As Wang Yang entered his room, I followed him in. His face showed how puzzled he was.

“I need to ask you a few questions.” Wang Yang’s face didn’t change at all.

“Is it about Elder Ning?” He guessed it right.

“Yes. Did he add something like a verbal agreement or a contract of sorts to stop you from speaking?” If he had done that, I’d have to work my way around it.

“Nothing like that. He came in and asked me to be his disciple.” He paused for a bit before continuing. “He was also asking about this seal on my forehead. Seemed very interested in it. When I said that I didn’t know much about it, he handed me the token and said it was a gift.”

“Was that it?”

Wang Yang affirmed with a nod.

“I see. Be sure to get enough rest.” As the door closed the smile on my face vanished.

A question about the Sun Seal and the token to track his position. Did Ning Fan mistake it for the symbol of the Sun Cult? Or does he know about Wang Yang’s condition and wants to keep an eye on him? The second was unlikely, not even Wang Yang knew of it himself, and someone on Ning Fan’s level can't probe into that secret at this moment.

If people knew of Wang Yang’s real spiritual root, it would’ve been impossible to have him as my disciple. Let alone with Sun Lingling who was another high-level talent. They only let it pass because Sun Lingling requested to be my disciple. While Wang Yang’s talent was good on paper. But, very few Elders could make the most of it with their methods.

I knew Gu Fei wanted to start something the moment she approached me. But, with Xianquan and Three Peak Masters behind me, it shouldn’t develop further. Sending Long Lingxin to Purple Cloud Sect in place of her, I have also cut off her path of influencing things for her profit this time.

But, one thing was for certain, Ning Fan wanted something from Wang Yang and he wanted me to know it. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have waited for me at the door. Does he have the information or not? That is the crux of the problem.

If he doesn’t, approaching him would be like walking into the net he set up. For now, I had to draw Ning Fan's attention somewhere else. For that reason, Kexin had to stay in the Outer Sect as I set things up.

Hopefully, that snake has enough patience this time around.

Entering my bedroom, I crashed on the bed. After a long sigh into the pillow, I turned around to look at the white ceiling. Living here again. It felt great. If I couldn’t keep my emotions in check, shedding tears would be normal as embarrassing as that was.

After all, most of my life’s fondest memories were made in this residence. The sect that I care for so much started here with only five disciples, and the only disciple I had also lived here with me till it was destroyed.

I still think that it is massive for one person to live in, they should've let me move into some other peak as an Elder. But, my younger brother and sisters, even my Master, they all wanted me to live here.

A lot of rooms here had their uses, but a dozen of them remained unused. Now, this residence didn’t feel as empty.

“Right now, there is one more person here unlike the future, but that isn’t bad either.” Sitting up on the bed I crossed my legs and took a deep breath through my nose.

The beauty sleep and sentiments would have to wait for another day. There was much left to do. In a way, things haven’t even started. With the initial goals met, it was finally time to check up on my body’s condition.

“Hm… I can still see my hand. Even when I shake it in front of my eyes, it doesn’t cause any dizziness.” After having Fire Lily Wine with Xianquan, no signs of the Spirit wine affecting me appeared.

In the future, I had ten cups of this wine with Wang Yang, and the two of us woke up the next day on the veranda. Confused and terrified with a splitting headache.

I wasn’t able to resist the alcohol even at the Peak of Nascent Soul Realm. Yet, today I was able to drink more than five cups without feeling faint. The moment I could withstand its scent, the thought of testing the theory came. So, I drank.

Xianquan wouldn’t suspect me for this. Solitary Plum Tree did give me an enhanced resistance to Alcohol and Poison. But, I didn’t have that anymore, nor did I have any item to take away the wine’s effects. Thus, the only thing that could bring this about was the new Spiritual Root.

The Black Lotus had an impressive ability to reel in all Qi from anything it touched. Fire Lily wine had a lot of Qi. So, it made sense that it absorbed it the moment the wine entered my body. If I hadn’t protected myself from Yin Dandelion Poison with a Formation, then I would’ve known this sooner. Regardless, there were still many questions remaining.

What were the limits? What else could it work on? What conditions needed to align? What is the Range? But, before any of that, I needed to know The Spiritual Roots Grade and Rank. That became the biggest obstacle right now.

The check on the device always leaves behind a record. Spiritual Roots don’t change overnight either. Knowing those four, they might turn the place upside down thinking I have been possessed or something.

Paying for a personal one wouldn’t be an issue, but questions will come if I take it from Chen Zhipeng. The effort and time that took to create a high-quality Spiritual Root tester was substantial. The price tag wasn't an issue for me though. Everything else was.

The only way was to work around it, but that’ll need to wait a week.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Still, in the afterglow of the fiery wine that coursed through my body, I took some deep breaths to circulate the leftover Qi in my meridians without any issues. The usual shivering and cold burns were nowhere to be felt.

I don’t feel as cold as before either. With closed eyes the flow of energy in my body became clear.

The Black Lotus absorbed the excess Yin Qi that plagued my meridians through the Mind Realm Gate above the Dantian. Normally, the mirror on the wall absorbed it upon contact.

The imbalance between the Yin and Yang Qi of the body always leads to serious problems unless special conditions are met. In my case, they didn't. The strong Yin Qi in my body made me weaker than average, the cold hands and feet came as a bonus. Along with a sense of lethargy that followed me like a shadow my entire life. It hindered my speed of cultivation to a degree too. But, since I received this ice artifact as a gift, it became better.

However, now that disadvantage has vanished completely. Another gift from my disciple in a way. And I had a way to repay him for that now.

With the wealth of knowledge in my head, there were tens if not hundreds of Cultivation Methods for the two disciples. But, with the future in mind, I had to narrow it down to the best ones.

Opening the chest next to my bed, the scrap and useless books were pushed out of the way to take out the real notes hidden below. The list was prepared yesterday, but I did not choose one as things have changed because of me. Now, Cultivation Methods need to be chosen based on their Spiritual Roots, they should also complement their nature, paths, degree of knowledge, and current abilities. I mercilessly crossed out names until only two methods remained on the list. After noting them in different empty books, I dug into my memory and wrote down the Cultivation Methods.

The Symphony of Five Elements (Heaven Grade High Rank) I found this one a hundred years in the future in a Grotto heaven of the Heavenly Tao Mountain range. Right now, it was the perfect fit for Wang Yang.

Echoes of the Sword Valley (Divine Grade Low Rank) Jade Sword’s Sect Master gave this to me before regression. An incomplete Cultivation Method with only four chapters, made by the genius Sun Lingling herself.

There wasn’t a better Method for her aside from this as much as I could understand. There wasn’t a need for any other techniques for them at the current level. Most of what they need is in the Cultivation methods.

Sitting there to meditate I consolidated my future knowledge further. Imprinting it in my brain with a memory-enhancing technique for good measure.

Not even a single shred of this information would go to waste.

***

The sun came up on the horizon, the brilliant sun rays passing through the light fog with ease to reach the garden.

With the chirps of birds that left their nests, before me stood my two Disciples. Their pure white robes fluttered in the morning breeze, the disciple tokens on their waists stuck out with their name and the Peak’s symbol on the back. They were about the same height with their long hair tied on their back. However, one looked eager while the other had her usual dry expression.

“We are ready to learn, Master.” They said.

“You have to memorize the first chapter of these. We will start after that.” With the Cultivation Methods in their hands, the two started to read through them without questions.

Sun Lingling’s brow wiggled when her eyes glanced over the rank of the book. Yet, she didn’t linger on it for long. Her cultivation method was two hundred and fifty pages; the first chapter that corresponded with Qi gathering Realm was thirty pages long. Her eyes scanned over the pages at breakneck speed till her fingers turned the last page.

“I am done, Master.” In a single read, she memorized the entire chapter. Wang Yang had only turned a handful of pages till now. This was a difference in comprehension talent.

“Very well, follow me. You can continue the memorization, Xiao Yang.” I said, leading her into the residence.

With a high Spiritual root came befitting benefits, increased understanding and memorization was one of them. So, I prepared things for Sun Lingling using the time last night. This time we didn’t have to walk for long. The room was close to the garden and my cultivation room.

The heavy wooden door opened as we stood in front of it. A simple room with bright lights and silk cushion in the middle. But, a hundred iron swords hung off the walls. Creating a daunting sight with a rich scent of old, rustic iron.

“This is where you will cultivate for now.” I said. This was only an imitation with low-level formations and weapons, within a week I plan to have the real resonance room built for her.

“Who used these swords?” She looked at the marks on the reddened handles and the chipped blades. Her eyes narrowed down to see the essence of it.

“I practiced with them when I was in the Qi Gathering realm. With your Spiritual Root, if you hold them and cultivate like you did with that sword on your hip, it’ll provide you a lot of insight into the minor realms of Qi Gathering Realm.” Her eyes widened for the first time.

“It wasn’t hard to deduce that with your Spiritual Root. A sword user pours their soul into their blade when they fight. Wisps of insights from practice also live in the sword. Others can only feel a fraction of it even when they master the sword, but you were able to learn Sword Qi through that resonance. It is impossible for anyone else.” Sun Lingling was a genius of such caliber, the sword she carried belonged to a strong cultivator and she interpreted those insights at the first stage of Cultivation. Then without a Cultivation Method or Master, she took her first step into the realm of Sword Masters.

“Your path is the Sword. The way to train is also straightforward. I’ll bring you some more swords of the people of similar level as you from the Tiger Peak later. Given some time I can also dig around and get some training swords from the other Peak Masters. But, for now, you will have to work with these.” I said.

“I’ll be sure to not waste your efforts, Master.” With a sword from the wall in her hands, she sat down on the cushion and started her meditation.

This residence was built upon a giant Qi gathering array that spanned throughout the Peak, even reaching deep into the Qi veins to bring about an optimal density of Qi for seamless cultivation. The output of this gathered Qi was usually set to my cultivation room, but a few tweaks later it also had an opening in this room.

With the density of Qi increasing in the air, she followed the cultivation method and took a deep breath counting to ten. Then holding her breath for five seconds, she allowed her lung Meridian to absorb the Qi before exhaling the normal air.

The higher the spiritual root the stronger the person's absorption, the air she exhaled only had a wisp of Qi left now. The gathered Qi flowed through her meridians like a small stream, following the pattern described by the Cultivation Method before entering her Dantain.

Soon, the Qi from her meridian used the pathways to her hands to reach the sword in her hand. A mellow hum came from the sword, showcasing their connection. Beads of sweat formed on her porcelain-like skin, but her focus remained steadfast, and soon her breathing smoothened again.

The natural talent for cultivation bloomed forth. The surrounding Qi moved into her body through the nose in waves, assimilating into her Dantian at a terrifying pace. Without a sound, I shut the doors and walked to the garden.

The Cultivation Method fitted her like a glove. The swords with my insights should help her in cultivation. And with the array, she should have enough Qi to continue even if she doesn’t rest for a week. It was time to shift my focus on the first-time cultivator.

Seated on the veranda, Wang Yang read through the first chapter. His eyes squinted as he muttered the words on the page, trying to memorize them.

It is time for you to soar high again.