The first time he learned about this system, Gavin Norton was utterly stunned. He had no idea what realm came after Qi Refining; that was simply beyond his current level of understanding.

Even at the Qi Refining stage, a martial artist’s lifespan would increase as their cultivation advanced. Since tempering the body with vital energy was itself an optimization process, it was only natural for one’s life expectancy to extend. A martial artist at the Qi Condensation stage would live about fifty years longer than an ordinary person. Upon reaching the Qi Manipulation stage, one could live nearly two hundred years. Legend had it that if one could break through the Qi Refining stage, their lifespan would double again, reaching four hundred years. However, the difficulty of further breakthroughs would also multiply.

The Ning Prince’s residence of the Great Qi Dynasty was considered an extremely powerful force within the realm. Yet, in such a vast princely estate, there was not a single martial artist at the ninth level of Qi Refining—at least not openly. Of course, legend had it that Gavin Norton’s father, Prince Ning Brian Norton, was a ninth-level Qi Refining martial artist, cultivating the family’s secret art, [滴天髓], a peerless martial technique renowned throughout the land.

However, to be clear, although Gavin Norton was the son of Prince Ning, he was a concubine’s child and thus had no right to practice the family’s [滴天髓] technique. Still, aside from [滴天髓], which was a closely guarded secret, he was eligible to learn some of the other family martial arts. It was just that, until now, he had never bothered to study them. Now, with the soul of a half-shut-in, Gavin Norton certainly wouldn’t let such a golden opportunity slip by.

In martial cultivation, resources are crucial. The so-called “wealth, companions, method, and land” applies here as well. But for most martial artists, all four are fleeting clouds; finding a good master is what truly matters.

A master can lead you to the door, but cultivation is up to the individual. Yet, without a master to guide you in, you cannot even begin.

Many martial artists travel across mountains and rivers, spending their entire fortunes in search of a renowned teacher, only to end up with nothing.

But Gavin Norton had no such worries. In the Ning Prince’s residence, every prince had the chance to meet great teachers and study martial arts. The legitimate sons, of course, could directly learn the family’s [滴天髓] technique, personally taught by the elders. As for the concubine-born sons and some relatives, while they couldn’t learn the family’s top secret art, they were still allowed to attend lectures at the estate’s Martial Hall and receive instruction from martial experts—an opportunity ordinary people could only dream of.

Except for the first and fifteenth of each month, there were martial experts lecturing at the Martial Hall every day. However, Gavin Norton had only attended a few times before stopping altogether.

As a result, his martial skills lagged far behind his peers.

You see, with decent conditions, the initial stages of martial cultivation are actually quite easy. Among the young men of the Ning Prince’s residence—setting aside the legitimate sons—even the concubine-born sons of similar age mostly had third-level Qi Refining strength. Some outstanding ones had even reached the Qi Condensation stage.

Gavin Norton’s current cultivation was at the late stage of first-level Qi Refining, not yet having broken through to the second level. This was just the beginning stage of drawing the energy of heaven and earth into the body. For his age, he was at the very bottom of the pack.

An idiot who doesn’t know how lucky he is!!!

That was Gavin Norton’s assessment of this body’s original owner. A clueless fool living in this wondrous world, with the chance to cultivate martial arts, could never understand the passion of a veteran Earth shut-in for the real experience of cultivating internal energy. Even the faintest sense of qi would drive such shut-ins wild with excitement, yet this bookish, scatterbrained guy was utterly indifferent. If that’s not idiocy, what is?

But the harsh reality was right in front of him. No matter how frustrated he felt, what could he do?

The only thing left was to desperately catch up.

“I’ll practice on my own for now. Once I enter the academy, I’ll go to the Martial Hall for lessons—no need to let those bastards cause me trouble again!”

The “bastards” Gavin Norton secretly feared were the boys who had previously pushed him into the pond. The ringleader was another concubine-born son of the prince, Calvin Norton. However, Calvin Norton’s status in the residence was much higher than Gavin Norton’s. Gavin Norton’s mother was merely a servant girl with no official standing, while Calvin Norton’s mother was Brian Norton’s seventh concubine, known by all the servants as Lady Seven.

Originally, there was no real conflict between Calvin Norton and Gavin Norton. It was just that Gavin Norton had always been focused on his studies and was likely to enter the academy this summer, earning the title of xiucai (scholar). Meanwhile, Calvin Norton was mediocre in both academics and martial arts. Although he had reached the mid-stage of second-level Qi Refining, advancing to the third or even fourth level was still a distant dream, let alone passing the martial scholar exam.

Thus, their statuses in the residence were about to be reversed. Gavin Norton’s mother might also gain standing thanks to his scholarly achievements, and Gavin Norton himself could acquire some estate property. This made Calvin Norton feel unbalanced. So, ten days ago, he gathered a few strong servants and, while Gavin Norton was reciting by the pond, pushed him in—leading to the farcical soul transmigration that followed.