UMS 06

Chapter 6

 The Disciple of the Nine Heavens Sect

After leaving the banquet hall, Lu Fan did not immediately return to his private residence.

With a bottle of wine in one hand and the leftover food in the other, he walked out through the main gate of the Lu Family estate.

Firecrackers celebrating the New Year continued to explode throughout the streets, while lanterns hung outside each household dyed the darkness red.

Until just a month ago, Lu Fan had hated days like this.

The more people gathered, the more ridicule he had to endure. And he also had to see the stern expression on his father’s face.

But today was different.

He had defeated Lu Tiangang and proven before the entire family that he had reached the sixth layer of the Body Tempering Realm.

More importantly, his father no longer had to lower his head because of him.

When the children setting off firecrackers by the roadside glanced curiously at his bundle of food, Lu Fan took out some sweets and meat and handed them over.

“Happy New Year.”

The children smiled brightly and ran toward the other end of the alley.

Lu Fan watched their retreating figures for a moment before continuing on his way.

His destination was an old tavern without even a signboard.

There was someone he wanted to tell about what had happened today before anyone else.

As Lu Fan approached the tavern, he saw Old Man Wu leaning against a doorpost and drinking.

As always, he had half-closed eyes, a hunched back, and old clothes thrown on carelessly.

When Old Man Wu spotted Lu Fan from a distance, a wrinkled smile spread across his face.

“You actually look like a proper human being today.”

“Wasn’t I human before?”

“You always looked like you owed the world a debt.”

Lu Fan chuckled and held up the wine and food.

“Today, I’m buying. This is food from the Lu Family’s banquet, so it’ll be better than the side dishes you usually sell.”

“Where else could you find such a wonderful tavern where the customer brings food for the owner?”

“You’re proud of that?”

The two sat across from each other at the familiar, battered table.

Old Man Wu picked up the meat Lu Fan had brought and ate it first.

He also opened the seal on the wine bottle much faster than usual.

Lu Fan pushed an empty bowl toward him.

“Bring out that wine too.”

Old Man Wu’s hand stopped.

“Which wine?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. The green wine I drank last time.”

Lu Fan looked down at his own arms.

Ever since that day, his body had completely changed.

A realm that had been blocked for years had broken through in a single day, and the reason he had been able to endure the hellish training on Western Mountain was also because of the changes that wine had brought to his body.

It couldn’t have been a coincidence.

Old Man Wu didn’t answer.

Instead, he took a sip of wine.

Then he asked a completely unrelated question.

“So, does that mean you no longer have to worry about being kicked out of the Lu Family?”

Lu Fan stared at the old man.

“How many layers of the Body Tempering Realm do you think I’m at?”

“Five or six, I suppose.”

The answer came far too naturally.

Lu Fan’s eyes narrowed.

Even when he had been unable to break through the third layer of the Body Tempering Realm, Old Man Wu had spoken with strange confidence.

He had said Zhang Yuehan would definitely regret her choice, and had acted as though Lu Fan would never be driven out of the family.

Now, he had accurately guessed his current realm as well.

Lu Fan asked quietly,

“Was it you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The person who changed my body.”

Old Man Wu looked at Lu Fan for a moment.

Then he pointed a finger at Lu Fan’s chest.

“You changed yourself.”

“But you’re the one who gave me that wine.”

“I only gave you an opportunity. You were the one who seized it.”

Old Man Wu casually waved his hand.

At that moment, the wine jar sitting beneath the counter floated into the air on its own.

The jar crossed the room as though carried by an invisible hand and gently landed in the center of the table.

Lu Fan’s eyes widened.

Telekinetic Object Manipulation.

It was a technique said to be possible only for masters with profound internal energy.

Lu Fan had already suspected that Old Man Wu wasn’t an ordinary tavern owner, but what he had just witnessed far exceeded his expectations.

“Old Man, don’t tell me… you were a martial artist?”

“No.”

Old Man Wu calmly removed the seal from the wine jar.

“I have never practiced martial arts.”

“Then what was that just now?”

“For a Qi Refiner, something like that isn’t difficult.”

Lu Fan’s breath caught.

Qi Refiners were rare individuals who could manipulate the energy of Heaven and Earth and medicinal materials to create medicinal pills and mystical techniques.

Even Qi Refiners at low realms were treated as honored guests by any family.

And yet, someone like that had been selling wine in a shabby tavern in a remote corner of Jianglin City.

Not only that, he had been giving Lu Fan precious medicinal wine for years without asking for anything in return.

“You’re a Qi Refiner?”

“To be precise, I’m a Qi Refiner who has fallen from his prime.”

“Whether you’re past your prime or not, you’re still a Qi Refiner.”

Lu Fan calmed his astonishment before asking,

“Why did you help me?”

Old Man Wu didn’t answer immediately.

After pouring wine into his bowl, he narrowed his eyes as though recalling something from long ago.

“Do you remember when you first came to this tavern?”

Lu Fan searched his memories.

“I was around eleven?”

“You were twelve. Your mother had died not long before, and the physicians said you wouldn’t live very long.”

Old Man Wu’s voice slowed slightly.

“A little boy who was practically skin and bones walked in and asked for a jar of wine. The moment he took a sip, he vomited everything back up. Yet he still forced himself to drink the rest.”

Lu Fan scratched the tip of his nose awkwardly.

He vaguely remembered that incident.

“The next day, you could barely stand, yet you went back to the training grounds. So I asked you why you were trying so hard to practice martial arts when your body wasn’t even healthy.”

“What did I say?”

“You said that even if you were going to die tomorrow, you would still train today.”

Old Man Wu laughed softly.

“You said that it was better to die while striving to become stronger than to live without ever becoming strong.”

Lu Fan silently looked down at his bowl.

He didn’t remember saying those words as a child.

But even if he were asked the same question now, his answer would not have changed.

Old Man Wu pointed at Lu Fan.

“That wasn’t something a twelve-year-old child should have said. I thought you were just bluffing, so I watched you for a while.”

“But you really did train every single day without missing once.”

There had been no results.

People mocked him, and his body repeatedly reached its limits.

Yet Lu Fan had never stepped away from the training stone.

“That was when I thought this kid deserved to be given an opportunity at least once.”

Old Man Wu pushed the jar of green wine toward Lu Fan.

“After that, whenever you came here, I gave you wine that gradually strengthened your constitution. If I had put too much medicinal power into you all at once, your body wouldn’t have been able to withstand it. So I slowly changed your body over the course of several years.”

Only then did Lu Fan understand everything that had happened in the past.

When he was young, he had fallen ill whenever the seasons changed, and the physicians had said he probably wouldn’t live past twelve.

But after he began visiting this tavern, he became sick less and less often.

That final cup of green wine had awakened the medicinal effects that had accumulated over all those years.

“Then the Transformation of the Mortal Body and Replacement of the Bones I experienced that day…”

“The medicinal power accumulated over the years completely cleansed your body.”

Lu Fan stared at the wine jar.

Even a single Qi-Gathering Pill was worth several shops.

The value of the wine he had consumed over all those years was impossible to estimate.

Lu Fan stood up and knelt on one knee before Old Man Wu.

“You saved my life and opened the path of martial cultivation for me.”

He lowered his head deeply.

“I will never forget this kindness for the rest of my life.”

Old Man Wu looked horrified and waved his hand dismissively.

“Get up. Now that I’m old, receiving such heavy formalities is even more burdensome.”

A gentle breeze surrounded Lu Fan’s body.

Even though he tried to resist by putting strength into his bent knee, his body was lifted upright on its own.

Lu Fan had tried to resist using the strength of the sixth layer of the Body Tempering Realm, but it was useless.

Once again, he felt the overwhelming power of a Qi Refiner.

Old Man Wu put away his playful expression and met Lu Fan’s eyes.

“Lu Fan.”

His voice was heavier than usual.

“Will you become my disciple?”

Lu Fan didn’t hesitate.

“I will.”

This time, he knelt with both knees.

“I will honor you as my master.”

His forehead touched the floor.

Once.

Twice.

Lu Fan bowed his head nine times.

“Good.”

Old Man Wu rose from his seat.

“Very good.”

His hunched back straightened.

The cloudy eyes that had always been dulled by alcohol now emitted a sharp light.

His shabby clothing remained unchanged, but the old tavern owner who had been there moments ago was nowhere to be found.

The air inside the tavern grew heavy.

Lu Fan unconsciously held his breath.

Old Man Wu placed a hand on top of Lu Fan’s head.

“My name is Wu Chen. I am the final inheritor of the Nine Heavens Sect.”

His low but powerful voice echoed throughout the tavern.

“From this day onward, I accept Lu Fan as my disciple and will pass on everything I have learned and comprehended throughout my life.”

When Wu Chen withdrew his hand, the oppressive aura disappeared as though it had never existed.

He returned to his usual sly expression and helped Lu Fan to his feet.

“You are now a disciple of the Nine Heavens Sect.”

Lu Fan’s heart pounded.

He had never even heard of the sect before.

But judging solely from the master standing before him, he could tell that it was certainly no ordinary place.

Wu Chen reached into his robes and pulled out a black ring.

Two characters, Nine Heavens, were engraved on its surface.

“Take it. It’s the Sect Master’s Ring of the Nine Heavens Sect.”

Lu Fan’s hand stopped halfway.

“Didn’t I just join the sect?”

“You did.”

“Then I’m already becoming the Sect Master?”

“There are only two people in the sect. What difference does it make who holds the position?”

Lu Fan’s expression became strangely stiff.

The majestic name Nine Heavens Sect, which had sounded so impressive moments ago, suddenly seemed rather pitiful.

Wu Chen burst into laughter when he saw his disciple’s expression.

“Don’t be too disappointed. The ring is a spirit artifact. It can be used to store things.”

Lu Fan immediately took the ring.

“I was just thinking what an extraordinary sect it must be.”

“Your attitude changed rather quickly.”

Lu Fan slipped the ring onto his finger.

When he concentrated his consciousness, he sensed a small space inside it.

He tried placing a wine bottle inside.

The bottle disappeared from his hand and then reappeared the instant he willed it.

Lu Fan’s eyes lit up.

“Master, will you teach me alchemy now?”

“Why?”

“Since you’re a Qi Refiner, isn’t that obvious?”

Wu Chen calmly chewed on a piece of meat.

“You should continue practicing martial arts.”

Lu Fan’s expression stiffened.

“Then what martial art are you planning to teach me?”

“I’m a Qi Refiner. I don’t know martial arts.”

“…Then what exactly are you going to teach me?”

Wu Chen filled his bowl with wine and smiled.

“Something others cannot do.”

He looked straight at Lu Fan.

“How to become both a martial artist and a Qi Refiner.”

Lu Fan blinked, wondering if he had heard incorrectly.

Martial artists tempered their bodies to produce Astral Qi, while Qi Refiners cultivated Original Qi through the energy of Heaven and Earth.

It was common knowledge that the two could not be cultivated together.

“Master.”

“Speak.”

“I think you’ve had too much to drink.”

“I haven’t even drunk much today.”

Wu Chen’s eyes shone with intense light.

“Astral Qi and Original Qi. If you cultivate both the inside and the outside, a completely different path will open—one unlike that of ordinary martial artists or Qi Refiners.”

“Is that possible?”

“I failed.”

Wu Chen’s excessively honest answer made Lu Fan’s face twist.

Wu Chen continued without concern.

“But after researching it for my entire life, I discovered why I failed. And your body has been transformed by my medicinal power over the course of several years. With your body as it is now, you have a chance of succeeding.”

“How great is that chance?”

“You won’t know until you try.”

Lu Fan remained silent for a long while.

Only now did he feel as though he had boarded a ship and was being told its destination afterward.

But he had no intention of turning back.

If it weren’t for Wu Chen, he would still be stuck at the third layer of the Body Tempering Realm.

Even if he failed again, there was nothing for him to lose.

Lu Fan raised his wine bowl.

“I’ll do it.”

A satisfied smile spread across Wu Chen’s lips.

“Aren’t you afraid?”

“I am.”

Lu Fan answered honestly.

“But I can’t catch up to the others by following an ordinary path. If Master is willing to show me the way, I’ll walk it to the very end.”

Wu Chen raised his own wine jar and clinked it against Lu Fan’s bowl.

“Good answer.”

“Then what is the first training?”

“Today is the first day of the New Year.”

Wu Chen raised the wine jar high.

“The first training is to drink with your master all night.”

Lu Fan laughed in disbelief.

“Isn’t that just what you want to do, Master?”

“Don’t doubt your master. That is also cultivation.”

The two simultaneously drank.

A short while later, hearty laughter burst out from the old tavern.

Mixed with the sound of exploding firecrackers, their laughter traveled far into the winter night.

Lu Fan did not yet know.

The path he had chosen that day would become the first step toward breaking down the boundary between martial artists and Qi Refiners—and creating a power the world had never seen before.