He broke through to the 2nd level of Qi Distillation!

A grin stretched across his face.

No longer in pain, Van let go of his head. As his vision cleared, he noticed that the spiritual energy within a five-metre radius seemed to be sucked towards him very quickly.

Soon enough, he was sitting in the middle of a miniature whirlpool of qi. Thin strands of power whipped through his hair, pulled by the black hole between his brows.

Van felt each strand enter his newly opened meridian and become purified at an extremely fast pace. Quickly, each purified strand joined the spiritual stream within his conscious. The stream condensed qi visibly grew wider.

Van felt his jaw drop open.

What was this speed!?

At this rate, he would be able to break through to the 3rd level of Qi Distillation in no time at all! He estimated he would be able to do it in a week, tops, even without the aid of spiritual herbs.

Van's heartbeat accelerated. So, this was the power of a perfect foundation!

By his side, his fists clenched. He saw himself donning the robes of an inner disciple, the pale green robes with the cedar tree embroidered at the back. He imagined himself riding back to Mountain Village, victorious, swooping down to scoop Finn into his arms and then taking her to live in an idyllic cottage within the sect.

Soon!

Van turned his attention inwards.

All the meridians in his body seemed to breathe like a living organism. As the meridian between his brows drew in the energy and consumed it, the other meridians fed off the slower currents of qi also drawn towards Van.

Van himself was giddy off the inrush of power. The feeling of all his meridians sucking in energy and refining it, making it into his own, was heady. It had been worth spending a month focusing on opening and widening his meridians only.

High on the feeling of smooth and fast cultivation, Van suddenly wondered why the strong reduction of spiritual power around him had not caught the attention of a higher-up. In his mind, he fantasised about how a fellow with a long white beard would point at him and choose him to be his personal disciple.

[Ha ha.]

Jet drawled sarcastically.

[There are hundreds of cultivators within the sect, whether they are servants, teachers, outer disciples or whatever. Although, opening all the meridians has dramatically increased your cultivation speed; at only the 2nd level of Qi Distillation, your speed is still only par with a cultivator of the 5th level.

Of course, considering that is a three-level difference, such a speed is quite impressive.

However, 5th level Qi Distillation disciples are not rare in the Cedar Sect. Unless someone personally monitors your cultivation and notices you, any drainage of power you cause would easily blend in with the other disciples in the sect cultivating at night.]

Van sighed.

It was a nice dream while it lasted. In the end, the reality was that he must ultimately rely on himself to get to where he wanted to be!

____________

[The next day, in the afternoon.]

The donkey-cart rocked from side to side as it travelled over the wide dirt path, on the way back to the Cedar Sect after a long day.

Staring at the bits of hay and dirt scattered over the cart, Van thought about Hans' and Freya's report to him earlier in the day:

Klaus had, in quick succession, broken through to the 2nd level and into the 3rd level of Qi Distillation - all within the span of a week.

Van sat with a solemn, ruminating expression on his face. Beside him, Ryan's characteristically silent and dour air doubled the depressive atmosphere that hung over their corner of the cart.

As a result, the other servants on the cart were quieter than usual - even those that usually made small talk with Van chose to tactfully remain silent.

A sneer curled Van's lips as he recalled the pale aristocrat's contemptuous smile and threat to destroy Van's time at the sect.

Van's dark eyes flashed dangerously.

So what!?

Although it was shocking that Klaus' cultivation speed outpaced his own, Van was not intimidated. The desire to win burned hotter in his chest.

"Wotcher!"

A nasally voice called out. The speaker was a tall thin man with a moustache who was pinching his nose with two delicate fingers.

Van and the other servants in the cart blanched when they heard his warning. Futilely, they s.h.i.+elded themselves with a raised sleeve. Everyone's eyes were closed, praying that they would be less 'lucky' today.

A pile of steaming s.h.i.+t arced towards them.

Splat!

The ma.s.sive poo splattered all over the dirt ground.

Someone sighed loudly in relief. They had emerged unscathed from the attack.

"Madge had a lot to eat for lunch," the moustached man explained, shrugging.

In front of them, the ma.s.sive beast hauling the donkey cart gave a low moan in response, tossing its head.

Van saw Ryan's grin and cracked up.

The donkey-carts continued steadily down the dirt path, back to Dragon City.

__________

The sight that greeted the servants' eyes when they disembarked the donkey-carts at the back gate of the Cedar Sect was not a pretty one.

From far away, Van spied a young man das.h.i.+ng towards the exit. He was light and fleet-footed, able to swerve and dodge bystanders as easily as running in a straight line.

Despite this, hot on his heels and not giving an inch, was an older man in severe grey robes. An expression of thunderous fury was etched in his features.

"Get back here, you little wretch!"