Sword Arrives

With a deep sigh, the old man murmured, "How did it come to this…"

The woman's expression turned cold, and she sneered, "Does Immortal Master really think there are many good people in this small town?"

The old man stood up and cast a deep look at the confused boy, as if making a grand decision. With a flick of his wrist, the white bowl reappeared.

He walked over to the large water tank, which was about half his height, and quickly scooped a bowl of water with a ladle.

Though the woman tried to remain composed, her palms were drenched in sweat.

The old man sat back down on the stool and gestured for Gu Can to come closer. "Come, little one, take a look."

The boy glanced at his mother, who nodded encouragingly, her eyes filled with support.

When the boy approached, the old man lightly blew across the surface of the water in the bowl, causing ripples to spread.

With a smile, the old man said, "Open your mouth."

At the same time, with a casual flick of his hand, the old man somehow produced a locust leaf from somewhere on the boy's body.

His fingers were poised in the air, not actually grasping it.

The boy instinctively let out a gasp.

With a flick of his finger, the lush green locust leaf was sent straight into the boy's mouth.

The boy froze for a moment, only to realize that there was no strange taste in his mouth.

The old man didn't give him a chance to ask questions. He pointed to the white bowl in his palm and said, "Look closely at what's in there."

Gu Can's eyes widened as he focused intently. At first, he saw an extremely tiny black dot, which gradually turned into a more noticeable black line, and then slowly grew larger. It seemed to become a small, yellowish eel happily flipping around in the ripples of the water in the bowl.

His mind was in a muddle, but suddenly, a flash of realization hit him, and he cried out, "I remember it! It's from Chen Ping'an..."

The woman slapped her son's face, her expression furious. "Shut up!"

The old man wasn't surprised by this. With indifference, he said, "We cultivators, in our quest for immortality, defy the heavens. This little bit of competition is nothing." Don't be so nervous. What's meant to be your son's cannot be escaped, and what's not meant for him cannot be kept."

The boy, Gu Can, weighed less than forty pounds.

But the weight of his "foundation" was astonishing.

So, when the old man, who possessed divine abilities, previously made an exception to use his ancestral secret technique to measure his bones, it was clear that he couldn't even lift Gu Can.

This was the prerequisite for him to take on an apprentice.

Otherwise, a three-year-old child walking around holding gold would be nothing but courting death.

The old man smiled casually, but his eyes were cold as he slowly spoke, "Of course, even if it originally belonged to that youngster, what of it? Now that I am personally overseeing things, it no longer belongs to him."

The boy fell silent, his teeth chattering.

The woman let out a sigh of relief.

The old man put on a kindly and benevolent expression once again. "Litttle one, this bowl contains the entire river, and now it also holds a little dragon. From now on, you will be my direct disciple."

"I am a 'True Lord,' just half a step away from being the 'Founder' of a sect. Though I belong to a lower sect… In time, you'll understand the significance of those four words—'True Lord' and 'Founder'."

The old man laughed heartily. "They are only heavier than this bowl of river water."

Suddenly, the boy began to cry. "This isn't right! It belongs to Chen Ping'an!"

The woman, furious and embarrassed, raised her arm high, ready to scold the foolish child whose mind was clouded by confusion.

The old man waved his hand, smiling lightly, and said casually, "Having such a heart isn't entirely a bad thing."

The boy lowered his head, wiping away his tears and snot with the back of his hand.

The woman quietly glanced at the old man.

The old man smiled knowingly and nodded.

Fellow practitioners—everything is understood without words.

When the boy looked up again, his mother and the mysterious, halfway teacher who seemed to have dropped from the sky were both wearing faint smiles.

The boy turned his head. When Chen Ping'an left, he didn't forget to close the courtyard gate.

————

The town was like a field of crops, a bountiful harvest in a good year.

But some people were just like weeds mixed in with the rice stalks, glanced at once, and never looked at again.

Like the lonely youngster in straw sandals, walking down Mud Bottle Alley.