Lu Yuan opened his eyes before daybreak fully arrived.
The house was quiet, save for his father’s heavy breathing coming from the adjacent room.
He stayed still, first feeling for that thread of soul power in his dantian—it was still there, seeming a fraction more solid than yesterday.
Success.
He sat up and pulled on an old cloth tunic.
Seven or eight days had passed since the incident with Zhao Shi, and the surface remained calm.
But he knew full well in his heart that the quieter things seemed, the deeper the malice brewed.
He had to hurry.
Breakfast was coarse rice porridge mixed with chopped vegetable leaves.
Lu Qinghe drank with his head down, bloodshot eyes visible beneath his brows.
“Dad, did you try it last night?” Lu Yuan scooped a spoonful.
“I did.” Lu Qinghe set down his bowl, rubbing his calloused knees with rough palms.
“Just like you said, the ‘vortex’ was half a beat faster.
The soul power spun fiercely, but after it finished, I was even hungrier.
My stomach felt completely hollow.” Lin Xiu stirred the porridge beside them, her brows knitted tight.
“Why not slow down a bit?
You haven’t looked well these past few days.” “Can’t slow down,” Lu Qinghe shook his head, his voice firm.
“That bastard Zhao Shi might pop up again any day now.
If the family doesn’t have someone who can stand tall, he really will walk all over us.” Lu Yuan remained silent, slowly finishing his porridge.
He knew his father was right.
Breaking through a bottleneck was like pushing a boulder stuck halfway up a hill; insufficient force was useless, while too much left a person exhausted.
The problem was that the family’s meager food supply couldn’t keep up with that level of consumption.
“I’m heading to the river at the east end today,” Lu Yuan set his bowl down.
“To look for some river snails.” Lin Xiu wanted to say it was dangerous, but seeing her son’s calm eyes, she swallowed the words back down.
“Be careful.” Lu Yuan nodded, picked up a tattered bamboo basket, and walked out the door.
He did go to the river, though gathering snails was secondary.
His main goal was to pick up Green-Patterned Stones.
That night, he had set up a crude circle beside the backyard herb patch.
Following the simplified logic of the Spirit-Moistening Array in his memory, the position and angle of each stone mattered.
The effect was faint, but it helped a little.
Squatting on the riverbank, he specifically picked pebbles with faint green patterns on their surfaces.
The sunlight was dazzling.
He picked one up, inspected the flow of its patterns against the light, shook his head, and threw it back into the water.
He picked up another, examined it carefully for a moment, and placed it into his basket.
This work was mentally taxing.
Green-Patterned Stones weren’t particularly rare, but their patterns varied wildly.
Among a hundred stones, there might not even be one or two that met the criteria.
By noon, only a thin layer covered the bottom of the basket.
He had, however, gathered quite a few snails.
Weighing the basket in his hand, he estimated there was enough to add a side dish to dinner, so he turned to head back.
On the way, he ran into a few town kids running and chasing each other playfully.
One child looked back at him with an odd expression before quickly turning away and running off.
Lu Yuan did not slow his pace.
He knew what that look meant.
A useless martial soul and innate half-rank soul power were no secret in Maple Leaf Town.
In the past, when those children saw him, they would either avoid him or whisper behind his back.
Now that news of his family brewing Energy Soup had spread—along with how they publicly refuted Deacon Zhao—gossip had likely grown even worse.
He didn’t care.
Or rather, he didn’t have time to care.
Returning home, he dumped the snails into a wooden tub for his mother to prepare, then took the carefully selected Green-Patterned Stones and slipped into the backyard.
In the herb patch, the few stalks of Soul-Gathering Grass and Starlight Vine were growing reasonably well.
Along the edges of the Soul-Condensing Grass leaves, the silver line seemed a tiny bit clearer than a few days ago.
The tender tendrils of the Starlight Vine swayed gently in the breeze.
He replaced two stones in the original formation whose patterns weren’t ideal with his newly picked ones.
Having arranged them, he stepped back two paces to observe.
The circle formed by the stones wasn’t large, just big enough to enclose the herbs in the center.
As slanting sunlight fell across them, the faint green patterns on the stones almost seemed to come alive, giving off an extremely subtle sensation of flowing water ripples.
It was done.
Lu Yuan let out half a sigh of relief.
This simplified Spirit-Moistening Array was barely functional now.
Its effect certainly couldn’t match the original, but gathering and nourishing that thin trace of ambient soul power should be enough.
He patted the dirt off his hands and returned to his room.
Closing the door, the room darkened.
He sat on the edge of the bed and closed his eyes.
His breathing gradually adjusted, becoming deep and steady.
His consciousness sank inward, capturing that threadlike strand of soul power.
These past few days, he had been practicing the “simplified minor cosmic orbit” he had mapped out in his head.
His soul power was too weak to complete a full circuit at once, so he broke it into segments.
Today he would practice the first half, tomorrow the second half.
Like an ant moving a house, carving out a path bit by bit.
At this moment, the soul power began to move slowly under his intent.
Its speed was sluggish, barely faster than a snail’s crawl.
His meridians felt empty, and when the soul power flowed through, it left a subtle, cool touch.
He was fully focused.
As it passed the Shanzhong Point, it hit a snag.
This was a hurdle; with soul power so faint, pushing through required effort.
He didn’t dare force it, controlling the soul power to slowly grind away, inching forward bit by bit.
After about fifteen minutes of grinding, the resistance eased slightly, and the soul power barely squeezed through.
Continuing along the Arm Greater Yin Lung Meridian toward the fingertips of his right arm.
Reaching the fingertips, it looped back.
Returning along the Hand Yangming Large Intestine Meridian to the shoulder, then passing the Governor Vessel, descending down.
Finally returning to the dantian.
A simplified minor cosmic orbit that had taken several days to complete in parts was finally navigated in a single attempt today, albeit with some stumbles.
Lu Yuan opened his eyes, a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.
Exhausting.
The soul power consumption wasn’t large, but the mental strain was immense.
Controlling such weak soul power along such precise routes would cause it to dissipate if his focus slipped even for a second.
However, there were results.
After the soul power returned to his dantian, he could feel that the thread seemed a bit more “obedient” and slightly more condensed.
Though still thin, it was less scattered and had gained a touch of tenacity.
He retrieved the small notebook hidden under his bed and pulled out a stub of charcoal.
The notebook was densely filled with symbols and curves.
Turning to a fresh page, he wrote down the date, then logged: “Beginning of the hour of Xu.
Completed the first segmented minor cosmic orbit guidance.
Total elapsed time: four days.
Severe sluggishness observed while soul power passed through the Arm Greater Yin Lung Meridian and Hand Yangming Large Intestine Meridian.
Total soul power slightly increased, approximately one percent.
Control precision improved from ‘C-Minus’ to ‘C-Medium’.” After writing, he stared at the line for a moment.
One percent.
It sounded paltry, but he knew that for someone with innate half-rank soul power and no resource support, this rate of growth was already remarkable.
For many with his talent, soul power growth was measured in years.
His method worked.
That was enough.
Days passed one after another.
Lu Yuan’s routine became almost rigidly structured.
Rising before dawn, he practiced half an hour of stance-based physical training.
After breakfast, he spent mornings picking up stones by the river or helping at home.
Afternoons were reserved for cultivation, shut inside his room guiding soul power.
Evenings were spent on stimulation experiments with the Blue Silver Grass.
Data accumulated steadily.
Under soul power stimulation, the probability of faint fluorescence flashing at the leaf tips rose from less than ten percent to nearly thirty percent.
The duration of the fluorescence also extended from a fleeting blink to about one breath.
The central node of the Blue Silver Grass seemed to become slightly “brighter” under his continuous stimulation.
All these changes were subtle enough to go unnoticed by others.
But Lu Yuan recorded every single one.
On his father Lu Qinghe’s side, progress was more obvious.
Perhaps galvanized by the incident with Zhao Shi, Lu Qinghe cultivated with near-desperate intensity.
Every day after finishing work, no matter how tired, he unswervingly practiced that “Vortex” breathing technique.
With high soul power consumption came an increased appetite; the family’s food supply decreased at a visible rate.
Lin Xiu said nothing aloud, but her brow furrowed tighter each day.
Lu Yuan saw this clearly, said nothing, and simply visited the riverbank more frequently.
He knew this was a necessary price.
To make a change, how could one avoid taking risks or paying a price?
That night, the moonlight was exceptionally bright.
Lu Yuan sat cross-legged on his bed, preparing for his final soul power guidance before sleep.
Over this period, he had become increasingly familiar with the simplified minor cosmic orbit, and the friction had eased significantly.
He closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking within.
Soul power rose from the dantian, traveling up the Conception Vessel, pausing only briefly at the Shanzhong Point before passing smoothly.
Splitting into the meridians of both arms, causing a light numbness in his fingertips, looping back, crossing the shoulders, descending the Governor Vessel…
Everything fell into place naturally.
Just as the soul power completed its cycle and was about to return to the dantian— *Buzz.* An extremely faint vibration resonated, seemingly from deep within his body.
The instant that threadlike soul power dropped into his dantian, it suddenly began to rotate on its own.
The speed was not fast, but it was exceptionally stable, forming a tiny yet distinct spiral.
The originally loose soul power residing in the dantian was caught in this spiral’s pull, gathering together and slowly revolving around it.
The soul power throughout his entire dantian seemed to be combed through by an invisible hand, becoming orderly and condensed.
Lu Yuan snapped his eyes open.
Success.
Rank Two Soul Power.
There were no grandiose heavenly phenomena, no blinding radiance, nor even any major physical sensation.
There was only the inner energy circulation becoming smoother than ever before, his five senses growing a fraction sharper, and the chirping of night insects outside the window sounding clearer.
He sat in the dark, quietly feeling the slowly spinning soul power spiral in his dantian.
It was faint, but undeniably present.
This was a signature sign of reaching the level of a Rank Two Spirit Scholar.
In the theories of his past life, the appearance of a soul power spiral marked the true beginning of the cultivation path.
He had taken nearly two months.
From innate half-rank to a Rank Two Spirit Scholar.
In the eyes of geniuses from major sects, this speed was as slow as a crawling turtle.
But Lu Yuan knew what this meant for a starting point like his.
It meant the knowledge in his mind could truly break through the shackles of innate talent.
It meant this path was viable.
He sat in the dark for a long time until his heartbeat completely calmed.
Then, he pulled out his notebook and charcoal stub, using the moonlight filtering through the window to begin recording: “Eleventh hour, third quarter.
Soul power circulation spontaneously condensed into a spiral, remaining stable without dissipating.
Assessment: Officially stepped into Rank Two Spirit Scholar.
Physical sensation: Meridian permeability increased by roughly twenty percent.
Soul power control precision upgraded from ‘C-Medium’ to ‘B-Minus’.
Faint enhancements noted in sight and hearing.” Writing to this point, his pencil paused.
Then, starting a new line underneath, he wrote four words with deliberate force: “Theory verified.” Finishing, he closed the notebook and stuffed it back under the bed.
Time to sleep.
Yet after lying down, he stared at the pitch-black ceiling with open eyes for a while.
A thought flashed through his head: Could Rank Two soul power perform a more advanced stimulation on the Blue Silver Grass?
Once this thought surfaced, it couldn’t be suppressed.
He sat up again and softly moved to the windowsill.
The Blue Silver Grass kept in the broken clay bowl rested on the window ledge, its delicate outline visible under the moonlight.
He extended his finger, pressing it lightly against the main stem of the Blue Silver Grass.
In his dantian, the newly born soul power spiral accelerated slightly.
A strand of soul power—noticeably thicker and more condensed than before—slid along his fingertip and slowly transferred into the Blue Silver Grass.
*Buzz…* The Blue Silver Grass shuddered slightly.
Immediately following, that familiar faint light at the tip of the leaf lit up once more.
This time, the light was clearer and more stable than ever before.
It didn’t flicker; it stayed lit continuously like a firefly in a summer night.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
The glow lasted for three full seconds before slowly dimming down.
And right before the glow completely faded, Lu Yuan clearly saw that the smallest leaf on the Blue Silver Grass seemed to…
stand slightly more upright by a fraction.
Just a tiny fraction.
Almost imperceptible.
But Lu Yuan saw it.
He withdrew his finger and stared at the Blue Silver Grass in the darkness for a long time.
The leaf had returned to its original state, drooping limply as if nothing was different from usual.
As though that fleeting moment of standing upright was merely an illusion created by the moonlight.
Yet he knew it wasn’t an illusion.
Injecting Rank Two soul power, glow lasting three seconds, leaf lifting a fraction…
These fragments of data assembled and recalculated rapidly in his brain.
A vague hypothesis gradually emerged.
He took a deep breath, then slowly let it out.
The night remained deep.
The Blue Silver Grass on the windowsill was quiet, as if nothing had happened at all.