After school in the afternoon, Chen An was inevitably blocked at the gate by Lin Jingqiu.
"You think it's fun to tease me?" the girl tilted her head slightly, her tone full of indignation as if ready to settle accounts.
Chen An glanced at her and quickly figured out the situation.
He sighed inwardly. He had expected her aptitude to be average but didn't think it could be this poor. Even with his help gathering spiritual energy, she still couldn't even touch the threshold of initiation.
"You're just too dumb," Chen An said bluntly.
"You..." Hearing this offhand remark, Lin Jingqiu trembled with anger.
One hand clutched her chest, the other pointed at Chen An, shaking. When had she ever been associated with the word "dumb"?
Her aptitude had been praised even by top sects like Qingcheng Mountain, yet today she was mocked by someone with no cultivation? And not just once—multiple times.
Chen An, however, understood her reaction. Lies don't hurt people—truths are the sharpest knives. Still, he had always been kind at heart, so he didn't push her any further.
"Come with me," he said, turning to walk ahead.
Lin Jingqiu clenched her fists tightly in her sleeves and stomped her foot before following him.
She had already decided that if Chen An didn't give her a good explanation, she'd show him just how effective her breathing techniques were—good enough for dealing with an unarmed ordinary person.
The two gradually walked away. Behind the classroom door, a boy with trendy parted hair watched their backs with a mix of regret, frustration, and jealousy.
He couldn't help but imagine—if only he had been a bit braver that day, if instead of handing the love letter to Chen An he had chosen to face it head-on, maybe he'd be the one laughing and walking with Lin Jingqiu right now.
Damn it!
Gao Qingyang spat under his breath. No matter how unwilling he was, he could only watch as the goddess slipped away. He still thought it was all the letter's fault, not knowing it had long been tossed somewhere in the trash, completely forgotten.
Back at their usual spot—the school rooftop—Chen An turned and pointed to the ground. "Try again."
"What?" the girl behind him looked confused.
Chen An looked at her and sighed. "Try meditating again like on the playground."
For some reason, though Chen An hadn't said anything more, Lin Jingqiu could feel the disdain in his tone. Her face flushed slightly with irritation.
"Chen An, are you seriously doing this again?! I'm not listening to you!" She raised her little fists. "If you don't give me a proper explanation, don't blame me for being rude."
But Chen An didn't explain. He simply looked at her quietly with a calm expression and said, "Trust me."
Somehow, looking into those clear black and white eyes, all of Lin Jingqiu's indignation evaporated. She opened her mouth as if to argue but couldn't bring herself to say anything.
After a while, she plopped down and began meditating as instructed.
Fine. What's the harm?
She figured she'd just humor him. After all, this so-called Qi Induction method really was advertised as "all-natural and harm-free."
She closed her eyes and began to breathe steadily, just as her master had taught her. Her breath gradually took on a mysterious rhythm—this was Qingcheng Mountain's unique breathing and energy-circulation method.
It laid a solid foundation for those with cultivation potential, and even for ordinary people, it could extend life and strengthen the body.
Chen An turned away and looked up at the sky. He stood still, his sleeves fluttering despite the absence of wind. An immense amount of spiritual energy, undetectable to ordinary people, began gathering atop the rooftop.
It swirled into a vortex overhead, pulling in all the spiritual energy from within a hundred miles. Whether willing or not, all ambient energy was torn apart and drawn into the maelstrom.
In that moment, the small rooftop became the place with the highest spiritual energy concentration in the entire world.
In the southern suburbs of Qingshi, nestled in a chain of beautiful mountains with year-round temperate weather, stood Qingcheng Mountain. At the innermost part of the Daoist temple, an old man with white hair and beard slowly opened his eyes.
He looked puzzled and muttered to himself, "Something's not right… Why is the spiritual energy thinning out more and more?"
Spiritual energy-rich locations were the lifeblood of sects. Now, for some unknown reason, more than half had suddenly vanished. It made no sense. Spiritual energy had no owner and was part of the world itself. How could it just vanish en masse?
No—feeling the rapid drain, the old Daoist tugged at his beard. This wasn't a loss. This was daylight robbery.
His brows furrowed deeply. Such a phenomenon was unprecedented, not even recorded in their ancient texts.
The only thing that came close was the legendary Spiritual Gathering technique. But that method was supposed to have been lost ages ago. Even Qingcheng Mountain had no remnants of it—how could others?
Even if, by some freak chance, someone had relearned the method and gathered all the rare materials needed, it still shouldn't cause such a massive reaction.
According to texts, the Spiritual Gathering technique required top-tier spirit stones as a medium, hundreds of rare spiritual ingredients as catalysts, and complex formations to barely start drawing in some energy. But this? This wasn't drawing—it was looting.
Unless… spiritual energy was beginning to vanish from the world again?
In that instant, countless speculations flashed through the old Daoist's mind. Cold sweat poured down his back as icy dread seized his heart.
He was the old patriarch of Qingcheng Mountain, someone capable of moving mountains and overturning seas with a flick of the wrist—what hadn't he seen before? And yet, even he was shaken to his core by the current scene.
Just as he hesitated about pursuing the source of the energy drain, the turbulent flow abruptly stopped. Everything returned to normal.
"What in the world…" The old man scratched his head. He took a step forward, then pulled himself back, hesitating. After some thought, he decided it was too risky to act alone.
So, he pulled a smartphone from his robe. "Hello?"
"Old Patriarch?!" The person on the other end seemed startled but quickly straightened up and answered with the utmost respect. "Old Patriarch, please give your orders."
"Take a few people. Head into the city..."