Status
Name: Li Mingfu
Age: 6
Cultivation: Qi Refinement Stage 2 (25 Threads)
Cultivation Technique: Thousand Thread Qi Weaving Art — Initial (90%)
Martial Art Technique: Shadow Drift Steps — Minor (20%), Shadowless Daggers — Minor (47%)
Talent: Heaven-Defying Luck
Time flew by.
Li Mingfu had now spent one full year inside the Shadow Gate Sect.
According to his status panel, he had turned six years old.
During the past nine months, Li Mingfu had stopped attending the morning lectures.
At first, the classes had been helpful.
But eventually the knowledge became repetitive.
The library contained far more useful information.
Instead of sitting through lectures, Li Mingfu spent most mornings reading.
One of the most important things he learned surprised him.
A growing body requires proper food.
Ration pills were convenient, but they were not meant for long-term consumption.
The pills only prevented starvation and maintained minimal energy.
For adult cultivators, this was acceptable.
Their bodies have already stopped growing; their bodies don't need extra nutrition.
Only body cultivators eat, but they eat food that contains a high amount of Qi.
As one's cultivation increases, eating regular food taints the body.
Their bodies are no longer mortal but has transition closer to immortality.
Only food with Qi, and cooked properly, would strong cultivators eat.
Most cultivators live off absorbing Qi.
But for a growing child, relying solely on ration pills would weaken physical development.
Li Mingfu was originally from Earth.
Basic biology told him that nutrition mattered.
So he started changing his lifestyle.
Sometimes he left the sect to hunt small animals in the nearby forest.
Occasionally, he even fought weak Qi Refinement Stage 1 beasts.
If hunting failed, he simply went fishing.
Other times, he used sect contribution points to purchase real food.
Many disciples mocked him for this.
"What a waste of points."
"Just eat ration pills."
But Li Mingfu ignored them.
They simply did not understand.
Having a strong and healthy body will make his foundation stronger than those around his age.
Eventually, Li Mingfu discovered the sect's open market.
That was where he met someone interesting.
An inner sect disciple named Zhao Yufeng.
Zhao Yufeng came from a merchant family.
He was the second son.
His older brother would inherit the family leadership.
His own role was different.
He needed to build connections within the sect.
Support.
Protection.
Possibly even improve their family's status.
His father was a Foundation Stage cultivator, but the rest of the family were mostly mortals or weak cultivators.
Their business involved delivering goods to the sect.
Zhao Yufeng himself handled many of those transactions.
He was sociable and easy to talk to.
At first, he tried to scam Li Mingfu.
After all, who would suspect a five-year-old child?
Unfortunately for him, Li Mingfu was not an ordinary child.
After several negotiations, Zhao Yufeng quickly realized this.
Eventually, they reached a mutual understanding.
Li Mingfu gained access to fresh supplies.
Zhao Yufeng gained easy contribution points.
Over time, the two naturally became friends.
Today, Li Mingfu visited the market again.
He was low on fruits and vegetables.
As long as the food didn't boost cultivation, it was quite cheap.
When Li Mingfu arrived, Zhao Yufeng waved.
"You came."
Li Mingfu crossed his arms.
"You have my things?"
"Of course."
Zhao Yufeng brought out several baskets filled with fresh produce.
Li Mingfu waved his hand, and the baskets vanished
A ring was visible on his finger.
During the yearly newcomer competition, Li Mingfu had easily taken first place.
Since no top-grade spiritual root disciples participated that year, the victory had been relatively easy.
His Shadow Drift Steps and Shadowless Daggers impressed many elders.
Several elders even invited him to become their personal disciple.
But Li Mingfu refused.
The elders he met were strong.
Yet none of them matched his style.
Besides, he preferred freedom.
Surprisingly, the elders were not angry.
They simply laughed and left.
One elder in particular spent hours talking to him.
Asking his opinion on many different things.
Li Mingfu was confused about why a random elder would spend time asking him random questions, but as a disciple, he would never try to offend an elder.
Especially if the elder was just checking up on him.
Most of the questions were about the sect, disciples, and how he felt about life.
Li Mingfu just won his very own spatial ring, so he happily answered all the question wiht a smile on his face.
Before the elder left, he asked him to be his disciple again, and Li Mingfu still said no.
He thought the elder was nice, but the only help or guidance he needed was time.
As time passes, Li Mingfu will grow stronger, strong enough that he will easily surpass the elder.
After the elder left, he quickly ran home and refocused on the first-place reward.
The spatial ring.
The storage capacity was about the size of a small room.
More than enough for his personal needs.
After collecting the food, both disciples pulled out their identity cards.
Li Mingfu transferred contribution points to Zhao Yufeng.
Zhao Yufeng grinned.
"Come again, little junior brother."
Zhao Yufeng's right hand softly smacked his own head and said.
"I almost forgot. My big brother heard about how much you love to eat. He is searching for something special for you."
"Special discount. Don't miss it. Once I have it, you'll be begging me for it."
Li Mingfu chuckled.
"Alright, I will be happy to buy it."
He waved goodbye and quickly returned to his villa.
Back home, Li Mingfu began cooking.
Nothing complicated.
Just simple dishes.
Rice.
Vegetables.
Fish.
Roasted meat.
During this year, he had tried making friends with other disciples.
But the new disciples were mostly childish slackers.
They either focused on cultivation or went to play.
Li Mingfu wanted to find at least a friend, but they didn't meet his requirements.
He tried being friends with the older disciples, but they didn't take him seriously because of his age.
Eventually, Li Mingfu gave up and got used to being alone.
His friendship with Zhao Yufeng had been a surprise.
Calling him a friend was kind of a stretch, as Zhao Yufeng was more of a business partner.
Li Mingfu also discovered something else interesting this past year.
Cultivators didn't need to use the bathroom.
Qi naturally purified the body.
There was also no need to bathe.
A simple cleansing spell could remove all dirt and smell from the body instantly.
Still, Li Mingfu occasionally enjoyed soaking in a hot bath.
Old habits from Earth were hard to break.
Besides, it was relaxing.
Just in case of emergencies, Li Mingfu had also learned many low-tier utility spells.
A fireball spell to help with cooking and to heat water for a warm bath.
A water-gathering spell that pulled moisture from the air for water.
A gentle wind spell to push or pull objects.
A Qi healing spell. It was not very useful, but it could help close up wounds to prevent bleeding out.
A minor earth spell to reshape terrain.
He even used the earth spell to build a tiny artificial mountain in his backyard.
Most cultivators ignored these kinds of spells because they were useless in combat.
But Li Mingfu valued them.
They helped with survival.
And they were extremely easy to cast.
Qi consumption was also very little.
From the books, he also learned something fascinating.
Spiritual roots were not fixed.
They could change.
A cultivator with a fire-type spiritual root could still practice water techniques or spells.
If practiced long enough, their roots could slowly shift toward water.
There were even special herbs, beasts, and potions designed to alter spiritual roots.
In one of the basic medical books, it said that some very rare herbs or fruits help improve spiritual roots.
A low-grade could potentially improve to a top-grade.
Li Mingfu was shocked when he discovered these facts.
By learning these facts, it helped explain some important questions Li Mingfu had on his mind.
Why did the orb only shine brightly and didn't tell anyone about its elements?
New disciples were only tested for spiritual root quality, not elemental type.
Being curious about his own element.
He performed several basic experiments, and Li Mingfu confirmed something.
His spiritual root definitely had a strong water affinity.
But since he lived on a stealth and assassination peak, he suspected Yin affinity might also be present.
With the sun, there is probably a Yang affinity too.
He stopped thinking about it, as it was a waste of time trying to figure it out.
As he grows stronger in cultivation, he will naturally get answers to his questions.
Sometimes Li Mingfu joked to himself.
The more he cultivated, the more he felt like a ninja.
If only his system could awaken something like an eye technique, that would be amazing.
So far, the system has not changed.
But maybe the system will evolve in the future.
Who knew?
Because of this idea, Li Mingfu began experimenting with water techniques.
He even tried finding a technique to control shadows.
Unfortunately, nothing worked.
Maybe the Peak Master might know.
Eventually, he gave up on experiments and focused on cultivation.
Honestly, he thought it would be fun to cosplay as a ninja here.
The concepts didn't exist in this world anyway.
He was already learning assassination.
In the future, he would take missions.
Just like ninjas.
Eventually, he hoped to create clones.
The Peak Master was known for his clones, and Li Mingfu hoped to learn it as well.
Illusion techniques existed here as well.
They were called illusion array formations.
Because Li Mingfu's soul was unusually strong, he believed he could use illusions effectively.
Maybe even combine them with clones.
But those were ideas for the future.
Right now, Li Mingfu has only one goal.
Push his Thousand Thread Qi Weaving Art into the Minor Stage.
He was already at 90%.
It was only a matter of time.
So he continued training.
Whenever his meridians began to ache from cultivation, he switched to practicing movement or dagger techniques.