“Reaching the Qi Refinement realm doesn't make oneself a cultivator.”

Auslen was currently sitting cross-legged on a white cushion within his newly-named Meditation Hall in his palace, facing directly towards his father, who had just begun his lesson on cultivation.

Cedrick continued, “A cultivator has the ability to mobilize their Soul Force to directly draw Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi into their Dao Roots, refining it continuously until it transforms into Profound Qi.

“Those within the Qi Refinement realm cannot do this, as their souls have yet to experience the qualitative transformation that allows for its extension outside of the human body. Therefore, those within the Qi Refinement realm are known as practitioners.”

Auslen’s brow twitched slightly at this statement.

So that brat Aiden was indeed lying to me back then. How shameless.

Cedrick’s deep voice brought Auslen attention back to the lesson.

“Because the practitioner cannot draw Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi into the body, they would need to consume either Spirit Plants, Spirit Elixirs, or Spirit Pills in order to advance. For instance, this is a bottle of Qi Refinement Elixir.”

He held out his hand slowly. Suddenly, a ring on his index finger, which was constructed entirely out of transparent crystal, glowed softly. Then, a small clear bottle that was filled with blue liquid appeared on top of his open palm.

“Fortunately for the practitioner, consuming either of the three I just mentioned is far simpler than personally refining Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi into Profound Qi, as they all contain pure Profound Qi that had already been refined in advance.

“However, both Spirit Plants and Spirit Elixirs are quite costly to obtain. Spirit Pills are nearly impossible to even see, as they are monopolized by the sects.”

He opened the small bottle and extended a finger within. As he pulled it out, a small droplet of Spirit Elixir could be seen sitting on the top of the outstretched fingertip.

“This droplet contains 1 full strand of Profound Qi, which is the entire amount required for a practitioner to reach the first stage of Qi Refinement.

“However, extracting Profound Qi from the elixir droplet is not as simple as it may seem.

“Most young and talented practitioners fail to absorb even 2 percent of the Profound Qi contained within each droplet, causing the rest to disperse outside of their bodies and into the atmosphere. Those young talents would require at least an entire bottle of Spirit Elixir to successfully advance to the Qi Refinement realm.”

Cedrick placed the droplet back into the bottle before placing the entire bottle directly in front of Auslen.

“The amount of Profound Qi a practitioner can refine mainly depends on their Soul Force. That is where you have supreme advantage in comparison to others.

“For example, your cousin from your mother’s family, has a total of 34 Soul Force points and can absorb around 3 percent from each droplet. With your talent, I estimate that you could succeed in extracting 18 to 20 percent, provided you maintain sufficient focus.”

Cedrick stopped speaking for a moment, giving Auslen a moment to reflect on the information given.

After seeing that Auslen looked prepared, Cedrick spoke, “I previously gave you the Qi Refinement Cultivation Method to study. You should've already learned most of what I had just explained from the book, so you won't have any issues with the consumption of the Spirit Elixir.

“Have you successfully located each of the 36 meridians with your Soul Force?”

“Yes, Father!”

“Good! Then I'll give you time to cultivate alone. You should need roughly 5 droplets of Spirit Elixir to reach the first stage, and each droplet should take you around 30 minutes to extract before the droplet begins to deteriorate.

“After three hours have elapsed, I'll return to evaluate your progress.”

Once Cedrick finished speaking, he stood from his seat without ceremony and promptly exited the room, leaving Auslen’s small figure alone within.

Excitement budding within his heart, Auslen didn't waste anymore time.

He picked up the small bottle placed in front of him and twisted opened the lid, releasing a pleasant, floral scent directly into his nostrils.

Using the top as a small cup, Auslen carefully poured one drop’s worth of Spirit Elixir into it before readily placing the droplet in his open mouth. He then closed the lid and stilled on his cushion, eyes closed as he began to sense his inner body.

He felt a faint vibration occurring from within his abdomen.

The Elixir droplet was extremely chaotic within his stomach, twirling and gyrating as if it had a mind of its own.

However, with just a bit of focused attention from Auslen’s soul, the Elixir droplet immediately froze like a guilty child.

Pleased at the ease of which he gained control over the Elixir droplet, Auslen then exerted all of his body and mind into the extraction of the Profound Qi contained within the droplet.

He used his Soul Force to sense all the meridians lining his stomach, doing his best to guide fragments of Profound Qi into them.

Although the Elixir droplet did not struggle, extracting the Profound Qi was not immediate.

However, after nearly three minutes of intense focus, Auslen began to feel a cold and refreshing sensation emanating from his stomach, like drinking cool spring water on a hot summer afternoon.

Eventually this sensation began to permeate his entire body as it traveled slowly through his Dao Roots. This phenomenon continued and even increased as Auslen’s entire body began to faintly tremble.

After more than 20 minutes had elapsed, the cool feeling completely converged into his solar plexus, the location of the Dantian.

Within the Dantian, Auslen could directly see a long, but extremely thin, glowing apparition. It was a complete strand of Profound Qi, dancing within his Dantian with abundant vitality.

Boom!

Auslen’s body seemed to emit a thunderous sound.

A powerful wave of energy was released from the strand of Profound Qi. The glowing white strand was dancing violently as it exited the Dantian, circulating uncontrollably throughout Auslen’s Dao Roots.

Ripple after ripple of vitality began to spread through Auslen bones, muscles, and skin, strengthening his entire body on a qualitative scale. It was an evolution process similar to an intense chemical reaction!

Auslen, who’s eyes were still closed, revealed a faint smile.

Just one! It took just one droplet of Spirit Elixir to reach the first stage of Qi Refinement!

Auslen continued to sit still as his body maintained its transformative state.

Unbeknownst to Auslen, jade white liquid that was hidden within his body for six years began to dissipate at rapid speeds, feeding his ongoing evolution process.

As he was asleep during his time soaking in the Body-Nourishing Liquid, he was unaware that such a substance was contained with his bones, organs, and muscle fibers.

Once the transformation was complete, Auslen let out a satisfied smile, a glimmer of light shining within his gradually opening eyes.

His entire body felt energized and renewed. At any moment, he felt that he could circulate his single strand of Profound Qi, filling his body with even more extraordinary power.

After opening and closing his small fist in excitement, his eyes gravitated towards the mechanical clock in the corner of the room.

It's only been around 50 minutes since I began cultivating, which means I have over two hours left until Father returns…

Auslen touched his chin in brief thought.

Then, he quickly picked the Qi Refinement Elixir bottle back up and poured out another droplet, depositing it directly into his open mouth as he began the extraction process once more.

After an additional 20 minutes had passed, yet another strand of Profound Qi sat within his Dantian, wriggling energetically alongside the first strand.

No other sensation of note occurred, so Auslen consumed his third droplet, choosing to charge straight to the second stage of Qi Refinement.

When he successfully condensed his third strand of Primordial Qi, each of the strands vibrated frantically as yet another full-body transformation began to occur.

Although it wasn’t as shocking as when he entered the 1st Stage of Qi Refinement, there was still large amounts of energy being distributed to his entire body.

Once again, the advancement in Auslen’s cultivation was unknowingly fueled by the white liquid that was nearly exhausted.

And after a couple more minutes, the white liquid had dissipated entirely.

At this moment, Auslen warily opened his eyes, brows furrowing in increasing discomfort.

He had suddenly felt that his advancement was not going nearly as smoothly as earlier. Additionally, he began to feel sharps pangs of hunger within his stomach, and the hunger was growing noticeably quickly!

Without thinking for too much longer, Auslen made a few logical connections. He then stood up and began to walk quickly to his kitchens.

Unfortunately, he was not quite used to his newfound strength, and his first step slapped the ground with terrific force, sending him tripping over his own feet towards the wall.

After nearly smashing his skull on the white brick, he gradually stabilized himself. He moved slower and much more consciously as he continued on his way.

By the time he reached the palace’s kitchens, he was quite happy to see that his servants were all working busily inside, cooking up vast amounts of food.

Many portions of delicious looking dishes were already prepared, however, the servants showed no signs of ceasing.

The servants all greeted Auslen, and a few quickly stepped out of the kitchen, as if to inform someone else of his presence.

In any case, Auslen couldn't afford to wait, as his hunger was already nearing levels of extreme starvation!

He walked straight towards the countertops that held platters of prepared food.

Instinctively, his three strands of Profound Qi began to circulate within his leg meridians, filling his small legs with waves of overflowing energy.

With a small leap, Auslen easily ascended through the air, red robes billowing as he landed softly on top of the tall counters.

Without even looking for utensils, he crouched down and directly used his hands to lift the food to his small mouth, chewing and swallowing quickly in his haste to calm his roaring stomach.

Luckily, changes began as soon after the food traveled down Auslen’s esophagus.

The food started breaking down almost instantaneously into waves of energy upon settling into his stomach, feeding his ongoing advancement and helping to calm down his starvation somewhat.

Sadly, it seemed that the food could not provide nearly as much sustenance as his strengthening body required. He was already 3/4ths of the way through the ready made portions, and his transformation showed no indications of slowing down.

After finishing the platters, Auslen hopped down from the counters. He didn't even glance at the food being cooked on the stove, as he knew it would not be enough. He looked up at a nearby servant.

“Where's the food storage?”

Although the servant’s expression was full of confusion, she still pointed towards a closed metal door near the corner of the large kitchen.

Auslen had the servant open the food storage for him, in which he could immediately see rows of animal carcasses hung from the ceilings within the large room.

Blocks of ice and various other food items were also stored within, but he did not have the energy or patience to observe the room clearly.

Without a second thought, Auslen reached for a pig carcass closest to him and yanked it down forcefully, causing the pig skin to rip clean through the metal hooks securing the carcass to the ceiling.

Auslen brought the pig to his mouth and immediately began consuming its raw meat. Bits of congealed blood and sinew peppering his chewing mouth as he made quick work of its entire body, not bothering to care about the flavor or texture of his uncooked meal.

It wasn’t until after the third carcass was devoured that he began to feel that his hunger was finally beginning to disperse.

However, for some strange reason, his advancement had yet to feel complete.

He distinctly remembered that when he achieved the 1st Stage of Qi refinement, after around 30 minutes of evolution, his body felt whole to the greatest extent.

But now, although he no longer felt the need to eat for the moment, he could distinctly feel that, once his body recovered from the previously intense digestion process, he would need to resume shoving food down his face in order to facilitate the continued strengthening of his body.

He felt that after maybe two or three more meals of equal size, only then would he be sufficiently satiated, completing his advancement to the 2nd Stage.

Thankfully, he could sense that he wouldn’t feel nearly as starved as he had just experienced.

Auslen couldn't help but think of Aiden’s unnaturally famished state at that restaurant years ago.

Is this intense hunger what Aiden experienced during Qi Refinement?

If that is the case, why did I not feel the need to consume food to facilitate my previous advancement to the first stage of Qi Refinement?

And why did Father not feel the need to inform me of such an obvious side effect of cultivation?

Auslen was sitting within the storage room in deep contemplation, surrounded by bones of various animals.

The servants outside the storeroom were looking at each other in shock, having previously witnessed Auslen’s ravenous figure.

At this moment Cedrick stepped into the kitchens, followed by a few of the servants that had left the kitchens earlier. Having sensed Auslen’s location, he immediately made his way to the metal doors, hints of surprise and amusement hiding within his golden eyes.

However, his eyes eventually expressed nothing but confusion as he observed Auslen’s dazed figure on the ground.

Auslen felt a familiar gaze on his body, causing him to look up at his father who was staring down at him silently.

Auslen opened his mouth in order to voice his concerns, but he couldn’t continue as he was picked up at incomprehensible speeds.

Before he knew it, he was suddenly back within the empty room he was cultivating within previously.

Cedrick placed Auslen down and stepped back to stare at him once again.

After a few more moments of silence, Cedrick spoke.

“Explain to me every action you took during your cultivation and how exactly you reached the 2nd Stage of Qi Refinement.”