Chapter 04

In a majestic building inside of some sect.

"Sect Master, we have finished the task," a young man wearing a black robe that has a green streak is standing outside the grand building. The young man is followed by two men with similar outfits. The three of them are waiting for the finely carved door to open.

"Come in," responded the voice from inside.

Not long after, the door to the building opened, revealing the decoration inside. It has the perfect decoration that makes the majestic building to be more grandeur.

The young man outside feels that the low voice of the sect master carried an overwhelming power. It reflects the true power of the sect master, the upper tier of the fourth stage, the Golden Core Stage.

Right after the young man and his two followers walk inside the building, the door closes itself. The young man walks to the innermost room while minding his behavior, scared to make a mistake.

Inside the room, one can see that there are many shelves lined up neatly. On those shelves, rows of bottles are lined up. Each bottle has a piece of paper glued to it, on which the name of the material contained inside is written.

A muscular man is sitting on top of a raised platform. Despite the gray hair, the man is still full of life force.

"You have come," said the man that sits on top of a raised platform. His voice is low and slow but clear to be heard.

"Yes, sect master! I have completed the task."

The young man signaled to the follower behind him. One of them brought a sword to the front of the sitting man.

The man called sect master opened his right eye and looked at the sword. He grinned and took the sword out of its scabbard.

"Good, good… To think that a grade 5 sword is hidden in such a small sect. This sword will just rot if it remained there, it is better to be used by me."

He then picked a small object from his sleeves and throw it to the young man.

"Take that token, you can get anything that you want."

The young man catches the green-colored circular token and thanks the sect master. This token is a currency that is used inside the sect. The green-colored one is the token with the highest value, it can be exchanged with high-grade items in one of the pavilions.

"Well then, sect master, we will not disturb you anymore."

"Wait a minute," said the sect master. "You clean them up right? No remnant?"

"Yes, there should be no one anymore there."

"What about the informant?"

"Ah! Sorry, we haven't disposed of him yet," said the young man. Sweat suddenly poured from his back. He forgot about the betrayer.

"Then, do it… We don't need someone that can easily betray his sect just for a small gain."

The sect master waves his hand, dismissing the meeting. With that, the young man and his followers exit the building. They then discussed how to do the last task.

Not long after, a soulless body got thrown toward the mountain nearby. It will not be long for it to be devoured by the magical beasts.

***

It has been a few days since the three children started their cultivation. The progress of all the children is good, but Zhang Hao, the boy progressed much faster than the girls.

'If it keeps progressing this way, Zhang Hao will finish opening the first acupoint in two months. The girls on the other hand should follow a month after.'

Xue Yang now falls into a roadblock. In order to ensure the cultivation of the children, he needs more advanced techniques to be used.

As of now, refining the body by running is still possible. But after opening the first acupoint, the effectiveness will decrease a lot. And this is where people will start to use more specialized Body Refining Art and Breathing Exercise Method.

The "Manual of Body Refining and Qi Condensation" that Xue Yang got from the system didn't give any Body Refining Art or Breathing Exercise Method.

The manual gives a pointer on how the body should look. It also has an instruction on how to check the body. But no single detail on how to refine the body.

And not only for body refining, but the Manual also has detail on how much Qi one should have in the body. Then again, no single method on how to absorb Qi.

In the end, the manual only has the running method for opening the first acupoint.

To be fair, the manual also lists examples of methods or techniques for body exercise, breathing exercises, qi absorption, and other things. But Xue Yang has never heard of most of the techniques mentioned in the manual.

"When I read the manual for the first time, I was surprised by how detailed it was and celebrated it… I forgot that there are much more things to do in cultivating," muttered Xue Yang.

Body Refining Art as its name implies, it is a technique to refine the body. Right now, Xue Yang has one that he got from the old sect.

Xue Yang also has one Qi Absorption Technique and one Breathing Exercise Method. Qi Absorption Technique lets the cultivator absorb Qi from the surrounding environment.

Meanwhile, the Breathing Exercise Method is an exercise to flow the Qi inside the body. The flow of Qi, or energy in general, is affected by emotion. And breathing patterns can influence emotion. That is why training for breathing is usually done with meditation, a way to train emotion.

From all the techniques that he has right now, he thinks nothing is suitable to be taught to the children.

He has a perfect method on how to build a good base for cultivation. He doesn't want to introduce imperfection to the children.

Sure, the imperfection or even defect can be repaired later. But it is easier to do everything perfectly from the start.

"Let's put out Qi Absorption Technique for now. I need Body Refining Art and Breathing Exercise Method."

Xue Yang feel that the children didn't need Qi Absorption Technique for now. There is Spiritual Water Spring that can provide Qi to the children just by drinking it.

"Where should I find these two techniques?"