More than two hours passed. Thanks to the Dao Yan Empress’s reflexes, which far exceeded those of an ordinary person, Yan Qi had easily won four rounds of her game. She couldn’t help but wear a smug expression as she remarked:
“As expected, absolutely dominating in a game I could never beat as an ordinary person is incredibly satisfying.”
Just as Yan Qi said this and was about to pick up her phone to start another round, Ma Fangfang—who had been sitting motionless in front of her for two hours—suddenly furrowed her brow.
Noticing the subtle change in Ma Fangfang, Yan Qi knew she was about to wake from her meditative state. She quickly put away her phone and assumed a dignified, masterful pose.
Having finished her cultivation session, Ma Fangfang opened her eyes and immediately saw Yan Qi sitting nearby. Remembering what had just happened and realizing she had mastered the technique, she excitedly said to Yan Qi:
“Master, I’ve mastered the cultivation technique!”
Seeing how thrilled Ma Fangfang was, Yan Qi maintained her faint, composed smile.
“Ma Fangfang, congratulations on mastering the technique. From now on, you can cultivate on your own without my help.”
“Without your guidance, Master, I probably wouldn’t have been able to learn so quickly. Thank you.”
“Even without my help, the Spiritual Energy Vortex Method has such a low barrier to entry that you would have mastered it soon enough anyway.”
After saying this, Yan Qi continued, “How did it feel during cultivation? Did you encounter any major issues?”
Recalling the experience carefully, Ma Fangfang answered honestly, “It felt really good overall. I didn’t run into any major problems.”
“In that case, give me your hand. Let me see how much spiritual energy you’ve accumulated over the past two hours and how much your body has been refined.”
“Alright. But… two hours? Master, have I really been cultivating for over two hours?”
As she extended her hand, Ma Fangfang caught that keyword in Yan Qi’s remark and couldn’t hide her surprise.
“Yes, you’ve been cultivating for more than two hours without even realizing it.”
After answering, Yan Qi firmly took Ma Fangfang’s hand and infused a small amount of her own spiritual energy into it to examine Ma Fangfang’s condition.
The results left Yan Qi frowning. Letting go of Ma Fangfang’s hand, she asked in disbelief:
“Ma Fangfang, are you absolutely sure you didn’t encounter any major issues during cultivation just now?”
Thinking something might have gone wrong with her cultivation, Ma Fangfang lowered her head and carefully retraced her steps.
But since she hadn’t noticed any significant problems at the time, she honestly replied:
“Master, I’m certain I didn’t run into any major issues during cultivation.”
Seeing the sincerity on Ma Fangfang’s face and believing her, Yan Qi couldn’t help showing astonishment, thinking to herself:
“How is this possible? If she really didn’t have any major issues, why has the spiritual energy she accumulated amounted to less than one-twentieth of what I casually gather during my usual sessions?”
Based on her examination, Yan Qi found that Ma Fangfang’s two hours of cultivation had yielded only a fraction of what she herself would accumulate in the same time.
Although this speed would be considered astonishingly fast for those practicing classical cultivation techniques, Yan Qi—knowing how low the barrier was for this method—couldn’t understand why Ma Fangfang, with her decent talent, had only managed to gather what a classical cultivator might accumulate in about a month.
“Could it be that the issue isn’t with the technique or Ma Fangfang… but with me?”
Just as Yan Qi was puzzling over this, she suddenly remembered her identity as a transmigrator and had a moment of clarity. She murmured to herself:
“As someone with a new soul formed from the fusion of two souls from different worlds, I’m well aware of how powerful my soul energy is.”
The reason for Ma Fangfang’s slow progress wasn’t due to poor talent or flaws in the Spiritual Energy Vortex Method—it was because Yan Qi’s own soul power was so immense that it allowed her to achieve astonishing growth in very little time.
“It seems my exceptionally powerful soul is the reason for my rapid progress… and also why I overestimated ordinary people.”
Having found a reasonable explanation for Ma Fangfang’s slower cultivation speed, Yan Qi’s confused expression faded, and her brow relaxed.
Noticing this, Ma Fangfang—who had been too nervous to speak—finally breathed a sigh of relief and asked curiously:
“Master, did you manage to resolve the major issue you were facing?”
“How did you know I was dealing with a problem?”
“I could tell from the change in your expression earlier.”
Ma Fangfang answered honestly.
Hearing this, Yan Qi immediately understood. She mentally scolded herself for being careless and said to Ma Fangfang:
“I see. No wonder you noticed something was wrong.”
Remembering that her question hadn’t been answered yet, Ma Fangfang—still concerned—gently reminded her:
“Master, I think you forgot to answer my question.”
“Your question? Oh, right. The issue I mentioned earlier has been resolved.”
After a brief pause, Yan Qi recalled the question and promptly replied.
Hearing this, Ma Fangfang, who had been worried for her master, finally relaxed and said:
“I’m glad it’s resolved.”