Meimei

"Hey, why are there so many stone paintings on the ground? Did Third Uncle draw them? They're really good~" Caiguang was still a boy at heart. Now that he'd accepted Sanbao as his third uncle, he no longer felt any misgivings, and his attitude was clearly different from yesterday's.

"Right. I had nothing else to do, so I just drew a few," Sanbao said. Seeing that Caiguang bore no psychological scars, he was happy to let things be.

"No way. Our time is precious! Shouldn't Third Uncle be studying and practicing calligraphy, or cultivating spiritual power?" To Luo Caiguang, who'd been expected to cultivate diligently since childhood, Sanbao's behavior was practically a waste of time.

" I can't cultivate just yet. What level have you reached, Caiguang?" Sanbao asked.

"What? You can't cultivate? No way! We descendants of the Luo Clan aren't like ordinary people; every one of us should be able to cultivate spiritual power. Oh, I know—you're hiding your strength! My father always tells me to hide my strength in front of outsiders. That's it, right?" Luo Caiguang was undeniably clever; he'd actually come up with an explanation for Sanbao all on his own.

Sanbao chuckled and decided not to explain further.

"By the way, I'm a two-star Spirit Scholar now. I'm still a long way from my big brother, who's a three-star Spirit Commander, but he told me that at my age, he'd only reached the ninth level of Spirit Entry~"

Caiguang was clearly very pleased with his cultivation talent. At last, he had a chance to show off a little in front of an "elder" who was also his "peer."

Spirit Cultivator ranks, from lowest to highest, were Spirit Scholar, Spirit General, Spirit Commander... Spirit King, Spirit Sovereign, Spirit Emperor... Spirit Profound, Spirit Saint, and Spirit God.

Before the Spirit Scholar rank, there was a minor stage—the entry level for Spirit Scholars—called Spirit Entry. It was usually divided into nine stages according to one's progress.

Someone who'd just started cultivating spiritual power was at the first stage of Spirit Entry. Breaking through the ninth stage meant becoming a one-star Spirit Scholar.

The nine stages of Spirit Entry mainly applied to minors. Once Spirit Cultivators reached adulthood, even those with the poorest talent were usually at least one-star Spirit Scholars.

Otherwise, they could only remain ordinary mortals.

The youngest child in the Luo Clan, Luo Caiyue, was only eight years old, yet she had already reached the fifth stage of Spirit Entry.

Most Spirit Cultivators on the continent were at the Spirit Scholar or Spirit General ranks. Those who reached Spirit Commander or higher were considered experts. In a small place like Lushan Town, even a Spirit General was a person of standing.

Take the Yan Clan, the undisputed strongest power in Lushan Town. The clan had only a handful of Spirit Commander experts; the rest were mostly Spirit Generals and Spirit Scholars. The Luo Clan's third generation, however, had already reached the Spirit Commander rank. One could imagine how powerful the rest of the clan was. That was why the Luo Clan looked down on the Yan Clan. If the Luo Clan hadn't always kept an extremely low profile, what place would the Yan Clan have had in Lushan Town?

Sanbao knew all this very well. So when he heard Luo Caiguang say he was already a two-star Spirit Scholar, he was genuinely surprised. After all, the boy was only twelve. That was the Talent Family difference: they really were much stronger than ordinary people.

"Caiguang, you've got a real gift for cultivation. You could probably match those Talent Families, couldn't you?" Sanbao nodded repeatedly, asking on purpose.

"Yeah, Grandpa says the same thing. He says that, judging by my current pace, I'm at least on par with the middle-grade bloodlines of those Talent Families." Praised by his "elder," Caiguang grew a little embarrassed.

Luo Caiguang had no idea that he himself possessed a middle-grade bloodline from a Talent Family. He simply hadn't realized it yet.

"I've almost finished moving my five thousand jin of stones. I'd better hurry up. Once I'm done, I can go with Big Brother to beat up those people from the Yan Clan..."

"The Yan Clan? The strongest power in Lushan Town?" Sanbao had only just arrived, but he already knew the general situation in Lushan Town.

"Yeah! They actually want to take a share of our Luo Clan's Copper Mine rights. They must be tired of living! We've arranged to negotiate at the Wine Immortal Pavilion at noon. Third Uncle, do you want to come with us? Yueyue will be there too..." At the mention of the coming negotiations, Caiguang grew animated, waving his hands about in excitement. He'd get to witness the talks firsthand.

"Oh, I'll pass. I hope you come out on top~"

Sanbao knew that with his current strength of zero-stage Spirit Entry, he couldn't be of much help. Besides, he didn't want to draw attention to himself too soon, so he declined Caiguang without hesitation.

"No way. Third Uncle, you're so strange! You won't even go to something this fun! What's so fun about drawing?" Luo Caiguang muttered as he hoisted a stone onto his shoulder and headed up the mountain.

This time, Sanbao saw clearly: the twelve-year-old Caiguang had easily shouldered a stone weighing nearly a hundred jin.

"Two-star Spirit Scholar... He's pretty impressive, all right!" Sanbao gave a self-mocking smile and continued drawing on the stones.

He already had a solid foundation in painting. As he gradually adapted to his new surroundings, his stone paintings grew better and better. He became more and more absorbed in his work, utterly unaware of time passing.

Soon, all kinds of stone paintings, large and small, surrounded Sanbao. From a distance, some of them looked almost indistinguishable from real things.

"Third Uncle, I've finished my task. I'm heading back now. Take your time drawing!" An hour later, Luo Caiguang had finally finished moving all five thousand jin of stones, and he hurried home.

"That Third Uncle is so strange. He's been painting all morning. What a weirdo..."

"All right, I'll draw for a little longer~" Sanbao was in the groove, and for a moment, even his physical weakness seemed to ease.

"Drawing on the ground is easy enough, but it can't compare to the Stone Carving Painting the Saint Ancestor described. No, I'll have to use a stone as my canvas. But this brush won't do..."

As Sanbao hesitated, a green figure slowly appeared at the back courtyard gate. Meimei had finally arrived.

"Third Master, I've made the drawing tools you asked for. Do they look all right?" Meimei wiped the sweat from her brow as she opened a small bundle in her hands.

Inside were three iron styluses of different sizes.

"One weighs half a jin, one weighs two jin, and the other weighs five jin. I didn't know how heavy a tool you'd need, Third Master, so I asked the blacksmith to make three sizes. I hope one of them will suit you," Meimei explained quickly, seeing how eager Sanbao looked.

"Good, you did a great job. I'll take all three~" Sanbao was very pleased. This girl's clever. She prepared everything at once.

Meimei's face lit up at her master's praise. She took another bundle from her clothes. "Third Master, you must be thirsty. I brought you some water."

He hadn't noticed before, but now that Meimei mentioned it, Sanbao's mouth was parched. He'd been painting all morning, and he really was thirsty.

"All right, go about your business. I'll stay here for a while." Sanbao was growing more and more pleased with this clever, considerate girl.

"Yes. I'll wait by the back courtyard gate. If you need anything, just call out, Third Master. I'll hear you." As Meimei left, Sanbao finally gathered his thoughts again.

The Stone Carving Painting was finally about to begin. Sanbao grew excited, because from this moment on, he would set foot on the true path of Spirit Cultivation.

Gripping the five-jin iron stylus with both hands, Sanbao could barely swing it against the stone. But his frail body couldn't make the stylus leave so much as a mark. Sanbao could tell for certain that the stones on Deer Mountain were several times harder than the stones in his previous life.

He switched to the two-jin stylus. It felt noticeably lighter in his hand. He pressed it down hard, and a white line appeared on the stone, so faint it was almost impossible to see. A light breeze blew, and the line vanished at once.

Still no good. He could only use the half-jin stylus.

It felt just right in his hand.

Swish, swish.

He struck hard twice, leaving only two tiny dots on the stone. The iron tip couldn't glide across the surface, so he couldn't draw a line—and without a line, he couldn't make a picture. Sanbao realized that Stone Carving Painting would be a long and arduous process.

Fortunately, the sharp iron tip could at least dig into the stone. That was hope. As long as there was hope, the rest could be managed. Gritting his teeth, Sanbao followed the Saint Ancestor Secret Manual's instructions and painstakingly began to carve.

Thump.

After a little while, Sanbao was so exhausted that he sank to the ground, panting hard. Worse, the mental strain was even greater. The manual required him to pour every ounce of concentration into the carving.

After a brief rest, Sanbao began again. He repeated this over and over until, half an hour later, he was lying flat on the ground.

Only by eating bitterness within bitterness could one become a person above others. That was an eternal truth.

Gritting his teeth, Sanbao got back up and began carving again...