Chapter 25: The Universal Manual

The members of the Xia Kingdom’s Earth-Return Team were not only proficient in multiple skills but also possessed exceptional physical fitness! Their daily routines were strictly regulated. After all, only by living longer could life accrue greater value...

In this world, technological progress was not particularly remarkable, yet achievements in biomedical fields were quite impressive.

Originally, five of them had suffered broken ribs, fractured bones, and internal organ punctures. Liu Qingqing used medical instruments dismantled from the spaceship to perform minimally invasive surgeries: resetting bones, draining blood clots, stopping bleeding, suturing wounds, and promoting natural bone regeneration and healing...

In just over two weeks, they could move about normally, though strenuous activities were still forbidden.

At dawn, Liu Yinyun approached Chen Chushi, who was meditating at the seaside, and saluted. “Mr. Chen, my team and I have almost fully recovered. We are capable of basic, light activities. Please let us know your requirements; we will do our utmost to fulfill them!”

During the days of their treatment, Chen Chushi had driven around the various districts and sights of Lu City on his own, visiting thirty-six locations. At four of these, he discovered the presence of spirit stones—a rather high probability. Some other sites, however, not only lacked spirit stones but even harbored monsters resembling the catfish-like creature in Jing Village...

The Earth-Return Team members were staying at a small hotel by the sea.

Chen Chushi had returned the night before without disturbing them, sitting alone at the stone table outside to absorb the spirit stones he had found. He hadn’t expected Liu Yinyun to rise so early, notice his return, and immediately come to request assignments...

Chen Chushi opened his eyes and gently exhaled a turbid breath.

He had broken through once again.

Fifth Layer of Qi Refinement!

His mana was now purer, his control over it more agile, his senses heightened, and he even felt the spiritual energy around him had grown much more intimate...

Chen Chushi’s gaze swept over Liu Yinyun. The woman stood about one meter seventy, had delicate features, a simple ponytail, and plain clothing. Her eyes were clear and resolute, radiating a faintly dominant aura—perhaps related to her status back in the Xia Kingdom...

He smiled. “Have you been cultivating my ‘Qi Refinement Technique’?”

Liu Yinyun was startled—could he tell? She nodded. “Yes, sir. The ‘Qi Refinement Technique’ manual you wrote on the rooftop in Baishui City was accessed by online viewers via surveillance. Please forgive us for practicing it without your permission...”

Chen Chushi laughed. “That manual—if you managed to glean anything from it, that’s quite a feat. Go ahead and practice.”

Liu Yinyun had hesitated these past days over whether to confess their cultivation of his technique, fearing it might provoke his disfavor and exclusion...

Now, she could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Chen Chushi continued, “Although you are following orders to assist me in collecting resources for cultivation, I cannot treat you unfairly. Call the other four team members out—I have a small gift for each of you...”

Liu Yinyun’s eyes brightened. She could guess what it might be, and her heart rippled with anticipation. Soon, she gathered her four teammates before Chen Chushi. Upon hearing there were gifts, they too waited in eager expectation...

From the group of five, Chen Chushi could sense only the faintest trace of mana from Liu Yinyun; the others... virtually none at all.

He withdrew his gaze. “Tell me how far you’ve progressed in your cultivation.”

Liu Yinyun replied, “Before departing on the eco-giant ship, I had just begun entry-level training in the ‘Qi Refinement Technique.’ My physical abilities were slightly enhanced, and I could sense a faint power in my lower abdomen, but I haven’t yet grasped how to control it...”

Liu Qingqing said, “I’ve just entered the Sensing Qi Stage.”

“So have I,” said Chen Jingshan.

“And I,” echoed Liu Jianghai.

Wu Fei added, “Me too...”

Chen Chushi was surprised. “Sensing Qi Stage?”

His manual for the ‘Qi Refinement Technique’ only listed nine layers—there was no Sensing Qi Stage. But soon he understood. “You mean the stage where you can sense spiritual energy but can’t yet absorb it?”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Liu Yinyun seemed to recall something. She turned to Liu Qingqing. “Show Mr. Chen those two sample bottles.”

Liu Qingqing understood, went inside, and brought out two glass bottles, each the size of a palm, handing them to Chen Chushi. “Before we departed, we collected samples of the giant ship’s recycled atmosphere and the air from space. We’d like you to take a look...”

Chen Chushi took them, pressed the button to open a lid, and let a wisp of recycled air escape. He nodded. “Is this air produced entirely by the ship’s life-support systems?”

“Not entirely. This sample was collected from the internal ship space, not directly from the machinery. It may still contain a large proportion of terrestrial air from before launch,” Liu Yinyun answered.

Chen Chushi nodded. “The spiritual energy here is extremely thin. By my calculation, the air in a hundred football fields, supplied over twenty days, would barely be enough for an ordinary person to begin entry-level cultivation. I suspect the ship’s recycling systems cannot generate spiritual energy...”

He then opened the second bottle—space air.

Space, strictly speaking, is not a complete vacuum, but it is exceedingly thin, with hydrogen ions, water molecules, and some particulate dust. The pressure is enormous, and the human body cannot withstand it; direct exposure would cause blood vessels to burst and instant death...

He shook his head. “From this sample, it’s almost impossible to detect any spiritual energy.”

Liu Yinyun had suspected as much but still held a sliver of hope—if there were spiritual energy in space, humanity aboard the giant ship could also cultivate...

Chen Chushi smiled. “It’s actually a good thing that people on the ship can’t easily succeed in cultivation. If everyone could strengthen their bodies, and without a cultivator capable of suppressing them all, even a minor uprising could bring irreparable disaster to the ship...”

He himself could now tear through steel plates with his bare hands.

Setting the bottles on the table, he drew two booklets from his jacket. “The original ‘Qi Refinement Technique’ was a version tailored to my own constitution. Over the past few days, I’ve written two new versions: a general simplified edition and a general standard edition, to better suit most people’s physical types...

The simplified one is for those with average constitutions and lower aptitude; the standard for those with better constitutions and higher talent.” As he handed out the booklets, he thought, You can’t expect the horse to run and not let it eat grass...

All five suddenly understood—no wonder the original manual in the Xia Kingdom’s script had been so difficult for them to comprehend.

So, it had been a custom manual from the start.

They passed the booklets around, read them several times, and soon made their choices. Liu Yinyun chose the standard edition; the others, the simplified edition.

The standard edition was harder but offered greater rewards; the simplified one was easier to start but slower to improve, requiring diligence to make up for it...

Chen Chushi took out five spirit stones, each precisely polished. “These are spirit stones. Hold one while you cultivate; it will help you better sense the presence of spiritual energy... Prepare well for seven days—I hope you’ll all achieve entry-level success.”

For the support he’d received from the Xia Kingdom’s leaders, he owed them at least this much.

After all, whether or not he accepted their mission to save humanity, it made no difference.

From the very start of his cultivation, he’d set his priorities: his main goal was to escape Earth, survive the helium flash, and save his own life! Only if his strength allowed would he consider saving all of humanity as a secondary goal...