I'm caught in the cycle of endless competition, you're waiting for me in the apocalypse.

A light mist hangs over the mountains in the early morning, creating a rich, spiritual atmosphere. The verdant forests and the faintly visible Taoist temples add to the ethereal beauty of this landscape, making it seem like a dream.

Standing on the training platform above the Taoist temple, one feels as if in a fairyland, ready to ride the wind and depart at any moment.

Having just finished practicing the Eight Pieces of Brocade, An Xin felt refreshed. She turned away from her gaze into the distance and looked back. Those guys hadn't fully mastered the Eight Pieces of Brocade yet. Only Wei Ran came over, laughing and saying, "Xin Xin, you learn so fast! You watched Second Senior Brother's demonstration once and immediately could do it exactly the same way. Your energy and spirit are so good too. Those guys were half asleep when they came, and they were so lazy and unfocused when they learned."

"I think Mingxuan is pretty good. And we should give them time to adapt."

“Ke Xinxin, you’re also a young lady from a wealthy family. You haven’t cultivated, but you’re already very powerful.”

"Maybe I'm just more suited to it, or maybe I'm just exceptionally talented." I can't exactly say I have some kind of cheat code.

"Anyway, you're really good. There's still an hour before lunch. How about I take you to see Uncle Zheng next door? They're doing physical training this morning."

"Great!" An Xin had been wanting to test her physical abilities and find her limits. It was like a godsend.

On the other side of the training platform, Master Zheng, dressed in short clothes, was leading about 20 disciples, leaping up stone steps. The stone steps were about 1 meter high and 30 meters wide, with each step surface about 1.5 meters wide. These giant stone steps extended up the mountain, totaling about a dozen steps.

Then I saw more than 20 senior brothers jump up the stone steps without any external help, one step at a time, until they reached about the fifth step and then jumped back down to the training platform. Then they repeated the above actions.

Master Zheng was among them, but he jumped two or three steps at a time, reaching the top of the stone steps before leaping down. His movements were swift and decisive, inspiring respect in all who beheld him.

As soon as Master Zheng leaped down and landed, Wei Ran led An Xin forward, bowed respectfully, and said, "Uncle Zheng, may you be merciful and auspicious! This is my junior sister An Xin. She has completed her task on the first morning. Could you please guide us through our body training, Uncle Zheng?"

Master Zheng laughed heartily, patted Wei Ran on the back, and said, "Haha, not bad, kid!" Then he looked at An Xin with interest, "Junior nephew, I heard you've already reached the advanced stage of Qi Refining, that's almost catching up with me, why don't you just skip ahead?"

He pointed to a senior brother who had just jumped down from the 7th step not far away and said, "This is my eldest disciple, Lin Fei. You jump once according to his strength."

“Uncle Zheng, I only have a little spiritual power. I’ve never cultivated or tempered my body. I’m just all show and no substance. How can I compare to you, Senior Brother? Look, I’ll give it a try first, okay?” An Xin tilted her head, blinked her eyes, and smiled sweetly.

Looking at his obedient and gentle junior disciple, Master Zheng was suddenly overwhelmed by cuteness. His heart was bubbling with joy, but he had to put on a troubled expression and said, "Alright, you can try first. Do you want your uncle to teach you?"

"Yes, yes, I need to be taught. Only with guidance from my martial uncle can I grow quickly."

—Ugh, I got hit again…

Master Zheng explained to An Xin how to circulate her energy, how to direct spiritual power to the parts of her body that exert force, and the key points and techniques for jumping over stone steps.

An Xin listened attentively, then carefully observed the difference between Master Zheng's upward and downward jumps. "Hmm, Uncle Zheng, I think I understand a little. Now I'll try it out, and you can help me check it out."

So, after doing a few warm-up exercises, An Xin began jumping up the stone steps one by one. At first, she jumped up three times and down once. After three times, she changed to jumping up two steps at a time, and then jumping down once on the fourth step.

And so, for an hour, An Xin continued her jumping back and forth without stopping. During her last jump of the morning, everyone on the training platform gathered around. They watched as this petite figure (only because of the contrast with the group of tall, imposing men) easily leaped upwards, directly to the third step, then followed up with several more light jumps to the top of the stone steps. She turned, took a deep breath, and leaped down, landing gracefully without making a sound.

"...Phew..." Everyone present exclaimed in surprise.

Master Zheng was greatly shocked. He had always heard Senior Brother Zou praise this junior niece, and initially, he thought, just as An Xin herself had said, that she possessed spiritual power but didn't know the methods of cultivation—just a showy display. But today's encounter made him look at the little girl with new respect. She truly had talent for cultivation, and was also humble and polite. Her comprehension and ability to apply what she learned were also extraordinary. He really wanted to take her under his wing.

"Thank you for your guidance, Uncle Zheng. I have made great progress today. May I come to consult you more often in the future?" An Xin smiled and bowed to Master Zheng again.

"Yes, yes, yes, I'm here every morning, you can come find me."

"Thank you, Uncle Zheng. I'm going to have breakfast with my fellow disciples now~" An Xin was surrounded by the young masters and ladies as she headed towards the cafeteria. As she went down the stairs, she shared her feelings and tips about the jump with everyone, even saying that if she could practice well, she would be as light as a swallow in the future and would quickly master light-body skills.

However, Anxin felt that the physical exercise she did in the morning was far from her limit, so she would have to find another time to try it.

..........................................

After spending the morning introductory to the Xuanmen sect with Master Du on the first floor of the Taoist temple, the five of them were completely drained of energy. They drifted off to the cafeteria like wandering souls.

The three academic underachievers were definitely running in the lead, while the academic high-achievers An Xin and Qi Mingxuan were chatting and brainstorming as they walked.

After lunch break, the group went to their respective professors.

An Xin and Wei Ran went to their master's meditation room. After their fellow disciples were instructed to meditate, Master Zou led An Xin to the next classroom. There, under the guidance of her master, she relearned the theoretical knowledge and operational mechanisms of meditation, contemplation, and Zen meditation. Together with her master, she entered a profound and mysterious state of selflessness.

The practical experience of circulating spiritual energy in the morning, combined with the theoretical summary in the afternoon, gave An Xin a deeper understanding of spiritual energy and its application. It also enabled her to meditate more skillfully and circulate spiritual energy throughout her body's meridians.

It was through this internal cycle and the elevation of a state of selflessness that Anxin finally ushered in an upgrade.

When Master Zou awoke from his meditative state, he sensed his little disciple's spiritual energy fluctuating and steadily increasing in intensity, which he guessed indicated that she was about to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm. Moreover, it seemed that her advancement would not be ordinary.

Then Master Zou drew in the air and set up a protective array and a spirit-gathering array for his young disciple.

He took out his phone and sent a message to the "Qingshan Family (6-person group)" group.

Zou: @Everyone My little disciple is about to advance to the Foundation Establishment stage, which will take some time. I will be here to protect her. Please do not let anyone enter or disturb her in Dao Yi Lou during this period. Please make proper arrangements for the affairs of the temple in the coming days. Eldest disciple @Baiyu, you are in charge of arranging and teaching your junior brothers.

Bai Yu: Disciple received.

Magnificent Hill: Huh? Really? Didn't your little apprentice just start class today? He's already advanced?

Purple smoke rises from the sunlit mountain peaks: Senior brother, what kind of demon disciple do you have? Do you have any more? I'd like to take one in too…

Hai Li Quan You: This little girl is really amazing. I only taught her how to climb the Heavenly Ladder this morning, and she already knew it. She can even apply what she's learned to other situations. I think she'll be learning light-body skills soon. Hey~ this little one, her comprehension is incredible. She's about to break through and advance to a higher level. A true prodigy!

Magnificent hills: Are they really that impressive?

Sunlight on the mountain peaks creates purple smoke: Isn't that little girl about to reach the Foundation Establishment stage? Hey, what's wrong with not believing it?

The sea is full of things: I wonder how long it will take her to advance...

Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth: Huh? The little girl is about to advance in rank?

The sea is full of things: Old Du, you're a step behind again.

……

Inside the Qimen Tower, Master Qiu put down his phone, sighed deeply, and said to his disciples below, "For the next few days, none of you should enter the Dao Yi Tower. Your junior sister is breaking through and advancing in rank..."

"Master, how far has Junior Sister progressed in Qi cultivation?"

"Your junior sister is about to advance to the Foundation Establishment stage!"

...Everyone was speechless.

Junior Sister's first day of cultivation...

"Mingxuan, come here, let me explain to you the various overlapping formations..." Fortunately, I have a promising talent under my command this time, and he is really good at thinking.

This scene occurred simultaneously at Master Zheng's martial arts training platform, Master Chen's Jishi Building, and Master Du's Five Elements Building.

Just as everyone was discussing how many days it would take for An Xin to break through, the young master and young lady gathered together for a small meeting in the dormitory of the small building.

"An Xin is really amazing. I feel like the gap between her and us is getting bigger and bigger..." Fang Yinuo felt a little dejected in addition to envy.

"There's no point in comparing them. She has a solid foundation and talent, and we shouldn't underestimate ourselves," Gu Shuohan said very rationally.

"Hey, Wei Ran, you brat, you know more about this stuff, tell us about it." Lei Yao was quite impressed when he heard that An Xin was about to advance in rank so quickly. However, his knowledge of the Xuanmen sect was too limited to fully understand why everyone in the temple seemed so disheartened.

"Sigh... Junior Sister Xinxin is truly amazing. Let me put it this way, for someone with average aptitude, the process of sensing spiritual energy and drawing it into their body takes one to two years. Some people with poor comprehension may take even longer, or even never be able to draw in spiritual energy in their entire lives. After drawing in spiritual energy, it needs to be transformed into spiritual power, which circulates throughout the body, opening up the meridians and even widening them. When the spiritual power and its circulation reach a certain level, a qualitative change occurs, and one advances to the Foundation Establishment stage. In fact, Foundation Establishment is about laying the foundation, the meaning of building the spiritual platform. Foundation Establishment is also when cultivation truly begins, so there is no tribulation of lightning. The wider the meridians are widened during the Qi Refining stage, the more spiritual power is accumulated, and the better the Foundation Establishment will be. Then, subsequent cultivation will be twice as effective with half the effort, and the power will be much greater. It generally takes several years, ten years, or even several decades to go from the Qi Refining stage to the Foundation Establishment stage."

"Isn't An Xin just too overpowered?"

"Well, to be honest, out of the more than 200 people in our temple, apart from a few Taoist priests and a few senior brothers, most of them are at the Qi Refining stage."

Qi Mingxuan frowned and said, "Wei Ran, the Daoists have all been busy lately, and we've all been studying theory. You're already at the Qi Refining stage, could you teach me how to guide Qi into my body? I want to speed up my cultivation."

"Yes, Wei Ran, please help us."

"That's possible. Let's discuss a time and cultivate together."

It seems that An Xin's promotion has brought pressure and motivation to compete within the temple and among the young masters and ladies.