Have you eaten?

Across Cang Province, peaks rose one after another, every vista blessed with nature's beauty and spirit. An ancient sect had stood here for thousands of years.

Two figures walked along the road toward the mountain peak ahead.

One was a handsome young man with an upright bearing, an otherworldly air about him.

Beside him was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties, dressed in fine brocade robes. He looked at the young man beside him with a calm expression and a smile.

"Tianyi, it's been years since we last met. To think you've already reached the Sixth Layer of Essence Condensation! You truly amaze your martial uncle!" the middle-aged man said.

The young man's name was Ye Tianyi, and the place they were in was called the Cangyun Sect.

This sect had seven main peaks, each presided over by a Peak Master.

The two were ascending Qingyun Peak, one of those seven peaks.

Ye Tianyi was a personal disciple of Qingyun Peak.

Hearing this praise, Ye Tianyi shook his head. "You flatter me, Martial Uncle Lin Po. My cultivation realm is nothing worth mentioning!"

"No need to be modest. Compared to you, those personal disciples of mine are simply too painful to look at. I truly envy your master for taking in disciples like you. Qingyun Peak will have no worries for a thousand years!"

Lin Po spoke with envy in his voice, without a trace of flattery.

Hearing this, Ye Tianyi could not help asking, "By the way, Martial Uncle, Master took in a disciple when he returned to the sect ten years ago. He said this junior brother of mine was gifted and intelligent, beyond comparison with ordinary geniuses, someone the whole of Cang Province wouldn't produce in a hundred years. Is he really as extraordinary as Master said?"

"Who? Lu Changsheng?"

"Yes!"

At the mention of that name, Lin Po instinctively frowned, momentarily unsure how to answer.

Only after pondering for a while did he slowly speak.

"I can't really pass judgment on that. You should get to know him yourself. But there is one thing he got absolutely right!"

"What?"

"Forget a hundred years. Cang Province wouldn't produce someone like him even in five hundred years!"

Hearing this, Ye Tianyi looked curious. "It seems this junior brother of mine is no ordinary person!"

"He certainly isn't..."

"Is he in the sect right now?" Ye Tianyi asked.

"Right over there!"

Lin Po paused, then pointed beneath an old pine tree not far away.

A young man in white lay at ease in a reclining chair, gently waving a folding fan in one hand as he held a cup of clear tea and savored it.

He looked exceptionally comfortable.

Several figures stood before him, sacks set in front of each of them. They gleamed in the sunlight, filled entirely with glittering white Spirit Stones.

"Senior Brother Changsheng, we've delivered this month's allotment of Spirit Stones from Cangyun City. Would you like to count them?"

Someone spoke with a fawning smile.

Lu Changsheng took a sip of tea and said unhurriedly, "No need to check. I trust you to handle things!"

Smiles appeared on their faces at his words.

Lu Changsheng continued, "But there's something I need you to pay attention to!"

"What is it?"

"A few shops seem to have found new backers. They haven't handed over their Spirit Stones for two months. I'm leaving this to you!"

"They must be tired of living, daring to owe you Spirit Stones, Senior Brother!"

"Bastards! I'll go burn their shops down tomorrow!"

Every one of them was filled with righteous indignation, denouncing the offenders on Lu Changsheng's behalf, looking every bit as though they respected and defended an elder brother.

Lu Changsheng waved a hand. "There's no need for that. I'm softhearted and can't bear the sight of blood. Just have them hand over the Spirit Stones within three days!"

"What if they don't?"

"If they don't, can't you take them yourselves? Don't you know what's valuable? Do I have to teach you?" Lu Changsheng raised an eyebrow.

Everyone suddenly understood. Right, if someone wouldn't give it to them, couldn't they just rob them? If they couldn't even do that, was all their cultivation just for show?

But all these words reached Ye Tianyi and Lin Po's ears.

Lin Po was used to it and found nothing strange, but black lines appeared across Ye Tianyi's forehead.

"Martial Uncle, is he really that junior brother of mine?"

"Rest assured, he definitely is!"

"Rest assured..." The corner of Ye Tianyi's mouth twitched. What had he just heard?

What happened to that exceptional talent, rarely seen in a hundred years?

Others cultivated day and night, forgetting food and sleep. Even his eldest senior brother, who served as Cangyun's standard-bearer, was no exception.

Yet this junior brother lived as though he had retired, sleeping, wandering around, and drinking tea. He neither read manuals and techniques nor considered the great matter of cultivation, only occasionally finding time to cultivate...

That alone would have been bad enough, but he even incited these inner disciples to serve as a tiger's accomplices, going to Cangyun City to collect Spirit Stones for him?

Seeing this, Lin Po consoled him. "Martial Nephew, you'll get used to it!"

"Are these shady dealings all he does every day?" Ye Tianyi asked, still clinging to a shred of hope.

Lin Po pondered for a moment, then answered seriously, "Of course, he occasionally does other things too!"

"What things?"

"For instance, whenever spirit rice is distributed to the outer disciples each month, he's always there on time, then carries off two sacks. When spirit pills are distributed to the inner disciples, he arrives very early too, hoists a basket onto his back, and leaves. When Spirit Stones are distributed to the personal disciples, he collects them on your senior brother's behalf. And every half month, without fail, he goes to tell the elders that his senior brother has reached a critical point in his cultivation and needs Spirit Stones..."

Lin Po recounted Lu Changsheng's experiences, which had remained the same day after day for ten years. He had never missed a single occasion.

As he listened, Ye Tianyi's whole face darkened, with red showing through. He could not help saying, "Has no one stopped him? Does Senior Brother do nothing either?"

"I really haven't seen anyone intervene. But as a personal disciple, carrying off two sacks of spirit rice hardly amounts to anything. The outer sect elders don't dare slight your master, and it's not as though the sect can't afford those few pills and such. As for the Spirit Stones, perhaps your senior brother really does need them!"

Lin Po offered reassurance.

But the corners of Ye Tianyi's eyes twitched wildly. He was upright, held righteousness in his heart, and prided himself on the strict discipline of his lineage, yet his own peak had produced such a talent...

"Tianyi, don't take it to heart. Your master isn't here, and the others are busy cultivating. He's only become like this because they neglected to discipline him. Now that you're back, you can teach him gradually!" Lin Po consoled him.

Ye Tianyi nodded, resolving to discipline this junior brother properly.

Seeing this, Lin Po immediately called, "Changsheng!"

Hearing the call, everyone beneath the pine tree turned around.

The others trembled at the sight of Lin Po, so frightened that they hoisted the sacks onto their shoulders and ran up the mountain.

Lu Changsheng, however, remained unruffled. He slowly rose to his feet, a smile on his face.

"Martial Uncle Lin, what brings you to Qingyun Peak today? Do you need my senior brother for something?"

Hearing the call, Lu Changsheng slowly walked over.

Ye Tianyi studied Lu Changsheng closely, but found himself surprised.

Before him was a youth of seventeen or eighteen, handsome and dressed entirely in white, with brows like sword edges and eyes like a sky full of stars. There was something indescribably ethereal and otherworldly about him.

Yet he truly could not imagine that someone so striking would be such a... talent.

Looking at him, Lin Po said, "I merely ran into your second senior brother on my way back to the sect and chatted with him along the way!"

"Second Senior Brother?" Lu Changsheng raised an eyebrow and looked at the young man beside Lin Po.

Come to think of it, he had never met this senior brother before.

"Hurry up and greet your second senior brother!"

As Lin Po spoke, Ye Tianyi stood with his hands behind his back, wearing a proud air. He was truly infuriated and refused to look at him, intending to establish his authority to make teaching him easier later.

Instead, Lu Changsheng broke into a grin and slowly said, "Second Senior Brother, have you eaten?"

For an instant, Ye Tianyi froze. He opened his mouth, but could not utter a word for a long while.