Chapter 27: The Only One In The World
Chapter 27: The Only One In The World
Looking at Shen Shiming before him, then glancing at the number on the Merit Tome, Fang Cun found it more and more interesting.
Shen Shiming, who was normally the most concerned about saving face, now lowered his eyelids. His expression was sorrowful yet calm as he stood meekly before Fang Cun, unresisting to both blows and insults. The previously exaggerated and savage demeanor had vanished completely, as if he had turned into an entirely different person—humble and regretful, seemingly resigned to whatever Fang Cun did, even if it meant striking him down with a blade.
“Can physical discipline really ‘enlighten’ a person this thoroughly?”
Fang Cun was at a complete loss for words, taking a long moment to process the situation.
He hadn’t tried reasoning with Shen Shiming, hadn’t attempted to instill any morals, or even pointed out what was right or wrong. He had merely seized a convenient opportunity to pass the time and accumulate merit… Yet, Shen Shiming had genuinely reformed?
Was this the legendary Buddha nature?
Observing Shen Shiming’s profoundly transformed and repentant appearance, Fang Cun felt that with just a few more words of guidance, he might even run off to become a monk!
……
……
“Sigh…”
Ultimately, Fang Cun sighed and raised his hand.
Shen Shiming immediately flinched in fear, only to see Fang Cun simply lower the carriage curtain and depart in silence.
It was a bit of a pity. This one sheep had lost all its wool…
Having steeled himself to endure another beating without resisting—while trying to figure out how exactly he’d invited this trouble, why others in the academy or Yuanzhi Pavilion didn’t attract Shen Shiming’s wrath—Shen Shiming stared blankly as the carriage slowly moved away, disappearing through the city gates until it vanished from sight, and he finally knew his nightmare was over.
At that moment, he wasn’t sure whether to feel joy or sorrow.
His heart should have been brimming with resentment, yet instead, it was filled with gratitude.
He felt thankful toward the Nanshan Alliance. Evidently, Fairy Meng’s advice had made a difference…
He was also thankful to that wastrel from the Fang family, who had truly chosen to let him go…
In this world, doing good unto others was truly the best path!
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……
“The wicked have their own monstrous demons to face… So right now, I am that monster?”
Back at Fang Manor, Fang Cun mused over these thoughts.
This unexpected gain of three thousand merit points made him view the Celestial Merit Record in a whole new light.
It seemed all serious and proper, yet it had quite the mischief streak…
Was it saying it didn’t care about enlightenment or reformation, just the end results?
Did it judge actions, not intentions?
Evidently, his understanding of the Celestial Merit Record was still far too shallow…
The household was waiting for Fang Cun to eat. Elder Fang and Madam Fang had already had the servants reheat the dishes several times. Seeing Fang Cun return, they finally set the food out again. They all began eating. Near the meal’s end, Elder Fang, assuming his most fatherly demeanor, advised Fang Cun to stop troubling Shen Shiming in the future. It seemed news of Fang Cun chasing Shen Shiming around for daily beatings had reached his ears.
“Understood, understood…” Fang Cun acknowledged with a meaningful sigh, assuring Elder Fang before hurriedly eating a few more bites and rushing back to his bedroom.
Elder Fang hadn’t expected Fang Cun’s prompt agreement and was momentarily moved.
“The child has truly matured…”
At his age, tears welled in his eyes.
Madam Fang’s eyes also shimmered with tears: “Our eldest is gone… so the second son has grown up…”
The touched elderly couple had no idea Fang Cun had already set Shen Shiming’s matter aside by then.
He was occupied with something else entirely!
He had finished nibbling the sunflower seeds; it was time to cram the whole handful into his mouth…
……
……
“Three thousand eight hundred merit points!”
Thanks to Shen Shiming, Second Young Master Fang now possessed three thousand eight hundred merit points!
He’d long wanted to use merit to enhance his Innate Qi again and observe what changes might occur, and now he could barely contain himself.
Currently, his Innate Qi was at three cun and two point eight fen. With just five hundred more merit points, he could elevate his Innate Qi to the mortal limit: three cun, three fen, three li. And if he used all three thousand eight hundred merit points at once, wouldn’t that shatter the limit entirely?
Three cun, six fen, six li?
Where would that leave talents like those from White Xiang Academy or even Fairy Meng? They’d be left eating dust!
Back in his bedroom, he placed his inkstone precisely at the center of the writing desk.
Outside the Fang Residence, the pair of slightly irreverent stone lions, their heads tilted and jaws grinning wide, seemed even more cheeky than usual.
After these preparations, Fang Cun sat cross-legged on his couch. Calming his mind and steadying his breath, he summoned the Celestial Merit Record.
Calculating his three thousand eight hundred merit points, he decided on a careful, gradual approach.
“Spend five hundred merit points to enhance my Innate Qi…”
He whispered the thought in his mind.
“Whoosh…”
It was a crisp, resonant sound, like water washing over porous rock.
Fang Cun’s merit count—three thousand eight hundred—immediately shifted to three thousand three hundred.
Simultaneously, the supremely comfortable sensation he’d felt before when his Innate Qi increased reappeared. It felt as if he were soaking in heated spring water. Every pore on his body opened, connecting him to the world. And from the world itself, a certain stream of warmth surged into his limbs and bones, coursing through his blood vessels, enriching his vitality and physical form…
Through inner vision, the candle flame symbolizing his Innate Qi suddenly surged upward.
A brilliant light radiated outward from it…
“So. This is the limit?”
Fang Cun observed the flame through his inner sight, his spirit trembling with inexplicable excitement.
Having lived two lives, Fang Cun’s ability to control his emotions far surpassed that of his peers. But experiencing this change within himself, he couldn’t help but feel exhilarated. The reason was simple: he now represented the absolute pinnacle of potential a mortal could achieve!
Three cun, three fen, three li!
The highest innate gift Heaven bestows upon living beings!
This excitement was purely spiritual. Physically, compared to his previous level of three cun and two point eight fen, the difference seemed minimal. Perhaps this transformation would only become truly apparent when pushed to its extremes. Like holding one’s breath – what might have been impossible beyond a hundred steps could now persist for a few extra steps. Or perhaps, sprinting – the once unreachable feat of a hundred meters within ten seconds might now be achievable…
“Now that my Innate Qi has reached its peak, will I also manifest extraordinary abilities unique to those at the limit?”
This was what truly concerned Fang Cun.
Legends held that anyone whose Innate Qi exceeded three cun and three fen was Heaven’s chosen, a rare and supreme genius.
At the birth of such prodigies, strange phenomena often lit the skies for miles around. As they matured, their cultivation talent would not only far exceed the norm, they would also display astonishing peculiarities while learning the Seven Classics – like a photographic memory, supernatural hearing, innate divine strength, or the ability to perceive scents beyond ordinary senses, each case uniquely different.
Even more rare were those born with the talent to communicate with animals, or possessing deadly allure to the opposite sex.
Do not underestimate these deviations. On the Path of Qi Refining, they were called natural gifts.
With dedicated cultivation, such unique advantages could achieve heights utterly unattainable by ordinary people!
Previously, with his Innate Qi at only two cun and nine point eight fen, Fang Cun had scarcely dared to hope for such extraordinary gifts. But now, his Innate Qi had been fully restored to perfection. Shouldn’t that mean he, too, possessed these superhuman innate abilities?
He opened his eyes and glanced around. Nothing seemed different.
He strained his ears. Nothing unusual there either.
He sniffed the air. A faint scent of peony blossoms drifted in from outside the window… Perfectly normal.
He clenched his fists. They felt stronger, solid, but certainly not exaggeratedly so…
He glanced downward… It seemed just as it always was…
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……
Fang Cun’s brow furrowed slowly. He speculated inwardly: “Is it because my Innate Qi was restored through merit, so no unique gifts manifested? Or are these inborn talents not something instantly detectable, but rather something that awakens during cultivation?”
He wasn’t entirely sure himself.
After all, Innate Qi was considered immutable in the eyes of ordinary people. Finding any precedent or comparison subject was impossible.
“Whatever the reason, reaching peak Innate Qi undeniably holds benefits…” Calming his thoughts, he reasoned: If Innate Qi truly determines one’s cultivation speed, then right now, he had reached the ultimate limit. Under identical cultivation methods, no one in the entire world could possibly advance faster than he could…
“Though I must take care not to casually reveal how potent my Innate Qi has become…” He resolved inwardly.
If others discovered his Innate Qi had reached—or even surpassed—the recognized limit, they might view him as a freak. Fortunately, Innate Qi was an individual’s—more precisely, a living being’s—most profound mystery, exceedingly difficult for outsiders to discern. Even the measuring methods employed in an academy required the Qi Refiner’s active cooperation to obtain a reasonably accurate value.
If Fang Cun wished, he could conceal his true potential.
In simple terms: Artificially inflating one’s Innate Qi value was difficult; masking its true height and appearing inferior was relatively easy.
“In that case… I shall test whether this limit can be broken…” Pondering deeply, Fang Cun proceeded to the second step.
The commonly accepted mortal limit for Innate Qi was three cun, three fen, three li!
No one could possibly surpass this boundary…
But what about him, possessing the Celestial Merit Record?
……
……
Slowly, Fang Cun settled his emotions, his gaze returning to the shimmering Celestial Merit Record…
“Spend three hundred merit points… Enrich my Innate Qi…”
The thought formed silently within his mind.
He didn’t dare to convert too many at once, wary of triggering some startling anomaly.
Even so, as the thought crystallized, his heart pounded wildly.
The idea that he might now be stepping beyond a boundary no one else in this world had ever crossed felt like an immense weight pressing down upon him.
“Whoosh…”
Another clear, resonant sound, like flowing water, washed over him.
His merit balance decreased by three hundred: down to three thousand.
His heart hammered so fiercely it seemed ready to burst from his chest.
He took a deep breath, steadied himself, and focused inward – only to discover his Innate Qi was still exactly three cun, three fen, three li.
No change?
Just as a sliver of surprise flickered in his mind, he suddenly felt an unusual stirring. A faint current seemed to ripple from his Innate Qi, flowing in through the space between his brows. As this current entered, warmth spread through his entire being. His internal breath, which he hadn’t actively cultivated during this moment, began to visibly strengthen…
“Hmm?”
Fang Cun’s eyes widened slightly as understanding dawned.
After only a moment’s consideration, he locked his gaze onto the Celestial Merit Record once more:
“Spend five hundred merit points… Enrich my Innate Qi!”