Chapter 2: Triggering a Heaven-Defying Hidden Reward

Luoxia Peak, Main Hall.

Calling it a hall was a stretch; it was more like a slightly larger, dilapidated shack.

Sunlight leaked through the roof, wind whistled through the walls, and right in the center stood the memorial tablets of Luoxia Peak’s past peak lords.

There were only seven in total, and the writing on the oldest one had already been worn smooth.

Chen Ping stood before the tablets and respectfully offered three sticks of incense.

“Ancestors above, your disciple Chen Ping has taken an apprentice today.” He paused.

“Although she has a Heaven-Detested Physique, at least she’s human…

If your spirits are watching from heaven, please watch over us, and don’t let her tear our peak apart.”

A soft giggle came from behind him.

Chen Ping turned around and saw Lin Xiaoyu covering her mouth, her eyes curved into crescent moons.

She had already changed into clean clothes, which Chen Ping had dug out after rummaging through his chests and cabinets.

It was a Daoist robe he had worn in his youth, with the sleeves and hem shortened.

It was still baggy on the young girl, giving her a slightly transcendent, immortal-like appearance.

“What are you laughing at?” Chen Ping said, putting on a stern face.

“N-nothing,” Lin Xiaoyu said, quickly lowering her head, though her shoulders were still shaking.

Chen Ping couldn’t keep a straight face either. He smiled and shook his head.

“Alright, stop acting. I know I don’t look much like a master, so you don’t need to be so stiff.”

He walked over to the only wooden table in the hall, which had a crack in the surface held together with glue, and poured a cup of cold tea for Lin Xiaoyu.

“Xiaoyu, since you’ve joined my lineage, there are a few things we need to make clear.”

Lin Xiaoyu held the teacup and said solemnly, “Please speak, Master.”

“First,” Chen Ping said, raising a finger.

“My cultivation level is indeed not high. I might not even be stronger than you.”

Lin Xiaoyu blinked. “I don’t have any cultivation.”

“…” Chen Ping choked on his words.

“Second, Luoxia Peak is poor, very poor. You can tell just by looking at this hall. In the future, we might have to grow our own vegetables, fetch our own water, and even dig up wild herbs in the back mountain.”

“I can do that!” Lin Xiaoyu’s eyes lit up.

“I’ve been helping out at home since I was a child. I can cook, wash clothes, and chop firewood!”

Looking at the girl’s cheerful demeanor, Chen Ping’s heart softened.

“Third,” his voice softened slightly.

“You don’t need to care about what those people outside say. All that talk about a Heaven-Detested Physique or being a harbinger of disaster is complete nonsense.”

Lin Xiaoyu’s hands trembled slightly as she held the teacup, spilling a few drops of tea.

She lowered her head and whispered:

“But Master… maybe what they say is true.

My hometown flooded, the Daoist temple I stayed at during my escape caught fire the next day, and I even ran into bandits on my way to the Qingyun Sect…”

“So what?” Chen Ping interrupted her.

“Floods are just weather, the temple fire was probably because someone didn’t watch the incense candles, and the bandits blocking the road had nothing to do with you.

There are plenty of unlucky people in this world. Are billions of people on Blue Star all Heaven-Detested Physiques, destined to work like beasts of burden?”

Lin Xiaoyu looked up, a bit dazed, her eyes turning red again.

Just as Chen Ping felt a pang of sorrow, unsure of how to comfort his ill-fated disciple,

The system notification, which had been silent for a moment, rang out clearly in his mind once again:

【Ding! The host has completed the apprentice recruitment quest. Rewards are being distributed.】

【Obtained: Heavenly Dao Divine Physique】

【Obtained: Longevity Pill x1】

The Heavenly Dao Divine Physique!

Chen Ping was stunned at first, and then he nearly jumped up in excitement.

But looking at his poor disciple in front of him, he hesitated.

Wasn’t this the perfect thing to break Xiaoyu’s plight?

“Lin Xiaoyu…”

He looked at the young girl, who still had her head lowered, wrapped in a faint shroud of anxiety.

“Master?”

Lin Xiaoyu looked up, just in time to catch the fleeting flash of excitement on Chen Ping’s face.

“It’s nothing, I’m fine,” Chen Ping said, waving his hand as he suppressed the wild joy in his heart.

But as his gaze fell upon his disciple, the sorrow and pity he felt for her tragic fate grew even clearer.

System, he asked urgently in his mind.

Can this Heavenly Dao Divine Physique be gifted to someone else?

【Yes.】

Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Ping made his decision.

“Gift the Heavenly Dao Divine Physique to my disciple, Lin Xiaoyu.”

【Transfer confirmed. Extracting Heavenly Dao Divine Physique… Fusion target: Lin Xiaoyu.】

Almost the instant the system prompt rang out, Chen Ping felt it clearly.

A mysterious, innate connection that was about to belong to him was quietly transferred away.

He didn’t regret it at all; instead, he felt a sense of relief and peace.

Then, Chen Ping reached into his robes and pulled out a small porcelain bottle, which contained the Longevity Pill the system had just rewarded him.

He poured out a crimson pill the size of a longan fruit, thought for a moment, and snapped it in half.

“Open your mouth.”

“Huh?” Before Lin Xiaoyu could react, half of the pill was already popped into her mouth.

The pill melted the moment it touched her tongue, and a warm current flowed down her throat, dispersing into her limbs and bones.

Lin Xiaoyu felt warm all over, and the exhaustion from traveling for days was instantly swept away.

Even the old scars on her hands from chopping wood as a child faded slightly.

Immediately after, an even more shocking notification sounded in Chen Ping’s mind:

【Ding! Detected that the host voluntarily gifted a core reward to their disciple. Evaluating action…】

【Evaluation passed! The host’s selfless act aligns with the true meaning of mentorship. The bond with the disciple has significantly deepened, triggering a hidden mechanism!】

【Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Grand Dao Divine Physique and one piece of Qingluan Meat^[1]!】

【Hidden mechanism activated: Any spiritual energy, insights, and realm breakthroughs obtained by the disciple Lin Xiaoyu in her future cultivation will grant the host a 100,000-fold feedback!】

A hundred-thousand-fold feedback?

The Grand Dao Divine Physique?

A massive wave of shock surged in Chen Ping’s heart. He could hardly believe it.

Giving away a Heavenly Dao Divine Physique had actually gotten him a Grand Dao Divine Physique, which sounded even more impressive.

Plus such a heaven-defying feedback mechanism!

This…

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and refocused his gaze on the young girl before him.

Right now, Lin Xiaoyu was staring blankly at the back of her hand, where an old scar seemed to have faded slightly.

A faint, warm glow seemed to flash beneath her skin, disappearing so quickly it felt like an illusion.

She vaguely felt that some heavy shackle deep inside her body had quietly loosened a fraction.

“Master…” She looked up, her eyes filled with confusion and a trace of imperceptible anticipation.

“What was that… you just gave me? I feel a warmth spreading through my body.”

“It is something good, beneficial to your body.”

Chen Ping suppressed his churning emotions and smiled gently, swallowing the other half of the Longevity Pill himself.

Once the pill entered his stomach, it dissolved into a pure, gentle warmth that rapidly spread to every corner of his body.

Chen Ping could clearly feel his dry, fragile meridians being gently nourished, like parched earth receiving rain after a long drought.

Although they did not widen immediately, they gained a touch of resilience and vitality.

The thread of spiritual energy in his dantian, previously as thin as gossamer, also seemed to grow slightly stronger, flowing with less resistance.

More importantly, the lingering sense of weakness, that feeling of a dying candle about to gutter out, had noticeably receded.

“System, what is my current lifespan?”

【Ding! The host has consumed half a ‘Longevity Pill’, increasing your lifespan to five years. Current remaining lifespan: approximately five years.】

Five years!

Chen Ping’s spirits lifted.

Although time was still tight, compared to the original two and a half years, he had gained another two and a half.

【Notification: Disciple Lin Xiaoyu’s Heaven-Detested Physique source has been impacted by the Heavenly Dao Divine Physique transformation, and the transformation process has begun. Current status: Transforming, covertly obscured.】

“Master?”

Seeing Chen Ping fall into deep thought once again, Lin Xiaoyu called out softly, her small hand unconsciously gripping the hem of her robe.

“Oh, it is nothing.”

Chen Ping snapped out of it. Looking at the girl’s clear but apprehensive eyes, his smile grew a bit warmer.

He cleared his throat, his tone solemn yet gentle.

“Xiaoyu, do not let your mind wander.

“From this day forth, you are the first disciple of my Luoxia Peak.

“Just now you asked how it felt… Well, focus and feel carefully now. Is there anything different from usual?

“Even the slightest difference.”

His eyes shone with encouragement.

The transformation of the Heavenly Dao Divine Physique would take time, but perhaps the first signs had already appeared.

Hearing this, Lin Xiaoyu closed her eyes and focused, carefully examining her own body.

A moment later, she opened her eyes and said in a soft, uncertain voice:

“It seems… besides my body feeling warm, my mind is a little clearer. And… the surroundings seem much quieter?”

She was referring to the faint, buzzing noise that had lingered in her ears for years, a constant reminder of being rejected by heaven and earth, which now seemed to have faded.

The smile in Chen Ping’s eyes deepened, and he nodded.

“Good. This is a good start.”

He looked up at the deep night outside the hall, then at the simple but finally lively main hall of Luoxia Peak.

“Rest well tonight and gather your strength.

“Starting tomorrow, the two of us will truly embark on this path of cultivation.”

“Yes, Master.”