Chapter 4

Before dawn, Xu Yan was already practicing his horse stance.

“Master said, to comprehend and understand the meaning, not emphasize on the form, sense the flow of vital energy, mobilize it, and refine the skin…”

“The gifted ones of the past could complete skin refining in five days, but I haven’t even sensed my vital energy yet. The gap is too wide. Master said you can’t be impatient, the more impatient you are, the harder it is to sense vital energy…”

Xu Yan calmed his mind, focused on himself, and delicately sensed his body, sensed his vital energy.

A streak of white appeared in the sky.

As the sun was about to rise, Xu Yan immersed in sensing his vital energy suddenly felt a warm current emerging from his chest and abdomen, delicate and warm, seemingly flowing with his breath.

“Vital energy!”

“I’ve sensed vital energy!”

Xu Yan, at this moment, was overjoyed.

“Stay calm, stay calm, must be calm and composed, cannot let the mind be disturbed…”

“Mobilize vital energy, refine the skin… How to mobilize vital energy? Master didn’t specify, should I go ask Master?”

“No! Master said it’s about comprehension, about intent, I must grasp this feeling at this moment, if I relax, it will be hard to sense vital energy again…”

“Moreover, if I have to ask Master in detail about how to mobilize vital energy, won’t it disappoint Master and make him think my comprehension is poor?”

Thinking this way, Xu Yan immediately dismissed the idea of seeking advice from Li Xuan.

Continuing to hold his horse stance, he tried again and again to mobilize his vital energy, while recalling the explanations Li Xuan gave about mobilizing vital energy.

He focused his mind entirely on himself, immersed in the mobilization of vital energy, his breathing involuntarily adjusted to the rhythm of his vital energy, and gradually a wisp of vital energy spread throughout his body, His skin vaguely glowed red, as if a warm current was refining his skin.

“I suppose I have entered the stage of skin refining now?”

Xu Yan was extremely exhilarated. Finally, he had sensed his vital energy and successfully mobilized it to refine his skin.

…

When Li Xuan yawned, he got up, washed, dressed, and went outside to prepare breakfast.

He was the only one left in the village, living self-sufficiently had become routine.

As soon as he went out, he saw Xu Yan practicing his horse stance, a corner of his mouth twitched, his apprentice was quite diligent, unfortunately, it was all pointless.

The method of practice was a tall tale he’d spun, it would be a miracle if it worked.

“Whenever he can’t stand it anymore and comes to ask me, I’ll just hoax him again.”

Li Xuan shook his head and turned away.

As Xu Yan saw his master, he was excited, and was about to tell his master that he had sensed his vital energy.

And entered the stage of skin refining!

However, seeing that the master shook his head, his heart immediately sank.

“Is my master dissatisfied with me?”

“Yes, how could the master, with his level, not see that I have sensed my vital energy and entered the stage of skin refining?”

“He must think I am restless, arrogant, and impatient…”

After Xu Yan’s round of speculations, he immediately dismissed the thought of telling Li Xuan that he had sensed his vital energy and entered the stage of skin refining.

Taking a deep breath to calm his mind, he continued to mobilize his vital energy to refine his skin.

“The master is profound, he can see my ability at a glance, I must not be arrogant or self-conceited… Having an understanding of my progress in cultivation, there was no need for me to say it.”

Xu Yan realized in his heart that how he practiced was clear at a glance to his master, there was no need to deliberately tell him.

Li Xuan caught a chicken from the chicken coop, ready to continue stewing the nine-leaf yuanzhi, a rare treasure in this world. After eating the stewed chicken soup with nine-leaf yuanzhi yesterday, he felt his body was strengthening.

As he took out the knife and was about to kill the chicken, he froze: “That’s not right, I have an apprentice now, there’s no reason for me, the master, to serve him. The apprentice should be serving the master!”

“Anyway, I’ve tricked him once. He is my apprentice now. It’s reasonable for him to serve his master, right?”

Considering this, knife in one hand, chicken in the other, he walked towards Xu Yan.

“Apprentice, come, kill the chicken, add some Nine-leaf Ganoderma, and start cooking.”

Xu Yan finished his training and took the chicken and the knife from Li Xuan, a bit bewildered.

“What, you can’t cook?”

Li Xuan frowned as he watched him blankly.

“Right, Xu Yan, this simpleton, is the son of a rich family, how could he possibly cook?”

That said, since he is a disciple now, how could I not make good use of him?

“Apprentice, each moment, each action, even sleeping and eating, is training. Even though you haven’t yet entered the threshold of Martial Arts, being too far from your master’s realm, getting used to it in advance is beneficial for you.”

Li Xuan said seriously.

“Master, I’ll go right away!”

Xu Yan’s expression became serious, replied respectfully.

“My master’s realm is too high! All these mundane chores are actually the gestures of a true sage, the demeanor of a hidden master!”

The more he thought about it, the more unfathomable he found his master. On the surface, his master seemed ordinary, not exuding the might of a powerful being, but this was the true mark of a master hidden amongst the common people!

Xu Yan went off to cook.

Li Xuan watched him for a while, not reassured. He found that although Xu Yan was clumsy in killing the chicken and cooking, with his guidance, the food he cooked should at least be edible.

So he took a chair and placed it under the big tree in front of the house. Li Xuan reclined on the chair, lazily waiting for the meal.

“Having a disciple to take care of household chores, these days are quite good.”

“With Xu Yan’s intellect, he wouldn’t be able to figure it out in a short time, but I should also prepare for a way out…”

After the meal.

Xu Yan resumed his training.

“The speed of refining my skin has increased… my vitality has improved by at least 50%…”

“At this speed, although it won’t be possible to complete skin refining in five days, it should be okay within a month.”

Xu Yan noticed that the speed of his skin refining had greatly increased, and he was extremely excited.

“Why has the speed of skin refining suddenly increased? Could it be…”

He thought of the chicken soup with Nine-leaf Ganoderma!

Nine-leaf Ganoderma is a rare treasure. His Xu family only had this one piece in their treasury. If it hadn’t been for Xu Yan being the lone heir of the Xu family and loved dearly by his parents, he wouldn’t have been able to offer the Nine-leaf Ganoderma as a gift to his master.

“Master!”

Xu Yan was moved beyond words at this moment.

“My master knew that the Nine-leaf Ganoderma could aid my cultivation, so he let me use it to cook the chicken!”

“I must not let my master’s kindness go to waste, I must train hard and strive to enter the threshold as soon as possible!”

With his own elaborate interpretations, Xu Yan felt an overwhelming admiration for his master at that moment, his respect as boundless as the sun and the moon, and was deeply moved.

He summoned his vitality and continued to refine his skin.

Through continuous refining, Xu Yan felt his body become stronger, his vitality more vibrant, his skin tougher, as if he had already entered the initial stage of skin refining.

“I feel like my strength has more than doubled. This is just the initial stage of skin refining, how powerful will I become upon completing this stage?”

“I must enter the threshold of Martial Arts within a year!”

Xu Yan’s eyes were resolute.

“This Nine-leaf Ganoderma is amazing, why do I feel like I’m getting stronger?”

“Should I keep it all to myself? No, it was given by Xu Yan after all. Let’s eat it together, one should not be too greedy!”

Li Xuan felt the changes in his body, and for a moment, he had the idea of keeping all the Nine-leaf Ganoderma for himself.

But he wasn’t heartless enough to do so and dismissed the thought of keeping it for himself.