Cultivation

At this moment, inside the Marshal's Residence in Green Mountain Pass City, in the enormous living room, Marshal Hong sat alone on the wide wooden chair at the head of the room, leaning back, gazing at the ceiling, his round eyes darting about, one hand stroking his chin as he pondered.

"The guards over there reported that Li Yan was summoned into Ji Wenhe's room this morning, presumably to formally become his disciple. The next step should be entering cultivation," a voice came from a corner of the hall, near one of the four thick pillars. Upon closer inspection, a remarkably stout man stood there, his body partially overlapping with the shadow of the pillar. He was short, dressed in a black robe, like the base of the thick pillar.

"I was already surprised he didn't have the boy formally become his disciple last night. Considering how his body seems to be deteriorating, it's astonishing he can still take his time like this," Marshal Hong said, still staring at the ceiling without looking at the man.

"Could it be that Senior Brother has seen through whether he's truly unable to suppress the poison in his body, or if he's just pretending?" the black-robed man asked.

"Most likely it's real. Whether it's the news from the guards or his constant search for a disciple over the past few years, it doesn't seem fake. But even so, we wouldn't have a great chance of winning if we used force. His martial arts, even in his current state, are still beyond both of us combined," Marshal Hong continued.

"Senior Brother, don't exaggerate so much. Although his martial arts have reached the Transformation Realm, he needs to use a significant amount of internal energy to suppress the poison in his body. Besides, my brothers and I have been at the peak of the expert realm for over ten years, only a step away from the Transformation Realm. Combining our strength, we might not necessarily be unable to capture him," the black-robed man said in a muffled voice.

"Junior Brother, doing that is a last resort. What I'm thinking about now is how to get to him through that boy. His last disciple hasn't come out since entering the Military Advisor's Residence, making it difficult to get in touch. He died tragically after only a little over a month. Now, I'm wondering, was it really due to improper cultivation? Or is it that his cultivation method, as he claims, can only be practiced by those with a special physique? If it's the latter, wouldn't all our efforts be in vain?" Marshal Hong still stared at the ceiling, his brows furrowed.

"Senior Brother, there's no cultivation method in the martial world that can't be practiced. Even poisonous or evil techniques can be practiced by those who possess them. It's just a matter of suitability, not whether it's possible. I've never heard of internal energy techniques having any requirements for a person's physique. Take the various mental cultivation methods of our sect, from the lowest to the most profound. Which of our disciples can't practice them? It's just a matter of different rates of progress," the black-robed man said, frowning.

"What you're saying is

</di>

precisely why I'm unwilling to give up. Even if it's a martial art from an evil sect, there's nothing impossible for us to cultivate, it's just a matter of whether it's worth it. His excuse is probably because he doesn't want to pass it on. But what's so special about Li Yan and his last disciple? Yesterday, I used internal energy to test the boy's meridians in the training field, and they were very ordinary, even inferior to many soldiers in the army. Yet he spent years picking him out of hundreds of thousands of people. That's what I can't figure out." The hall fell silent again.

After a moment, he turned to the black-robed man and said, "Junior Brother, regardless of what he's basing his selection of disciples on, or what he's taking disciples for, he'll have to impart some methods to them. What we need to do is try to get in contact with Li Yan and obtain those methods from him. With your and my insight, we should be able to see some clues in those methods. Then we can make further plans."

After a period of silence in the corner of the hall, footsteps gradually arose and slowly faded away. Marshal Hong remained seated in the large chair, silent. The hall was quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

In the evening, in the Great Green Mountains, Chang Bo and his son Li Wei were returning from the fields as usual. Although the harvest after the locust plague was a foregone conclusion, they had still managed to salvage something. The farmers' feelings for their grain were like a loving mother's for her wandering son; every grain was hard-earned, something those lords couldn't understand. Every family in the village still went to their fields every day to cultivate and maintain what little remained.

Chang Bo always returned early, before dusk, while it was still bright. When he got home, his wife and fourth daughter would have already prepared a simple dinner. They wanted to finish eating before dark, to avoid having to light the oil lamp for too long. Life had been hard these past few years, and they had to save on lamp oil.

Since Li Yan left yesterday, the atmosphere at home had been oppressive. "Father, the village chief should be back today, right?" Li Yan's mother, looking at the others eating the sweet potatoes in their bowls without much appetite, asked her husband with a sorrowful expression. She herself hadn't touched her chopsticks.

"Why are you nagging so much, woman? You've been asking this and that since noon yesterday. I've told you many times that it takes at least two days for a round trip, and that's if things go smoothly. Just eat your food," Li Yan's father said, looking up, his face also showing impatience and annoyance. He tapped the edge of his bowl with his chopsticks, making a "ding, ding" sound.

"You went to the fields early in the morning, and only came back after a whole day to say these few words. How am I nagging so much?" Li Yan's mother muttered softly.

Li Wei looked at Li Xiaozhu, who happened to be looking at him. They had both wanted to interject with a few questions, but seeing the situation, they dared not say more. In fact, they both knew that even if they asked, their father wouldn't know the answer. It was just that these inconclusive words seemed to make everyone feel a little better.

Just then, footsteps came from outside the door, and a loud voice called out, "Chang Bo, I'm back, I'm back, haha!" Hearing this voice, everyone in the house perked up. It was Li Guoxin's voice. Immediately, there was a clatter of tables, chairs, bowls, and chopsticks as everyone rushed out of the house.

Seeing the overturned stools, chairs, and the chopsticks thrown haphazardly on the table, along with the sweet potatoes left unfinished in the bowls, Li Yan's mother spat and said, "You deadbeat, weren't you not in a hurry? You're acting like you're being reborn." Then she hurriedly got up and walked towards the door.

Outside, Li Guoxin was walking towards Li Yan's house, followed by a group of children and several villagers. Before he could reach the door, he saw three figures rushing out of the house as if flying. Upon closer inspection, it was Chang Bo and his two children, followed by Li Yan's mother, who was also in a bit of a hurry. When Chang Bo saw Li Guoxin, he quickly stopped, and Li Wei and Li Xiaozhu also came forward. Chang Bo took a breath, then smiled and said, "Guoxin, you're back! Come in and have some water, and tell us slowly."

Li Guoxin looked at Chang Bo's face, which was trying to appear calm but was filled with anxiety, and couldn't help but laugh again. "Haha, Chang Bo, I won't go in. I just entered the village and the carriage is still tied up ahead. I haven't gone to Li Yu's and Li Shan's houses yet, I came here first to tell you. After I tell you, I still have to go to their houses to deliver the news."

Hearing this, Chang Bo nodded repeatedly. "That's right, that's right." Then he and Li Wei looked at Li Guoxin with expectant faces.

Li Guoxin was gently patting the heads of the children who were circling around him and playing. "Go, go, go, quickly go back and tell your parents to go to my house later and take back what belongs to your family." The children happily left, shouting "Okay, okay." Some ran towards their homes, while others ran towards the villagers who had come with him. These villagers, who had met him at the entrance to the village, were standing on the side with their arms crossed or patting their children's heads, listening with interest to the news that the village chief had brought back from the city.

Li Guoxin waited

</di>

for the children to leave, then turned to look at Li Yan's family, who were forcing smiles and trying not to urge him. Li Guoxin's expression turned serious. "Chang Bo, the reason I came to your house first, before going to the other two, is because I have great news to tell you."

"Oh, Uncle Guoxin, what good news?" Li Wei interjected from the side, and the other three also looked at Li Guoxin with tense and expectant faces. The surrounding villagers also told their children to stop playing and moved closer, forming a small circle.

Seeing this, Li Guoxin didn't play coy any longer. He said, "Chang Bo, it seems your ancestral grave has excellent feng shui. Li Yan entered the city this time to enlist in the Imperial Guards, but who knew..." Li Guoxin then recounted everything that had happened in the city, adding some details about Military Advisor Ji's achievements and background to avoid them not knowing who Li Yan had become a disciple of.

As he spoke, more and more villagers arrived. Hearing this, they were first stunned and speechless, then suddenly erupted in an uproar, with all sorts of discussions. Chang Bo's family was standing there in disbelief. Li Yan had actually become a disciple of someone even more famous than Marshal Hong. Did this Military Advisor Ji really have such abilities? But seeing Li Guoxin's confident demeanor, everyone chose to believe him. The people in the mountains had little knowledge, and the village chief was the highest official they knew. Occasionally, a small official would come from the town, and they would feel like they were seeing the emperor. Similarly, the people in the mountains were simple and honest, and they always trusted the village chief's words.

"Heavens, my heavens, heavens..." Li Yan's mother muttered to herself in the crowd, as if in a dream. After being stunned, Chang Bo burst into tears.

At the Military Advisor's Residence, the door to Li Yan's room had been closed since he finished lunch. A small black wooden sign hung on the doorknob.

After lunch, Li Yan didn't choose the empty room next door as a cultivation room. He felt that his own room was fine. He hung the black wooden sign, closed the door, pulled out a chair, and sat at the table. He picked up the small wooden figure and carefully thought about the Qi Guidance Art's circulation routes. Then he carefully confirmed the routes on the wooden figure while recalling the mental cultivation incantation in his mind. He didn't want to end up like that senior brother.

About an incense stick's worth of time passed. He put down the wooden figure, sat cross-legged on the wooden bed, and began to cultivate according to the incantation. However, he decided that if he felt anything was wrong, he would immediately stop cultivating.

What he didn't know was that the cultivation that started today would change the trajectory of his life and set him on that long path of seeking.