What Are the Drawbacks of Being a Cardholder Besides Spending Money

(3.14, it's been a whole day since the second trial with no response. Who knows if they even work on weekends? Unbelievable.)

Another ten minutes passed.

Su Qi finally emerged from his meditative state.

The nine shimmering stars surrounding him flickered intermittently, signaling they had reached the limit of his current control.

According to the cultivation manual’s description, this was merely the first stage, known as [Glimpsing the Stellar Dawn].

Only when Su Qi could continuously manifest ninety-nine stars would he truly begin to grasp the fundamentals.

After completing this cycle, Su Qi didn’t rest—now was the critical moment.

Stages 1 to 4 were called Spark.

Stages 5 to 6 were called Candle’s Shadow.

A spark could ignite easily, but even if a candle burned itself out, it might not last till dawn to greet the morning light.

This was the origin of the stage names.

For most people, the sixth stage was the absolute limit of their lifetime potential—just like Li Hu.

Those with courage would venture into the Source Realm to seek a breakthrough.

Those without would settle into a quiet job and live out their days in peace.

The seventh stage of a Cardholder’s mental sea transformation was fundamentally different from the earlier stages.

Before the seventh stage, one only needed to convert Source energy into soul force and fill the soul sea to achieve qualitative evolution.

But breaking through from the sixth to the seventh stage required "overflowing Source energy, condensed into a sea."

In other words, one had to use unconverted Source energy to expand the volume of the soul sea—a process of "dilation."

Under normal cultivation, the sixth-stage soul sea’s capacity could no longer accommodate the shift from quantity to quality.

Only by raising this limit could one lay the foundation for the eventual transformation.

The time this process took varied from person to person.

Some might need ten or twenty years—or even longer—to condense it.

Others might achieve it in just a few years.

And then there were the rare prodigies, the true freaks of nature, who accomplished it in even less time.

Slowly, he submerged his consciousness inward, sensing the abundant Source energy within.

Guided by his will, he directed the scattered Source energy in his body to expand his soul sea.

Su Qi estimated it would take him one to two months.

Perhaps it was because his soul sea had been severely damaged years ago—after healing, it had become more resilient and could endure greater strain.

If the average person had to tread this path like crossing a narrow log bridge, cautious to avoid a single misstep that could damage their soul sea…

Then Su Qi was practically sprinting on flat ground.

Not that he’d call it a blessing—after all, the time spent recovering might have been longer than the process itself.

...

Late at night, the moon hung bright amidst a scattering of stars.

Su Qi pushed open the tent flap.

Pale moonlight spilled over him.

After the exertion of gathering Source energy and expanding his soul sea, Su Qi’s body and mind were utterly drained.

If someone asked Su Qi what the downsides of being a Cardholder were—aside from the financial cost—

He might answer: No matter how high you cultivate, even up to the twelfth stage, you can’t escape basic human needs like eating, drinking, and pissing.

Time to find a secluded spot to relieve himself and then get some sleep.

He walked about three hundred meters from the tent—

Like how guys instinctively leave an empty urinal between them in the restroom.

This was just beyond the edge of Old Li’s sensory range.

Unless Old Li activated a perception-enhancing card.

Just as Su Qi reached to undo his belt, his hair stood on end.

His soul sea trembled violently, screaming a desperate warning.

Something—some unseen force—was closing in on him from behind at terrifying speed.