So soon they could return to the country?
Qin Xuan was a little surprised.
It seemed that Commander Pan Lin truly regarded them as fellow brothers.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so concerned about their return.
This was the unique camaraderie among the people of Long Country, something foreigners could never envy.
By the time they returned to the hotel, it was already lunchtime.
After a hearty and satisfying meal, Qin Xuan and the others returned to their respective rooms.
Taking out a portion of the purchased medicinal powder, Qin Xuan removed his clothes and began preparing for the second movement of his cultivation.
The banquet was not until the evening, so he could use this time to test the effects of the medicinal powder.
Following the method recorded in the Body Tempering chapter from memory, Qin Xuan consumed the powder.
Qin Xuan felt a surge of heat slowly emanating from his dantian.
This heat grew with time, to the point where it almost threatened to burst his dantian.
Startled, Qin Xuan quickly assumed the posture for the second movement of Body Tempering.
In an instant, he felt the surge of energy find an outlet.
It slowly flowed out from his dantian, moving along an unknown path.
Simultaneously, as it flowed, this energy gradually dispersed and melted into his body.
Only when his dantian returned to normal did Qin Xuan let out a long sigh of relief.
Fortunately, he had all the postures from the Body Tempering chapter memorized. Otherwise, if his movements had been even a second slower, he might have faced the danger of his body exploding!
However, this series of events made Qin Xuan recall novels he had read before.
Could this process just now be the legendary spiritual energy tempering?
And these unknown pathways, were they the legendary meridians?
But that didn't seem right either.
These medicinal herbs were just ordinary body-strengthening herbs; they shouldn't possess such potent effects.
While in doubt, Qin Xuan attempted to consciously control the surge of energy with his mind.
But even though he strained until his face turned red, he couldn't budge the energy in the slightest.
It continued to flow along the fixed paths, being absorbed by Qin Xuan's body.
It wasn't until ten minutes later, when the medicinal power dissipated, that the surge of energy vanished along with the effects of the medicine.
However, it wasn't a big problem!
After practicing the second movement, Qin Xuan felt refreshed and invigorated, as if he had inexhaustible strength within him.
Although he knew this was a physiological illusion after cultivation, at least with the medicinal powder as support, he no longer had to collapse on the ground, exhausted, immediately after finishing his practice.
The cultivation ended, and no time had passed.
Qin Xuan sat idly on a chair, playing with his phone, when he heard Hu Zi'an knock on his door.
"Boss, I'm so bored..."
"Do you play games?"
"League of Legends or PUBG."
Qin Xuan nodded.
He played both games frequently.
Although his skills weren't great, he was a true spender.
But whenever he had time, he would log in for a couple of matches.
In other words, he was bad at the game but addicted.
However, ever since Qin Ling'er's heart condition was discovered, he rarely had the chance to play games.
Now, hearing Hu Zi'an mention these two games, Qin Xuan's interest was piqued.
"Are there any internet cafes around here?"
Hu Zi'an shook his head, "No, but there's internet here."
"I tried it. The ping is over 100, not too high, playable."
Qin Xuan's heart stirred, "But we don't have computers."
Hu Zi'an grinned proudly, "Heh heh, I brought them!"
"Let's go, my brother and I will play together."
Following Hu Zi'an to his room, Qin Xuan found that the guy really carried a lot of stuff.
He had brought two laptops alone.
Other items like handheld consoles and tablets were all packed in his backpack.
The most outrageous thing was that Hu Zi'an carried two sets of everything, calling it being prepared for any eventuality.
He really didn't know what went on in his mind.
Qin Xuan lifted Hu Zi'an's backpack and weighed it, "You've been carrying this heavy stuff all along?"
Hu Zi'an nodded.
"I just love to play, so I never leave these things behind."
"During this escape, I thought I'd have to say goodbye to these treasures, but I didn't expect that the car Wen Lin drove was exactly the one carrying my backpack."
Hu Zi'an chattered incessantly, but his hands were not slow at all.
He skillfully plugged in the devices and then made a gesture of invitation.
"Boss, you first."
Qin Xuan said, "Thank you," and casually sat down in front of a computer. "What should we play?"
"How about League of Legends?" Hu Zi'an asked tentatively.
Qin Xuan had no objections, "I'm on server one for League of Legends."
"But let me say this first, I'm a legitimate spender."
"If I lose, you can't blame me for being bad."
Hu Zi'an didn't care, "Don't worry, boss. While I might not be good at other things, I'm definitely a master at games."
"For League of Legends, reaching Grandmaster or Challenger is a piece of cake!"
"If my family hadn't forbidden me from going pro, I might have been a world champion by now!"
When he spoke of world champions, Hu Zi'an's face was filled with longing.
Qin Xuan could tell that this kid truly loved the game.
Having decided on the game, they both logged in.
They were on the same server, but due to the significant difference in their ranks, they couldn't duo queue.
In the end, they had to settle for a normal match.
Clicking start, the match was found.
Qin Xuan and the others were on the blue team.
Hu Zi'an instantly picked Tristana, while Qin Xuan chose his most confident top lane champion, Fiora.
League of Legends' matchmaking system determined the opponents based on the combined hidden MMR of the two matched players.
Therefore, with Hu Zi'an as a Grandmaster and Qin Xuan as a Silver, they were matched against players in Diamond I or II.
As soon as the game started, their Lee Sin began interacting in the public chat.
Lee Sin: "Oh wow, I didn't even look. How come we have a Silver Fiora?"
Lee Sin: "If I had known, I would have gone top."
Saying that, he marked Qin Xuan with his mouse.
Seeing this, Hu Zi'an, afraid Qin Xuan would be discouraged, quickly said, "These kinds of people in server one get a bit too arrogant once they reach a certain rank."
"Boss, don't pay attention to him."
"Just play safe in the top lane, don't rush to farm. If it's too difficult, just stay far away and soak experience."
"I'll quickly crush the enemy bot lane and then come up to help you."
Qin Xuan nodded and opted for the safer Doran's Shield and one health potion to start.
As Hu Zi'an said, when laning against someone of such a high rank, he just needed to minimize mistakes and avoid getting completely dominated.
Just as Qin Xuan was about to head to lane, Lee Sin marked his own blue buff jungle with a signal.
"I'll start from top and clear downwards. Fiora, come help me tank a couple of hits."
Qin Xuan was indifferent and changed his path.
But Hu Zi'an was displeased!
He was playing a game with his boss, and before anything had even happened, he encountered a jungle commander.
Who could stand this?
"Boss, you don't need to mind him!"
"Lee Sin can clear the jungle by himself."
"He's asking you to go just so you can tank a few hits, allowing him to clear the jungle without taking much damage."
After speaking, Hu Zi'an specifically typed, cursing at Lee Sin, "Lee Sin, you go farm by yourself!"
"It's already a tough matchup for my boss's Fiora against Jax, and you're making him lose health before even laning?"
Hearing Hu Zi'an's words, Lee Sin was also unhappy, "He's a Silver player against a Diamond I. It's good enough if he's not completely dominated. Do you expect him to lane normally?"
"It's better to let him help me level up faster, so I can create advantages for the other two lanes later."
Hu Zi'an wasn't buying it, "No!"
"I can crush my lane by myself, you don't need to come."
Lee Sin sneered, "Fine, if you don't want to, then don't. I'll see how you carry this Silver player."
"I declare, I'm not leaving the jungle this game. You guys figure it out."