A moment later, Ji Yin withdrew his gaze in disappointment.
“It’s already been three days, and not a single person has successfully sensed the existence of Spiritual Qi.”
Seeing that everyone remained unresponsive, Song Wen did not proactively reveal that he had sensed the existence of Spiritual Qi.
“It seems my Cultivation Aptitude isn’t bad; at least it’s stronger than the hundred or so people in front of me!”
Song Wen thought to himself.
That night, Song Wen successfully guided the first wisp of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi into his body.
He sensed the bright speck in the air surging into his body; instantly, a faint warm current appeared out of nowhere within his Meridians, circulating within his body according to the Cultivation Technique route of the Chang Sheng Gong.
Song Wen’s eyes lit up, and just as he was about to redouble his efforts, an unsettling thought popped into his mind.
“What if Ji Yin can sense others’ Cultivation? If he knows I’ve successfully guided Qi into my body and deliberately concealed it, it might be detrimental to me.”
Considering this, Song Wen immediately stopped Cultivating.
The moment he stopped Cultivating, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi around him, which had been drawn in and was surging towards him, immediately lost its target and began to drift chaotically in the air once more.
And that wisp of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi that had just entered his body, because it hadn't been refined in time and hadn't truly transformed into Song Wen's own Spiritual Qi, slowly dissipated into the air after losing the pull of the Chang Sheng Gong.
“That was close. It seems I’ll have to pause Cultivation for the next few days. I just need to put on a show in front of others.”
Having made up his mind, Song Wen laid down and slept.
Time passed in a flash, and four days later, it was the seventh day of Cultivation.
This morning.
As soon as Song Wen stepped out of his room, he heard people discussing loudly.
A dark-skinned, lean, and muscular man with a hint of dullness was surrounded by a group of young people, their eyes filled with envy.
“Er Niu, did you really manage to guide Qi into your body?”
“Brother Er Niu, quickly guide us, share your experience of guiding Qi into your body!”
A blush appeared on Er Niu’s dark face. Born in the countryside and not good at communication, it was his first time experiencing the feeling of being the center of attention, which made him excited and proud, yet also somewhat flustered.
His face flushed red, and for a moment, he didn't know how to respond.
“What are you all doing?!”
A rough, stern voice suddenly interrupted their discussion.
Ji Yin strode into the side room area, his face filled with anger.
“Early in the morning, instead of Cultivating properly, why are you making such a ruckus?”
Facing Ji Yin’s angry rebuke, everyone instantly fell silent, lowering their heads in fear.
Since Er Niu was standing in the very center of the crowd, Ji Yin’s gaze naturally fell upon him.
Er Niu immediately became somewhat timid. Ji Yin’s stern gaze made him feel extremely uncomfortable, much like the feeling of being targeted by jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards when he hunted in his hometown.
Er Niu dared not move, only daring to explain in a low voice.
“Reporting, Master, I successfully guided Qi into my body last night, so…”
“What? You’ve already guided Qi into your body?!”
Ji Yin’s furious expression instantly turned to surprise. He stepped forward, grabbed Er Niu’s wrist, and after carefully feeling it, praised him repeatedly, saying,
“Er Niu, you’ve done very well. From today onwards, you are my personal head Disciple. After today’s lesson, you will move into my small building, and I will personally instruct you.”
Feeling Ji Yin’s Pay attention to, Er Niu immediately felt his blood surge and became extremely excited. He seemed to see his bright future, and his speech became a little incoherent.
“Tha…thank you…Master Ji Yin.”
“Why are you still calling me Master? You should change it to Master!” Ji Yin said with a gentle expression.
After Ji Yin encouraged Er Niu for a few moments, he turned to the others and said,
“You all must also work hard. As long as you can successfully guide Qi into your body, you can also become my Disciple, becoming Er Niu’s Junior Brother.”
“Come, Er Niu, sit by my side, and we will begin today’s explanation.”
Listening to Ji Yin’s endless explanation of the Cultivation Technique, Song Wen, however, was analyzing the series of events that had just occurred.
First, from Ji Yin’s ecstatic expression upon learning that Er Niu had successfully guided Qi into his body, it seemed Ji Yin had no idea who possessed Cultivation Aptitude. Ji Yin’s approach of gathering over a hundred young people to teach the Dao was more like casting a wide net and hoping for luck.
Second, Ji Yin could not remotely detect others’ Cultivation; he had to make physical contact.
Third, Ji Yin just announced Er Niu as the ‘Head Disciple.’ From the conversation and reactions of Elder Yan and Gou Hang, it was clear that this group of young people was definitely not the first time Ji Yin had recruited Disciples. Did no one among the previous recruits successfully guide Qi into their body? If they did, where did those people go? And where did those who didn’t successfully guide Qi into their body go?
Before these questions were cleared up, Song Wen’s heart remained uneasy, always feeling as if a sharp sword hung over his head, with his life constantly threatened by a sense of oppression.
However, after confirming that Ji Yin could not remotely detect others’ Cultivation, Song Wen could Cultivate with peace of mind.
Time passed quickly again, and twenty days later, another young man named Zhang Cheng successfully guided Qi into his body.
This made Ji Yin extremely excited, as if having two people with Cultivation Aptitude out of over a hundred was an immense stroke of luck, far exceeding his expectations.
During this time, Song Wen had been quietly Cultivating. The warm current within his body had grown increasingly stronger, and as his Cultivation gradually improved, his physical fitness, strength, and mental state were greatly enhanced.
He found it inconvenient to test his physical fitness and strength, but he could now clearly feel his spirit becoming more vigorous, and even his mind seemed to become much more agile and intelligent.
He had also been observing Er Niu’s changes. Er Niu’s progress was visible to the naked eye. Er Niu was simple-minded and had no intention of hiding his Cultivation, occasionally displaying his strength in front of everyone.
Yesterday, Song Wen personally witnessed Er Niu lifting a hundred-pound stone with one hand, which drew continuous cheers and envy from the onlookers.
Song Wen secretly assessed in his mind that his own strength should be greater than Er Niu’s, meaning his current hand strength definitely exceeded a hundred pounds.
At the same time, his constant worry that Ji Yin might do something bad to those who could Cultivate did not materialize.
This evening, after dinner, Song Wen, as usual, strolled along the courtyard wall to aid digestion. This was something he did every day, and outsiders had long grown accustomed to it, so no one paid special attention to his somewhat unconventional behavior.
Of course, he wasn’t truly aiding digestion; he wanted to carefully observe the layout of the courtyard to prepare for a potential escape in the future.
The courtyard wall was ten feet high and not easy to climb directly. There were also many guards stationed both inside and outside the wall, making the possibility of directly climbing over the wall and escaping undetected extremely low.
After nearly a month of observation, Song Wen was not without discoveries.
He found a dog hole about 500 meters from the side rooms, near a section of the wall. The dog hole was large enough for a person to crawl through. Low shrubs grew there, along with a lot of man-high weeds, making the dog hole extremely well-hidden. If he hadn't meticulously searched for many days, he truly wouldn't have found it.
However, there were guards near this dog hole, and even after exiting the dog hole, he would still be within the Tian Sha Gang’s territory. To escape through this dog hole, he would need the right opportunity.