Zhou Yuan's first morning on Tranquil Peak was the most disorienting experience of his life.

  He woke to find that his injuries, which should have taken months to heal, had completely vanished. Not only that, but his damaged meridians had been restored to perfect condition—better than they'd ever been before.

  When he stepped outside, he found Lin Feng and Shen Yue already awake, sitting in meditation as the sun rose. The spiritual energy flowing around them was so dense it formed visible streams of golden light.

  "Good morning, Zhou Yuan," Lin Feng said, opening his eyes. "How do you feel?"

  "Master... my injuries are completely healed. How is this possible? It's only been one night!"

  Lin Feng smiled. "The spiritual energy here is quite... well, I wouldn't say abundant, but the quality is decent. Combined with the medicine, your body was able to heal naturally. Your youth helped too—young cultivators recover quickly."

  Zhou Yuan wanted to laugh. "Quite decent" spiritual energy? He'd never felt anything like this! This was the sort of environment where immortals cultivated!

  But he held his tongue. Clearly, his master was testing his humility, just as Senior Sister Shen Yue had warned him last night.

  "Now then," Lin Feng continued, "let's assess your cultivation situation. Show me your technique."

  Zhou Yuan sat and began to circulate his qi according to the sect's inner disciple method—a technique that was considered quite sophisticated and had helped him become a top genius of his generation.

  After watching for just a minute, Lin Feng frowned. "Oh no, this is worse than I thought."

  Zhou Yuan's heart sank. "Master, is my foundation damaged beyond repair?"

  "What? No, your foundation is fine. I'm talking about this cultivation technique. It's absolutely terrible."

  "T-Terrible?" Zhou Yuan stammered. This was the pride of the Azure Sky Sect!

  "Look here," Lin Feng pointed at Zhou Yuan's dantian. "Your qi is taking this convoluted path through seventeen different meridians when it could just go through five. And this loop here? Completely unnecessary. It's adding at least forty percent extra work for no benefit. Whoever designed this technique was either an idiot or deliberately trying to slow down disciples' progress."

  Lin Feng's ability to perceive the optimal cultivation paths meant he could see that the "sophisticated" sect technique was actually designed to keep inner disciples strong enough to be useful but not strong enough to threaten the elders. It was a method of control, though he didn't realize that—he just thought it was poorly designed.

  "Here, let me show you a better path..."

  What followed was the most intense teaching session Zhou Yuan had ever experienced. Lin Feng completely reconstructed his understanding of qi circulation, showing him inefficiencies he'd never noticed, teaching him shortcuts that should have been impossible, and revealing cultivation insights that made years of sect training seem like children's games.

  By the end of the session, Zhou Yuan was sweating, but his cultivation had fundamentally transformed. His qi flowed ten times more efficiently. His control had increased dramatically. And he could feel that his next breakthrough—which he'd thought was years away—was now just weeks of cultivation away.

  "There," Lin Feng said, satisfied. "That should fix the biggest problems. You'll need to practice this new method for a while to fully adapt, but you should see improvement quickly."

  Zhou Yuan could only bow deeply, unable to find words. In one morning, his master had given him more than the entire sect had in five years.

  "Now," Lin Feng continued, "why don't you join Shen Yue for some combat practice? I need to tend the garden. Oh, and help yourself to some tea if you're thirsty. The leaves in the blue container are good for stabilizing your cultivation after making changes."

  After Lin Feng left, Zhou Yuan turned to Shen Yue with wide eyes. "Senior Sister... is it always like this?"

  Shen Yue smiled knowingly. "What Master considers 'basic' teaching is actually supreme wisdom that most cultivators never encounter in their entire lives. You'll get used to it. Or rather, you'll never get used to it, but you'll learn to accept that our master is unfathomable."

  "And the tea he mentioned...?"

  "Will probably grant you enlightenment and advance your cultivation by several months. I stopped being surprised after the first week."

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  Zhou Yuan laughed in disbelief. Then he brewed the tea, took one sip, and immediately entered a state of deep meditation as profound insights flooded his mind.

  When he emerged three hours later, he had broken through to the peak of Foundation Establishment realm.

  Shen Yue just smiled. "Welcome to Tranquil Peak, Junior Brother."

  Over the next few weeks, the two disciples settled into a routine.

  Every morning, they'd cultivate with Lin Feng, absorbing his casual teachings that rewrote their understanding of cultivation.

  In the afternoons, Lin Feng would teach them different subjects. Sometimes alchemy, sometimes formations, sometimes artifact refining, sometimes medical techniques. He claimed he was "just sharing the basics" of what the system had taught him, but every lesson contained knowledge that the greatest masters of those fields would fight wars to obtain.

  One day, Lin Feng taught them about spirit beast taming by using Xiao Hong as an example.

  "Now, Xiao Hong here is just a common chicken with a bit of spiritual energy," he explained, completely oblivious to the phoenix's true nature. "But even ordinary spirit beasts can be valuable companions if you treat them well and help them cultivate."

  Xiao Hong, the ancient Divine Phoenix, radiated amusement. The master's ability to maintain his modest perspective despite all evidence was truly remarkable!

  "The key to taming spirit beasts," Lin Feng continued, "is mutual respect. Don't try to dominate them—instead, form a partnership. Share your resources, help them grow stronger, and they'll be loyal companions for life."

  He fed Xiao Hong a spirit grain, and she clucked happily.

  What the disciples saw was different from what Lin Feng perceived. They saw the "grain" transform into pure divine flame energy that made the phoenix's cultivation surge. They felt the terrifying presence of a creature that could burn entire worlds to ash with a thought.

  And they understood that their master's "common chicken" could probably destroy the entire Azure Sky Sect single-handedly.

  Zhou Yuan whispered to Shen Yue, "Senior Sister, that's a Divine Phoenix, isn't it?"

  "Yes."

  "And Master thinks it's a chicken."

  "Yes."

  "Should we tell him?"

  "Absolutely not. This is clearly a profound lesson about the importance of looking beyond appearances and not judging based on surface-level observations."

  Zhou Yuan nodded wisely. Everything their master did had hidden meaning.

  In the evenings, after training was complete, the three of them would often sit together drinking tea and discussing cultivation philosophy.

  "Master," Zhou Yuan asked one night, "how should a cultivator balance personal growth with responsibility to others? I tried to expose corruption, but I was too weak to actually do anything about it. Should I have just focused on getting stronger first?"

  Lin Feng was quiet for a moment, thinking. "That's a difficult question. I used to think that personal strength was the only thing that mattered—that if I just got strong enough, everything else would work itself out."

  He looked at his two disciples. "But taking you both in taught me something. Sometimes, doing the right thing means acting even when you're not at your strongest. You stood up for what was right, Zhou Yuan, even though it put you in danger. That takes a kind of strength that cultivation levels can't measure."

  "As for balancing personal growth with responsibility... I think they're connected. We cultivate not just to become powerful, but to become better. The strength to protect others, to stand up for justice, to help those in need—that's true cultivation."

  He smiled self-deprecatingly. "Though I'm probably not the best example. I've been hiding in seclusion for decades because I was afraid of the dangerous world. You two are braver than me."

  Both disciples felt tears prick their eyes. Their master's wisdom was profound! He'd taken them in precisely to teach them this lesson—that true strength came from righteousness, not just cultivation level. And his self-deprecating comments were actually demonstrating the ultimate humility!

  [Your disciples have gained deep enlightenment from your wisdom!]

  [Shen Yue has broken through to Core Formation (Peak)!]

  [Zhou Yuan has broken through to Core Formation (Early)!]

  [Reward: 10,000 Seclusion Points, Wisdom of the Sage (Passive Ability Unlocked)]

  Lin Feng nearly dropped his tea cup. "You both broke through just from our conversation?! How is that even possible?!"

  Shen Yue and Zhou Yuan exchanged glances, then smiled. Their master was amazing at teaching but terrible at recognizing his own brilliance. It was endearing, really.

  "Your words contain profound truths, Master," Shen Yue said simply.

  Lin Feng shook his head in amazement. "You two are really something special. At this rate, you'll surpass me in no time."

  The disciples both thought: Surpass him? We couldn't catch up to Master if we cultivated for ten thousand years!

  But out loud, they just said, "We'll work hard, Master!"

  That night, after the disciples had gone to sleep, Lin Feng sat alone in his courtyard, looking at the stars.

  "System, I never expected teaching disciples to be so rewarding. Not just the points, but... it feels meaningful, you know? Like I'm actually contributing something to the world instead of just hiding away."

  [This is good growth, Host! Helping others while maintaining safety is an excellent path forward.]

  [New Mission Available: Your disciples are now strong enough to investigate the sect corruption. Would you like to send them on this mission?]

  [Warning: There is a small risk to your disciples. However, with the techniques and treasures you've given them, they should be able to handle the situation.]

  Lin Feng frowned. "Small risk? I don't want to put them in danger..."

  [Disciples must face challenges to grow. Keeping them completely safe will prevent their development. Besides, they are already far stronger than the enemies they'll face.]

  Lin Feng thought about it. The system was right. He couldn't protect them forever. And Zhou Yuan deserved justice for what was done to him.

  "Alright. But I'll prepare some protective treasures for them first. And maybe... maybe I should go with them? Just to watch from the shadows and make sure they're safe?"

  [Excellent idea, Host! This will also allow you to observe the outside world without revealing your presence.]

  Lin Feng nodded, decision made. It was time for Tranquil Peak's master and disciples to take their first step back into the wider cultivation world.

  Though if anyone asked him, he'd insist he was still just a cautious Foundation Establishment cultivator trying not to die.