The first exercise Aunt Qin attempted was push-ups.
With the ladder strapped to her back, she lowered herself to the ground.
Her palms pressed against the dirt, but she sensed nothing mystical about it.
*Could it be... complete nonsense?*
With that thought, Aunt Qin began doing push-ups.
It had to be said that watching someone clad in fine silk brocade do push-ups felt thoroughly out of place.
In less than a single breath, Aunt Qin had nearly finished her first repetition.
A helpless smile initially tugged at her lips, for she felt neither cultivation technique nor true essence circulating as she moved.
Without those, how could anyone grow stronger?
Yet the moment she completed that single push-up, a peculiar change swept through her instantly.
Jin Li quickly asked, "Aunt Qin, how is it?"
Aunt Qin, however, was frozen in utter disbelief.
"This old woman... I feel as though my body has grown slightly stronger."
"What?" cries of astonishment broke out from everyone present.
Could exercising really make someone stronger?
"How much stronger is 'slightly'?" Hua Xian asked hurriedly.
She was worried Aunt Qin had offered such an ambiguous answer merely to save face for Empress Jin Li.
Only then did Aunt Qin reply with utmost seriousness: "Just one push-up was equivalent to... half a shichen of cultivation."
"What?!" Shock rippled through the entire crowd.
A single push-up equaled half a shichen of cultivation?
Wasn't that far too absurd?
"Doesn't that mean doing fewer than ten thousand push-ups would rival a whole year of cultivation?" Hua Xian calculated, immediately awestruck.
"If this is true, wouldn't cultivating here for a single day equal ten years of cultivation in the outside world?"
Everyone was dumbfounded.
Doing push-ups could boost one's cultivation?
What kind of principle was that?
How could such a thing even exist?
It defied all comprehension!
It sounded as preposterous as claiming that eating a meal, drinking a cup of water, or passing gas could trigger a breakthrough.
Yet shocked and baffled as they were, they all began working out one after another.
And so, all thirty confidants strapped ladders to their backs and began exercising in the Xuanyuan Forbidden Ground.
They were all powerful cultivators. When they did push-ups, their speed was blazing, rising and falling as if flying.
The spectacle was utterly mind-boggling.
If people from Qi Yuan's previous world had witnessed this, they would undoubtedly have shouted, *"Badass!"*
Of course, if a video of it were posted online, the comments would instead read: *"Nothing special," "Put me in, I could do that too!"* or *"I have a friend who..."*
After all, the comments section was where all manner of keyboard savants and almighty beings gathered.
"I... I broke through!"
"The bottleneck that trapped me for three years actually shattered!"
"Push-ups are immensely beneficial for breaking bottlenecks!"
Everyone present was astonished. Pumping out push-ups at full tilt, they eagerly shared their sensations.
In merely half a shichen, three of the thirty-odd people had broken through in succession.
Two of them broke through minor realms, and one even breached a major realm.
"Quick, try the other exercises!"
Naturally, they did not limit themselves to push-ups; they began experimenting with other routines.
Pull-ups were somewhat difficult with a ladder strapped to one's back, but still manageable.
Doing pull-ups also enhanced one's strength and cultivation, though the focus of the enhancement differed.
Some opted for pull-ups, while others stuck with push-ups.
"Wait, what about sit-ups? How are we supposed to do those with a ladder on our backs?"
"Carry a ladder? You don't necessarily have to carry it on your back; hooking it with your feet works too!"
"Stand the ladder upright, hook your feet through the rungs, and do sit-ups!"
Everyone carefully gave it a try.
Sure enough, it worked just the same, rapidly increasing their cultivation.
Some even held the ladder horizontally in midair, hooking their feet onto it to perform sit-ups.
Regardless, they were all cultivators. Poses that would leave even trained dancers struggling were child's play for them.
Across the grounds, everyone exercised ceaselessly—push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups... The enthusiasm reached a fever pitch.
Jin Li looked toward Aunt Qin and asked, "Aunt Qin, how are you doing?"
At this moment, Aunt Qin's complexion was flushed with vitality, and the cultivation aura radiating from her grew steadily deeper.
She continued her movements without pause. "This old woman finds it... truly miraculous! I fear even a supreme sovereign might not possess such methods. That friend of Your Majesty is truly an otherworldly expert."
At the thought of Qi Yuan, Jin Li's expression turned complicated, a heavy wave of inferiority washing over her.
Yet considering her present plight, she had no time to dwell on such thoughts.
"Aunt Qin, roughly how long will it take for you to break through to the Sovereign rank here?" Jin Li inquired.
Only by reaching the Sovereign rank could they secure a decisive victory in the duel arranged for a few days later.
"Just two days, and I will certainly step into the Sovereign rank!" Aunt Qin declared with absolute confidence.
She had already been in the late King rank.
Within the Xuanyuan Forbidden Ground, advancing her cultivation was as effortless as drinking water.
Breaking through to the Sovereign rank was practically within arm's reach!
That was the Sovereign rank!
Her heart surged with wild excitement.
Hearing this, the stone weighing on Jin Li's heart finally fell away.
Looking at the assembled crowd, she recalled something and spoke softly, "There is one matter I forgot to tell you all. Performing these exercises in the Xuanyuan Forbidden Ground to boost cultivation comes with a certain side effect."
Upon hearing those words, the joy in everyone's hearts dampened slightly.
Right, that made sense.
If such a massive surge in cultivation came without any side effects at all, that would be truly unreasonable.
"We are willing to lay down our lives for Your Majesty!" They ceased their exercises and shouted in unison, their faces solemn as if marching toward death.
In their eyes, a method that defied heaven so blatantly to boost cultivation had to carry a terrifying side effect.
Aunt Qin spoke in a deep voice as well: "To die for Your Majesty leaves no regrets!"
Seeing this, Jin Li was touched, yet also found herself caught between laughter and tears. "The side effect is not that horrifying. It will not cause anyone's death."
A weight lifted from everyone's hearts.
Hua Xian, the commander of the Imperial Guard, looked at Jin Li and asked slowly, "May I ask what the side effect is?"
"Growing stronger... might cause your hair to fall out."
"Hair loss?"
"It's just hair loss?"
"That's it?"
Everyone was stunned.
What stunned them was... *that's all?*
For such an enormous boost, the only side effect was losing some hair?
Forget losing hair; to raise their strength, people in Southern Qian had even castrated themselves to practice demonic arts.
Compared to that, what did shedding a bit of hair matter?
It wasn't even worth mentioning!
The woman who had broken through a major realm earlier broke into a smile. "When I broke through just now, a dozen strands of my hair fell out. I had no idea why, but it turns out that was the reason!"
Forget losing a dozen strands—even if every hair on their bodies fell out in exchange for breaking through a major realm, they would do it without hesitation.
Just then, a bald female guard piped up, "I don't have any hair... What will I lose?"
Everyone looked at one another, completely at a loss for words.
...
Time flew past.
Qi Yuan was out hunting garment demons once more.
Thanks to his diligent efforts over this period, he had already reached Level 88.
With a single sword strike, he sliced a garment demon in two.
Unfortunately, these garment demons could neither speak nor scream.
Suddenly, the expression on Qi Yuan's face shifted dramatically.
"It hurts so much!"
He let out a bloodcurdling scream, agony twisting his features as he clutched his stomach. "My body... is being chopped to pieces!"
Yet a moment later, seeing the garment demon dissolve completely into shards, he flashed a smug grin.
"I really am such a kind person.
"Seeing that you mutes can't talk, I went out of my way to provide voice acting for you.
"Today, I'll be a voice actor for the day."
With that, he raised his sword and charged into the crowd of garment demons once more.
"Mighty Sword Cleaves the Skull!"
"No, please!"
"Xiaoxiang Sword Rain!"
"It hurts!"
"Divine Dragon Whirl!"
"Aaargh!"
Chapter 23