Cangxuan City, City Lord’s Mansion.
I had to admit, even though Energy Cores were outrageously expensive—the very definition of a luxury item—using them felt absolutely incredible.
When cultivating with one of these things in hand, as long as one’s understanding of ’Law’ and ’the Dao’ was deep enough, one’s Cultivation could advance by leaps and bounds.
Immersed in his cultivation, Li Chang’an barely noticed the passage of time. He sat in the mansion for nearly half a month.
On the twelfth day, Li Chang’an had completely absorbed the first Energy Core. His Cultivation broke through the threshold to Tier Three, restoring him to the peak strength he had possessed in the Great Derivation World.
But Li Chang’an didn’t stop there. He spent another ten days or so absorbing most of the energy from the second Tier Three core.
After all, due to the world’s suppression, Li Chang’an hadn’t actively tried to break through to a new Realm in the latter stages of his time in the Great Derivation World. Now that he was back in the Main World, free from that suppression and with the constant nourishment of two Energy Cores, it was only natural for him to advance beyond his previous peak.
Now, after absorbing all the energy, he had not only completely recovered his peak strength from his past life but had even broken through beyond it, smoothly reaching the Middle Stage as a Third-rank Martial Arts Evolver in the Main World.
Such a cultivation speed would be considered insane, even in the Main World.
...
By the time Hu Xiuyuan and Su Ruobing saw Li Chang’an, it was already the thirtieth day of his seclusion.
Li Chang’an had originally planned to continue cultivating for a while longer before ending his seclusion, but Hu Xiuyuan and Su Ruobing couldn’t wait any longer and sent him a message directly through his Rebirth Mark.
After seeing the message on his Rebirth Mark, Li Chang’an snapped out of it as if waking from a dream, withdrawing from his state of total immersion in cultivation.
Leaving his place of seclusion, Li Chang’an soon saw the two who had been waiting for a long time.
Looking at Li Chang’an, whose skin was now fairer and who had grown quite a bit taller, Su Ruobing said with suspicion, "It’s only been a month, but why do I feel like your aura has become even more restrained?"
Li Chang’an smiled and said humbly, "A small breakthrough, just a small breakthrough!"
’What does he mean, a small breakthrough?’
’Could he have already advanced to a Tier Two Martial Artist?’
Su Ruobing’s expression remained one of surprise and uncertainty, but she didn’t dwell on it. Instead, she turned to Hu Xiuyuan behind her and said, "Governor Hu has come personally to bring you news. There’s good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"
Li Chang’an glanced at the smiling Su Ruobing, then at the stern-faced Hu Xiuyuan, and after a moment’s thought, said, "Let’s hear the good news first. Start things off on a positive note."
He had just emerged from his secluded cultivation and didn’t want any bad news to ruin his mood, even if he didn’t think it actually would.
Hu Xiuyuan coughed twice, dragging out the suspense before finally speaking. "Ahem, Li, the good news is that the ’Basic Martial Arts True Understanding 1.0 Version’ you submitted has passed the review of the Kyoto Rebirth Association—er... that is, the Hua Country Reincarnator Alliance. They have officially rated the value of your Evolution Path as A+!"
"This should be the first Evolution Path to be rated A+ Level in the second half of this year. Li, you’ve made a tremendous contribution to the development of the Human Alliance!"
He paused for a moment before continuing, "To reward your outstanding contribution, the Reincarnator Alliance has decided to give you one Sacred Heart Fruit, ten Upper-Grade Spiritual Fields, two million Rebirth Points, and ten thousand Citizen Points. The items will be transferred to your exclusive account shortly, so remember to check and make sure everything is there!"
Li Chang’an raised an eyebrow at this.
He hadn’t expected the review for the Basic Martial Arts Truth to be completed so quickly. Hu Xiuyuan must have played a significant role in it.
It was excellent news, but only the timing had truly surprised Li Chang’an. He showed no particular expression, merely nodding. "Oh, that is good news. So, what’s the bad news?"
Seeing Li Chang’an’s completely calm expression, Hu Xiuyuan was stunned for a moment. After a pause, he asked in confusion, "Li... why aren’t you the least bit excited?"
Hearing this, Li Chang’an was the one who felt confused. "Is there something to be excited about?"
Hu Xiuyuan opened his mouth to say something, but for a moment, he didn’t know what to say.
In all his years as Governor, this was the first time he’d ever felt such a strong urge to roast someone. But given his status, he could only bottle up all his complaints.
’Is there something to be excited about...?’
’The various rewards add up to nearly five million Rebirth Points, plus ten thousand Citizen Points. This is a level of honor and wealth that countless ordinary Reincarnators could only dream of, working their entire lives and never coming close!’
’It’s a fortune that would tempt even a Governor like me, so how could it not be worth getting excited about in Li Chang’an’s eyes?’
’Are all young people these days so composed?’
The corner of Hu Xiuyuan’s mouth twitched for a long time before he finally managed to calm the storm of emotions in his heart. "Alright, it seems you have nerves of steel, Li!"
"As for the bad news... it’s not really bad news, per se. It’s just that the review for ’Basic Martial Arts True Understanding 1.0 Version’ is stuck in Kyoto and can’t be submitted to the Human Alliance yet."
He paused, then said as tactfully as possible, "So you might have to wait a year or two and let things play out. After the ’Basic Martial Arts True Understanding 1.0 Version’ has been fully popularized throughout Huaxia and has shown some results, then it might have a chance of passing the Human Alliance’s review."
Hu Xiuyuan didn’t mention the fatal flaw that Elder Bai had told him about—that the evolution ceiling was too low.
After all, for a Newcomer Reincarnator, being able to comprehend and codify the ’Basic Martial Arts True Understanding 1.0 Version’ was already a heaven-defying feat. It wouldn’t be appropriate to ask for more.
But Li Chang’an wasn’t a fool. He had created this Law himself, so naturally, he understood its strengths and weaknesses better than anyone.
Now, he could read between the lines of Hu Xiuyuan’s carefully worded, tactful explanation and understand the real problem.
A look of sudden realization dawned on his face, and he nodded. "Oh, I see. The ’Basic Martial Arts True Understanding 1.0 Version’ is indeed quite crude. It’s perfectly normal that it couldn’t pass the final review."
To him, the ’Basic Martial Arts True Understanding 1.0 Version’ was just something akin to a basic rough draft anyway.
The fact that it had made it all the way to Kyoto had already far exceeded Li Chang’an’s expectations, so he naturally didn’t feel any sense of loss at its failure to pass the Human Alliance’s review.
Seeing that he also seemed unbothered, his mood perfectly stable, Hu Xiuyuan couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
The reason he had been so tactful wasn’t out of fear of anything else, but because he was worried the matter would dampen Li Chang’an’s enthusiasm.
After all, in his experience, geniuses who were unconventional in certain areas tended to be extremely proud.
Their pride and their talent, which far surpassed that of ordinary people, couldn’t tolerate being questioned by others.
Although his impression of Li Chang’an had always been quite good, he was still just a young man who had recently joined the ranks of Reincarnators—hot-blooded and prone to getting stuck on things.