Chapter 92: Practice Circles
Xiulan stuffed the spirit egg into its padded cloth pouch, tucking the bag beneath her robes with a frustrated grunt. The egg pulsed warmly against her side, drawing a trickle of qi from her meridians even when she wasn’t actively feeding it.
“Just like a damn Tamagotchi,” she muttered, adjusting her robes to hide the slight bulge.
She paced her quarters, fingers drumming against her thigh. Getting booted from Elder Chang Liu’s combat class had initially seemed like a blessing. But reality was sinking in. Combat skills weren’t optional for cultivators; they were fundamental.
Xiulan flopped onto her bed and stared at the ceiling. “I need a plan.”
The herbology texts she’d borrowed sat in a neat stack on her desk. She knew the names and appearances of most herbs from the game, but actual alchemy required precise preparation methods, temperature control, and qi infusion techniques.
Golden Meridian Pill mastery didn’t translate into being a genius.
“Bastard devs,” she snorted, sitting up. “Make the starter pill easy so noobs can level up, then hit them with the real shit once they’re invested.”
She pulled out her notes on the Five Elements Manual and flipped through them. The Tree Sigh Method had come easily enough with Ming’s help—perhaps too easily.
Ming had seemed surprised by her progress. So maybe we she was doing a good job?
A knock at her door interrupted her thoughts. She tucked her notes under a book and crossed to the door.
Ming stood in the doorway, her normally composed face pinched with annoyance. The senior disciple didn’t bother with pleasantries.
“I got you into a new combat class,” Ming announced. “A remedial one for struggling students.”