Space Grain

Wang Hong walked into the headmaster's office. The old headmaster was sitting by the tea table, savoring tea.

"Student Wang Hong pays his respects to the headmaster." After not seeing him for several days, the old headmaster seemed even more spirited; even much of his white hair had disappeared.

"Hahaha! Wang Hong, you're here! No need to stand on ceremony with me—just treat this place like your own home. Come, sit down. Try this tea and see how it tastes." With how warmly he treated him, anyone unaware of the truth might have thought they were family.

Wang Hong sat down beside him, and the old headmaster handed him a cup of tea. Wang Hong had been too poor in the past, unable even to fill his belly. He had only drunk tea a handful of times and knew little about it. He only felt that it was slightly bitter upon entering his mouth, followed by a returning sweetness, while the fragrance of tea lingered between his lips and teeth for a long while.

He praised it as good tea. Seeing that he liked it, the old headmaster told him much about the art of tea. Wang Hong listened humbly, occasionally interjecting with a question. For a time, they chatted quite happily.

After talking for a while, the old headmaster brought up the real matter. "When I watched you walk upon entering, your steps were light, vigorous, and strong, while your spirits were high. Have you already taken the Immortal Elixir?"

"Indeed. I have taken the Immortal Elixir and used it to break through to the Houtian Stage," Wang Hong answered honestly.

"It's good that you took it. That was why I called you here in the first place. You should have heard some of the rumors outside as well. It would be best not to leave the academy lightly these days. Though you bear the identity of an immortal's elder brother openly, and no one dares touch you, there are still those whose minds have been clouded by profit who may strike at you in secret." Wang Hong repeatedly nodded as he listened. Taking the pill in front of so many people had been his way of showing them that he no longer possessed an Immortal Elixir.

"Also, there is a small courtyard standing empty on the western side of the academy. You can move there. Here is the key." With that, he handed a key to Wang Hong.

Wang Hong accepted the key and thanked the old headmaster. Before he left, the old headmaster even gave him a jin of tea leaves.

Wang Hong opened the gate with the key. Before him lay a small lawn overgrown with unknown weeds, with a few little wildflowers scattered among them. The courtyard walls stood over a man's height tall. Inside were six rooms, fully furnished with tables, chairs, benches, a kitchen, and everything else he might need.

That night, Wang Hong broke precedent and did not cultivate. Instead, he moved a reclining chair onto the lawn in the courtyard and lay there, staring blankly at the sky full of stars. In his hand, he held a handful of raspberries his little brother loved most, slowly eating them one by one.

"I wonder how Little Brother is doing now. Is anyone bullying him?"

"People say that an elder brother is like a father. As his elder brother, I have not taken proper care of Little Brother. Instead, I have gained no small benefit by relying on him." Wang Hong pondered, his expression gradually turning solemn. "A true man standing between heaven and earth must uphold human principles and morality, serving as an example to others. How could I, Wang Hong, spend my days muddling along beneath the title of an immortal's elder brother?"

Wang Hong sprang to his feet and pulled an iron spear from his space. He first assumed an opening stance, then unleashed "Immortal Points the Way," "Azure Dragon Emerges from the Sea"... The spear held feints and substance, the unconventional and the orthodox; feints within feints, substance within substance, the unconventional within the unconventional, the orthodox within the orthodox. Its advance was sharp, its retreat swift; its momentum perilous, its rhythm brief. Still as a mountain when unmoving, thunder-shaking when in motion. Wang Hong practiced the Thunderclap Spear set more than ten times, until the moon hung high at midnight and sweat drenched his entire body.

After taking a bath, Wang Hong slipped into his space and fell asleep at once. He slept there for several hours, while only a quarter of an hour passed outside. He emerged from the space refreshed, but the fatigue in his body had not eased much. Every movement made his muscles ache, so he began sitting in meditation and cultivating his internal arts again.

Wang Hong had now opened his Ren and Du Meridians and entered the Houtian Stage. Next, he needed to open the remaining six meridians of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians: the Chong Meridian, Belt Meridian, Yin Linking Meridian, Yang Linking Meridian, Yin Heel Meridian, and Yang Heel Meridian. Only after opening all Eight Extraordinary Meridians could one be considered to have completed all cultivation of the Houtian Stage.

Opening the Ren and Du Meridians was already no easy feat. With ordinary cultivation, most people needed at least several years of effort, while some even needed ten or twenty years to enter the Houtian Stage. Opening the remaining six meridians was harder still, and the majority of martial artists remained stuck at the Houtian Stage for their entire lives. Only a very small number could open all Eight Extraordinary Meridians within their lifetimes and thereby enter the Xiantian Stage. Innate Martial Artists, meanwhile, had to open the Three Yin and Three Yang Meridians of both hands and feet, twelve meridians in total.

Wang Hong cultivated until dawn, yet only managed to stabilize the Ren and Du Meridians he had just opened a little. At this pace, reaching the Xiantian Stage would probably take until the year of the monkey and month of the horse.

Wang Hong's plan was to cultivate to at least the Xiantian Stage, then head into Qingxu Mountain to search for Qingxu Immortal City. That journey was fraught with danger, and Wang Hong had no desire to be eaten by a Fierce Beast halfway there.

"It looks like I need to think of a solution. Those Medicinal Herbs in my space should be of help, but I don't know how they ought to be used."

As soon as the morning battle formation drills ended, Wang Hong skipped even his meal and went to the library, borrowing a great pile of medical books. He carried them back in his arms, muttering all the way, "One only regrets having read too little when the books are needed. I really should read more from now on."

Back in the small courtyard, Wang Hong took out some rice produced in his space. He had long wanted to eat it, but had never had the chance to cook it. Each grain of unhusked rice was as thick as a finger, golden and gleaming, giving off an enticing fragrance of rice.

Wang Hong grabbed a handful and rubbed it between his palms, stripping away the husks. After blowing the husks away, all that remained were finger-sized grains of white, crystalline rice.

Wang Hong rubbed out over a jin of rice before tossing it into the pot. He first brought it to a boil over high heat, then lowered the fire to the barest flame and let it simmer slowly. Waves of rice fragrance drifted from within, and Wang Hong felt as though a hand were about to stretch out from his throat.

When cooking rice in an iron pot, it was easy to scorch after the water boiled if the fire was too strong. The lid could not be opened during the process, or the rice would easily end up half-cooked. It could only be simmered slowly over low heat. Rice cooked this way was fragrant and had a wonderful texture, with a layer of delicious crispy scorched rice at the bottom. Wang Hong was an expert hand at cooking rice, though he had been too poor in the past to have much opportunity to show his skill.

It simmered for nearly half an hour before it was done. Every grain of cooked rice was crystal-clear, soft yet springy. Without needing any dishes to accompany it, Wang Hong wolfed down six huge bowls. Still not satisfied, he scraped up the scorched rice from the bottom with a spatula and held it in his hand as an after-meal snack.

After eating, Wang Hong felt a faint warmth in his abdomen. It was nowhere near as intense or obvious as when he had consumed the Immortal Elixir. Wang Hong sat cross-legged in meditation for two hours. When the warmth in his abdomen faded, the Ren and Du Meridians he had newly opened had become much more stable. At this rate, another five or six times would be enough to stabilize them completely.

Wang Hong was overjoyed. After refining it, the increase in cultivation from one meal was equivalent to four or five days of ordinary cultivation.

"Ha! Hahaha! As long as I eat two meals a day, I'll be able to cultivate at nearly ten times the speed of others. From now on, I can pretend to be a genius too."

Wang Hong also used wheat from his space to make several flatbreads and ate them. The effect felt about the same as the space-grown rice.