Cultivation Online

Chapter 1824  Bamboo Garden(3)

"If you have any questions, now is the time to ask," Senior Zhou said as his gaze swept the crowd before him.

"Nothing? Good, then you can start your new life in the Bamboo Garden. If you have any problems, you know where to find me."

Senior Zhou turned around and walked away.

Afterward, most of the participants decided to return home to continue studying the cultivation technique.

Yuan glanced around until his eyes landed on Lan Yingying. With a subtle tilt of his head, he gestured for her to follow him.

Lan Yingying caught the signal and gave a small nod in acknowledgment before quietly following him. Together, they made their way to the same secluded spot they had used the previous day.

"How was your cultivation?" Yuan asked her.

She shook her head, "I couldn't even begin. I am having trouble memorizing the technique."

"Trouble memorizing the technique?" Yuan asked, raising his eyebrows in a puzzled manner.

Since he had already memorized the cultivation technique prior to entering the Hidden Domain, he hadn't experienced the same struggles as the others. As a result, he was unaware of the unusual difficulty they were encountering.

"Although the cultivation technique is very basic at a glance and should be easy to master, I am unable to memorize it. It's almost as if something is interfering with my ability," Lan Yingying explained.

Yuan then muttered, "If you think about it, this trial would've been too easy if there were no restrictions since there were many powerful cultivators who entered the Hidden Domain."

"What about you? I'm guessing you've already memorized the technique?"

Yuan nodded, "To be more precise, I already knew the cultivation technique even before we arrived at this place. I used to be a disciple of the Immortal Monastery, after all."

Lan Yingying then asked, "Have you tried cultivating with your own cultivation technique?"

Yuan shook his head and said, "No, I didn't even bother trying. However, judging by the atmosphere earlier, I'm willing to bet that the others have tried it and failed."

Yuan's guess had been spot on.

When the other participants failed to memorize the Basic Qi Gathering Technique, most attempted to bypass the issue by using their own cultivation techniques. However, they quickly discovered that while they could activate their techniques and go through the motions of cultivation, they were completely unable to absorb any spiritual energy.

It was as if the spiritual energy in this world had been attuned exclusively to the Basic Qi Gathering Technique, rendering all other methods ineffective.

"Anyway, while I have begun cultivating, my progress is astonishingly slow. At this rate, it'll take a whole year before I gather enough spiritual energy to breakthrough to Spirit Apprentice."

Lan Yingying's eyes widened at his words.

"A whole year?"

"Yes," he confirmed. "I also have a feeling that all of our bodies were created equal, so we'll progress at the same rate."

Lan Yingying swallowed nervously. She couldn't fathom spending a whole year just reaching Spirit Apprentice—not including the time it'll take her to memorize the cultivation technique.

"I'm sure there will be ways for us to increase our talents or cultivation speed. Until I find something, let's just keep doing our best with what we're given."

"Okay," Lan Yingying nodded.

"I'm going to train my body through the quotas now. A trained body will absorb spiritual energy much easier than one that has never been trained before," Yuan said a moment later.

"I'll focus on the cultivation technique for now," Lan Yingying said.

They went their separate ways shortly after. Lan Yingying returned to her living quarters to focus on studying the cultivation technique, while Yuan headed to the training hall to acquire some tools.

At the training hall, Yuan selected a sturdy sword, noting its weight before heading into the bamboo forest to begin his quota.

The bamboo in the Bamboo Garden was far from ordinary. Each stalk was thicker than an adult human and significantly more durable than regular bamboo. If someone attempted to chop these bamboo stalks down with a knife, it would take an entire day just to chop a single stalk, hence why Yuan went straight for the sword.

As Yuan stood before a towering bamboo stalk, he couldn't help but reminisce about the first time Tian Yang had tried to chop one of these stalks down.

"I was completely unaware of their durability back then," he muttered with a chuckle, the memory vivid in his mind. "I nearly broke my wrist swinging an axe at one of these darn bamboos…"

The thought brought a small smile to his face as he gripped the sword in his hand, preparing to take his first swing.

"Ha!"

Yuan swung with all his might, the blade of the sword striking the bamboo with precision.

However, the towering stalk didn't even quiver from the impact. When Yuan examined the result, he saw only a small, barely noticeable cut in the bamboo's thick surface.

Meanwhile, Yuan's hands stung from the impact, and a faint ache spread through the bones in his arms.

He flexed his fingers briefly to shake off the discomfort, muttering to himself, "It's tougher than I remembered." At this rate, he'd need to strike the bamboo over a hundred times before cutting it down.

After taking a deep breath to steady himself, Yuan went for another strike… and then another. Each swing sent stinging vibrations through his hands and arms, but he ignored the pain and persevered until he conquered the bamboo.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of effort, the sword managed to cut through the bamboo, and the towering stalk fell with a heavy crash.

By the time he finished chopping his first bamboo, Yuan's arms felt like lead. The exhaustion and pain made it nearly impossible for him to lift them.

With a heavy sigh, he let the sword slip from his grasp and collapsed onto his buttocks, leaning back slightly as he tried to catch his breath. His body was drenched in sweat, the sticky heat clinging to him as he sat there, staring up at the clear blue sky.