’My personal cultivation... out of the three major categories, it’s actually become my biggest weakness?’

Looking at the data displayed on the panel, Chen Che was somewhat stunned.

’My Divine Sense Level is normal, at least.’

According to the Immortal Sect’s standards, awakening one’s Divine Sense means they are at the Foundation Establishment First Layer.

Even though he had never intentionally cultivated his Divine Sense, he had developed the habit of lighting Concentration Incense the moment he entered his Cave Mansion. Recently, he had even started falling asleep to the ’Shocking God Song,’ so it wasn’t an exaggeration for his Divine Sense to have reached this level.

’The reason my Qi and Blood Level is so high is probably that I’ve eaten a large amount of Spiritual Objects this term!’

Chen Che pondered for a moment.

Even for ordinary people, their Qi and Blood would gradually increase as they aged.

And during this time, he had been making Profound Ink Turtle and Spirit Fish his staple foods, which was why his Qi and Blood Level had even surpassed his Cultivation.

After studying the data for a moment, Chen Che remembered his main task. He picked up the Micro Crystal Brain and scanned himself several times from head to toe, making sure not to miss anything, before finally turning on the screen.

The mirror’s surface burst with light.

A massive amount of data cascaded like a waterfall, quickly forming a 3D model in mid-air composed of countless meridians. The diagram included not only the twelve main meridians and the eight extraordinary meridians, but also all of the body’s most minute meridians.

However, the twelve main meridians and the eight extraordinary ones were green, meaning they had already been opened.

The remaining minor meridians were black, indicating they were still unopened.

The only exception was his right foot, where a third of the minor meridians were green—a result of his recent efforts.

He tapped on the right foot.

Opening Progress: 46%

’It’s like the legendary Qin King’s Bone Mirror, capable of showing my bones and meridians directly. Everything is perfectly clear! I can use this as a reference to guide my Cultivation from now on.’

He planned to take this Micro Crystal Brain with him to Yunzhou.

For one thing, the Micro Crystal Brain looked like an Eight Trigrams Mirror, so even if an outsider saw it, they would probably just mistake it for an ordinary Magical Artifact.

For another, since he planned to use it to aid his Cultivation, his daily progress and training data would inevitably be recorded on it. The Immortal Sect claimed to value privacy, but just in case, taking it to the isolated region of Yunzhou would be much safer.

Then, Chen Che remembered something else. He opened the Micro Crystal Brain and found an app icon that looked like a dragon in an ink wash painting. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

[Demon Beast Encyclopedia]

’I wonder if I can use this to identify the species of that little thing.’

He went back into his Cave Mansion.

Hearing the noise, the Little Chick immediately pounced on him, chirping, its beak wide open and squawking for food. It might have been his imagination, but Chen Che felt that after only three days, it seemed to have grown a size larger, though it was still covered in downy fuzz.

He opened the app and tapped ’Search by Image’.

A beam of light shot out, directly enveloping the Little Chick.

At the same time, the ink wash dragon on the mirror’s surface began to spin around the edge. After about half a rotation, the screen went white, and a line of text appeared:

[Unable to identify Demon Beast species from image]

[Based on big data comparison, this is a ’bird of prey’ type Demon Beast.]

’So, a bird of prey!’

Chen Che stroked his chin. That was good news.

On Earth Element Star, avian Demon Beasts were divided into eight categories based on their habits and physical features: terrestrial birds, waterfowl, wading birds, pigeons and doves, quails and chickens, birds of prey, climbing birds, and songbirds.

Terrestrial birds: such as ostriches and chickens.

Waterfowl: such as ducks, geese, and wild geese.

Wading birds: such as cranes, storks, and snipes...

...

Each type had its own distinct characteristics.

’This makes it extremely valuable to raise...’

Birds of prey had the highest combat power; even among other avian species, they were at the top of the food chain. Looking at the Little Chick circling him and chirping incessantly, Chen Che picked it up and carried it directly to the Alchemy Room.

"Quiet down, I’m getting you something to eat!"

After refining seven or eight batches of pills, he set aside half and poured them directly into the chick’s bowl. The Little Chick immediately jumped into the bowl excitedly and began pecking away. PECK PECK PECK. It finished everything in a few moments and then started circling him again.

"Go on, go play. I need to cultivate."

Pushing aside the Little Chick, Chen Che performed a set of the True Martial Seventeen Scattering Hands before sitting cross-legged on the Lotus Platform.

Qi and Blood needed to be constantly honed and tempered. Otherwise, it would become superficial and bloated—strong on the outside, but weak on the inside.

As for Divine Sense, there was no need to rush for now.

Although Li Xiaoshuang had given him the book list, he had also reminded him that a newly-awakened Divine Sense is fragile. The focus should be on strengthening it, not tempering it prematurely.

’My Spiritual Root is just too poor. If I had an Upper Spirit Root, or even an Earth Spirit Root, I might already be at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer by now.’

Thinking about his own realm, Chen Che couldn’t help but sigh.

Li Xiaoshuang’s older sister, for example, had reached Foundation Establishment in her first year of high school.

Now that was a true prodigy!

Just thinking about it briefly made Chen Che feel a pang of envy.

’Thankfully, people like her—with a good family background and an outstanding Spiritual Root—are extremely rare...’

After letting his thoughts wander for a while, Chen Che finally opened the ’Assistive Cultivation System’.

This was an app that came with the Micro Crystal Brain.

It was said to have been jointly created by seven Nascent Soul Major Cultivators from the Rushou Daoist School. It used their methods of practicing the ’Energy-Introducing Technique’ as a blueprint, allowing it to correct a student’s erroneous techniques and improve their overall efficiency.

It was like having a master teacher guiding you during your cultivation.

This was one of the main reasons he had bought the Micro Crystal Brain.

He began to circulate the Energy-Introducing Technique.

The 3D human figure immediately enlarged. On the model, Spiritual Qi entered the body with each breath and began to circulate through the meridians.

Unexpectedly, the moment Chen Che entered his cultivation state, the app sounded an alarm:

"Cultivation error detected. Please correct."

"Suggestion: Before absorbing Spiritual Qi, you should exhale all waste gases from your body, then inhale a sufficient amount of Spiritual Qi in a single breath."

This method wasn’t difficult.

Chen Che immediately corrected his technique.

He had just taken a breath of Spiritual Qi and begun circulating it when another alarm sounded:

"Cultivation error detected. Please correct."

"Suggestion: Slow down the Cultivation Technique’s circulation speed. The Spiritual Qi is moving too fast through the meridians and is not being fully refined."

...

This cultivation session took at least four to five times longer than usual.

However, the benefits were also numerous.

According to the Micro Crystal Brain’s prompts, after he improved his method, each Grand Circulation of the Energy-Introducing Technique converted 11% more Spiritual Qi into True Essence than before. At the same time, it also saved him 7% of the time per circulation.

’Now this is cultivation efficiency!’

Chen Che couldn’t help but marvel.

For a high school student, an 11% increase in True Essence conversion rate and a 7% reduction in time was incredibly precious.

’Having a master teacher really makes a difference.’

This made Chen Che even more determined to get into the Four Great Daoist Schools.

Even with the same aptitude, the guidance of a master teacher could lead to a world of difference in the future.

Although Li Xiaoshuang’s teaching skills were not bad, the perspective of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator was ultimately limited and could not compare to that of a Nascent Soul expert.

He circulated his energy for a few more Grand Circulations using the method corrected by the app.

During that time, he made a few more mistakes.

That was inevitable.

After all, his previous circulation method had already become a habit. Correcting it now was like being used to holding chopsticks with your right hand and suddenly having to switch to your left.

Next, Chen Che began to widen his meridians again. This progress was slow, like dredging a river channel blocked by silt; it had to be done gradually with True Essence. After a short while, a dozen more green pathways appeared amidst the black, unopened meridians in his right foot.

When he finished, he took a look:

Right Foot Progress: 48%.

’Once I’ve opened the meridians in my entire body, I’ll be invincible among those at the Same Tier!’

Chen Che’s eyes shone with anticipation.

The temptation of being invincible at the Same Tier was something no one could resist.

...

「Three days later.」

Market, Pill Shop.

Chen Che was instructing Zhao Deyou in Alchemy when Ding Fei walked in. Their eyes met, and Chen Che gave a slight nod. He turned to Zhao Deyou and said, "That’s all for today. Go and study what we’ve covered."

With that, he headed into the back courtyard.

Ding Fei quickly followed him in.

"Did you find anything out?"

Chen Che asked impatiently. "Has anything special happened recently?"