Martin sat cross-legged on his bed, examining the holy crystal in his hand. No matter how he looked at it, he could not see anything special about it. But when he held it, his mind became exceptionally clear. He closed his eyes and began to breathe according to the method.
A whole night passed. Martin sighed. There was still no sign of holy energy entering his body. He smiled bitterly. Just then, the door was pushed open. Augustine St. Cloud came in, his face dark, carrying a bowl of black liquid.
"Drink it," Augustine ordered.
Martin hesitated and looked at the bowl cautiously. "Master, what is this?"
Augustine's temper flared. "Do you think I would poison you? Drink it. I stayed up all night making this from precious herbs, all to help you reach the first level of Gathering Light as quickly as possible."
Martin hesitated for a moment, then saw the unpleasant expression on Augustine's face. He took the bowl, held his breath, and downed the liquid in one go.
The moment he swallowed, a hot, burning sensation rose from his stomach and spread rapidly through his body. His mouth went dry, and he felt as if a fire was roasting him from the inside. His vision darkened, and the bowl fell from his hand. He felt himself sinking into unconsciousness.
"Now breathe! I will help you absorb it," Augustine said, placing his hand on Martin's chest.
A cool energy spread from his chest, clearing his mind. Without hesitation, Martin began the breathing method. Augustine, looking pained at the cost of the herbs, gritted his teeth and took several more low-grade holy crystals from his storage pouch, placing them around Martin. I've invested heavily in you, he thought. You will pay me back.
Soon, a faint crawling sensation appeared. Augustine could feel the holy energy from the herbs slowly gathering inside Martin's body. He smiled with satisfaction.
But then, a foul energy emerged from Martin and easily dissipated the gathered holy energy. All was lost. Augustine recognized the foul energy—it came from the herb he had secretly put in Martin's food to block his progress. He tried again and again, but every time the holy energy started to gather, the foul energy dispersed it.
Augustine sighed deeply, removed his hand, and stared at Martin with mixed emotions.
Martin opened his eyes. He felt light and comfortable. He was about to thank his master, but Augustine flicked his sleeve and left the room without a word.
Martin was confused. He stood up, walked outside, and called toward Augustine's room, "Master, I'm going to the spring to see if my luck is any better today."
Augustine said nothing, but the garden gate opened silently. Martin quickly walked out. As soon as he left, Augustine secretly followed him.
A month passed quickly. Every day, Martin went to the spring and sat in meditation. Augustine followed and watched every day. Day after day of disappointment slowly wore down Augustine's hope.
Every day, Augustine prepared herbal concoctions for Martin, but the holy energy would not gather. Augustine's temper grew worse by the day.
More importantly, the gourd he had taken from Martin gradually lost all its holy energy. Within a month, it became ordinary. The water inside, no matter how long it sat, remained plain water. The gourd itself became no different from any wild gourd. Augustine was deeply disappointed.
After careful analysis, he arrived at a conclusion: the gourd itself was not extraordinary. It had gained its holy properties through some special process. Martin had probably found it by chance. The likelihood that he had more such gourds was very small.
The more he thought about it, the more correct it seemed. Augustine was heartbroken. He had done nothing for an entire month except watch Martin and boil herbs. Now, with nothing to show for it, he called Martin over, scolded him harshly, and finally flicked his sleeve, expelling him from the main courtyard.
He could no longer bear to look at Martin. Before long, he forgot about the disciple entirely.
In his mind, even with all the herbs he had fed Martin, it would still take at least ten years for the boy to reach the first level of Gathering Light—unless he was willing to continue wasting precious herbs on him.