Not long after, Xuan Tian exhaled deeply. His arms moved in a circular motion, signaling the end of his cultivation. He stood up and turned around.
Ling Yu and the others looked up at him. His complexion was normal—steady and composed as always. Ling Yu searched for any sign of exhaustion, any indication that he had been suffering from overusing his spirit energy, but she saw none.
Xuan Tian slowly walked toward them, his sharp gaze locked onto Ling Yu, assessing her condition. Her face was no longer pale, the sweat on her forehead was gone, and her breathing was even. She looked slightly weaker than usual, but the familiar spark was still in her eyes. Looks like she's okay. That's good.
"Are you feeling okay?" Xuan Tian asked.
Ling Yu smiled slightly and nodded. "Yes, I do. Are you okay?"
Xuan Tian's eyebrow arched. "Me? Why are you asking me?"
Ling Yu's eyes flickered with irritation. "It's called normal conversation. You ask me, I ask you. That's how people talk, Iron Wall."
Hearing her usual attitude, Xuan Tian felt a quiet sense of relief. "I am okay. Satisfied?"
Ling Yu just glared at him and pouted slightly. "If you're okay, then let me wake the rest of them. The deadline is getting closer, right?"
Xuan Tian shifted his gaze to Xu Yun and Zhao Zhi. Both of them nodded in confirmation.
He sighed. "Okay, but first, we need to have breakfast."
Ling Yu opened her mouth to protest. "I'm not hungry."
"Breakfast, then wake people. No breakfast, no waking people." Xuan Tian left no room for argument.
Ling Yu's pout deepened, her frustration clear. "Fine!"
The breakfast was quick, simple, yet satisfying. Ling Yu had to admit that Xuan Tian was right—turns out she was starving. But she wouldn't admit that to Xuan Tian.
After breakfast, Xuan Tian took Ling Yu and Zhao Zhi to the chambers, while Xu Yun went to prepare breakfast for the awakened. Gu Tianzhu and Chen Zhaoyun were getting ready to receive the remaining nine.
Xuan Tian led them to the farthest chamber, informing Ling Yu that this person's deadline was the closest. "We will wake the most unstable first and work our way down."
Ling Yu and Zhao Zhi nodded in agreement.
Xuan Tian opened the first chamber, stepping inside first. He gestured for Ling Yu and Zhao Zhi to wait until he gave the signal. He checked the unconscious cultivator's core condition—it was indeed highly unstable. If they wanted to save him, he needed to cultivate as soon as possible.
Xuan Tian turned to Ling Yu and motioned for her to enter. She stepped forward cautiously, approaching the person.
Xuan Tian stopped her. "Now that you can cultivate, you need to keep track of how much spirit energy you use in waking one person. That'll give you an idea of your own stamina."
Ling Yu considered his words. That made sense. She nodded, taking a deep breath before extending her hand to wake the person. This time, the process was smoother. Ling Yu realized she didn't even need to shake them awake—just a simple touch, a circulation of her spirit energy, and sending it into their body was enough. The moment her energy entered, the person stirred, showing signs of waking up.
Ling Yu's face lit up. So this is what it's like to use spirit energy! I am officially a cultivator!
Xuan Tian observed her reaction and stated flatly, "Congratulations. You're officially a cultivator."
Ling Yu turned to him in surprise and instinctively took a step back, giving Zhao Zhi space to examine the newly awakened person. What? Can he read my mind?
Xuan Tian's voice remained neutral. "Right now, you're wondering if I can read your mind. The answer is no. But I can see it clearly on your face."
Ling Yu blinked a few times, processing his words.
"He's fine. But he needs to learn to stabilise his core immediately." Zhao Zhi interrupted.
Xuan Tian nodded, "You can take him to Gu Tianzhu, we'll continue waking people up. And bring back Chen Zhaoyun. Let him be the one to go back and forth."
"Okay."
They continued the process, until after waking the forth one, Xian Tian saw Ling Yu panting slightly.
"Let's take a break."
"But I can still continue," Ling Yu protested.
"One. They are no longer in immediate danger. Two. You are a now a cultivator. You need to use your spirit energy responsibly, not recklessly. That will only endanger yourself." Xuan Tian calmly explained.
Ling Yu wanted to protest, but she knew Xuan Tian was right. She pouted a bit.
"Okay. Does that mean I have to cultivate again?"
"Not necessarily. There a many ways to recover your spirit energy. Right now, you can check your supply by looking your core – wait, you don't have a core. Where are you storing your spirit energy?" Xuan Tian was a bit confused.
"I don't know." Ling Yu replied.
"May I check?" Xuan Tian asked politely.
"Yes, you may," Ling Yu teased Xuan Tian for being overly polite to her.
Xuan Tian sighed. He was just trying to be proper. To be honest, he didn't really know how to interact with Ling Yu. He unconsciously always treated her like an equal, but lately, he realized that she was not. He was trying to be proper, but she didn't take him seriously.
After checking, Xuan Tian was stunned, "You don't have storage. You spirit energy continuously circulating in your meridians."
"Is that bad?" Ling Yu asked.
"No," Xuan Tian shook his head. Then he continued, "I don't know if that's bad or not. But one thing is clear, your reaction time will be much faster than regular cultivator."
"I don't understand."
"When a cultivator wants to use his spirit energy, he needs to 'call' it from his core, than circulate it around his meridians, at least once before launching it out. The more circulations, the stronger the spirit energy is." Xuan Tian explain.
He continued, "But you won't need to call it out. And you won't need to circulate it. It's already circulating in your meridians continuously. Meaning you can launch it faster."
"And stronger?" Ling Yu said excitedly.
Xuan Tian nodded.
Ling Yu was about to jumped with joy when Xuan Tian added, "But –"
Ling Yu glared at Xuan Tian. "But what?"
Xuan Tian continued, "But compares to other cultivators, you don't have storage, meaning the amount of your spirit energy is also much smaller."
"That's right," Ling Yu disappointed.
"No need to get discouraged. You win in terms of quality, even if you don't the quantity."
Hearing that, Ling Yu lit up again.