The First Layer of Tai Chi Xuan Qing Dao!

Great Bamboo Peak.

Inside the meditation room, the spiritual energy vortex spun faster and faster.

Tian Buyi's Daoist robe flapped violently in the wind.

He had wanted to reach out and steady Ye Xuan, but feared that interrupting him rashly might send his beloved disciple into qi deviation.

His two chubby hands hovered in midair, unsure whether to move forward or back. His expression was even more remarkable.

Shock, delight, worry, and a trace of something difficult to detect... envy?

No, it was pride!

The pride of a father watching his son make good!

Tian Buyi sternly corrected himself.

At that moment, Ye Xuan had no idea what was happening outside.

He was immersed in a wondrous state, as if he were soaking in a warm hot spring.

Every pore on his body seemed to cheer, greedily devouring the multicolored motes of light streaming into him.

The motes traveled along his meridians, eventually gathering in his dantian and transforming into a gentle stream.

Was this the first layer of Tai Chi Xuan Qing Dao?

It didn't seem... as difficult as the legends claimed.

In fact, it felt almost too easy, as natural as eating or drinking.

Ye Xuan tried guiding the stream through a complete cycle.

One cycle, two... thirty-six!

With each cycle, the spiritual power within him grew stronger, and his meridians widened a little.

The feeling of being filled with power made Ye Xuan want to let out a long shout.

Time passed, one second at a time.

The storm in the meditation room gradually subsided.

The multicolored motes of light slowly faded away, and everything returned to calm.

Ye Xuan slowly opened his eyes. A flash of light flickered in their depths.

The whole world looked different to him now.

He could clearly see the paths of drifting dust and hear the rhythm of the bamboo leaves swaying outside the window.

"Master?"

"Have I... have I really learned it?"

Ye Xuan looked at Tian Buyi, who stood frozen like a wooden statue, and put on an innocent expression.

Tian Buyi shuddered and snapped out of it.

He stared at Ye Xuan as if he were a monster. His throat bobbed as he tried to speak, but his voice was hoarse.

Learned it?

Obviously!

He wasn't blind!

This was the first layer of Tai Chi Xuan Qing Dao!

It might only be the entry level, but it was still the foundation of cultivation!

An ordinary disciple who mastered it within three months would already be considered highly talented!

Even Wan Jianyi, hailed as Qingyun Sect's greatest genius in a thousand years, had taken several days!

And how long had this kid taken?

Tian Buyi instinctively glanced at the hourglass beside him.

One shichen!

Just one shichen!

How was this merely an Innate Dao Body? He was practically the Dao Ancestor's own son come down to earth!

"Ahem!"

"Mm, not bad. You've barely managed to grasp the basics."

Tian Buyi took a deep breath, trying to make his expression look more stern. He couldn't let go of his dignified masterly bearing!

He clasped his hands behind his back, stuck out his round belly, and spoke with affected solemnity.

Barely?

Ye Xuan laughed inwardly.

His chubby master's crow's-feet were practically showing from how hard he was smiling, yet here he was, pretending.

"Thank you for your instruction, Master!"

"Your disciple will cultivate diligently and live up to your expectations!"

But Ye Xuan wore a look of humble acceptance.

"Mm."

"It's good that you have such resolve."

"Although you have some talent, remember not to grow arrogant!"

"The further you go on the path of cultivation, the harder it gets. Don't let temporary gains or losses disturb your state of mind."

"That's enough for today!"

"You've only just completed Spirit Induction into Body, and your cultivation isn't stable yet. Go back and cultivate on your own to consolidate it!"

Tian Buyi nodded, doing his best to maintain a stern expression on his chubby face.

"Yes, Master!"

Ye Xuan answered obediently and left the meditation room.

Watching Ye Xuan's retreating figure,

Tian Buyi's tense, chubby face finally gave way.

First, he poked his head out and looked toward the doorway.

Once he was sure Ye Xuan had gone far away,

Tian Buyi suddenly leaped up and paced back and forth around the meditation room like a two-hundred-pound child.

"Hahahaha!"

"Heaven bless Great Bamboo Peak!"

"Heaven bless me, Tian Buyi!"

"One shichen! The first layer!"

"Who'd believe that if I told them? Who!"

"That old bastard Cang Song is always bragging about how talented his disciple Qi Hao is. Let's see how he tries to compare with me now!"

"And Shuiyue, that..."

"Hmph! Let's see who dares say Great Bamboo Peak can't find good disciples now!"

The more Tian Buyi thought about it, the more excited he became.

He felt that all the indignities he'd suffered over the past century had vanished in that moment.

He even began humming some nameless tune, striding out of the meditation room with a swagger and heading straight for the back hall.

This incredible news had to be shared with his wife immediately!

The rear courtyard of Great Bamboo Peak.

Su Ru sat at the table, mending a garment that Tian Ling'er had torn while being mischievous the day before.

Suddenly,

a hurried series of footsteps sounded.

Then,

Tian Buyi's chubby figure burst in.

"Wife! Wife!"

Tian Buyi's face was flushed, and he was already calling out before he reached the door.

"You're a master now!"

"Why are you still so impatient?"

"What will the disciples think if they see you like this? Where's your dignity?"

Su Ru jumped at the sight of him. The needle in her hand nearly pricked her finger, and she shot him an exasperated glance.

"Ah!"

"I can't worry about that now!"

"Wife, take a guess!"

"How's that kid Seventh doing with his cultivation?"

Tian Buyi dropped into the seat across from Su Ru and asked in a mysterious tone.

"It's only been half a day. How much progress could he have made?"

"Unless he's already memorized those few hundred characters of the incantation?"

Su Ru set down her needle and thread, looking at her husband helplessly.

She knew Tian Buyi had high hopes for his new disciple, but cultivation couldn't be rushed.

"Memorized it?"

"Wife, you're underestimating our Seventh!"

"He didn't just memorize it. He's already..."

Tian Buyi snorted, looking rather pleased with himself.

He deliberately drew out his words to build suspense.

"He's already mastered the first layer of Tai Chi Xuan Qing Dao!"

"What?"

"Buyi, do you have a fever?"

"You mean... he mastered the first layer in half a day?"

Su Ru's hand trembled.

The garment she'd almost finished mending fell straight to the floor.

She stared at Tian Buyi, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Half a day?"

"It was one shichen!"

"One shichen, from start to finish!"

Tian Buyi held up one finger and waved it in front of Su Ru.

"Hiss!"

Su Ru couldn't help sucking in a breath.

One shichen?!

How could that be possible?

"Absolutely true!"

Tian Buyi thumped his chest as he swore it.

"Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful!"

Su Ru said it three times, her face breaking into an excited smile.

Great Bamboo Peak had few disciples, and talented ones were rarer still. The other peaks had always kept them from holding their heads high.

Now that they had a peerless genius like Ye Xuan, what could stop Great Bamboo Peak from flourishing?

Elsewhere,

in the Great Bamboo Peak disciples' quarters,

Ye Xuan returned to his room and closed the door.

The calm on his face crumbled, replaced by uncontrollable joy.

He leaned against the door, his heart pounding so fast it felt like it would leap right out of his throat.

He'd done it!

He'd really done it!

It wasn't just because he'd mastered the first layer of Tai Chi Xuan Qing Dao. It was also because...

Just moments ago,

as the spiritual power in his body circulated and completed its thirty-sixth cycle,

a cold, mechanical voice had sounded in Ye Xuan's mind.

The system!

His true golden finger had finally arrived!