Chương 8: We Shall Both Live a Long and Happy Life Together!

"A mortal typically lives for 100 years. When they first start accumulating Qi from the air into their dantian and fill their first star with gaseous Qi, they become a Qi Tu (Qi Disciple) of the 1st stage, extending their lifespan to 200 years." Wei Tu explained as they walked through the bustling streets. Oh, so the lifespan doubles immediately? Talk about instant reward! Xiao Xuan noted.

"After filling all nine stars, which signifies the 9 stages of the realm, one transcends to the Qi Zhe (Qi Practitioner) rank. Here, a cultivator can live for 500 years. Then, they begin channeling the accumulated Qi from each star throughout their entire body. Completing this cycle nine times breaks them through to the Qi Shi (Qi Master) rank." Wei Tu continued.

"With a vastly enhanced body, they can live for 1, 000 years. Their aura becomes dense enough to suffocate mortals and physically push back those weaker than them. At this stage, the Qi inside their stars condenses into a liquid form." Ah, so this is the stage that guard Li was at, Xiao Xuan thought. Good thing I didn't argue with him for long.

"After filling all 9 stars with liquid Qi, the cultivator ascends to the Qi Da Shi (Qi Grandmaster) rank, granting a lifespan of 10, 000 years. Here, they must compress that liquid Qi into a solid core. Once 9 solid cores are forged, they become a Qi Ling (Qi Lord). They can live for 100, 000 years and can project their Qi outward as a physical force or armor. Their body's capacity to hold Qi increases by a hundredfold!"

"After 9 cycles of compressing Qi into those existing cores, they become a Qi Wang (Qi King), living for 1, 000, 000 years. They can overcome gravity for temporary flight across short distances. In this rank, they begin to temper their Qi cores with their main elemental attribute." Ooh! Flight! Xiao Xuan's eyes sparkled. Good. So this world doesn't strictly require riding around on flying swords like a magical skateboard. I never liked those anyway.

"Following 9 more cycles, they reach the Qi Huang (Qi Emperor) rank. They can live for 10, 000, 000 years, perform sustained flight, and manifest a true elemental core at the center of their dantian. Finally, after successful manifestation and Qi accumulation, they break through to become a Qi Zun (Qi Venerate)." Wei Tu's chest puffed out.

"Then—""Alright! Alright! That's enough for now." Xiao Xuan was staggering under the weight of the math. Web novels always threw around words like 'infinite lifespan' and 'transcendence,' but hearing these raw, cosmic numbers grounded the sheer scale of this reality.

"Which rank is my wife in?" Xiao Xuan asked.

"First Miss Su reached the Qi Ling (Qi Lord) 3rd stage just five months ago." Wow. My wife has a 100, 000-year lifespan. Xiao Xuan swallowed hard. No wonder she doesn't want to get intimate with me. If I die of old age in eighty years, she would have to stay a widow for 99, 920 years! Don't worry, dear wife, I won't let you become a widow! We shall both live a long and happy life together! These were only expected lifespans.

In the cruel cultivation world, it would be a miracle to live even a hundred years without being killed.

"What about the rest of the family?"

"The Clan Leader is at Qi Huang (Qi Emperor) rank 5th stage. Madam Shufen is at Qi Wang (Qi King) rank 8th stage. First Elder Su Zhongyong is at the peak of Qi Wang (Qi King) 9th stage. Second Miss just recently broke through to Qi Da Shi (Qi Grandmaster) rank." Wei Tu smiled bitterly.

"As for me, I have been stuck at Qi Zhe (Qi Practitioner) 3rd stage for a long time. That guard, Li Tiebin, is at Qi Shi (Qi Master) 6th stage."

"And how exactly does a mortal start accumulating Qi?" Xiao Xuan asked. That was his step one.

"It begins with a foundational breathing technique to draw ambient Qi into the dantian. However, the speed of accumulation depends on a person's talent, which is dictated by the quality of their meridians and mental clarity. Talent is graded from Level 1 to Level 10. Of course, no one possesses a Level 10 talent." Wei Tu's voice filled with admiration.

"First Miss Su is famous and revered throughout the region for possessing an extremely rare Level 9 talent." Then, his shoulders slumped.

"I only have a Level 1 talent, which is why my advancement stopped so long ago." Wow, my wife really is a peerless genius. And in contrast, I am an undisputed trash, Xiao Xuan groaned. Ugh. I don't like this setup very much. But way to go, darling! He might not have any innate talent right now, and he hadn't heard a system 'ding' in his head yet, but he possessed the combined theoretical knowledge of over a hundred web novels. If there was one universal truth he knew, it was that talent could be upgraded.

A hint of ambition flickered in his eyes. By the time Wei Tu finished his explanations, they had arrived at the Central Market.

"This is the central market, sir. Our Su Clan's business has multiple storefronts in and around the district, but two of our main trade hubs are located right here."

"Hmm. We will look into the family business later. Right now, I am famished," Xiao Xuan declared. Wei Tu was a Qi Zhe (Qi Practitioner), he didn't get tired as frequently as a mortal. Xiao Xuan, however, had been running purely on willpower to walk this far.

"Right away, sir. I know a place." Wei Tu led him to a bustling pavilion and quickly ordered a high-quality meal.

"I'm gonna need you to pay for this, Wei Tu. I don't have any money with me right now," Xiao Xuan said sheepishly.

"That's quite alright, sir. I will handle it." Wei Tu didn't mind in the slightest.

"Wow, this is good stuff!" Xiao Xuan exclaimed, inhaling the rich, spiced broth and noodles. Nothing beats a hot meal after hard work. As he swallowed the last bite, he felt a warm, soothing sensation radiate through his aching muscles, wiping away his physical exhaustion. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. The food itself contained traces of gentle, nourishing Qi.

In this world, cultivators also ate food regularly to replenish their energy and Qi faster and more easily than meditating. Xiao Xuan had just pushed his empty bowl away when an arrogant sneer cut through the ambient noise of the market.

"Well, look who we have here. If it isn't the famous live-in son-in-law of the Su Clan!" Xiao Xuan sighed inwardly. Not again! A young man dressed in lavish silk robes strutted over, his eyes dripping with malice.

"What is a piece of trash like you doing, eating at a place like this? Why are you sweating like a pig? Did you walk here? Is the mighty Su family so destitute they couldn't even spare a proper carriage for their beloved son-in-law?" Wei Tu's expression darkened, ready to intervene, but Xiao Xuan casually raised a hand to stop him. A small crowd had already begun to gather, whispering excitedly. Xiao Xuan slowly wiped his mouth with a napkin, looked up, and stared with a blank expression.

"Who are you?" The young man puffed out his chest.

"I am Gu Tianqi!"

"Gu Ti… what?" Xiao Xuan cupped his ear.

"It's Gu Tianqi! Don't you know who I am, you useless trash?!" Gu Tianqi's face began to flush with anger.

"Let's try this again." Xiao Xuan stared at him bluntly.

"Who. Are. You?"

"I am talking to you, uncultivated trash!" Gu Tianqi roared.

"Oh, okay! So your name is 'Uncultivated Trash'. Got it. Nice to meet you, Trash," Xiao Xuan interjected, standing up from the table to walk away. The surrounding crowd erupted into loud, echoing laughter.

"You—!" Gu Tianqi drew his hand back, his face burning red. But before the young master could do anything, an earth-shattering thud-thud-thud vibrated violently up through the cobblestones, rattling the empty porcelain bowls on Xiao Xuan's table.

"MOVE AWAY!"

"MOVE! THE BEAST IS OUT OF CONTROL!" From the far end of the street, a choking cloud of yellow dust billowed into the air, carrying the sharp, pungent scent of trampled spices and crushed fruit. A grand carriage was barreling through the market at terrifying speeds, its metal-rimmed wheels shrieking like tortured steel as they scraped against the stone path.

Pulling it was a colossal beast that vaguely resembled a horse, but its sweat-slicked coat was a stark, blood-red, and its thick black mane whipped wildly around its bulging, muscular neck. The beast was in a state of frenzy. Hot, white foam flew from its snapping jaws, and its bloodshot eyes rolled in panic. It ruthlessly smashed through wooden merchant stalls with deafening cracks, tossing smaller carts aside like cheap wooden toys and sending splintered debris raining down.

The market dissolved into a blur of screaming chaos as people scrambled for their lives, clearing a wide path just seconds before the juggernaut tore through. Gu Tianqi took one look at the approaching stampede, shrieked, and vanished into the fleeing crowd faster than his own shadow. Yet, Xiao Xuan didn't run. He stood his ground right in the center of the street. The ground quaked beneath his boots, and the heavy, coppery stench of the enraged beast's sweat assaulted his nose.

He calmly observed the incoming beast. The onlookers who had reached a safe distance gasped. They assumed the poor son-in-law was simply too weak to run, frozen in terror. Wei Tu panicked, lunging forward to grab his master and drag him away with his strength. But Xiao Xuan didn't look scared. Instead, he simply raised his right arm toward the charging, blood-red beast. Not in anger. Not with the arrogance of a martial warrior. But with a strange tenderness.

His eyes were focused, his hand outstretched as if he were trying to gently caress the rampaging beast's face from afar, trying to calm a panicked animal. Seeing this sudden, unexplainable change in demeanor, Wei Tu froze for a split second. A violent gust of wind, pushed forward by the mass of the incoming carriage, whipped through Xiao Xuan's hair and clothes. With his hand raised against the incoming beast, the mortal looked like a fearless hero. But logic quickly snapped Wei Tu back to reality.

He's going to be a squashed hero! It was too late. The beast was already upon them. With his current strength, Wei Tu knew he couldn't pull Xiao Xuan out of the impact zone in time. … While Xiao Xuan's life hung by a literal thread in the market, a different, quieter storm was reaching its boiling point back in the Su Clan Council Hall. A trap had been laid to ensure that even if Xiao Xuan miraculously survived the market, he would not survive his return.

"Regardless of who started the fight, Guard Li had no authority to bar a member of the main family from using a carriage," Su Luoyang finally spoke. She sat further down the hall, her face as cold and unyielding as a frozen lake. Her piercing eyes locked onto the kneeling guard.

"His actions severely overstepped his rank." Li Tiebin swallowed hard, a single drop of cold sweat rolling down his thick neck. Before Patriarch Su Zhongtian could capitalize on his daughter's logic, a senior elder from the Branch Family faction stood up.

"With respect, First Miss, the guard was simply upholding the clan's laws. It was Xiao Xuan who broke protocol. Instead of remaining in his courtyard to study as instructed by the Patriarch himself, he chose to parade around the estate and ultimately caused a public disturbance."

"Indeed," chimed in another branch elder, his voice echoing sternly.

"He contributes nothing to our martial foundation, yet demands the privileges of a titled elder. If we severely punish a loyal guard for defending himself against an unruly mortal, we will chill the hearts of all our protectors. The Su Clan's dignity cannot be trampled just to appease a mortal's fragile ego." The council quickly devolved into a heated, bitter debate.

Su Luoyang knew the Second Elder Su Jiang's faction was testing her father's authority, using her 'trash' husband as a convenient political punching bag. There was a mole in the clan, perhaps the very person who had sabotaged the Spirit Creek! And seeing the elders instantly gang up to protect this insignificant guard made her blood run cold. Even if Xiao Xuan was her husband in name only, and even if she felt nothing for him romantically, a flare of dissatisfaction burned in her chest.

Xiao Xuan was a member of the main family and her responsibility after all.

"Enough." The word was spoken quietly, but it silenced the hall instantly. First Elder Su Zhongyong, Su Zhongtian's younger brother and the leader of the branch family who had been silently watching the chaos unfold, finally stepped forward.

"Guard Li stepped out of his bounds," Su Zhongyong declared.

"For disrespecting the son-in-law, even inadvertently, he must face consequences. Strip him of twelve months of his cultivation stipend." He then turned slowly to look directly at the Patriarch. A subtle glint flashed in Su Zhongyong's eyes.

"However… The elders also speak the truth. Xiao Xuan neglected his officially assigned studies, disrupted the estate's peace, and attempted to abuse clan resources without earning the right to do so. To maintain fairness in the eyes of our disciples, he too must be disciplined. But, as he is a member of the main house…" Su Zhongyong bowed his head in a display of mock reverence.

"I leave his punishment in your capable hands, Elder Brother." Su Zhongtian's jaw clenched so tight it looked ready to shatter. Beside him, Liang Shufen gripped her porcelain teacup. While it looked like Su Zhongyong had just given them a way out, he had in fact publicly forced the Patriarch into a corner where he had to punish his own son-in-law just to save face and maintain the clan's laws. Still kneeling on the floor with his head bowed, Li Tiebin sneered in secret. He was perfectly safe.

Even if he lost twelve months of his pay, his masters would quietly compensate him double.