Garrett had been lingering outside Joe Di's residence for an entire day, but Joe Di never opened the door, and Garrett didn't dare to knock. The joy of joining the Starstream School was nowhere to be seen on Garrett's face now.
This was already his fourth day at the Starstream School. He had attended lectures for the previous three days, and after returning, he kept trying to cultivate for three days straight. Three days passed, and not only did he fail to cultivate the Starstream Technique by any method, he couldn't even sense any spiritual energy.
Only now did Garrett truly realize that his aptitude was trash. The instructor had made it very clear that everyone could cultivate the Starstream Technique.
Boom! The anxious and restless Garrett finally sensed a tremor from Joe Di's room. He hurried to the door and pressed his ear to listen.
After nearly half an hour more, Joe Di's door suddenly opened.
"Garrett, what are you doing here?" Joe Di asked, puzzled, seeing Garrett lingering at the door.
"Brother Joe, I'm doomed!" Garrett wailed, clutching his hair, his expression anxious and dejected.
Joe Di, however, was in a good mood. In three days, his cultivation had reached the fourth level of Qi Refining. But after reaching the fourth level, his progress began to increase, meaning his true essence had been compressed to the extreme and would not compress any further.
At this moment, his spiritual sense was released, and it was more than twice as powerful as when he was at the seventh level of Qi Refining. Only Joe Di could truly feel this kind of progress.
"What's going on? Come in and tell me." Although Joe Di was a bit hungry, he decided to help Garrett first.
"Brother Joe, I can't cultivate. I have a useless spiritual root." Garrett said anxiously as soon as he entered the room, his voice nearly breaking into tears.
The first person Joe Di thought of was Elder Yu. He couldn't solve Garrett's inability to cultivate either, and Elder Yu, who had specially admitted them, was nowhere to be found. Logically, since Elder Yu had recruited Garrett, he should have a way to help him cultivate.
Finding the only acquaintance to confide his anxiety, Garrett seemed much calmer after expressing himself. He recounted everything he learned in class over the past few days, and explained that even following the instructor's guidance, he still couldn't absorb any spiritual energy.
"Wait..." Joe Di suddenly thought of his own cultivation method. "Garrett, you said only the Starstream Patriarch managed the third method? Did the instructor ever mention a fourth method for cultivating the Starstream Technique?"
Garrett shook his head. "No, at the time he said even the third method was impossible now, because on the Aurora Continent, there shouldn't be any genius capable of cultivating that way anymore."
Joe Di frowned. He was certain his method for cultivating the Starstream Technique wasn't the third one. The third method involved forming an illusory starstream inside the body while circulating the technique, filtering spiritual energy through the starstream before completing the full cycle.
But his way of cultivating the Starstream Technique was to form an illusory starry sky inside his body, filtering spiritual energy through the starry sky before completing the full cycle.
Even if Joe Di was slow, he could tell the difference between starstream and starry sky. A starry sky could contain countless starstreams and was boundless, while a starstream existed only within a certain range and always had an edge.
After cultivating the Starstream Technique, the starry sky formed inside him wasn't just a feeling—it was a deep intuition, a sense that it truly was a starry sky.
"Brother Joe, what should I do?" Garrett's voice interrupted Joe Di's contemplation.
Joe Di stood up and patted Garrett on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we still have three years. I'll start taking on some tasks to look for cultivation resources, and you'll come with me. During that time, I'll help you find a way to cultivate."
Joe Di knew his own situation well. After cultivating the Starstream Technique, the amount of spiritual energy he needed was so terrifying that even he couldn't believe it. If he kept cultivating in this remote room, no matter how many years passed, he'd probably only reach the mid-stage of Qi Refining.
If he wanted to reach a higher level, he had to go out and seek cultivation resources.
"I'll listen to you, Brother Joe." Garrett was at a complete loss, not knowing what to do.
Joe Di said helplessly, "Garrett, you're a man. Don't be so indecisive about everything—have your own opinions. Also, I've decided to change your name. From now on, you'll just be Garrett, dropping the 'Lance.'"
"Oh..." Garrett responded a few times, as if he had something to tell Joe Di but didn't quite dare to say it.
"If you have something to say, just say it. Don't be so hesitant from now on." Joe Di thought Garrett was too honest, which wouldn't work in the cultivation world.
"Yes." Garrett said cautiously, "Two days ago, Senior Sister Sherry Jing was beaten..."
Joe Di was stunned, then asked uncertainly, "Garrett, you said Senior Sister Sherry Jing was beaten? What happened?"
In his impression, Sherry Jing was kind and very smart. Someone like her shouldn't have gotten into trouble.
"After class two days ago, the instructor asked a question, but nobody could answer it. Then he took out a storage pouch and said whoever could answer his question would get it. Senior Sister Sherry Jing stood up and answered the question..."
Joe Di interrupted Garrett, "You mean out of so many people, only Senior Sister Sherry Jing could answer? What was the question?"
Garrett started pulling his hair again, thinking for a long time before saying, "It was a complicated question—I didn't really understand it. It seemed to be about what to do if you encountered a problem while cultivating the Starstream Technique."
Joe Di knew that with Garrett's thick head, it would be hard to get a clear explanation, so he asked, "Was someone after Senior Sister Sherry Jing's storage pouch and looking for trouble on purpose?"
Garrett replied, "I think so. After the class, on my way back, I saw two senior brothers blocking Senior Sister Sherry Jing. One of them took out three spirit stones and said he wanted to buy her storage pouch. Senior Sister Sherry Jing said she wouldn't sell, so he said, 'If you won't sell, then give me back the spirit stones.' I saw with my own eyes that the senior brother never gave her the spirit stones—he secretly pocketed them himself."
Joe Di's face turned ugly. Even when he used to run wild in the streets of Ji Kingdom, he would never do something like that.
"Then he slapped Senior Sister Sherry Jing, sending her flying, and called her ugly while snatching her storage pouch. He even searched her sleeve and took out three spirit stones." After Garrett finished, he quickly added, "I wanted to help, but they left too quickly..."
Joe Di could tell that Garrett hadn't dared to act. He snorted, "Garrett, I know you're timid. If you keep being so cowardly, don't follow me anymore. A real man shouldn't be afraid of everything—otherwise, why bother cultivating immortality?"
Garrett heard Joe Di's stern words and quickly said, "Brother Joe, next time I encounter something like this, I'll definitely rush in right away."
Joe Di said speechlessly, "I'm not saying you should just rush in every time you see something like this—you have to judge the situation. We were able to join the Starstream School thanks to Senior Sister Sherry Jing. Not repaying kindness makes you no better than a beast. Of course, you should also consider location. Here in the sect, those guys wouldn't dare kill you, no matter how bold they are. If you stepped in, even if you got beaten up, they'd feel guilty. But outside the sect, you have to judge the situation."
"Yes, Brother Joe, I understand now," Garrett said, feeling a bit remorseful. Brother Joe was right—not repaying kindness makes you no better than a beast. Senior Sister Sherry Jing had done him a great favor; without her, he never would have entered the Starstream School.
As for whether Elder Yu recruited him and Joe Di into the Starstream School because of Sherry Jing, he hadn't thought that far.
"Let's go," Joe Di snorted.
"Where to?" Garrett asked instinctively.
Joe Di replied with a murderous tone, "Of course, we're going to find the senior brother who hit Sherry Jing. He thinks Sherry Jing is easy to bully just because she's new to the sect? He's blind as a bat."
Garrett instinctively wanted to back down, but he remembered what Joe Di had just said. He patted his chest and declared, "Alright! Even if I get beaten to death, I'll stand up for Senior Sister Sherry Jing."
"You won't get beaten to death," Joe Di said, feeling helpless about Garrett.
The guy who snatched Sherry Jing's storage pouch was at most mid-stage Qi Refining. With his current strength, Joe Di didn't believe he couldn't handle someone at mid-stage Qi Refining.