To most nobles and powerful cultivators, Feng Tian was nothing more than an ordinary farmer's son from an ordinary family. They had lived for hundreds of years, seen countless young talents rise and fall, and would have found little reason to notice him. Yet the Feng Clan knew Tian was anything but average. He began helping with farming tasks at the age of 7, and their productivity had improved year after year ever since. Fields that once took several family members days to manage could be handled by Tian alone. He learned when to plant, how much water each crop needed, and which patches of soil produced the best harvests. By 18, there was hardly any farming task his family could do better than him.
His physical ability was even harder to explain. Tian was easily the strongest, fastest, and most tireless member of the Feng Clan. He could work from sunrise until night without showing much exhaustion, carry loads that normally required 3 grown men, and cross the family's farmland faster than anyone else. More impressive was his ability to deal with wild beasts. Even beasts at the Biyu Realm posed little threat to him, despite that realm being at least two major stages above his cultivation. Tian never thought much about it. Growing up around farms, forests, and dangerous creatures had made fighting another useful skill to learn. If something threatened the crops or his family, he dealt with it and returned to work.
The strange part was that Tian's cultivation looked completely average on paper. The last time he was tested, he had reached Ling Realm level 3, the peak of the early stage of the first cultivation realm. Within Brocade City, such cultivation at eighteen years old was nothing impressive. There were noble children younger than him who had already reached higher levels, while talented disciples from established families barely considered the Ling Realm worth mentioning. Tian had accepted that assessment for years, even while accomplishing things someone at his level should never have been capable of doing.
Because of his unusual abilities, Tian had gone hunting many times over the years, defeating higher-level beasts and collecting whatever valuable materials they dropped. Most were sold in Jinxiu City, where merchants quickly learned that the young Feng hunter regularly returned with goods that someone at his cultivation should never be able to obtain. Meanwhile, the Feng Clan's farms continued expanding under his influence, eventually becoming one of the city's major agricultural powers and a vital source of food. Hunting brought something farming alone could not provide as quickly: wealth. By the time Tian reached 18, the family had earned enough money and recognition to become a Level 1 Noble Clan, granting them 1 voting power in Jinxiu City.
Tian could have continued living that way, but his father had always wanted him to join a sect and properly explore his talent for cultivation. Tian eventually agreed, leaving behind the familiar farms and entering a world where strength mattered far more than harvests. His progress surprised even the teachers assigned to guide him. At 19 years old, Tian reached the peak of the Ling Realm, completing the first realm of cultivation far faster than anyone in his family. His teacher, Master Han, became especially interested in him. Tian's cultivation realm was one thing, but his actual combat ability was another matter entirely. After watching several of his battles, Master Han estimated Tian's full fighting power to be around the middle stage of the Biyu Realm.
That meant Tian could already challenge cultivators far beyond what his realm suggested, and Master Han believed the gap would become even more ridiculous after his next breakthrough. According to him, once Tian entered the Jing Realm, ordinary Biyu Realm cultivators would no longer pose much of a challenge. He even suspected some early-stage Ziyan Realm cultivators would have trouble suppressing Tian despite standing another major realm above him. Tian found the prediction exciting, but he was more interested in discovering why his strength had always exceeded his cultivation. Farming had revealed it first, hunting had pushed it further, and joining the sect had finally placed knowledgeable eyes on him.
In most sects, very little was expected from Ling Realm cultivators. Their main purpose was to increase the disciple population, train, and handle the countless errands that kept everything functioning in the background. Some cleaned training grounds, others delivered supplies, tended spiritual gardens, or assisted senior disciples. Green Oak Sect followed the same approach, especially since sending weak disciples beyond its territory created unnecessary risks. Master Han, however, had repeatedly reminded the elders that Tian was not a typical Ling Realm cultivator. His combat strength was already unusual, but his ability to retain cultivation knowledge amazed Master Han even more. Tian could study something once, remember nearly every detail, and apply what he learned without needing weeks of repeated instruction.
With Tian only 1 breakthrough away from the Jing Realm, Master Han decided there was little reason to keep treating him like every other Ling disciple. He personally approached the elders and fought for Tian to receive early mission privileges. Normally, only Jing Realm disciples and above could accept missions outside Green Oak Sect. The restriction protected younger disciples while also protecting the sect's reputation from embarrassing failures. Green Oak could hardly afford either problem these days. Over the years, new sects had appeared throughout the region, attracting talented disciples and wealthy supporters. Green Oak Sect, once respected by many nearby settlements, had gradually become irrelevant. Its name still meant something locally, but fewer cultivators were looking toward its gates when deciding where their future belonged.
That was exactly why Master Han wanted Tian outside. Green Oak Sect needed someone capable of reminding people that talent could still emerge from beneath its banner. Tian hardly required the protection normally given to Ling Realm disciples, especially when his combat ability already reached the middle Biyu Realm. Master Han was not asking the elders to throw him into dangerous territory either. There were several villages under Green Oak's influence where Tian could serve as an overseer, handle local problems, gather experience, and represent the sect. It was a reasonable compromise, though several elders remained hesitant about breaking tradition for a 19-year-old Ling disciple. Master Han understood their concerns, but he also knew opportunities rarely waited around, and Tian might be exactly the opportunity Green Oak Sect desperately needed.
As Master Han continued advocating for him, Tian's reputation within Green Oak Sect became impossible to ignore. Somewhere along the way, the other Ling Realm disciples started calling him the Ling Master, a title Tian never asked for but gradually accepted. He helped anyone who approached him, whether they struggled with cultivation methods, martial techniques, or understanding something an instructor had explained weeks earlier. Tian's near-perfect cultivation memory made him unusually good at finding mistakes. He remembered lessons almost word for word and could compare them with what a disciple was actually doing. Before long, dozens showed noticeable improvement under his guidance. Tian never charged contribution points or asked for favors either. Helping them felt natural, especially since he had once struggled through the same lessons himself.
The biggest surprise came when one senior disciple reached the Jing Realm after receiving Tian's guidance. The senior had been trapped at peak Ling for nearly 3 years, unable to understand what prevented his breakthrough. Tian spent several days training with him, noticed a flaw in how he circulated spiritual energy, and suggested an adjustment. Not long afterward, the breakthrough came. That single event solved Master Han's biggest problem with the elders. They had previously worried that granting special mission privileges to Tian would anger the other Ling disciples. Now those same disciples revered him, while a newly advanced Jing Realm senior openly credited Tian for his success. There was little resentment left to fear, giving Master Han everything he needed to raise his proposal again.
Yet before Master Han could celebrate his victory, the situation went far beyond anything he had requested. A decree arrived directly from the Sect Leader's palace and was presented before the gathered elders. Tian would not merely receive permission to accept missions early. Effective immediately, Feng Tian was appointed a Core Disciple of Green Oak Sect, placing a 19-year-old Ling Realm cultivator among disciples normally separated from him by status, resources, and cultivation. Even Master Han had not expected such a decision. News spread through the sect within hours, drawing curiosity from disciples who had barely known Tian's name before that day. Somewhere inside the Sect Leader's palace, someone had clearly been watching Tian much more closely than anyone realized, and his new position was only the beginning.
One day, Master Han once again found himself standing before the elders, though this meeting included someone he rarely saw outside important sect matters. Master Huai, one of Green Oak Sect's 12 Guardians, sat among them with the rank of Grand Elder. All Guardians held the same rank, yet Huai possessed responsibilities that made even senior elders respectful around him. He was the Master of the Green Oak Archives and the sworn protector of the Green Oak Codex, the most valuable collection of knowledge within the entire sect. Master Huai wasted little time explaining why he had come. Tian would receive permission to leave Green Oak Sect and accept whatever missions he desired. There was, however, one requirement. Tian had to read the entire Green Oak Codex from cover to cover.
Every elder stared at Master Huai in disbelief. Even they had never received such access. Many had been considered prodigies during their younger years, yet each elder had only been permitted to study 1 page of the Green Oak Codex. Those pages alone had benefited their cultivation for decades. The Codex contained legacies left behind by generations of ancestors and former elders, including their cultivation insights, techniques, experiences, mistakes, and discoveries. Allowing one disciple to read everything was almost unthinkable. Master Han had fought merely to give Tian early mission privileges, yet the Guardians were now offering him knowledge that generations of disciples had never been allowed to touch. Huai ended any argument by revealing that all twelve Guardians had agreed, with the Sect Leader personally approving their decision.
That revelation was enough to make the elders understand that Tian's appointment as a Core Disciple had never been a casual reward. People at the highest level of Green Oak Sect had plans for him. Master Huai allowed everyone a moment to absorb the decision before revealing the part even Master Han had not been told. "It is the intention of the Leader to make Tian the Sect Preceptor." Those words changed the atmosphere immediately. The Sect Preceptor was no ordinary disciple position, and giving such a title to a 19-year-old Ling Realm cultivator would reshape Tian's place within Green Oak entirely. Master Han had spent months trying to get his disciple beyond the sect gates. Now he was beginning to wonder what the Sect Leader had seen in Tian that made 12 Guardians willing to open their greatest legacy to him.
In the farthest reaches of Green Oak Sect, Sect Leader Li Chun sat inside his private garden, sipping tea beneath the branches of an ancient tree. The remaining Guardians were gathered nearby when Master Huai finally arrived. "It is done," he announced. One Guardian glanced toward Chun before asking, "Is it time?" Chun lowered his cup and gave the answer they had waited many years to hear. "It is." Nothing more needed to be explained. All 12 Guardians bowed before leaving the garden, each heading toward a different part of the sect. Chun remained behind, watching the leaves above him sway. For two hundred years, outsiders had believed Green Oak Sect was dying. In truth, everything had followed a path Chun chose himself.
When Chun became Sect Leader 200 years ago, one of his first commands shocked everyone. Green Oak Sect ceased most of its outside activities and stopped actively recruiting disciples. Anyone could still travel to the mountain and request admission, but the sect would no longer search cities and villages for talented youths. In another era, such a decision might have caused the Guardians to vote for the Sect Leader's removal. Yet none challenged Chun. His mind had terrified allies and rivals alike for centuries, especially because he had never lost a bet involving the sect's future. Some Guardians believed Chun had mastered the Divination Art hidden within the Green Oak Codex, something no cultivator had accomplished since the sect founder. Chun never confirmed their suspicions, and nobody dared ask.
Instead, Chun had given them the same strange explanation whenever they questioned the sect's decline. "Sometimes a tree needs to lose a few branches to live on. One day, ours will produce an acorn that will help it expand beyond its limits." For 200 years, the Guardians watched talented disciples choose other sects, watched their influence shrink, and watched Green Oak become increasingly irrelevant throughout the region. Still, Chun never changed his command. Then Feng Tian walked through their gates without being recruited, exactly as countless ordinary disciples had done before him. Now Chun looked toward the distant mountains where the young man trained and finished his tea. After two centuries of waiting, Green Oak Sect had finally produced the acorn he had promised them.