Three months passed in the blink of an eye. Spring slowly gave way to the warmth of early summer. The Azure Cloud Sect remained as lively as ever, with Outer Disciples rising before dawn and training until late into the night. Everywhere one looked, disciples cultivated desperately. Some meditated beneath waterfalls. Some sparred endlessly in the Martial Arena. Others ventured into the mountains to complete dangerous sect missions. Everyone was chasing the same goal. The six-month assessment. --- For the past three months... Di Tian had lived a life so ordinary that most people barely remembered he existed. He woke up late. He attended the occasional lecture. He completed the minimum number of sect missions. He ate well. He slept well. And... He cultivated every second of every day. Or rather... His system did. --- Inside his room... A familiar blue screen appeared. --- Host: Di Tian Realm: Fifth Stage Qi Gathering (98%) Body Cultivation: None Spirit Root: Heaven-grade Lightning Spirit Root --- Cultivation Methods Basic Qi Gathering Art - Low Mortal Rank - Perfection --- Martial Techniques Mountain Splitting Palm - Low Mortal Rank - Perfection --- Movement Techniques Cloud Step - Low Mortal Rank - Perfection --- Available Technique Slots 1. Basic Qi Gathering Art 2. Mountain Splitting Palm 3. Cloud Step 4. Empty 5. Empty --- Di Tian looked at the empty fourth slot. Three weeks ago... He had finally realized something. "Qi cultivation isn't enough." Many powerful cultivators refined both qi and body. A stronger body meant greater endurance. Greater physical strength. Better resistance to injury. The stronger his foundation... The stronger he would become in the future. From that day onward... His goal had changed. He needed a Body Cultivation Technique. Unfortunately... Such techniques were much rarer than ordinary cultivation methods. Most required contribution points. A lot of contribution points. Which explained why... --- "Mission Complete." A deacon accepted the spiritual herbs Di Tian had gathered. "Thirty contribution points." The contribution token in Di Tian's hand flashed briefly. His total finally exceeded three hundred points. Enough... To enter the lower level of the Technique Pavilion. Di Tian smiled. "Finally." --- Three months of missions had taught him something else. The Azure Cloud Sect never gave anything away for free. Every pill. Every manual. Every weapon. Every opportunity... Had to be earned. Fortunately... His system never complained. --- When he returned to Courtyard Thirty-Seven that afternoon, his roommates were already there. Lin Hai was cleaning his sword. Zhao Ming had bruises all over his arms after another sparring session. Sun Wei quietly meditated beneath the old tree. The moment Di Tian entered... All three looked up. Then... Their expressions changed. "..." "..." "..." Lin Hai frowned. "Your aura..." Di Tian stopped walking. "Hm?" "It feels stronger again." Zhao Ming immediately stood up. "You're about to break through!" Sun Wei slowly opened his eyes. "No..." "He's already at the peak of the Fifth Stage." The courtyard became quiet. Three months ago... All of them had believed Di Tian was an ordinary disciple who entered through family connections. Now... None of them believed that anymore. --- During these three months... The four had become genuine friends. They trained together. Completed missions together. Shared meals together. Naturally... They also knew each other's cultivation progress. --- Lin Hai Spirit Root: Dual Metal-Wind Spirit Root Breakthrough to First Stage: Eight days after entering the sect. Current Cultivation: Fourth Stage Qi Gathering. Among the four roommates... Lin Hai possessed the highest talent after Di Tian. --- Zhao Ming Spirit Root: Three-Element Spirit Root (Fire, Earth, Wood) Breakthrough to First Stage: Twenty-two days after entering the sect. Current Cultivation: Second Stage Qi Gathering (Peak). His cultivation speed was considered above average. --- Sun Wei Spirit Root: Four-Element Spirit Root Breakthrough to First Stage: One month and twelve days after entering the sect. Current Cultivation: Second Stage Qi Gathering. Although slower than the others... His temperament was calm and steady. --- Finally... There was Di Tian. No one knew his spirit root. No one had ever seen him cultivate. No one had ever seen him meditate. He simply... Kept breaking through. Again. And again. And again. --- Lin Hai finally spoke. "I've wanted to ask this for a long time." "How do you cultivate?" Di Tian blinked. "I breathe." "..." "I mean seriously." "I breathe seriously." Zhao Ming groaned. "There he goes again." Sun Wei shook his head. "You've never once cultivated in front of us." Di Tian smiled innocently. "Maybe I cultivate while you guys are sleeping." Lin Hai crossed his arms. "We've checked." "You're sleeping." "Maybe I cultivate in my dreams." "..." "..." "..." The three roommates sighed simultaneously. Hopeless. Absolutely hopeless. Yet... Somehow... He was still the strongest among them. --- Lin Hai looked at him carefully. "You know..." "I've heard rumors." "What rumors?" "Some people think you're hiding your cultivation." Di Tian laughed. "I can barely wake up in the mornings." "You think I'd hide cultivation too?" The three couldn't help laughing. That was true. If there was one thing everyone in the courtyard agreed on... It was that Di Tian was unbelievably lazy. --- That evening... After dinner... Di Tian quietly left the courtyard. His destination... The Technique Pavilion. His contribution points were finally enough. Tomorrow... The fourth technique slot would no longer remain empty. For the first time since entering the Azure Cloud Sect... He was about to begin walking the path of a true body cultivator. Behind him... His three roommates watched him disappear into the evening sunlight. Lin Hai sighed. "I still don't understand him." Zhao Ming nodded. "He never cultivates." Sun Wei smiled faintly. "Perhaps..." "Some geniuses are simply different." None of them realized... The greatest genius among them wasn't cultivating because... He never had to. Even now... As Di Tian leisurely strolled toward the Technique Pavilion with his hands behind his head... His Basic Qi Gathering Art continued refining spiritual qi. His Mountain Splitting Palm was constantly being optimized beyond perfection. His Cloud Step grew smoother with every imagined step. And deep within his dantian... The barrier separating the Fifth and Sixth Stage of Qi Gathering quietly began to crack.

Chapter 8: Three Months Later