Lin Hai dejectedly opened the Qiankun Pouch inside his wallet.
Since Little Nezha had sent it to him, he figured he might as well take a look and see just how different this version of the Tao Te Ching—the one the gods read—was from the copies you could find anywhere online.
Inside the grid-lined compartment, a thin blue book with a very plain cover sat quietly.
Tao Te Ching: Authored by Grand Supreme Elder Lord, a foundational cultivation method for Taoist immortality. Grade: Divine.
Pfft!
Wait, what? A cultivation method for immortality? And it’s Divine grade?
Lin Hai nearly jumped right off the bed!
Holy crap, is this for real? If it actually is, then wouldn’t that mean he was about to hit the jackpot?
Lin Hai, after all, had killed time reading web novels before. In those xianxia stories, weren’t cultivators always starting off by getting their hands on some badass cultivation technique before striding triumphantly down the path to immortality?
So if this Tao Te Ching really was one of those so-called “cultivation methods” like in the novels, then didn’t that mean he could become an immortal too?
This was way too freaking exciting!
Lin Hai immediately extracted the Tao Te Ching.
Begin cultivation?
Yes!
A flash of blue light, and the Tao Te Ching vanished from Lin Hai’s hands.
“The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of Heaven and Earth. The named is the mother of all things. Therefore, always be without desire in order to observe its subtle wonders…”
A massive passage of golden seal-script characters appeared in Lin Hai’s mind. The strangest part was that he understood every word of it perfectly—as if he himself had written it.
Without even realizing it, Lin Hai sat down cross-legged, palms facing up, nose to mouth, mouth to heart, and slipped into a state of enlightenment.
The moonlight poured generously through the window, bathing Lin Hai’s body. It seemed to transform into cheerful little particles, pure and clean, surging into every one of his acupoints.
“Oh? Such dense lunar essence!” Chu Liner, who had been playing Gomoku, suddenly jolted in surprise.
She turned her head and saw Lin Hai sitting there, radiating an inexplicable sense of solemn dignity.
And the scattered specks of moonlight, as if drawn to a massive magnet, rushed frantically into Lin Hai’s body.
“How strange… is he cultivating?” Chu Liner furrowed her delicate brows slightly, lost in thought.
Lin Hai sat like that all the way until the next morning before finally waking up naturally.
He slowly opened his eyes, and a flash of sharp light flickered past and vanished, like a fleeting shadow skimming across the water.
“Late stage of the Xiantian Realm!” Lin Hai’s heart shook!
One night of cultivation, and he had gone straight from the early Xiantian stage straight to the late Xiantian stage!
This Tao Te Ching was truly priceless!
But soon enough, Lin Hai shook his head again, letting out a wry laugh.
No wonder there hadn’t been any immortals in the mortal world for so many years—and why even the ancient martial arts masters had become so rare.
Sure, the loss of cultivation techniques was one reason, but the thinness of the world’s spiritual energy was probably the main culprit.
Right now, Lin Hai’s understanding of the Tao Te Ching was practically no different from the Grand Supreme Elder Lord’s himself. If this had been ancient times, Lin Hai could have broken through the Xiantian stage and entered the Qi Condensation stage in a single night.
But now, even with a Divine-grade cultivation method in hand and one hundred percent comprehension, he’d only just barely reached the late Xiantian stage.
“Your strength seems to have gone up?” Chu Liner gave him a strange look. “How did you do that?”
“Tch, when is my strength not going up? What’s there to be surprised about?” Lin Hai just got up and went to wash up.
“Hey old man, I’m going out shopping. You coming or not?” After breakfast, Song Qin asked Lin Wen, who was reading the newspaper on the sofa.
“Nope, nothing worth looking at.” Lin Wen stuck his neck out and replied gruffly.
“You stubborn old coot, can’t you just talk nicely for once? Ahua, bite the old geezer!” Song Qin got irritated just looking at him.
“Woof! Woof!” Ahua, wearing a little floral outfit, barked fiercely at Lin Wen twice.
“You damn dog! Just wait till Qiangzi gets here—he’ll beat the crap out of you!” Lin Wen slammed down his newspaper in anger. Humans bullied him, and now even the dog was bullying him!
“Bring it on, bring it on! Our Ahua’s not scared of him. If he comes, she’ll bite him too, won’t you, Ahua?” Song Qin crouched down, wrapped her arms around Ahua’s head, and said affectionately.
“Woof woof~” Ahua, that little rascal, knew exactly how to win Song Qin over and immediately started acting cute.
“Hmph, I don’t believe this. Xiaohai, call your apprentice and tell him to come over!” Lin Wen said huffily.
“Forget it, Dad.”
“No way. Your mom and this damn dog are going out, and I’ll be bored all by myself. Call your apprentice over to keep me company.”
Lin Hai was speechless. Wasn’t this just a grown man acting like a kid?
Helpless, Lin Hai made a call to Guang Touqiang.
“Master! Haha, I’ve already mastered the first form of my Foshan Shadowless Kick! Hahaha!” Before Lin Hai could even say a word, Guang Touqiang’s excited laughter burst through the phone.
Wait, seriously? No way!
Guang Touqiang’s words completely threw Lin Hai for a loop.
This guy wasn’t like him—he couldn’t just learn something instantly. Learning martial arts had to be done step by step. How could he possibly improve that fast?
Damn, was this guy actually some kind of martial arts prodigy?
Lin Hai suddenly got curious.
“Drive over here.” Lin Hai hung up, and before long, Guang Touqiang arrived.
“Master! Hahaha—ow!” The moment Guang Touqiang got out of the car, before he could even react, Lin Hai threw a punch his way.
Guang Touqiang instinctively jerked his head aside, twisted his body, and swung his right leg up in one smooth motion, aiming straight for Lin Hai’s chest—fast and fierce.
“Whoa, not bad!” Lin Hai leaped backward, his face full of disbelief.
That kick of Guang Touqiang’s—whether in power or speed—was almost on par with Lin Hai’s own level from before today.
“Uh… what’s up with your eyes? And your leg?” Lin Hai suddenly noticed something was off about Guang Touqiang.
The guy had two massive dark circles under his eyes that made him look like some knockoff Officer Black Cat at first glance.
And his legs were even stranger.
His left leg was higher, his right leg lower, and he walked with a clear limp—he looked like a total cripple.
“Uh… Master, I was way too excited yesterday. I practiced according to the manual all day and all night, and now I look like this.” Guang Touqiang rubbed his big bald head, a little embarrassed.
Pfft!
Damn, this guy was way too dedicated—he actually went a whole day and night without a break.
“Master, check this out—how’s my kick now? Hiiii-yah!!!” Guang Touqiang bent his left leg slightly, lifted his right foot, and executed three rapid snap kicks in a row—fast and powerful!
“Tch, the Foshan Shadowless Kick is Huang Feihong’s move—why are you yelling like Bruce Lee?” Lin Hai scolded him, but deep down, he actually felt a hint of admiration.
A whole day and night of hard training—that wasn’t something just anyone could pull off. Looked like Guang Touqiang actually had some grit in him.
“Pretty good. I’d say you qualify as a martial arts expert now!” Lin Hai gave him a sincere compliment.
“Ha! Really?” Who would’ve thought that one compliment from Lin Hai would get Guang Touqiang so fired up? The guy was in his forties, and he jumped clear off the ground!
“Oww!” And just like that, joy turned to sorrow. When his feet hit the ground, his left leg suddenly buckled, and thump—he crashed right onto the floor.
“Uh… forget what I just said.” Lin Hai’s face was full of dark lines. Seriously? A guy who falls flat on his face just from jumping? What kind of martial arts expert does that? Even a little kid’s better.
Guang Touqiang was embarrassed out of his mind too.
“Master, it’s ’cause I trained way too long. My left leg’s the supporting leg—it took too much weight and swelled up.” Guang Touqiang pulled up his pant leg as he spoke.
“Whoa!” Lin Hai was shocked. Guang Touqiang’s left leg was swollen like a pillar, covered in bruises.
Damn, if he kept training like this, forget becoming a martial arts master—that leg was as good as done for!
Seriously, he wanted to be Huang Feihong? At this rate, he was gonna end up as Ghost Leg Seven!
“Huh? Wait a second…” Speaking of Ghost Leg Seven suddenly gave Lin Hai an idea.
