Watching Old Zhang limp away, Su Xuan felt a complex swirl of emotions.
Even though Old Zhang was lecherous and stingy, the original owner of this body had spent the last few years running a stall alongside him.
They were, in some sense, friends.
The man should have been able to rely on that stall for his retirement, yet a single conscription order had turned him into this, leaving him utterly powerless to resist!
Experiencing the raw reality of the strong preying on the weak for the first time, Su Xuan felt a stifling weight in his chest.
Tomorrow night was the final deadline.
He had to hurry and gain the ability to protect himself.
Withdrawing his gaze, he bought some daily necessities in the Outer Market and hurried to prepare the ingredients for the Pill of Myriad Mysteries.
With not a single Spiritual Stone left on him, he walked briskly toward home.
It was already afternoon by the time he returned.
The golden sunlight spilled into the courtyard; it lacked the scorching heat of summer, offering a warm and cozy sensation instead.
Pushing the door open, he saw Lu Zhiyi squinting her eyes, lying on the stone table with a look of pure contentment.
She lacked any semblance of ladylike grace, exposing half of her pale little belly, which she rubbed every now and then.
“Master, you’re back!”
Seeing him return, Lu Zhiyi’s face flushed.
She scrambled to her feet and rushed over to greet him.
Su Xuan looked at her reddened cheeks.
In just a few days, the girl’s face had filled out a bit, no longer looking as gaunt as when they first met.
“Yes, I’m back.
Take these to the kitchen and put them away.”
He handed the items in his hands to Lu Zhiyi.
“By the way, where is your Senior Sister?
What is she doing?”
Su Xuan noticed Lin Zhiwei was nowhere to be seen and asked subconsciously.
“Senior Sister is on the roof!”
Lu Zhiyi was like a cat, sniffing the Spiritual Rice and Spiritual Beast meat he had bought.
She spoke with a look of confusion.
‘The roof?’
Su Xuan was equally puzzled.
Thud!
The sound of something hitting the ground came from beside him.
He turned his head.
He saw Lin Zhiwei panting heavily, her chest rising and falling beneath her clothes.
She was covered in dirt.
“Zhiwei, what were you doing on the roof?” he asked.
“Ah, I… I was checking if there were any leaks to patch up.”
Lin Zhiwei’s eyes darted around, unable to meet his gaze.
She stammered out an excuse.
She hadn’t actually been repairing the roof, of course.
She had discovered that Lin Chengyun occasionally came out to practice her swordplay next door.
She had been secretly climbing onto the roof, hoping to learn a few moves.
Knowing she had talent, she didn’t want to remain a burden.
“Both of you, come inside.
I have something to tell you.”
With the threat to his life looming, Su Xuan didn’t bother investigating the truth of her words and walked straight into the house.
Looking at his two disciples, he sighed and spoke in a kind tone.
“I have been thinking.
As your master, it is truly irresponsible of me to always have you performing menial chores.”
As he spoke, Su Xuan reached under his pillow, pulled out the Evergreen Art cultivation method he practiced, and handed it to Lu Zhiyi.
“Zhiyi, this is the manual I practice.
Take it and study it well.”
Then, he pulled the mundane sword manual from his robes.
“Zhiwei, don’t you have a high talent for being a Sword Cultivator?
I am giving this sword manual to you.
I selected it specifically for you.
Remember to practice diligently.
If there’s anything you don’t understand, ask me.”
“Thank… Thank you, Master!”
Lin Zhiwei took the sword manual, her eyes shining with excitement.
She received it from Su Xuan’s hands with the utmost respect, carefully wiping it with her sleeve as if it were a priceless treasure.
Lu Zhiyi, however, seemed disinterested.
She took the Evergreen Art but kept glancing toward the kitchen.
The Spiritual Rice was stewing inside, and that was what truly interested her.
“Go on.
You can ask me later if you have questions.”
Su Xuan waved his hand, dismissing them.
“Yes!
Thank you, Master!
I will definitely practice hard!”
Lin Zhiwei thanked him excitedly and pulled her junior sister out the door.
Once they were gone, Su Xuan pulled the Ningnian Jue from his robes.
“The heart’s lamp illuminates the Purple Palace, spiritual threads pierce the Mysterious Pass.
A single thought births a ripple, touching objects like holding a pole…”
Reading the mantras on the booklet softly, his brow furrowed deeply.
The writing was hazy and confusing.
With his aptitude, he had read it several times and still couldn’t understand what it was trying to convey.
It was just like calculus or engineering control theory in his past life.
If one’s aptitude wasn’t up to par, even a Heaven-rank cultivation method would be impossible to learn.
‘Wait, the telekinesis ability?’
‘Ningnian means to condense one’s mental intent and use Spiritual Power to control objects?’
As Su Xuan muttered to himself, his mind gradually sank into the text.
Suddenly, he remembered the system’s prompt.
As if touched by an immortal, Su Xuan’s mind cleared instantly.
The obscure mantras suddenly became vivid and easy to understand.
He reached out toward the teapot on the table, attempting to circulate the Spiritual Power in his body according to the technique’s records to control the teapot’s movement.
Spiritual Power continuously gathered in the air, slowly wrapping around the teapot.
Two drops of sweat quietly rolled down his forehead.
In just a few breaths, he could clearly feel the consumption of his internal energy.
As the Spiritual Power enveloped the object, a strange sensation rose in his mind.
It was as if an invisible hand could grip the teapot and control its path!
He lifted his arm slightly.
The teapot on the table trembled as it left the surface, quietly floating in mid-air.
‘It works!’
A surge of wild joy filled Su Xuan’s heart.
Although it was extremely clumsy and he could only make the teapot hover slightly, the sensation of being able to manipulate objects was etched into his brain.
Striking while the iron was hot, he continued to circulate and familiarize himself with the Ningnian Jue.
He controlled the teapot, making it rise and fall, becoming increasingly proficient.
Before he knew it, four hours had passed.
Su Xuan panted heavily, his body trembling slightly.
Clearly, the exertion had taken its toll.
Bang!
He gritted his teeth and swung his hand forcefully.
The water-filled teapot instantly flew out, smashing hard against the windowsill.
The ceramic teapot shattered into pieces, and the sheer force caused the windowsill to bend slightly, rattling from the impact.
‘If I were controlling a dagger, wouldn’t I be able to pierce someone straight through?’
Su Xuan looked at his trembling hands.
He had been living in fear, but now, he finally felt a bit more at peace.
Feeling the depletion of his Spiritual Power, he stood up to stretch his numb limbs.
He cleaned up the broken teapot and prepared to go out for some fresh air.
After several hours of cultivation, it was already late at night.
The moonlight was like a veil of gauze draped over the courtyard.
A beautiful figure in white was clumsily swinging a tree branch.
It was Lin Zhiwei.
With the evening breeze, a few strands of her hair fluttered in the air.
Her white dress swayed as she shifted through various postures.
Her chest rose and fell, and her slender waist exhibited an amazing flexibility, moving as fluidly as a snake.
It was a sight that could spark many fantasies.
Compared to the plain Internet celebrities of his past life, she was like a goddess descended to earth.
But suddenly, her body stiffened, breaking the aesthetic grace of the moment.
“Hm?”
Lin Zhiwei let out a soft sound of confusion and pulled the sword manual from her robes.
Her powerful natural talent gave her an instinctual feeling that this sword move shouldn’t be like this.
She even thought she had misread it.
But after checking it carefully several times and trying for a long while, it still felt wrong.
“Could there be a problem with the sword manual?”
She lowered the branch and stared at the manual in her hand, filled with doubt.
‘She already found the problem?’
‘As expected of someone with Natural Sword Bones.’
Su Xuan saw her staring at the manual with a puzzled look and understood.
“Master?
I feel like…”
Lin Zhiwei turned to see him, bit her lip, and spoke.
“Do you feel like the sword manual is wrong?
Do you feel like your own moves are 100 times better than what is in here?”
Su Xuan cut her off, hands behind his back.
Facing his disciple’s suspicion, he chose to take the initiative.
“Zhiwei, what do you think a sword is?”
He looked up at the moonlight as if reminiscing about something, his voice deep and solemn.