Cultivating Immortality, Starting from Childhood Sweethearts

Early the next morning, Wang Xuan resigned from her position as the National Preceptor of Wu to take Qin Qingwan away from the Qin residence.

On the day Qin Qingwan left, only Chen Suya, accompanied by Xu Ming, and Wang Feng, accompanied by Xu Pangda, came to see her off.

No one else knew that Qin Qingwan was leaving that day—not even her father.

This was the Madam Qin's decision. If the other members of the Xu and Qin families had known about Qingwan's departure, they would have organized a grand send-off. At that point, various dignitaries would have come to attend.

Madam Qin didn't want that. Her daughter didn't need such a lavish farewell. She just wanted to give her daughter more time to say goodbye to her friends.

Xu Ming and the others watched as Wang Xuan led Qin Qingwan away from the Xu residence.

However, Qingwan had only walked a short distance before suddenly running back.

Xu Ming hadn't even had time to react when Qin Qingwan stopped in front of him, stood on tiptoe, and planted a quick kiss on his cheek.

Then, her face flushed red, and she ran off again.

Xu Ming stood there, stunned, his hand touching the cheek where she had kissed him.

In both his lives, the only person who had kissed him was this little girl.

However, Xu Ming understood that Qingwan's feelings toward him were nothing more than childhood friendship. After all, at such a young age, what did one truly know about romance?

As Qingwan grew older and continued cultivating, reaching higher and higher realms, she would meet all kinds of people. Around her would be all kinds of heaven's chosen talents.

How much of this childhood memory would she even remember? How many people truly remember things from before they were six years old?

They had promised to meet again in ten years.

But ten years later, when they saw each other again, it would likely only be with a polite nod and a smile.

By then, this six-year-old girl would have grown into a stunning young woman of sixteen.

Xu Ming really wanted to see it—wanted to see just how much she would amaze the world then.

When Xu Ming returned to his courtyard, he discovered a copy of Tianxuan Heart Method placed under his pillow.

"This silly girl… does she think books like this can just be given away?"

Gently tracing the book's cover, Xu Ming shook his head.

In his mind, he could already picture that little fool sneaking nervously into his room to leave the book under his pillow.

After Qin Qingwan's departure, Xu Ming's remaining companions were Tianxuan Goose and Xu Pangda—one goose and one person.

Or rather, just one person.

Because the goose was still sleeping.

Even when they had seen Qin Qingwan off, the goose had barely managed to stay awake.

Once that was done, it immediately went back to sleep.

A month passed after Qin Qingwan's departure.

Although the Zhixing Academy was closed, Xu Pangda didn't stop pursuing his studies.

Both the Xu and Qin families had their own private schools.

However, those private schools were little more than playgrounds for wealthy children. The environment wasn't conducive to learning, and the teachers were simply biding their time.

Therefore, Wang Feng pulled some strings and arranged for Xu Pangda and Xu Ming to attend a well-known private school in the capital called Qingshui Academy.

Xu Ming did not refuse Madam Wang's kindness.

Although he couldn't participate in the imperial examination, reading more books would still be beneficial. Besides, he might even gain insights into the Confucian cultivation methods and put his massive pool of "Haoran Qi" attribute points to use.

Perhaps Xu Pangda was worried that, with Qingwan gone, Xu Ming would be lonely.

So, every day, Xu Pangda brought snacks for Xu Ming.

If not that, he would do his schoolwork while sitting in Xu Ming's courtyard.

While Xu Pangda read books, Xu Ming trained.

Every day, Xu Ming would spend an hour studying Tianxuan Heart Method, followed by two hours practicing Bingyang Sword Technique.

The main issue with the Tianxuan Heart Method was that Xu Ming could only study it for at most one hour before feeling dizzy.

As for the Bingyang Sword Technique, if he practiced for more than two hours, Xu Ming would feel as though thousands of needles were piercing his body, forcing him to stop.

The rest of the time, Xu Ming read books about this world.

In addition to Confucian classics, he also explored books from other schools of thought, each providing different attribute points.

For example:

Mohist texts on mechanisms and craftsmanship granted "Mechanism Talent" attribute points.

Agricultural books provided "Poison Resistance" points.

The only thing Xu Ming found disappointing was that he hadn't yet found a book from Xiao Liu Bei, so he didn't know what attribute points it would provide.

After reading, Xu Ming would continue exercising his body.

The Xu residence had plenty of boxing manuals. After all, Wu Kingdom was built on martial strength—books on martial arts could be found even in common households.

However, Xu Ming had not formally stepped onto the martial path.

The martial artist realm was divided into ten levels:

Three Body-Refining Stages: Mud/Clay Embryo Stage, Wooden Fetus Stage, Mercury Stage.

Three Qi-Refining Stages: Heroic Soul Stage, Dominant Spirit Stage, Martial Will/Courage Stage.

Three Spirit-Refining Stages: Golden Body Stage, Wandering Stage, Mountain Summit Stage.

The Tenth Stage: The Limit/Beyond Boundary Stage (divided into three layers).

The Clay Embryo Stage was about shaping and strengthening the body—essentially tempering it.

However, before the age of eight, the human body was too fragile. Practicing boxing before eight, due to insufficient blood and energy, could lead to an unstable foundation.

Even worse, because the meridians of a young body were underdeveloped, it could fail to withstand martial energy, leading to the body exploding.

Xu Ming didn't want to take that risk.

Instead, he wanted to find books on cultivation and learn a few simple techniques.

When Xu Pangda heard about this, he immediately went to ask his mother for help.

On the third day, Xu Pangda happily arrived at Xu Ming's courtyard carrying a pile of books.

However, Xu Ming soon realized that all of these techniques required a minimum cultivation level of the third stage of Qi Cultivation—Furnace Ignition

Realm.

Even though Xu Ming couldn't cultivate them, reading still provided attribute points.

For instance, for every tenth of a book Xu Ming read, like the one titled Fire Control Technique, he gained +0.5 Fire Affinity points.

Since these simple techniques were beyond his reach, Xu Ming's only path to advancement was still the Bingyang Sword Technique.

But something puzzled him.

The Bingyang Sword Technique was undoubtedly of a very high grade, so why did it not require a specific cultivation level to practice?

Six months later, after a roaring sound coursed through Xu Ming's body, a warm current flowed within him once more—he had stepped into the second stage of Qi Cultivation: Mind Clarity Realm.

Two months after reaching the Mind Clarity Realm, Xu Ming heard some news.

Mr. Xiao, who had been advocating for reforms, had been impeached, but Emperor Wu had suppressed the opposition.

Madam Qin mentioned that the court battles were incredibly intense.

Xu Ming didn't pay much attention to it—such matters felt far too distant from his life.

Another four months passed, and Xu Ming's seventh birthday arrived.

On that day, Wang Feng, Xu Pangda, and Madam Qin came to Xiaochun Courtyard to celebrate his birthday.

But on that day, neither Xu Xuenuo nor Qin Qingwan sent him any birthday gifts.