A few days passed. Yang Xuan kept training with Gui, and, eventually, Yang Xuan reached a point where he could enter that state of extreme concentration and sense his Qi without Gui's help. "I have to say," Gui started, "for a kid with no cultivation potential whatsoever, your talent for sensing Qi is surprisingly good. Truly, it is quite rare for someone to be able to sense his entire meridian system on the first try. I wonder how powerful your Qi sensing skills would be if you had even average talent."
While it was true that Yang Xuan's talent for Qi sensing was ridiculous - especially when his terrible potential is taken into account - there was another factor at play here. As the moment he had become able to sense Qi without Gui's help, a system window had popped up.
[You have unlocked the skill [Qi Sensing]. You have gained 50 SP.]
[Qi Sensing: Level 1]
He had already reached level 3 after all that practice. This, combined with his surprising natural talent for Qi sensing, allowed him to vaguely detect Qi even when in not in a concetrative state. He was not certain why the system rewarded him for this - he had read its tutorial on SP, and it had been rather vague when it came to the process of acquiring them. Its exact words were: "SP can be gained by achieving certain milestones or by defeating enemies in battle. The amount scales relative to the difficulty of achieving the milestones and the strength of the enemy."
He had no clue what it meant by "milestones" and what qualified as an "enemy", but he hoped he would learn soon enough. Anyway, he had learned how to sense Qi, but he had yet to learn how to gather and purify it. He asked, "Grandpa Gui, how do I actually cultivate? I have learned how to sense Qi, yet I remain ignorant of actual cultivation."
"To begin purifying your Qi, you must follow the instructions of a cultivation manual. Unfortunately, none of the manuals I have memorized or created are particularly suited to you. However, for the lower realms, there is very little difference between manuals as they have been almost perfected. Any manual suited to you should provide an adequate foundation," Gui explained.
"But, how can I find a Qi Gathering Realm manual when the local sect only accepts Qi Gathering Realm disciples whose potential has already been scried?" Yang Xuan was starting to get a headache.
"Hm... There is a method to get into their library without alerting them, but it is risky, especially for a mortal. Are you willing?" Though Gui asked, he already knew the answer.
"I am," Yang Xuan answered resolutely.
"Then I shall teach you one of my very own techniques. You see, back when I was still not even a century old, I had quite a fondness for entering places I was not supposed to enter. I created a Qi technique to assist me in these endeavors. I was rather passionate about this technique, to the point it remains one of my best creations to date. Normally, a mortal would not be able to use his Qi in any way, much less in performing Qi techniques; however, I can temporarily infuse your body with refined Qi. The amount and purity will be greatly lacking, to the point that even a foundation establishment cultivator would be able to exceed it, but it will still allow you to use my technique, *Silent Serpent's Shadowshade Shroud*. Granted, you will only be able to use the first step, but it is more than enough if you use it correctly."
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Thus, Yang Xuan started training again, and, in a few more days, he found himself standing outside the Crimson Bear Sect. The sect was very large. It laid slightly outside the city, yet it dwarfed even the mayor's house. It was built mainly of wood, though some stone structures were also visible. Its design was utilitarian, with its size the only ostentatious thing about it. Right behind the sect began a dense forest. Yang Xuan had heard the forest was full of savage beasts. He wagered it was where the sect trained its disciples. Two guards stood at the sect gate, one on each side. One of them wielded a spear, while the other brandished a sword. Both of them stared straight past him; to them, he was as visible as the air they breathed.
Gui praised, "Your talent for Qi control is even more extraordinary. How did you reach such proficiency this quickly?"
Again, this was not solely due to Yang Xuan's natural talent. As soon as Yang Xuan could execute the technique, another system window had appeared.
[You have learned the technique [Silent Serpent's Shadowshade Shroud].]
{Silent Serpent's Shadowshade Shroud}
[Rank: Intermediate]
[Mastery: 1%]
[This technique is upgradeable. You need 100 SP to upgrade it to the next rank.]
His practice with the technique had increased his mastery to 3%. Every time he increased his mastery, he could feel himself suddenly improve at the technique. The technique itself was fairly advanced, or at least that was what Gui had told him. The first step used Qi to completely hide the body, or anything else you wished to hide. It hid these objects perfectly. It blocked others from seeing, hearing, and even smelling them. In addition, it did not trick only the mortal senses, but it also hid any living being's Qi. That was what made it truly valuable. This was already an extremely valuable ability, and yet this was only the first of three steps. Yang Xuan could only imagine how great the remaining steps were; unfortunately, his master had informed him he would need a much more advanced cultivation to use them.
Using the technique, Yang Xuan entered the sect and began looking for its library. Eventually, after exploring and some eavesdropping, he found it. Its doors were wide open, with only one guard. Yang Xuan walked straight in.
The library was very large. It had five floors above ground, and another two underground floors. The underground floors were locked, and the door to the third normal floor was locked. The bottom floor had miscellaneous books, while the second floor had Qi Gathering Realm cultivation manuals and Qi techniques. While Yang Xuan was intrigued by all the books, he forced himself to focus on just cultivation manuals for now. Yang Xuan browsed for a while, and then he came across a particular book. This book simply stood out to his eyes. It looked more... important than the rest to him. This was extremely similar to his experience with Grandpa Gui's ring, so he decided to trust this intuition.
He took the book and began reading it. But... it was no different than the other Qi Gathering Realm manuals. Rather, it was exceedingly generic. Yang Xuan simply thought he had intuited wrongly and decided to put the book back. As he did so, however, he noticed something peculiar about the spot the book had sat. There were scribbles on the bookshelf.
Grandpa Gui was shocked. "This..."