In the corridor stood Teng Yunlong, Teng Yongfan, Yuan Lan, Qing Yu, and a group of others, each brimming with excited anticipation. Teng Qingshan, in particular, stared unblinkingly at the door.

"Creak!"

The door opened, releasing a wave of warmth. The midwife emerged, carefully cradling a tightly bundled infant.

"Congratulations, Sect Master," the midwife said somewhat formally before Teng Qingshan. "It's a daughter."

"A girl?" Teng Yongfan’s eyes widened. Yuan Lan shot him a disapproving glare from nearby. It was normal for common country folk to favor sons; girls would eventually marry out. This was precisely why the rule at Teng Family Village dictated that the Tiger Form Fist be passed only to males.

But Teng Qingshan didn't concern himself with such matters.

"Give her to me." Teng Qingshan reached out and carefully took the baby, holding her with more meticulous caution than when he had once retrieved the 'Cloud Dream White Fruit' or the 'Undying Grass.'

"Her eyes are so dark and bright." Holding his own flesh and blood, Teng Qingshan felt an overwhelming sense of wonder. The infant, who had been crying loudly moments before, gradually quieted. Her small eyes struggled to open wide, gazing at Teng Qingshan as if this 'giant' before her held some peculiar fascination. She surely could not yet comprehend the meaning of 'father.'

"How miraculous."

Holding his daughter, Teng Qingshan felt something within him connect to the female infant.

Yes, a sensation of shared bloodline.

"Within her beats the bloodline of me, Teng Qingshan," Teng Qingshan looked at the baby girl in his arms. "And in the future, she will pass my bloodline to her children... and their children will continue to pass it on... Human life has its limits! No one can live forever. Yet, Heaven has devised a method to allow this lineage to transmit eternally, ceaselessly."

Connected to his daughter by blood, Teng Qingshan suddenly grasped the true meaning of 'perpetual vitality.' Sometimes, a principle, even if understood intellectually, can never be truly comprehended without experiencing that feeling firsthand.

"So this is it—"

Teng Qingshan held the infant in one arm and, without realizing it, began executing a set of boxing movements with the other hand.

"Qingshan!" A sharp shout rang out.

Teng Qingshan startled, snapping back to consciousness. He turned to see his father, Teng Yongfan, glaring at him. Teng Yongfan snapped, "You start practicing your fists while holding a baby! What if the child fell or was bumped?" As he spoke, Yuan Lan quickly reached out and took the infant from Teng Qingshan's arms.

"Waaah~~" The baby, startled by the commotion, resumed crying.

"Oh, oh, hush now, don't cry," Yuan Lan soothed the infant.

Teng Qingshan nervously scratched the back of his head, facing his parents’ stares. In truth, he had just brushed against the threshold of the 'Way of Wood Element,' something he had long sought, and had become completely immersed in practicing the boxing form. But compared to his daughter's safety, delving into the 'Wood Element Fist' could wait.

Though he had missed a chance for epiphany.

"At least I understand the feeling. I've found the threshold!" Teng Qingshan now had the rudimentary form of the first movement of the 'Wood Element Fist.'

"Whoosh, whoosh~~"

The previously torrential downpour began to subside.

"Strange," Teng Yunlong tilted his head back toward the sky, then smiled at Teng Qingshan. "The rain poured down fiercely when the child was being born, and now it lessens right after she arrives. Qingshan, it seems your daughter is no ordinary child."

"Indeed, she is not ordinary," Teng Qingshan added silently in his mind. "Holding her is what allowed me to break through the threshold of the Way of Wood."

Just then—

"Creak!" The door opened again.

Li Jun walked out, her complexion slightly pale. "Xiao Jun," Teng Qingshan immediately hurried over. Li Jun smiled and shook her head. "I'm fine, just a bit weak physically, but it's not a major issue." After all, Li Jun was a Xiantian expert who had also consumed the 'Vermilion Fruit Wine.'

"Xiao Jun," Yuan Lan cheerfully handed the infant to Li Jun.

"Here, let mother hold her." Li Jun embraced the infant, her eyes crinkling with joy.

"Qingshan, have you decided on a name?" Li Jun looked up at Teng Qingshan. They had long considered names for their future child. Teng Qingshan glanced at the infant, then looked up at the sky. The rain had almost stopped entirely now. This summer tempest came fast and left just as quickly, truly living up to its nature.

"Since it was raining when she was born, and since she also gave me a brief insight into the Way of Wood—then—this child shall be named 'Lin.' The character above is 'rain' ($\text{}$), and below are two instances of 'wood' ($\text{}$), symbolizing rain nurturing the forest, allowing the trees to continuously grow and multiply. Eternal life, ceaseless continuity." Teng Qingshan dismissed the names they had considered and settled on this one—

Teng Honglin!

His daughter's name.

"Teng Honglin? Linlin?" Li Jun nodded in satisfaction, looking down at the daughter in her arms, chuckling softly. "Linlin, this is the name your father chose for you. Isn't it beautiful?"

Teng Qingshan, unable to help himself, leaned close to Li Jun's ear and whispered, "Xiao Jun, take good care of Linlin. I... I need to immediately enter seclusion. I just had this realization, and I worry that if I delay, the feeling might fade—"

Li Jun paused. Seclusion? His wife just gave birth, and the father was immediately going into retreat?

"Yes, you should go." Li Jun understood that the best time to consolidate an epiphany was immediately; the longer the delay, the fainter the memory of that feeling.

In just a brief conversation, Teng Qingshan already felt that acute sense of 'epiphany' diminishing considerably.

Whoosh!

Teng Qingshan shot away, heading toward the private chamber he had specially prepared next to Donghua Courtyard.

"Qingshan, where are you going?" Teng Yongfan hadn't heard the earlier exchange and called out.

"He has something important to attend to," Li Jun quickly explained.

"What could be more important than the moment a child is born?" Teng Yongfan sounded displeased.

And so—

Teng Qingshan's daughter, 'Teng Honglin,' was only one day old before Teng Qingshan entered rigorous seclusion.

The birth of Teng Qingshan's daughter was cause for great celebration. Over the next few days, many friends familiar with Teng Qingshan, both from Teng Family Village and the Guiyuan Sect, arrived to offer gifts and see the newborn. What surprised them, however, was—

The father, Teng Qingshan, was nowhere to be found.

"Qingshan is being truly irresponsible. The child is barely born, and he’s already off attending to his own affairs," many elders in Teng Family Village murmured among themselves.

...

On the seventh day after the birth.

Li Jun sat by the pond, a cradle placed beside her, containing the infant. Li Jun gently rocked the cradle, smiling at her daughter. Two maids sat nearby, chatting pleasantly with Li Jun.

"Mistress, Mistress."

Teng Shou and Yang Dong ran over together.

"Hmm?" Li Jun looked at them questioningly. "A'Shou, why are you here?"

"It's about something," Teng Shou began, but Yang Dong interrupted him, smiling brightly. "Mistress, has Master emerged from seclusion yet?"

"Not yet," Li Jun shook her head.

A hint of impatience flashed across Yang Dong's features before he lowered his voice. "Then Mistress, when Master comes out, please have someone send us word."

"Yes, alright. I will tell your Master," Li Jun nodded.

Yang Dong immediately pulled Teng Shou away.

"Madam, it seems something important has come up," one of the maids, slightly taller than the other, remarked. Li Jun nodded, looking toward the direction of Teng Qingshan's secret chamber, a trace of anxiety appearing on her face... How could he remain in seclusion this long? Would it be like the time in the Mingyue Island forbidden grounds, where he was secluded for months?

Li Jun could only endure, continuing to care for the baby.

As dusk began to settle, a figure walked back from the distance.

"Qingshan," Li Jun stood up immediately, her eyes lighting up.

"I'm truly sorry for these past few days," Teng Qingshan approached with a smile. He first bent down to look at the infant in the cradle, unable to stop himself from sighing in admiration. "Xiao Jun, Linlin is so much prettier than when she was just born. Look at that little face. And her nose."

"Babies grow fastest at this age. By the way, Qingshan, how was your seclusion these seven days?" Li Jun asked.

Teng Qingshan bent down, carefully lifting his daughter, and replied, "The seven days in seclusion... were not as effective as that moment of epiphany. I labored over it bitterly for seven days and only managed to create the first and second movements of the 'Wood Element Fist.' I cannot devise the third movement no matter what. It's a pity the epiphany wasn't interrupted."

"If it hadn't been interrupted, would you have thrown Linlin flying while practicing your fists?" Li Jun shot him a look.

"Of course, Linlin is more important."

Teng Qingshan frowned slightly. "However, among the Five Elements Way, the Way of Wood is what I am least adept at. This time, relying on that initial flash of insight combined with years of contemplation, I managed to create two moves in one go. But the first few forms of any boxing set are always the easiest. The further you go, the harder it gets."

"At my current pace, I estimate that grasping the Way of Wood will take ten times longer than grasping the Way of Fire or the Way of Earth," Teng Qingshan admitted with frustration.

Even with his previous life's experience in boxing.

Even after observing the 'Immortal Jade Tablet' and the 'Thirty-Six Forms of Mountain Splitting.' It was impossible for him to master every aspect of the Five Elements Way effortlessly.

"Ten times slower? How long will that take then?" Li Jun worried.

"Perhaps," Teng Qingshan shook his head. "For instance, regarding the Way of Water, if Pei San hadn't guided me to start from the 'Way of Life and Death,' I might have wasted another two or three years. Since reaching the entry point of the 'Way of Wood' is already this difficult, creating each subsequent movement will likely be arduous."

"Unless I experience a few more epiphanies," Teng Qingshan grinned, a smile that acknowledged the absurdity of his own statement. Epiphanies were rare fortunes, not things that happened easily upon request.

"Does that mean your strength won't increase significantly in the short term?" Li Jun observed.

"Correct," Teng Qingshan nodded. "I currently control eighty percent of the Heavenly Force, added to my own physical power! To improve, I must advance the 'Way of Wood.' But by my estimation... at this rate of comprehension, it won't be easy to achieve Great Success in the Way of Wood for at least ten or twenty years."

Li Jun nodded slowly.

"The path of enlightenment must be trod step by step," Teng Qingshan said lightly. "Right now, my goal is to completely grasp the 'Way of Wood.' Once I master the Five Elements Way, only then will I be qualified to try everything possible to break into the Void Illumination Realm."

The further one advances, the harder the road becomes.

And now, Teng Qingshan faced the most difficult element among the Five Ways for him.