Chapter 32: Cloud-Roaming (Part 1)

“Cloud-Roaming” was a good mission.

Unfortunately, Chen Yi could not do it right now.

Du Niang’s explanation of “Cloud-Roaming” was traveling far from home, destination unknown, return date uncertain. Its whole point was freedom and ease, without restraint or restriction.

Was Chen Yi currently in a state of freedom and ease, without restraint or restriction?

No!

He had far too many things to do.

Never mind that cultivation had to be done inside the sect, since the spiritual energy outside was insufficient and he could only idle but not cultivate there. Just the scattered odds and ends inside the sect were already plenty.

Besides, Chen Yi preferred quiet by nature. Going out to travel once or twice a year was fine, but if he had to run around outside all the time, it would affect his state of mind too.

Cultivation was the cultivation of one’s true self. The thing one must never violate most was one’s own nature.

Chen Yi could only set the chain mission aside for the time being. He had Tang Qirui free up some time, then called over Captain Ye, Pang Xiaolei, Xun Shiming, Captain Sun from the Magic Metropolis, and finally Lou Ting, who came uninvited after hearing the news. Then he called back his parents, his children, and Da Huang as well, bringing everyone to the Scripture Pavilion together.

Chen Yi sat in the seat at the head. Below him, the ten meditation cushions were completely filled for the first time.

Among them, Chen Yi had six personal disciples.

His parents, Qianbao, Linbao, Da Huang, and Captain Ye.

Not a single one of these six personal disciples was normal.

Having his parents as his disciples completely scrambled the seniority.

Captain Ye looked even older than Chen Yi’s parents.

Da Huang was a dog.

The only relatively normal ones were Qianbao and Linbao, but three-year-old children were the hardest to handle. Getting them to sit still for ten minutes was already the limit. Only sleeping children were true angels.

And so, with no other choice, each child had a phone in hand, and the Wangwang Dog cartoon was playing on the screens.

On the other four meditation cushions sat the four people who were not personal disciples.

The slots for personal disciples were precious. The country hoped to use them on Night Watchers with greater talent, such as Captain Ye. Even Tang Qirui did not qualify.

However, once Technique Transmission was activated, everyone on these ten meditation cushions would receive the effect of spiritual energy infusion. Even if it was not as good as the effect received by personal disciples, it was still stronger than cultivating on their own.

To avoid waste, of course every meditation cushion had to be occupied.

The button for Technique Transmission was pressed. For a time, the only sound left in the Scripture Pavilion was the deliberately lowered “Wangwang go, Wangwang go” music coming from the phones.

The meditation cushion beneath Chen Yi emitted a faint, dim glow. The glow flowed along the array engraved into the Scripture Pavilion floor and circulated toward the ten smaller meditation cushions. Then dense spiritual energy surged into their bodies, constantly filling their meridians.

The effect of Technique Transmission on personal disciples was extremely obvious. Even Qianbao and Linbao sensed that something was different in this moment.

They touched the meditation cushions beneath their bottoms and explored for a while. Then, as though they found it very comfortable, they lay down. Before long, they dropped the phones and fell asleep.

The children curled up, surrounded by spiritual energy, their sleeping faces peaceful.

But the most obvious change was still in Captain Ye.

He had already touched the threshold of second-stage Qi Refining to begin with, and he had also taken a Qi Refining Pill. Now that he was receiving Technique Transmission as a personal disciple, Chen Yi felt as if he could personally see his progress bar rising.

Ninety-seven percent...

Ninety-eight percent...

Ninety-nine percent...

In barely half an hour, the progress bar abruptly reached one hundred percent!

The aura on Captain Ye’s body suddenly surged. Spiritual energy churned in disorder, but very soon Captain Ye controlled it and gathered it back into his body.

Spiritual energy was still pouring into him, but Captain Ye did not rush to cultivate. Instead, he consolidated his cultivation, gathering the uncontrolled spiritual energy one strand at a time until it reached a level he could completely control.

By the time he had thoroughly stabilized his second-stage Qi Refining cultivation and opened his eyes, the time for Technique Transmission was nearly over as well.

It was right then.

A subtle change occurred simultaneously in the bodies of the sleeping Qianbao and Linbao.

Back when the Spirit Nurturing Art had been pressed into the tops of their heads, the children had not understood it. But after absorbing enough spiritual energy, the mental cultivation method had also begun circulating autonomously inside their bodies. From the beginning, when they were merely surrounded by spiritual energy and passively nourished, it had now become active absorption.

Chen Yi used Aura Observation to look at his parents again.

His parents had not advanced, but the benefits for personal disciples were indeed far greater than before. It was clear that his parents’ cultivation had also improved by a large margin. With another two or three Technique Transmissions, perhaps they would be able to reach first-stage Qi Refining.

Calculated this way, the one hour of cultivation that personal disciples obtained through Technique Transmission was roughly equivalent to one day of cultivation speed, worth about ten times that of non-personal disciples.

Of course, everyone’s cultivation was currently still low, so the effect of a single Technique Transmission was obvious. Once they reached higher cultivation levels, there probably would not be such a large increase.

But that would be a matter for when their cultivation was higher.

Right now, aberrations were reviving everywhere, and ancient bacteria had appeared as well. Any method that could increase cultivation speed was critically important.

When the time for Technique Transmission ended, everyone opened their eyes one after another, except for the two children who had cultivated themselves to sleep. Still unsatisfied, they all looked toward Chen Yi.

Chen Yi, rich and generous, said, “How about another Technique Transmission?”

The first one to refuse was actually Captain Ye. “The benefits are obvious, but I still have to stabilize my cultivation right now. I probably can’t undergo Technique Transmission again for a short period of time.”

The others looked at him with envy. “You advanced?”

Captain Ye smiled so wide his teeth showed. “Yes.”

After saying that, Captain Ye showily recited an incantation he had already memorized. “Look at this.”

With that, he raised his hand and strained for a long while. A candle-flame-like ball of light appeared in his hand.

Captain Sun from the Magic Metropolis was surprised. “Light Art!”

Before more could be said, the ball of light flickered twice and went out.

Captain Ye’s old face reddened, and he said, “Light Art consumes more spiritual energy than Dust-Removal Art. I didn’t expect that even after reaching second-stage Qi Refining, using Light Art would still be this difficult.

“It seems the density and size of the converted spiritual power, as well as the speed of condensation, all require enough practice.

“I heard from Old Sun that the Sect Master can continuously condense fist-sized balls of light, and after throwing them out, they can still maintain a certain degree of killing power. These are all directions I need to work hard to practice.”

Chen Yi made a sound of acknowledgment and did not say much.

An idling cheat player had no right to discuss the principles behind using techniques with others.

As long as he knew how to use them, that was enough. Cough!

Then Tang Qirui also stood up with a face full of reluctance. “Time’s up. Director Qin and I still have a video meeting, so I’ll leave first.”

With two people gone, of the remaining eight, some very much wanted to continue cultivating, while others were a little hesitant. Chen Yi thought it over and simply set a fixed Technique Transmission time from one to two every afternoon, up until he completed the main mission and left for Cloud-Roaming.

After that, Chen Yi had Da Huang watch over the still-sleeping children, then went back under the peach tree to cultivate.

After all, Chen Yi was someone who had experienced the pressure of the college entrance exam. Although life after entering university had made him much more lax, when there was truly a need, he could still push himself desperately.

Too many people were waiting for the results of his cultivation. The urgency was even stronger than when he had desperately studied for the college entrance exam for the sake of his own future.

Saying every second counted was not an exaggeration.

Just like that, he performed Technique Transmission once every afternoon, cultivated under the peach tree the rest of the time, occasionally went to North Mountain when he had a free moment, and when he was truly exhausted from cultivation, he would read miscellaneous books in the Scripture Pavilion.

During this period, Chen Yi found an elite teacher for Qianbao and Linbao, a one-on-two arrangement.

Lou Ting volunteered himself, saying he wanted to provide enlightenment education for the two children.

Chen Yi was a little hesitant. First, he worried Lou Ting was not professional enough. Second, he also knew what Lou Ting wanted, but there were some things Chen Yi had no way to decide on his own, and he feared he would disappoint Lou Ting.

Lou Ting smiled lightly. “Something like a preschool teacher certificate? I can show you one in minutes. You’re not thinking of still sending the two children to kindergarten, are you? With a father like you, they’re already unsuited to an ordinary lifestyle. Elites should have an elite growth path. What I can give them is far, far more than what you wanted to give them.

“As for everything else...” After Lou Ting finished speaking, he looked deeply at Chen Yi. “Everything I’m doing now, you can treat it as a one-sided investment from me. You don’t need to promise me anything. You only need to keep growing stronger.”

After Tang Qirui learned about this, he said to Chen Yi, “If we’re talking elite education, that guy really does have experience. And as long as he says the word, there are too many people willing to give him advice and draw up plans. Don’t worry.”

Cultivation, Technique Transmission, accompanying the children, and occasionally going out to attend a video conference.

Other than that, Chen Yi spent almost all his time cultivating. Even when sleeping, he was trying to replace sleep with meditation, and he had made no small amount of progress.

One week later.

His parents both reached first-stage Qi Refining.

Tang Qirui, Lou Ting, and Captain Sun from the Magic Metropolis also reached first-stage Qi Refining.

Pang Xiaolei’s aptitude was relatively ordinary, so he had only barely touched the threshold of second-stage Qi Refining. On the other hand, Xun Shiming, who had been cultivating on his own all along, had already reached the verge of breaking through to second-stage Qi Refining.

The only mysterious one was Da Huang. Even now, its realm divisions, cultivation level, and cultivation method were all unknown. Occasionally, when Chen Yi was tired from cultivating, he would also go to the Scripture Pavilion and read miscellaneous books, but he still had not found any books related to demonic beasts. Perhaps relevant books would only appear after he completed the main mission and opened the professional Spirit Beast Pavilion.

At the same time.

Chen Yi’s own cultivation had reached eighth-stage Qi Refining.

From seventh-stage Qi Refining to eighth-stage Qi Refining, Chen Yi had only used nine days.

The others did not know this and thought he had only risen from fifth-stage Qi Refining to sixth-stage Qi Refining. Even so, through comparison with Captain Ye’s cultivation, they still discussed among themselves how terrifying it was that he could rise one stage in nine days.

Chen Yi: “...”

Before Chen Yi could consider how to reveal the fact that he could idle, the people inside the sect already came to a reasonable and logical judgment on their own.

“The Sect Master’s talent must be very high.”

“Qianbao is a Dragon and Phoenix Among Men. Since the Sect Master was able to obtain this sect inheritance, his talent must be above Qianbao’s.”

“He’s at least two levels more talented than Captain Ye. With that kind of cultivation speed, it’s very normal.”

Chen Yi: “...”

So there truly was no difficulty in this world that could defeat people who loved filling in the blanks with their imagination.

Everyone praised him as a heaven-sent genius. Were they not allowing him to lose himself amid wave after wave of praise?

Chen Yi briefly gave himself a one-day vacation and spent the day properly playing with the children. Not until night, after the exhausted children had fallen asleep, did Chen Yi prepare to go cultivate under the peach tree again, only to be stopped by Tang Qirui.

Tang Qirui said, “The senior leader wants to learn about the sect’s development. I’ve arranged for us to leave tomorrow. It just so happens that the date for your civil service interview is almost here too. Why not add in the Cloud-Roaming mission and finish them together?”

Chen Yi stopped walking. “The timing for Cloud-Roaming still isn’t certain.”

Tang Qirui said, “Don’t worry. We specifically analyzed the system missions. The true core of the main mission is your cultivation, while the chain mission uses different methods to provide you with multidimensional training, letting you understand the Sect Master’s responsibilities.

“Recently, you’ve been neglecting food and sleep to complete the main mission as soon as possible. We’ve all seen it. That’s why everyone arranged for me to tell you that the strength of a nation should be the responsibility of every person. It should not rest on one person, or on one small minority group.

“Go Cloud-Roaming. Adjust your state. Rest is for walking a longer road.”

After saying that, Tang Qirui handed a card to Chen Yi and said, “The money in the card should be enough for this trip. If there’s anything you want to buy, just swipe the card. You’ve worked hard recently. Come back soon.”

He blinked. “A publicly funded vacation.”

Chen Yi: “...”

Why did the feeling of being sponsored by Daddy State suddenly make him a little moved?

The next day, Chen Yi shook the children awake early in the morning. Without even eating breakfast, he tucked one under each arm and left the sect.

Once noise-canceling headphones were put on, the children drowsily finished their bottles of milk before realizing they were actually sitting in a helicopter.

“Wow!”

“We’re so high!”

“Where are we going, Dad?”

“Travel! Travel!”

Amid the children’s excited voices, Chen Yi looked toward Tang Qirui and his mother Xiang Lan, who were sitting across from him.

Tang Qirui was going with Chen Yi to report to the higher-ups and might return that very day. As for his mother Xiang Lan, she was accompanying Chen Yi on his Cloud-Roaming.

After all, Cloud-Roaming was all about freedom and ease, without restraint or restriction.

If Chen Yi, who wanted to adjust his state of mind, was dragged deep into the endless work of being a stay-at-home dad because he had brought two children, then his return date would probably be far, far away.

But if Chen Yi left the children in the sect, he would also worry the trip might take too long.

As a compromise, his mother Xiang Lan could only come along.

It was the first time his mother and the children had ridden in a helicopter, and they were all very excited, chatting and laughing nonstop the entire way. Chen Yi was also infected by this happiness.

Sure enough, when people could take a vacation, no one wanted to work overtime. Sigh!

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