With his hands raised, streams of innate qi swirled around his body, forming a subtle vortex almost impossible for the senses to detect.
A slight push from his toes sent his body leaping upward as if weightless. Mid-air, he seemed to pause for an instant before erupting with sudden force.
His figure fractured into countless remnants, conjuring dozens of afterimages within the small confines of the room. His feet seemed to strike the ground simultaneously, landing in every corner of the chamber like an endless, driving mountain rain.
Yet, with the faintest sound of splintering wood, all of He Yiming’s afterimages vanished.
He looked down at the tiny wood chip crushed beneath his foot and let out a long, faint sigh.
After a significant silence, the door was gently pushed open, and Yuan Lixun stepped in with the noiseless grace of a cat. Her gaze swept the room, and she immediately fetched a broom to sweep up the scattered wood fragments.
Noticing He Yiming’s tightly furrowed brow, she hesitated for a moment before gathering her courage. “Young Master, is something troubling you?”
He Yiming glanced at her, surprised. Since integrating his insights from ‘Cloud and Rain’ into his blade techniques, his martial arts had undeniably ascended another level. However, when he tried to incorporate the same understanding into his fist style, he constantly encountered a sense of discord.
He had instructed the servants to prepare hundreds of small wooden blocks, scattering them randomly throughout the not-so-large room, and then practiced his techniques using the Cloud and Rain Soaring Art and his hand seal methods.
But he quickly discovered that while practicing as before presented no issues, trying to weave the understanding of Cloud and Rain into his boxing became exceedingly difficult—nearly impossible.
The blade arts and the fist arts, though derived from the same lineage, were inherently different.
Every session, he ended up crushing several of the wooden blocks underfoot. This indicated a flaw in his control over his innate qi. Such movements, no matter how powerful, were unusable in actual combat.
For the past few days, he had set aside the Lin Tao Li manual, devoting himself entirely to practicing his combat techniques, yet he had made no progress, leading to a feeling of dejection.
But Yuan Lixun, waiting outside the room, never understood what he was doing, yet she guarded him silently, even arranging for the servants to prepare hundreds more small wooden blocks.
The moment the sound of his fist wind ceased within the room, she would personally enter, clear away the shattered splinters, and replace them with new blocks, never letting He Yiming worry about such trivialities.
Though these were minor, insignificant tasks, they brought a warmth to He Yiming’s heart that he couldn't quite articulate.
The frown that had gathered on his brow slowly smoothed away upon seeing her figure and hearing her concerned inquiry.
“It’s nothing major, just a cultivation method I’m pondering. Unfortunately, I still haven’t grasped a single thread of it.”
Yuan Lixun was momentarily stunned, and a mixture of deep feeling and gratitude surfaced in her gaze toward He Yiming.
Though she had summoned the courage to ask just now, she had never truly expected an answer. She understood her place perfectly, aware of the vast gulf between them, and never imagined receiving truly equal treatment from him. Yet, He Yiming’s attitude caused her heart to palpitate fiercely at that moment.
Yuan Lixun quickly lowered her head and murmured, “Young Master, please do not be impatient. When my mother was alive, she used to say that persistence breaks iron bars into needles. If you fail this time, you will surely succeed another day.”
He Yiming’s gaze sharpened instantly. He naturally understood this principle. However, since his serendipitous encounter at the bottom of the lake, his journey had been remarkably smooth; even breaking through to the Innate Realm had required little effort. Thus, his state of mind was his weakest link.
Hearing Yuan Lixun’s words, a thought suddenly struck him.
How easy was it to create an Innate cultivation method? For him to integrate the newly realized feelings of Cloud and Rain into his boxing after only a few days of exploration—that was truly absurd.
He looked at Yuan Lixun with deep emotion, his gratitude seeming to transform into tenderness.
They stood silently for a moment. After a pause, both sensed the atmosphere had shifted. A faint blush bloomed on Yuan Lixun’s cheeks.
Though she was not stunningly beautiful, at that moment, the flush on her face appeared radiant, like a flower blooming in his heart, destined to be indelibly etched in his memory.
Suddenly, a sharp, high-pitched cry of a cat echoed from outside the window. Yuan Lixun jumped up like a startled feline, her face crimson. “Young Master, I’ll leave now.”
He Yiming responded instinctively, watching her flee as if escaping danger. A fleeting thought of regret surfaced in his mind. He turned toward the window and cursed inwardly: Where did that old tomcat come from, howling like that…
Outside the door, Yuan Lixun’s expression gradually regained its composure, but her heart was far from calm.
Two distinct faces appeared clearly in her mind. Though both were intimately related to her, the feelings they evoked were utterly different.
“Lixun, your luck has arrived this time. If you can win Master He’s favor, you can have anything you desire. Alas… Father truly neglected you and your sister before. It is Father’s fault. But don’t worry, from now on, Li Xiang will stay by my side, and I will personally look after him. I guarantee he will be treated as the family heir, without the slightest mistreatment.”
“Sister, Father said you are traveling far. When will you come back to see me?”
“Brother, when your Inner Strength reaches the sixth layer and you enter the core discipleship of the family, I will certainly return to see you.”
A subtle ache surfaced in her heart. Father, you wronged more than just your children; Mother always said that persistence breaks iron bars into needles. But her entire life of devotion failed to win back your heart. Mother, I wonder what fate awaits your daughter now…
Turning back to look at the closed door, that thin wooden panel seemed to divide the space inside and outside into two distinct worlds.
Suddenly, she felt a pang of regret. Since she had already made her decision, why did she try to avoid it just now? If she failed to gain his favor, would Father still treat her brother as the heir?
She stood still, her eyes slowly growing distant, lost in thought…
Inside the room, He Yiming decisively took out three sections of his great Guan Dao. With a flick of his wrist, he assembled the massive blade in an instant.
Though he had possessed the great Guan Dao for just over a year, He Yiming handled it as if he had been with the weapon his entire life, intimately familiar with every inch of it. It seemed his very life and heartbeat were tightly bound to this terrifying blade.
This sensation had grown particularly intense after he advanced to the Innate Realm. If He Wude knew of this, he would surely be mad with jealousy; his decades-long, life-and-death bond with the great Guan Dao was seemingly surpassed by He Yiming’s accumulation over just one short year.
He swung the great Guan Dao casually, and the entire room appeared to float with a sheet of cloud.
The clouds shifted, seeming to transform into a thick mist, within which the sound of rushing water could be heard—this was the Rain. Cloud and Rain, brought to vivid life through the rendering of the great Guan Dao.
A moment later, He Yiming retracted his blade, and the room fell silent.
The nearly four-meter-long great Guan Dao looked enormous in this small space; he couldn't even raise it fully above his head. Yet, under He Yiming’s terrifyingly precise control, he managed to manifest the spectacle of Cloud and Rain within the room. The difficulty here was immeasurably greater than when fighting barehanded.
However, He Yiming still could not integrate Cloud and Rain into his boxing.
He let out a soft sigh, knowing clearly that he managed to weave Cloud and Rain into the great Guan Dao because, in the face of the suicidal ferocity of the two hundred men from the Fierce Tiger Daredevil Squad, the sheer momentum of those bandits had spurred a sudden spiritual explosion, granting him a feeling akin to sudden enlightenment, allowing him to successfully convert Cloud and Rain into blade work.
But that feeling, like sudden enlightenment, occurred unconsciously, beyond his control.
He sighed softly and sheathed the great Guan Dao. Since he couldn't attain enlightenment through force, he would study and explore it slowly. Yuan Lixun’s mother was right: persistence breaks iron bars into needles. That saying held true wisdom.
Suddenly, he turned his head and smiled. “Grandfather, please come in.”
Yuan Lixun, still standing outside the door, was startled back to awareness by the sound from the room. She looked back, scanning blindly; not only was He Wude nowhere in sight, but even the cat that had been calling for a mate had vanished.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up. An old man walked in through the main entrance—it was Old Master He Wude of the He family.
It turned out that He Yiming, despite the distance, had already heard the old man’s voice. However, the elder seemed to realize He Yiming was practicing, so he had lingered outside the courtyard without entering.
She rushed forward, curtsied deeply, and said, “Old Ancestor.”
He Wude gave a low acknowledgement. “I have something to discuss with Yiming. You may leave for now.”
Yuan Lixun dared not disobey, quietly replying, “Yes,” and turned to depart.
The door opened, and He Yiming welcomed his grandfather inside. Seeing the grave look on the old man’s face, he asked suspiciously, “Grandfather, who has angered you?”
He Wude shook his head slightly. “Yiming, I find Lixun to be quite sensible, even if she isn't as beautiful as Liwen. Furthermore, though she is a concubine’s descendant, she is still Grandfather Ze Yu’s granddaughter. If you dislike her, perhaps I could take her in as my granddaughter and arrange a good marriage for her later?”
He Yiming stood dumbfounded for a long moment, unsure exactly how he felt, but one thing was certain: it was definitely not happiness.
“Grandfather, who was spreading rumors to you? When did your grandson ever say he disliked her?”
He Wude looked surprised. “If you like her, then why is she still a virgin?”
He Yiming’s face instantly flushed crimson, rendering his Innate qi useless in this situation. “Grandfather, how did you know? Who told you?”
“Does that require telling? I am an old man; I can still see something as basic as that,” He Wude replied testily.
He Yiming quickly coughed a few times. “Grandfather, I don’t wish to discuss this matter right now. However, I do not want her to leave my side.”
When he spoke the second sentence, He Yiming’s tone was unusually firm.
He Wude nodded slightly. “Since you like her, that is good. If not, it would be difficult for me to explain to Brother Ze Yu if we wasted the young lady’s youth.”
He Yiming mumbled submissively, but only he understood the true thoughts churning in his heart.
He Wude pondered for a moment. “Yiming, now that you have advanced to the Innate Realm, there are some things I feel ready to tell you.”
Hearing the seriousness in his grandfather’s voice, He Yiming immediately straightened up. “Grandfather, please speak.”
“Forty years ago, I arrived in Taicang County. Relying on the great Guan Dao in my hands and the assistance of your late great-grandfather, I managed to carve out a domain of my own in Taicang County,” He Wude recounted, his eyes gleaming with memory. “Those years were truly unforgettable; who knows how much hardship we endured.”
He Yiming nodded repeatedly, perfectly conveying his admiration through his gaze.
He Wude glanced at him, half-amused, half-annoyed. “Forget it, you already know these things. I won’t dwell on them.” He stroked his beard, appearing lost in thought. After a long while, his expression darkened, as if recalling something painful. “More than forty years ago, I was a disciple of the Hengshan Sect, one of the three Great Elders’ personal alchemy attendants—Daoist Yaoren.”
He Yiming’s eyes widened slightly. “Grandfather, forty years ago, you would have been about forty, correct?”
“Of course.”
“At over forty years old, you were still an attendant?” He Yiming asked in disbelief.
He Wude glared at him, almost striking him, but ultimately remembered that his grandson was an Innate powerhouse, and the blow never landed. However, upon seeing the faint amusement lingering in He Yiming’s eyes, he suddenly found that the frustration and stuffiness he felt recalling the past had inexplicably dissipated.
He pointed at He Yiming speechlessly, yet a surge of pride and satisfaction filled his heart. This child had finally matured.
“Listen to me, your Grandmaster Yaoren was already over a hundred years old back then. In front of him, I was indeed just an attendant.”
He Yiming’s eyes widened again; this time, it was genuine astonishment. “Grandmaster Yaoren was an Innate powerhouse?”
“Yes,” He Wude nodded solemnly.
He Yiming finally understood. He recalled that when Lin Tao Li had come to recruit him, Grandfather had mentioned he was a registered disciple of the Hengshan Sect. At that time, Lin Tao Li had shown great surprise, suggesting the Hengshan Sect held immense power. Now that He Yiming knew the sect had three Great Elders, it meant there were at least three Innate powerhouses—a force truly formidable enough to make even Lin Tao Li change color.
“Back when I was an orphan wandering about, Master Yaoren took a liking to me and accepted me as his disciple,” He Wude said proudly. “With my master’s help, my progress was swift, and my talent in alchemy was also superior. I was always praised by my master.”
He Yiming chimed in readily, “Grandson knows you later became a registered disciple of the Hengshan Sect.”
“Yes,” He Wude sighed deeply. “Sadly, in the thirty-ninth year of my life, I caused a disaster of epic proportions.”
He Yiming’s expression grew serious; he knew this was the crux of the story and dared not be negligent.
“That year, while Master and the others were away, they happened upon a Spirit Beast over five hundred years old. Master was overjoyed, immediately struck it down, and extracted its inner core. Afterward, Master gathered many precious medicinal herbs, intending to smelt an Innate Golden Elixir.” He Wude murmured.
He Yiming’s heart skipped a beat. “Grandfather, did you ruin the Golden Elixir?”
He Wude let out a long sigh. “An elixir of such importance—how could they possibly let me refine it?”
“Since you didn’t refine it, what disaster did you cause?”
A look of shame crossed He Wude’s face. “At that time, everyone in Hengshan knew an Innate Golden Elixir was about to be forged. Once the elixir was complete, one person would have a chance to advance to the Innate Realm.”
“One person?”
He Wude gave him an amused look. “Do you think an Innate Golden Elixir is the same as an Extreme Golden Elixir? The inner core of a five-hundred-year spirit beast can only refine one Innate Golden Elixir at most. This is the real reason why Innate experts are so scarce.”
He Yiming nodded, absorbing the lesson, and urged, “And then?”
“And then…” He Wude shook his head. “My emotions were turbulent that day. While selecting the auxiliary herbs, I carelessly mixed an herb that was not old enough into the elixir furnace.”
He Yiming’s eyes shot open; he instantly understood. If an inferior herb was mixed in, the elixir was essentially ruined.
Indeed, He Wude continued, “Master was also excited then and, in a moment of absentmindedness, failed to check. Three days later, the medicine emerged, but what came out was not the Innate Golden Elixir, but merely a few Extreme Golden Elixirs. The other two elders of Hengshan demanded my execution, which Master managed to block, but he could no longer protect me, and I had to be expelled from the sect. However, Master did say that if I could find another inner core from a five-hundred-year spirit beast, or if a descendant of the He family could cultivate a child who advanced to the Innate Realm, I would be allowed to return to Hengshan.”
He Wude spoke faster and faster, growing more agitated. By the end, his eyes were shining faintly. Clearly, this matter had weighed on his heart for countless years, and now, seeing his wish on the verge of realization, his excitement was uncontrollable.
Ps: Next chapter in two minutes ^_^