Xu Yan's Wild Speculation

Before dawn had broken, Xu Yan was already standing in a horse stance, training.

"Master said that comprehension matters, intent matters—not form. Sense the qi and blood, move the qi and blood, temper the skin and flesh..."

"An Ancient Prodigy completed Skin Tempering in five days. I still haven't even sensed my qi and blood. The gap is far too great. Master said I mustn't be impatient—the more impatient I am, the harder it will be to sense my qi and blood..."

Xu Yan reined in his mind and focused all his attention inward, carefully sensing himself, sensing his qi and blood.

A streak of white appeared on the horizon.

As the morning sun was about to rise, Xu Yan, immersed in sensing his qi and blood, suddenly felt a warm current emerge within his chest and abdomen. It was fine and gentle, warm and soft, seemingly flowing along with his breathing.

"Qi and blood!"

"I've sensed my qi and blood!"

At that moment, Xu Yan was beside himself with excitement.

"Calm down, calm down. Keep my heart peaceful. I can't let my mind become disordered..."

"Move the qi and blood to temper the skin and flesh... But how do I move the qi and blood? Master didn't explain it specifically. Should I go ask Master?"

"No! Master said it lies in comprehension, lies in intent. I must seize this feeling now. If I slacken, it'll be difficult to sense my qi and blood again...

"Besides, if I have to ask Master in detail even about how to move my qi and blood, wouldn't that disappoint him? He'd think my comprehension is lacking."

With that thought, Xu Yan immediately abandoned the idea of seeking Li Xuan's guidance.

He continued holding his horse stance, trying again and again to move his qi and blood while recalling Li Xuan's explanations about moving qi and blood.

His mind was entirely focused inward, immersed in moving his qi and blood. As he did so, his breathing unconsciously changed. Gradually, a thread of qi and blood spread throughout his body. His skin faintly reddened, as though a warm current were grinding and honing his skin and flesh.

"This should count as entering Skin Tempering, right?"

Xu Yan was thrilled. He had finally sensed his qi and blood, and had successfully moved it to temper his skin and flesh.

Li Xuan yawned, got up and washed, then headed outside to make breakfast.

He was the only one left in the village. Being self-sufficient had long become a habit.

The moment he stepped outside, he saw Xu Yan practicing in a horse stance. The corner of his mouth twitched. This disciple of his was certainly diligent, but unfortunately, no amount of diligence would help.

He had made up the cultivation method himself. It would be a miracle if anyone could actually cultivate it successfully.

"When he can't keep it up any longer and comes to ask me, I'll make up a few more things to fool him."

Li Xuan shook his head and turned away.

When Xu Yan saw his master, his heart surged with excitement. He was just about to tell him that he had sensed his qi and blood.

He had already entered the Skin Tempering stage!

But then he saw his master shake his head, and his heart immediately skipped a beat.

"Master is dissatisfied with me?"

"Of course. With Master's realm, how could he possibly fail to see that I've already sensed my qi and blood and entered the Skin Tempering stage?"

"Master must think I'm rash and impetuous, proud and complacent, unable to keep my composure..."

After spinning this whole fantasy in his head, Xu Yan immediately gave up on telling Li Xuan that he had sensed his qi and blood and entered the Skin Tempering stage.

He took a deep breath, settled his mind, and continued moving his qi and blood to temper his skin and flesh.

"Master is unfathomable. He can see through me at a glance. I must not become arrogant or smug, must not rest on my laurels... Master can see my cultivation progress with one glance, so why would I need to say anything?"

Xu Yan came to a realization. His master could see how his cultivation was progressing with a single glance, so there was no need to deliberately tell him.

Li Xuan caught a chicken from the coop, intending to stew more Nine-Leaf Spirit Ganoderma. It was a Precious Medicine rarely found in the world. After drinking the chicken soup stewed with Nine-Leaf Spirit Ganoderma yesterday, he had felt his body grow somewhat stronger.

He took out a knife and was about to kill the chicken.

Then he paused. "That's not right. I have a disciple now. There's no reason for me, the master, to serve the disciple. The disciple should be serving the master!"

"Anyway, I've already fooled him once. He's my disciple now, so it's only reasonable to have him wait on me, his master, right?"

Thinking this, he carried the chicken in one hand and the knife in the other as he walked toward Xu Yan.

"Disciple, come. Kill the chicken, stew it with some Nine-Leaf Spirit Ganoderma, and go make breakfast."

Xu Yan stopped cultivating and accepted the chicken and knife from Li Xuan, looking rather bewildered.

"What? You don't know how to cook?"

Seeing him standing there blankly, Li Xuan frowned.

"Right, Xu Yan is a rich young master. How could he possibly know how to cook?"

Even so, since he had taken him as a disciple, how could he not make proper use of him?

"Disciple, every step and every sitting, sleeping and eating alike, are all cultivation. You have yet to enter the gate, and you are still far too distant from my realm, but familiarizing yourself with it in advance will benefit you as well."

Li Xuan spoke with a solemn expression.

"Master, I'll go at once!"

Xu Yan's expression turned serious as he replied respectfully.

"Master's realm is too lofty. What appears to be mundane worldly business is actually the mark of a true master, the bearing of one hidden from the world!"

The more he thought about it, the more unfathomable his master seemed. He appeared utterly ordinary and displayed none of a powerful expert's might, yet that was precisely what made him a true Reclusive Master!

Xu Yan went to cook.

Li Xuan was worried, so he watched him for a while. Though Xu Yan was clumsy at killing chickens and cooking, with Li Xuan's guidance, the food he made should at least be edible.

Reassured, Li Xuan moved a chair beneath the large tree in front of the house. He reclined lazily in it and waited leisurely for the meal.

"Having a disciple wait on me—this little life really is nice."

"With Xu Yan's brain, he won't see through it anytime soon. Still, I should prepare an escape route..."

After the meal.

Xu Yan went back to cultivating.

"This... the speed of tempering my skin and flesh has increased. My qi and blood have strengthened by at least fifty percent..."

"At this rate, although I won't be able to complete Skin Tempering in five days, finishing it within a month should be no problem."

Xu Yan sensed the great increase in the speed at which he was tempering his skin and flesh, and his heart brimmed with excitement.

"Why has the speed of Skin Tempering suddenly increased so much? Could it be..."

He thought of the chicken soup stewed with Nine-Leaf Spirit Ganoderma!

The Nine-Leaf Spirit Ganoderma was a rare Precious Medicine. The Xu Family had only this one piece in its collection. If he had not been the Xu Family's only heir, deeply cherished by his parents, he would never have been able to take the Nine-Leaf Spirit Ganoderma as a gift for acknowledging a master.

"Master!"

At that moment, Xu Yan was overwhelmed with emotion.

"Master knew that the Nine-Leaf Spirit Ganoderma could aid my cultivation, which was why he took it out and had me stew it with chicken for us to eat!"

"I absolutely cannot let Master's painstaking efforts go to waste. I must cultivate diligently and strive to enter the gate as soon as possible!"

After wildly filling in the blanks himself, Xu Yan's reverence for his master at that moment rivaled the sun and moon. He was moved beyond measure.

He moved his qi and blood, continuously tempering his skin and flesh.

As he tempered himself without pause, Xu Yan felt his body becoming stronger, his qi and blood growing ever more vigorous, and his skin and flesh becoming tougher. It seemed he had already taken his first step into Skin Tempering.

"I feel my strength has increased by more than double. This is only the beginning of Skin Tempering—just how strong will I be once Skin Tempering is complete?"

"I must enter the martial path within a year!"

Xu Yan's gaze was resolute.

"This Nine-Leaf Spirit Ganoderma works almost too well. Why do I feel like my strength has increased?"

"Should I keep it all for myself? Forget it. Xu Yan gave it to me in the first place, so I should stew it and eat it with him. A person shouldn't be too black-hearted!"

As Li Xuan sensed the changes in his body, the thought of keeping the Nine-Leaf Spirit Ganoderma all to himself briefly arose.

In the end, he was not black-hearted enough, and dismissed the thought of monopolizing it.