The Science of Cultivation [Xianxia]

Li Lang stared at the familiar girl who was currently being cheered on the stage. As she stepped off, Li Lang reminisced back on when she had saved him from the hoodlums after him and Wei Ping.

When she got off the arena, her eyes snapped to Li Lang and locked gazes with him despite being so far apart.

…Was I staring that hard?

He reflexively looked away, embarrassed at the fact he had been caught red-handed.

“Junior Li, what did you think of that fight just now? It may have only lasted for a moment, but it properly displayed the disparity there can be even between cultivators with the same cultivation.”

“Senior Tong, her techniques were executed with such ease that it was as if she wasn’t even using a martial technique at all.”

“That’s right. Despite only being in the third stage of Energy Gathering, that girl’s techniques are well-practiced. Unless you’re blessed by the heavens, I recommend you find a select few techniques and hone them to that level rather than practice multiple techniques.”

Same cultivation, he says…but she must be a newly accepted disciple while I started cultivating a year ahead…

The two alchemists then searched around the newcomer section of the arena for another match to watch. It didn’t take long for one to catch Li Lang’s eyes.

“Senior, I have an acquaintance fighting in that arena over there,” Li Lang said as he pointed.

The disciples at the arena Li Lang pointed out were already in the midst of fighting. There were two young boys, and Li Lang could recognize them both. On one side was Yang Quan, the outer disciple from the same dorm as Li Lang. His opponent was Sun Pang, who was the one Li Lang had bumped into and antagonized their entire dorm.

They were locked in a battle of attrition as both parties seemed fatigued as they struggled with their breathing while they continued to unleash their attacks against each other.

Sun Pang, being the taller of the two, tried to keep his distance and took advantage of his reach, employing kicks. However, Yang Quan always managed to duck under it just in time. It was almost like a cat-and-mouse game and was evenly matched.

“Junior Li, your friends there are not bad, but there is quite a gap compared with that girl we saw earlier. They both seemed to be practicing a wide selection of techniques already, which isn’t uncommon with new disciples. They’ll soon realize a technique is useless until they have mastered it.”

While Tong Baixuan lectured, Yang Quan had managed to corner Sun Pang in the arena. Just as he was about to close into range, Sun Pang leaped into the air and front-flipped directly over his adversary.

This gave him the opportunity to reverse the position where Yang Quan was instead cornered. He swiftly unleashed a side kick that Yang Quan blocked with crossed arms, but the force of the attack lifted his entire body off the ground, sending him out of the arena.

“Winner, Sun Pang!” the deacon acting as the referee declared.

“Well, they both still fought well for their age.” Tong Baixuan noted.

Li Lang nodded in agreement as they continued watching the next fight.

Fewer and fewer competitors remained, and before they knew it, the finals took place between the previous girl who had dominated her opponent and another boy who managed to edge out a victory against Sun Pang.

However, among the spectators, many already had an idea who the winner was before it even started.

Just as they had presumed, the fight ended swiftly when the girl dodged out of the boy’s opening flurry of attack and swiftly sent him out of bounds.

“The winner of the newcomers’ competition is Ling Xue!”

As the surrounding disciples cheered, many turned their attention to the remaining matches from the older disciples instead. Others left to go about their own matters and exited the coliseum.

Li Lang decided to see through the entire event.

The fights between the older disciples were a lot flashier, as their cultivation was higher. He witnessed Qi techniques where one empowered their wooden training swords to the point where it damaged the stone of the platform they stood on.

Some even shot out powerful Qi attacks at their opponents that created craters. It meant after every match, a Formation Master would have to repair the arena.

The person who caught Li Lang’s attention the most was one of the guest participants.

“Semi-finals, between disciple He Xiang, and guest Ri Xin. Begin!”

The guest cultivator wielded a wooden pole and instantly took action as soon as the deacon declared the start of the match.

He thrust out his weapon even when his opponent was a distance away, launching an invisible Qi strike attack from range.

The disciple facing this attack made the wrong decision and decided to block it with his training sword, allowing the force of that attack to push him back several steps.

While he staggered, Ri Xin didn’t waste any time and immediately closed the distance to unleash a series of thrusts until his opponent was overwhelmed.

Despite the win, the crowd’s reaction was lackluster, as an outsider had won.

“Senior Tong, that guest cultivator is the one from the rumors, correct?”

“Oh, so you’ve heard of him too. Yeah, that Ri Xin, the genius despite only having grade two talent. He has a unique physique called Transcendent Roots. It is what allows him to cultivate as fast as our inner disciples, reaching the upper stages of Energy Gathering at such a young age.”

“Hmm…I would love to speak to him.”

“I’d advise against it. The elders won’t like seeing our disciples buttering up to an independent cultivator for advice.”

“...”

“Besides, I think you’ve got someone waiting for you.”

Senior Tong pointed over to the stairs to the arena. Yang Quan was walking briskly over to the two alchemists.

“Junior Li, I think I’ll take my leave here. It was a pleasure talking to you. I’ll see you around the Alchemy building.”

Tong Baixuan swiftly left and was shortly replaced by Yang Quan.

“Li Lang, we need to talk.”

“...Sure.”

Yang Quan wordlessly began to walk away, expecting Li Lang to follow. He soon led him back to their dorm and into his room.

“Did you try to fool me when we first met? You carried yourself like you were my equal, but you’re really just a phony with grade one aptitude!”

…What is he on about? When did I ever lie to him?

“I—”

“Don’t make up excuses. I’ve done my research into you. Elder Cao only recruited you to ease the burden of our alchemists from the tedious job of refining low-level pills!”

“I never lied to you or anything. I try to treat everyone nicely. I’m not sure why you’re upset.”

“Shut up! You should be a servant or caretaker at best. I can’t believe our sect let someone like you become a disciple.”

Does finding out about my low aptitude really change that much?

“You can not like me, but my business is my own. If you don’t have anything else to say, I have things to do.”

Li Lang got up and exited. Yang Quan didn’t try to stop him and only glared at him.

As soon as Li Lang walked out of the room, he put the entire incident behind him. He’d seen enough jealousy in his old research lab and knew it was a waste of time to deal with it. Ignoring everything had worked, despite earning him a reputation for being low in EQ.

The alternative of having to deal with it every time would lose too much valuable research time. Life was short as it was, and Li Lang didn’t want to waste any of it the second time around.

He didn’t hesitate to head straight for the Mission Hall to select another task. Now that the competition was over, he should finally be able to return to Xiang Yang, find Wei Ping, and begin his long-awaited experiments on cultivation.

It wasn’t hard for him to pick out a suitable mission, as most disciples were resting, and the Mission Hall was quite empty. He swiftly gathered his things, exchanged some coins to be used in Xiang Yang, and waited for the next Skyrunner heading out into the city.

There always was someone heading to a large city like Xiang Yang as that was where the various guilds were located. Each sect even had a small office there for diplomatic purposes, as well as to support their members.

After waiting for an hour, a large Skyrunner with delicate carving soon landed on the berth before him.

The elder at the helm only spared Li Lang a brief look before glancing over toward the Mission Hall.

Li Lang didn’t dare to bother the unfamiliar elder and quietly boarded the carriage and waited patiently for them to depart. Just as he was starting to feel impatient, he noticed someone else approaching.

“Sorry, Elder Gong. The Vice Sect Master wanted to speak with me, thus delaying my departure.”

“No problem, Little Xue. Several minutes are nothing when you have been cultivating for as long as I have.”

As the woman boarded the Skyrunner, Li Lang could only stare dumbly at her.

She was Ling Xue, the winner of the newcomer’s combat tournament, and the woman who had previously saved him in Xiang Yang.

“Umm, hi again. And thank you for saving me last time.”