Chapter 7: Not Seeking Trouble

A gentle breeze stirred as fine rain fell in slanted lines, and the faint light of dawn cast a misty veil over Spirit Mist Peak, its beauty intoxicating to the soul. It was early morning, and everyone was secluded in their own caves, cultivating in silence—everyone except young Hansu, who lay sulking atop a large blue stone beside the Spirit Mist Stream in Creek Valley. These days, she had been thoroughly tormented by Aunt Chrysanthemum—the secret name she’d given the pendant at her neck (and absolutely never to be revealed!). Every day, with that same standard tone, it would ask: “Have you broken through to the fourth level yet? Time is almost up—haven’t you advanced? If you fail your task, you may well be sent back, you know.”

She was anxious too. At her former pace, she should have broken through to the fourth level long ago, but no matter how hard she’d worked to accumulate spiritual energy over the past two months, there was no sign of progress. In fact, in recent days, she’d even felt as though she could no longer absorb spiritual energy at all. She’d considered advancing with the help of elixirs—after all, she had plenty—but on her first day of embarking upon the path of cultivation, her mother, Master Hengbo, had solemnly warned her never to rely on pills for advancement. They might work in the beginning, but in the long run, their effectiveness would diminish, rendering all pills useless to her. Besides, the Foundation Building period was about laying roots; using pills to force advancement would only undermine her foundation and cripple her potential.

Now that the path of elixirs was closed, and spiritual energy seemed beyond her grasp, Hansu was beside herself with worry. If she couldn’t break through soon, she’d fail her task; if she failed, she might be sent back to start over. With her heart heavy, she sprawled atop the stone, lost in anxious thought, turning restlessly from side to side. Yet one should never overestimate the persistence of a naturally optimistic fool. For after only a short while, she drifted off to sleep…

In her dream, she saw herself as a little girl again. She hadn’t done well on an exam and, clutching a test paper marked seventy, hesitantly brought it to her father for his signature. Her father glanced at the paper, sighed, and said, “Just try harder next time.” Instantly, her spirits lifted, and she nodded vigorously, “I’ll do my best! I’ll definitely do better next time!” In her hazy dream, she thought, there’s no rush—I’ll just try harder next time.

Unaware, as if something within her suddenly shattered, a flood of spiritual energy surged toward her. Naturally, she sat up cross-legged and began to meditate, drawing the energy into herself. When the clouds parted and the sun broke through, Hansu finished her cultivation, successfully advancing to the fourth level of Foundation Building. Only then did she realize that her recent troubles had likely been caused by her own anxiety and impatience; the pursuit of progress for its own sake had led her into a bottleneck. Once she let go, breaking through this mental barrier allowed her to advance without hindrance.

Just as this realization dawned, Aunt Chrysanthemum noticed her change. “Congratulations on reaching the fourth level of Foundation Building. Now go make yourself known; your next task is to attract the attention of the protagonist, Su Yunmo!” In her mind, Hansu could practically hear a herd of wild beasts stampeding past—attract the attention of the protagonist… That sounded like the prelude to disaster! But for the sake of getting home… she would give it her all!

Full of renewed determination, Hansu, though still impatient, first consolidated her new level and then studied the techniques for the fourth stage in her cultivation manual. There was, in fact, a fundamental difference between the third and fourth levels. At the fourth level, one could begin to learn offensive and defensive techniques, wield simple magical artifacts, and take fasting pills. The first three levels, by contrast, merely made one healthier and more resilient than ordinary people, less prone to illness and possessing stronger spirit—but disciples below the third level still needed to eat, as fasting pills alone could not sustain them. Nor could they practice the real techniques, leaving them defenseless in the world of cultivation.

At that moment, Hansu opened her main manual, the “Mystic Ice Sun Divine Art.” Sure enough, the techniques for the fourth level were now available. Since she possessed both ice and fire spiritual roots, her main practice—despite its name—was centered on ice: nurturing yang with ice, and ice with yang, appearing icy cold on the outside while containing warmth within. For the fourth level, there were two ice techniques: Ice Arrow, an offensive move that condensed spiritual energy into an arrow of ice—its chilling effect upon entry followed by a burning heat as the ice melted; and Mystic Ice Shield, a defensive technique that formed a barrier with spiritual energy. The shield was extremely difficult to break by elemental means, for while it appeared as ice, there was yang fire hidden within. Only extraordinary flames could destroy it, making it worthy of its heavenly rank.

Fresh from her breakthrough and riding a wave of excitement, Hansu found learning these techniques came as easily as breathing. When she was able to maintain a shield while firing off seven small arrows in quick succession, she gathered herself and dashed off in search of her senior brother.