Ian Song had noticed a strange thing: the cultivation civilization in this world was incredibly advanced, but its material culture was surprisingly primitive. Take alcohol, for example—most of the local brews only had an alcohol content in the teens, barely stronger than beer.
So when he brought out a bottle of Maotai from his old world, it was no wonder Lena Ling was instantly entranced.
"What is this wine?"
As Ian walked out of the kitchen carrying a plate of chicken stir-fried with mushrooms, Lena Ling—who had already polished off an entire bottle of Maotai—fixed her sparkling gaze on him, full of curiosity, anticipation, and longing.
"Maotai," Ian replied.
"Where did you get it?" Lena pressed. "Any more left?"
"I brought it myself." Ian set the plate of chicken and mushrooms on the table and added, "I'll go get you some more!"
Soon enough, Ian came back out carrying two more bottles of Maotai.
A whirlwind swept by, and the two bottles of Maotai vanished from Ian's hands. Looking up, he saw Lena Ling had already popped the caps off at lightning speed and was tilting a bottle straight to her lips.
A silvery stream of liquor poured down into Lena Ling's mouth, her posture radiating pure, carefree swagger...
He ladled a bowl of soup and set it in front of Lena. "Senior Sister, have some soup to warm your stomach."
"I want wine! Second Fool, hurry up and get me some!"
Lena didn't even glance at the soup, shouting at Ian instead.
"Senior Sister, that's all there is. Next time, I'll make sure to have more prepared." Ian reached out as he spoke.
"No way, I want wine. If you don't have any, go find some!"
Lena insisted stubbornly.
"Hold on a moment."
With no other choice, Ian headed to the canteen for some wine. Of course, he had plenty in his storage ring, but he wasn't about to bring that out.
But when he came back with two bottles, Lena was already asleep on the table.
Ian sighed helplessly. He'd invited Lena over to ask her about the world, and especially about the Immortal Ranking.
But now, that plan was a bust.
With Lena drunk, he didn't want to waste the spread of good food. So Ian sat down, poured himself a drink, and started eating.
After eating and cleaning up, Lena was still asleep.
Sleeping slumped over the table couldn't be comfortable, so Ian picked Lena up and put her on his bed. Then he left the hut and closed the door behind him.
Just as he closed the door, Lena suddenly opened her eyes on the bed, a faint smile on her lips. "This silly boy," she murmured.
After mumbling, Lena closed her eyes again and fell into a deep sleep.
Outside, Ian smiled too. He'd realized Lena was awake when he picked her up—she'd just pretended to be asleep, probably to test him.
I wonder if what I did was enough to satisfy her?
As the sun rose, soft golden light spilled down onto the wooden hut halfway up Jade Maiden Peak.
Creak.
Lena opened the wooden door and stepped outside, stretching with both arms. Last night, she’d slept better than ever.
Suddenly, she spotted someone sleeping soundly on a pile of dry grass not far away.
Hey, lazybones, get up!
She walked over and gave Ian a gentle kick.
Ian rubbed his sleepy eyes and looked at Lena. "Senior Sister, you’re awake!"
When he replaced Second Fool, the system automatically hid his cultivation deep within his body. Unless he revealed it, he only seemed a bit stronger than a normal martial artist.
"I'm hungry. Go make me something to eat!" Lena ordered.
"Okay, sure!"
Ian jumped up and ran to the kitchen. Seeing him rush off, Lena smiled knowingly—but the next moment, her smile faded for reasons unknown.
Fifteen minutes later, Ian and Lena sat facing each other at the table: steamed buns, carefully pickled vegetables, and two bowls of preserved-egg lean meat congee.
"Senior Sister, could you tell me about the cultivation world?"
"What's there to say?" Lena replied coolly.
"Oh."
Ian was observant enough to notice Lena's low spirits, so he didn't press further.
Without realizing it, Ian had already been a formal disciple of the Jade Maiden Sect for a month. Yesterday, Lana Snow passed him a technique called the Heaven-Gang Divine Fire Art and asked Lena to guide his practice.
The name sounded impressive, but in truth it was a basic technique—at best, it could reach early Foundation Establishment.
Unlike in fantasy worlds, you can't just buy or sell techniques here.
In this world, techniques and spells are a sect's lifeblood, guarded more tightly than anything else.
Take the Jade Maiden Sect, for example—it’s thousands of years old, but its signature technique is still the one created by its founding ancestor. They’ve never managed to acquire anything higher-ranked.
Clearly, cultivation techniques are extremely rare. So Lana being able to get Ian a technique that reaches early Foundation Establishment is already a huge favor.
With Lena’s guidance, Ian began practicing.
On the first day, he reached entry level.
On the second day, he condensed Divine Fire true essence.
By the third day, his Divine Fire true essence reached the standard for first-layer Qi Refining.
When Lana Snow heard, she was full of regret. If only Second Fool were a girl! His talent was amazing—she’d needed three months to go from entry level to first-layer Qi Refining, but it only took him three days.
Worth mentioning: cultivation starts at first-layer Qi Refining, which combines the acquired and innate stages.
In this world, techniques and spells are a sect's lifeblood, guarded more tightly than anything else.
Take the Jade Maiden Sect, for example—it’s thousands of years old, but its signature technique is still the one created by its founding ancestor. They’ve never managed to acquire anything higher-ranked.
Clearly, cultivation techniques are extremely rare. So Lana being able to get Ian a technique that reaches early Foundation Establishment is already a huge favor.
With Lena’s guidance, Ian began practicing.
On the first day, he reached entry level.
On the second day, he condensed Divine Fire true essence.
By the third day, his Divine Fire true essence reached the standard for first-layer Qi Refining.
When Lana Snow heard, she was full of regret. If only Second Fool were a girl! His talent was amazing—she’d needed three months to go from entry level to first-layer Qi Refining, but it only took him three days.
Worth mentioning: cultivation starts at first-layer Qi Refining, which combines the acquired and innate stages.