After reveling in excitement for a long time, Yan Qi finally calmed herself down.
Still unsure of what using magical energy would feel like, she quickly focused her attention on the faint trace of energy she had just condensed. Following her will, she guided it through her meridians and gathered it at her fingertip.
Looking at her now-golden right finger, she realized that a single press would effortlessly shatter the floor of her house. Along with her delighted expression, she became acutely aware of just how powerful she had become after cultivation.
Immediately after, she withdrew the energy from her fingertip and back into her body—lest she accidentally demolish her own home.
“Magical energy truly is an extraordinary power. But having bullets without a gun won’t intimidate anyone. It seems I’ll need to spend more time learning offensive and defensive spells alongside my Spiritual Vortex Technique training.”
Realizing she now possessed magical energy but lacked the spells to wield it effectively, Yan Qi silently resolved to study attack and defense techniques to strengthen her true form as much as possible.
“Hmm… Why does my room suddenly smell weird, almost like durian?”
With her energy retracted and her thoughts settled, Yan Qi caught a whiff of the peculiar odor lingering in the air. Instinctively, she sniffed around, trying to locate the source—only to discover it was coming from her own body.
Alarmed, she looked down and saw that she was covered in a thick, black, sticky substance emitting a foul stench.
“What the hell is this disgusting black gunk? Could it be the impurities expelled from my body earlier?!”
Her eyes widened in shock as she recalled the strange sensation of something being purged from her system. Now understanding what the filth was, she grimaced.
“Ugh, this smell is unbearable. I need to change my clothes and take a shower—now.”
Unable to stand the stench any longer, she grabbed clean clothes from her wardrobe, rushed to the bathroom on the second floor, and scrubbed off the foul black sludge left behind by her cultivation breakthrough.
About fifteen minutes later, after tossing her soiled clothes into the washing machine and thoroughly cleansing herself, Yan Qi returned to her room.
“I never expected such a drastic change after advancing to a new stage of cultivation. Next time I break through, I’ll have to prepare in advance.”
Learning from the experience, she vowed to be better equipped for future breakthroughs.
Glancing at her phone, she noticed it was almost 11 p.m. Remembering the offensive and defensive spells she had found online earlier, she knew that as an ordinary person, mastering them quickly would be impossible.
With time still on her hands, she decisively activated the transformation card from her system, assuming the form of the Daoist Empress Daoyan.
Once transformed, she immediately pulled up the spells she had collected on her computer. Using the empress’s innate talent, she streamlined the techniques to reduce their difficulty while also compiling detailed, beginner-friendly notes for her normal self.
After over an hour of meticulous work, the clock neared midnight. Having finally refined the spells and completed several guides, Yan Qi set down her pen, a satisfied smile gracing her lips.
“As expected of the Daoist Empress—I modified multiple spells in no time. Now I won’t have to struggle when learning them later.”
Pleased with her progress and aware of the late hour, she reverted to her petite, white-haired, red-eyed loli form and slipped into bed, awaiting the next day.
The Next Morning
“Good morning, Mom. Has Dad already left for the station?”
After her pre-breakfast cultivation session—feeling more refreshed than ever—Yan Qi came downstairs and greeted her mother.
“Yes, he’s already gone.”
“Figures.”
Knowing her father always preferred arriving early, she wasn’t surprised. Then, recalling how she had shared her novel with her parents during lunch the previous day (as promised), curiosity got the better of her.
“By the way, Mom, what did you think of my story?”
At her daughter’s question, Li Caifeng—who had read the novel with her husband before bed—paused before smiling.
“I don’t have much to say, but your father had some thoughts.”
“Dad did? What did he say?”
Worried he might have criticized her writing, Yan Qi pressed anxiously.
“He said your update speed is too slow. A few tens of thousands of words just weren’t enough—he couldn’t get enough of it.”
“Oh… So Dad actually liked it?”
“Of course. Why else would he complain to me about it? Speaking of which, what happens next in your story? Does that ditzy, jilted boy stumble into some kind of adventure?”