Traveling Between Two Worlds: From Bread for Maids to Fantasy Overlord

After repelling the Black Stone Sect cultivators, Qin Family Fortress returned to peace, but Huang Yiming's vigilance remained undiminished. The threat from the Azure Cloud Sect hung like a sword of Damocles, preventing him from becoming complacent. He knew that only by rapidly improving his cultivation could he cope with the impending crisis and protect the three women beside him and Qin Family Fortress.

The following morning, Huang Yiming set up all the modern equipment Su Qingyue had brought, such as the constant-temperature chamber and the spiritual energy purifier, in the cultivation room of Qin Family Fort. He decided to use modern technology to assist in cultivation, break the established conclusion in the fantasy world that "pseudo-spiritual roots cannot cultivate quickly," and forge his own path to immortality.

Inside the cultivation room, the temperature-controlled chamber was adjusted to the most suitable temperature for cultivation, and the spiritual energy purifier continuously purified the surrounding spiritual energy. The concentration of spiritual energy in the air was several times denser than that of the spiritual energy gathering array in Qin Family Fortress. Huang Yiming sat cross-legged in the temperature-controlled chamber, holding a high-grade nutrient solution in his hand, slowly circulating the system-assisted cultivation technique, and began to cultivate.

"Hmph, relying on mundane methods to cultivate, aren't you afraid of going into qi deviation?" A mocking voice rang out as Qin Hao led several collateral disciples into the cultivation room, his eyes filled with disdain and contempt. Qin Hao was a genius cultivator from a collateral branch of the Qin family, having reached the mid-stage of the first level of Qi Refining in just three months, making him one of the best among the collateral branch disciples.

Huang Yiming opened his eyes, glanced at Qin Hao indifferently, and continued cultivating without saying a word. He couldn't be bothered to argue with Qin Hao; improving his cultivation was the most important thing right now.

Seeing that Huang Yiming ignored him, Qin Hao grew even more dissatisfied. He stepped forward, looking down at Huang Yiming arrogantly, and said, "Huang Yiming, I know you activated your pseudo-spiritual root and even broke through to the first level of Qi Refining, but so what? You relied on mortal junk, not real skill! I reached the mid-stage of the first level of Qi Refining in three months of cultivation, which is better than you cultivating for a year with these scraps of metal!"

"That's right, Brother Qin Hao is a genius from our branch of the family. How dare you, a pseudo-spiritual root cultivator, compare yourself to him?"

"Relying on mundane methods of cultivation will never lead to anything significant; sooner or later, you'll suffer a qi deviation and become a cripple!"

The other members of the collateral branches chimed in, their tone full of sarcasm and their eyes filled with jealousy—they were jealous that Huang Yiming could win Qin Yuling's favor, jealous that he possessed dual-realm resources, and even more jealous that he had activated his pseudo-spiritual root and broken through to the first level of Qi Refining.

Huang Yiming remained unmoved, closing his eyes and focusing on his cultivation. Pure spiritual energy flowed into his body through his pores, and under the guidance of the system's auxiliary cultivation method, it quickly integrated into his pseudo-spiritual root, nourishing his meridians. His aura was increasing at a visible rate.

Just then, Qin Hu, panting, carried the treadmill into the training room, muttering, "Brother Ming, this thing you made me carry is too heavy! Can this thing really help with cultivation? It looks like junk used for body tempering in the mortal world."

Huang Yiming opened his eyes, smiled, and said, "This is a treadmill, used to strengthen the physical body. A stronger body can withstand more spiritual energy, and thus cultivate faster. Why don't you try it and cultivate with me?"

Qin Hu's eyes lit up. He quickly put down the treadmill, stepped onto it as Huang Yiming had taught him, and pressed the switch. At first, he could keep up with the pace, but soon he felt exhausted. His foot slipped, and he fell off the treadmill, his face scraping the ground and blood flowing from his nose. He looked utterly disheveled.

Upon seeing this, the other members of the collateral branches burst into laughter, mocking, "What a brute! He can't even use some mundane junk, yet he dares to try cultivating?"

Qin Hu scrambled to his feet, wiped the blood from his nose, and stubbornly insisted, "I fell on purpose, just to test the power of this treadmill and see if it could withstand my force!"

Qin Yuling happened to walk into the cultivation room and saw Qin Hu's disheveled appearance. She was both angry and amused. She raised her hand and slapped him on the back of the head, complaining, "You're so stubborn! If you keep pretending, I'll punish you by making you move spirit herbs. You can only rest after you've moved a hundred bundles!"

Qin Hu shrank back in fright, no longer daring to be stubborn. He obediently walked to the side, sat cross-legged like Huang Yiming, and tried to circulate his spiritual energy to strengthen his physical body.

Seeing Huang Yiming so focused on his cultivation, Qin Hao's jealousy intensified. He stepped forward and said to Huang Yiming, "Huang Yiming, do you dare to have a match with me? I'll show you what a true cultivator is, what real strength is! I'll humiliate you in public and let everyone know that pseudo-spiritual root cultivators are always trash!"

Huang Yiming slowly opened his eyes, looked at Qin Hao calmly, and said indifferently, "I don't have time to compete with you. I need to cultivate." At this moment, he only wanted to quickly improve his cultivation to deal with the threat from the Qingyun Sect, and he had no intention of wasting time on such a boring competition.

"What? You're scared now?" Qin Hao became even more arrogant. "I knew you wouldn't dare. You're just a piece of trash, relying on mortal junk to improve your cultivation. You don't dare to fight me head-on!"

Huang Yiming's eyes turned cold, and his spiritual energy instantly became sharp: "Since you insist on courting death, then I'll grant your wish. But let me make this clear beforehand: you'll bear the consequences of losing the competition. You're not allowed to waste your breath on me again, nor are you allowed to mock Qingyue and the others."

"Alright! It's a deal!" Qin Hao was overjoyed. He had thought Huang Yiming wouldn't dare to accept the challenge, but he was surprised that the other party agreed. He was secretly pleased with himself—as long as he could defeat Huang Yiming, he could gain a foothold in Qin Family Fortress and win Qin Yuling's favor.

In the center of the cultivation room, the two stood facing each other, while the disciples from the collateral branches gathered around, eager to see the outcome of the competition. Qin Yuling, Su Qingyue, and Yang Xiu also stood to the side, their eyes filled with worry: although they believed in Huang Yiming's strength, Qin Hao had cultivated for three months and had already reached the mid-stage of the first level of Qi Refining, while Huang Yiming had only just broken through to the first level of Qi Refining. They were worried that Huang Yiming would suffer a loss.

"The competition begins!" Qin Hao shouted, taking the lead in circulating his spiritual energy. With spiritual energy swirling around him, he rushed towards Huang Yiming, condensing a spiritual energy palm print in his hand and slamming it hard into Huang Yiming's chest.

Huang Yiming stood still, calmly watching Qin Hao rush towards him. Just as Qin Hao's spiritual energy palm print was about to hit him, he slowly circulated his spiritual energy, dodged to the side, and at the same time punched Qin Hao's shoulder with his backhand.

Qin Hao screamed and staggered backward, his face filled with shock—he couldn't believe that Huang Yiming was so fast and so strong!

"Impossible! How could you possibly have such strength? You're just a pseudo-spiritual root cultivator who has only just broken through to the first level of Qi Refining!" Qin Hao roared, his face filled with disbelief.

Huang Yiming said calmly, "You think only those with orthodox spiritual roots can cultivate quickly? You think mortal equipment can't assist in cultivation? Today, I'll show you that my cultivation speed is ten times faster than yours, and my strength is ten times greater than yours!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Huang Yiming activated the system's auxiliary cultivation technique. With the help of the constant temperature chamber and the spiritual energy purifier, the spiritual energy around him surged instantly. In just ten minutes, his aura rose from the early stage of the first level of Qi Refining to the middle stage of the first level of Qi Refining, even surpassing Qin Hao's aura by a few degrees.

Qin Hao had exhausted a great deal of spiritual energy after that attack. He practiced his cultivation technique for half an hour before his spiritual energy recovered even a little, and his aura was still weak.

Huang Yiming flashed in front of Qin Hao and punched him in the chest. Qin Hao screamed and fell to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood. His spiritual energy was in complete chaos and could no longer circulate.

"I lost...I lost..." Qin Hao's face was full of despair. He couldn't believe that he had lost to a pseudo-spiritual root cultivator, and lost so badly.

Seeing this, the surrounding disciples from other branches turned pale with fright and dared not mock Huang Yiming any longer. Their eyes were filled with awe as they looked at Huang Yiming and his companions. Only now did they truly understand that Huang Yiming's strength was far greater than they had imagined—even a pseudo-spiritual root was enough to crush a true spiritual root.

Huang Yiming looked at Qin Hao lying on the ground and said in a calm tone, "Remember what you just said. You are not allowed to talk nonsense again, and you are not allowed to mock anyone again. Otherwise, I will destroy your cultivation."

Qin Hao nodded hurriedly, his face filled with fear, not daring to utter the slightest rebuttal.

Just then, Su Qingyue walked in from outside, holding several bottles of high-grade nutrient solution in her hand. She smiled and said, "Yiming, Yuling, Xiuer, I brought some high-grade nutrient solution from the city to share with you. It will help improve your cultivation. I will regularly transport supplies from the city in the future, so you can focus on your cultivation. Leave the affairs of the city to me."

Huang Yiming took the nutrient solution, feeling a warmth in his heart. His gaze softened as he looked at Su Qingyue: "Thank you for your hard work, Qingyue." Qin Yuling and Yang Xiu also took the nutrient solution and smiled at Su Qingyue. The three women exchanged glances, their understanding unwavering. The subtle tension from before had dissipated, replaced by a deep sisterly affection.

Huang Yiming opened the nutrient solution and drank it all in one gulp. Pure spiritual energy instantly surged into his body, nourishing his meridians, and his aura improved even further. Just as he was about to continue cultivating, a system notification suddenly sounded in his mind: [Detected a large number of refugees being oppressed by bandits in Black Wind Ridge. Side quest triggered: Subdue the refugees and rescue them from their plight. Quest reward: Ten high-grade spiritual herbs, increased spiritual energy affinity. Warning: There are Qingyun Sect spies among the bandits; please be cautious.]

Huang Yiming's expression changed slightly—Black Wind Ridge! Qingyun Sect's spies! He hadn't expected the Qingyun Sect to have extended their reach to Black Wind Ridge, and even colluded with the bandits. He knew that this side quest would not only reward him and improve his cultivation, but also allow him to uncover the Qingyun Sect's movements, preparing him for future threats.

"Yu Ling, Qing Yue, Xiu'er, Qin Hu, let's get ready to head to Black Wind Ridge to rescue the refugees and, incidentally, find out the Qingyun Sect's movements," Huang Yiming said with a determined look in his eyes. A new adventure was about to begin.