Master, What Dao Do You Cultivate?

Chapter 62: Master, No No No

As Ji Qinglin manipulated Yu Ye's body to complete the Immortal Bone Guidance, Yu Ye tensed her body, let out a long howl to the sky, and then collapsed into Ji Qinglin's arms, her strength completely drained. 

Noticing the change, Ji Qinglin quickly left the inner scene, realizing that his body was unaffected. He immediately picked up the fallen Yu Ye. 

Caw caw— 

Not knowing what had happened, the Coal Boss, who had been watching the two perform their "duet," flew over and landed on the sofa, lifting his black wings as if saying, "Place her here." 

However, since the two were still connected by the neural data lines, it wasn't convenient to place Yu Ye directly on the sofa. Ji Qinglin had no choice but to hold her in his arms for now. 

But Ji Qinglin wasn't too worried. Thanks to the neural data lines, he could feel the changes that occurred in Yu Ye’s body: 

Her internal energy surged and finally rushed through her meridians, but it didn’t cause any pain. On the contrary, her body experienced an unprecedented sense of ease. 

It was just that the previous exertion had exhausted all her energy, so she had entered a state of weakness and fainted again. 

This part of the Immortal Bone could indeed only help with the replenishment of internal energy. 

If he wasn't mistaken, this Immortal Bone was likely meant to aid those who had reached the peak of the Foundation Building stage, where their internal energy was full to the extreme, enough to form an inner scene. Then, the Immortal Bone could help them achieve the Core Formation stage and access external power. His situation was special. Although he hadn't directly reached the peak of Foundation Building, he could obtain energy data from the Qi Sea Cloud Platform. Therefore, the Immortal Bone had only adjusted his absorption method, making it more efficient. 

Yu Ye, with his help in the inner scene, forcibly broke through to the Core Formation stage, absorbing external power through the opened meridian gates to replenish her internal energy. 

Since her body hadn't reached the peak of Foundation Building, her breakthrough had increased her realm, but her strength hadn't directly increased to the next level. 

However, this was still an advantage in the cultivation competition, adding to her chances of victory. 

As Ji Qinglin thought about this, he looked down at the foolish disciple he had just taken in. Unlike the previous times, after fainting, her expression didn't change much this time. She seemed like she had fallen asleep from exhaustion, her body entirely drained. 

Her handsome willow brows and apricot eyes were softened, and her red lips parted slightly as if she were speaking in her sleep. Her soft body, releasing a faint orchid fragrance, unconsciously leaned closer to him. 

Seeing this, Ji Qinglin hesitated to wake her, but leaving her on the couch after removing the lines didn't sit well with him. After all, she had just broken through. What if something went wrong and her body had a problem? 

He sighed and grabbed the nearby blanket, covering both her and himself. 

But before he could settle in, Yu Ye let out a soft hum: 

"Master, no no no~ Disciple~ I was wrong~" 

Hearing this, Ji Qinglin couldn't help but chuckle, scratching his head in exasperation. "Do I normally come off as that strict? Besides occasionally shocking this little one, I don't think I've been that harsh." 

He gestured at the Coal Boss, who gave him a strange look with his bird-like eyes, before flying over and turning off the light. 

———————— 

When Yu Ye woke up again, the sky was already dimly lit. 

Feeling something unusual beneath her, she immediately opened her eyes and saw Ji Qinglin, her master, leaning on the sofa, frowning as he gazed at her. Yu Ye quickly sat up and asked, 

"Master! What’s going on? How did I fall asleep?" 

Ji Qinglin reached out to stop her, reminding, 

"Slow down, the neural connection line hasn't been removed yet." 

"What happened?" 

Ji Qinglin stretched and groaned, "Well, nothing happened after the whole night, it should be stable now. Before I answer your questions, can you remove the lines first and take a break? I can handle the connection for both of us, but dealing with both of our urges to pee is a bit too much for me..." 

Yu Ye, who had been waiting for her master to explain, blushed instantly and jumped off the sofa to go to the bathroom. 

Yu Ye: "Did you say that Master stayed up all night for me?" 

Mad Ye: "Yeah, I was actually hoping something would happen. But we just dragged it on until dawn. You really need to consider taking that medicine from Sang Feng." 

Yu Ye, feeling guilty, said, 

"Disciple is really useless. I fainted again yesterday, making Master worry." 

Ji Qinglin, stretching his stiff muscles after another night of holding her, asked in return, 

"No need to say all that. How do you feel now?" 

Yu Ye frowned slightly, 

"I can’t describe it exactly, but my body feels lighter, like I have a kind of clarity I can't put into words." 

Ji Qinglin nodded, 

"That’s right. Because you are now a Qi Refiner in the Core Formation stage." 

"Core Formation?! You mean I reached Core Formation last night?" 

Ji Qinglin nodded and explained the events from last night, including his guesses. 

"Since your body hasn’t reached that level yet, fainting after the breakthrough is normal. You don’t need to blame yourself." 

Yu Ye looked at her hands, unable to believe it. From when her master said he would help her form a set of meridians to now, how much time had passed? 

She had truly gone from being a novice to a Qi Refiner in the Core Formation stage! 

Meanwhile, Ji Qinglin, still twisting his waist, reminded, 

"Don’t get carried away. Reaching Core Formation just means you can now absorb external power, but that doesn’t mean your strength has increased significantly. And..." 

Before Ji Qinglin could finish, Yu Ye, who had repeatedly overstepped, suddenly hugged her master. 

"What’s this? Are you attacking your master again?" 

Yu Ye didn't speak; she just hugged him and pressed her body closer to him. 

"Really, you still didn’t get enough after hugging all night?" 

Mad Ye: "So you can be proactive too. I thought you were like a porcupine." 

Beep beep beep— 

Just then, Ji Qinglin's phone rang. It was Lei Qiuyun. 

"Master, good news. The Four Seas Commerce Group has officially signed the strategic cooperation agreement!" 

"Good, just make sure you handle the connection." 

"With this leverage, the headquarters of the Xindong Street Commerce Guild is more confident now. So, I want to discuss something with you, Master. It's almost time to summon the leaders and members of all the branches of Xindong Street Commerce Guild for a general meeting." 

The Xindong Street Commerce Guild was sizable, with branches not only at the headquarters but also in various regions, each headed by a Grandmaster-level Elder. 

Previously, with President Lei Qiong in charge, the branch leaders, for personal, emotional, or power-related reasons, wouldn't have had any conflicting ideas. But now, the situation was more complicated. No wonder Lei Qiuyun, after gaining support from major companies, was confident enough to call a meeting of all the Elders. 

Ji Qinglin approved, 

"I think the timing is good." 

"But there’s one thing I want to confirm with you, Master. Should the meeting be held at the headquarters hall or in a more private, off-site venue?" 

The headquarters hall was typically used for official matters, while the off-site venue was used for more aggressive internal Commerce Guild disputes or power struggles. 

Lei Qiuyun asked Ji Qinglin for his opinion on this upcoming Elder’s meeting. 

Ji Qinglin answered without hesitation, 

"Off-site, definitely. This meeting won’t be peaceful, and if things go badly, it’s better to keep it out of the public eye." 

"Okay, Master, that’s what I think too." 

Ji Qinglin suddenly remembered the assassins sent to kill him and asked, 

"By the way, can you let me know the time of the Elder's meeting in advance?" 

"Of course, Master. Do you have any special plans?" 

"No, I just want to invite a few friends to bring gifts to the Guild."