Chapter 36: Born from Death |
The White Ape scratched his head and ears, instinctively wanting to check inside, but ultimately held back the urge.
He began practicing the Ape King Stance to distract himself, though he still kept part of his attention on Ning Qi.
Inside the room.
Ning Qi slowly opened his eyes, and within them, a fleeting trace of desolation and confusion flashed by—only to be quickly replaced by clarity.
“Great Dream of Nine Deaths—every time the physical body dies, it’s actually experiencing a life-and-death cycle.”
“It’s not just physical transformation; there’s a benefit I never expected before.”
Ning Qi was a bit astonished.
He estimated that seven days had passed. During these seven days, he had entered an extremely mysterious state.
No thoughts, no senses, no light.
A slight smile tugged at his lips, and the dried, withered skin on his face stretched slightly, immediately reminding Ning Qi of his current bodily condition.
But he didn’t panic.
With a single thought—
The “light of vitality” buried deep in his body began to flicker anew.
Invisibly, it was as if he heard the hum of fire reigniting. A torrent of life force surged from every part of his body. Not only that, but his internal energy merged with that life force and burrowed deep into his physical form.
“Buzz!”
His shriveled body began visibly regenerating and soon took on a jade-like, glistening sheen.
Vitality surged, and his aura grew powerful.
Even the White Ape, practicing the Ape King Stance in the courtyard, looked over in shock, his face filled with admiration and joy.
But soon—
That vitality gradually faded.
Ning Qi rose from the bed with a joyful smile on his face. He clenched his fist slightly, feeling his physical strength had once again grown stronger.
Not only that—
His original internal energy, absorbed into the body, now regenerated from this newly reborn flesh. Both its quality and quantity had improved greatly.
“Born from death—my physical potential has been pushed to the extreme, a full doubling in strength!”
“This is something other Fold Energy Techniques can only dream of.”
“Not only that, the internal energy is also far stronger. Now I’m only at the Second Fold Realm, but I’m already starting to show signs of ‘substance.’ At this rate, maybe I won’t even need full mastery of Inner Origin Realm before I can attach attributes to my internal energy?”
The heaven-defying nature of the Great Dream of Nine Deaths Force had begun to reveal itself.
Ning Qi’s foundation was simply overwhelming.
Other people’s fold energy training was like grinding water—slow and meticulous. Even after forging a connection, the transformation of internal energy happened thread by thread.
But Ning Qi, by letting his body wither and be reborn, could transform all his internal energy in an instant, saving a tremendous amount of time.
His cultivation progressed quickly, and both his body and internal energy were more refined.
The only drawback—
Was that it was extremely difficult.
Even if others were handed this Great Dream of Nine Deaths Force, they wouldn’t be able to understand it.
But for Ning Qi, after this first experience of bodily rebirth, things would be simpler moving forward.
Next—
He just needed to keep accumulating, repeating this cycle of death and rebirth. At most, he would need to spend more effort breaking through the three major bottlenecks: minor success, major success, and perfection.
Ning Qi pushed open the door.
The White Ape came over with visible joy. He had begun to gradually shed his simian movements—no longer leaping and rolling like a monkey, and becoming more and more like a human.
Ning Qi gave a slight smile:
“A normal part of cultivation. This might happen a few more times in the future. Don’t worry.”
The White Ape nodded repeatedly.
He respectfully returned to stance training at the side. Ning Qi watched calmly and nodded inwardly.
The White Ape’s body tempering progress was fast—second only to his own.
His future strength would definitely not be weak. He might even surpass the other members of the Nine Sons of Zhenwu.
Just imagining that scene made Ning Qi smile.
“If Third Senior Sister ever finds out that the little monkey she brought back surpassed her in strength, I wonder what kind of expression she’d have. It’s gotta be hilarious.”
…
In the blink of an eye—
The end of the year arrived.
The entire Zhenwu Sect was bustling with excitement.
“Too bad Little Eight isn’t here. We’re missing one of the Nine Sons of Zhenwu.”
Seventh disciple Song Cheng let out a long sigh. He had only entered the sect a few years before Qin Yun, and the two were close in age and had a good relationship.
Everyone fell silent for a moment.
Then Ye Qinghe smiled and said:
“Don’t worry. Eighth Junior Brother has always been clever. I bet he gained quite a lot from this training expedition. We should work hard too—otherwise, if Eighth Junior Brother catches up, we’ll lose face.”
Luo Wentian waved his hand:
“I’d be happy if all of you surpassed me. You should all take Fifth Junior Brother as an example—especially you, Qinghe. Don’t waste your great talent, and stop dragging Little Nine along to drink.”
Everyone burst into laughter.
Ning Qi’s lips also curled into a smile.
Even though he trained alone most of the time, his senior brothers and sisters continued to dote on him and supported him unconditionally.
He truly liked the atmosphere on Zhenwu Mountain.
Moments later—
Luo Wentian bowed toward Daoist Longshan on the high platform and then shouted loudly:
“I hereby declare the Year-End Competition officially begins!”
“It will be divided into the Inner Sect and Outer Sect competitions. The top twenty in each will be rewarded!”
The well-prepared disciples were eager to show their skills.
The competition was ablaze with action.
First came the matches between Outer Sect disciples.
Then it was the Inner Sect disciples’ turn.
The True Disciples stood on the side watching. Ning Qi occasionally chatted with his senior brothers and sisters, sometimes focusing on the matches. But to him, most of these fights were like children playing games. Only a few managed to catch his eye.
Now that Ning Qi was at the Second Fold Realm, no Inner Sect disciple was a match for him.
Even among the True Disciples, there were likely only a few who could compete with him.
As for powerhouses like Luo Wentian and Jiang Baishan, who were at the Ninth Fold of the Inner Origin Realm, Ning Qi couldn’t say for sure. He’d have to fight them to find out. But clearly, there was no need for that.
When the competition ended—
Luo Wentian awarded prizes to the top-ranking disciples. Then several True Disciples shared their martial path experiences to help both Outer and Inner Sect disciples improve their skills, all in preparation for the upcoming Heaven-Man Ceremony.
“Little Nine, wanna give it a try? Let Senior Brother spar with you a bit?”
Fifth disciple Jiang Baishan grinned as he slung an arm over Ning Qi’s shoulder.
The other True Disciples looked on with curiosity.
They still didn’t know exactly what stage Ning Qi’s body tempering had reached.
But they weren’t blind—they could sense that Ning Qi’s aura was anything but ordinary.
Ye Qinghe’s eyes flashed with a mischievous grin.
Careful, or you might just have your eyes blasted open.
But Ning Qi declined with a perfectly straight face:
“No thanks. I’m not into self-torture. Let’s talk again in twenty years—then I’ll ask Senior Brother for some pointers.”
Everyone burst out laughing, though a few sighed in regret.
Jiang Baishan gave a wry smile:
“Well played, Little Nine. You really hold a grudge. Still planning to beat me up twenty years from now.”
But he didn’t take it to heart.
Luo Wentian took the initiative and said:
“Fifth Junior Brother, let’s spar!”
“Alright!”
The two of them brimmed with fighting spirit.
After watching for so long, their hands were itching too. They’d originally planned for the True Disciples to put on a display and serve as role models for the others.
Now was the perfect opportunity.