"S-Spiritual energy… it entered his body?!"
Song Daren's eyes widened as he stared at the swirling light faintly visible around Zhang Xiaofan's body. For a full second, he was frozen, mouth agape, before he finally stammered out the words.
"That… that can't be right," he muttered, still unable to believe what he was seeing. "It took me ten whole days just to sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and even longer to draw it into my meridians…"
His eyes narrowed, and he rubbed them vigorously with the back of his hand, half-expecting the scene to vanish. But no, Zhang Xiaofan remained seated in meditation, bathed in a gentle, flowing aura that pulsed softly with the rhythm of the Tai Chi Xuanqing Dao. The energy flowed into his body like it had been waiting for him all along.
This wasn't just unusual. It was downright impossible.
"But my junior brother's aptitude is supposed to be average… How could he attract spiritual energy on his very first attempt?" Song Daren muttered again, stunned. "Am I dreaming?"
A familiar voice interrupted his disbelief.
"Senior Brother… did you see that too?"
Tian Ling'er hovered nearby, descending lightly onto the ground. Her Amber Red Silk ribbon fluttered down beside her. Her large, curious eyes were fixed on Zhang Xiaofan, her pretty face scrunched in disbelief.
"I wasn't seeing things, right? He really… drew in spiritual energy just now, right?"
Song Daren turned to her and grabbed her shoulders. "Junior Sister, how long did it take you to absorb spiritual energy when you first practiced the Tai Chi Xuanqing Dao?"
"Five days!" Tian Ling'er answered with a proud smile, raising her hand like a schoolchild. "And I thought I was fast until I heard about Senior Sister Lu Xueqi. She managed it in two days! Master Shuiyue said she was a once-in-a-generation genius. She treasures her more than even our eldest senior sister, Wenmin!"
Song Daren blinked. "Wenmin…" he echoed the name, and an unintentional smile crept across his lips as an image of the mature and elegant Wenmin floated into his mind.
Tian Ling'er immediately noticed. Her eyes narrowed as she teased, "Senior Brother, your face is red. Are you thinking about Senior Sister Wenmin again? Next time I go to Xiaozhu Peak, I'll be sure to tell her that her biggest fan is still hopelessly in love."
"H-Hey! You little troublemaker!" Song Daren turned red and waved his hands in protest. "Don't talk nonsense!"
But despite their banter, both their gazes soon returned to the boy sitting cross-legged on the bamboo-covered ground, still drawing in spiritual energy with ease.
After a moment of silence, Song Daren sighed deeply, as if exhaling all the confusion inside him. "If Master finds out that his 'average' disciple actually has such monstrous talent, he might just laugh himself awake in the middle of the night."
Tian Ling'er giggled. "He'll act all stern on the outside, but inside he'll be grinning. I bet he'll whisper to my mother about it in secret and say that his eye for talent is better than that old fogey Cangsong."
Just then, Zhang Xiaofan exhaled slowly. A stream of turbid black air escaped his lips, carrying with it the impurities expelled from his body. He opened his eyes, calm and composed, as if everything that had just happened was perfectly natural.
Song Daren rushed over, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. "Junior Brother! You… you really are a genius! How many cycles of the Tai Chi Xuanqing Dao did you manage to complete just now?"
Zhang Xiaofan thought for a moment. "Five," he replied calmly.
Hiss—!
Song Daren nearly stumbled backward. "Five full cycles? In one sitting?! At this rate… you'll complete thirty-six cycles in six days and reach the first level of Jade Purity!"
Zhang Xiaofan shook his head. "No, that's still too slow. I think… I'll need about a month."
Song Daren blinked.
Then he pointed a trembling finger at Zhang Xiaofan and said in mock outrage, "A month is slow? It took me six months to reach the first level, and Master praised me like I was a rare genius! Even Lu Xueqi needed ten days!"
He gritted his teeth and huffed, "If you weren't my junior brother, I'd drag you back to the hall and beat you with a broom!"
Zhang Xiaofan only smiled, unaffected by the praise or the scolding.
He stood up, picked up the nearby axe, and turned toward the surrounding bamboo forest.
His gaze fell on a black bamboo tree the width of a bowl.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Song Daren panicked. "Junior Brother! That's black-knotted bamboo hard as iron! You've only just started cultivating.
If you try chopping that, your hands might break. At worst, you could fracture your wrist!"
Zhang Xiaofan said nothing.
He silently activated the Tai Chi Xuanqing Dao.
A wave of cool, tranquil energy surged through his limbs. His hands gripped the axe firmly. With calm focus, he stepped forward and swung.
Crack!
The sound echoed sharply through the clearing.
The black bamboo split in one clean stroke.
Song Daren was speechless. Tian Ling'er covered her mouth in astonishment.
The clearing fell into stunned silence as the truth sank in Zhang Xiaofan, once thought to be an ordinary disciple, was no ordinary cultivator.
He was a genius hidden in plain sight.
And his journey had only just begun.