Li Shiming closed the door of the study, housed within the central room, adorned with several books on the shelves.

    The books here were all common texts, lacking the inherited family scriptures and selections.

    The books needed for the examination were still in the boxes he brought, and he wouldn''t have time to sort through them until tomorrow.

    He naturally didn''t need those books, but to avoid suspicion, he still had to keep up appearances.

    He eagerly took out the Gathering Spirit Plate and removed four Spirit Stones that were devoid of Spiritual Energy from it.

    Then, he took out four new Spirit Stones and carefully placed them in the four indentations of the Gathering Spirit Plate.

    Looking at the complex patterns on the Gathering Spirit Plate, he recalled the best plan he had devised after twelve days of research.

    Li Shiming extended a finger, with Spiritual Energy flickering on it.

    His finger moved continuously over the Gathering Spirit Plate, guiding the Spiritual Energy from the four Spirit Stones into it and initiating flow within the Plate.

    Activating the Gathering Spirit Plate was not complicated. Once any Array was formed, by mastering the flow of Spiritual Energy, one could smoothly activate it, as explained by Fan Yiyang.

    Li Shiming had used the Gathering Spirit Plate for a month and had the operating videos of the Gathering Spirit Plate downloaded on the large server IBMz15.

    This allowed him, even without understanding the operating principles of the Gathering Spirit Plate, to identify the most likely energy pathways connecting the Spirit Stones and the Gathering Spirit Plate.

    When the light on the Gathering Spirit Plate flickered and formed an illuminated area, he knew he had succeeded.

    Li Shiming looked excitedly at the activated Gathering Spirit Plate in front of him. With it, he could continue to cultivate the "Five Elements Qi Absorption Technique" and had enough Spiritual Energy to learn other Spells.

    He could even afford to be more generous in cultivating Spirit Rice, possibly applying the "Spring Breeze and Rain Skill" a few more times.

    He sat above the Gathering Spirit Plate and started operating the "Five Elements Qi Absorption Technique," following the second level Spiritual Energy circuits of the cultivation technique, entering deep into his practice.

    An hour later, he opened his eyes and could feel the increase in Spiritual Energy inside his body, so joyfully he almost wanted to cry.

    Only upon losing something does one appreciate its rarity. Clinging to the fear that one day he might drop from the Qi Refining Second Level down to the Qi Refining First Level during the days without Spiritual Energy,

    This was the alert program he had created for himself, designed to notify him from the large server IBMz15 if any anomalies occurred outside his body while he was sleeping or practicing.

    He did not move, maintaining his body''s sleeping position, yet his ears were collecting faint sounds.

    He heard footsteps on roof tiles, and concurrently, a scene of someone in soft-soled boots treading lightly appeared in his mind, an analysis given in real-time by the large server IBMz15.

    He pinpointed the location of the night walker, right above the main house.

    The movements of the night walker were very gentle; without the surveillance of the large server IBMz15, Li Shiming would not have detected the night walker''s presence so early.

    Li Shiming''s eyes moved following the movement of the night walker on the rooftop; he didn''t know if the night walker was just passing by or had come specifically to find him.

    When the night walker left the rooftop and descended the outer wall, the friction of silk clothing against the wall assured Li Shiming that the night walker had come for him.

    Li Shiming was extremely puzzled; he had not started visiting his father''s old friends, so how could someone know that he had moved into the old house and what kind of animosity could make someone target him just as he had entered Central Capital.

    He did not think the night walker harbored any good intentions; the most likely possibility was an assassination attempt.

    Slight tearing sounds from the paper window filled Li Shiming''s mind with a real-time analysis image from the large server IBMz15; the night walker was using a bamboo tube to puncture the window paper.

    "Poison, or perhaps a sleep-inducing incense?"

    He didn''t need to confirm which it was; he immediately held his breath.

    In fact, with the strength of a cultivator at Qi Refining Second Level, most mundane poisons and incenses were ineffective against him.

    The only poisons that could affect a cultivator contained Spiritual Energy.

    Li Shiming did not underestimate the night walker, but if the opponent had managed to procure a poison containing Spiritual Energy, they would not need to be so cautious.

    A faint smoke was blown into the bedroom, and after a while, a short dagger was inserted through the gap in the window, prying open the bedroom window.

    The night walker jumped into the room from the window, almost silently landing, which tightened Li Shiming''s nerves.

    From the sounds made by the night walker, it was clear that this person was a master of Martial Arts.

    Although Li Shiming was a Qi Refining Second Level cultivator, he had few combat techniques.