I gain ten years' worth of cultivation every day, and even geniuses will only see my doorstep!

The morning light pierced through the hole in the oilcloth on the window paper and fell on Qin Yuan's face.

He opened his eyes, his gaze clear and bright like a deep pool. Overnight, his spiritual energy had become even more abundant.

The sky was beginning to lighten.

He pushed open the door and went out.

The world has changed.

It's not a change in scenery, it's a perception. The veins of the old locust tree leaves ten feet away, the rustling of insects crawling in the corner of the wall, the faint smell of burnt rice wafting from the dining hall in the distance.

Flawless.

The sound of spiritual energy flowing through the meridians is like spring water in a mountain stream, clear and full.

Qi Refining Stage 7. Divine Consciousness Begins to Emerge, and the Five Senses Become Clear.

Qin Yuan stood in the morning breeze and took a deep breath. The thin spiritual energy in the air actively entered his pores. Although the conversion efficiency of his mixed spiritual root of the five elements was still low, the total amount was already much greater than yesterday.

"Brother Qin Yuan!"

A clear, melodious female voice drifted down from the mountain path. Two graceful figures walked in, one after the other.

Ahead was a girl in a pale yellow dress, about sixteen or seventeen years old, with almond-shaped eyes and a round face. The silver bells in her hair jingled as she ran.

Lin Qing'er, a playmate from the same village, entered the sect three years later than him, and is now at the tenth level of Qi Refining—a talent with a single wood elemental root.

Behind her followed a woman in white, about twenty years old, with a tall and straight figure like a pine tree in the snow, and a cool and aloof expression.

Liu Han, an elite inner disciple of the Seventh Peak, with a Foundation Establishment cultivation level, had a sheathless thin sword hanging at his waist, its blade as thin as a cicada's wing.

"Qing'er, Senior Sister Liu." Qin Yuan cupped his hands in greeting.

Lin Qing'er ran up to him, looked him over, and suddenly her eyes widened: "Brother Qin Yuan, you've broken through?!"

Liu Han raised her eyebrows almost imperceptibly, her gaze falling on Qin Yuan as if examining a newly drawn sword.

"I was lucky enough to have some understanding." Qin Yuan didn't explain further.

Lin Qing'er suddenly realized something, her eyes reddened, and she gritted her teeth, saying, "Those bastards on the Third Peak! Liu Feng dares to bully people like this just because he's a disciple of the Enforcement Elder! Brother Qin Yuan, come to our Seventh Peak, I'll beg our master to accept you as a disciple. We don't need their Third Peak!"

She was so angry that her cheeks puffed out, making a jingling sound.

Liu Han sighed inwardly. This junior sister was good in every way, except that she was too kind-hearted and valued loyalty to the point of not being able to distinguish between self-interest and personal gain.

Although Qin Yuan's breakthrough was peculiar, his foundation of mixed spiritual roots of the five elements meant that the fourth level of Qi Refining was probably his limit.

Qing'er, on the other hand, possesses a Heavenly Spiritual Root and is on the verge of Foundation Establishment, with the prospect of achieving Golden Core in the future. The two are simply from different worlds.

"No need." Qin Yuan shook his head, his voice calm. "I want to challenge Liu Feng in the outer sect competition in three days."

The air went still for a moment.

Lin Qing'er was stunned: "But Liu Feng is at the third level of Foundation Establishment..."

"According to the rules of the outer sect competition, outer sect disciples may challenge any inner sect disciple, regardless of life or death." Qin Yuan looked towards the direction of the third peak. "Since he insulted me in public, I will retaliate in public."

A hint of surprise flashed across Liu Han's eyes, which quickly turned into a faint appreciation.

Those who cultivate the sword should possess this unyielding spirit. She finally spoke, her voice like a cold spring striking stone: "You have courage. But Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining are worlds apart."

"I know." Qin Yuan turned to look at her. "So I'll make the most of these three days."

"Hold on to what?" He didn't say. Liu Han didn't ask either.

Lin Qing'er glanced at Qin Yuan, then at Liu Han, and stamped her foot: "Forget it! Let's go eat first! Brother Qin Yuan, you definitely haven't had breakfast yet!"

She grabbed one of them with each hand and dragged them toward the dining hall without saying a word.

They had barely left when a towering, burly man swaggered up to the front of the hut.

This man had a face full of scars, and his aura as a sixth-level Qi Refining cultivator was completely unrestrained, causing the windows to vibrate and hum.

"Where's that good-for-nothing Qin Yuan?" he asked gruffly to an outer disciple next door who was hanging out his clothes to dry.

The disciple flinched and whispered, "Senior Brother Zhao Hu, Qin Yuan just left with Senior Sister Lin and Senior Sister Liu from the Seventh Peak..."

"The Seventh Peak?" Zhao Hu narrowed his eyes and spat. "Scraped up a high branch? Bah! Mud is still mud."

He turned and left, the ground thumping.

After he walked away, the disciple hanging the clothes whispered to the house, "Did you hear that? Zhao Hu, that plague god, is here again. It must be Liu Feng's doing to cause trouble... Just because he's a distant cousin of Liu Feng, he's a Qi Refining Level 6 cultivator and he's acting like a tyrant here. Bah, what a piece of trash."

The other person said, "Stop talking, don't let him get it back."

The outer dining hall was noisy.

Qin Yuan ordered a bowl of congee, two steamed buns, and a dish of pickled vegetables, spending three low-grade spirit crystals—his food money for three days.

Lin Qing'er wanted to pay for him, but he shook his head and refused.

The three of them found a table in the corner and sat down.

Lin Qing'er chattered on and on, talking about everything from the spirit herb garden on the seventh peak to the magic sword newly bestowed by her master, and then about the confusion she had been experiencing in her cultivation recently.

She always looked at Qin Yuan when she spoke, her eyes sparkling.

Liu Han slowly sipped a cup of spiritual tea, occasionally glancing at Qin Yuan. He saw that Qin Yuan was just listening quietly, occasionally answering a word or two, his expression open and honest, without any hint of flattery or fawning.

But her junior sister's undisguised closeness still made her frown.

Talent, future prospects, social circles... the reality of the cultivation world is as harsh as iron.

Qing'er doesn't understand now, but she will in the future. And some distances are better drawn sooner rather than later.

Midway through the meal, Lin Qing'er was called away by a familiar female cultivator outside the dining hall, who said it was a message from her master.

Only two people remained at the table.

Liu Han put down his teacup and said in a calm voice, "Junior Brother Qin."

Qin Yuan looked up.

"Qing'er is simple-minded and values ​​relationships." Liu Han looked directly at him, "But she has the potential of a Heavenly Spiritual Root and is about to establish her foundation. Her future in alchemy is promising. Some things should be decided decisively."

Qin Yuan paused, his chopsticks still on the table. "What do you mean, Senior Sister Liu?"

"You two are not from the same world," Liu Han said bluntly. "Today she offended the Third Peak for your sake, and in the future she might be hindered on her path because of you. Keeping your distance is better for both of you."

The commotion in the dining hall seemed to vanish in an instant.

Qin Yuan slowly put down his chopsticks. He actually knew that when he joined the sect at the age of sixteen, Lin Qing'er was still a little girl who cried a lot, and he carried her up the old locust tree at the entrance of the village.

Ten years have passed, and she has become a renowned genius in the sect, while he was a laborer who was almost sent back to the mines.

He cherished that friendship, but it remained only as a friendship between old friends.

But when these words came out of Liu Han's mouth, they were like a cold file, scraping away the last bit of warmth that remained in his heart.

"Senior Sister Liu," he said, his voice calm, "how Qing'er and I get along is our business."

Liu Han raised her eyebrows slightly.

"You said we're not from the same world." Qin Yuan raised his eyes, his gaze devoid of emotion, yet it sent a slight prickling sensation down Liu Han's spine. "May I ask, Senior Sister Liu, what do you mean by 'the same world'? Is it based on aptitude? On cultivation level? Or on your condescending perspective?"

Liu Han tightened her grip on the cup.

"I respect you as my senior sister, and I thank you for accompanying Qing'er today." Qin Yuan stood up. "But I will walk my own path. Qing'er will choose her own path. You don't need to worry about it."

He picked up the bowl and plate, turned, and walked towards the recycling area. His back was straight, and his gray robe was old but not tattered.

Liu Han sat there for a long while before letting out a soft breath. The tea had gone cold.

Don't they know what's good for them? That's interesting.

When Lin Qing'er returned, she noticed the atmosphere was somewhat awkward. Qin Yuan's expression remained unchanged, and Liu Han was still aloof, but she just felt that something was off.

"Let's go, Brother Qin Yuan, I'll take you home." She decided to give up on thinking about it and said with a grin, "I brought you some things."

Back in the hut, Lin Qing'er took out two bottles of pills and three talismans from her storage bag and stuffed them into Qin Yuan's hands without saying a word: "Qi Condensation Pills, I refined them myself, the quality is so-so, don't mind. The protective talisman was given to me by Senior Sister Liu before, take it with you for self-defense."

Qin Yuan looked at the still-warm medicine bottle in his hand, remained silent for a moment, and then accepted it: "Thank you."

"Don't mention it!" Lin Qing'er waved her hand, then lowered her voice, "Zhao Hu might cause you trouble, so be careful these next few days. If things get really bad, come find me at Seventh Peak, I'll protect you!"

Liu Han listened quietly outside the door without going in.

As she was leaving, Lin Qing'er turned back at the door, her expression unusually serious: "Brother Qin Yuan, three days from now... if you can't beat them, it's not shameful to admit defeat. Staying alive is the most important thing."

Qin Yuan nodded: "I know."

After watching the two figures disappear at the end of the mountain path, Qin Yuan closed the door.

The room fell silent again.

He poured out a Qi Condensation Pill, pale green in color, with rough patterns, clearly made by a novice. He held it in his hand for a while, examined it, and then put it back.

Liu Han's words echoed in his ears.

Are we not from the same world?

He sat cross-legged on the bed and closed his eyes.

The system panel quietly appeared:

[Host: Qin Yuan]

Cultivation Level: Qi Refining Level 7 (Stable)

[Cultivation points available for extraction: 0 years (already converted today)]

[Next refresh: Tomorrow at midnight]

Two more days.

He opened his eyes, and deep within them, the darkness of ten years in the mine intertwined with the clarity of today's morning light, forming a tranquil sea.

Let's see who gets to which world.