"Take me as your teacher."
Hearing Lin Tuo's words, Hua Xi froze for a moment, completely stunned. The training hall fell into brief silence before Lin Tuo cleared his throat and spoke again:
"You're living here with me now. In terms of propriety, there should be some kind of formal relationship.
As you've seen, this place is a martial arts hall. Because of certain real-world reasons, until now, I've been the only one here… Since you've come, you'll count as my first student.
Also, I do need an assistant to help me with certain matters. At the moment, you don't meet the requirements for that, so you'll need some training."
Hua Xi listened blankly, not quite understanding everything, but she figured nodding was the safest choice:
"Then… what should I do? If I'm becoming your disciple, isn't there supposed to be some kind of ceremony?"
In the wasteland, some powerful hunters also took disciples, often making a big show of rituals and rules.
"If we followed tradition, yes, there would be rules. But in this day and age, I don't care for such nonsense. No ceremony.
I thought about registering your identity, but you don't even have a real ID, so that won't work either… We'll keep it simple.
Just call me Teacher, Hall Master, or Instructor. Any of those will do."
Lin Tuo explained.
It was his first time taking a disciple, so he had little experience.
Hua Xi blinked and earnestly called out: "Teacher, Hall Master, Instructor."
…You just made it sound like three different people.
Lin Tuo couldn't help but laugh, but he didn't mind. He nodded and said:
"Good. From now on, you're the Senior Sister of this hall. Later, I'll take you out for a nice meal to celebrate. But for now, it's early—let's go over your training plan."
He handed her a small booklet and explained:
"This is your material. There are two things here: the thicker one is a fist manual, and the thinner one is a cultivation method—one external, one internal.
The cultivation technique is called the 'Breath Ingestion Method.' You don't need to look at it yet. Read it tonight before bed and try it then.
As for the fist manual, it's the 'Martial Ancestor's Weapon-Manifesting Fist.' For the next while, besides practicing the Breath Ingestion Method, this will be your most important task…"
In the training yard, Lin Tuo calmly laid it out.
He had spent the afternoon preparing these two things. Since Hua Xi was now the hall's disciple—its very first Senior Sister—she had to learn both methods.
It marked the true beginning of his martial legacy.
It also ensured that when she eventually entered the Sand Table to help with matters, she would have the strength to handle herself.
The "training plan" he drafted for her had cost him quite some thought.
The Breath Ingestion Method went without saying—it could comprehensively improve her vitality and had to be practiced.
As for the Weapon-Manifesting Fist: if taught the traditional way, students started by strengthening their bodies, raising physical ability.
To Lin Tuo, martial arts were fundamentally a system of combat techniques—knowledge distilled from generations to maximize one's strength and win fights.
But if someone's physical ability was already overwhelmingly superior, technique barely mattered.
For ordinary people, it was better to train their bodies than to memorize complex forms.
Hua Xi, however, was special. Though she looked frail, as an Evolver her physique was strong. Her strength could still improve, but her reflexes, speed, and instincts were already excellent.
Her problem was that her fighting style was completely unrefined—wild brawling with no structure. Against true experts, her flaws would be exposed.
So Lin Tuo tailored her training.
"Physically, you'll keep practicing the Breath Ingestion Method while eating properly. As your body fills out, your strength will naturally increase.
As for technique, don't aim too high at once. Just follow the forms in this manual—practice each posture carefully.
Learn how to punch with maximum power, how to keep your balance steady, how to dodge efficiently… I'll guide you through all of it.
First, master the basics. Once that's solid, I'll teach you real combat skills. Then, when you're ready, we'll test them in live battle."
Lin Tuo summarized.
Speaking of combat, he reflected on how much his own trip to the wasteland had boosted his martial ability.
Originally, his physical strength had been poor—he'd lived behind a desk, with only the combat techniques his parents had forced him to learn as a child.
After binding with the Evolution Sand Table and absorbing Ether, his body had improved drastically, but he'd lacked real experience. The wasteland trip had filled that gap, raising his overall fighting power significantly.
His body itself was changing as well. As his Tempering progressed, he was even growing taller—several centimeters in the past days alone.
His old clothes were starting not to fit.
"If someone saw my back now without seeing my face, they'd barely recognize me."
Fortunately, the mountain was secluded, and he'd quit his job, so no coworkers would be shocked.
"In time, when the Green Spirit Breathing Method spreads widely, even if someone notices my body changing, I can just blame it on that."
…
After finishing the explanation, Hua Xi wasted no time. She changed into the loose clothes he'd bought her, opened the fist manual, and began practicing the basics.
Legs apart, stance rooted, arms relaxed, force driven through waist and spine…
"Your right foot is too wide—bring it in. Good."
"Your weight is off balance—squat lower. Yes, hold it."
"That punch isn't right—watch me. Here's how it should look."
In the quiet courtyard, evening sunlight filtered through the trees, breaking into slanted beams.
The air stirred with the sound of fists.
Lin Tuo circled her with a tree branch like a pointer, correcting her movements.
Meanwhile, Hua Xi—now formally the Senior Sister of the hall—was utterly focused. Her face was tight with concentration, eyes fixed straight ahead, every movement rigidly precise.
Even when sweat rolled into her eyes, she held the stance without flinching.
Lin Tuo couldn't help but admire her resolve.
Yes, part of it was the novelty of training for the first time. But her determination was real. After all, she had survived over ten harsh years in the wasteland. Compared to that, what was this little training?
"Alright, that's enough for today. Go wash up—we'll celebrate with a meal." As the red sun sank and night fell, Lin Tuo finally spoke.
Hua Xi immediately collapsed, panting, but her eyes lit up. "I want buffet again!"
"…Fine. Since it's a celebration, I'll take you somewhere good."
"Buffet is good enough!" she insisted.
"…Alright then. But we'll have to pick a different place. Can't overdo it."
"?"
…
That night, after a hearty meal, the two returned contentedly to Lishan. Hua Xi went to her room to digest and then began practicing the Breath Ingestion Method.
Lin Tuo, as usual, checked on the "potted plant," the "fish tank," and the "sand table." He paid special attention to the latter's progress and was satisfied.
…
The night passed quietly.
The next morning, when Lin Tuo got up, washed, and stepped into the courtyard, he found Hua Xi already standing in a horse stance.
"Good morning, Teacher!" she greeted sweetly without moving.
"…Good morning, Student."
Lin Tuo blinked. Her greeting felt odd somehow. He thought for a moment and reminded her:
"Although that's our formal relationship, it's just us here. Day to day, you can just use my name."
"Okay."
She nodded, and Lin Tuo went into the study to check the sand table.
After a night of evolution, Sandbox No.1 had fully transformed into an oasis.
The vast land now held plains, mountains, hills, forests, rivers, lakes, and countless animals—some similar to the outside world, others subtly different.
It radiated life.
"Good. Just as I calculated. The ecosystem is complete, but higher intelligence hasn't yet evolved."
Setting the time ratio back to 1:1, Lin Tuo stood silently, gazing down.
After a long moment, he opened the virtual panel, navigated to the proper option, and placed his focus on the "Close Barrier" command.
"Let's hope this doesn't scare too many people."
He gave the mental confirmation.
[Close the barrier and open the sandbox? Please confirm.]
[Reminder: Once closed, the sandbox will shift into Observation Mode, and the Sand Table will automatically stabilize its environment with the outside world…]
"Confirm."
[Processing… Closing…]
As the text appeared, the dark barrier faded like melting ice, becoming transparent, then—vanishing entirely.
…
Northwest China, "Tack Black Box" Research Base.
It was another morning. As sunlight spread over the land, researchers emerged from their prefab dorms, changing shifts.
Compared to recent days, the base felt unusually quiet.
After the failed explosion experiment and the rejection of the nuclear strike proposal, many of the country's top researchers had fallen into despair.
Plans were still being tested, but hope was gone.
Even foreign research teams—authorized to study the phenomenon—were giving up. Leading academics openly admitted humanity lacked the means to break it.
Public attention had waned. Social media had moved on.
"If nothing changes, I'm applying for transfer," one weary researcher muttered as they stepped outside, glancing at the colossal "wall."
"You've lost hope too?" another asked bitterly.
"I don't know. But what's the point of staring at monitors all day? Anyone could do that."
"Just wait. I heard a new proposal is coming. Maybe a breakthrough…"
"A breakthrough? Ha. Unless aliens come and take that wall away—"
"Take it away? What's wrong? Why'd you stop talking?"
"…Holy shit."
"?"
"Quick! Look—look ahead! Am I hallucinating?! That wall—IT'S GONE!"
…
Within half a minute, across dozens of domestic and international research stations surrounding the Tack Black Box, shouts erupted.
Researchers swarmed outside, staring in disbelief.
Staring at the vanished "Great Wall."
Staring at the sudden, endless oasis revealed before their eyes.
Stunned. Speechless.
…
Ten minutes later, the news that "The Tack Black Box has vanished" and "A mysterious oasis has appeared" had spread like wildfire—across seven continents, four oceans, and to all seven billion people.
It shook the world.
(End of Chapter)