“Cultivation is a combination of spiritual practices and physical exercises with the aim of achieving longevity using the methods of external alchemy and internal alchemy,” Tian Zhe, being in the library reading room allocated for him, wrote down the main theses of the material he had passed.

“External alchemy is a combination of energy received from external alchemical transformations such as pills and elixirs of spiritual development or the so-called immortality.”

“Inner alchemy is the transformation of the body associated with the development of the spiritual core, internal meridians, and the Dantian opening.”

“In the Jade City, perfection is divided into the realms of mortals with ordinary people, which is equivalent to iron, the earthly realm with bronze, silver and gold ranks, the heavenly realm with venerable, holy and legendary ranks.”

“Perhaps there is a divine kingdom, and those who have achieved it can be qualified as immortal masters, only there are no records in the library and no direct evidence.”

Reflecting, Tian Zhe stopped his gaze at one of the manuscripts. Unlike other books related to improvement, the hard-to-read manuscript in his hands was a collection of poetry that has survived from the time of the Black Dragon Empire.

In the collection of poetry “Dreams of the Dragon,” in a poetic manner told about the founder of the Black Dragon Empire and that attracted the attention of the young man, this is a colorful description of how the armies of immortal masters fought. Tian Zhe drew attention to the fact that the immortals were described as those who rule over the Earth and Heaven. “Dreams of the Dragon” only referred to the immortals, and the young man did not know if the description of the powerful adepts of the past was an exaggeration like myths and legends from Earth, or the author personally met those who rose above the heavenly kingdom.

“The divine kingdom is the kingdom of the immortals, and only they know the way ... some nonsense,” Tian Zhe sighed heavily. His punishment has come to an end, and today, after classes, classmates will come to him to learn about the attributes of spiritual cores.

The existence of attributes gave Tian Zhe a headache due to the fact that the Ice Lotus Academy had very few development techniques that were not related to the elements of fire, ice, water, and wind. In addition to spontaneous cultivation techniques, Tian Zhe revised the list of techniques for strengthening the body and spiritual development. The last two types of techniques were used as an addition to the improvement technique, and therefore their correct selection was also important for the adepts. Still, to the disappointment of the young man, there was not a single element of lightning among the basic and auxiliary techniques.

“Not surprisingly, if the five founding clans specialized in certain elements, then their followers from noble and noble families will also not get far from their masters.”

The Fire Orchid is fire.

Snow Wisteria is ice and water.

Misty Peony is water and wind.

“The sacred families of the Fire-Ice Lotus and Heavenly Chrysanthemum have perished during the previous invasions of demonic beasts, and most of their techniques have been lost.”

“Most likely, the Fire-Ice Lotus family specialized in uniting the elements, but the Heavenly Chrysanthemum is not known.”

Tian Zhe thought. The Heavenly Chrysanthemum family was completely destroyed three hundred years ago. The Fire-Ice Lotus family founded the Ice Lotus Academy to preserve the heritage of their ancestors in it in the event that some family could die without leaving anything.

“Only noble and sacred families transferred only weak developmental techniques to the academy. Otherwise, their position in society could be shaken. As a result, even the highest techniques of the Fire-Ice Lotus family were not preserved in the academy founded by them after the death of the sacred family a hundred years ago.”

“Can you transfer the Divine Phoenix Technique to Sung Min and Yun Yunru?” Tian Zhe considered the development technique of the direct heirs of the Fire Orchid family mediocre, and since his spiritual core had the attributes of a thunder dragon, it is difficult for him to judge its effectiveness.

“Who are you going to pass on the legacy of our family?”

“Classmates whose attributes fit the Deity technique… what the hell ?!” Tian Zhe was stunned. He did not notice the visitor despite his excellent spiritual perception.

“You should see your face now,” a man stepped out of the corner, laughing. He was tall, definitely one of the tallest men in the city, and despite the fact that the man was considered an old man, his powerful physique screamed that a man would give odds to any young man.

“Uncle Zan!” Tian Zhe immediately stood up, greeting the relative.

“I’m glad to see that little Zhe learns even during punishment.” Tian Zan could not help but praise his nephew, remembering how lazy his older brother Tian Lei was. “So why do you want to transfer our family value to outsiders?” Tian Zan could not leave this question unanswered.

“See how effective it is in comparison with the techniques available to ordinary nobles and commoners.”

“Why do you want to know?”

“If my classmates reach the heights, then the technique is something, and if they do not differ from other adherents of the noble houses, then the Divine Phoenix is just garbage.”

“Baby Zhe, your words make our ancestors cry,” Tian Zan chuckled. ”Why don't you compare yourself with the heirs of noble and sacred families?”

“Because the Divine Phoenix doesn't suit me because of my attributes.”

“Exactly, earlier you spoke about some attributes of classmates, and even the academy collects information about qixings. Do you know anything about this?” Tian Zan decided to ask directly.

“How long has my uncle been following me?” just as his uncle probed the young man, Tian Zhe looked out for room for maneuvers in this conversation.

“After rumors reached me that someone like you started a mess in the shopping area and hired a woman bodyguard, I sent two of my warriors to find out what you were doing,” the old man decided to put everything on the table, rightly believing that his nephew would answer openness to openness. “And then I learn that after your visit to the rector, the Ice Lotus begins to buy up spiritual crystals and collect information about qixing actively. It was not difficult to compare the facts, not to mention the fact that you bought the same crystals before meeting with Rector Ji Liu.”

“Does the head of the family know all this?”

“Your father is only interested in whether you can become the son-in-law of the city lord. He is not very worried about the affairs of the younger generation.”

“I see,” Tian Zhe thought. He expected to be revealed and was mentally prepared for this. “Will my uncle believe if I say that I have met a master of legendary rank?”

“It depends on the circumstances of the meeting and the evidence provided.”

“He entered the garden of our estate in the light of day and introduced himself as a fortuneteller,” Tian Zhe thought of the legend in advance and rehearsed it in his thoughts several times. “After that, the master told about the existence of the attributes of spiritual cores, how to check them, and listed several people's attributes, giving me the task to compile a list of attributes and distribute them to the masses.”

“And I have to believe it?” Tian Zan felt that his nephew was hiding something.

“Then how do I know all this?” I answered with a question to Tian Zhe's question. “Li Xue, the daughter of the head of the city, confirmed my words, not to mention that the master who entered our estate unnoticed cannot be a simple adherent of the heavenly kingdom.”

“Right,” Tian Zan frowned. If the daughter of the head of the city confirmed the existence of attributes, then this is really so. At the same time, the old man understood why in the family of the Snow Wisteria, the largest number of adherents of the heavenly kingdom in comparison with other sacred families. “About your master, nod if he can guarantee your safety.”

Tian Zhe shook his head.

“The master passed on only a part of his knowledge, refusing to accept disciples,” Tian Zhe continued to tell his legend. “He did not identify himself and said that he prefers indifference. For this reason, my safety depends only on me.”

“How many headaches,” Tian Zan had only to scratch his head. When his younger brother conceived his political game with the Snow Wisteria, the youngest heir to the family is tasked with uncovering cultivation secrets only known to the Snow Wisteria family. Tian Zan's premonition sounded like a pain in one place. “Baby Zhe, let's leave this question for later, and now back to the topic of attributes, can you check them with me?”

---

“Fiery elemental affinity, the phoenix-shaped core is a fiery phoenix,” Tian Zhe announced the results of the survey. “It's no wonder that my uncle became the strongest saint in Jade City. No matter how mediocre our secret development technique was, it ideally suited my uncle in terms of attributes.” 

“Baby Zhe, I hear the souls of ancestors cry when you call this technique mediocre,” Tian Zan is not used to the fact that the main treasure of the family is called mediocrity.

“It is a pity that Uncle Zan did not become a qixing,” Tian Zhe looked at the figure of a crystal phoenix in a crystal vessel. “If my uncle merged with the spirit of a fire hawk with a dragon bloodline instead of the head of the family, then our family would have a legendary qixing.”

“About this…” Tian Zan took a deep breath.

“Hmm?”

“I became a silver warrior at the age of fifteen and then merged with the spirit of a fiery swallow, thereby becoming a qixing…” the old man hesitated as if it were uncomfortable for him to speak. “My father, that is, your grandfather, set himself the goal of finding the strongest fiery spirit for me, and for the next six years, we were looking for a suitable demonic beast.”

Tian Zhe concentrated on the words of his uncle. In his memories, there was no information that his uncle was once a qixing, so he wondered why such a genius like an uncle remained a warrior as a result.

“We hunted a firehawk with a dragon bloodline for a long time with several elders of the family and finally managed to defeat one when I turned twenty-two.”

“Then, why did you choose to remain a warrior?”

“To celebrate, we had a feast right on the spot, and I drank alcohol so much that I broke into the kingdom of the golden sphere right after I extracted the spirit of a fiery swallow from my spiritual core.”

“...” Tian Zhe did not believe his words. “I'm sorry, what?”

“Don't look at me like that. I reached the peak of the silver rank by the age of nineteen and held back my development for several years,” Tian Zan laughed as he remembered the past. “During this time, the silver cage around my spiritual core became golden and was ready to close with the golden sphere at any moment.”

“...”

“When I suddenly broke through and became golden, your grandfather went mad with anger and beat me until I passed out.”

With every word of his uncle, Tian Zhe wanted more and more to join the late grandfather and treat his uncle with a few blows of the iron club.

“The spirit of the fiery swallow scattered back then, and since the spirit of the fiery hawk became unnecessary for me, it went to your father,” Tian Zan wiped away the tears that had come from his laughter. “Oh, I'll never forget how Tian Zun looked at me when he heard that I had become an ordinary golden warrior.”

“Now, I understand why my father never abused alcohol and does not tolerate drunkards.”

“Yes, your father has changed a lot and became very serious,” Tian Zan took a pumpkin bottle from the space ring and drained the container in one gulp. “Reminds me of your grandfather. He also hated alcoholics and began to beat me as soon as he saw with a bottle in his hands.”

“I swear to never get drunk until I reach the golden sphere,” Tian Zhe's heart wandered in the darkness of thoughts. He did not know that his father and grandfather suffered the same mental anguish because of Tian Zan.

“Okay, we laughed, and that's enough.”

“You're the only one laughing here,” Tian Zhe said.

“Tian Zhe,” Tian Zan first called his nephew by his full name, hinting that the next conversation would be serious.” What are those children to whom you want to transfer the Divine Phoenix technique?

“Sung Ming is from a poor commoner family, he has a double attribute of fire and wind, and the form of a spiritual core is in the form of a phoenix,” Tian Zhe tried to become serious. “Yun Yongru is from a noble family. This pervert has the attribute of fire and a cloud-shaped core.”

“Pervert?” Tian Zan was not serious for long. “Did this girl harass my nephew?”

“Lord, why do I need it?” Tian Zhe suddenly felt pain. “No, this girl spied on the bathing women, and when she was almost caught, she set me up.”

“So you also spied on the poor girls?” Tian Dazn made a face, at the sight of which Zhe wanted to throw his uncle off the cliff.

“I’m an innocent victim of circumstance,” the young man tried to maintain his composure. “My bodyguard washed there, and so I was waiting for a row...”

“So you spied on a subordinate?” Tian Zan did not stop. “My nephew has grown so much over the summer.”

“Someone save me!”

As if in answer to the prayers of a young man, there was a knock on the door.

“Brother Zhe, we've come,” Yun Yongru's ringing voice was heard outside the door.

“Speaks of the devil,” the young man inhaled heavily. His classmates came at the wrong time, “Come in.”

Yun Yongru and Sung Ming entered the room, and when they saw a large man with a strong physique, the teenagers froze.

“Don't be afraid of me. This old man would like to meet his nephew's friends.” Tian Zan greeted the children warmly, giving the impression of a reliable adult.

“Leader Zan!” Sung Ming could not believe his own eyes. If the brawny old man is indeed the uncle of their classmate Tian Zhe, he is facing the Red Wings' legendary leader.

“Ho, even the children know me?” Tian Zan smiled slyly, enjoying the children's reaction.

“Of course!” Yun Yongru spoke up. “There is no one in the Jade City who does not admire the legendary adepts of the Red Wings; all children dream of becoming red feathers!”

“So you also dream of becoming my feathers?” Tian Zan looked at the children with the eyes of a bird of prey. If Tian Zhe is right, then the Divine Phoenix technique was appropriate for these children.

“This poor child does not dare dream of such a thing,” Sung Ming bowed deeply. He came with Yun Yongru because he wanted to learn from Tian Zhe about his attributes, and the very presence of the leader of the Red Wings was pressing on the boy.

“This impudent girl will not refuse if she is offered to become one of the red feathers!”

“The impudent girl... in principle, it is logical,” Tian Zhe was shocked. He knew his uncle from childhood, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that a Mischievous old man replaced his always busy father, but something in this situation made the young man experience a headache. “Is Uncle Zan really that famous among ordinary people? Stop!”

“I have a bad feeling,” Tian Zhe.

“Little Yunru, is it true that you spied on the girls in the baths?”

Yun Yongru was shocked, not because Tian Zan gave her up, but because Tian Zan knew her name.

“Yes.”

“Do you feel sorry for your wrongdoing?”

“No! The girl answered proudly. “Next time, no one will notice me!”

“Ho.”

“I have a terrible feeling about it.”

“It seems like heaven favors me,” Tian Zan opened another bottle and laughed. “Having come to visit my nephew, I met wonderful children, a modest little Ming, and a Mischievous little Yunru!”

“Uncle, just don't say what you want...” the young man did not have the confidence to finish the sentence.

“I decided, now you two are my students!”

“I thought so,” Tian Zhe felt ill.

“What?!” Shouted Sung Ming and Yun Yongru in unison.

“Little Yunru, next time, no one will catch you peeping,” Tian Zan's joyous voice shook the bookshelves. “I will teach you how to properly hide your presence, and together, we will penetrate all the women's baths of Jade City!”

“Can I pick up the documents from the academy?” today, Tian Zhe realized that fate is sometimes unusually cruel.

His respected uncle Zan turned out to be a hellish mixture of Uncle Iroh and Jiraiya, but worst of all, the Mischievous old man met a Mischievous girl.