Chapter 7: Initiation into Qi Refinement Masters
Liang did not hesitate and immediately chose the profession of "Entry-level Qi Refiner," after all, that was his original purpose for coming here.
In the next moment, he felt a sudden chill in his spirit, as if his mind had cleared significantly, and at the same time, a new power arose within his body.
No, it wasn’t new; rather, it was the first time Liang truly sensed this power.
Before he could figure out what had happened, the professional information for "Entry-level Qi Refiner" appeared before his eyes.
——
[Profession: Entry-level Qi Refiner]
[Level: 1/10 (0/100)]
[Attribute Bonuses: Physical Strength +0.1 per level, Mental Strength +0.1 per level, Energy +1 per level]
[Professional Skill: Qi Control (Entry 0/10)]
[Professional Specialty: Calm and Composed]
[Career Advancement Paths: Qi Refiner (San Yi), Qi Refiner (Dragon-Tiger), Qi Refiner (Wudang)...]
——
"This is definitely not comparable to some lowly prisoner profession..."
"No wonder people from that world care so much about professions."
Compared to the "Prisoner," the "Entry-level Qi Refiner" not only had a five-level higher cap but also added bonuses to mental strength and energy. Rounded off, this amounted to a massive difference.
And this was without counting the professional skills and specialties—the gap would only widen. It’s important to remember that "Entry-level Qi Refiner" was merely a basic profession with some slightly supernatural abilities.
More importantly, the subsequent career advancements for "Entry-level Qi Refiner" were clearly far stronger than those for "Prisoner."
Take, for example, the "Qi Refiner (San Yi)."
——
[Profession: Qi Refiner (San Yi)]
[Requirements for Appointment:
1. Obtain the prerequisite profession "Entry-level Qi Refiner" (√)
2. Participate in the transmission ritual of the San Yi sect of the Xuanmen school (×)]
[Upon Appointment:
1. Attribute growth
2. Gain professional skill — Reverse Life Triple
3. Gain professional specialties — Refine Essence into Qi, Reverse to Innate
4. Gain special bonuses:
Energy recovery speed slightly increased
Experience gained from practicing Xuanmen techniques slightly increased]
——
The "Qi Refiner (San Yi)" was clearly much stronger than the "Entry-level Qi Refiner," making Liang incredibly envious.
Just the skill "Reverse Life Triple" alone was enough for him to throw caution to the wind, not to mention the other attribute and special bonuses.
"By participating in the transmission rituals of different sects, I should be able to advance into the corresponding Qi Refiner profession..."
Based on the requirements for "Qi Refiner (San Yi)," Liang deduced information about other professions.
For example, "Qi Refiner (Dragon-Tiger)"—if he received an official talisman from the Celestial Master’s Mansion, he could likely transition into this profession, gaining skills like Golden Light Curse and Thunder Law, which he guessed would be even stronger than those of the San Yi sect.
Thinking this through, he opened the other career advancement paths, and indeed, they were not far off from his speculation.
However, Liang felt no anxiety about gains or losses; after all, his profession slots were unlimited, so he was confident he would obtain even stronger professions in the future.
He was already grateful that the San Yi sect was willing to accept him.
Moreover, since there was a universal skill slot, he might one day learn the Celestial Master’s Mansion’s secret arts, and perhaps even the legendary Eight Strange Techniques yet to be born.
While Liang’s thoughts wandered, the young man beside him spoke: "For now, you’ll stay here. Your daily tasks will be fetching water and chopping wood."
He pointed toward a huge water jar not far away and a pile of wood stacked in the corner.
"If you pass your trial, someone will notify you."
"By the way, I don’t know your name yet."
Hearing this, Liang realized he hadn’t introduced himself and quickly replied, "Liang, Li with the wood radical, and the ‘ang’ from ‘high’."
"Brother Liang, it’s getting late today. Just pick any bed to rest in. I’ll bring you bedding shortly."
With that, the young man turned and headed up the mountain.
Liang scratched his cheek, glanced up at the darkening sky, and then followed the young man’s instructions, casually choosing a bed inside a nearby room.
After a day of travel, he was somewhat tired, so he took off his shoes and lay on the bed, starting to read the skills and specialties of the "Entry-level Qi Refiner."
[Qi Control: You can now perform simple manipulations of the qi within your body.]
[Calm and Composed: You find it easier to calm your emotions and enter a meditative state.]
The first skill was ordinary and, for Liang, felt like a pure gift.
He tried to manipulate the so-called qi but only felt a warm current flowing inside his body—nothing more.
...Oh, and he gained a little skill experience.
[Manipulate internal qi, skill experience +1]
He couldn’t help but complain silently: "I can’t even do an external attack, nor can I strengthen my body. Then what use is this Qi Control?"
With that thought, Liang let out a dissatisfied sigh, having hoped he finally had a means of attack, only to be harshly disappointed by reality.
He certainly couldn’t scare those bugs back in the old world with this skill, could he?
What would that be but like trying to scare a grand destiny on the highway?
Of course, Liang thought it might be due to his skill level being too low.
Entry, Proficient, Mastery, Expert, Grandmaster—perhaps at higher levels, Qi Control would unlock new abilities.
But there was some good news.
The specialty "Calm and Composed" had a strange synergy with the "Slow Recovery" skill from the Prisoner profession.
Because Liang discovered that entering a meditative state counted as resting.
How exactly he realized this...
When the young man returned with the bedding, he found Liang already sitting cross-legged, deeply asleep.
He tugged at the corner of his lips, then draped the quilt over Liang.
"This Brother Liang’s temperament..."
"Is quite remarkable."
[Meditate, profession experience +1]
[Meditate, profession experience +1]
......
When Liang was awakened the next morning by the crowing of roosters outside the house, he was astonished to find that his "Entry-level Qi Refiner" experience had increased by 32 points.
"Sleeping can make me stronger?!"
Liang was surprised; he hadn’t expected such a fortunate development.
Unfortunately, gaining only 32 experience points overnight made it unrealistic to rely on this for rapid level-ups.
Plus, he still needed to go out during the day to work.
With this in mind, he quickly got up, tidied the bed, and went outside to do the tasks assigned by the unknown senior brother from the previous day.
After enduring the torment of a twelve-hour deathly assembly line, fetching water and chopping wood was nothing to Liang.
Moreover, he could gain experience from it.
[Fetching water and chopping wood, profession experience +1]
[Fetching water and chopping wood, profession experience +1]...
Although he didn’t understand why doing chores granted experience for an "Entry-level Qi Refiner," it was a good thing for Liang.
Days passed monotonously for a week. With his persistent efforts of working and resting, the "Entry-level Qi Refiner" had reached level 3.
Just as Liang was fiercely grinding experience, a quiet conversation about his future was taking place within the San Yi sect.