Meimei

"Huh, why are there so many stone paintings on the ground? Did Third Uncle draw these? They're really good~" Luo Caiguang was, after all, a youth; since he had accepted Sanbao as his third uncle, he no longer held any reservations, and his attitude was clearly different from yesterday.

"Right, I didn't have much to do, so I just doodled a bit~" Seeing that Luo Caiguang didn't have any lingering psychological shadows, Sanbao was happy to be at ease.

"No way, our time is very precious. Doesn't Third Uncle need to read, write, or cultivate spirit power?" For Luo Caiguang, who had been required to cultivate diligently since childhood, Sanbao's current behavior was simply a waste of time.

"I can't cultivate for the time being. I wonder what level you are at now, Caiguang?" Sanbao replied.

"What? You can't cultivate? No way. We descendants of the Luo Clan aren't like ordinary people; everyone should be able to cultivate spirit power. Oh, I get it, you're hiding your strength! My father often teaches me that I must hide my strength in front of outsiders, right?" It had to be said that Luo Caiguang was very clever, actually explaining things for Sanbao on his own.

Sanbao chuckled, finding it difficult to explain anything further.

"By the way, my current strength is a two-star Spirit Scholar. Although it's still a long way from my eldest brother's three-star Spirit Commander, I heard from him that he was only at the ninth stage of Spirit Entry at my age~"

Luo Caiguang was clearly very satisfied with his own cultivation talent, and he finally had a chance to show off in front of an "elder" who was a "peer."

The levels of spirit cultivation from low to high are Spirit Scholar, Spirit General, Spirit Commander... Spirit King, Spirit Emperor, Spirit Sovereign... Spirit Profound, Spirit Saint, and Spirit God.

However, there is a small stage before Spirit Scholar. This stage is the introductory phase for a Spirit Scholar, so it is called Spirit Entry, which is generally divided into nine stages based on the level of entry.

Those who have just begun to cultivate spirit power are at the first stage of Spirit Entry, and when one breaks through the ninth stage of Spirit Entry, they become a one-star Spirit Scholar.

This division of the nine stages of Spirit Entry is actually mainly aimed at minors, because for spirit cultivators after adulthood, even those with poor talent are mostly at least one-star Spirit Scholars.

Otherwise, they can only be ordinary mortals.

Take the youngest member of the Luo Clan, Luo Caiyue, for example; her strength is at the fifth stage of Spirit Entry, yet she is only eight years old.

Most spirit cultivators on the continent are at the Spirit Scholar or Spirit General levels. Those who reach the Spirit Commander level or above are considered experts, and in a small place like Lushan Town, even a Spirit General is considered a person of status.

Take the Yan Clan, the absolute power in Lushan Town, for example; the family only has a handful of Spirit Commander experts, while the rest are mainly Spirit Generals and Spirit Scholars. Since the third generation of the Luo Clan has already reached the Spirit Commander level, one can imagine the strength of the others. This is also the reason why the Luo Clan looks down on the Yan Clan; if it weren't for the Luo Clan always keeping a low profile, the Yan Clan wouldn't even have a place in Lushan Town.

Sanbao was naturally very clear about these situations, so when he heard Luo Caiguang say he was already a two-star Spirit Scholar, he was truly surprised. After all, he was only twelve years old. This is the advantage of a talented family; they are indeed much stronger than ordinary people.

"Caiguang's cultivation talent is very strong. I'm afraid it compares to those talented families, right?" Sanbao nodded repeatedly and asked intentionally.

"Yeah, Grandfather said the same thing. Grandfather said that based on my current cultivation speed, it is at least comparable to the middle-grade bloodlines of those talented families." Receiving praise from an "elder," Luo Caiguang felt a bit embarrassed.

Little did Luo Caiguang know that he actually possessed the middle-grade bloodline of a talented family himself, he just didn't know it yet.

"My five thousand catties of stones still have a little bit left. I have to hurry and move them so I can accompany my eldest brother to beat up those guys from the Yan Clan..."

"The Yan Clan? The top power in Lushan Town?" Although Sanbao had just arrived, he already had some understanding of the general situation in Lushan Town.

"Yeah, they actually want to split the mining rights of our Luo Clan's copper mine. They are simply tired of living! We have already agreed to negotiate at the Wine Immortal Pavilion at noon. Does Third Uncle want to go with us? Yueyue will be going too..." Speaking of the upcoming negotiation, Luo Caiguang began to dance with excitement. He would be able to experience the negotiation firsthand this time.

"Oh, I won't go. I wish you success~"

Sanbao knew that with his current strength at the zero stage of Spirit Entry, he wouldn't be of any help, and he didn't want to show his face too early, so he refused Luo Caiguang without hesitation.

"No way, Third Uncle is such a weirdo. He won't even go to such a fun thing! What's so fun about drawing?" Luo Caiguang muttered to himself while carrying the stones up the mountain.

This time, Sanbao saw it clearly: a stone weighing nearly a hundred catties was being carried easily on the back of twelve-year-old Caiguang.

"A two-star Spirit Scholar, seems pretty impressive!" With a self-deprecating smile, Sanbao continued to draw on the stones.

Because he already had a foundation in painting, after gradually adapting to the new environment, Sanbao's stone paintings became better and better. He became more and more focused, completely unaware of the passage of time.

Soon, the area around Sanbao was filled with various types of "stones" of different sizes. Looking from afar, they were almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

"Third Uncle, my task is finished. I'm going back first, you keep drawing!" An hour later, Luo Caiguang finally finished moving all five thousand catties of stones and hurried home.

"This Third Uncle is really strange, he actually drew for the whole morning, so weird..."

"Alright, I'll draw for a while longer~" Sanbao was in the groove, and for a moment, even the weakness of his body seemed to have improved a bit.

"Drawing on the ground is easy, but it's incomparable to the stone carvings mentioned by the Saint Ancestor. No, I still have to use a stone as a drawing board, but this pen isn't right..."

Just as Sanbao was hesitating, a green shadow slowly appeared at the back courtyard gate. Meimei, that girl, had finally arrived.

"Third Master, the drawing pens you wanted are ready. Do you think they work?" Meimei wiped the sweat from her forehead while opening the small package in her hand.

Inside the package were three iron pens of different sizes.

"One weighs half a catty, one weighs two catties, and one weighs five catties. I didn't know what weight would be suitable for you, Third Master, so I had the blacksmith make three specifications. I wonder if any of them are suitable?" Seeing Sanbao's anxious look, Meimei hurriedly explained.

"Good, very well done. I want all three~" Sanbao was very satisfied, thinking to himself: This girl is quite clever to have prepared everything at once.

Meimei was happy to receive her master's praise and took out another package from her person: "Third Master, you must be thirsty, I brought some water."

It didn't matter until she mentioned it, but as soon as Meimei brought it up, Sanbao suddenly felt his mouth and tongue dry. After drawing all morning, he was indeed thirsty.

"Alright, you go do your work. I'll stay here for a while~" Sanbao was becoming more and more satisfied with this intelligent and delicate little girl.

"Yes, then I will stay at the back courtyard gate. If you need anything, Third Master, just shout for me, I can hear you~" Following Meimei's departure, Sanbao finally gathered his thoughts.

The stone carving was finally about to begin, and Sanbao's mood suddenly became excited, because from this moment on, he would embark on the true path of spirit cultivation.

Holding the five-catty iron pen with both hands, Sanbao could barely swing it on the stone, but his overly weak body simply couldn't leave any marks on the stone with the iron pen. Sanbao could be certain that the stones of Lushan were definitely several times harder than the stones of his previous life.

Switching to the two-catty iron pen, it felt significantly lighter in his hand. With a heavy stroke, a white line, almost invisible to the naked eye, appeared on the stone. A gentle breeze blew by, and the white line immediately disappeared.

Still not working; he could only use the half-catty iron pen.

Holding it in his hand, the weight was just right.

Swish, swish.

With two fierce strokes, only two tiny dots were left on the stone. The iron tip could not glide across the surface to form a line, and naturally, the drawing could not be completed. Sanbao realized that this stone carving would likely be a long and arduous process.

Fortunately, by using the sharp iron tip, the stone could finally be carved. This was hope, and as long as there was hope, everything else would be manageable. Sanbao gritted his teeth and began to carve painstakingly, following the instructions of the Saint Ancestor Secret Manual.

Thump.

After a short while, Sanbao was so exhausted that he collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air. Not only that, but the mental drain was even greater; the manual required that during the carving process, one must exhaust their intent, meaning all mental focus had to be concentrated entirely on the carving.

After a brief rest, Sanbao started again. Repeating this process, half an hour later, Sanbao was lying flat on the ground.

Only by enduring the bitterest of hardships can one rise above the rest; this was an eternal and unchanging truth.

Gritting his teeth, Sanbao rose once more to continue his drawing...