Practice Makes Perfect

"Oh cut it, Young Master Lian. That Master Xu owns a house in this town. Why would he choose to stay at our inn? Moreover, to charge him a thousand silver per person per day… Unless he lost his mind," Steward Wu mumbled. Shen Lian was a good person but he could be a little lazy and he jokes unnecessarily.

"Don't worry, he will definitely be here tomorrow. I am sleepy and will go back to my room. Please don't let anyone disturb me." Shen Lian waved and took the stairs.

His room was the first Tian Zhi Room but for the fun of it, he renamed the room to the President Suite.

He opened the window, as the moon shone. Shen Lian sat cross-legged on his semi-hard bed.

Slowly, he rested his eyelids. A sense of loneliness crept up on him.

"Ain't no sky is high enough. The human spirit, that is the greatest height."

The ancient people have a saying, "To have the chest with the risk of a mountain and a heart with the depth of a city. You can't measure a person by their heart but it can bring endless possibilities."

Shen Lian slowly lost his five senses. The noise by the cicada and the wind too vanished.

The heart was at peace without distractions. The silver-like moonlight reflected a silhouette of Shen Lian's figure.

He was struck by a thought. "The moonlight goes into full bloom as if an apparatus was enlarging it."

A silver-white ball of light turned pale yellow as it absorbed the moonlight.

The ball of light shrunk into pea-size and floated to the copper lamp. As it floated pass the wick of the lamp, the room was suddenly lit.

The lamp was in the shape of a goose standing while eating fish. The stomach of the fish, the goose's neck, and its stomach interconnect each other.

The stomach of the fish was filled with water so that the oil and gas of the lamp would flow through the neck to reach the water. Such a mechanism would reduce the oil and smoke smell, keeping the room fresh and clean.

This lamp was not produced in this realm of course. It was an imitation of the "Han Goose and Fish Copper Lamp" made by Shen Lian.

Steward Wu admired the design of the lamp but was not aware of its uniqueness.

The oil and smoke of the lamp are recycled into the water, causing zero pollution. That was the true concept of meditation, and the lamp served as a constant reminder to Shen Lian.

His outburst of energy was strong enough to condense the moonlight to produce a torch of flame to light up the lamp. The flame might not be of a big magnitude but it was a significant milestone for Shen Lian.

That was beyond martial art; that was magic.

Shen Lian thought to himself. "If I could post this up on the net, the ability to produce a level one fireball, would I be considered as a protégé of magic?"

He could not help but smile with such an idea.

With his training of the Shenzu Scripture, he had mastered both magic and martial arts.

A gentle breeze hit the lamp and blew on Shen Lian's lapel. The breeze prompted Shen Lian to get up from his bed and admired the moon.

He may have magical powers and was knowledgeable of magic spells but all he asked for was for this moon to last forever.

...

Spring left, then came autumn. Time went past swiftly.

Shen Lian was then fifteen years old. Dashing as always, fine like a jade, he never failed to attract attention from girls whenever he was out and about. If he were sick and weak like how he used to be, people would give him strange nickname and titles.

That Xu Hong who was timid as a mice came by to the inn the very next day Shen Lian left his residence. Although he was charged a hefty amount, he insisted to stay at Shen Lian's An Inn. The thought of the two remaining demonic god returning for vengeance scared him to the core.

Outsiders thought Xu Hong was crazy. Only a handful from the Xu family knew the part of the story. These people were however warned by Xu Hong to not spread any rumors about it.

Shen Lian's aunty, Xu, was the only person who knew the full story. During Chinese New Years, she would treat Shen Lian with monetary gifts, which its value increased over the years. Her politeness towards him puzzled her servants who were used to seeing her behaving harshly towards people. They could only be amazed by Shen Lian's wisdom.

After over six months of staying at the inn and no news on the Wutong gods, Xu Hong finally returned to his residence.

However, Xu Hong's eccentric behavior had piqued the curiosity of the people in the State Capital of Qing. Furthermore, Shen Lian's strange yet functional inventions like the "Han Goose and Fish Copper Lamp" had drawn great attention, giving fame to his inn.

The room rates were increased over and over again and yet it did not stop business travelers and curious onlookers from stopping by.

That was something Steward Wu did not expect. From the slow bleak days when they first started to the explosive popularity they enjoyed, that was such a happy problem for him. Shen Lian also promised to share half of the monthly profit with him. To him, that was a respectable sum of money.

On the other hand, Shen Lian could not care less about monetary wealth. He remained focused to train martial art during the day and his psyche at night.

The Shenzu Scripture may have been easy to learn but was extremely difficult to refine. Even if one possessed the qualities of the man in green, it would still take thirty years and extreme environment to unblock the last Conception and Governor Vessels.

Despite having a stronger psyche compared to others, the capability of enduring long hours of training without feeling fatigue and the ability to use his inner Qi skillfully, Shen Lian was still unable to unblock the final vessels.

Ever since he started practicing The Mastery of Senses six months ago, Shen Lian had yet to evolve a single bit. He could only practice out of body outdoors when it was cloudy, dark or during dusk or night.

During daytime, the sunlight was too strong for Shen Lian. He would not be able to hold on for long under the scorching heat.

The State Capital of Qing was situated in the northwestern region. It may not be as cold as the great desert but winter was equally unbearable.

The town was painted in white after three continuous days of snow. Although the inn was warmly lit, the chills lingered around.

Shen Lian who hit a plateau with his training could only work on his daily homework. He tried to not overthink it to prevent him from being overly obsessed with it.

Just a couple of days ago, he was impatient with his training, forcing himself to level up his skills. He became agitated and things were worse than that first time he met the Wutong gods.

If it were not for that incident where Steward Wu fainted out of fear of an ill-tempered Shen Lian, he would not have realized the changes in his temperament. If he had continued to be obsessed with his training, he could have gone into psychosis and followed the extreme path of the man in green.

That was the exact reason why Shen Lian constantly reminded himself to never follow footsteps of his predecessor. He felt that the lack of experience and guidance were the factors that caused the downfall of the man in green.

He never expected that he would, after all, put the blame on himself. He thought that with the guidance from Ling Chongxiao and the vast readings he had done, he could go and train on his own.

Fortunately, his realization had helped him retained his life. It would be too late once it becomes an unhealthy obsession.

The cold wind cut like a knife and seeped through the gap of the door, followed by a depressing knock.