Chapter 203.1


    <h4>Recognition</h4>


    <small></small>When Li Yundong opened his eyes again, the smooth, fair skin of Zi Yuan''s cheeks was the first thing he saw . Her eyes were closed, and she had a serene expression on her face . And judging from her posture and the way she was sitting, she was meditating .


    He raised his hands above his head and stretched . Zi Yuan''s blinked open as soon as he moved .


    "Oh . You''re up . "


    Li Yundong released a long sigh . "What time is it?"


    "It''s been nearly three hours since you began your first Qi Transmutation cycle . "


    Three hours? Time sure flies .


    "How do you feel?"


    Li Yundong chuckled and lowered his arms back down . "Not too bad I suppose . But . . . I don''t feel extra powerful or anything . Um . . . Actually, I feel just the same . No difference . "


    The whole thing honestly felt like a long nap .


    Zi Yuan was looking past his shoulders . He turned his head and saw the Fan of the Seven Treasures that he''d leaned against the side of the couch when he walked in earlier .


    "Why don''t you try channeling your Zhenqi into the Fan of Seven Treasures and see what happens?"


    Li Yundong swiveled his head around and found Zi Yuan smirking at him .


    Indeed, the significance of what Zi Yuan was asking him to do wasn''t lost on him at all . All this while, his usage of the Fan of Seven Treasures didn''t involve any magic or spiritual energy . Even then, the Fan had proven itself to be capable of terrifying feats of power .


    What would happen if he juiced it up with magic?


    Li Yundong reached behind him and pulled the Fan of Seven Treasure from the couch towards him . Hey the bulky object down on the floor in front of him, then stared at it warily .


    So help him God if he ended up destroying the whole apartment after this training session . . .


    "Go on . " Zi Yuan''s voice jolted him out of his musings . "What are you waiting for?"


    Li Yundong stole a fearful nce at Zi Yuan . Suddenly, this whole thing felt like a terrible idea . Shouldn''t they take this somewhere outside the apartment?


    "O- Okay . " He cleared his throat and sat up straighter . Then, he took a deep breath and ran his fingers along the fan''s metallic surface .


    He should probably start with just a little bit of Zhenqi .


    Baby steps, right?


    <small></small>"Just use the same Qi control techniques, right?" he asked tentatively . "Like the ones I practiced during the Lianqi phase?"


    "Mm-hmm . "


    Alright then . . . He focused his mind on the Zhenqi circling around the surfaceyer of his Vital Orb .


    Here we go…


    He mobilized a small portion of Zhenqi and guided it along the Hand''s Major Yin Lung Meridian . A momentter, he felt his Zhenqi leave the surface of his palm .


    Shit . . . What''s with this weird—


    His Zhenqi was met with a resistance the moment it entered the fan, almost as though the fan had some kind of inner defense mechanism . The resistance grew stronger as it tried to push his Zhenqi back into his body . He kept pushing back against the resistance and, with some effort, managed to keep his Zhenqi inside the fan . Secondster, he felt something else: his Zhenqi had lost some of its vitality; like the fan had extracted something from his Zhenqi .


    He slowly guided his Zhenqi back into his body . When he felt thest of his Zhenqi entering his meridian, he cracked open an eye to take a peek at the fan .


    Nothing . Absolutely nothing .


    The fany as still as a dead fish .


    He opened both eyes and looked towards Zi Yuan . "Um . . . "


    Amusement shone through Zi Yuan''s eyes as she studied him . Somehow, she managed to make him feel about as helpless as a three-year-old kid trying to drive a truck .


    "Well? What did I do wrong?"


    Zi Yuan smiled . "Technically, you didn''t do anything wrong . "


    "But . . . " Li Yundong''s eyes went to the fan again . "It didn''t even react . It''s like nothing happened . "


    "Nothing? Are you sure about that?"


    Li Yundong''s gaze went from the fan to Zi Yuan''s face . One of her brows was arched .


    Then, he spent a while recalling every sensation he''d felt during the process .


    "My Zhenqi was met with some kind of resistance," he said .


    "Uh-huh… What else?"


    "After that it was like . . . like something was drawn out of my Zhenqi?" Li Yundong paused to take a look at Zi Yuan . Something clicked inside his mind . "It was my spiritual energy, wasn''t it? The fan consumed my spiritual energy . "


    "Precisely . "


    <small></small>"Okay . . . " Li Yundong frowned . "So did it even work?" He gestured at the fan . "It didn''t react at all . "


    He didn''t expect the fan to suddenly explode or anything, but he figured it would at least glow .


    Zi Yuan shook her head like she would at a child who''d just told her something utterly nonsensical .


    "What?" he asked .


    "Suppose that an item costs a million yuan," she said with a quirk of a brow . "Do you expect to buy it for ten yuan?"


    Oh . So he had to channel more spiritual energy into the fan was what she was saying .


    Right . Stupid . He cleared his throat, suddenly feeling as though his cheeks were on fire .


    "More spiritual energy . Got it . "


    "If this were a thousand years ago, the fan wouldn''t respond to you even if you spend the next two years channeling your Zhenqi into it . "


    Li Yundong stared at Zi Yuan for a moment, unable to believe what he''d just heard . "T-Two years?"


    "At your current level, yes . " Zi Yuan''s eyes darted to his face . "Not even a single budge after two years . "


    Two frigging years . You''ve gotta be shitting me .


    "Hold on . You said a thousand years ago . How is the fan different nowpared to a thousand years ago?"


    "Grandmaster Pan Shi was still wielding it at that time," Zi Yuan answered . "Unlike now, the Great Fox Elder''s spiritual signature inside the fan was still thriving . . . "


    "Spiritual signature?"


    "A spiritual signature is exactly as its name implies . It is a mark indicative of the presence of spiritual energy . "


    "I see…"


    That sounded a bit simr to DNA…


    "Remember . . . " Zi Yuan''s expression turned serious . "The magical object chooses its master . " She pointed at the Fan of Seven Treasures . "And that is exactly what you need to do in order to pass the second dan of the Shentong phase . You need to get the Fan of Seven Treasures to choose you as its new master . " Zi Yuan ced her hand back onto herp . "The most basic way to use your spiritual energy isn''t to cast spells, but to use it to gain the allegiance of a magical object . " Zi Yuan''s expression softened . "That resistance you felt earlier is due to the spiritual energy of its current owner trying to expel yours . " Zi Yuan shot him a pointed look . "And yes, until you can get the fan to recognize you, Grandmaster Pan Shi is still its owner . "


    Li Yundong stared wordlessly at the Fan of Seven Treasures .


    Suddenly, Zi Yuan chuckled . "It''s amazing how Grandmaster Pan Shi''s spiritual signature remains inside the fan even after a thousand years . "


    Zi Yuan shook her head in awe . "It proves just how powerful his spiritual energy was when he was at his prime . "


    <small></small>"Spiritual signatures weaken with time?"


    "Without constant exposure to the owners'' Qi, then yes, they do . "


    Li Yundong nodded and stared at the fan again . That must be why Zi Yuan had asked him to keep it beside him at all times .


    After a while, Li Yundong chuckled and shook his head .


    "What''s so funny?" Zi Yuan asked .


    "How does it even work?" he asked, ncing over at Zi Yuan .


    "It''s not thatplicated . Just keep channeling your Zhenqi into the fan and try to fight against its resistance," Zi Yuan exined . "Your spiritual energy will do the rest by slowly erasing Grandmaster Pan Shi''s spiritual signature from the fan . " There was a pause . "The task might take a while, but it should be possible even for someone at your level . It''s been a thousand years since Grandmaster Pan Shist wielded it after all . . . "


    Li Yundong wanted to ask how long "a while" was, but he held his tongue in the end . He figured it wouldn''t be as long as that trip to Tibet . At least that was what he hoped .


    "Okay . What actually happens when the fan acknowledges me as its owner?"


    Would it involve some kind of ritual?


    "Several things," Zi Yuan said . "At the exact moment a magical object acknowledges you as its owner, a connection will be formed between your Spirit and the magical object''s Spirit . "


    Li Yundong nced down at the fan, then looked back up at Zi Yuan . "Magical objects have Spirits?"


    "Of course . " Zi Yuan smiled, then nodded at the Fan of Seven Treasures . "You''ll soon see that it has a will of its own . "


    "Wow…"


    "Now pay attention . This is very important," Zi Yuan said sternly . "That connection between your Spirit and the object''s Spirit is a sign of ownership . You understand?" There was a pause . "Do you know how you managed to take the damask from Hongling back then?"


    Li Yundong shook his head . He just remembered telling himself to do everything in his power to stop that f*cking thing from hurting Su Chan . He didn''t recall doing anything special .


    "Your Spirit severed the connection between Hongling''s Spirit and the damask''s Spirit . That''s how you took it from her," Zi Yuan said wryly . "The damask no longer recognized Hongling as its owner after you grabbed it from thin air . "


    Li Yundong could feel his own eyes going wide . "Wait . You mean I became the owner of the damask after I took it?"


    Zi Yuan shook her head . "I don''t think so . " She quirked a brow . "You didn''t even have a Vital Orb back then . There was no way you could''ve imed ownership without exposing it to your Zhenqi . "


    Hold on . Something didn''t add up .


    "Then how did I steal it in the first ce?" Li Yundong frowned . "You said it yourself . I didn''t even have a Vital Orb . . . " He nced down at the Fan of Seven Treasures on the floor . "And I had to send my Zhenqi into the damask for it to recognize me, right? Like I''m trying to do with the fan?"


    Zi Yuan shook her head . "You couldn''t establish ownership, that''s true . But that doesn''t mean you couldn''t break the existing connection between the object and its current wielder . " Zi Yuan raised a finger . "And you''re forgetting something else . "


    Li Yundong sat there and waited for her to carry on her exnation .


    "Again, what is Zhenqi?" Zi Yuan prompted . "We discussed this earlier . "


    "A condensed form of Qi that''s been fortified by the Spirit . "


    "Precisely . The Jindan''s Aura is itself a highly condensed form of Qi, you see? And during the battle, your Spirit must''ve been strong enough to fortify the Aura to convert it into a powerful form of Zhenqi . . . " She paused and studied him for a moment or two . "Did you feel any resistance when you grabbed the damask back then?"


    Li Yundong nodded .


    "Describe it . "


    "Er… There was some kind of red aura pushing back against my hand . "


    Zi Yuan nodded . "That was Hongling trying to fight back . But her Spirit is weaker than yours . " Zi Yuan chuckled wryly . "Her spiritual signature got erased by the Jindan''s Aura the moment your hand touched the damask''s surface . "


    Li Yundong cleared his throat . "Will she still be able to use it after this?"


    "Of course . " Zi Yuan shrugged . "She just has to do what you''re trying to do now . " Zi Yuan nodded at the Fan of Seven Treasures . "She has to expend her spiritual energy to regain ownership of the damask . "


    "Look…" Li Yundong raised his hands defensively . "I had no choice, okay? She tried to kill—"


    Zi Yuan silenced him with a palm . "I''m not ming you . I already told the girl not to act rashly, but she didn''t listen . So she paid the price . . . " Zi Yuan shook her head slightly . "Anyway . We''ve digressed . Where were we . . . ? Ah . Right . Like I said, the formation of Spiritual connection will be the first thing that happens during the recognition . After thates the awakening . "


    "The awakening?"


    "The moment the magical object…es to life, so to speak . " Zi Yuan flicked a nce at him . "This is when you''ll see the magical object act as though it has its own free will . "


    "Wait… You mean it''ll start moving around on its own?"


    "It''ll do more than that, actually . " Zi Yuan chuckled . "It''ll use its owner''s spiritual signature as a guide and start seeking out the owner''s Zhenqi . "


    Li Yundong nced at the fan again . She made it sound as though magical objects could act like pets .


    "Try again . "


    Li Yundong looked up to find Zi Yuan giving him an encouraging nod . "Work on it until you seed . "


    Li Yundong took a deep breath and sat up straighter . "How long do you think it''ll take?"


    "It doesn''t matter how long it takes," Zi Yuan said in a tone of finality . "You''ll keep trying until the fan recognizes you as its true owner . "


    With that, Zi Yuan closed her eyes and went back to her meditation .