Chapter Nine: Call Me Senior Brother Luo

Perhaps because it was not highly valued, the room where the body-refining secret arts were kept didn’t even have its door closed, presenting an entirely unguarded attitude, allowing people to come and go as they pleased.

This was far too careless.

After Luo Tian stepped into the room, he realized that in the very center stood several modest bookshelves, sparsely decorated with a few books, dust gathering on their surfaces, indicating that few ever bothered to read them. At a glance, there were perhaps only a hundred or so in total.

At the same time, several small doors could be seen within the room, and through the cracks, it appeared that they opened into modestly sized training chambers.

With a brief sweep of his gaze, Luo Tian noticed that one of the training rooms had its door tightly shut, a red sign hanging at its entrance.

Someone was inside?

Luo Tian nodded slightly, carefully lightening his steps for fear of disturbing whoever was within.

Those signs had a red and green side; when entering, one would flip the red outward, and upon leaving, switch it back.

Legendary body-refining secrets...

It seemed that every formidable and domineering transmigrator required a body-refining technique to set them apart, or else how could they display their superiority?

Countless thoughts flashed through Luo Tian’s mind. Since he had received Old Han’s special guidance, even if there was something peculiar within, it was only polite to select a technique. After all, what if he stumbled upon a treasure?

Serpentine Body Refinement, Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone Fist, Tiger Demon Bone Tempering, Arc Light Swallow Reversal...

A string of body-refining secret arts flashed before Luo Tian’s eyes. He felt a surge of familiarity, and couldn’t help but feel tempted; these all seemed rather impressive.

Just then, a manual titled "Nine Forms of the Beast Fist" caught Luo Tian’s attention.

Most other body-refining arts imitated only two or three demon beasts, but this one encompassed nine?

Though the essence of body-refining arts was to use spiritual energy to temper the flesh, the process was far from aimless. Specific movements were used to assist the process, determining which part of the body required tempering, to what extent, and how to identify one’s physical weaknesses—each step was deliberate.

These arts were derived from the unique traits of various demon beasts. Humans could cultivate to strengthen themselves, and so too did demon beasts have their own evolutionary paths. In terms of physical constitution, demon beasts far surpassed humans, so drawing upon their strengths was only natural.

Luo Tian took the manual down and flipped through it casually, his excitement growing.

The "Nine Forms of the Beast Fist" was modeled after nine distinctive demon beasts, each with its own unique attributes. By learning their postures and movements, the practitioner could identify and address their own physical shortcomings through focused refinement.

Even though he now possessed the Divine Eyes, and his meridians were unblocked with his body refinement already perfected, Luo Tian believed there was still room for improvement. Beyond that, overall enhancement of his physical constitution would serve him well in the upcoming Ziyang Martial Gathering.

The substantial rewards were secondary; with fame, he could openly instruct others of his rank and advance the Divine Eyes.

Imagining wave after wave of youths tearfully begging for his guidance, Luo Tian couldn’t help but feel delighted.

Upon seeing that the manual presented considerable difficulty, Luo Tian was even more satisfied. With such a powerful tool as the Divine Eyes, why settle for something easy?

Impossible.

“Ah... mmm... ha—”

At that moment, a girl’s voice suddenly came from beyond the tightly closed door of the training chamber.

The sound was somewhat peculiar.

Luo Tian set aside the "Nine Forms of the Beast Fist," focusing his attention and holding his breath.

The sounds grew louder, tinged with evident pain.

Could it be that she had suffered a deviation in her cultivation?

Within the meridians, countless traps lurked; a minor lapse could send spiritual energy along the wrong path, causing unpredictable harm to the body.

Severe pain was relatively mild—if one was truly unlucky, not only could the meridians be ruptured, but death could occur on the spot.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Luo Tian knocked hard on the door. “Are you alright? I’m coming in now!”

“Yes, come in—quick!”

The girl’s voice now carried a hint of relief, though it was still drowned by pain. Clearly, she hadn’t expected anyone to notice her predicament.

Hearing this, Luo Tian hesitated no longer. When he pushed, the door did not budge. He increased his strength gradually, gauging the door’s resistance, then flexed his muscles, gathered his force, and struck the lock, shattering it in an instant.

There was no other way. The training rooms were small; if he applied too much force and sent the entire door flying, the person inside might suffer even more.

Luo Tian pushed the door open and rushed in.

The room, barely a dozen square meters, was empty so as to allow ample movement, and at this moment, a girl sat cross-legged on the floor, arms loosely encircling herself, her body tilted forward in an extremely awkward posture.

Her face was deathly pale, utterly devoid of color; large beads of sweat rolled down her cheeks like water from a mountainside. Her lips were pressed tightly together, and the occasional groan that escaped them made it clear she was suppressing intense pain.

Because of the angle, Luo Tian couldn’t see her face clearly, and in any case, he had no mind to. Anyone could tell that the girl had encountered a mishap during cultivation.

Saving her was the priority.

Luo Tian channeled the energy of the Divine Eyes into his gaze, which effortlessly pierced through fabric and flesh. With a careful sweep, the flow of energy within the girl’s body was laid bare before him.

When she saw that her rescuer was a boy of about fifteen, a flash of disappointment flickered across Tang Yueran’s delicate eyes, so much so that even the pain surging within her seemed all the more unbearable.

She had thought Elder Han Li at the door had come to her aid after hearing the commotion. From the voice outside, she knew it wasn’t Elder Han, but she never expected it would be such a youthful, inexperienced boy.

He must be an outer disciple who had only just entered the Qi Condensation realm.

“Hurry... hurry—”

Tang Yueran’s pain grew more intense as she tried to speak, unable even to complete a sentence. She dared not change her position, for fear that the slightest movement would make things worse.

“Alright! Don’t worry, let me take a look,” Luo Tian said. Though the girl was exceedingly beautiful, her features were now contorted by pain.

But now was no time to dwell on such things.

Hearing Luo Tian’s words, Tang Yueran felt on the verge of fainting.

Who asked you to look?

A novice who had just entered the Qi Condensation realm—what could he possibly know of her predicament? Even if, by some miracle, he happened to know the "Maiden’s Flowing Vase Body Refinement Art" she practiced, how could he possibly offer a solution?

“No, not...”

Tang Yueran struggled to convey her meaning, her pale face trembling, her lips quivering uncontrollably. “You... your name...”

But the pain was simply too much—she couldn’t even manage to say the words “Elder Han.”

Luo Tian, however, had already discerned the problem. In two of the girl’s finer meridians, spiritual energy was extremely unstable, churning like water at a rolling boil, quite unlike the rest.

Hearing her attempt to speak, Luo Tian was momentarily confused. At a time like this, she wanted to know her benefactor’s name?

He couldn’t fathom what she was thinking.

“Just call me Senior Brother Luo,” Luo Tian said in a deep voice, as though his words carried a steadying strength.