much about Confucian cultivation realms, so he pressed on, “The Gentleman Realm? Roughly what level does that compare to in our Daoism?”
“If we speak of spiritual power accumulation and insight into the power of heaven and earth, it is roughly equivalent to the Nascent Soul stage of Daoism,” Li Zijun’s tone remained calm, as though she were talking about something ordinary.
Yun Che: “!!!”
Nascent Soul stage! A big shot! A living, breathing Nascent Soul-stage big shot!
He was only a Qi Refining minor cultivator, yet somehow he had possessed a Confucian cultivator at the Nascent Soul level? This system was way too bold in who it bound him to!
After the shock, an indescribable excitement and urgency surged through him. This was a once-in-a-millennium opportunity!
He had to seize the time and learn as much as possible, experience as much as possible!
Perhaps because of the shock, he spoke a little too freely, or perhaps because some part of him wanted to draw closer to this “Nascent Soul big shot,” the next question slipped out of his mouth: “Then, um, may I ask one more impertinent question, Miss Li… how old are you this year?”
As soon as he asked it, he wanted to cover his face… unfortunately, he was controlling someone else’s body. That question seemed rather foolish for a woman.
Sure enough…
Li Zijun’s voice instantly turned cold, carrying obvious annoyance: “Xiao Che!
“Don’t you know that casually asking a woman’s age is very rude and very stupid?”