Chapter Three: Ability

Changing habits cultivated over many years is, of course, an exceedingly difficult task. Yet, knowing that such change is for the better, one should strive to accomplish it.

Seeing that the new recruits had all settled into their roles, Li Min glanced at Luo Tian with respectful eyes, nodded, and murmured, "Senior Luo, I think we're ready."

Luo Tian nodded. Though he was merely a servant at the ninth stage of Body Tempering, he accepted the honorific from a first-stage Qi Condensation disciple without hesitation or humility. Oddly enough, neither the veteran servants who had just finished their work nor the guide who had led the newcomers into the sect found this strange; instead, they regarded it as perfectly natural. Had it been otherwise, it would have seemed peculiar.

Luo Tian strode to the foremost youth, knelt down, and let his gaze slowly sweep over the boy. In his eyes, a strange golden radiance shimmered, yet no one else could perceive it—only Luo Tian himself.

At that moment, within Luo Tian’s mind, a golden phantom, shaped like a tightly shut eye, hovered indistinctly, not yet fully manifest. Under Luo Tian’s control, this golden eye released two faint beams of light, which passed through his own eyes and shot outward.

The golden light possessed a mysterious power; as soon as it touched the youth’s body, it penetrated effortlessly, encountering not the slightest barrier. Beneath Luo Tian’s scrutiny, the flow of the boy’s vital energy was laid bare: the quantity of energy drawn in with each segment of the Three-Stage Breathing Technique, the frequency, the movement—all were revealed in their entirety.

Luo Tian nodded to himself and said, "The exhalation in the first stage should be shortened a bit more. The second stage is fine, but for the third, you must inhale deeply with greater force. The essence of the Three-Stage Breathing Technique is to absorb as much vital energy from heaven and earth as possible. Keep that in mind."

The youth, startled by this sudden guidance, nonetheless followed Luo Tian’s instructions. In but a moment, a trace of delight appeared on his face—evidence of progress.

"Thank you!"

Luo Tian lifted his eyes and said, "Call me Senior Luo!"

"Yes, thank you, Senior Luo!" the boy replied, his voice strong and spirited, brimming with excitement.

Luo Tian nodded, stood, and moved to the next youth, offering instruction yet again.

Watching this, Li Min recalled Senior Luo’s peculiar rule: to receive his guidance, one must address him as Senior Luo; otherwise, there was no chance. At first, some of the young servants were embarrassed, but as more and more made obvious progress, they ceased to care about such trivialities—compared to cultivation, pride meant nothing.

Habit becomes second nature. Even though Li Min had been a Qi Condensation disciple for some time, he still called Luo Tian "Senior" whenever they met, unable to break the habit. Reflecting on the debt of instruction and enlightenment, Luo Tian was indeed worthy of such a title, and Li Min and his peers no longer minded, growing ever more sincere in their respect.

"I wonder if Senior Luo will ever break through in this lifetime," Li Min whispered.

His companion shot him a glare and replied softly, "Don’t say such things! Both of us owe our entry into Qi Condensation and our status as honored outer disciples entirely to Senior Luo’s guidance. And that’s despite our mediocre talent—it took just over a year. Senior Luo, as our mentor, remains a servant, which pains us deeply; don’t add to his burden!"

With a sigh, Li Min nodded and fell silent.

Some time later, Luo Tian finished guiding each of the youths. He stretched, rubbed his eyes, and said, "This batch of newcomers is quite promising. If they work hard, thirty or forty percent should break through in half a year or so!"

"They truly owe Senior Luo their thanks; otherwise, how could they have such fortune?" his companion remarked with a smile.

Luo Tian nodded noncommittally, but suddenly paused, as if something had occurred.

A girl’s cry rang out, accompanied by an unpleasant odor.

Rather than being repulsed, Li Min and his companion were delighted. "That little girl has reached the first stage of Body Tempering so quickly!"

Luo Tian’s usual languor vanished, replaced by joy. A yellow spark swiftly left the girl’s body and flew into Luo Tian’s forehead.

Luo Tian was unconcerned about being observed; after two years, he knew that only he could witness such phenomena. Originally, Luo Tian had been an ordinary modern man, living a simple life of dormitory, classroom, meals, and sleep, until he returned home to clean and discovered a tattered ancient book.

It was neither metal nor wood, nor parchment nor bamboo, but rather felt eerily like thin flesh to the touch, covered in strange writing. When Luo Tian inspected it closely, the book flew directly into his mind.

He fainted at once, and upon waking, he found himself in the body of a thirteen-year-old boy also named Luo Tian, groggily listening to outer disciples explain the Three-Stage Breathing Technique.

The claims in the ancient book—that it could reveal the truth of all things, leaving no secrets in the world—had seemed utterly absurd to Luo Tian. Yet, after arriving in this new realm, the appearance of a golden phantom eye in his mind did surprise him.

This eye proved useful: Luo Tian could observe the internal flow of vital energy in other servants, and when he offered guidance, it genuinely produced results.

A further marvel was that every time someone broke through or made progress under his tutelage, a golden spark would fly into the phantom eye, and each spark gradually solidified the eye’s form.

Upon this discovery, Luo Tian’s interest was piqued. He not only could see the internal workings of others, but had perfect insight into his own condition. Thus, though he had long since completed Body Tempering, he refused to advance, exerting great effort to suppress his cultivation. Whenever vital energy was generated, Luo Tian would guide it to cleanse impurities from his meridians, never letting it enter his dantian.

Over the past two years, Luo Tian had opened all nine hidden meridians and countless visible ones, making his internal pathways exceptionally clear. Since the heavenly energy never entered his dantian, it was not refined, so there was no issue in channeling it through the meridians.

He refrained from breaking through because he could not yet see into the bodies of Qi Condensation disciples; weighing his options, he resolved to wait until the golden eye fully materialized before advancing. After all, unless an outer disciple wandered into the servant quarters, Luo Tian would have no opportunity to offer guidance.

He yearned to unravel the secret of the golden eye.

"Su Qiaoqiao, don’t worry. You’ve entered the first stage of Body Tempering and opened a hidden meridian. The filth inside your clothes is merely residual impurity. Go wash up—there’s a bathing area behind the storeroom, and servant garb is available there," his companion said, smiling without surprise.

Anyone who had received Senior Luo’s instruction advanced rapidly; whereas in the past, some took a month to reach the first stage, nowadays even the slowest newcomers would not take more than a single evening.

The girl, Su Qiaoqiao, blushed deeply at his words and hurried off toward the bathing area, eager to cleanse herself.

"Senior Luo is truly remarkable!"

"Indeed—otherwise, who knows when these youngsters would have taken their first step?"

Li Min and his companion laughed as they discussed.

At that moment, a long howl echoed from the distant mountains. Soon, a figure came running, carrying four large buckets of water yet moving swiftly, as if unburdened.

As he drew closer, the servant disciples recognized him clearly.

Li Min’s expression darkened. "It’s Shen Lingbo, that scoundrel! He’s finally reached the ninth stage of Body Tempering and has come to trouble Senior Luo!"

"Dare to make trouble for Senior Luo? I’ll be the first to object!" his companion exclaimed angrily. "That brute, always stirring up trouble, mocking Senior Luo for being doomed to a lifetime as a servant. How could Senior Luo possibly guide such a person? I never thought he’d bear a grudge and threaten to seek revenge upon reaching the ninth stage—truly shameless!"

"He relies on his brother, Shen Lingfeng, an outer disciple. Neither brother is worth anything," Li Min scoffed.

Luo Tian watched as Shen Lingbo approached, his eyes narrowing, expression unreadable.