bookbashuk Chapter 102 Quota
Chapter 102 Quota
A year is neither a long nor a short time.
Zhao Fan's days became more regular. Every morning, he would first drink the spirit rice porridge sent by the Su family, and then cultivate for two hours with the help of the porridge to promote the circulation of his cultivation technique.
In the afternoon, I will spend two more hours studying the art of restrictions, practice spells in the evening, and continue meditation and cultivation at night.
Su Ziyun seemed to know that Zhao Fan was focused on his cultivation, so she rarely disturbed him, instead practicing continuously in the alchemy room provided by the family.
The spiritual energy in the cultivation room flowed into the meridians day and night, and the Heavenly Origin Technique circulated more and more smoothly.
He examined the forbidden image-recording stone he bought from the market countless times.
The explanation from that Foundation Establishment senior was profound yet easy to understand, breaking down the principles and structural changes of the Dao of Restrictions one by one, which was many times better than the book "Introduction to Restrictions" I had read before.
Zhao Fan absorbed this knowledge with great eagerness.
The construction of spirit runes, the nesting of restrictions, the flow of spiritual energy within the restrictions—every aspect brought him sudden enlightenment. He
Following the instructions in the recording stone, I tried to construct the simplest restriction again and again, starting with three spirit runes, then five, ten, and then more complex composite restrictions.
Six months later, he was finally able to decipher the dense spiritual patterns on the ring.
The restriction was more complex than he had imagined, with tens of thousands of spiritual runes nested in layers, forming an extremely intricate labyrinth.
Zhao Fan dared not be reckless, but solved a few problems every day, starting from the outermost layer and progressing inwards layer by layer.
As the days went by, Xiao Er's growth surprised him.
During his year at the Su family home, Xiao Er's meals improved significantly.
Every month, Zhao Fan would go to the Cangyun Mountains to hunt several Iron-spine Boars and bring them back. He also bought a lot of books on breeding spirit beasts.
Although he couldn't afford the beast taming technique set that cost 500 spirit stones, he still learned a lot of basic taming knowledge and recipe combinations.
Xiao Er was much bigger than before. When standing normally, he was almost as tall as Zhao Fan's chin. He had shiny hair, thick limbs, and exceptionally bright eyes.
Its cultivation level also rose steadily, climbing from the peak of the early stage of the first rank, and finally breaking through to the middle stage of the first rank in the autumn.
Zhao Fan had tested its strength; without using any magical artifacts, relying solely on his physical body, he was no match for Xiao Er.
The little creature was incredibly fast, with sharp claws and teeth. Its pounces and bites were filled with the ferocity unique to the Blood Shadow Wolf.
In fact, at crucial moments, it can even unleash a surge of blood energy, nearly doubling its speed and strength.
However, it was still young and lacked combat experience, so it fought entirely on instinct. Therefore, Zhao Fan often took it into the mountains to hunt monsters on its own and slowly hone its skills.
By early August, Zhao Fan's cultivation had finally reached the peak of the sixth level of Qi Refining.
He could feel that bottleneck right in front of him, like an invisible wall blocking his dantian and meridians.
Each time the cultivation technique was activated, the spiritual energy surged to the wall but could not advance any further and could only return the way it came.
He tried to force it, tried using drugs to catalyze it, tried all sorts of methods, but the wall remained unmoved.
"We've reached a bottleneck."
Su San examined his condition and spoke calmly.
"This is a good thing; it means you have a solid foundation and it's time for you to make a breakthrough."
Zhao Fan smiled wryly and shook his head helplessly.
"But I can't get past this bottleneck."
"The sixth to seventh level of Qi Refining is the threshold between the middle and late stages of Qi Refining, so it is naturally not easy."
Su San pondered for a moment.
"You need a Spirit Returning Pill."
Zhao Fan had heard of this name before; it was a top-grade first-level pill, specifically used to break through the bottleneck of the mid-stage Qi Refining realm.
He couldn't refine a first-grade high-quality pill with his current alchemy skills. Moreover, the recipe and ingredients for the Guiling Pill were extremely precious and couldn't be bought on the market.
"Fellow Daoist Su, does the Su family possess any Spirit Returning Pills?"
Zhao Fan asked tentatively.
"I'm willing to exchange it for spirit stones or pills."
Su San glanced at him and suddenly smiled.
He stood up and spoke softly.
"Contribution points are what we use now. I've asked my fourth sister to prepare the Spirit Returning Pills; it should take some time. Go back and wait, don't be impatient."
Zhao Fan felt a warmth in his heart and solemnly clasped his hands in greeting.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Su."
"What are you thanking me for?"
Su San waved her hand, took two steps, and then stopped.
"Oh, right, there's something I almost forgot to tell you."
He turned around, looked at Zhao Fan, and his expression became serious.
"The Suyang Sect's disciple recruitment ceremony will be held in a month."
Zhao Fan felt a chill run down his spine.
One month.
"If you break through to the next level, then go and give it a try."
Su San's tone was calm, but her eyes held a hint of expectation.
"With your talent and strength, once you reach the late stage of Qi Refining, passing the selection will not be a problem."
Zhao Fan was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked.
"What if I don't break through?"
Su San smiled slightly.
"Then I can give you a spot."
He paused, then explained.
"Although our Su family is only a first-level family, we are registered with the Suyang Sect and have two recommendation slots. Originally, these were for Zixin and Ziyan, but Zixin recently broke through to the late stage of Qi Refining and does not take up a slot, so it's perfect for you and Ziyan to go."
Zhao Fan was stunned.
He knew the Su family was qualified to make the recommendation, but he never imagined that the spot would fall to him.
With so many members of the Su family, which one of them wouldn't need this opportunity?
"Fellow Daoist Su, this..."
Zhao Fan opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know what to say.
Su San seemed to see through his thoughts and said softly.
"In the past year, you have refined so many pills for our Su family, which has helped almost everyone in the Su family improve their cultivation by one level. You have also taught Ziyun. This is what you deserve."
"Moreover, it would be a waste for your talent to stay in the Su family. A place like the Suyang Sect is more worthy of you."
Zhao Fan fell silent.
He recalled the restriction-recording stone, the profound yet simple explanation from the Foundation Establishment senior, and the restriction structures and spirit rune combinations he had never imagined before.
Within the Su family, the most advanced knowledge he could access was limited to a few basic introductory books on restrictive techniques.
The contents of that recording stone were enough for him to study for several years. He didn't know how many such recording stones were in the Suyang Sect, or how many inheritances he had never seen before.
It was a world he could not have imagined.
A world he had to venture into.
"Fellow Daoist Su, I've made up my mind."
Zhao Fan raised his head, his voice calm yet firm.
"I'm going to the Suyang Sect."
Su San looked at him, a hint of relief flashing in her eyes, along with a barely perceptible trace of reluctance.
"it is good."
He nodded.
"Then for this month, don't think about anything else, just focus on breaking through."
He turned and walked towards the courtyard gate, but after a few steps, he stopped and said something without turning his head.
"The Rejuvenation Pill will arrive in three days. Prepare accordingly."
The courtyard gate closed.
Zhao Fan stood there, looking at the tightly closed door, his heart filled with mixed feelings.
It's been almost two years since we first met.
In the past two years, Su San has been of great help to me. Although I am not a member of the Su family, I have been here for so long and almost every member of the Su family has treated me like an outsider.
Zhao Fan was also very grateful.
Watching Su San's retreating figure, Zhao Fan took a deep breath, turned around, and walked into the cultivation room.
He needs three days to adjust his condition to its best. After three days, once the Spirit Returning Pill arrives, he will break through the bottleneck that has troubled him for so long.