As soon as Sect Leader Qi departed, Elder Bai clicked his tongue, shaking his head in wonder. “Well, well, Lu Qing. You really managed to snag a prized disciple, didn’t you?”

Elder Lu chuckled, stroking his beard. “Just happened to run into him. Pure luck.”

Elder Yan, Elder Bai, and Elder Mou were momentarily speechless.

He rushed to snatch the disciple before anyone else noticed, and now he has the gall to call it luck?

“If you want him to enter the Ancestral Tree’s earth vein,” Elder Yan said dryly, “you and your disciple better think carefully about how to convince the rest of us.”

With that final warning, the three Elders took their leave.

Elder Lu led Han Yu out of the Deacon’s Hall, and as the heavy doors closed behind them, both master and disciple exhaled a long breath of relief.

“Finally. We’ve cleared the suspicion hanging over your head,” Elder Lu said, his tone turning stern. “From now on, you are forbidden from secretly practicing unknown arts without telling me. Do you understand?”

“I understand, Master. Thank you for your trust and for protecting me,” Han Yu replied, bowing deeply with genuine gratitude.

Elder Lu waved his hand dismissively. “There is no need for thanks between master and disciple. You committed no true crime—you merely practiced two techniques by mistake. It’s hardly a sin.”

His eyes narrowed slightly. “However, if you ever dare to emulate Demonic Cultivators and consume Blood Food, do not expect the Sect to punish you. I will execute you myself.”

“Disciple would never dare,” Han Yu said firmly.

They returned to Elder Lu’s courtyard on the Main Peak. Once inside the safety of the wards, Elder Lu laid out the path forward.

“If you want to gain the true acknowledgment of the Sect Leader and the Council of Elders—and reclaim your spot at the Ancestral Tree—you must follow my instructions to the letter. Starting today, you are not to leave the Main Peak by even half a step. Aside from your daily cultivation, you will spend two hours every day at the Battle Hall.”

“We will do this for two or three years,” Elder Lu explained. “Once your Blood Talisman naturally advances from the fifth to the sixth layer of Blood Refining without you consuming a drop of Blood Food, your innocence will be undeniable. I will then fight to win that opportunity back for you.”

“By then, you should be at the sixth layer of Qi Refining. Using the Spirit Infusion Power, you can jump directly to the seventh layer, saving you three years of bitter grind.”

Han Yu frowned thoughtfully. “If that is the case, wouldn’t it be better to save this opportunity? I could use it to jump from the eighth to the ninth layer, or even use it to breakthrough into Foundation Establishment.”

Elder Lu laughed, shaking his head. “Do you think the Ancestral Tree is a tavern you can visit whenever you please?”

“This opportunity only exists because Elders Wen and Mu are currently out of seclusion, leaving a surplus of energy in the vein. If you miss this window, another Elder might enter seclusion to break through. Once they begin absorbing the vein’s power, who knows how many years you will have to wait for a surplus to build up again?”

“If the Spirit Infusion Power is depleted and needs to regenerate, the Sect won’t offer it as a reward at all. You’d get a few spirit stones and a pat on the back instead.”

Han Yu nodded slowly. An opportunity to directly increase cultivation level is indeed rare. No wonder Master fought so hard for it.

“One more thing,” Elder Lu added, his expression turning serious. “That Star Luo Traction Technique… even the Sect Leader failed to master it. There is likely some profound difficulty or hidden trap within it. If you can master it, it will solidify your reputation as possessing ‘Universal Comprehension,’ which is good. But if you cannot, do not force it. Do not damage your foundation for the sake of pride.”

“Remember this: Even if you fail to learn it, you are still a verified disciple of Wanchun Valley, you are still my student, and you are still a natural prodigy in spellcasting.”

“In cultivation, one must strive to be first, to never fall behind—but one must never be blindly aggressive to the point of self-destruction.”

Han Yu bowed. “Yes, Master. I will remember.”

Elder Lu pointed to a side room in the courtyard. “Good. That will be your quarters. Cultivate there with peace of mind. If you have belongings at the Spirit Field Department, I will have Li Yunxia fetch them for you.”

“Disciple carries all cultivation and combat necessities in his Storage Bag,” Han Yu replied. “There is nothing to pack.”

He hesitated. “However… I am unsure how to bring my spirit crows to the Main Peak.”

“Didn’t you just receive a Spirit Beast Bag?” Elder Lu asked. “Refine it, stuff the crows inside, and bring them here. We can build a nest in the courtyard. As spirit birds, they should be intelligent enough not to cause a racket.”

“Just be careful,” Lu added. ” The flock of white cranes on the Main Peak are pampered and territorial. Don’t let your birds pick a fight with them.”

Han Yu looked troubled. “Master… I have quite a few spirit crows. I do not think a single Spirit Beast Bag will hold them all. And I also have a flock of ordinary crows that follow them; bringing them all to the Main Peak might be difficult.”

Quite a few? Ordinary crows too?

Elder Lu looked puzzled. “How many spirit crows have you contracted?”

“As far as I know, although the Beast Heart Psychic Pact allows for more bonds than standard Beast Taming, the limit is tied to the spirit beast’s level and the master’s physique and mana.”

“Disciples of the Spirit Beast Sect train their bodies specifically to hold more contracts. With your current physique and cultivation… surely seven or eight is your limit?”

Han Yu blinked. “Disciple has contracted twenty spirit crows.”

Elder Lu stared at him. His jaw went slack. “Twenty?”

Is this the terrifying power of ‘Universal Comprehension’?

Even the most elite geniuses of the Spirit Beast Sect couldn’t contract ten Qi Refining beasts while only being at the fifth layer of Qi Refining themselves. The mental burden would shatter their minds.

How did my disciple do it?

Han Yu saw his master’s reaction and felt a strange sense of realization. So, Spirit Beast Sect disciples don’t contract beasts as easily as I do.

Why was my limit so high? Was it the fifth layer of Blood Refining strengthening my body? Or the Spirit Nurturing Technique building intimacy with them beforehand?

“Is twenty your limit?” Elder Lu asked, his voice slightly strained.

“Yes. That is the limit,” Han Yu confirmed.

Elder Lu let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He felt a mix of disappointment and relief. Good. The brat has a limit. If he said he could keep going, I might have had a heart attack.

“Twenty spirit birds…” Elder Lu rubbed his temples. “Feeding them Spirit Beast Pills would bankrupt us. But letting them starve is not an option…”

Bringing twenty spirit birds plus a flock of ordinary retainers to the Main Peak was a logistical nightmare.

“We will compromise,” Elder Lu decided. “Pick your strongest elites and bring them here. I will issue you a special token for them. The rest will remain at the Spirit Field Department to forage and grow on their own.”

“When you need them, you can go collect them. Spirit Beast Bags care about mass and resistance, not just headcount. Crows are small and obedient; you can fit twenty in a pinch if you need to mobilize.”

Han Yu nodded. “Understood. Then I won’t leave the Main Peak. It is a pity I couldn’t say goodbye to Senior Sister Li and Senior Brother Hua.”

“Li Yunxia will come to report tomorrow,” Elder Lu smiled. “You can send a message then.”

With the logistics settled, Han Yu entered his new room.

He sat cross-legged on the meditation mat. He cycled through the Green Grain Qi Cultivation Method, the Blood Refining Technique, and the Thousand Illusions Secret Art to stabilize his state. Then, he used his Spirit Breath to refine the new Spirit Beast Bag.

Once that was done, he laid out the three jade slips on the table.

The Spirit Eye Technique. The Object Explosion Technique. And the silvery-white Star Luo Traction Technique.

Han Yu reached for the silver slip first. This was the technique even the Sect Leader had failed to master. If he could learn this, his cover as a genius of “Universal Comprehension” would be unshakeable.

He injected his spiritual sense into the jade.

Immediately, he was stunned. What is this?

The text began with a passage of profound, almost nonsensical mysticism:

“Stars spread their influence; the myriad phenomena are tethered. The Dipper’s radiance cycles through the heavens; the mechanisms of Heaven, Earth, and Man—nothing is left unguided.”

It sounded majestic. But then the text continued immediately:

“Since you have entered the gate, you shall condense the Star Luo, tractioning the spiritual mechanisms of all things for your own use…”

The manual went on to describe how to deploy the Star Luo network around the body and use it in combat. The effects were miraculous: heightening sensitivity to a god-like degree, guiding one’s own spells to strike with unerring accuracy, and deflecting enemy attacks with a thought.

But Han Yu withdrew his mind from the slip, frowning.

Isn’t this missing the most important part?*

It says “Since you have entered the gate”… but where are the instructions on how to enter the gate?