"Agh!" Li Jun let out a cry as he flew backward through the sky. The long grass softened his fall, but he tumbled along the floor before eventually coming to a stop.
"LEAVE THIS PLACE AT ONCE! THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING!" A voice boomed out from the direction of the house.
Li Jun felt a shiver run down his spine. He felt like he was being watched from every direction. It was as if there were hundreds of invisible eyes staring at him. He quickly patted off the dirt from his clothes and stood up before bowing his head toward the wooden house.
"Sir, I come in peace! I just wanted to ask you a question," Li Jun called out, but no response came.
"I will pay you for your trouble! I just wanted to know about the strange feeling in my stomach! It feels like something is stopping my glowing ball of light from expanding," he called out again, unsure if his offer was tempting to the mysterious martial artist.
"Here, you can take these as a token of sincerity. I just want to learn more about martial arts," he called out and presented the gold coin and white crystal in both of his hands.
A gust of wind flashed by as the coin and white crystal vanished from Li Jun's hands. He looked up, expecting to see the martial artist in front of him, but there was no trace of him. He wondered if he was imagining things, but the items he had offered were now gone.
He continued to bow his head as he waited for a response. What felt like hours went by before the feeling of dozens of eyes surrounded his body once again.
"I will answer your questions if you tell me where you found this," a voice said quietly from directly in front of him.
Li Jun looked up and saw an old man. He was unnaturally skinny, and his skin had scars all over it. He was wearing a white robe and had long gray hair that was tied neatly behind his back.
The old man held out his hand to show Li Jun the white crystal.
"Oh, that," he said nervously. "My father was a martial artist. I found it along with some old techniques after he passed away. I figured it would be important to martial artists, so that's why I brought it here," he lied.
"Is that so?" The old man said with a questioning gaze.
"This is a high-quality spirit stone. Are you sure you want to give it away in exchange for me answering your question?" He asked with a cold look in his eyes.
Li Jun thought for a moment and then bowed his head.
"Yes, sir. I don't have anyone else I can ask. Please help me."
The man laughed loudly as he put the spirit stone into a leather pouch and then turned around.
"Good, good," he said as he began to walk in the direction of the wooden house. "A martial artist has to make hard decisions and stay true to themselves. You have a promising future young man," the old man said as he continued walking into the distance.
"Come along, let me fetch you some tea. You looked to be struggling on your way up here," he said.
Li Jun hesitated for a moment before deciding to follow along. This old man was clearly an expert. If he was plotting something, he wouldn't need to be deceiving as there would be nothing Li Jun could do to fight back.
He was taking a bit of a gamble by choosing to follow the old man, but he figured that he must be friendly or else the city lord wouldn't allow him to live so close by.
As Li Jun followed, he felt the blistering heat suddenly become cool as he stepped through what felt like an invisible blanket. There was a bit of resistance as he walked forward, but after taking three steps, the resistance vanished.
'What was that?' He thought as he watched the old man enter the wooden house and leave the door open.
The house was much larger than he had expected. There were intricate designs and decorations; it looked to be crafted by a master carpenter. He wondered if the old man had built it himself.
He gave a deep bow and took off his boots before entering the house, and the old man guided him to a sitting room.
"Wait here," he said.
Li Jun sat down on the floor with his legs crossed and waited. The old man soon came back with a teapot and two cups.
"As a thank you for the spirit stone, I will let you drink my special blend of tea," he said and filled two cups.
Li Jun looked at the dark purple liquid flowing from the teapot and frowned. It didn't look like any tea he had seen before. In fact, it looked more like poison with its dark appearance.
The old man sat opposite him and then smiled suspiciously.
"Please, drink. It's my treat," he said with a grin as he circled his finger around the rim of his own cup, refusing to drink until Li Jun had taken a sip.
'Is he really trying to poison me?' He wondered as he took another hesitant glance at the purple liquid. 'No, he must be testing me, right?'
Li Jun lifted the cup to his nose. It gave off a very sweet aroma, sweeter than anything he had ever smelled before. He then raised it to his lips and took a small sip.
An icy chill ran down his throat as the liquid flowed throughout his body. Suddenly, he felt the glowing ball above his navel begin to rotate. Previously, he had to visualize it moving for it to rotate, but now it was doing it all on its own.
A gentle pressure surrounded his body as he began to see a faint mist surrounding him. The glowing ball within his body spun faster and faster until a deep shockwave shot throughout his body.
The mist around him shot outwards with an explosive force as Li Jun felt a great sense of power within his body.
"Congratulations, You have stepped into the first stage of Body refining. You are officially a martial artist," the old man smiled widely and then drank his cup of tea in a single gulp.