In front of the wooden hut, Chu Feng glanced back and curled his lip:
"Watching that youngster practice so diligently, I wonder if he's even managed to get the hang of it."
Chu Feng raised his head to look at the sky, lost in memory.
Seemingly, in the movies he watched in his previous life, those people practiced like this, right?
Following the tropes of film and television, one simply looked at the cultivation methods given in comic books, practiced hard, and could always cultivate something out of it.
If this world could really make that work as well...
Then according to the novels of his previous life, sensing the existence of the Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth should be quite simple.
Even with the most ordinary aptitude, ten days should be enough.
Thinking up to this point, Chu Feng still felt quite confident.
The Method of Entering the Dao that he imparted had, after all, gathered the great accomplishments of the immortal cultivation novels of his previous life.
He had filtered through tens of thousands of them before picking out the one most suitable for Xiao Huohuo to cultivate.
Moreover, the rhetoric and steps within it—let alone Xiao Huohuo, a greenhorn living in a world of martial arts who liked reading storybooks—would have fooled even him, someone who lived in modern society in his previous life, into a daze.
However, as he thought about it, his brow still twitched:
"He should be able to sense the presence of spiritual energy, right?"
"If ten days pass and this youngster still can't sense it—"
He swept his gaze across the heavens and earth, and finally let it fall upon the wooden hut with a heart full of anxiety:
"That would mean this world truly might not have any spiritual energy at all."
"If that's the case, then I'll have no choice but to grab my bucket and run."
"At the very least, this place won't be safe to stay in."
Right now, Xiao Huohuo was still being coaxed by him, but when Xiao Huohuo truly woke up to reality amidst all this...
Finding out that he had been deceived, with all his yearnings shattered as easily as bubbles, and his anticipation of winning the Three-Year Pact rendered hopeless as well.
The energy accumulated in that state was no joke.
Right now, Xiao Huohuo could still call him Master in every other sentence, but when he lost everything, the future Xiao Huohuo might just mobilize the entire strength of Dongli City to hunt him down for a desperate fight.
Thinking of this, Chu Feng's expression held a trace of panic:
"I hope he really can comprehend something out of this."
In the blink of an eye, three days had already passed.
Chu Feng glanced sideways at the wooden hut. There was still not much movement inside, so he let out a sigh, laid back upon a thick, thigh-sized tree branch, and leisurely closed his eyes.
Not long after, a sizzling sound began to echo beside his ears.
Chu Feng opened both eyes and took a glance.
Down below, Xiao Huohuo was somewhat clumsily setting up the campfire in front of him.
With a sizzle, the firewood was ignited by the flint.
Once the flames grew strong enough, he placed the earthen pot right on top, and before long, the water inside the earthen pot began to boil.
Xiao Huohuo gazed at the boiling surface of the water, hesitated for a moment, and yet still tossed the blood ginseng and a few other spiritual herbs in with a pang of heartache.
Before long, a ring of blood-red bubbles floated up within the medicine pot.
A fresh, fragrant scent drifted out from the medicine pot, lingering in the forest.
Not long after, Chu Feng's voice came down from the branches above:
"Is the food ready yet?"
Hearing this, Xiao Huohuo nodded vigorously:
"Master, almost, almost."
As he spoke, he fanned the flames, his eyes never leaving the medicine pot.
Chu Feng nodded gently and said:
"I've grown a bit tired of eating meat these past two days, so let's have something lighter."
Saying this, Chu Feng couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
A few nights ago, that youngster had been sleeping soundly, and he had been able to go out in the middle of the night to raid rabbit warrens, only to toss them at the door of the wooden hut the next day while claiming he had used his magic to make the rabbits deliver themselves.
Yet last night, for some unknown reason, that youngster was full of life and couldn't sleep the entire night, leaving him with no choice but to abandon that idea.
Still, the image of a Hermit Expert had to be maintained.
If Xiao Huohuo were to see him scurrying back and forth through the forest just to catch a couple of little rabbits and ending up in such a disheveled state, he would undoubtedly grow suspicious.
After all, which immortal would be played around with and led in circles by rabbits?
Xiao Huohuo fanned the fire while coughing, looking almost ready to cry as he gazed at the food in the pot:
"Master, you are truly too kind."
Though he knew that these blood ginsengs were probably as commonplace as weeds to his master.
Yet he couldn't help thinking: how many people in this world had a master willing to share the Ceremony of Apprenticeship gifts he had bestowed?
Thinking of this, Xiao Huohuo looked at Chu Feng with renewed awe.
In the Southern Desolate Realm, even a Xiantian realm martial artist couldn't possibly be like his master, paying no mind to even a hundred-year-old blood ginseng.
Hearing Xiao Huohuo's words from below, though Chu Feng's heart was bleeding, on the surface he still laughed offhand with a light chuckle:
"To your master, whether it's blood ginseng or garden greens, they are nothing more than edible green leaves between heaven and earth."
"Since they are merely things used to fill one's belly, why bother caring whether it's blood ginseng or some ordinary herb?"
"Eat, and that is all."
Xiao Huohuo nodded with the utmost seriousness:
"Master's height is indeed beyond what ordinary people can compare to. Disciple will surely study diligently and not disgrace Master's face."
Suddenly, his eyes lit up:
"Master, dinner is ready!"
Hearing this, Chu Feng leapt lightly down from the tree trunk, and then unhurriedly arrived at Xiao Huohuo's side.
Xiao Huohuo looked him up and down.
Whether it was descending the tree, ladling soup, or eating meals, his own master's movements and demeanor were actually just like those of an ordinary person, completely devoid of any airs!
In fact, his master's manner was even more casual than his own.
If it were just an ordinary commoner, one could still call it a lack of propriety.
Yet what manner of figure was his master?
A Hermit Expert who lived in seclusion deep within the old mountain forests!
How could an expert's actions and movements ever be something a third-rate martial artist like him could fathom?
His master's actions must surely be that legendary Return to Simplicity!
Looking at it this way, his master might truly be a figure akin to the legendary Immortal Gods.
The more he thought along these lines, the more certain Xiao Huohuo became of the thoughts in his heart.
After all, storybooks had said so as well.
Existences like top-tier experts all loved to conceal themselves among the crowd, never showing off their true selves.
Fake experts went everywhere boasting that they were number one under heaven, acting superior every single day and drawing down calamities upon themselves.
True experts had long since grown weary of the slaughter in the pugilistic world, retiring into the mountains and forests, or perhaps the mortal dust, eating no human fireworks.
Suddenly, Xiao Huohuo stood up straight with a jolt.
This movement startled Chu Feng.
Before he could even open his mouth to ask, he saw Xiao Huohuo bow and state with utmost solemnity:
"Master, for Huohuo to be able to study under your name is a blessing cultivated over ten lifetimes."
"Huohuo will definitely practice with redoubled diligence and enter the Path of Qi Refining as soon as possible."
"And then defeat that woman half a year from now, so as not to bring shame upon Master!"
Chu Feng watched his appearance and twitched the corner of his mouth.
Good job, for reasons unknown, this youngster had gone and brainstormed a self-justification all over again.
It seemed that for this period of time, he wouldn't need to fear the boy growing suspicious.
Chu Feng nodded and said:
"Although your aptitude is a bit lacking, you have the courage to discover your own problems and remain willing to practice diligently."
"An attitude like this surpasses who knows how many people."
"Your master didn't misjudge you."
While speaking, Chu Feng scooped up another bowl of soup containing blood ginseng and meat for Xiao Huohuo.
The latter accepted the bowl and consumed it with tear-streaked eyes:
"Many thanks, Master."
Chu Feng smiled. He cooked his own blood ginseng and drank his own soup, yet after merely scooping a bowl for the boy, the kid still had to thank him.
What a truly easy youngster to fool.
Before you continue