Chapter Twenty-Four: Advancement to Three-Star Spirit Master

For three days, Lu Zhe had been cultivating in the mountains. Following Elder Ye’s instructions, his daily routine consisted solely of eating, drinking, sleeping, and meditating cross-legged. The rest of the time, he was suspended from the cliffside, sometimes hanging there for an entire day. When it was time to eat, Elder Ye would flutter his enormous green wings—each measuring over ten feet long and three feet wide—before Lu Zhe, feeding him water and food.

Even so, two days ago, when Elder Ye first unfurled those vast emerald wings, Lu Zhe was both awed and envious. From the scale of those wings, Lu Zhe gauged Elder Ye’s true strength: at least a Spirit King, for such wings could only be manifested by one of that level or higher.

On this day, as usual, Lu Zhe hung from the sheer cliff. Not far away, Elder Ye sat atop a rock, watching him. After a long while, Elder Ye slowly lifted a stone from the ground—heavy, weighing more than a hundred pounds—but he raised it effortlessly with one hand. Glancing at Lu Zhe, Elder Ye tossed the stone toward him.

The stone whistled through the air, hurtling at Lu Zhe like a cannonball.

Lu Zhe was fully focused on channeling spiritual energy to his arms. Just as he was concentrating, he suddenly heard a shrill sound. Instinctively, he opened his eyes and looked to the side, only to find a massive rock flying toward him, less than thirty feet away and about to crash into him.

His pupils contracted as he stared at the incoming stone. He wanted to dodge but was suspended midair, with nowhere to escape. On instinct, he grabbed the bamboo pole and pulled himself upward, but it wasn’t enough to avoid the stone completely. He had no choice but to kick off the mountain, using momentum to swing backward.

As he swung away, the stone smashed heavily into the spot where he had just been, erupting with a thunderous crash. The rock shattered, scattering fragments like a shower of petals.

Staring in shock at the debris, Lu Zhe drew in a sharp breath. If that had struck him, he would surely have said farewell to this world.

Turning to look at Elder Ye, Lu Zhe saw the old man sitting calmly, paying him no heed at all.

Lu Zhe shouted, “Master, are you trying to kill me?”

Elder Ye glanced at him, the cloth covering his face stirring faintly, and his voice—amplified by spiritual energy—echoed across the mountain.

“You aren’t dead yet, are you?”

Lu Zhe was speechless.

Elder Ye watched the silent Lu Zhe, then stood up from the rock, picked up a stone even larger than before, and with a slight tremor of his shoulders, a pair of gigantic green wings appeared. He turned to Lu Zhe, gently beat his wings, and slowly flew toward him.

Hovering before Lu Zhe, Elder Ye looked at his stunned disciple and said coolly, “I merely wanted to test your reflexes.”

Lu Zhe nodded in sudden understanding, then glanced with unease at the stone in Elder Ye’s hand, looking up at his master. With Elder Ye’s face shrouded in a green cloth, his expression was unreadable, and an ominous feeling welled up in Lu Zhe’s heart.

Elder Ye slowly took out a rope and quickly tied it to the stone. He looked at Lu Zhe, who was petrified with fear, and swiftly fastened the other end to Lu Zhe’s ankles. Patting Lu Zhe’s shoulder, Elder Ye laughed, “Don’t worry, your senior brothers went through the same thing. They all survived, didn’t they?”

Lu Zhe paused in surprise. He had senior brothers? He quickly asked, “How are my senior brothers now?”

Elder Ye raised his head, as if pondering, then lowered it after a moment. “You have three senior brothers. The eldest and second couldn’t endure the training and took their own lives. The third is still half-mad.”

Lu Zhe sucked in a deep breath and looked at Elder Ye as if he were a lunatic.

Elder Ye ignored Lu Zhe’s gaze, gently beat his wings, flew back to the opposite mountain, retracted his wings, and sat cross-legged, watching Lu Zhe.

Lu Zhe was utterly desolate. He was barely holding on, and now Elder Ye had tied a stone as heavy as himself to his body. He felt as if he would be torn apart. Helpless, he could only channel spiritual energy to his hands, hoping to endure a little longer.

Perhaps he hadn’t realized it himself, but over these three days, Lu Zhe had become adept at manipulating his spiritual energy, moving from clumsy beginnings to fluency. After each session, during recovery, his spiritual energy replenished much faster, his spiritual core growing stronger. He simply hadn’t noticed.

Elder Ye watched quietly as Lu Zhe struggled desperately on the cliff, murmuring, “It won’t be long now.”

Days passed in a blink. In these two days, Elder Ye had increased the load from one stone to three, and Lu Zhe was now gritting his teeth just to hold on.

Looking at Lu Zhe, then at the sky, Elder Ye slowly stood up and called out, “That’s enough for today.” With a wave of his hand, the bamboo pole embedded in the cliff yanked Lu Zhe back, landing him at Elder Ye’s feet in an instant.

Lu Zhe lay on the ground, panting heavily. After a while, he flexed his numb arms, untied the rope from his ankles, sat cross-legged, formed the cultivation seal, and began to restore his spiritual energy.

Elder Ye watched silently as Lu Zhe entered cultivation, then walked into the nearby woods. Moments later, he returned with an armful of dry branches and leaves.

Sitting beside Lu Zhe, Elder Ye built a small fire. Flames danced, casting warm red light upon their faces, offering a touch of warmth in the cold, dark night.

Lu Zhe slowly exhaled a breath, opened his eyes, and gazed quietly at Elder Ye, who sat with eyes closed, resting.

Sensing Lu Zhe’s gaze, Elder Ye opened his eyes and said calmly, “How do you feel?”

Lu Zhe was about to reply when he suddenly noticed the spiritual energy in the world gathering around him, though he hadn’t formed the cultivation seal. In a flash, he realized he was about to advance. He quickly sat cross-legged, rapidly formed the seal, and entered cultivation, knowing that this phenomenon was a sign of imminent breakthrough. If he missed this chance, he didn’t know when the next would come.

Elder Ye seemed to sense the anomaly as well. He rose, walked over to Lu Zhe, and watched him attentively.

Once in cultivation, Lu Zhe began to absorb spiritual energy at a staggering rate. The energy formed a vortex around him, endlessly funneling into his body and transforming into spiritual power.

Time ticked by. Since Lu Zhe entered cultivation, an hour had passed, yet the vortex showed no sign of dissipating. Elder Ye was puzzled; for a Spirit Practitioner, an hour should suffice for advancement, but Lu Zhe showed no sign of breaking through.

With a frown, Elder Ye placed his left hand atop Lu Zhe’s head, closed his eyes, and sent his soul power into Lu Zhe’s body.

His soul traveled easily to where Lu Zhe’s spiritual core resided, only to find it glowing brightly, yet showing no sign of breaking through. Elder Ye withdrew his soul power, looked at Lu Zhe with grave eyes, furrowed his brow, and raised his right hand to slap Lu Zhe’s head.

With a sharp smack, Elder Ye’s palm struck Lu Zhe’s head. Lu Zhe shivered, snapped his eyes open, a brilliant light flashed from his gaze, and a breath of foul air escaped his lips, vanishing into the dark night.

“Did I... did I advance?” Lu Zhe felt power surging through his body and asked uncertainly. He then examined himself inwardly and found that his spiritual core was brighter, and, perhaps it was a trick of the mind, it seemed larger than before.

“You have advanced to a three-star Spirit Practitioner,” Elder Ye said quietly, opening his eyes.

Lu Zhe nodded, though the process felt bizarre. He had been unable to break through until Elder Ye slapped him—startled, he advanced. The manner of his advancement left him both amused and bewildered.

“Do you know what this place is called?” Elder Ye asked, gazing into the flickering flames.

“What do you mean, Master?” Lu Zhe asked in confusion.