Chapter Forty-Five: Bottleneck

Li Sibai, upon seeing Qin Feng, felt a sense of familiarity rise within him. Although he had lost to this man in the inner sect examination, their lack of acquaintance made their meeting somewhat awkward. Still, as the only two who had entered the inner sect together this year, they were at least familiar faces who could look out for each other.

“Brother Qin, it’s been a while. How have you been?” Li Sibai greeted him with a cheerful smile.

“Junior Li, do you know Guo Jian?”

“I just met him today. Is he well-known?” Li Sibai looked at Qin Feng in puzzlement.

“I only just heard about it myself. Rumor has it he’s one of the top twenty experts on the inner sect rankings!”

Li Sibai was visibly taken aback when he heard this, but he quickly regained his composure.

“Top twenty? He’s certainly someone to take note of,” Li Sibai replied calmly.

Qin Feng pursed his lips, surprised to find Li Sibai so fearless and undaunted. Still, one could not afford to lose their fighting spirit. With a smile, he said, “It’s only the top twenty. One day, we’ll make it onto that leaderboard ourselves.”

Li Sibai glanced at him and laughed. No matter what, he was grateful that Qin Feng stood on his side.

“I’m a bit older than you. How about I call you Little Bai from now on?” Qin Feng suggested.

“Fine by me—then I’ll call you Little Feng, how about that?” Li Sibai retorted without missing a beat.

Qin Feng thought, “I’m older than you; shouldn’t you call me Brother Feng?” His face darkened, but he only said, “All right, call me whatever you like.”

Li Sibai paid him no mind. “Come on, Little Feng, show me the inner sect’s rooms.”

Qin Feng could only look helpless. “Fine, I’ll take you. As it happens, our rooms are next to each other, so we can go together.”

Following Qin Feng, Li Sibai arrived at the Diyun Pavilion. Just as Qin Feng had said, since they were both newly admitted disciples, their rooms were adjacent—Qin Feng in Room Three of the Li Block, Li Sibai in Room Four. The entire living quarters were arranged in the pattern of the Eight Trigrams.

Li Sibai thanked Qin Feng and entered his own room. Upon opening the door, he found the layout identical to that of the outer sect: a bed, a desk, and a simple cabinet—nothing more.

Li Sibai smiled wryly to himself. Truly, there was no escaping cultivation.

Before arriving, Uncle Cai Da had repeatedly warned him that the inner sect was not like the outer sect. Here, there was no one specifically assigned to prepare meals, nor was there a main hall for accepting missions as in the outer sect. If you wanted to eat or take on tasks, you had to go to the outer sect yourself.

If your cultivation was profound and you could ride your sword through the air, you’d only need a moment to arrive. If not, you’d have to run. Senior brothers with higher cultivation could descend the mountain in half an hour. When Li Sibai had climbed up with a heavy load, it had taken him half a day; lightly equipped, he estimated it would still take him an hour, and returning uphill would take even longer.

You could pick up missions every few days, but you needed to eat two or three meals daily. If you found it troublesome, you could always subsist on dry rations.

Li Sibai didn’t mind—he could get by on dry food—but Cai Yao couldn’t.

Thus, Li Sibai had brought a large supply of ingredients up the mountain, intending to cook for himself, since the inner sect had no rules against it. Indeed, it was even encouraged for disciples to go down to the outer sect daily, as the journey itself was a form of training for those with lesser cultivation.

Once inside, Cai Yao immediately darted from Li Sibai’s arms. She had been cooped up for so long and, upon emerging, transformed into her human form to study the surroundings with a look of wonder.

After inspecting the room, Cai Yao seemed somewhat disappointed, but when she looked outside through the window, a smile blossomed on her face.

“Brother, may I go outside and have a look?”

“You may, but perhaps you shouldn’t go out in this form.”

Cai Yao chuckled. “I understand.” With that, she spun around, returned to her original shape, and used an illusion to hide her colorful feathers before flying out.

Watching her soar away, Li Sibai sighed silently. Now that they were here, Cai Yao would have to endure hardship with him. She was likely so cheerful only to keep him from worrying.

He needed to train hard and break through to the Heart of the Zither Realm as soon as possible, so he could rightfully remain in the inner sect. Then he might have a chance to showcase his culinary skills and spare Cai Yao from such hardship.

With this in mind, Li Sibai began to unpack his belongings, all the while considering his next steps.

From now on, he would have to cultivate here on his own.

No master to seek, no magic to learn, not even proper meals—only self-reliance. Was there any advantage at all to being in the inner sect?

He wondered if it wouldn’t be better to return to the outer sect, where at least Uncle Cai Da was there to talk to, and meals were never a concern.

But when he finished unpacking and calmed his mind to circulate his true qi and practice the Mysterious Heavens Technique, he immediately sensed the difference. In that instant, vast streams of pure spiritual energy surged into him, enveloping him in a sea of warmth and comfort. The energy here was at least ten times more abundant than in the outer sect!

Li Sibai instantly grasped the true benefit of cultivating here. Atop Jade Void Peak, the spiritual energy was far richer than halfway up, making cultivation twice as effective with half the effort.

Though he had no master, he could still ask the elders questions; if he needed help, even a randomly chosen senior brother would be more knowledgeable than he was. Sparring partners were everywhere.

With this realization, Li Sibai made up his mind to persevere here rather than return to the comfort of the outer sect. Only through hardship in cultivation could one become truly strong.

Cultivation had never been easy—who had ever succeeded through comfort alone?

Understanding this, Li Sibai opened his eyes to find Cai Yao smiling at him.

Unbeknownst to him, she had already flown back. Seeing him in deep meditation, she hadn’t wanted to disturb him.

“Brother, what were you thinking? You looked so serious just now.”

“Cai Yao, from now on, we’ll be cultivating atop Jade Void Peak. There won’t be those tasty meats as before. Are you sure you want to stay here with me?”

“I’ve already decided, brother. Though there won’t be Uncle Da’s delicious food from the outer sect and you’ll be too busy to go back often, wherever you are, that’s where I want to be.

I can go to the Dark Forest a few times a week on my own. I checked just now, and there are plenty of spiritual herbs here on the mountaintop—though not as fine as those by the hot spring lake in the heart of the forest, they’re still quite good. So you needn’t worry about me.”

Li Sibai nodded, feeling deeply comforted to have such a thoughtful sister by his side.