Chapter 11: Gathering Qi Through the Celestial Orbit

In front of a skyscraper in the city center.

Zhang Yu looked up at the towering building that seemed to pierce the sky, where a faint, ethereal palace could be seen hovering at the very top.

This was the office building of the Xianyun Group in the center of Songyang City.

Beyond that, Zhang Yu could see an even taller giant building in the distance, as if it were connected to the very edge of the horizon. He knew that was the tallest building in Songyang City, the 999-story Central Tower, a landmark he often saw on his way to and from school.

He turned his gaze back to the office building in front of him.

"Xianyun Group, huh?"

On his way here, Zhang Yu had already searched for information about the Xianyun Group online.

It was a massive enterprise under the Wanfa Sect, with business operations spanning the development and sale of cultivation techniques, immortal-path education, and cultural creative products.

The Wanfa Sect was one of the Ten Great Sects. In this Kunxu, from the basic necessities of life to birth, aging, sickness, and death, a person’s life was inseparable from the Ten Great Sects, and immortal-path cultivation was even more so.

Therefore, Zhang Yu was not at all surprised that a giant enterprise like the Xianyun Group belonged to the Wanfa Sect.

He lowered his head and walked into the building. After explaining his purpose at the front desk, he went through registration, signed a contract, and underwent a simple physical examination before being led to a room that looked like a classroom.

He saw that there were already a few students sitting in the classroom besides him.

After waiting for a while, once the number of students in the classroom reached fifteen, a middle-aged man in a suit and leather shoes walked in and began to explain the content of today's technique trial.

"Hello everyone, I am today's instructor."

"Everyone here has already signed the contract, but I must still remind you that everything we discuss here today is not allowed to be spread. Once our company discovers that anyone has leaked information, no matter where you run to the ends of the earth, we will definitely find you."

The students felt a chill upon hearing these words, but they knew the other party was not bluffing. With the strength of the Xianyun Group and the Wanfa Sect behind them, doing so was indeed not difficult.

"The technique you are going to try to learn today is what we call Experimental Technique No. 113. Next, please watch the instructional video first..."

According to the introduction in the short video, this technique was a Qi-refining breathing method. However, the difference from basic breathing methods was that this technique was much more complex, as if it were trying to establish some kind of mana circulation throughout the entire body.

So much so that after watching the instructional video, most of the students who came for the trial were still completely confused.

It wasn't until the instructor's detailed explanation that followed that the students gained a vague understanding, yet they felt their scalps tingling even more.

"No way... they want us to practice this kind of technique? Are we even qualified?"

The truth was that the circulation route of this technique was too complex and the difficulty was too high; it was like trying to paint the *Along the River During the Qingming Festival* on a single sheet of A4 paper.

If Zhang Yu had to describe it, it was as difficult as carving flowers on excrement.

Let alone practicing according to the circulation route in the tutorial, the people present couldn't even memorize the route; they had forgotten most of it almost as soon as it was explained.

Never mind spreading it, the students had absolutely no confidence in whether they could successfully practice this technique to complete the trial.

Seemingly sensing the shift in the students' emotions, the instructor said from above, "Don't worry, everyone. This trial does not require you to master this technique."

"In fact, it is impossible for beginners to master this technique on their own."

"What we are testing this time also includes the auxiliary circulation equipment that matches No. 113..."

Next, the students were sent to a testing room, where mana detection patches were applied to their hands, feet, chest, back, and other locations.

Then, things resembling silver needles were connected to wires and brought in front of the students by robotic arms.

The instructor on the side continued, "When you begin to circulate your energy, the detection patches will monitor the state of your mana circulation in real-time."

"And the meta-magnetic needles will be operated by the robotic arms to stimulate your mana circulation routes, assisting you in identifying and correcting the path..."

After listening for a while, Zhang Yu understood: it was just an auto-pathfinder... oh no, an auto-cultivation-finder, right?

Because the mana route of Technique 113 was too complex, it had extremely high requirements for the timing and positioning of spiritual energy and mana circulation. Therefore, it was necessary to monitor the practitioner's path while using the meta-magnetic needles to stimulate various parts of the body for guidance.

However, the danger in this process was not small, because the circulation route of Technique 113 was too complex.

With such a complex route, once there was the slightest error in the path of mana circulation, it would cause the mana to lose control and dissipate within the body, causing itching and pain, alternating between cold and hot, and easily leading to even greater loss of control.

If it dragged on for too long, it would lead to internal injuries; the longer it dragged on, the more serious the internal injuries would be.

Afterward, one would either have to go to a hospital and pay a high price to hire a powerful expert to suppress the uncontrolled mana in the body, or rely on physical strength to endure it until the mana exhausted itself, or the practitioner would have to master the technique themselves to actively gather the uncontrolled mana along the circulation route.

At the same time, the instructor added, "...Everything is as you signed in the contract. The remuneration for this trial will be distributed according to the percentage of the circulation route you complete. Only by completing 100% of the route can you receive the full ten thousand yuan."

"If the mana only travels halfway, then it's only five thousand."

"Alright everyone, if there are no questions, please begin."

Zhang Yu glanced at the information floating on his Feather Book.

*Zhou Tian Qi Gathering Method Level 0 (0/1)*

He thought to himself, "Does this mean it's done as long as I practice it once?"

Zhang Yu closed his eyes and tried to circulate the technique he had just learned, starting from his Dantian and moving toward his spine.

At the same time, he felt a slight stinging sensation in his spine, knowing that it was the meta-magnetic needle guiding him to move his mana there.

So, he followed the guidance of the meta-magnetic needle, moving his mana bit by bit.

...

Meanwhile, outside the testing room, a group of people was observing the students' situation.

"It's started."

The lead researcher, who had messy short hair, was staring intently at the constantly changing data on the screen.

On it was the state of mana circulation within the bodies of the various students after they began trying to practice Experimental Technique No. 113.

The assistant on the side was also looking at the cultivation charts of the students on the screen with a solemn expression. These were images used to describe the mana circulation routes within the students' bodies after aggregating the mana data from various parts of their bodies.

The correct circulation route was green, while parts where mana circulation deviated were marked in red.

Time passed second by second. Watching more and more red error markers appear on the circulation routes, the assistant's eyes revealed constant disappointment.

"Teacher, it seems the guidance precision of the meta-magnetic needles needs to be further improved; otherwise, it cannot meet the mana circulation precision required for beginners to practice 113."

"It's still too difficult for beginners to master 113. Should we recruit a batch of test subjects with higher Dao Heart levels?"

The researcher called 'Teacher' frowned and said, "Whether it's 113 or the meta-magnetic needles, they were originally developed for beginners. I will not change this direction."

"Besides, those with higher Dao Heart levels have better techniques to learn. The passive breathing effect of 113 lacks competitiveness among them; it is the beginners who need the passive breathing effect more..."

Just then, a student who made a mistake groaned and suddenly spat out a large mouthful of blood.

The 'Teacher' said coldly, "Get him out of here quickly. Don't let him disturb the mental state of the others."

But following the appearance of the first student spitting blood, more and more students attempting to practice the technique began to show discomfort. Some turned blue in the face and couldn't breathe, some screamed and fainted from the pain, and others had minor injuries, merely turning pale or experiencing pain or itching where the mana was circulating...

Watching one student after another being carried out, the 'Teacher's' expression became increasingly ugly.

He complained, "The quality of this batch of students is too poor. Can't we recruit some capable students?"

The assistant whispered, "Teacher, the previous test subjects were injured too severely; no schools are willing to cooperate with us anymore."

The 'Teacher' snorted coldly, a look of dissatisfaction appearing on his face: "They're just a bunch of poor students. Whether it's 113 or the meta-magnetic needles, as long as they can be successfully improved, what a huge market for beginners that would be! So what if a few batches of people die?"

Meanwhile, in the testing room, only the last three students remained, still persisting in their practice.

Two of them were still persisting because there were fewer errors and very little mana was dissipating out of control.

The other student, who was pale, made even the 'Teacher' slightly surprised: "This child has had quite a few mishaps during the process. At this moment, I'm afraid he is already in unbearable pain, yet he can actually persist until now?"

The assistant on the side asked, "Teacher, should we stop him?"

The 'Teacher' shook his head and said with interest, "Since he wants to earn this money so much, let's give him the chance."

"Besides, for our research, having one more set of error data on a complete circulation route is obviously more beneficial."

...

Inside the testing room, every time Zhang Yu wanted to give up, he felt the chill from the ritual's power and the countdown rising in his mind.

"This moronic thing! All it knows is beep-beep-beep. If you're so capable, you do it!"

During the process of circulating his energy, every time Zhang Yu made a slight mistake, he could feel mana leaking out of control from the route, stimulating various parts of his body and making him feel sore, itchy, hot, and cold all over.

After finally completing the entire circulation route, he glanced at the "Zhou Tian Qi Gathering Method Level 0 (0/1)" on his Feather Book, which had changed to "Zhou Tian Qi Gathering Method Level 1 (0/20)," and he finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Zhang Yu admitted that he had taken a gamble, but fortunately, he had succeeded this time.

At this moment, the memory of practicing this technique hundreds or thousands of times surged from his mind, making him feel as if he had been practicing this technique for months.

At this moment, Zhang Yu felt that as long as he wanted to, he could use the Zhou Tian Qi Gathering Method to collect all the uncontrolled mana in his body and establish a complex mana circulation system.

However, he didn't do it immediately. Instead, he stood up slowly, enduring the soreness and itching all over his body.

The instructor on the side hurried over, also somewhat surprised, and said, "Student, are you alright?"

It was the first time he had seen someone persist to the end with such a high error rate.

Zhang Yu clutched his stomach and said, "I feel like my internal organs are burning, and I'm itchy and in pain. My upper body feels like it's on fire, and my lower body feels like it's frozen... it's so uncomfortable."

The instructor hurriedly supported him and said, "Let me take you to the infirmary to check your condition first."

"No need!" Zhang Yu waved his hand abruptly and said, "What I mean is... I need more money."

The instructor looked him up and down, watching Zhang Yu trembling and his face growing paler, and said, "1,000 yuan, sign another contract, and whatever happens to you afterward has nothing to do with us."

After some haggling, the Xianyun Company finally added 3,000 yuan for Zhang Yu, requiring that no matter what his injuries were afterward, they would have nothing to do with the Xianyun Company.

(End of chapter)