Cangxuan City, City Lord’s Mansion.
I had to admit, even though Energy Cores were outrageously expensive—the very definition of a luxury item—using them felt absolutely incredible.
When cultivating with one of these things in hand, as long as one’s understanding of ’Law’ and ’the Dao’ was deep enough, one’s Cultivation could advance by leaps and bounds.
Immersed in his cultivation, Li Chang’an barely noticed the passage of time. He sat in the mansion for nearly half a month.
On the twelfth day, Li Chang’an had completely absorbed the first Energy Core. His Cultivation broke through the threshold to Tier Three, restoring him to the peak strength he had possessed in the Great Derivation World.
But Li Chang’an didn’t stop there. He spent another ten days or so absorbing most of the energy from the second Tier Three core.
After all, due to the world’s suppression, Li Chang’an hadn’t actively tried to break through to a new Realm in the latter stages of his time in the Great Derivation World. Now that he was back in the Main World, free from that suppression and with the constant nourishment of two Energy Cores, it was only natural for him to advance beyond his previous peak.
Now, after absorbing all the energy, he had not only completely recovered his peak strength from his past life but had even broken through beyond it, smoothly reaching the Middle Stage as a Third-rank Martial Arts Evolver in the Main World.
Such a cultivation speed would be considered insane, even in the Main World.
...
By the time Hu Xiuyuan and Su Ruobing saw Li Chang’an, it was already the thirtieth day of his seclusion.
Li Chang’an had originally planned to continue cultivating for a while longer before ending his seclusion, but Hu Xiuyuan and Su Ruobing couldn’t wait any longer and sent him a message directly through his Rebirth Mark.
After seeing the message on his Rebirth Mark, Li Chang’an snapped out of it as if waking from a dream, withdrawing from his state of total immersion in cultivation.
Leaving his place of seclusion, Li Chang’an soon saw the two who had been waiting for a long time.
Looking at Li Chang’an, whose skin was now fairer and who had grown quite a bit taller, Su Ruobing said with suspicion, "It’s only been a month, but why do I feel like your aura has become even more restrained?"
Li Chang’an smiled and said humbly, "A small breakthrough, just a small breakthrough!"
’What does he mean, a small breakthrough?’
’Could he have already advanced to a Tier Two Martial Artist?’
Su Ruobing’s expression remained one of surprise and uncertainty, but she didn’t dwell on it. Instead, she turned to Hu Xiuyuan behind her and said, "Governor Hu has come personally to bring you news. There’s good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"
Li Chang’an glanced at the smiling Su Ruobing, then at the stern-faced Hu Xiuyuan, and after a moment’s thought, said, "Let’s hear the good news first. Start things off on a positive note."
He had just emerged from his secluded cultivation and didn’t want any bad news to ruin his mood, even if he didn’t think it actually would.
Hu Xiuyuan coughed twice, dragging out the suspense before finally speaking. "Ahem, Li, the good news is that the ’Basic Martial Arts True Understanding 1.0 Version’ you submitted has passed the review of the Kyoto Rebirth Association—er... that is, the Hua Country Reincarnator Alliance. They have officially rated the value of your Evolution Path as A+!"
"This should be the first Evolution Path to be rated A+ Level in the second half of this year. Li, you’ve made a tremendous contribution to the development of the Human Alliance!"
He paused for a moment before continuing, "To reward your outstanding contribution, the Reincarnator Alliance has decided to give you one Sacred Heart Fruit, ten Upper-Grade Spiritual Fields, two million Rebirth Points, and ten thousand Citizen Points. The items will be transferred to your exclusive account shortly, so remember to check and make sure everything is there!"
Li Chang’an raised an eyebrow at this.
He hadn’t expected the review for the Basic Martial Arts Truth to be completed so quickly. Hu Xiuyuan must have played a significant role in it.
It was excellent news, but only the timing had truly surprised Li Chang’an. He showed no particular expression, merely nodding. "Oh, that is good news. So, what’s the bad news?"
Seeing Li Chang’an’s completely calm expression, Hu Xiuyuan was stunned for a moment. After a pause, he asked in confusion, "Li... why aren’t you the least bit excited?"
Hearing this, Li Chang’an was the one who felt confused. "Is there something to be excited about?"
Hu Xiuyuan opened his mouth to say something, but for a moment, he didn’t know what to say.
In all his years as Governor, this was the first time he’d ever felt such a strong urge to roast someone. But given his status, he could only bottle up all his complaints.
’Is there something to be excited about...?’
’The various rewards add up to nearly five million Rebirth Points, plus ten thousand Citizen Points. This is a level of honor and wealth that countless ordinary Reincarnators could only dream of, working their entire lives and never coming close!’
’It’s a fortune that would tempt even a Governor like me, so how could it not be worth getting excited about in Li Chang’an’s eyes?’
’Are all young people these days so composed?’
The corner of Hu Xiuyuan’s mouth twitched for a long time before he finally managed to calm the storm of emotions in his heart. "Alright, it seems you have nerves of steel, Li!"
"As for the bad news... it’s not really bad news, per se. It’s just that the review for ’Basic Martial Arts True Understanding 1.0 Version’ is stuck in Kyoto and can’t be submitted to the Human Alliance yet."
He paused, then said as tactfully as possible, "So you might have to wait a year or two and let things play out. After the ’Basic Martial Arts True Understanding 1.0 Version’ has been fully popularized throughout Huaxia and has shown some results, then it might have a chance of passing the Human Alliance’s review."
Hu Xiuyuan didn’t mention the fatal flaw that Elder Bai had told him about—that the evolution ceiling was too low.
After all, for a Newcomer Reincarnator, being able to comprehend and codify the ’Basic Martial Arts True Understanding 1.0 Version’ was already a heaven-defying feat. It wouldn’t be appropriate to ask for more.
But Li Chang’an wasn’t a fool. He had created this Law himself, so naturally, he understood its strengths and weaknesses better than anyone.
Now, he could read between the lines of Hu Xiuyuan’s carefully worded, tactful explanation and understand the real problem.
A look of sudden realization dawned on his face, and he nodded. "Oh, I see. The ’Basic Martial Arts True Understanding 1.0 Version’ is indeed quite crude. It’s perfectly normal that it couldn’t pass the final review."
To him, the ’Basic Martial Arts True Understanding 1.0 Version’ was just something akin to a basic rough draft anyway.
The fact that it had made it all the way to Kyoto had already far exceeded Li Chang’an’s expectations, so he naturally didn’t feel any sense of loss at its failure to pass the Human Alliance’s review.
Seeing that he also seemed unbothered, his mood perfectly stable, Hu Xiuyuan couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
The reason he had been so tactful wasn’t out of fear of anything else, but because he was worried the matter would dampen Li Chang’an’s enthusiasm.
After all, in his experience, geniuses who were unconventional in certain areas tended to be extremely proud.
Their pride and their talent, which far surpassed that of ordinary people, couldn’t tolerate being questioned by others.
Although his impression of Li Chang’an had always been quite good, he was still just a young man who had recently joined the ranks of Reincarnators—hot-blooded and prone to getting stuck on things.
Having breathed a sigh of relief, Hu Xiuyuan’s tone became more amiable. "Don’t be discouraged. The Reincarnator Association has already begun promoting it in various regions. I believe we’ll start seeing initial results within a few months. By then, Reincarnators across the entire Main World will know your name!"
Beside them, Su Ruobing also chimed in consolingly, "That’s right. I already started popularizing the ’Basic Martial Arts True Understanding 1.0 Version’ on a large scale in Linjiang a while ago. Right now, all the Reincarnator Schools and people on the streets in Linjiang are learning your Cultivation Technique. The response has been excellent. It’s just that it’s been too short a time, so we don’t know yet how many people will be able to develop ’Qi Sensitivity’!"
The two of them spoke one after another, their words clearly showing their fear that he couldn’t handle the blow.
’Am I really that fragile?’ Li Chang’an wondered.
"Actually, the ’Basic Martial Arts True Understanding 1.0 Version’ really is just a rough draft. You can tell from the name. I chose it to make it easier for me to release future updates without having to come up with new names."
He paused, scratching his head. "And speaking of which, I’ve recently worked out a ’Basic Martial Arts True Understanding 2.0 Version’ that includes quite a few optimizations and upgrades to the original."
He opened his Rebirth Mark, skillfully navigated to the Rebirth Forum, and uploaded the ’Basic Martial Arts True Understanding 2.0 Version’ to the local network.
He had put it together during his breaks while he was in seclusion for the past month.
He hadn’t had the time or energy to deal with these miscellaneous matters while he was cultivating. Coincidentally, with both Su Ruobing and Hu Xiuyuan here now, it saved him the trouble of having to call them one by one later.
After finishing the upload, Li Chang’an explained, "The ’Basic Martial Arts True Understanding 2.0 Version’ is still mainly aimed at ordinary people. However, to ensure that they can fight the lowest-level Exotic Beasts head-on—so they don’t learn the Cultivation Technique I created only to end up as cannon fodder—I specifically raised the Martial Dao evolution ceiling of the 2.0 version to Tier Two!"
"Even ordinary people with average aptitude, as long as they are willing to cultivate diligently and persistently, should have no problem breaking through to Tier One, even if they can’t reach Tier Two!"
"This way, even if an Exotic Beast Tide breaks out, ordinary people who have cultivated the ’Basic Martial Arts True Understanding 2.0 Version’ will be able to protect themselves!"
Hearing Li Chang’an’s dead-serious explanation, Su Ruobing and Hu Xiuyuan both looked as if they had seen a ghost.
Their eyes widened involuntarily.
’Why is it that they recognized every word Li Chang’an said, but when strung together, it sounded like complete gibberish?’
’He just came out with ’Basic Martial Arts True Understanding 1.0 Version’, which hasn’t even finished its review process, and now he’s rolling out a ’Basic Martial Arts True Understanding 2.0 Version’...’
’Is this kid a Devil?’
’The most ridiculous part is, he claims it can allow ordinary people to cultivate to Tier Two?’
’Since when was cultivating so easy for ordinary people?’
Honestly, if not for Li Chang’an’s prior track record of success, they wouldn’t have believed a word of it.
After all, it wasn’t as if no Reincarnator in the Main World had ever tried to open a path to the Extraordinary for ordinary people before. But in the end, every single one had failed.
This was mainly because the Main World was not a Rebirth World. The laws of heaven and earth operated completely differently, making it nearly impossible to find an Extraordinary path suitable for ordinary people to cultivate. Even if one existed, the cost would be astronomical.
With that kind of time and energy, it was far more practical to just train a few outstanding Newcomer Reincarnators instead.
Yet now, Li Chang’an had casually produced an Evolution Path that he claimed could turn ordinary people into Tier Two Extraordinary Martial Artists, as easily as if he were just eating a meal...
No wonder the expressions on their faces were so strange.
After finally snapping back to their senses, Su Ruobing and Hu Xiuyuan glanced at each other, seeing the same shock and awe in the other’s eyes. Then, in unison, they opened their Rebirth Marks and began to browse the content of the Cultivation Technique that Li Chang’an had uploaded.
Seeing the two of them staring down with dazed, faraway looks, Li Chang’an figured they wouldn’t recover anytime soon, so he turned and went to patrol his territory in Cangxuan City.
The Exotic Beast Tide was due in half a month, and he needed to inspect the construction and replacement of the city walls and weaponry.
And if there was enough time, he could even undertake a new rebirth during this down time.
By the time he finished his patrol of Cangxuan City and returned to the City Lord’s Mansion, the place was already empty. Only his secretary, Zhao Xi, remained, staring nonstop at a hole in the ceiling above.
Seeing Li Chang’an approach, Zhao Xi hurried over, her face pale with lingering fear. "Lord City Lord, just now... Lord Governor, he... he flew straight out and smashed a huge hole in the roof with his head!"
...