A Gift Called Today

Lin Yuan slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw wasn't the sky. It wasn't his mothers, his siblings, or even his little wife.

It was… the face of the **Sect Leader**.

His eyes widened. "Why… why am I seeing you in my final moments? Shouldn't I see my moms… or my sister? Or at least my wife…?"

The Sect Leader smiled faintly, one eyebrow raised.

He kept rambling. "Though… I guess if I *had* to see a woman, at least it's not a stranger. If I'd died dreaming about a random woman… that would've been a nightmare…"

A pause.

Then Lin Yuan's eyes widened in horror. "Wait—did I say all that out loud?"

The Sect Leader nodded, calmly.

> "Yes," she said. "And no, you're not dying. Your **Sunfire Seed** protected you from irreversible damage. You've done well, Lin Yuan."

Lin Yuan flushed red and covered his face with the blanket.

The Sect Leader added gently, "I reviewed your meridians. You've nearly perfected your current pathway. You're ready for the next step—**Spiritual Core Alignment**. This is the stage where you condense spiritual energy into solid form, preparing for **dantian expansion**."

> "It's like forging a core out of sand," she continued. "You need to run your qi in a spiraling 'tornado' flow, condensing it until it hardens into a sphere. The size of your core will affect your future potential."

Lin Yuan sat up slowly, nodded, and began to meditate. The Sect Leader guided him gently through the process.

"It's already noon," she said. "Go wash up and eat something. We will eat together. And I will made a new dishe with fish. You earned the right eating food from a celestial maiden."

After bathing and changing into fresh clothes, Lin Yuan walked into the common area.

There sat **Xiao Hu**, **Qingxiu**, and the two babies—**Tearlume** quietly flipping a picture book and **Xaiuluan**, the tiny serpent-dragon girl, gnawing on the edge of a soul fruit.

Lin Yuan picked up Xaiuluan gently and warned her, "Don't bite anyone again. Or next time, I'll pick your teeth out with chopsticks."

He mimed pulling out two small twigs from his mouth like toothpicks.

The Sect Leader raised an eyebrow. "And who are these two?"

Lin Yuan smiled and lifted each girl.

> "This little one," he said, holding the snake-like baby, "is **Xaiuluan**. She hatched from the snake egg , I found in the shops.She's only two days old."

He turned to Tearlume, who was sitting silently with her book. "And this is **Tearlume**. A dying woman entrusted her to me before passing."

Xiao Hu and Qingxiu tried to stifle their giggles.

They all began eating. Everyone had regular food, while Xaiuluan devoured a bowl of boiled spiritual chicken eggs. Tearlume didn't touch her plate until Lin Yuan crushed a soul fruit and fed it to her gently.

The Sect Leader narrowed her eyes and pointed to Lin Yuan's locket.

> "Give me your pendant," she said.

He handed it over.

She examined it closely. "You didn't insert the soul stone properly. And—huh? This has more soul energy than before."

Then her tone sharpened.

"I made this for you. I wrote your name and mine—by hand—with soul thread so fine only a Divine Realm expert could detect it. I spent **sixty hours** crafting it… and you gave it away?!"

Lin Yuan scratched his head. "At the time, I didn't have another one. It was an emergency…"

Suddenly, **Lin Yuan's master** stepped forward awkwardly. "Actually… I took it from him. I needed it to stabilize a child's soul."

The Sect Leader's eyes turned cold. "Don't tell me you *stole* it from him."

> "No!" she defended. "I just told him my master gifted it to him and I wanted to borrow it. But it fused with the child naturally."

Lin Yuan quickly interrupted, "Everything turned out fine. Let's not dig up unhappy things from the past."

He smiled faintly.

> "I once read a story," he said. "'Yesterday is the past, tomorrow is the future, and today is a present. So… let's celebrate it like a gift.'"

The Sect Leader's face softened. "You're quoting storybooks at me now?"

She gave a small laugh. "Alright. Let's celebrate today."

She stood. "Lin Yuan, give me your blood."

He pricked his thumb and handed it to her.

The Sect Leader performed a small ritual. A gentle glow formed between them, then vanished.

> "From now on," she said, "you're my second disciple. Your old master is now your senior sister. Speak to her with respect."

Lin Yuan turned and bowed. "Senior Sister…"

Lady Qingxuan blushed. "Why are you doing this?"

The Sect Leader's voice turned serious. "Because your recklessness nearly got him killed. He had **soul poison**. That locket was made to protect him."

"I'm fine now," Lin Yuan said quickly. "My soul is clearer than ever."

He turned. "Sect Leader, can I take Tearlume to the **Spiritual Qi Condensing Formation**?"

She nodded. "You're my disciple now. You've earned the right to bring family."

Lin Yuan go to his room.Inside the quiet chamber, Lady Mingyan emerged from a **pocket dimension**, take Tearlume and kiss her.

She passed her to **Lady An**. "Ok now we'll connect your soul with soul devouring ant . It will make them your slave. You can attack with them to kill enemy. And we can rise those ant in the secret ream.They will become your weapon.

The process was painful—but Lin Yuan, used to agony by now, only flinched slightly.

> "Ask the ants to give you their poison," Lady Mingyan instructed.

They obeyed.

It felt like **a thousand mouths biting his soul**, but he endured it.

Lady An returned Tearlume to him, now wearing a **new robe of pale moon-silk**.

> "Give her to me twice a day " Lady An said. "She may be silent, but she's special.She is shy , she will not pee when someone see her"

They also made plans for **Xaiuluan** to burrow into a patch of blessed soil as her natural toilet. Tearlume, as usual, remained mysterious—**never peeing, never pooping**.

Lady Mingyan handed over **two bags**, each containing **2,000 high-grade spirit stones**.

> "This is all weapon and formation.This is all sprit stone below high grade sprit stone for your cultivation.This is all above high grade sprit stone.Outside the sect ther are four small ship .Donate the rest to the sect except sprit stone. Take care of the refugees."

Coming out Lin Yuan hugged xaiu hu and Qungxiu and gave them **1,000 high-grade spirit stones each** for food and talking care of refugees.

Then he went shopping—buying **all available soul fruits**, some rare **healing fruits**, and three **high-grade soul-enhancing fruits** for Tearlume.All cost only 4 high great sprit stone. Then he give all those unnecessary things to the sect. Lin Yuan say give contributions to sect leader.

In the quiet twilight, Lin Yuan sat with Tearlume inside the **Qi Condensing Formation**, her head against his chest.

The lights swirled around them like falling stars.

> "Let's grow stronger together," he whispered.

And the world, for once, felt peaceful.

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