“No need for that.” Qingtong shook his head. “Give me your hand and let me take a look.”
Discipleship initiation naturally meant he had to let his master read his bones to determine his aptitude. But then again, his woodfire… Mo Tianliao was hesitant. A fire of a different attribute was a treasure of the universe, and such things were best kept secret before he regained his powers. However—he looked up at his stunningly beautiful master—if he hid this from even his master, he could forget about obtaining cultivation techniques that actually suited him.
Making up his mind, Mo Tianliao rolled up his sleeve and held out his right arm. He watched as Qingtong’s hand extended from the wide white sleeve, so fair it was almost transparent. Two long, slender fingers slowly settled on a wrist the color of honey.
The sensation of being touched by what felt like the finest white jade, cool but with just a trace of warmth, momentarily distracted Mo Tianliao before he realized something was off. He’d extended his right hand, so his master, who was sitting opposite him, should have used his left hand to take his pulse. Why did he use his right hand too?
Before Mo Tianliao could figure it out, those pretty fingers pulled away.
Qingtong stared at him in wordless silence for a moment, then got up and tossed a jade slip in Mo Tianliao’s face. “Figure it out yourself. Don’t bother me unless it’s absolutely necessary.” Then he left with a flick of his sleeves.
The doors to the inner chamber opened and closed with a bang, and the peerless beauty disappeared from his sight.
Mo Tianliao took the jade slip off his face and blinked.
Unlike a bamboo slip, where the text was written out plain for anyone to see, the contents of a jade slip like this could only be read by a cultivator—you had to use your divine sense to access the information. He was supposed to be a mere mortal who hadn’t even learned to absorb spiritual energy, wasn’t he? How did his new master expect him to figure out this jade slip on his own? Shizun, have you forgotten something…?
With the jade slip in hand, Mo Tianliao walked out of the grand hall and squatted at the entrance. He looked at the spiritual energy that had condensed into colorful ribbons in the sunlight, then at the jade slip, and sighed.
A tall figure blocked the sun in front of him. Mo Tianliao looked up to see a man in his thirties in a plain-colored brocade robe smiling down at him.
Mo Tianliao suddenly remembered that he could seek guidance from fellow disciples in Woyun Sect—of course he didn’t need personal instruction from his master for minor stuff like learning to absorb spiritual energy. Using that as his cover, he could relax and focus on cultivating the basic techniques.
Realizing this, Mo Tianliao promptly stood up with a smile that, coupled with his young looks, gave him the appearance of an innocent youth. “Shixiong, how should I address you?”
A look of alarm came over the man’s face, and he bowed. “I am Suheng, a second-generation disciple of Woqing Sanctum. Shishu, you mustn’t address me as shixiong.”2
The corners of Innocent Youth Mo Tianliao’s lips twitched.
Suheng was here to look after him temporarily. As he led Mo Tianliao to his quarters, he explained the current situation of Woqing Sanctum. Apparently, he was only the second personal disciple his beautiful shizun had ever taken; all the second-generation disciples here were taught by his senior, who was currently away training. As such, Mo Tianliao was presently the second highest in seniority after the sanctum-masters. No one would dare to order him around, but no one was qualified to guide him either. Mo Tianliao felt a headache coming on.
His new home was a small courtyard in Qingning Palace, and the decorations and furnishings were all very luxurious. Once he’d dismissed the chatty Suheng, Mo Tianliao sat cross-legged on the bed and pressed the jade slip to his forehead to see what kind of cultivation technique it was.
Techniques had to match a cultivator’s attributes.
In his previous life, he’d had the dual attributes of earth and fire, so he’d been well-versed in earth- and fire-element skills. Fire could strengthen earth, so he’d primarily focused on earth-based spells. Now that he possessed an innate wood attribute, which came with a woodfire that he still didn’t know how to use, he could employ both wood- and fire-element spells. Wood could spark fire, so he’d have to concentrate on fire as his main offensive attribute going forward.
Metal, wood, water, fire, earth—the five elements complemented each other. If someone with dual attributes possessed two complementary ones like wood and fire, they could achieve twice the results with half the effort. With proper cultivation, they might even become more powerful than those with a single attribute. But if they had two conflicting attributes, such as water and fire, then they were terribly unlucky. They would have to learn both types of spells separately, as they couldn’t be used simultaneously. Their offensive power could be even worse than those with three attributes.
Mo Tianliao knew little about wood-based techniques. This was the reason he’d had to take a master. In his current penniless state, it’d be hard for him to get his hands on a top-notch technique.
The moment the jade slip touched his forehead, his powerful divine soul perceived its contents in their entirety. It contained The Art of Burning Wood, which described a special technique suitable for a person with wood and fire attributes.
Delighted, Mo Tianliao mentally read the content of the first chapter. Then he opened his eyes with a peculiar expression on his face. Bafflingly, this manual only allowed him to read one chapter every day.
The Art of Burning Wood Chapter One: Fruit Tree—
Upon the southern mountain stands a tree,
which yields a fruity scent when set aflame.
Seek a deer, and burn it o’er this wood.
In other words, there was a tree with a fruity fragrance on the spiritual energy-rich, sun-facing southern mountain. He was supposed to cut down this tree, hunt a deer, ignite the wood, and grill the deer over the fire.
And that was the entire first chapter.
What in the world even was this technique?
✦ ✦ ✦
MINI EXTRA
Woodworker: Shizun, are you sure this isn’t a cookbook?
Shizun: This is a cultivation novel, not a Michelin guidebook.
Woodworker: Oh… So, it’s really not a cookbook?
Shizun: *quietly bares glinting claws*
Woodworker: Ahaha, of course, this must be a top-tier technique. I’ll cultivate it right away, haha!