According to legend, cultivators possessed a method to detect a person's innate qi, allowing it to be measured precisely!

It is said in the world that the strongest innate qi is three cun, three fen, and three li—this is the limit a human can reach.

The weakest is simple: a corpse!

However, the world is vast and full of wonders. There are also some people who, at the moment of death, do not have their innate qi fully dissipate. It may linger, wandering outside the body as a lonely ghost, or trapped within, becoming a zombie or corpse demon. Such cases are not uncommon.

As a subordinate institution of the Immortal Palace, the Baixiang Academy is dedicated to cultivating young cultivators for the Great Xia Dynasty and naturally has its own rules for accepting disciples.

Their standard is set at three cun.

Those above three cun are considered to have good aptitude and can be taught.

Those below three cun are deemed lacking in aptitude; even if they cultivate, it is difficult to overcome the tribulation of life and death, so it is better to live an ordinary life.

In the eyes of many, Carter Foster should have excellent talent. After all, he has an elder brother who, according to legend, possesses innate qi exceeding three cun three. With such a talented brother, it stands to reason that the younger brother, born of the same mother and sharing the same blood, would not be far behind. But the awkward truth is, Carter Foster knows very well in his heart that his own innate qi is likely less than three cun...

To test this innate qi, one does not have to rely entirely on the methods of cultivators; there is a much simpler way.

Hold your breath and run.

While running, that breath is held within, surging through the organs and dantian. Those with high talent can run a hundred or even two hundred steps without breathing, while those with poor talent become dizzy and lightheaded after just a few dozen steps. This, in fact, reflects the strength of one's innate qi.

There is also a folk method, it is said: grab your neck and make a cut, and see how far the blood spurts...

...Forget I said that, don't try it!

Carter Foster had only tried the first method in private and found he could only last eighty steps.

Later, he trained hard for a while, but could only reach eighty-five steps—one more was impossible. He understood in his heart that this was his limit and could not be changed. It was like the hundred-meter dash in his previous life—not everyone can break ten seconds just by practicing.

Some things are decided in the womb and cannot be changed; one can only accept fate.

Indeed, for the Fang family, having such an outstanding elder brother meant that even if his own aptitude was a bit lacking, entering the academy would be easy. In fact, among the more than three hundred students at Baixiang Academy, many had insufficient aptitude but entered through wealth.

But Carter Foster had never entered, nor started cultivating, all because of his elder brother's advice.

This elder brother never explained, only mentioning in his correspondence with Carter Foster not to rush into cultivation. He never explained why, but Carter Foster decided to listen. For other matters, it might be debatable, but when it comes to cultivation, there is probably no one in the world more authoritative than his genius brother. So Carter Foster believed that if his brother told him not to cultivate, there must be a deeper reason!

The problem lies here: his brother knows about his aptitude.

So when he wrote in the letter that Carter Foster's aptitude far surpassed his own, it was clearly nonsense.

Could it be that his brother was just being sentimental, trying to comfort and encourage him?

To outsiders, this might seem normal, but Carter Foster knew this was not his brother's character.

This is someone who, even when their parents celebrated birthdays, would only say "may you live a long life" and never "may your life be as long as the Southern Mountain"...

With this suspicion in his heart, Carter Foster continued reading.

He read slowly, and upon reaching the end of the letter, he saw another particularly simple sentence: Though the world is harsh, the Heavenly Dao shines bright; my path will never be lonely! As the ancients said, a ruler may be short, an inch may be long. If you have the heart for the immortal path, you will not lose to your brother. Perhaps you may dispel the clouds of chaos, suppress the evils of the eternal night, and your brother can then retire in peace, bask in the sunlight, and play with cats and dogs. There is no greater joy in the world than this...

From the words in the letter, Carter Foster seemed to see his brother Charles Foster's desire for seclusion, as if he was somewhat weary.

Compared to the rest of the letter, this final passage seemed both like idle chatter and like a complaint directed at him.

But would someone like Charles Foster really complain?

Carter Foster sat at his desk, slowly reading, pondering each word carefully.

"But the Heavenly Dao shines bright; my path will never be lonely..."

"The Heavenly Dao shines bright; my path is not lonely..."

"......"

"......"

His voice grew softer, only audible to himself.

It seemed as if Carter Foster was moved by his brother's letter, falling into a sorrowful mood. Yet no one else knew that at this moment, Carter Foster's heart was surging with endless waves. From these eight words, he could sense a different kind of emotion, and in his memory, these eight words were something his brother had mentioned to his younger self more than once...

This was not Charles Foster's catchphrase, for Charles Foster had only ever said it to him, and only when he was young.

Why write it in the letter now?

Murmuring these eight words, Carter Foster slowly calmed his mind, immersing himself in them. He did not know how much time had passed, but gradually, these eight words thundered in his heart, filling his mind, growing louder and louder, like rolling divine thunder.