He had the answer.
Someone was very disheartened.
The first level of the Qi Condensation Realm was the lowest level of Cultivators.
"I didn't expect that I am now one-tenth of the weakest among the Immortal Cultivators."
"Amazing, truly amazing!"
Li Ping'an sighed with a touch of bitterness.
After a brief thought, Li Ping'an focused on the Cloud Summoning Technique and Rain Summoning Technique, allocating one Cultivation point to each, and chose to comprehend them.
'Ding: Comprehension successful. Congratulations, Host, you have mastered Cloud Summoning Technique Level 1.'
'Ding: Comprehension successful. Congratulations, Host, you have mastered Rain Summoning Technique Level 1.'
As the sounds faded.
Li Ping'an felt nothing. He immediately formed a hand seal and whispered, "Clouds, come."
However,
There was no response.
Li Pingfan: "System, what's going on?"
System: 'Host, your current 10 Spiritual Qi points are not enough.'
'You need at least 100 points, and the consumed Spiritual Qi can only be replenished through Cultivation points.'
Li Ping'an: "How many Spiritual Qi points does 1 Cultivation point give?"
System: 'It depends on luck. It could be 1 point, 10 points, or even 10,000 points.'
'In short, Host, you have to try it yourself. It's like marrying a wife; you can't come and ask me what it feels like, right?'
"Damn it! Can we not communicate properly?"
Li Ping'an rolled his eyes but decided to try with one point.
'Ding: 1 Cultivation point deducted, gained 10 Spiritual Qi points.'
"Damn, I lost out."
Li Ping'an spat fiercely, "Use 7 points for me!"
Following that was a series of messages and prompts.
'Ding: 7 Cultivation points deducted, gained 10 Spiritual Qi points.
'Gained 100 Spiritual Qi points, gained 20 Spiritual Qi points, gained 50 Spiritual Qi points, gained 1000 Spiritual Qi points, gained 100 Spiritual Qi points.'
'Ding: Congratulations, Host, you've suddenly hit the jackpot and gained 5000 Spiritual Qi points!!!'
Jackpot?
Hmph, this is truly befitting a protagonist!
Li Ping'an revealed a smile. His Spiritual Qi instantly soared to 6300 points, enough to use the Cloud Summoning Technique 63 times.
However, his combat power remained unchanged.
Li Ping'an was a bit confused, "My Spiritual Qi has increased so much, why hasn't my combat power changed? Is there a bug?"
System: 'Spiritual Qi, including all immortal techniques and weapons, is not linked to combat power. Only when the Host's own attributes improve will combat power increase.'
'The reason for this is entirely for the Host's benefit. What if the Host is a reckless fool, thinking he can match others in combat power, and then goes to his death?'
'Just like those Immortal Cultivators, even people in the same Realm have strengths and weaknesses. Some are invincible in their Realm, while others are even weaker than those in lower Realms.'
This made a lot of sense.
There were still 10 Cultivation points remaining.
Li Ping'an thought for a moment and decided to first increase his strength.
'Ding: 5 Cultivation points deducted, strength increased by 50 points.'
At this moment, Li Ping'an felt an unusual sensation, as if he had been blessed by a mysterious aura, and his whole body was filled with a sense of power.
"Bang~"
Li Pingfan confidently kicked a stone weighing fifty catties beside him, sending it flying five meters away.
It was a powerful strike, and the effect was good.
It was just that...
His foot hurt terribly, and it would probably swell!
"Hiss~ It hurts so much, baby."
Li Ping'an gasped, clutching his aching right foot, his eyes a little moist.
System: 'Does it hurt?'
Li Ping'an: "It hurts a lot!"
System: 'This is the consequence of recklessness. Why don't you quickly add defense? Do you want to become a crippled foot?'
Upon receiving the reminder, Li Ping'an quickly used the remaining 5 Cultivation points on defense.
'Ding: 5 Cultivation points deducted, defense increased by 50 points.'
As the sound faded, Li Ping'an felt subtle changes in his skin, muscles, and even his tendons and bones.
They became tougher and more solid.
The pain in his foot also lessened, but it still hurt to the bone.
He rested for a while before finally recovering.
"No more recklessness, never again."
Li Ping'an secretly vowed.
Fortunately, he had kicked a stone just now. If he had kicked a steel plate, he would need a crutch in addition to a hoe from now on.
He looked at his combat power again.
This time there was a change, increasing from the previous 10 points to 20 points, which meant he was now two-tenths of a Cultivator in the first level of the Qi Condensation Realm.
The scorching sun remained, and heat waves rolled with the wind.
"Clouds, come."
Li Ping'an gestured, and a cloud formed out of thin air, moving at his will.
The cloud was not large, only about ten zhang in size.
This was a relatively low-level immortal technique. Even if comprehended to Major Achievement, it would only be ninety zhang in size.
However, a more Advanced Cloud Summoning Technique also increased the consumption of Spiritual Qi, and the duration of the cloud was limited.
Generally speaking, those Immortal Cultivators would refine Cloud Summoning Talismans, which would then not consume their own Spiritual Qi cultivation.
"Let's continue clearing land."
Li Ping'an, with the cloud above him, carried his hoe to the field, striving for his dream.
He had left in a hurry earlier, and his gold coins were used up, so he forgot to buy seeds.
Moreover, he hadn't expected the System to really make him rely on farming to develop!
Now it was different from before.
His strength had increased significantly, and when the hoe struck the ground, it even created a whooshing sound.
As time passed, the cloud had dispersed.
The scorching sun in the sky had also begun to set towards the west, blocked by the mountains, casting a vast shadow over the area.
At dusk.
Li Ping'an cleared two more mu of land.
However, the Cultivation points he received were pitifully few, only 2, averaging 1 point per mu of land.
"System, these Cultivation points are coming in too slowly, aren't they?"
Li Ping'an hoisted his hoe onto his shoulder and walked towards Tiankui City.
The night outside the city was not safe; he absolutely could not take reckless risks for quick gains.
System: 'Host, you're just starting out now, how much faster do you want to be?'
'Once you grow a bit, you'll be able to clear a mu of land with one swing of the hoe. How many Cultivation points do you think you can get in a day then?'
'Once you have the ability, you can go find those Spiritual Qi-rich spiritual fields to plant in; you'll gain Cultivation points even faster.'
"Alright, I'll take it slow."
Li Ping'an quickened his pace.
By the time he rushed back to Tiankui City, the city gate was slowly closing.
"Wait, wait for me."
Li Ping'an was a bit anxious, shouting and speeding up.
The gate commander, Zhang Tiepeng, glanced at Li Ping'an, pretending not to see him, and urged, "Close the gate quickly."
A guard said, "Commander Zhang, there's still someone outside the city."
Commander Zhang, with his back turned, coldly said, "Where is there anyone? Why don't I see anyone?"
"The city gate must close on time, that's the rule. If you're even a moment late, I'll punish you all to death!"
"Quick, close the gate."
"There's no one, we must be seeing things."
The guards also understood that Commander Zhang was deliberately targeting Li Ping'an.
After all,
Zhang Tiepeng came from a good family, was young and promising, and was also an admirer of An Ruoyi.
He, along with a group of young talents in the city, all wished for something to happen to Li Ping'an.
"Damn you!"
Li Ping'an raised his hoe and cursed, "Zhang Tiepeng, are you blind? Open the gate for me!"
Zhang Tiepeng came up to the city wall.
He looked down at Li Ping'an in front of the city gate and slowly said, "Oh, isn't this the City Lord's son-in-law? What were you doing outside the city?"
Li Pingfan said, "Open the gate for me, stop blabbering."
Zhang Tiepeng shook his head, "You're making it difficult for me. The city gate closes on time; that's the City Lord's rule."
"Opening the city gate without permission is a serious crime. I'm afraid I can't help you."
Then,
He took some food and threw it down from the city wall like he was feeding a dog, "Brother Ping'an, just make do with this tonight. The gate will open on time tomorrow morning..."