To cut to the chase, he had gotten a bit ahead of himself.
Aiyo, I thought I could coast through easily.
"Tsk. I got my hopes up for nothing."
"Y-You're insane!"
Senior Sister Zhang looked at him as if she was seeing some kind of monster.
"H-How did you reach 6 Stars of the Qi Refining Stage in one go?"
"Huh? Only 6 Stars?"
"Are you crazy, Cultivator Ga?"
Meanwhile, Zhang Yihong was beside herself with shock.
It took her over 20 years of cultivation just to reach 8 Stars of the Qi Refining Stage and become an Immortal.
Although the Qi Refining Stage is said to be the lowest realm among Immortal realms, even entering the Qi Refining Stage with the qualifications of an Immortal was like threading a needle.
"Only, you say?"
Zhang Yihong wanted to slap her Junior Brother's face.
It took her 20 years of hard work to achieve what this lazy bum accomplished in just three months. And yet, the words coming out of his mouth were like this.
Moreover...
What kind of Spiritual Power is like this...
There was a reason she was looking at him like he was some kind of monster.
"This is insane...."
Judging by the density of Spiritual Power, his realm was clearly 6 Stars in the Qi Refining Stage. Just two levels below her own.
However, the amount of Spiritual Power she sensed was not at that level.
What is this? Why does it feel like when facing Master Ma...
N-No, it must be my imagination.
After all, her master had never shown his full power in front of her.
She calmed herself and carefully measured her Junior Brother's Spiritual Power.
Something feels off.
It's like she couldn't see the bottom of his vessel?
Like groping in an invisible fog.
It was perplexing.
Is it really 6 Stars?
At any rate.
She had never heard of someone jumping straight to 6 Stars immediately after awakening their Spiritual Power.
It was truly an unbelievable miracle.
Is this even possible?
Originally, to raise one's realm, one must continuously practice appropriate cultivation techniques while consuming various cultivation resources like Elixirs. Enlightenment was also essential in this process.
One's realm didn’t jump up just because Spiritual Power increased rapidly like with this punk.
"..."
Perhaps the person of elden times he encountered before had intervened?
Since it would take quite a high realm to pass through Metal Spiritual Mountain's restrictions, it meant they were a powerhouse of a realm she couldn't even imagine, and if they had directly intervened...
It's not completely impossible, right?
"Haah...."
What exactly happened?
His smiling face as he crunched on fruit looked annoyingly smug.
And he's so good-looking too....
Still, she should congratulate him.
"Congratulations, Junior Brother. A Heavenly Spiritual Root is indeed amazing.... To reach 6 Stars right away."
"Haah.... I'm quite disappointed."
What?
Pop-
A vein popped on her forehead.
Hoo. Calm down. He probably didn't say that with ill intent.
There are many powerhouses in the cultivation world that are beyond imagination. One must never let their guard down. So maybe he's saying this to avoid being arrogant.
"Cultivation takes more time than I thought. Even though I worked quite hard."
What? What's this about time?
Is this kid making fun of me right now?
"Anyway, I understand. I need to do better. I'll use any means necessary...."
"..."
Unlike formal disciples, they just do some errands and enjoy some prestige by having their name listed. That's all it meant.
Of course, compared to formal disciples like the young man in front of them, she, as a nominal disciple, was practically an outsider.
She hadn't even received permission to call him Teacher.
"Stop talking nonsense and leave. At any other time it might be different, but Teacher is doing important research now. So come back another time. Tsk."
The young man rejected her and glanced at Karlstein behind her.
Is that guy's talent really so outstanding?
As a formal disciple, it was infuriating.
Of course, Teacher’s attention was limited, and the more outstanding people came in, the more someone with moderate talent like him would be ignored.
In a way, it wasn't wrong to call it gatekeeping.
Only 6 Stars... and quite unstable at that.
Thinking that he was even below himself made the young man even more dissatisfied. If his realm had been higher, he might have given up entirely.
"Anyway, go back for now."
Thus, the two were driven away after receiving such cold treatment.
She couldn't say anything more after the young man's rejection.
On the way back.
Her expression was even more depressed.
Karlstein was puzzled.
"What's up? Weren't you close with Ma Yucheol?"
"...Junior Brother. No matter what, casually calling Master's name is..."
Normally she would have scolded him harshly, but she seemed to lack energy and only mildly rebuked him.
"Huh? Is there really something going on?"
She couldn't properly refute even when being disrespected by the young man. Even though their realms seemed about the same.
Gatekept by an 8 Star nobody.
Is 6 Stars really not enough? Do I need permission to breathe if I’m only 6 Stars?
Even so, that's too much. Whether nominal or formal, aren't they both disciples? Is the difference in standing so great as to be disrespected to that degree?
The level of contempt towards her when rejecting them was by no means low.
-Even entering as a nominal disciple should warrant proper courtesy, yet you shamelessly show your face.
-In the end, aren't you just a servant to take care of the Junior Brother who will enter as the youngest?
-Get lost. I don't want to exchange words with you anymore.
But she just kept her head down and listened silently.
On the other hand, he only showed a glare towards Karlstein without saying anything particular.
"Senior Sister. Did you perhaps cause some trouble in the past, or is there some secret about your birth?"
"...No."
She kept her mouth shut.
After returning to the hut, he gave her a special chocolate bomb frappe to comfort her and went back to his room.
Normally she would have smiled broadly with a stupid expression, but there was no sign of improvement.
"Hmm."
At any rate, he had things to do, so he cast the magic spell, narcolepsy.
"Logout."
Click-
Indeed, 6 Stars isn't satisfactory.
Considering her anecdote, even 8 Stars didn't seem much different.
A breakthrough method was needed.
"Aria!"
[You have returned?]
"Yes! Let's make a Macro!"
[...What are you talking about?]
Aria was dumbfounded.
"The cultivation had some effect. If we reference it well, it might be effective for those Murim White Troops guys too."
[Is that so?]
"Yeah. So, Macro!"
[....]
Inhuman Passing of Knowledge? One-Man Inheritance? Abandoning the Original System of Ancestors?
Such things meant nothing to Karlstein.
1. Zhang Fei, courtesy name Yide, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China2. The Battle of Changban was fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Liu Bei in October 208 in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. The battle took place at Changban.