And the Qi Gathering Chamber awakened.
Qi flooded the room.
Chen Ba's breath caught.
Outside, ambient Qi had to be gathered patiently.
Here—
it was everywhere.
Dense.
Pure.
Pressing against his skin like rain.
He opened his meridians.
Qi entered immediately.
No struggle.
No waiting.
Chen Ba settled into circulation.
Absorb.
Refine.
Retain.
The lesson from earlier returned naturally.
The incoming Qi carried fewer impurities than what he normally drew from the outside world.
Refinement became easier.
What entered his circulation remained almost entirely under control.
Very little escaped.
Yet when the first cycle settled—
his dantian still felt almost empty.
Chen Ba frowned.
Another cycle.
Then another.
The same.
Qi entered.
Refined.
Settled.
And disappeared into a space that seemed to demand more.
Perhaps Level Four simply required far more than Level Three.
That made sense.
But another possibility bothered him.
His refinement felt smooth.
His retention felt good.
Which left—
absorption.
Maybe he simply absorbed too slowly.
Inside the chamber, he had no way to compare himself with the others.
So he continued.
Outside the sealed room, Chen Yulan stood before a narrow formation pillar.
Five names glowed across its surface.
The chamber did not measure exact quantities.
It only compared intake speed.
A simple ranking.
At first the names shifted.
Chen Gao rose.
Chen Xueyin passed him.
Chen Yiru moved briefly into second.
Then one name climbed to the top.
First — Chen Ba
Chen Yulan watched.
The position did not change.
An attendant beside her raised an eyebrow.
"He's Level Four."
"Yes."
"So that explains some of it."
"Some."
Chen Ba's meridians were already stronger than those of the Level Three disciples.
Faster circulation was expected.
Still—
the gap held.
The attendant looked toward the sealed chamber.
"Generous reward for newcomers."
"Not as generous as it looks."
"One thousand points a session."
"That is the access price."
Chen Yulan folded her arms.
"Most of them are Level Three."
"The amount of Qi they actually absorb over two hours would probably cost less than one hundred Achievement Points each if you valued only the Qi."
The attendant nodded.
"The rest is the formation."
"Formation, maintenance, concentration, access and timing."
Chen Yulan watched the rankings.
"The reward is experience."
"Later, when they face a bottleneck, they'll know whether the chamber is worth buying."
Inside—
Chen Ba remained first.
The first hour passed.
Chen Xueyin's breathing deepened.
The chamber had pushed her much closer to Level Four.
Chen Yiru's circulation had tightened as well.
Chen Gao, after trying to draw too much at once, finally stopped fighting the chamber and settled into a steadier rhythm.
Chen Lanyue progressed strongly, though not quite as quickly as the other three.
None broke through.
That was fine.
The purpose was not to force one.
Chen Ba remained Level Four.
And remained first.
During the second hour, the differences became clearer.
The Level Three disciples began to tire.
Their absorption slowed.
Their circulation demanded more attention.
Chen Ba did not.
His rhythm stayed almost unchanged.
Qi entered.
Refined.
Settled.
Again.
His dantian continued accepting it.
No pressure.
No sense of fullness.
No hint of Level Five.
Chen Ba's concern deepened.
If this was what cultivation at Level Four felt like—
then he had underestimated the gap badly.
Perhaps he really did absorb too slowly.
Outside, Chen Yulan stared at the ranking.
First — Chen Ba
Still.
Her earlier explanation began to feel less comfortable.
A small dantian should fill quickly.
That was the entire point.
Yet Chen Ba had spent nearly two hours taking in Qi faster than everyone else without showing signs of saturation.
Level Four required more Qi than Level Three.
Certainly.
But the numbers in front of her still bothered her.
The small-dantian explanation had fit too neatly in the classroom.
Now it did not.
She said nothing.
The formation dimmed.
Qi pressure fell.
The chamber door opened.
Chen Gao exhaled so hard he nearly fell backward.
"That was…"
He stopped, apparently unable to decide whether the correct word was wonderful or terrible.
Chen Yiru stood carefully.
Her cultivation felt heavier.
Closer.
Chen Xueyin remained seated several breaths longer before opening her eyes.
Level Four was near.
Very near.
Chen Lanyue had progressed substantially as well, though her threshold remained further away.
Then Chen Ba stood.
He looked—
normal.
If anything, refreshed.
Chen Yulan walked toward him.
"How do you feel?"
"Stronger."
"Level Five?"
Chen Ba shook his head.
"Not close."
Chen Yulan's eyes sharpened.
"Not close?"
"I can't sense the threshold."
She took his wrist.
Stable.
Meridians intact.
Circulation clean.
Foundation steady.
No obvious problem.
Yet he had ranked first for almost the entire session.
Chen Ba watched her.
"Is something wrong?"
"No."
The answer came smoothly.
Chen Yulan released him.
"Your foundation is stable."
That part was true.
"What should I do?"
"Digest what you absorbed."
"No missions today."
"No forcing more Qi into yourself."
"Let it settle."
Chen Ba nodded.
He did not ask again.
The five left the chamber.
Chen Yulan remained behind.
Her gaze returned to the formation pillar.
The record still displayed the final ranking.
First — Chen Ba
Her earlier conclusion had been simple.
Fast advancement.
Good absorption.
Smaller capacity.
Now—
one part no longer fit.
She kept that doubt to herself.
Outside, Chen Ba walked away with an entirely different conclusion.
His refinement seemed fine.
His retention seemed fine.
Yet even the Qi Gathering Chamber had not brought Level Five into reach.
So the weakness had to be somewhere.
And the only answer he could not measure—
was absorption.