Half a month ago, she had just broken through to the second level of Qi Refinement. In just half a month, she had successfully advanced from the second to the third level. If word got out, no one would believe it. She herself hadn’t even thought about her cultivation breakthrough—she just felt that the whole world had become more beautiful and vivid, and she was genuinely delighted from the bottom of her heart.

Compared to Emily Thompson’s easy advancement, Chad Sullivan had a much harder time.

Not just him—even Michael Bolton found it a bit overwhelming.

Using true qi to protect another’s meridians and guiding their qi flow is an extremely taxing task, even for a master of the Innate Realm. The slightest carelessness could ruin all previous efforts, so he had to stay absolutely focused.

As time passed, the faint true qi within Chad Sullivan’s body finally began to grow stronger, adapting to this new circulation route and developing a short-term instinct. Even after Michael Bolton’s innate true qi withdrew from his meridians, he didn’t notice it right away.

Although Michael Bolton looked a bit tired, the light in his eyes was exceptionally bright. Looking at Chad Sullivan, he nodded repeatedly in his heart: “Good, good, just like that. Keep it up, let your true qi remember this circulation route.”

Chad Sullivan responded inwardly.

But the intense drain on his mental strength brought waves of overwhelming fatigue, constantly crashing into Chad Sullivan’s mind, almost drowning out his consciousness.

However, he knew that this was the critical moment for cultivating true qi. If he couldn’t ensure that his qi fully adapted to this route, he might fall back to the second level of Qi Refinement after this period, and then he’d truly have reason to weep.

“Master is an Innate Realm expert, and he’s exhausted himself for me again and again. I absolutely can’t let him down. Hold on, I must hold on.”

Fighting against the surging weakness, Chad Sullivan kept encouraging himself in his heart.

After his true qi autonomously circulated two and a half more cycles, the intense fatigue felt like countless steel needles stabbing into his brain. The fine control of true qi had pushed his mental exhaustion to an unprecedented level.

He didn’t know how much time had passed. He only felt that all sounds in the world faded away, a hazy feeling filled his mind, turning everything into a blurry, indistinct mess.

In that haze, a pitch-black, strange ore floated quietly, silently absorbing a mysterious energy even he didn’t recognize... After a while, this blurry scene faded as well. Finally, the world darkened, and everything became utterly still and quiet...

Volume One Chad Sullivan Chapter Four: Sacred Profound Sect

He didn’t know how much time had passed before Chad Sullivan finally woke from that hazy state.

The first thing he saw was Emily Thompson’s petite, adorable face.

Seeing him awake, Emily Thompson happily cupped his face and called out, “Little Zhan, you’re finally awake.” Then she immediately shouted toward the door, “Uncle Sullivan, Master, Dad, Little Zhan is awake!”

Seeing her so overjoyed, Chad Sullivan asked in confusion, “What’s wrong, Emily? I just slept for a while, why are you all...”

“A while? You call that a while? That ‘while’ was three days.” As she spoke, her eyes turned red and she sobbed, “I’m sorry, Little Zhan, it’s all because of me. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have been poisoned, and you wouldn’t have fainted.”

“Three days? I slept for three days?” Chad Sullivan was a bit dazed, but seeing her on the verge of tears, he quickly comforted her, “Alright, alright, I’m fine, there’s nothing to worry about. By the way, you said poisoned? What poison?”

“If it wasn’t for the poison, Little Zhan wouldn’t have fainted, and you wouldn’t have looked so weak these past few days.”

Although Emily Thompson spoke in fits and starts, Chad Sullivan still understood. She probably thought he had fainted because his hand was scratched by those poisonous thorns and he was poisoned.

Thinking of this, he quickly reassured her, “You’re overthinking it. I’ve just been feeling especially tired lately, and I’ve been trying to break through to the third level of Qi Refinement, which has really drained me. There’s no other reason.”

“Really?”

Chad Sullivan nodded emphatically, “Really, why would I lie to you?”

At this moment, William Sullivan, Michael Bolton, and Emily Thompson’s father—John Thompson—who had heard the news, walked in from the courtyard. Seeing Chad Sullivan looking better, they all breathed a sigh of relief, finally letting go of the heavy weight in their hearts.

“Dad, Master.” Chad Sullivan smiled at his father, then greeted John Thompson, “Uncle Thompson.”

Michael Bolton nodded and asked, “Chad, how are you feeling now?”

“Sorry to make you worry, Master. I’m fine.”

“It’s all this little girl’s mischief. Otherwise, Little Zhan wouldn’t have suffered for nothing.” John Thompson scolded Emily Thompson, then turned to Michael Bolton and William Sullivan, “I, John Thompson, failed to teach my daughter properly and let her cause such a big trouble, harming Little Zhan. I’m truly sorry, in-laws. If you want to punish her, just say the word.”