Brothers, Taoist Master, Martial Arts Manual

Xie Yuan had never expected to hear his elder brother's name from the mouth of a stranger—a Taoist Priest.

He looked the middle-aged Taoist Priest over in surprise.

The Taoist was tall and lean, dressed in a simple blue robe. His black beard hung to his chest, and a wooden hairpin bound his hair. He looked like nothing more than a fortune-telling Taoist seated in some rural village lane.

His face was clear and gaunt, with a conspicuous fleshy mole at the corner of his mouth, yet it did not make him ugly. His placid expression gave him an air of calm serenity. Standing there, he seemed to have melded into his surroundings.

After one glance, Xie Yuan felt that although the man was plainly dressed, his bearing made him impossible to take lightly.

"This is Xie Lun's home. May I ask who you are, Taoist Master, and why you seek my brother?"

Xie Yuan asked.

Xie Yuan's reflection appeared in the Taoist Priest's deep-lake eyes, and the man seemed to come to a realization.

"So you are Xie Lun's younger brother."

"Taoist Master, you know me?"

Xie Yuan was even more surprised.

The Taoist Priest nodded.

"Of course. If not for you, I do not think I would have made this special trip here again."

"Huh?"

Xie Yuan was utterly bewildered, understanding even less.

The Taoist Priest merely smiled faintly and asked,

"Where is your brother? Is he not home?"

Xie Yuan fell silent for a moment before saying,

"Taoist Master, please come with me."

In the woods, before a mound of yellow earth.

After Xie Lun left, he had left nothing behind. Xie Yuan had not a penny to his name. With Wang Lei and Li Lan helping and making arrangements, he had barely managed to pile up a grave mound, carve a stone tablet, and make a cenotaph. The few of them had held a simple funeral for him.

The Taoist Priest and Xie Yuan stood before the grave mound. After a brief silence, the man sighed softly.

"Fate is ever-changing."

Hearing those words, Xie Yuan clenched his fists.

"Taoist Master, what exactly is fate? My brother was kind to others and praised by all who knew him. He treated me with warmth, like both brother and father. Why did he end up devoured by wild beasts, his body not even left whole?"

The Taoist Priest shook his head.

"I fear no one in this world can answer that question."

Xie Yuan stood quietly for a long while before turning to ask,

"Taoist Master, you still have not said how you knew my brother."

The Taoist Priest raised his head slightly.

"Years ago, I passed through this place while entering the mountains and encountered your brother in the woods.

"From afar, I saw a young woodcutter with Ape Arms and a Bee Waist, his qi and blood like a dragon. He was born to practice martial arts.

"I happened to be stuck at a bottleneck, suffering through it for ten years. When I saw your brother, such a one-in-ten-thousand martial talent, the thought suddenly came to me to rest awhile, take on a disciple, and pass on my arts."

Xie Yuan's eyes gradually widened.

Could this be my brother's master?

My brother's talent for martial arts was actually that high?

The Taoist Priest continued,

"Yet I never expected your brother to refuse."

"Why?"

Xie Yuan cried out, completely taken aback.

Was this not supposed to be the classic tale of meeting an expert by chance and receiving divine martial arts?

He had been on the verge of escaping this poor mountain village and turning his life around. How could Brother have refused?

Unless... Only one possibility came to mind.

Sure enough, the Taoist Priest glanced at him and said,

"I wished to take your brother away, but he insisted on bringing you with him. At the time, I still had important matters to attend to. Taking one disciple was already more than enough; I could not bring along another frail young boy. Thus, the bond of master and disciple ended there."

Xie Yuan did not know what to feel as he listened. Slowly, he pressed his lips together.

An opportunity to change his life had been placed right before Xie Lun. So long as he nodded, he could have soared into the skies and become a martial artist admired by all.

But he had refused.

In truth, given how well Xie Yuan knew his elder brother, he had nearly guessed the reason the moment he heard it.

His brother would definitely have refused.

He had been unwilling to abandon him, unwilling to leave his young and weak little brother with no one to care for him...

Martial arts, hunting, Li Lan—who knew how many times Xie Lun had faced a choice? Yet every time, the outcome had been the same.

What did it mean for an elder brother to be like a father? Xie Lun had given the finest answer through his choices.

Xie Yuan's eyes reddened. He squeezed his fists with all his strength to keep himself from shedding tears before an outsider.

The Taoist Priest gazed straight ahead as though he had not noticed Xie Yuan's reaction.

"Though your brother refused, it was rare for me to feel such appreciation for talent, so I taught him a fist art. I intended to return after some time and see how things went.

"If he proved unsuitable, then so be it. But if he practiced well, I would have taken him as my disciple no matter what. Alas, the ways of the world are ever-changing... When did he pass?"

"At the beginning of summer this year."

Xie Yuan said hoarsely.

The Taoist Priest nodded slightly.

"What a pity. Had he mastered the technique, why would he have feared mere wolves, jackals, tigers, and leopards?"

Only after a long while did Xie Yuan calm down.

He collected himself. Thinking of the Taoist Priest's words, he could not help feeling curious.

"Taoist Master, if you wanted to take my brother as your disciple... your realm must be very high, right?"

The Taoist Priest stroked his long beard.

"Not particularly high."

"May I ask what realm you are in?"

"Heh. What realm do you think I am in?"

The Taoist Priest asked in return.

"The masters of Coiling Dragon Town's three great martial halls are all at the Second Level of Practice. To open a hall and take disciples, one would need to be at least at that level. Taoist Master, you possess the bearing of an expert and seem more formidable than the master of Iron Clothes Gate. Perhaps you are at the Third Level of Practice?"

After thinking for a moment, Xie Yuan raised his estimate further and ventured,

"The Fourth Level of Practice, with your bone gates fully perfected?"

The Taoist Priest froze for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter.

"Hehehe, young man... You think someone still in Outer Refinement is qualified to take disciples?"

Huh? Did that not just insult all those hall masters?

Xie Yuan felt the Taoist Priest's aura suddenly rise. His tall, lean back seemed to stretch infinitely upward, towering over the soaring Iron Poplar trees.

Seeing the Taoist Priest's reaction, Xie Yuan realized he seemed to have said something amusing. Somewhat embarrassed, he scratched his head.

"I do not know what realms come after the Fourth Level of Practice."

The Taoist Priest's laughter faded, and he shook his head.

"These small sects cannot teach anything. They cannot even distinguish the realms properly.

"Listen closely: 'Outer Refinement Four Gates, Qi Blood Transformation; Heaven and Earth Twin Bridges, Inner and Outer Unity.' These refer respectively to the four great realms of Outer Refinement Four Gates, Qi Blood Three Transformations, Heaven and Earth Twin Bridges, and Inner and Outer Unity."

It was Xie Yuan's first time hearing of the realms beyond that, and he hurriedly committed them to memory.

So there were so many more levels. He had thought the Second Level of Practice was at least decent, but Outer Refinement Four Gates only counted as the beginning of cultivation?

Yet someone at the Second Level of Practice could indeed swagger through Coiling Dragon Town.

If one completed Outer Refinement Four Gates, one would likely be a local powerhouse even within all of Cloudshine County.

Yet beyond every man was another man, and beyond every sky another sky.

Xie Yuan could not help sighing. A small pond had shallow waters; if one spent a lifetime muddling about in Coiling Dragon Town, one might think the Second Level of Practice was the heavens.

Only by going out could one learn how vast heaven and earth truly were.

Born into this world, how could he remain trapped in a mountain village?

Xie Yuan felt a greater world slowly unfold before him, and his heart could not help yearning toward it.

He looked at the Taoist Priest with probing curiosity.

"Taoist Master, when I look at you standing there, it feels as though you are almost merging with everything around you. Does that correspond to the realm of Inner and Outer Unity?"

The Taoist Priest glanced at him and smiled without confirming or denying it.

"You possess a bit of intuition after all. That is rare.

"Do not force yourself to practice that crude external art any longer, or your body will be utterly ruined."

Xie Yuan was startled. He had not expected the Taoist Priest to see through his condition at a glance.

"Mm... all right."

Hearing Xie Yuan's hesitation, the Taoist Priest looked at him, then at the stone tablet, and let out a soft breath.

"If you insist on practicing...

"I originally modified a fist art and intended to bring it to your brother to nourish his qi, but I arrived too late.

"When an elder brother is gone, the younger brother succeeds him. Let this settle the karmic bond as well."

He took out a booklet and handed it to Xie Yuan.