.

.

.

Xuan opened his eyes, and once again, he found himself on the sofa he had been on earlier.

Just this time, he had a bit of a bump on his forehead, which meant that he was hit pretty badly.

However, Huizhen was nowhere in sight, and it seemed to have turned dark outside as well.

Therefore, Xuan lifted his body up from the sofa and made his way over to the door.

Yet instead of opening it by normal means, Xuan took a deep breath and used Void Step.

Since he could teleport through objects as well, that was exactly what he did, arriving on the other side of the door.

It was a long-winded hallway that curved on both sides, and Xuan chose the left side at random before walking in that direction.

It was completely empty, with not even a single disciple in sight. He couldn’t even hear anyone training, so it was either past their bedtime, or they were doing some sort of prayer.

Monks do pray, right? Hmm... It would be strange if they didn’t, Xuan thought and decided to check out his status.

But what he saw definitely wasn’t something he was expecting.

Name: Xiao Xuan

Cultivation: Sixth Level Spirit Warrior

(Qi: 720,799,750 / 819,200,000)

<Void Qi | 4,596,125,110 / 10,000,000,000>

|

Legacy: None

Bloodline: None

Physique: Boundless Void Physique

Physical Strength: 48,200 → 58,200

Mental Strength: 23,480 → 26,000

Physical Defense: 86,670 → 95,600

Mental Defense: 16,700 → 20,000

↳ Qi Type Comprehension:

[Time Qi - Beginner - 0.15%]

[Space Qi - Beginner - 1.52%]

[Death Qi - Beginner - 0.37%]

[Demonic Qi - Beginner - 0.01%]

<★ Xiao Yuelan - Ninth Level Spirit Warrior>

Did my stats increase because I absorbed Demonic Qi? Even the interface is now showing up here, Xuan pondered, rubbing his chin.

But the most surprising part of all of this was the fact that Yuelan had reached the Ninth Level of the Spirit Warrior realm.

At his current pace, it would’ve taken him at least a couple of months to get enough Qi, but she had done it in less than a week.

So, despite him being worried at first, he knew she was holding on just fine.

He would message her slightly later, but for now, he wanted to have a look around this Grand Jade Temple, because if his instincts were telling him something, it was the fact that he should take the opportunity given to him and train alongside the monks.

The alternative would be to do dungeons, or endlessly practice techniques all by himself, so he might as well do it with other people instead.

With that in mind, he strolled through the seemingly endless hallway until, eventually, he arrived at a cross section.

There were two signs right above, with the left sign saying ’Martial Training Grounds’ and the right, ’Cultivation Grounds.’

Since he had no intention of cultivating, Xuan turned left and made his way down another hallway.

And finally, after just a few minutes of walking, he found a large yet empty open area that extended even into the several mountain peaks around it. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

There were sparring arenas and multiple combat puppets scattered throughout. Not only that, Xuan saw transparent Qi surrounding all the arenas.

He ignored the transparent Qi and stepped into the arena, then walked up to one of the combat puppets.

Even though they were made out of straws, Xuan could tell they were fairly sturdy.

Without a second thought, Xuan punched the straw puppet, and as expected, his strike was fully absorbed, so he threw another, then another.

But he knew that basic conditioning would only get him so far, therefore, he enveloped his fists in Elemental Qi and threw a punch.

However, right as his punch was about to land, a figure appeared in front of him, grabbing his fist and twisting it.

Right as Xuan was about to fall, he Void Stepped backward, and then glanced back, spotting Huizhen.

"What do you think you’re doing?" Huizhen asked coldly. "Never mind you breaking into the Grand Jade Temple, you dare use our resources as though they were your own?"

"Then throw me out of here," Xuan replied with a scoff. "You won’t because you’re curious. Guess what, I’m in need of some basic training, so if you help me with that, I might just tell you a secret or two. What do you say?"

Of course, Xuan was going to lie through his teeth when the time came, but he really wanted to avoid fighting this guy again and being knocked out.

So after pondering over it for a moment, Huizhen let out a sigh.

"You are flaunting your prisoner role without shame. Very well, you think you have what it takes to become a Grand Jade Temple monk?"

Xuan smiled, and just as he extended his hand forward for a handshake, Huizhen suddenly took out a pair of chainless cuffs out of nowhere and tossed them over to Xuan.

"This is...?"

"Prismarine Qi Sealing Cuffs. They will seal all your Qi away. Whether it’s Elemental Qi, or Spiritual Qi, as long as you have them on, your Qi won’t leave your Dantian," Huizhen explained with a smirk.

"We monks of the Grand Jade Temple believe in our bodies, and that is why we hone them endlessly. By using Qi, you are skipping the natural process, and you’re effectively damaging your foundation."

He narrowed his eyes. "What happens when an opponent stops your Qi flow? What if they go ahead and halve it? You’re going to shatter like glass, and all because you were complacent and arrogant."

Hearing that, Xuan couldn’t help but furrow his brows slightly.

His body was very well conditioned because he used to do a lot of fighting back in the past, but clearly, after the world went to shit, he had to adjust his body to his new strength properly.

So because of that...

"If you are able to survive our daily training without taking the cuffs off, then I shall acknowledge you and allow you to join the Grand Jade Temple."