Chapter 37: Gathering Yuan Third Stage

Just one bite, and Zhao Xing's Yuan Qi immediately surged by 25 points.

His body was like a parched sponge, his flesh greedily absorbing this energy.

"Crunch crunch crunch~" Zhao Xing quickly devoured the entire Celestial Origin Pear, even biting the core to pieces and absorbing the juice. The pear's core was useless to him—he couldn't possibly grow a third-grade superior seed alive right now.

Soon, the panel kept flashing with records, and Zhao Xing felt a strange change in his body—he actually felt stuffed!

"Hiss, so cold." After forcing himself to finish, Zhao Xing felt freezing all over and shivered.

The Celestial Origin Pear was cold in nature; to keep its efficacy from dissipating, he had eaten it in a rush.

The third-grade superior cold-attribute Yuan Qi instantly made him feel as though he had stepped into an ice cellar.

"Focus the mind, gather Yuan Qi into the body!" Zhao Xing hurriedly sat cross-legged and began to digest it.

Qi and blood surged within him, and the Yuan Qi began to be neutralized by his vigorous fire energy.

Cycle after cycle, Zhao Xing's originally deathly pale complexion gradually turned rosy.

It took a full half hour before he had nearly finished digesting it, and he opened his eyes.

"Phew~ good lord, it really is third-grade superior." Zhao Xing exhaled a long breath of cold air.

He had eaten too quickly—if he had eaten this back at Gathering Yuan First Stage, he likely would have caught a cold affliction and harmed his body instead.

At Gathering Yuan Second Stage, the proper way was to cut it into pieces and eat them one by one, but cutting it and letting it sit would weaken the Celestial Origin Pear's effect. Zhao Xing refused to waste it, so he could only endure a round of "ice bucket challenge."

"Cold it certainly was, but the effect is extremely obvious. Just this one pear, and I've gained a full 195 points after completely digesting it!" Zhao Xing glanced at the panel.

Gathering Yuan Second Stage: 955/1000

"The Dao Embryo Pill is truly outrageous." What Zhao Xing was praising wasn't the pear, but the Dao Embryo Pill.

He had eaten plenty of Celestial Origin Pears in his previous life, so it wasn't anything remarkable.

The standard Yuan Qi boost from taking one at Gathering Yuan Second Stage was around 70 points—this was data verified countless times by countless players.

Because each person's physical aptitude differed and their absorption efficiency varied, Yuan Qi would dissipate and be expelled after consumption.

An absorption efficiency exceeding the standard by seventy percent was considered excellent; double the standard or more was considered perfect.

The Dao Embryo Pill had pushed Zhao Xing's absorption efficiency to three times the standard—nearly hitting the Yuan Qi limit contained in this Celestial Origin Pear!

"Could I have already achieved the legendary Body Without Leak?" Zhao Xing couldn't help but fantasize, but quickly dismissed it.

The Dao Embryo Pill wouldn't have remade him to that extent; it was simply that the treasure's quality wasn't high, which was why it achieved a near-"perfect absorption" effect.

"Looks like I'll reach Gathering Yuan Third Stage in just a few days."

Zhao Xing contentedly closed the box and stored the remaining Celestial Origin Pear.

This thing couldn't be eaten consecutively—spacing them two days apart was optimal.

Otherwise Chen Shijie wouldn't have only given him 15 per month; he had taken Zhao Xing's current capacity to bear it into account. Otherwise, with Chen Shijie's pear orchard in hand, giving 30 wouldn't have been a problem either.

…………

Ever since getting the nickname "Zhao Erjia," Zhao Xing's home had become much livelier, with colleagues frequently dropping by to maintain ties.

It was indeed just as Zhao Ruide had said—social obligations truly couldn't be avoided. When people visited, they almost always brought gifts.

He couldn't exactly not even invite them to stay for a meal or fail to offer a drink.

Eating at home was still manageable; going out would cost even more.

"Mother, mother, big brother says to ask you to prepare food for four extra people at noon." Zhao Zheng found Lady Cai and tugged at her skirt hem.

"What? Again!" Lady Cai immediately glared, "It's one thing for him to eat himself, but now he's bringing people home? I tolerated it the first two times, but now he's actually sending you to order me around? How outrageous!"

"You go tell him that I—"

Before she could finish, Zhao Zheng produced a small pouch containing some broken silver.

"Hm? Where did you get this silver?"

"Big brother gave it to me." Zhao Zheng answered honestly.

"What does he mean by this?" Lady Cai first took the pouch of silver, then asked.

"Big brother says you've been working hard these past two days, and he received a grant from my lord, and seems to have become a tribute student too, earning five taels of silver a month… this is to show his filial respect to you."

Lady Cai had started with a cold face, but upon hearing these words, she was momentarily stunned.

Then, seeing the silver, and knowing she wouldn't be cooking for free, her attitude immediately improved!

She didn't know exactly what use a tribute student had; she only remembered it was five or ten taels of silver a month.

In any case, Zhao Xing could at least earn money now, and the possibility of him contesting the family inheritance with Zheng'er was greatly reduced. In fact, he might even be able to help Zheng'er in the future—after all, if he really became an official of the Ministry of Agriculture, that was still an official position of some rank!

"Zheng'er, go tell Zhao… your big brother, I'll get cooking right away!"

A few days later.

"My skills are crude, I don't know if they suit your tastes. If my hospitality has been lacking, that's entirely my fault. Please, everyone, don't blame my Xing'er." Lady Cai beamed with smiles, speaking warmly to the visiting guests.

The officials who had just finished eating and were chatting immediately rose and cupped their hands:

"Please don't say that, auntie. It is we who have intruded upon you."

"Indeed, auntie's cooking is superb—I've never tasted such delicious food!"

"……"

Zhao Xing stared at Lady Cai's gentle, virtuous appearance, utterly dumbfounded.

She was even calling him "Xing'er" at every turn, as if he were her own biological son!

The power of money was simply too great! Zhao Xing was still more used to her stingy demeanor; seeing her like this now felt completely unnatural.

Yet over these past few days, Lady Cai had even started chatting with people.

"My Xing'er, you know…"

"You have no idea how hard Xing'er usually studies…"

Please, Master, stop, stop!

Two days later, Zhao Xing ate the second Celestial Origin Pear.

The chill exhaled—he had already reached the third stage of Qi Gathering.

【Third Stage of Qi Gathering: 10/10000】

After reaching the third stage of Qi Gathering, all his spells, including the Strawman Art, saw a slight increase in proficiency.

The stronger the primordial Qi contained within a person's body, the more comprehensively their constitution was enhanced—including the brain, naturally leading to a slightly deeper understanding of spells.

"Many people become obsessed with climbing in Qi intensity, and only practice spell techniques to the point of being good enough."

"When they fight, they're loose and sloppy—and it's not entirely short-sightedness, but rather that personal choices differ. In peaceful times, the pursuit of spell technique isn't so urgent; not everyone steps out of their comfort zone."

"If I had a family background like Young Master Zong's, where I could easily gather Qi by relying on resources, I'd probably slack off too, thinking I could polish my techniques tomorrow. And that one 'tomorrow'—who knows how many tomorrows it adds up to."

Zhao Xing looked at another box on the desk, a gift sent by Zong Shichang. He was indeed extravagant—casually gifting a box of third-grade lower-quality Qi Gathering Pills, ten in total.

Although they couldn't compare to the Heaven Yuan Pears, ten of them together were still not cheap.

Although Young Master Zong was somewhat self-centered and domineering, he was still a man of his word and did not go back on his promise.

"Third stage of Qi Gathering—one tiny bit closer to becoming full-fledged, and one tiny bit closer to the goal of longevity."

"After Beginning of Autumn comes End of Heat, and only after that comes Bai Lu. But because End of Heat has the customs of 'releasing river lanterns' and 'sacrificing to wandering souls,' the End of Heat solar term gets skipped, and the exam won't be held again until the Bai Lu solar term."

"The End of Heat solar term isn't just about releasing river lanterns and sacrificing to wandering souls—it also includes the examinations for the early-stage divine occupations of 'Fuji' and 'Sacrificial Ritual.' Might as well go take a look."

"But I still need to practice my Bright-Eye Night Vision spell to a higher level, otherwise I won't be able to make out anything at all—won't even catch a glimpse of a ghost's shadow."

"The Bai Lu solar term is very likely a theory exam—perfect for reading and practicing spells without conflict." Zhao Xing opened the bookcase and began burning the midnight oil.