The sunlight today was particularly sharp, the sky so seamlessly blue it was a shock to behold. Absolutely no clouds overhead, the sky above and the sea below were so alike that the horizon was almost hard to distinguish.

Han Xuhan's mood had recovered already. Hai Yin Zhe was now officially capable of cultivation, a feat that the snake thought of as just a game. Little Zhe loved it, finding it a novelty that food could be summoned out of thin air, moved and controlled by its thoughts, and Papa's admonishment never came regardless of how much it played with the food.

However, being able to utilize the artificial meridians did not mean that Hai Yin Zhe was officially a cultivator now. This technique was not a 'registered' one, meaning that it could not by itself create a dao foundation. The heavenly law would only recognize those techniques baptized through the heavenly tribulation, at least once. As a technique with only 3 available layers discovered so far, this cultivation method was far from that stage.

And this was a good thing. Because Han Xuhan did not want his minions to have a weak foundation. Just like himself, his minions must be proud cultivators with a zeroth layer foundation. Zhanxian had accomplished this, and so had Tun Shi Tian. Now, it was Hai Yin Zhe's turn.

However, not everything fell under Han Xuhan's calculations. For instance-

"Wheeeewheeewheeeeee!"

Gaseous qi roiled like cigarette smoke all around him, distinct even under the glaring sunlight. A shrill, demonic voice echoed in the vapor, its owner running to and fro energetically. Some distance away, Xiao Wu sat on the ground, looking fatigued.

Being sleepless for one night was not enough to render a fifth-layer physique transformation realm cultivator tired. The reason was the chain of events that had taken place last night.

Hai Yin Zhe was an absolute monster.

There was nothing the snake could not do. The only thing limiting it was its near-zero cultivation. Hai Yin Zhe's control of qi, speed, mental dexterity, qi purity, every tested talent was far beyond Han Xuhan, Xiao Wu, and even Tun Shi Tian.

Treating the whole thing as a game, Hai Yin Zhe had blazed through the basics.

Establishing mental control over qi? Done before Han Xuhan had even fully explained the concept.

Drawing qi into the artificial meridians? Accomplished before Han Xuhan had even instructed it to.

Moving qi according to provided directions and diagrams in the manual?

The snake had memorized the pathways in one look and got bored after five cycles. It had even begun experimenting with all sorts of tricky movements, such as suddenly stopping the flow of qi, changing the direction of the flow, directing qi while moving, directing qi while shouting nursery rhymes, expelling qi from the body and retracting it simultaneously...

Han Xuhan couldn't even do half of these stunts properly. His damaged meridians were barely surviving the regular flow of qi. Experimenting like this would be tantamount to crippling himself voluntarily.

Not sure how to react, he had directly shown the snake the Zeroth layer manual, instructing it to follow the guide. Hai Yin Zhe's dislike towards this type of strictly regulated cultivation session was apparent. A lot of coaxing and desperate promises had been made by both martial brothers before little Zhe agreed.

Han Xuhan's motive for forcing the task on a child like Hai Yin Zhe was not purely selfish. As a cultivator, he was bound to run into all sorts of fatal incidences. Xuan Zi's upcoming training scheme, Fang Xie's tasks for him, invasions by foreign sects, the future rounds of this tournament, and Mu Ran's vicinity, none of these were safe. Violence was a forgone conclusion.

Hai Yin Zhe would not survive even the weakest kick by any of these potential enemies. Moreover, the snake was too naive to be controlled on a battlefield. Han Xuhan could just imagine it randomly jumping out of the dao tower to play outside and being smashed into bone paste 0.5 seconds later.

Han Xuhan walked over to Xiao Wu's side and sat down, exhausted. The two of them watched the serpentine silhouette roll, twist and turn inside the misty vapor of qi.

"Double congratulations, I suppose," Xiao Wu said lightly.

"With Tun Shi Tian closing in on his breakthrough and little Zhe about to consolidate her foundation-"

"Her?" Han Xuhan had his doubts. Because little Zhe had given multiple answers to this question. Maybe the original soul of inside it had been too young to understand the distinction, and the current body was in no way helpful in remedying that.

Xiao Wu shrugged. "Whatever you prefer. I have a sister, about little Zhe's age, so..."

"This is the second time you've brought up your family today." Han Xuhan gave him a calculating look. "Do you just miss them, or are you worried about something?"

"Both. Their safety is the main concern. But I do miss them."

Han Xuhan silently contemplated Xiao Wu's situation. From what Xiao Wu had revealed so far, his family's ties with the Nightblood Faction of the Beasthaven sect had been severed over an alleged theft, and the Deepworld Faction's elder Di Qian had reforged the relationship, not through Xiao Wu's father, the patriarch of the family, but an uncle of his.

Already in decline, the family branch Xiao Wu belonged to would suffer.

If Xiao Wu surrendered the manual at the end of the tournament as promised, the Nightblood Faction would cease to pressure his family. But heavens knew how long this tournament would last. A lot of things could happen in the meantime. Xiao Wu's concern was not unwarranted.

"If you're so worried about your family's safety, you should just return the manual right now rather than waiting for the tournament to end. Master has already created a better technique for you using that manual. You don't really need it now, do you?" Han Xuhan suggested.

"But I told them I want to keep it till-"

"Oh come on, all of us can see what you're planning. You want to beat your opponent in the area they excel in. You want to beat that Meng Shan guy in a pokemo- I mean, spirit beast duel. Master can provide you with the opportunity whether you possess that manual or not. So what's the fuss about?"

"....A man must honor his promises. Besides, If I do that, they'll think we're actually guilty. They'll look down on me and my father, and our label as a family of thieves will simply become a permanent mark."

"But you did steal the manual," Han Xuhan countered. Then he noticed his stocky friend's darkening expression, which made him hastily add, "I mean, your father stole it-er...fuck it."

The lack of sleep and constant brainstorming was finally catching up with Han Xuhan. His loose mouth was on a rampage today. Chewing on his tongue for a second, Han Xuhan restarted his persuasion cautiously.

"Look, no promise is worth more than your family's safety. You'll be seen as guilty regardless of when, or how you return the manual.

Do they not look down on you now? You've got nothing to lose here. At least you can try to slap their faces in the tournament and show those uppity brats that you don't even need their precious manual to stomp on them!

Once you can lighten the weight of the allegedly stolen manual publicly, who will bother to call you a thief again? Ehehehe."

With a toothy grin, Han Xuhan provided the solution to Xiao Wu's dilemma. His friend looked troubled, deep in thought. Han Xuhan left him there and decided it was time to begin the day's business.

"Little Zhe, come, Let's visit aunt Zhou."

Hai Yin Zhe stopped playing immediately and crawled back into his robe, settling on his back like a spider.

"Aunt doesn’t have much food," the snake said as Han Xuhan set out.

"No one carries your food around like Papa does, little Zhe. You have to stop begging others for treats."

"I wasn’t begging!" Hai Yin Zhe hissed petulantly.

A few minutes later, Han Xuhan reached Yuen Zhou's hut. Just like the previous time, he knocked on the door very loudly.

Nobody responded. Standing still for nearly a minute, Han Xuhan walked around the house and saw an open window.

Should I...?

He peered through the window after a moment of hesitation. The room inside was not occupied. But he could see her bedroom past its door. Yuen Zhou was sitting on the floor there, absorbed in a cultivation session.

Right as he was about to call her again, he noticed something that hit him like a brick, rendering his breath irregular.

Yuen Zhou's hands were dyed red.

The floor of the house sported countless red streaks.

The blood was slowly, gradually spreading across the rooms.