I Can Do Anything?

...

"This is it. We're finally back, after four months..."

The fourth month had passed ever since Xuan Wu returned to the sect, and now Dong Shui and Feng Zhi now both stand at the sect gates.

The two outer disciples guarding the gates nod and allow them through after a brief look at their tokens.

"Senior brother... I don't wanna do this." Feng Zhi glimpses at Dong Shui, playing with his fingers.

"They... we have to, it's the only way..."

They continue forwards, walking towards the Mission Pagoda.

At the same time, another person arrives at the gate. Within four months, he's matured considerably, now a brave scar runs through his right eye, and a wooden sword is strapped to his back.

"J-junior brother Xun! You've returned!" The righthand outer disciple guarding the gate gasps, and with a trembling hand he pulls out a blue crystal, holding it up to his mouth.

"S-sect leader, he has returned!" A hint of excitement is present in his voice, smiling at the stoic Xun Shi. "Junior brother, we are very glad you have returned safely... do you have any idea where junior brother Liu may be?" He asks, with a big grin on his face.

Xun Shi, with a nonchalant expression, glances at the overexcited outer disciple. "Liu Huan? He ran away." He then walks into the sect arrogantly, almost like these outer disciples aren't worth his gaze.

The righthand outer disciples excitement bubbles down, his eyes slowly narrowing. "Huh? Aren't you only a mortal? You dare to speak to your cultivator senior brothers like so? So what if you have high talent, huh!" He shouts in a whisper, while the left hand disciple holds back a laugh.

Xun Shi walks quietly, beelining towards the Sword Peak. He ignores the other disciples curious around him, and even ignores the jade beauties sending him obvious hints, continuing with that ever-present nonchalant expression, sprinkled with a little arrogance.

While walking down an alleyway, his head raises.

Woosh.

Suddenly, the sect leader appears in front of him with a slight wind, almost like teleportation. But Xun Shi doesn't react, almost like he expected this.

"Greetings, sect leader." He bows low, fist pressing against his palm in a daoist salute.

"Xun Shi... did you expect my arrival?" Gao Yong strokes his beard, eyebrows raised calmly.

Xun Shi nods, lifting his head up from the bow. "Sect leader, after being in the face of adversities for so long, minor things do not bother me anymore."

Gao Yong's eyebrows raise further, he starts laughing softly. "This kid... he's already begun the cultivation of his dao heart? Good, good!" He says good twice, empathising just how great this accomplishment is.

"But..." Gao Yong pauses in his speculation, taking a closer look at Xun Shi. "It seems he still hasn't overcome his arrogance, the glint still exists in his eyes... though this old man shouldn't be one to judge." He shakes his head, then grabs Xun Shi's shoulder.

"Come on."

Zipp!

Without a sound, they both disappear instantaneously. And then, Fatty Wang enters the alleyway where they disappeared.

"Hehe, I'm finally a cultivator! Haha, I'm just so happy!" He skips, looking like a proud little girl. Suddenly, he slips and falls.

"Ahh! Ouch." He stands up, grabbing his knee. And then he takes a closer look. "Haha! No blood! Actually, you know what? I don't even feel pain!" He gets back up, skipping away joyfully.

A cultivator has broken past the limits of being mortal, they have begun their journey to immortality. Small falls won't have an affect on them, not anymore.

Back at the Sword Peak, Xuan Wu sits carefully, breathing in swords, using his cultivation technique.

He abruptly pauses, exhaling in anger. "Bitch ass low-grade talent! How long has it been, I'm still stuck on the first layer of qi gathering!"

He whines. "It's like I'm sucking water into a broken bucket, absolutely impossible to fill it up!"

Xuan Wu glances at the system panel for a moment, and then shakes his head. "It's just a few months, I can wait." He then returns to cultivation.

Outside, a lot of the sword peak disciples celebrate Xun Shi's return.

The elder of the peak, Zeng Su, claps his hands, laughing cheerfully as Xun Shi bows towards him.

"Ahaha, my disciple, how great is your return? Very! I can sense that you have had great success in the sword, practically laying the perfect foundation! Cultivation will be like a breeze!"

As a foundation establishment cultivator, how could you lick the boots of a mortal? Old cultivators around the world would spit and shake their heads, stomp their feet and blow snot onto the ground.

Xun Shi remains stoic, not even having a hint of pride in his expression. "Master, you overestimate me. Even with the highest-grade talent and a perfect foundation, a cultivator who does not stick to his beliefs is as useless as a stray pebble."

Zeng Su chuckles and nods, beckoning Xun Shi to a luxurious cave built just for him.

Xun Shi's eyes narrow in disgust, shaking his head. "Master, I prefer cultivating in a humble abode. He turns towards a small clearing, where a cave stands empty. It has a diameter of 2x2 metres on the inside.

Zeng Su smiles like an idiot, wiping a small tear from the edge of his eye. "My grandson is too humble."

A sword peak disciple next to Zeng Su pauses, glancing at Zeng Su. "Master, didn't your grandson pass a few years ago? Have you grown forgetful?" He asks patiently.

Zeng Su's chuckle falters, his eyes going blank. And then he turns towards the disciple. "Oh yes. You're right, he did." He then walks back into his abode without any further words.

All the while, Xuan Wu is currently shouting in his cave abode. "Are you serious? Are you actually fucking serious! Tell me you're not!"

Just a few minutes ago, he lost concentration and accidentally expelled half the qi from his meridians.

"Okay, you're fucking with me, come here, come here and let this daddy beat you up!"

Veins pop out on Xuan Wu's forehead, his teeth grinding furiously against each other, like they have a lifelong hatred with eachother. His blood pressure increases tremendously, heart pounding like a lion high on ecstasy.

Obviously this is a big failure for first layer qi gathering cultivators specifically, as their meridians are loose during this period. Losing concentration is critical.

He takes a deep breath in, then out. "Okay, control yourself." His eyes lock with the sky above, looking directly into the heavens.

"You may try to sabotage me, but just know I will defy you! I will defy the heavens!" He says like a true protagonist, already starting to breathe in some spiritual energy.

Except there isn't. How could spiritual energy pay attention to a low-grade talent when the big daddy high-grade talent is nearby? 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Xun Shi aggressively drags in qi, known as the "First Heavens Pampering" The process when a high-grade talent starts cultivating and gets all the spiritual energy for himself.

Bang!

As a high-grade talent, his meridians are wide and tough, easily dragging in enough spiritual energy for the first layer of qi gathering.

He breaks through, the spiritual energy settling into qi inside of his meridians.

Xuan Wu feels a little spiritual energy return to his surroundings after Xun Shi broke through, but this is ridiculous!

"How bias!"

...