Within the quiet, herb-scented courtyard of Doctor Li's residence, a heavy stillness lingered in the air.
"Doctor Li, how is your health?" Wang Fang asked, his voice laced with genuine concern.
"I'm fine. I'm doing great," Doctor Li replied, offering a warm, reassuring smile.
However, his pale complexion and gaunt appearance made it difficult to believe his words. He looked as though he were barely clinging to life, his frame thin beneath his physician's robes.
Wang Fang's expression darkened slightly. Ah...
Even though Doctor Li had repeatedly told him not to blame himself for what had happened, the weight of the incident continued to press heavily against the boy's heart. He couldn't shake the suffocating feeling that he was ultimately responsible. It felt as if this entire tragedy had been catalyzed by his mere existence—a grim reminder of the cruel words Doctor Li's older disciples had spat at him.
Doctor Li, highly perceptive as always, instantly noticed the subtle shift in the boy's demeanor.
"What's wrong?" the doctor asked gently, his voice carrying a soothing hint of paternal concern. "Why are you standing there with such a gloomy expression? Did your cousin bully you again?"
"Huh?" Wang Fang snapped out of his thoughts, raising his head abruptly. "Never!" he declared with absolute confidence.
"He's not even close!" Wang Fang continued, clenching his small fist as a mature fire ignited in his eyes. "When we step onto that arena, I'll walk all over him like I would a common ant!"
"Oh?" Doctor Li opened his mouth in exaggerated, theatrical surprise, deliberately playing along to lift the heavy atmosphere. "Hahaha! You are truly going to grow into a very amusing young man!"
Cough! Cough! Cough!
Suddenly, Doctor Li broke into a violent, hacking fit of coughing.
"Doctor Li, are you alright?" Wang Fang asked anxiously, stepping forward.
"Ah, it's nothing," Doctor Li replied weakly, waving his hand dismissively as he caught his breath. "Just a minor cough."
He glanced toward an intricate jade bottle resting on a polished wooden table a meter behind Wang Fang. "Young Master, could you fetch me that bottle of water?"
"Of course!" Wang Fang immediately turned around to retrieve it.
The exact millisecond the boy's back was turned, Doctor Li's cheerful expression completely vanished. He hurriedly raised a trembling hand to cover his mouth, a muffled, wet cough racking his chest once more. When he lowered his fingers, a stark smudge of fresh, dark blood stained his palm.
He stared at the crimson fluid silently for a brief second, his eyes flashing with a profound, quiet sorrow. Calmly wiping the blood from his lips and concealing his palm within his long sleeves, he ensured the young master noticed nothing.
"Here you are, Doctor Li," Wang Fang said, turning back around and handing over the jade bottle.
"Ah, thank you, Young Master." Doctor Li accepted the bottle and took a small, careful sip of the cool liquid. "Ahh... refreshing."
He let out a quiet sigh of satisfaction before turning his gentle gaze back onto Wang Fang. "You know, Young Master, water is an essential part of life. It is pure, entirely ordinary, and yet remarkably mysterious."
He paused, gently twirling the smooth jade bottle between his fingers. "However... have you ever wondered why?"
Wang Fang blinked, caught off guard by the sudden philosophical turn. "Why?"
"Why water exists in the first place," Doctor Li murmured faintly, looking out into the courtyard. "Where does it originate? How does something so seemingly mundane sustain countless living beings across the mortal realms? And here is an even more fascinating query: How can the exact same water that ordinary mortals drink also be absolutely essential to those of us who walk the path of immortality?"
Doctor Li's smile deepened slightly, his eyes holding a spark of ancient wisdom. "Tell me, Young Master. Have you ever truly pondered it?"
"No," Wang Fang answered honestly, shaking his head. "I never have."
Pa!
Doctor Li sharply snapped his fingers, bursting into a hearty laugh. "Hahaha! Exactly! I knew you wouldn't know the answer!" He shook his head, a faint, lingering smile dancing on his pale face. "Even I, a physician who successfully scaled the heights of the Foundation Establishment Realm, have spent countless years studying the medical and spiritual mysteries of this world. Yet, even now, there are still countless phenomena I fail to comprehend."
His smile gradually faded, replaced by a hollow look as he gazed down at the clear water inside the bottle. "Even so... I never once thought of giving up. But unfortunately... things are different now. I am crippled. Even if I possess the burning desire to continue my research, there are many basic procedures my physical frame can no longer execute."
Wang Fang's expression shifted instantly, his heart sinking. As he listened to the fragile cadence of Doctor Li's voice, that familiar, toxic wave of guilt began to creep back into his core.
Is Doctor Li's current condition truly beyond recovery? Wang Fang thought frantically. Is there really nothing in this vast world that can be done to restore his meridians?
Just as Wang Fang was about to lower his head in shame, Doctor Li suddenly barked, "Hey, hey! What are you doing with that face?"
"Huh?" Wang Fang raised his head.
Doctor Li was staring at him with an exaggerated expression of total disbelief, his eyebrows raised high. "Don't tell me you're wallowing in that useless guilt again!"
Wang Fang opened his mouth to defend himself, but he found his throat tight, unable to find the right words.
Doctor Li let out a long, dramatic sigh. "Hey, you know... by constantly brooding over it, you are making it seem like I am the villain here who is making you suffer!"
"Ah! No... No, absolutely not!" Wang Fang countered frantically. He waved both hands in a panic before sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, his face flushing with embarrassment.
"Good. Then enough about this fragile old man," Doctor Li said, his tone turning crisp as his eyes sharpened with genuine curiosity. "Tell me, Young Master, how has your body cultivation been progressing recently? I assume your visit isn't merely to check on my health."
At the mention of his training, Wang Fang's attention shifted instantly. His eyes lit up with unbridled excitement.
"Ah! It is exactly what I wanted to show you!" Wang Fang exclaimed, stepping closer.
"Is that so? Well then, my ears are completely open."
Wang Fang excitedly explained everything that had transpired over the past few weeks. He detailed the grueling hours spent inside the Myriad Beast Essence Cauldron, and then recounted the absurd, high-speed chase through his pavilion after that low-ranking, gluttonous spirit raccoon. He explained the sudden impact of the beast's Qi counterattack, and how that chaotic physical exertion had violently shattered the invisible ceiling he had been stuck against for a month.
"And that exact breakthrough is what led me straight to your doorstep," Wang Fang concluded, breathing heavily from the excitement of his tale.
Hmmm... what a fascinating development, Doctor Li thought. He slowly stroked his silver beard, his evaluating eyes tracking the boy's posture. It is not easy to gauge his exact status with a single glance anymore. Since my cultivation base is completely crippled, my spiritual sense is dead. I cannot simply look through his flesh to read his meridians. If I want to evaluate this miraculous breakthrough... there is only one traditional method left.
Doctor Li stroked his beard, his eyes narrowing into a sharp focus. "Young Master, take off your upper robe."
"Huh? Take off my robe?" Wang Fang blinked, caught off guard.
"Yes. Quickly now."
"Uh, okay."
Without further hesitation, Wang Fang shrugged the dark training garment off his shoulders, letting the heavy silk pool around his waist.
Oh, heavens...
Doctor Li's breath hitched in his throat, his eyes widening in pure shock. He stared at the child's torso, his mind briefly going blank. How in the world can a ten-year-old child possess a body foundation this flawless?
Beneath the dark silk, Wang Fang's physical frame was a masterpiece of absolute density. Every single fiber of muscle was hyper-compressed, perfectly sculpted, and radiating a healthy vitality that seemed to hum beneath his skin. There was not a single ounce of wasted space. It wasn't the bulky, unnatural build of a brute; it was a tight, flawless structural foundation forged through sheer, bone-shattering discipline.
What on earth has this boy put himself through to achieve this level of physical refinement? Doctor Li marveled.
Seeing the old physician staring intently at his bare chest for several silent seconds, Wang Fang felt a wave of awkwardness. A mischievous thought from his past life instantly surfaced in his adult mind.
With a small, playful smirk, Wang Fang crossed his arms over his chest, feigning a look of scandal. "No way... Doctor Li, please! I am absolutely not interested in men!"
"Huh?"
Doctor Li blinked, his jaw dropping in disbelief before his face flushed with irritation. He stepped forward and immediately delivered a sharp, echoing knock right onto the top of the boy's head.
KNOCK!
"Ouch!" Wang Fang chuckled, rubbing his head.
"Who told you that I am interested in little boys?!" Doctor Li barked, huffing as he crossed his arms dramatically. "You should have seen me in my prime, brat! Back in my day, every single fairy and maiden in the cultivation valleys was chasing after me! My looks alone could overturn kingdoms!"
A burst of lighthearted laughter echoed through the quiet room, the lingering shadows of grief and guilt completely melting away under their playful banter.
Minutes later, the comedy faded into strict, professional focus.
Wang Fang sat cross-legged on a raised wooden platform, his bare torso glistening slightly under the dim candlelight. A vast array of slender, silver spiritual needles had been meticulously pierced through various acupuncture points across his upper body.
Doctor Li moved around him with fluid, rhythmic grace despite his physical frailties. With a steady hand, he would gently slide a long needle deep into a specific muscle matrix, pause to listen to the dense vibrations of the boy's tissue, and then deftly withdraw a needle from another meridian line. He was testing the raw density, tracing the pathways of the Level 9 Ironroot Flesh, and evaluating how the chaotic Qi of the spirit raccoon had forced his biological boundaries to warp.
Ping. Ping. Ping.
The silver needles vibrated softly, humming like guitar strings whenever they encountered the dense, iron-hard resistance of Wang Fang's flesh. Doctor Li kept inserting, adjusting, and removing the pins, systematically mapping the internal architecture of the boy's body structure.
Finally, after withdrawing a long needle from the base of Wang Fang's neck, Doctor Li froze. His eyes flared with a sudden flash of revelation.
He had found the root of the problem. He finally understood exactly what was holding the young master back—and precisely what needed to be done to trigger his ultimate breakthrough.
Back within Wang Fang's courtyard, the dead of night hung heavy and absolute. High above the mountain peak, the three silver moons glazed the sky like the piercing, unblinking eyes of a higher being.
Sitting cross-legged upon his bed in the silent dark of his inner chamber, Fang stared blankly at his open palms. His mind continuously drifted back to the medical verdict Doctor Li had delivered hours ago.
"What your physical foundation desperately needs right now... is tempering," Doctor Li had stated firmly, crossing his arms.
"Huh? Tempering?" Wang Fang had blinked in sheer confusion. "What exactly does that mean?"
"Hmmm... how should I explain this to you?" Doctor Li had muttered, stroking his chin in deep thought. He falsely assumed that based on the boy's ten-year-old age and lack of worldly experience, using complex medical jargon or high-tier cultivation language would fly over his head. Seeking a simpler analogy, a spark of inspiration hit the old physician.
"Young Master," the doctor had called out. "Let us speak of the soil beneath our feet—the raw earth where grass and leaves grow. When massive volumes of water sit atop a patch of land for years on end, the soil becomes soft, muddy, and weak. If you make a single mistake by stepping onto it, you could drown straight into the mire."
Wang Fang had listened patiently, his adult mind waiting for the actual point.
"However," Doctor Li had continued, raising a finger, "if that exact same muddy patch of land is stripped of its excess moisture and left to dry under a blazing heat, it hardens into a solid, impenetrable mass. Only when it is subjected to harsh external pressure will the brittle, bad clay fracture away, leaving behind only the most resilient foundation."
Huh... what did I just hear? Wang Fang had thought, a collective sweat drop forming on his brow. What kind of weird logic is this?
"Do you understand what I am getting at, Young Master?" Doctor Li had asked, leaning in with an expectant look.
Wang Fang had started to rack his brain, translating the old man's poetic metaphor into practical cultivation terms. He narrowed his eyes as a sudden realization hit him.
"I think... what you are referring to is... I need to get brutally beaten up."
Doctor Li's eyes had snapped wide, his gaze turning incredibly sharp as he stared at the boy.
A sudden wave of nervousness had washed over Wang Fang. Did I say something wrong? he had panicked internally, his mind desperately screaming, Please tell me I'm wrong! Tell me I misunderstood!
Instantly, Doctor Li had burst into a boisterous laugh. "Hahaha! You are such a remarkably smart boy! You are right! In fact, you are absolutely right!"
Damn it... Wang Fang had drifted into absolute despair in his mind, his soul facepalming. What type of masochistic hell have I just volunteered myself into?
Back in the present, Wang Fang shook his head in utter disbelief, a quiet laugh escaping his lips. Despite the impending brutality of the training method, the memory of his playful banter with Doctor Li brought a genuine smile to his face. It was a rare, happy moment of peace in a clan filled with constant betrayal.
Slowly, the amusement faded from his eyes, replaced by an icy, unyielding focus.
He looked toward his window, staring straight at the silver moonlight. "In this short week, I will make sure to completely shed my old, weak mortal body away. I will endure whatever it takes."
He tightened his small fist, the air around his knuckles vibrating with a sudden spike of raw density. "And then... I will officially claim my new realm—Stage 2: The Essence Condensation Realm of the Sovereign World-Root Scripture."