Chapter 112: The Tenth Heavenly Cycle (Bonus chapter for today's contributions)

P.S. A special bonus chapter for the nine brothers who tipped today! Thank you!

"Ah!" Hu Qingqing quickly wiped the corner of her mouth, only to realize she had been tricked by Xin Lang when she found nothing there. Blushing with indignation, she cried, "You’re the one who was drooling!"

Having successfully advanced to the Grandmaster realm using the *Art of Qi Transformation* provided by Hu Qingqing, Xin Lang had gained many benefits. He was in such a good mood that he couldn't help but tease her.

"If your neckline were any lower, I might actually be drooling," Xin Lang remarked.

"Is that so? Does that mean you really want to see?" Hu Qingqing’s eyes regained their usual seductive allure.

"To be honest, I’d rather touch," Xin Lang said.

Hu Qingqing gave him a provocative look. "Touching isn't entirely out of the question. As long as you tell me where you got that Grade 3 Saint-tier potion, I’ll let you have a feel!"

There were only a handful of Grade 3 Saint-tier Alchemists in the entire Nine Continents, and their status was no less than that of an emperor of a nation; it was no wonder Hu Qingqing was so curious.

"Hehe..." Xin Lang chuckled. "If I told you I concocted this Grade 3 Saint-tier potion myself, would you believe me?"

"Tch! Do you think I’d believe that?" Hu Qingqing rolled her eyes at him.

"Alright, I'll tell you the truth! I bought that potion at an auction for a high price!" Xin Lang reached his hand toward her chest and said, "Now, can I have that touch?"

Seeing his hand reaching out, Hu Qingqing jumped back in alarm. "Forget it then! I'll ask you tomorrow!"

She didn't offer to return the remaining half-bottle of the Saint-tier potion, either. Clutching it to her chest, she fled from Xin Lang’s room, terrified that he might change his mind and demand the half-bottle of *Blue Silver Saint Dew* back.

Once she was gone, Xin Lang returned to the Upgrade System interface. He had been too busy cultivating to check the daily tasks, and he wanted to see how they had changed now that he was a Grandmaster.

He opened the task menu and found the new daily assignment.

The Grandmaster-level daily task had changed significantly. Previously, the tasks consisted of ten movements, with the number of repetitions increasing as his level rose. Now, there was only one task: a diagram showing the flow of Qi through his meridians. These were not the meridians of an ordinary person, but his own "Heaven-Defying Meridians." The task required him to channel his internal Qi from his Dantian and circulate it through his meridians according to the system's guide. A Level 1 Grandmaster was required to complete ten such cycles per day.

Because his "Heaven-Defying Meridians" were dozens of times more complex than those of an ordinary person, it took Xin Lang over an hour just to complete one cycle.

"Damn it! At this rate, I won't have time for anything else if I have to do ten cycles a day!" Xin Lang groaned.

Ten cycles would take at least ten hours. With that much time gone, how would he have any left for "refining essence into Qi"?

However, the reward for the daily task was extremely generous—100 experience points. Xin Lang wasn't about to give up. He gritted his teeth and pushed himself to speed up the flow of Qi through his meridians.

By midnight, as the new day began, he had only managed to complete six and a half cycles. He had failed to finish the daily task.

"Damn it, I must finish ten cycles tomorrow and get those 100 experience points!" Xin Lang vowed to himself.

Although he hadn't finished the task, he noticed his control over his Qi had become much more refined. Furthermore, after several cycles, his meridians felt broader, and his internal Qi had increased inexplicably. This Qi wasn't absorbed from the outside world; it seemed to be generated spontaneously as the Qi circulated through his meridians.

In the common understanding, Qi was only produced by refining the essence of heaven and earth. No one had ever heard of generating Qi simply by circulating it through the meridians like this.

"Good, that's another way to increase my Qi," Xin Lang thought happily.

The next morning, he woke up early to tackle the daily task.

He tried to control the flow of Qi while simultaneously using the "Heavenly Halberd" to refine various essences into the Qi he needed. Multitasking was difficult, and by morning, he had barely managed one cycle. He was still nine cycles away from completing the task.

At breakfast, Fatty Gu and Hong Jingang returned to the Martial Arts Academy together.

Fatty Gu was his usual smug, high-spirited self, but Hong Jingang was a complete wreck, sporting two dark circles under his eyes and looking utterly exhausted.

Seeing the mountain of food in front of Xin Lang, Fatty Gu shouted, "Boss! What happened? Don't tell me Murong Yueyin and Hu Qingqing dumped you, and you're eating your sorrows away!"

"Drop dead!" Xin Lang retorted. "Your boss has advanced to a Level 1 Grandmaster, so I need to consume more food to refine my Qi!"

Fatty Gu and the others had heard of the "essence refining" required for a Level 1 Grandmaster; they knew it required massive amounts of food.

"Ah!" Fatty Gu, Qian Bai-du, and Hong Jingang were all shocked.

Hong Jingang perked up. "Boss, you really reached Level 1 Grandmaster?"

"That's right! I broke through last night," Xin Lang said while eating.

"Last night?" Hong Jingang exclaimed. "To advance to Grandmaster, you need a Heaven-tier cultivation technique! Where did you get one, Boss?"

"Hu Qingqing gave it to me last night," Xin Lang replied.

"Oh!" The three of them exchanged knowing looks. They thought to themselves, *So the Boss really does have a thing with Hu Qingqing! Heaven-tier techniques are priceless—they don't just give those away to anyone!*

"Boss, you mean you mastered a Heaven-tier technique in just one night? This... this is just too monstrous!" Hong Jingang said with wide eyes.

"Damn, that’s nothing! The Boss has done even more monstrous things than that!" Fatty Gu chimed in.

"Get lost! You're the monster!" Xin Lang kicked Fatty Gu, sending him flying into the crowd of students lining up at the cafeteria.

"Gu Ge, you... you... you pervert!"

*Slap!* A crisp sound echoed, and Ouyang Yanran stormed out of the cafeteria in anger.

A moment later, Fatty Gu returned to the table with a look of pure bliss, lewdly saying, "The texture was actually pretty good. Her little butt is super bouncy!"

Xin Lang rolled his eyes at him. "You need to step up your training. Try to reach the Grandmaster realm within half a year. If you have enough money for your 'escapades,' come see me!"

Hong Jingang looked at Xin Lang in surprise, not understanding why he was so supportive of Fatty Gu’s debauchery.

Xin Lang told Qian Bai-du and Hong Jingang, "You two need to train hard as well. Don't let the fatty leave you behind!"

While the three of them were quite impressive compared to ordinary people, the gap between them and Xin Lang was growing wider. A thought had begun to form in Xin Lang's mind about a method to help them jump from low-level martial artists to Grandmasters, but it wasn't mature yet and needed further exploration.

*The great Immortal sects have methods to help ordinary people cultivate Qi, which means such a path must exist—it's just that ordinary people aren't aware of it,* Xin Lang pondered.

He felt that the daily tasks in the Upgrade System might contain such a technique, but the circulation routes were tailored to his "Heaven-Defying Meridians" and weren't suitable for others. If he wanted to find a way to help the trio advance quickly, he would need to refine a "common version" for them to try.

He didn't tell them about this, fearing that if they knew there was a shortcut, they would grow lazy in their cultivation.

"Xin Lang, come with me! My mistress wants to see you!" A sharp, spirited voice suddenly called out to him.

Xin Lang put down his food and looked up. It was Qiuyue, the little maid of Murong Yueyin!