A surname

"Oh~ Little Deer, you're so eager!" Li Miaoxin laughed and said, "There's no rush for this. The master will teach you in a couple of days."

"But I can't wait already," Lin Xiaolu said expectantly, mouth agape, "I want to start cultivating as soon as possible to become an immortal, then I can go out and bully people!"

Li Miaoxin giggled at the boy's words. This was the first time she had heard that the purpose of cultivation was to go out and bully others.

"Alright, alright. Then I'll teach you cultivation in advance," Li Miaoxin helplessly agreed and kindly explained, "Actually, the first step of cultivation is very simple. Just sit in meditation, focus your mind and calm your qi. Use your breath to feel the spiritual energy between heaven and earth. That's all."

Lin Xiaolu was puzzled, "How do I feel it?"

"No one can explain that," Li Miaoxin said with a laugh, "It's a profound feeling. Those with talent can quickly enter a meditative state during sitting meditation and open up the sixth sense in the human body to perceive the spiritual energy between heaven and earth. That is talent."

"For example, when I first started cultivating, I couldn't sit still for more than an hour. Later I was able to sit still but would easily fall asleep. But slowly, I was able to sit longer and longer, from one hour to two hours to an entire day and night."

Lin Xiaolu was surprised, "Didn't your legs go numb from sitting so long?"

"They did at first, but once I learned how to enter a meditative state, they didn't go numb anymore. And finally, on the forty-second day, I sensed the spiritual energy between heaven and earth and officially embarked on the path of cultivation," Li Miaoxin explained proudly.

Hearing this, Lin Xiaolu was shocked. Looking at the smug Li Miaoxin, he deflated and said, "It actually takes over forty days of sitting? That's too dull."

Little Yuer beside him also nodded in agreement, indicating sitting meditation sounded very boring.

"That's already quite impressive!" Li Miaoxin explained arrogantly, "Most inner sect disciples don't sense the spiritual energy between heaven and earth until around fifty days. I was already mid-upper level."

"How long does it take for the most talented?" Lin Xiaolu asked.

Li Miaoxin tilted her head and thought for a moment before explaining, "The fastest I've seen was our senior brother Plucking Stars. He sensed it in five days and was praised by the Master as the most talented in hundreds of years at Plucking Stars."

"I see," Lin Xiaolu nodded and huffed, "Master Sister, if I cultivate, I estimate I'll sense the spiritual energy within a day since I'm so smart and collect protection fees."

He then pulled Little Yuer closer and bragged, "My sister will probably be a little slower, but shouldn't take more than five days. We're just so witty and outstanding. You and Master can take pride in having us as disciples in the future. Ohohoho~"

Seeing the boy puff out his chest and laugh like a pig, Li Miaoxin chuckled and glared at Lin Xiaolu, "If you can sense the spiritual energy within ten days, I'll laugh myself awake from a dream."

Then she stood up and smiled at the siblings, "Come with me. I'll teach you how to cultivate."

...

...

Li Miaoxin's residence was rather shabby and empty. Other than a bookshelf full of ancient texts and some meditation cushions, there was nothing else, not even a bed.

"Sit like me," Li Miaoxin said as she sat cross-legged on a cushion facing Lin Xiaolu and Little Yuer.

Sitting in this posture for the first time, the siblings were a bit clumsy. After fumbling for a while, they finally sat properly. Li Miaoxin then gently instructed, "Close your eyes when meditating, breathe slowly, and try not to move your body. Even try not to think random thoughts. Feel the spiritual energy between heaven and earth."

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Li Miaoxin took out a censer filled with incense and placed it in front of the siblings. She lit a stick of calming incense.

"This calming incense can help you concentrate better and also keep time. Let's meditate for one stick of incense," she said and motioned for them to start cultivating.

In the room, Lin Xiaolu sat and meditated as Li Miaoxin had instructed, but he was complaining in his heart the whole time.

Cultivation was so simple. Just sitting without moving - who couldn't do that? It was less challenging than collecting protection fees. An unparalleled genius like himself could probably directly break through to the qi condensation stage in the next second. That wasn't impossible.

He closed his eyes, held his hands in a lotus mudra, and breathed calmly.

Little Yuer also followed him and imitated Li Miaoxin, cultivating together. The siblings' breathing gradually slowed, and every inch of their skin settled into tranquility.

After a while, Li Miaoxin heard snoring...

Pig-like snores came from the boy's nose, nearly scaring Li Miaoxin silly. She slapped Lin Xiaolu forcefully to wake him up and told him to properly feel the spiritual energy.

Of course, she didn't expect these children to immediately sense the spiritual energy between heaven and earth. They were at a restless age after all. Just sitting still for a while was already quite impressive.

The first step of cultivation was tempering the mind. Li Miaoxin estimated it would take the siblings three to five days to gradually get used to cultivation before they could learn the initial stage of entering a meditative state.

Only after entering a meditative state could they move on to the next step of perceiving the spiritual energy.

At this moment, Lin Xiaolu sat quietly. His posture was decent, but to be honest, he was very uncomfortable for a simple reason...his legs were numb.

His breathing was no longer as steady as when he started. On the contrary, the persistent numbness in his legs made him increasingly irritable.

After all, he was just a child. After a while, he couldn't stand it anymore and secretly opened one eye to look around. He discovered that the calming incense in front of him had only burned one-fifth of the way down. He wondered why so little time had passed. It felt like much longer to him.

His master sister also had her eyes closed, cultivating. Seeing this, Lin Xiaolu secretly adjusted his legs to make himself more comfortable before continuing.

Soon after, he felt bored just sitting there and wished he was playing in the sunflower field instead. His mind wandering, he secretly peeked at Li Miaoxin again, then Little Yuer. To his surprise, Little Yuer's posture was very proper, like a little nun in meditation despite only being five years old.

No, he had to cultivate properly and not set a bad example for his sister. With this thought, Lin Xiaolu forced himself to close his eyes again and concentrate on perceiving the spiritual energy.

Soon, the pain in his legs returned, but this time Lin Xiaolu didn't move. He forced himself to calm his mind.

The intense pain persisted for a long time before slowly becoming numb. Later, it was as if he had forgotten the pain. His whole body suddenly felt much lighter, rather comfortable, like swimming in water. But just as Lin Xiaolu felt he had sensed something, his sister's frightened voice rang out in the room:

"Master Sister...I feel something drilling into my head...So scary..."