"Disciple Xu Yan, greets Master!"
Xu Yan was so excited that he knelt down with a plop and respectfully kowtowed.
"Mmm, rise!"
Li Xuan silently reached out to cover the box containing the gift for becoming a disciple, his expression stern, putting on the air of a strict master.
He had not intended to deceive anyone, but alas, Xu Yan had offered far too much.
The gift was accepted, but as for the cultivation technique?
There was none!
But it didn't matter, he could just make something up.
Li Xuan considered himself, in his previous life, to have been a failing online novel author, so making up a cultivation method was not a big issue.
Given Xu Yan's less than sharp intellect, he shouldn't be able to tell the authenticity of the cultivation technique.
As for not being able to enter the beginner's level?
That would certainly not be a problem with the technique, but rather an issue of natural talent.
"Yes, Master!"
Xu Yan stood up excitedly, gazing eagerly at Li Xuan.
"Master, when will you transmit the cultivation method to me?"
Seeing Xu Yan's hopeful eyes, Li Xuan put one hand behind his back and, pretending to be profound, slowly said, "I will tentatively accept you as my disciple, but if within one year, you have not entered the beginner's level, it means that you and I are not fated to be master and disciple. After that, you must not trouble me with your affairs, understand?"
Xu Yan's heart chilled, he took a deep breath and solemnly said, "Understood!"
"Master can rest assured, if I cannot enter the beginner's level within one year, it is due to my own lack of talent and not the fault of Master. I shall then give up the idea completely and will not disturb Master's peaceful cultivation!"
Li Xuan's face showed a gratified expression, having such an understanding disciple was truly wonderful.
Let alone one year, even ten or a hundred years would not be enough for him to enter the beginner's level.
Before making up a cultivation method to teach Xu Yan, Li Xuan needed to understand more about the outside world and the state of martial arts in this world.
Since Xu Yan mistook him for a reclusive expert who had withdrawn from the world and was unaware of the outside situation, it was only natural for Li Xuan to ask directly.
The less Li Xuan knew about the outside world, the less Xu Yan doubted, and the more he believed that his master was an old recluse with heavens-reaching cultivation and eternal youth.
He naturally spared no detail in sharing what he knew.
After some conversation, Li Xuan gained a general understanding of the outside world.
The remote village where he resided belonged to the eastern river region of Qi Country, and Qi Country had been established over a hundred years ago and was at its peak.
Presently, there were three major powers in the world: Qi Country, Wu Country, and the Northern Barbarians' court.
From Xu Yan's account, the martial arts of this world appeared not to be profound; there was no moving mountains and seas, no controlling the wind or flying. The strongest people could only leap across roofs, jump several meters, or lift heavy weights.
And Xu Yan himself had always been obsessed with legends from storybooks, determined to find a great master and cultivate a peerless, powerful cultivation technique.
Consequently, he was somewhat infamous in the eastern river region of Qi Country: everyone said the Xu family's young master was simple-minded for actually believing in such legends and seeking to learn from some reclusive expert!
Having learned about the world outside, Li Xuan felt somewhat disappointed—was this world not a high-martial world? Were there no immensely powerful martial arts?
Perhaps, Xu Yan simply couldn't reach them?
Regardless of the situation, exploring these uncertainties was not something Li Xuan could presently do. After understanding the outside world's power levels, he began to have a rough idea of how to fabricate a cultivation method to fool Xu Yan.
Cultivating it successfully was impossible; for now, he'd just make something up. And if Xu Yan failed to reach the beginner's level, it would be because of his own lack of talent, not because the technique itself was flawed.
With this thought in mind, Li Xuan spoke, "The cultivation method I pass on to you depends heavily on 'enlightenment'. Whether you can step onto the threshold depends on your aptitude and talent."
"I will give you one year. If you can't grasp the basics within a year, then it's not meant to be."
While Xu Yan was excited, he also felt some trepidation, fearing he might not be able to begin cultivating. He took a deep breath and said respectfully, "Please teach me the cultivation technique, Master. If I cannot grasp it, it will be due to my own lack of fortune and virtue!"
Li Xuan stood with his hands clasped behind his back, slightly tilting his head upwards to look at the sky, and spoke in a measured tone, "The journey of martial arts is endless, but the beginning of cultivation starts invariably with Skin Refinement, Bone Refinement, Viscera Refinement..."
Xu Yan's eyes gleamed with excitement; he listened quietly, afraid of missing a single word.
Li Xuan reminisced about the past when he used to write web novels, making up cultivation realms on the fly, and now he began to refine those ideas into a more complete cultivation overview.
"The beginning of martial arts starts with sensing qi and blood. Only by sensing qi and blood can one enter the stage of Skin Refinement. If you can't even sense qi and blood, it's all empty talk..."
"Skin Refinement, as the name suggests, is hardening the skin. Once Skin Refinement achieves great accomplishment, the skin becomes extremely tough, so that ordinary blades struggle to leave a mark, only a shallow white line at most on the flesh."
Since he was making it up, he naturally exaggerated the power of martial arts. Skin Refinement achieving great accomplishment to the point where ordinary blades couldn't harm? How impressive was that?
Seeing how excited Xu Yan was, Li Xuan knew he had thoroughly hoodwinked him.
"This is true martial arts! Just Skin Refinement alone makes one invulnerable to ordinary blades. If Bone Refinement and Viscera Refinement were included, how much stronger would one be?"
"I, Xu Yan, have finally found a hidden master and am learning the true martial arts. Once I begin my training, let's see who dares mock me!"
Xu Yan was fanatic with excitement brimming in his heart.
"Master, does achieving Skin Refinement mean I have begun my training?"
Xu Yan asked eagerly.
"This..."
Li Xuan instinctively wanted to nod and tell Xu Yan that hitting Skin Refinement meant he had begun. But then he thought, isn't that too simple?
Since it was all deception anyway, he might as well keep it grand.
He then said solemnly, "Of course not. Skin Refinement, Bone Refinement, Viscera Refinement—these are just the basics of martial arts, not even enough to be considered as beginning."
Xu Yan was shocked internally, "Skin Refinement already makes one impervious to blades, and Bone Refinement, Viscera Refinement are certainly far stronger. These are not even the beginning of martial arts, but just the basics? Then how powerful must one be after really starting?
At that moment, Xu Yan's desire and yearning for the initiation into martial arts knew no bounds.
"Master, what constitutes the beginning of martial arts training?"
"Well, the entrance to martial arts... when you reach Perfection in Viscera Refinement, when your qi and blood circulate the heavens, when your body undergoes a minor metamorphosis, your tendons thunder and your qi and blood roar like surging gangs, that is when you've truly begun," explained Li Xuan.
"Master, after entering the realm, what is the Minor Achievement, and what is the Great Achievement? How strong will my power be?"
"Martial arts divide into realms. After you begin, once your qi and blood soar a hundred feet into the sky, blazing hot as fire, easily warding off demons and spirits, capable of boiling seas and burning rivers, that is Great Achievement..."
Li Xuan continued to fabricate on the spot.
Xu Yan listened with even greater excitement and was about to ask more questions when Li Xuan, waving his hand to interrupt, said, "Enough, you haven't even started. Don't ask too much. Avoid overly ambitious goals. Cultivation requires patience, and impatience is detrimental to training!"
"Yes, Master!"
Xu Yan answered, a chill in his heart, hurriedly and respectfully.
"Hmm."
Li Xuan nodded with satisfaction. It wasn't that he didn't want to continue, but he hadn't made up the later part of the cultivation process yet.
The made-up stages of Skin Refinement, Bone Refinement, Viscera Refinement he had told Xu Yan about were enough to bamboozle him for now. Forget one year; he wouldn't be able to accomplish Skin Refinement in ten or even eight years.
Let alone actually beginning.