The heavy rain poured down the heavens and drenched the man on the roof terrace of his house. Dark clouds ahead of him along with the endless night skies and he had been here for over an hour.

Li Yang sighed inwardly as he sat on the ground and kept his eyes closed—listening and feeling the heavy droplets pounding on his back, drenching his entire suit and self.

It was the complete opposite of what any sane man might have done.

The Panda watching him from afar would have agreed—save not for it observing what was happening around the man. It reminded the creature of cultivators and warriors from distant lands that stayed under strong waterfalls to cleanse their souls and mind.

Qi was everywhere.

It might have differed in various states of it, some more beneficial and others more detrimental to one’s health, and the man before him now was taking advantage of the natural rain. The creature didn’t think that the man would do anything else except follow the System’s instructions to gain power, but it didn’t stop the man from trying to cultivate nonetheless. .

[ High Levels of Qi In One’s Surrounding ]

[ Absorbing Water-Rain Qi… ]

[ Attempting Distribution Through Meridian Channels… ]

Concentration. Visualization.

Li Yang had studied his documents in regards to the pathways of the qi and now he imagined himself manually distributing the qi he was thankfully absorbing throughout his entire body. He might have no access to the latent spiritual qi inside of him due to the lack of spiritual roots, but he could still absorb other types.

…and it was better to practice this for future purposes.

There was also the fact that it was an enjoyable sensation and it might have been something similar to how a child experienced playing under the rain for the first time… or more adult pleasures. He lost his concentration for a moment.

He sighed and rubbed his face.

There was nothing wrong with either type of pleasure seeking—and yet he knew he had his own blocks in regards to it. He had never been always good with relaxing and trying to engage with things that might have distracted him from his work. If he failed his father and matriarch…

He stared out blankly for a moment.

And then he came to his own conclusion, perhaps this was enough training. It was perhaps already an hour or so past midnight. He picked himself up from the floor and then sneezed, nearly toppling over at his own feet. It didn’t register to him before, but now that he stopped his meditation, the frost of the chilly wind and the unmerciful shower of the heavens made it unbearably cold.

“Geez, you’re not at the stage where your body is invulnerable to external illness.” The Panda called out to him.

He looked back and saw the creature under the rain as well, but not a singular rain drop touched it. It was as if there was an invisible shield or perhaps an aura that prevented the rain from reaching the creature.

“…thank you.” He didn’t would observe him after his complaints about his brother, but that also wouldn’t have made any sense either. Li Yang then descended back into his house—glad for the silence that it had despite his brother’s visit.

Li Liang was in the guest room fast asleep and tired from the flight and the travel hours. The man had immediately decided to visit him… Li Yang walked past the man’s door and arrived back into the kitchen. He flicked the lights open and saw the uncleaned pot, bowl and utensils at the sink.

His eyes twitched.

But that wasn’t what he was here for.

“What are you doing here? Did you get hungry?” The Panda reappeared in front of him, looking much more alive than it ever was. Its gaze lingered around the room. Despite its small stature and perhaps unearthly nature, it was still a gluttonous thing.

“I have forgotten to drink the tea that Bo Lifen gave to me, it might be helpful for my health.”

“You’re sopping the floor wet by the way.”

He blinked and realized the creature was right, a blip in his own senses. Li Yang was still very much human and was barely at the start of his cultivation path, this was probably natural. He then began to search for the thermos, half-wondering about the type of tea it would contain.

“The tea she offered me before was a good brew.”

“Oh really?” The Panda snickered. “I bet it tasted like leaves.”

Li Yang rolled his eyes, and walked over to the countertop. The blue thermos stood there and awaited him. “They are made from leaves so that makes sense.”

“I doubt it’s very good tea.”

“I do not understand your desire to disagree with what I said.”

“Well, it’s because it’s mortal tea.” The Panda hollered from behind him. “If you’ve ever been invited to the actual Heavenly Court and had tea there or any of the upper realms besides this world in fact, you would have tasted tea that is made from the purest of spring waters and even leaves from the Xiwangmu’s Peach Tree. You see Sun Wukong didn’t just eat the peaches out of spite, he took the leaves and other bits too while he tended them for the goddess. That crafty monkey, he got what he deserved.”

The CEO could almost imagine the smug look on the creature’s furry face as it said it.

“—But back to those leaves. Now those things aren’t as good as the fruit, but you could achieve Insights into the path of cultivation and extend your lifespan by five hundred years.”

“Is that so?” Li Yang said and tried to seem more interested. It did sound like a useful thing to have and he had been hoping for cultivation food at Mou Gu’s diner but had gotten disappointed. But it was something out of his reach.

Honestly, he also didn’t know what exactly could do with that much time—perhaps grow his company to a worldwide business empire?

“Garhgh! Is that all you’re going to say? It’s like I’m talking to a block of stone!” The creature shouted at his ear. “Heck, a stone statue might have more personality than you! I bet golems have more of a heart than you’ll ever have!”

…The man was glad that only he could see and hear this creature.

It would have caused trouble in the neighborhood if its screaming were heard, and yet it did have a valid point.

Or perhaps in between those harsh words were kernels of truth.

This wasn’t the only time that he had heard those words spoken to him.

Li Yang took one step back to retrieve a small cup for him to use and then reached for the thermos. He threw a look at the floating creature and sighed, “My apologies if it seems that way, but I am also tired.”

“…it’s not just tonight, idiot!”

He took off the cap of the thermos and felt the heat escape its mouth. There was no obvious flowery fragrance that emitted from it compared to the Jasmine tea that Bo Lifen served him yesterday. And yet the tea was still hot and he poured it over his cup—a black liquid pouring out.

“You’re not listening…” The creature’s voice trailed off. “What the heck is that?”

Li Yang stared at the immensely black tea in his cup, it was so dark that it reminded him of the night sky and yet it was also liquid that a calm midnight sea could have been a better description for it. There was no hint of any subtle fragrance of flowers or leaves at all.

He scrunched up his nose, “There are various types of tea, green, white among others to fit one’s desired palate. This one seems to be black tea.”

And Li Yang hated black tea.