『Ding! Detected that the host’s words and actions caused significant emotional fluctuations in the bound target; intimacy -5.』
『Current intimacy 12. Warning: if intimacy falls below 10, the target may show strong resistance, increasing the risk of unstable binding. Please, host, maintain the relationship carefully.』
“Do you still want to learn?” Li Zijun’s voice grew even colder, carrying a clear sense of distance.
Yun Che’s heart tightened, and he hurriedly answered in her voice, “I do, I do! Miss Li, please calm down! I had absolutely no intention of offending you!”
“I just… I just saw that your cultivation was profound and thought… thought…”
Silence fell in the sea of consciousness for a moment.
For fear that he might misunderstand, Li Zijun said in embarrassment and annoyance, “Stop letting your imagination run wild. Fine, I’ll tell you so you won’t keep overthinking it.”
“I am 26 this year.”
26!
A Nascent Soul cultivator under 30, in the Gentleman Realm!
Yun Che was shaken to the core, and this time he was truly stunned.
This was no longer something that could be described as genius; it was simply monstrous!
The faint smugness he had felt from transmigrating and getting the system was brutally crushed by reality at that moment… this world really did have people who stood on the clouds at such a young age.
He repeated softly, his tone full of stunned admiration, “Miss Li is truly… extraordinarily gifted, unmatched among her peers!”
“I… admire you to the point of utter submission!” This time, his admiration was completely sincere, carrying the awe of a cultivation novice looking up at a peerless genius.
Li Zijun seemed a little unnaturally flustered by such frank admiration. She coughed lightly, and her tone unconsciously softened a little.
“You… since you already know, then focus on understanding the wonders of righteous qi. Do not be distracted by irrelevant matters.”
“Yes! I will respectfully follow your teachings, young lady!” Yun Che immediately gathered his thoughts and cast away every stray notion. Now that he knew the other side was a Nascent Soul big shot who was under 30, how could he dare show even the slightest carelessness or disrespect?
This was practically like latching onto a golden thigh!
Yun Che asked curiously, “I imagine Miss Li must cultivate diligently every day!”
Li Zijun seemed a little uncomfortable with his overly direct and enthusiastic admiration. After a moment of silence, she replied in a somewhat casual tone, “Me?…I’m not that diligent, really.”
“Most of the time, I just read books, play the zither, write, and paint… and when my state of mind was right and my comprehension opened up, my cultivation naturally rose to this level.”
Yun Che: “…”
Comparison was truly the thief of joy! Did that even count as human speech?
Playing the zither, writing, and painting, and then “naturally” cultivating to a realm equivalent to Nascent Soul?
Thinking of how he himself had risen early and stayed up late grinding away on Great Bamboo Peak, only to remain stuck at Qi Refining, Yun Che felt as if an arrow had pierced his heart.
I suddenly didn’t want to cultivate anymore!
Perhaps sensing the strong choke of emotion in Yun Che’s consciousness, Li Zijun changed the subject and brought the conversation back on track.
“Since you have already gained a preliminary understanding of the circulation of righteous qi within the body and know its warm, proper, principle-resonating nature,”
“then I will teach you how to initially turn this formless ‘qi’ into tangible ‘intent’ and ‘use.'”
“‘Something tangible as use’?” Yun Che asked curiously.
“Watch carefully.” Li Zijun’s voice carried a hint of guidance. “Now, stand up and walk to the writing desk.”
Yun Che controlled the body to do as instructed and stood before the writing desk, which was covered with xuan paper and laid out with brush and ink.
His gaze fell on a corner of the desk, where an unfinished ink-wash landscape sketch had been spread open.
The distant mountains in the painting were like dark green brows, the near water held a misty haze, a small boat was tied at the ferry crossing, and a few birds like ink dots decorated the sky.
The artistic conception was serene, and the brushwork was practiced; it was clearly one of Li Zijun’s casual works from daily life.
“Focus and calm your mind.” Li Zijun’s voice sounded in the sea of consciousness, peaceful and concentrated. “Feel the warm current of qi within you, and imagine it flowing like a stream, leaving the heart chamber and gathering at your fingertips.”
Yun Che followed her instructions. The moment his intent connected with that thread of righteous qi and his fingertips touched the edge of the painting…
An amazing change occurred!
The landscape painting, which had been still a moment ago, suddenly glowed with a moon-white light. The light washed over the image like ripples on water, and wherever it passed, the ink seemed to have been given life.
The stream in the painting, rendered with faint ink wash, actually began to shimmer with glistening waves, as if clear spring water were flowing beneath it, and he even seemed to hear the faint sound of tinkling water!
The sketchy blank spaces of mist in the mountains began to rise and curl gracefully, as if stirred by an invisible mountain wind. Most astonishing of all, the few ink-colored birds in the sky actually came to life from the paper!
They were not physical beings, but rather ink shadows condensed from light and spirit, and they gave out clear, long cries as they flapped wings made of ink charm, circling lightly twice through the limited space of the quiet room.
The liveliest one of them all seemed drawn to Li Zijun. It actually folded its wings, descended gracefully, and came to rest steadily on the raised wrist of “her”… that is, the body Yun Che was controlling at the moment.
The little ink bird tilted its head and “looked” at Li Zijun with eyes made purely of ink and clear light. It even opened its beak and let out a crisp cry, while its tail feathers brushed lightly against the skin, bringing a cool and strange sensation, as if it had been gently touched by a drop of chill ink.
“This…!” Yun Che was shaken to his core, and he almost forgot to control his voice. The scene, beyond imagination, left him staring blankly. It was more real and lively than any hologram!
“This… what a miraculous strength!” Yun Che could not help exclaiming. “Is this a divine ability of the Confucian school? It’s… it’s just like the Magic Brush Ma Liang!”
“This is ‘scholarly qi manifestation.'” Li Zijun’s voice came at just the right moment. “It is not an illusion. With one’s own pure righteous qi, one communicates with the artistic conception, spirit, and the creator’s painstaking effort and spark of inspiration contained in the painting, temporarily freeing it from the constraints of paper and ink and manifesting a form of spirit that is close to reality.”
“Birds, beasts, insects, fish, mountains, rivers, wind, and clouds in a painting can all come to life through ‘qi’ and reveal themselves through ‘intent.'”
She paused, as if observing Yun Che’s reaction, and continued, “The foundation of this art lies in understanding ‘literature’ and ‘the Way,’ as well as the purity and control of one’s righteous qi.”
“The little scene in this painting consumes very little energy for me to manifest. If my cultivation advances further and my comprehension of the ultimate principles of heaven and earth and the life force of all things grows deeper, I could even use my own righteous qi as a guide, combine it with stronger ‘literary heart’ and ‘heavenly principle,’ and temporarily grant beings like this a more real breath of life and simple sentience, allowing them to leave the painting and exist for longer, or even carry out some simple commands of intent.”
“Of course, that would already involve the higher realm of ‘spirit-infusing,’ and it could not be achieved in a day.”
Yun Che listened with great yearning. Looking at the ink bird tilting its head on his wrist, feeling the stream and the clouds in the painting beneath his fingertips as though they were truly flowing, he genuinely experienced the mystical nature of Confucian school cultivation…
It did not emphasize brute-force slaughter, but rather state of mind, comprehension, and the use of “principle”; in silence, one heard thunder, and within brush and ink one saw heaven and earth!
“So… so amazing!” he exclaimed once again, filled with pure wonder and longing.
The ink bird on his wrist seemed to understand his praise. It affectionately rubbed its beak against Li Zijun’s body, which Yun Che was controlling, and then turned into a strand of black qi of clear spirit and merged back into the painting on the desk.
The light on the painting also slowly withdrew, returning it to ordinary static ink wash, except that the mountains and rivers seemed to contain a touch of indescribable vivid vitality.
“It’s just a minor trick.” Li Zijun’s tone was flat, but Yun Che could vaguely sense a trace of satisfaction in the depths of her consciousness.
“The art of ‘manifestation’ is wondrous, but it needs a solid foundation. You are still new to this path, and you are not even proficient at channeling qi into the brush, so greed will do you no good.”
“Next, we will begin with the most basic ‘using qi to control ink.’ Try, without any particular character form or painting method, to simply guide righteous qi and let the ink flow naturally on the paper to see what kind of ‘image’ it can form.”
She returned from the dazzling display of “divine ability” to the most basic practice, intending to let Yun Che feel, step by step, the most essential connection between righteous qi and brush and ink.
Yun Che took a deep breath, suppressed the shock and excitement in his heart, re-centered his mind, and focused his attention on the brush saturated with ink.