The cultivation of Serene Qi Realm focuses on the quantity and control of True Qi.
With Li Xuan's current amount of True Qi, there is still a long way to go before he can spread it throughout his body.
If the quantity hasn't been reached, there's even less to say about control.
After Li Xuan understood the cultivation method of Serene Qi Realm, he also understood why Elder Ye hadn't taught him these things before, only letting him focus on deepening his Five Elements comprehension.
The Yin Yang True Qi in his body relied on the special method of Yin Yang True Extremes Art to gain fixed daily growth, and the progress of its increase was relatively limited.
Elder Ye was also afraid that Li Xuan would be too eager and disrupt his own state of mind.
But after Li Xuan discovered that he could use the power of the cold to enhance his Yin Yang True Qi while absorbing the cold for Ankang Princess, he then decided to break through to the Fourth Rank as soon as possible.
However, it now seems that this matter is not as simple as he thought.
Even with the assistance of the cold from Ankang Princess's body, for his Yin Yang True Qi to reach the level of touching the Fourth Rank Serene Qi Realm, it seems impossible within this year, at least.
His previous cultivation had been smooth sailing; in less than a year, Li Xuan had continuously broken through realms, transforming from a little cat with no cultivation into a Fifth Rank Destined One who now controlled Yin Yang True Qi.
But cultivation cannot always be so smooth; at least for now, it seems Li Xuan will have to stay at the Fifth Rank for a while.
But at least Li Xuan can still deepen his Five Elements comprehension and continue to strengthen his abilities, so he isn't completely without things to do.
Moreover, he still has many required cultivation techniques to practice, such as Ghost Cry God Howl, which he practices for speaking.
Li Xuan chatted with Elder Ye for a while longer, asking many of his doubts about cultivation; some were current problems he encountered, while others were out of pure curiosity.
Elder Ye answered everything he knew; as long as he could say it, he told it all to Li Xuan.
Li Xuan gained a lot from his trip to Thousand Stars Pavilion today; seeing that the sky outside had unknowingly darkened, he bid farewell to Elder Ye and left.
"Li Xuan, cultivation cannot be rushed."
"Even if you are a Destined One, you must be like this."
"Strength is not only reflected in external realms; the realm here is also very important."
Elder Ye saw Li Xuan out of Thousand Stars Pavilion, advising him while pointing a finger at his own heart.
Li Xuan understood that Elder Ye was telling him to also pay attention to the cultivation of his state of mind.
He immediately nodded and then said,
"Okay (Meow)!"
Elder Ye couldn't help but smile when he heard the response.
Li Xuan did indeed meow, but at the same time, the slightly childish-sounding "Okay" echoed in his ears.
Elder Ye knew that Li Xuan was speaking with the help of Ghost Cry God Howl.
Li Xuan had even sought his opinion when he first started practicing this.
It was he who recommended this cultivation technique to Li Xuan.
However, Elder Ye had not expected Li Xuan to achieve such small success in such a short time.
Elder Ye couldn't help but squat down, stroking Li Xuan's round little head with his finger, and said,
"Your True Qi is not yet solid enough; it will definitely dissipate over a long distance."
"But this cannot be rushed; wait for the day when it comes naturally."
"It's not far!"
If it were Li Xuan before coming to Thousand Stars Pavilion, he would inevitably feel discouraged upon hearing this.
But he found that he was now much calmer; it was clear that after talking with Elder Ye, he was no longer as impatient as before.
"Mm-meow."
Li Xuan nodded obediently, responded, and then flipped over the wall, disappearing from sight.
Elder Ye looked at the wall Li Xuan had just climbed over, his eyes full of smiles.
Returning to Jingyang Palace, Li Xuan found that the two maidservants were waiting for him to eat; the table was filled with a feast of delicious Imperial Cuisine.
However, the two maidservants' thoughts were not on these delicacies, but rather on a wooden ball they held in their hands, studying a pile of red and black wooden objects.
Li Xuan stealthily crept closer, then poked his head out from under the table and asked the two maidservants,
"What meow?"
Ankang Princess and Yu'er, holding the objects in their hands, both paused and looked down at Li Xuan.
The two maidservants blinked their beautiful big eyes in unison, but for a moment, neither dared to speak.
It was Ankang Princess who bravely asked Yu'er beside her,
"Sister Yu'er, wasn't Li Xuan's meow just now a bit strange?"
"I seemed to hear other sounds too."
Yu'er also frowned, staring at Li Xuan, and nodded with a serious expression.
"Your Highness, I think I heard it too."
"It sounded like a child's soft, childish voice asking, 'What?'"
Ankang Princess and Yu'er silently looked at Li Xuan, as if hoping Li Xuan would say something again so they could confirm it properly.
Li Xuan rolled his eyes speechlessly, but still endured the embarrassment, blushing as he said again,
"That's right, meow."
Seeing Li Xuan admit it, Ankang Princess immediately hugged Li Xuan excitedly and said happily,
"Li Xuan, you can talk!"
"Sister Yu'er, did you hear that just now?"
"The voice is so soft and milky."
"As expected of my Li Xuan, so cute!!!"
Yu'er beside her nodded, continuously stroking him while cooing at Li Xuan,
"Li Xuan, say a little more, say a little more for us to hear."
The two maidservants' strong reaction made Li Xuan even more embarrassed; he squirmed, unwilling to say more.
He had previously been unwilling to speak because his current voice was not pleasant, and he could only say two or three words at a time at most.
But after Elder Ye's explanation, Li Xuan realized that he had been too ambitious and a bit too much of a perfectionist.
Many things have to be done step by step.
Even if he couldn't speak well now, even just these two or three words popping out could make Ankang Princess and Yu'er so happy.
Seeing their happy expressions, Li Xuan couldn't help but regret it, feeling that he should have spoken earlier.
In front of Ankang Princess and Yu'er, Li Xuan always considered himself an elder, wanting to take good care of them and establish his authority.
But in the eyes of Ankang Princess and Yu'er, Li Xuan was also their little cat who should be pampered, and they certainly wanted to shield Li Xuan from the wind and rain.
Li Xuan was teased by the two maidservants for a while and gradually adapted.
Compared to enduring and preparing to achieve perfection all at once, it is king to start roughly and then gradually improve.
He also knew this was a flaw in his character: he feared failure, feared making a fool of himself, and even more, feared disappointing others.
But it was this very character that unknowingly led him on a detour.
What is failure?
It is merely the first step towards a better realm.
Failure is instructive; those who truly know how to think learn as much from failure as from success.
Moreover, a rough start doesn't even count as a true failure.
Seeing that Ankang Princess and Yu'er were trying every possible way to make him say a few more words, Li Xuan could only indulge them.
He pointed his tail at the pile of things the two maidservants had just been studying and asked,
"What meow?"
Ankang Princess and Yu'er exchanged a smile, knowing Li Xuan was shy and no longer teased him excessively.
"Li Xuan, the Internal Affairs Bureau sent a message today; there's another Imperial Garden tomorrow!" Ankang Princess said.
Li Xuan couldn't help but feel strange, as it hadn't been many days since the last Imperial Garden.
But after thinking about it, he immediately realized that it was indeed time again.
The last Monopoly Imperial Garden lasted for twenty days; after that, Li Xuan was busy with various things, helping Emperor Yongyuan with antique speculation, establishing the Red Scarf Squad, and helping Emperor Yongyuan reduce the expenses of the Royal Private Treasury, and during that time, he also returned a book to Thousand Stars Pavilion once.
In the blink of an eye, it was time for the next Imperial Garden.
It was already November; in two more months, this year would be over.
The Imperial Garden had continued until now, and on the scoreboard, Ankang Princess had already gained an unshakeable advantage, securing the victory in advance.
For the remaining two Imperial Garden, the enthusiasm of others would likely decrease significantly, as the biggest prize had already been won by Ankang Princess.
But the monthly Imperial Garden rewards were still very tempting.
Especially Ankang Princess's Imperial Garden reward last month, which directly granted her the identity of Royal Silver Money Controller.
Ankang Princess, as a new official, started with three fires, directly implementing a significant reduction in monthly allowances for the Inner Palace, causing the Consorts and Imperial Princes and Princesses to complain incessantly.
From this perspective, they truly didn't want to see Ankang Princess win these last two rounds again.
Otherwise, who knows what other strange things she might come up with.
"Here, this is this month's Imperial Garden event: wood shooting."
"I've played it a few times when I was outside the palace, but I'm not very familiar with it; I'm currently studying it with Sister Yu'er."
When the Internal Affairs Bureau sent the message today, they thoughtfully sent a thin booklet about wood shooting, which detailed the rules of wood shooting and how this month's Imperial Garden would be conducted.
wood shooting, also known as Fifteen-Pillar Ball, is a game where players take turns hitting fifteen bamboo-shoot-shaped wooden pillars with a wooden ball.
The fifteen bamboo-shoot-shaped wooden pillars are divided into red and black.
On the red bamboo-shoot-shaped wooden pillars are written: benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, trustworthiness, warmth, goodness, respect, frugality, and humility. A total of ten characters; knocking down one adds one point.
On the black bamboo-shoot-shaped wooden pillars are written: arrogance, haughtiness, flattery, greed, and excess. A total of five characters; knocking down one deducts one point.
During the game, the fifteen bamboo-shoot-shaped wooden pillars are set up at one end of a flat field, and the thrower stands at the other end, using a wooden ball to hit the bamboo-shoot-shaped wooden pillars at the other end. The final score is based on the knocked-down bamboo-shoot-shaped wooden pillars, and the player with the higher score wins.
After hearing the rules, Li Xuan thought it was very similar to bowling; he hadn't expected Great Xing to have such a game.
It seems Emperor Yongyuan also wanted the Imperial Princes and Princesses to have some leisure, after all, the Imperial Garden of the past few months had become increasingly tense.
Especially with the changes in the Imperial Court situation, the Imperial Garden content also became linked to many affairs in the Imperial Court, making all the Imperial Princes and Princesses' nerves taut.
"It seems the last two months are meant for entertainment," Li Xuan thought to himself.
"Oh, by the way, the Eunuch who delivered the message said that this month's Imperial Garden has an extra bonus reward," Ankang Princess suddenly said.
"It seems that if you win the Imperial Garden, you can restore your palace's monthly allowance to its pre-reduction amount."
"Besides that, there's also a mysterious bonus round; the prize is said to be very generous, but they didn't specify what it is."
Ankang Princess's words immediately made Li Xuan's expression change.
"Isn't this just a follow-up to the monthly allowance reduction?"
"What does Emperor Yongyuan mean by this?"
"Does he think it's hard to quell public anger, so it's better to guide it than block it, and then give those people a chance to restore their monthly allowance?"
Li Xuan felt a headache coming on from Emperor Yongyuan's antics.
Emperor Yongyuan seemed to have some strange ideas every month.
Or, he was confident that Ankang Princess would win this month's Imperial Garden again.
"I just don't know what this bonus round means."
Li Xuan was pondering Emperor Yongyuan's intentions here, but the two maidservants, after studying wood shooting for a short while, turned their attention back to Li Xuan.
"Li Xuan, how did you suddenly start talking?"
"Did you only start talking today?"
"Can you say anything else?"
"Your voice is so cute; it won't change, will it?"
"You absolutely must not change your voice."
"Why do we hear other sounds in our ears when you meow, making it so that when we listen to you speak, it always ends with a meow?"
Ankang Princess and Yu'er immediately turned into curious babies, asking Li Xuan all sorts of questions, which gave Li Xuan a headache.
With so many questions, it was hard for Li Xuan to answer them word by word, and he was about to write with his tail, but Ankang Princess grabbed his tail.
"No, no!"
"Li Xuan can talk now, so we want to hear you talk, not see you write."
"Oh, my eyes are so sore from reading all day today."
Ankang Princess pretended to rub her eyes, feigning pity.
Yu'er beside her also played along, holding Ankang Princess while simultaneously holding down Li Xuan's tail, and said,
"Your Highness is so pitiful."
"Li Xuan surely wouldn't bear to make Your Highness strain her eyes further, right?"
"You speak slowly; I believe Your Highness will listen patiently."
Looking at the two maidservants' tacit cooperation and feeling his tightly clutched big tail, he regretted for the first time his rash speaking today.
Subsequently, strange sounds came from Jingyang Palace; whenever someone spoke two or three words, it would inevitably be followed by a meow, as if the cat in Jingyang Palace had suddenly taken a liking to interrupting others.
Ankang Princess and Yu'er listened attentively to Li Xuan speak, and from time to time, they would imitate Li Xuan, meowing themselves, which made Li Xuan so angry that he used Meow Meow Fist to hit the two maidservants.
That entire night, the Three Little Ones meowed all night, meowing until the window showed faint light, only then realizing they had meowed through the entire night.
"Oh no, it's already light!"
"Your Highness still has a Imperial Garden today."
Yu'er couldn't help but say anxiously.
Last night, the three of them meowed endlessly together, actually meowing all night.
Yu'er looked at the sky and then asked,
"Your Highness, are you hungry? Do you need to eat something and then take a nap?"
"There's still some time before the Imperial Garden starts; it should be enough for a rest."
Ankang Princess had always been a good girl who went to bed early and woke up early; it was rare for her to stay up all night, which made Yu'er nervous.
"Sister Yu'er, I'm just hungry, not sleepy; we just need to eat something."
Ankang Princess patted her stomach and said with a giggle.
She was quite energetic, not at all like someone who had just stayed up all night.
Ankang Princess's physique was now extraordinary; staying up one night really didn't have much of an impact.
Li Xuan and Yu'er also had cultivation, and similarly felt no fatigue.
It was just that Yu'er's concern was too great, and her reaction was a bit over the top.
Yu'er went to prepare food, while Ankang Princess habitually petted the cat.
"Li Xuan, from now on, when there are no outsiders, just speak."
"I believe everyone will definitely prefer it when you speak."
"Especially your little milky voice!"
Li Xuan immediately bit Ankang Princess's little hand gently.
"Hmph, you only know how to tease me about my voice."
"I'll bite you to death, you brat!"
Ankang Princess looked at Li Xuan's exaggerated expression with wide eyes and an open mouth, and felt a wet, warm, itchy sensation on her hand, which made her giggle uncontrollably.