Ling Huan woke up in a daze.
He only remembered being carried on someone’s back, though he had no idea where he was being taken.
As he forced his heavy eyelids open, a skeletal face suddenly loomed before him—gaunt, covered in stubble, with sunken sockets and dark circles.
A bizarre smile was plastered across the man’s face, staring right at him.
Holy crap?!
His blurry consciousness was instantly jolted awake by that horrifying face!
Without a second thought, Ling Huan threw a straight punch, his fist whistling through the air as it aimed for the man’s face.
Unexpectedly, the man caught Ling Huan’s wrist with a backhand.
He began to meticulously stroke Ling Huan’s arm, pinching the flesh and bone while making clicking noises of admiration.
From time to time, he muttered the word “Good” over and over.
Heavy breath brushed against Ling Huan’s arm.
The damp sensation sent a wave of revulsion through him, and goosebumps instantly broke out all over his body!
Pervert!
Just as Ling Huan was about to deliver a headbutt straight to the man’s nose, a voice hurriedly called out to stop him.
“Young Master, wait! This—this is my father! He might look a bit strange, but he’s a good person! He’s just measuring your root and bone!”
Ling Huan immediately recognized the owner of the voice.
He looked toward the sound and saw Zeng Xiaotong standing nearby, along with a visibly distraught Yin Luoling.
“What a physique! This body is incredible! It’s simply magnificent. The more I look at it, the more I like it!”
Ling Huan looked at Zeng Xiaotong with an expression of utter disbelief, then looked back at the terrifying middle-aged man whose face was almost pressed into his arm.
He didn’t want to believe it.
“P-please forgive the embarrassment, Young Master.”
Zeng Xiaotong laughed awkwardly.
She ran over to her father’s side and slammed her small hand against his back.
“Father, you’re being too rude!”
“Uh… Oh! My apologies! Child, I was a bit carried away seeing your body. I lost my composure and startled you!”
The more he listened to these words, the worse they sounded.
If they were back on Earth, this guy would definitely be arrested for being a creep.
“I am Zeng Ge, and this is my daughter, Zeng Xiaotong!”
The lecherous look gradually faded from Zeng Ge’s face, replaced by his usual sickly appearance.
“I am a body cultivator. Seeing a talent like yours made me lose my manners. I am truly sorry!”
Zeng Ge…?
That name sounded familiar.
Wasn’t he the one people said to believe in for eternal life?
No, wait, that was Chun Ge.
No, no, now was not the time to dwell on that.
“I… I see.”
Ling Huan stood up and bowed.
“Thank you for saving my life. My name is Ling Huan, and that lady over there is my sister, Yin Luoling. There seems to have been a misunderstanding earlier that caused my sister to attack me. I apologize for making everyone worry.”
After all… he had accidentally stripped her clothes before.
In her eyes, he was probably a total pervert of a brother.
That was likely why she suddenly attacked him when she saw him holding Zeng Xiaotong’s hand and making her cry.
The word “beast” was like a tiny thorn stuck in Ling Huan’s heart; it actually stung quite a bit.
The “Brother-Complex Cultivation Plan” could officially be declared dead.
“Young friend, would you be willing to take me as your master?”
“…Huh?”
The sudden invitation caught Ling Huan completely off guard.
Young friend…?
When Yin Luoling heard Zeng Ge use that form of address, she felt as if a large chunk of her heart had been carved out by a knife.
The world seemed to spin, and her vision went dark.
Calling him “young friend” was the most direct way for the older generation in the cultivation world to express their favor toward the youth!
As long as Ling Huan agreed, the man would probably be dying to transfer his cultivation to him right then and there!
My tower…
“Hey, what’s wrong with you?”
Zeng Xiaotong saw Yin Luoling swaying as if she were about to collapse and immediately reached out to support her.
“Should I have my father take a look at you too?”
“No… no thanks.”
Yin Luoling was afraid that if he looked at her, she would literally die of rage.
She had put in so much effort in private, even practicing interpersonal communication skills since her previous life.
She had read so many stories just so she could convince people with logic in this new life!
She had even used puppets in the secret realm to practice her dialogue!
It was supposed to be perfect!
Why was nothing working in this life?!
Not only did she fail to convince people, but they were running away!
And they weren’t just running away; they were running straight to her mortal enemy!
Old blood pooled in Yin Luoling’s throat.
If not for her powerful willpower, she truly would have vomited blood and died.
“Uh… Uncle Zeng. I appreciate the kindness, but I already have a master.”
Ling Huan scratched his head awkwardly.
At this moment, Yin Luoling had never found Ling Huan’s words so pleasant to hear!
Yes, exactly like that!
Refuse!
If I can’t have it, you can’t have it either!
It’s best if nobody gets anything!
“A master? That doesn’t matter. Even if we don’t use the titles of master and disciple, it’s fine. As long as you are willing to inherit my family’s Unique Skill!”
Giving it away for free…?
If he wanted to pass it down so badly, why not give it to his daughter?
“Then why not pass it to your daughter?”
Ling Huan asked.
“I’ve wanted to, but Xiaotong’s body is too weak. She cannot withstand such a domineering Unique Skill. Moreover, although it’s a family heirloom, the truth is that our ancestors were disciples of a declined sect. To fulfill the master’s dying wish, this skill must be passed down from generation to generation. It has become a tradition of our house. If someone can learn it, it will count as not failing our ancestors’ trust, and only then can we do what we actually want to do.”
“I see. That’s quite a sense of mission,” Ling Huan nodded and commented.
!?
So there was no need for all that humble posturing; he could have just nodded and agreed?
Yin Luoling truly realized the meaning of “the more you do, the more you mess up.”
If her cultivation weren’t too low, she would have loved to die again right now.
Unfortunately, the world wasn’t that convenient.
At that moment, Ling Huan noticed Yin Luoling’s gaze.
Truthfully, this sister of his was very cold.
She was like eternal ice that wouldn’t melt.
Though they hadn’t spent much time together, this was the first time Ling Huan had seen such a burning gaze from her.
Of course, since he was currently a “perverted brother,” that gaze naturally wasn’t directed at him.
But thinking back to what Yin Luoling had said to him before, a guess formed in Ling Huan’s mind.
“How about letting my sister learn it?”
Ling Huan!
Good job!
I don’t know what kind of scheme you’re cooking up now, but as long as I get the Nine-Aperture Exquisite Tower, nothing else matters!
Yin Luoling never imagined there would be a day when she would praise Ling Huan or think he did a good job!
She had never found him so pleasant to look at!
Yin Luoling’s eyes sparkled.
That cold expression finally softened in Ling Huan’s eyes—not because of confusion or anger, but because of joy.
So this was what she looked like when she was happy.
Yin Luoling’s expression wasn’t overly dramatic.
The corners of her mouth didn’t lift much, but her eyes grew wider and brighter as she pursed her lips and gave a shallow smile.
“That won’t work.”
Zeng Ge shook his head.
“Your sister’s aptitude is decent, but compared to you, she falls quite short. Furthermore, my Unique Skill is domineering and fierce; I’m afraid this young lady wouldn’t be able to handle it. Besides, she already has a family Unique Skill. Learning another would be inappropriate.”
“We haven’t even tried, so how do we know it’s inappropriate? Is there some rule that says one can’t learn more than one?”
“It’s not that.”
Zeng Ge shook his head.
“I’m afraid you might not know, young friend, but Unique Skills are different from other techniques. You can cultivate many techniques, but you can only learn one Unique Skill. The fear is the backlash.”
“…Backlash?”
Ling Huan showed a confused expression.
Hearing this, Yin Luoling suddenly realized she had forgotten something very important.
In the Lower Realm, no one could break through to the Soul Transformation stage!
Because of thousands or even tens of thousands of years of isolation, no one had reached that stage, and naturally, no one knew the truth about Unique Skills.
Naturally, no one would suspect that a Unique Skill was actually a castrated version of a Soul Transformation stage Divine Power.
So-called Divine Powers were the manifestation of Laws.
They were a true high-level power that only cultivators at the Soul Transformation stage or above could touch.
Once a cultivator had a deep understanding of the Laws of Heaven and Earth, those Laws would be naturally engraved upon their Primordial Spirit, allowing them to command the Laws of the Great Dao.
But the Laws of the Great Dao weren’t all useful or good.
That was why cultivators were specifically nurtured from a low level to make their physical bodies and Primordial Spirits lean toward the Laws of a specific field.
This was known as an Acquired Divine Power.
In the Immortal Realm, they were called “Unique Skills.”
The usage was the same in the Lower Realm, but because she had stayed in the Immortal Realm for too long, she had long forgotten that the two realms had different interpretations of “Unique Skills.”
Whether in the Immortal Realm or the Human Realm, one couldn’t learn too many Unique Skills because the physical body couldn’t withstand too much Law power.
However, one could learn multiple ones as long as they weren’t used at the same time; as long as the user didn’t switch between them too frequently, it wouldn’t harm the body.
But in the Human Realm, the path to Soul Transformation was cut off, and high-level cultivators had gradually died of old age.
True records regarding “Divine Powers” were either lost due to war or deliberately destroyed, leaving behind only vague legends and scattered “Inheritance Items.”
Later geniuses found these “Inheritance Items” and felt their supreme power, but because their realm was insufficient, they couldn’t understand the essence.
They used their limited knowledge of the Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages to analyze them, mistakenly believing they were a type of “Ultimate Technique” with immense power but also immense restrictions, naming them “Unique Skills.”
After paying a heavy price—countless geniuses who tried to force themselves to learn multiple skills only to have their meridians shattered or their bodies explode—the rule of “Only One Unique Skill” became the most unshakable iron law of the cultivation world in this realm.
The education of every sect and family began with this, passed down from generation to generation without question.
…
How… How could I forget such an important thing!
If this were the Immortal Realm, being eight years old and having already learned one Unique Skill while being at the fourth level of Qi Refinement would be considered extraordinary talent!
Even in the Immortal Realm, where spiritual energy was abundant, most ordinary people wouldn’t produce spiritual energy until they were fifteen or sixteen.
How could I have forgotten this!
I was so focused on acting like a genius that I forgot the actual situation.
No wonder he won’t take me!
I literally dug my own grave.
The more I do, the more I mess up!
I should have just shown off a simple bit of spiritual energy!
Yin Luoling clutched her chest, her expression slightly contorted.
Even she was finding it hard to keep it together now.
“Are… are you really okay? Does your chest hurt?”
Zeng Xiaotong asked with concern.
“No… really, it’s fine… this is my own doing…”
Yin Luoling’s heart was bleeding.
She had to rack her brains to find a way to fix this.
Meanwhile, Ling Huan had obtained information regarding Unique Skills from Zeng Ge’s mouth.
“In other words, a Unique Skill is a technique that can turn the tide of battle in a desperate situation, but it has massive side effects?”
“Correct,” Zeng Ge nodded.
“If someone learns two, will they immediately explode and die?”
“Not necessarily,” Zeng Ge explained.
“It will only cause irreversible damage to the physical body when used. If the damage is severe and the meridians snap, one will be cut off from cultivation forever. Look at me; I was young and ignorant, thinking I could break the limits and learn two Unique Skills. That’s how I ended up like this. Fortunately, I was saved by an expert, otherwise, Xiaotong wouldn’t even be here today.”
“Uncle Zeng, so… learning two Unique Skills doesn’t kill you instantly?”
“Correct, but it is still harmful to the body, so they cannot be cultivated simultaneously.”
One Force to Subdue Ten.
Ling Huan had never had the chance to start cultivating this top-tier body refinement technique.
Even though he had tried in the simulation space, to actually enter the threshold, Ling Huan had to suffer severe injuries.
Combined with poisons that could corrode meridians and devour spiritual energy, he could utilize the physique of the Poison-Devouring Primordial Spirit Body to achieve a healing effect.
Ling Huan had never been able to practice it because he needed to stimulate his potential through damage, then strengthen his physical constitution while repairing the damage with spirit medicine.
The problem was that Ling Huan had no way to get injured secretly without Jiang Yue finding out!
But what if he cultivated a Unique Skill?
What if he cultivated two different Unique Skills?
And achieved the effect of a collapsing physique?
Based on Zeng Ge’s description, this damage was continuous but not permanent.
Rather, using them would cause the two Unique Skills to conflict.
Wasn’t this the perfect way to hide it from Jiang Yue!
“I’ll learn it! Uncle Zeng, I want to learn the Unique Skill from you!”
Ling Huan stood up excitedly!
“Good! Since you already have a master, even though we won’t call each other master and disciple, you can call me Teacher. I will pass everything I’ve learned in my life to you!”
“Could we use a different title? I already have a teacher, and I’m afraid she might get jealous.”
“Is that so? Then just call me Uncle, and I’ll call you Little Huan. Let’s not be so formal!”
A nickname?
Little Huan?
That name isn’t too bad.
“Wow, I didn’t think Father would actually find someone willing to learn his Unique Skill.”
Zeng Xiaotong was happy that her father could finally fulfill a lifelong wish.
However, she was even happier that she might get more time to spend with Ling Huan.
In an instant, Yin Luoling felt the world spinning.
Those lines of dialogue were like heavy hammers smashing against her chest.
A broken whimper escaped her lips.
Her legs gave out, and her body collapsed straight backward.