"If we can't go through Mingyue Plaza, let's take the Maple Leaf Plaza instead. There's hardly anyone there, and the distance is about the same!"

"It's just unfortunate for that servant disciple from yesterday. My Earth-shaking Dragon Elephant ended up holding in its load."

Qin Yu hid in the grass, observing as the group of disciples on their spirit beasts murmured to each other.

Since they were too far away, Qin Yu couldn’t hear their conversation clearly.

After a while, the Earth-shaking Dragon Elephant let out a roar, and they began to head in a different direction.

"Yes! Success!" Qin Yu swung his arm in triumph.

"Now, I just wonder where they went to mess up someone else’s place."

"Ah, whatever, as long as they don't pass by here again."

Qin Yu guessed that the group of disciples from the Beast Control Peak probably wouldn't come this way again for a while.

Having solved that problem, Qin Yu now faced two choices:

One: Take down the signs before the inspection team arrives and clean up the plaza. This was the safer option, though a bit more trouble since he'd need to set up the signs every day.

Two: Leave the signs as they were.

Qin Yu knew that the inspection team came from the Law Enforcement Department, while the construction and repairs were handled by the Woodworking Pavilion under the Physical Training Peak. These two departments had no connection with each other.

Since the signs worked on the Beast Control Peak disciples, they might also work on the inspectors.

"If this works, I won't have to go to Mingyue Plaza anymore. I can just focus on cultivating in my cave!"

"Of course, it’s risky if they find out."

He pulled out the sect rules and studied them carefully.

After reading through the rules, Qin Yu realized there was nothing explicitly forbidding what he was about to do.

"If it’s not forbidden, it’s allowed," Qin Yu thought to himself, closing the sect rules.

"It’s now or never. Take a risk, and I might turn this into a big opportunity!"

When Qin Yu closed the sect rules, he had made up his mind.

"Let’s see if these two signs can fool the inspection team!" he muttered, then resumed his training in the grass.

After training until 5 PM, Qin Yu finally opened his eyes and brushed off the grass.

He checked his system progress bar, which had reached 6%, an increase of 4%.

"This progress is definitely related to cultivation!"

Reaffirming his guess, Qin Yu continued to observe the surroundings for any activity.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

It was still quiet, suggesting the Beast Control Peak disciples had indeed found a new route.

Qin Yu stood up from the grass and hid in a nearby thicket closer to the entrance of Mingyue Plaza, where he could hear the inspectors’ conversation.

After waiting half an hour, the two inspectors arrived on schedule.

"Eh!" one of them muttered, "When did Mingyue Plaza start construction?"

"Who cares? Whether it's under construction or not, that's the Woodworking Pavilion’s business. Why should we worry?" the other replied.

"But what about the cleanliness here?"

"Just mark it as acceptable. Didn’t you see the sign? No one is allowed in, not even servant disciples. How are they supposed to clean it?"

"This is an unavoidable situation. Just mark it as acceptable."

"Wonder how long this construction will take. If we knew the exact time, we wouldn’t have to reroute next time."

"True."

"Alright, let’s go. We need to finish the inspection quickly and go back to our cultivation."

"Yeah, my cultivation speed has been slowing down lately..."

The voices gradually faded away. Qin Yu emerged from the thicket, his face filled with excitement.

"That was easy!"

He took down the sign and brought it back home, where he carved a few more words on it. The inspectors’ comment about the construction needing a specific time frame gave him an idea. He added at the bottom right corner of the sign:

"Due to difficulties in construction, expected to take three months. We apologize for the inconvenience — Woodworking Pavilion!"

"This looks perfect now!" Qin Yu hung the sign back up and felt satisfied, returning to his hut to focus on cultivation.

The sky darkened, but Qin Yu noticed that Li Zhengtong still hadn’t returned.

"Dammit, he went out and didn’t invite me!"

"Forget it, once I reach the first level of Qi Refining, he’ll be the one envious of me."

He entered his hut, prepared a pill to assist in his cultivation, and made a firm decision:

"This time, I won’t stop until my progress bar hits 100%!"

...

Without any distractions, Qin Yu's progress was steadily increasing.

Cultivation was incredibly tedious, like solving math problems over and over.

Especially for beginners in cultivation, it was difficult to make substantial progress without deep concentration. Those who could cultivate day and night were all of great perseverance.

But Qin Yu could visualize his progress. Every time the progress bar grew, it motivated him to continue.

As Qin Yu became more familiar with the Xuantian Skill, his cultivation speed increased.

The small spiritual energy droplets in his meridians, once only the size of mung beans, began to flow together, gradually forming a small current, growing stronger as more energy entered.

The progress bar on his personal panel continued to grow by over 10% each day.

Qin Yu cultivated tirelessly for nine days straight.

On the evening of the ninth day, Qin Yu felt a muffled sound from his meridians.

Then, a warm current flooded his body, and he experienced a sensation of unparalleled comfort.

In that moment, Qin Yu knew he had successfully reached the first level of Qi Refining and officially entered the ranks of cultivators.

He eagerly opened his system panel.

The progress bar reset to 0%.

"Congratulations to the host for unlocking the Talent Copy ability!"

"Double the happiness!" Qin Yu jumped off his bed, feeling the newfound strength in his legs.

"My strength is so much greater!"

He carefully examined the changes in his body.

He felt lighter, full of energy, and his skin seemed smoother. He could even do a fish flip with ease, something he couldn’t do before.

"In just ten days, the change is this drastic. No wonder everyone in this world wants to cultivate."

...

As night fell, Qin Yu lit a candle and opened his door, glancing over at the courtyard next door.

It was quiet there as well, but Li Zhengtong still hadn’t returned.

"Why hasn’t Li Zhengtong come back yet, even though it's so late?"

Qin Yu sat in the courtyard, patiently waiting.

Finally, when it was completely dark, the sound of the door opening reached him, and Li Zhengtong dragged himself inside.

Qin Yu immediately leaned over the courtyard wall, calling out, "Xiaotong, where have you been all this time? Out having fun, huh?"

At first, Qin Yu didn’t think much of it, but when he saw Li Zhengtong’s condition, he was taken aback.

Li Zhengtong was not just tired; he looked utterly disheveled. His clothes were filthy and smelled terrible, his chubby face was swollen as if he'd been beaten.

Seeing Li Zhengtong in this state, Qin Yu’s expression turned grim.

"Tell me, who bullied you?"

Hearing Qin Yu’s voice, all the grievances that had built up inside Li Zhengtong poured out, and he cried out loudly.

"Yu Ge, you’re finally here!"

（Yu Ge" is similar to "Brother Yu" ）