Daoist Master of Qing Xuan

Shen Lian had never been good with physical exertions, but he could notice the twitch of every muscle with his strong sensing abilities. As every ounce of energy in his body was being juiced and he was pushed to his limits, he was filled with euphoria – akin to the excitement that he felt from gaining experience points in online games.

Even if the insignificant experience was negligible, he could clearly notice the improvement that he made and the deficiencies that he still needed to work on.

The reason why most people gave up with their training was the lack of a clear goal, motivation, and their lack of understanding in relation to their own body.

Shen Lian was luckier than all of them. The contentment and joy that he felt from reaping the benefits of his hard work, those were the feelings that kept him going. Fatigue from his training faded away as he knew that every drop of his sweat was rewarded.

Due to the limited resources in Qing Xia Temple, Shen Lian did not give his all to his training. He knew that he should not test his limits because of his physical frailty. If he were to go even slightly overboard, the end result would be disastrous due to the lack of herbs and medication like Ginseng tea.

Shen Lian immersed himself in the numb sensation caused by the Qi energy flow that was absorbing the medication.

When the Qi energy in his body finally settled down, he stepped into the wooden bathtub filled with hot water to wash away the dirt on his body.

This was one of the perks of returning to the Shen family. If he was still at Qing Xia Temple, he would have to waste his time on menial chores.

The bath was relaxing. Shen Lian was able to slowly ease himself into the state of concentration.

A mere relaxing technique in The Mastery of Senses had changed Shen Lian’s world. The deity that birthed from nothingness remained indescribable. Although he could not strengthen his spirit by picturing the deity, he was able to clear his mind of distracting thoughts, allowing him to rejoice in the purity and intensity of his spirit.

The joy he derived from spiritual calmness was beyond materialistic gains.

It was as the Analects of Confucius said, “Although he led a simple lifestyle of humility, Yan Hui remained a happy person.” Shen Lian thought his predicament was similar to that of Yan Hui’s.

Unlike the Sage, Yan Hui, Shen Lian could not be in a state of spiritual calmness in every waking moment.

However, most of the successful people from the past until then had attained some form of spiritual calmness. This allowed them to tune out of external distractions and achieve greatness.

Out of a sudden, someone knocked on his door urgently.

This put him out of his zone of calmness.

It could not have been the servants, as Shen Lian had sent them away earlier. Hence, it should be someone from the Shen family.

Shen Lian was not pleased by the disturbance at all. He finally understood why there was a need for the cultivators of Daoism to retreat into the mountains. No one would be able to stand this kind of disturbance. “Who’s at the door?” Shen Lian asked in spite of his annoyance.

“It’s me.”

It was a familiar female voice. After giving it some thoughts, Shen Lian realized that it was his cousin sister, Shen Ruoxi.

“Give me a second, I will be out.”

Shen Lian took a while to dry himself up and put on his clothes.

Despite the urging of Shen Ruoxi for Shen Lian to be quicker, he maintained his pace.

Even though they were blood-related, Shen Ruoxi was not about to barge into the room of a man.

Right when Shen Ruoxi decided that she was done waiting, and was about to force her way through the door, the door swung open.

It was pleasing to have a beautiful lady waiting at one’s door after a bath, but coupled with her murderous stare? Shen Lian would not be too sure about that.

Shen Lian thought Shen Ruoxi was around his physical age. Her mental age, however, would be nowhere close to that of Shen Lian’s.

‘Girls at Ruoxi’s age were mostly immature with a viewpoint that is vastly different from that of an adult’, Shen Lian thought.

Although intrigued by Shen Ruoxi’s sudden visit, Shen Lian was not alarmed at all. “Spill it, what are you here for?” Shen Lian posed his question directly.

Shen Lian did not bother to be friendly as he was not close to the family members, to begin with; Shen Ruoxi and Shen Lian were not childhood best friends either. Thus, it would be odd for him to be more approachable than usual.

Shen Ruoxi did not expect Shen Lian to be so direct. His tone and composure made her felt like a child being granted an audience with an adult; that made Ruoxi felt small and insignificant.

Ruoxi’s urgent knocks on the door and her threatening attitude earlier made her seem like a child throwing a tantrum.

“What were you doing in the room earlier? I bet you were up to no good,” Ruoxi snickered and questioned.

“Did you not see that my hair is wet? To be honest, I was in the bath. If you were to barge through the door, I would not be the one at loss.”

After taking a closer look, Ruoxi realized that Shen Lian had indeed just gotten out from the bath. She could pick up the scent of soap on him.

The reason why Ruoxi looked older than Shen Lian was that she was born into a wealthy family and was well-fed growing up. On the other hand, Shen Lian’s growth stunted because of his previous training. This was why he looked slightly younger than Ruoxi.

Shen Lian’s eyes stood out; it was as if God himself painted Shen Lian’s eyes on his face. A direct look into his eyes reminded Ruoxi of the nights she spent watching the stars.

When they looked at each other, Shen Lian did not shy away. He did not avert his glance.

It was said that a person’s eyes are the windows to their soul. Shen Lian’s spirit was powerful. If he wanted to, he could easily scare a strong adult off with just one look, what more a young lady like Ruoxi.

Of course, he would not have done that to Ruoxi. Though for a while, Ruoxi was lost in his eyes and did not react after a few seconds had passed. “Why are you looking at me? I am warning you now. Do not even think about it! I will not marry you!” she shouted angrily.

She blushed and stormed off after her outburst.

She was flustered. She actually meant to humiliate Shen Lian to know that he was not fit to be her partner. God knows what overcame her! She spilled everything that was on her mind outright.

After jogging to a few steps away, she was suddenly afraid that he would do something. “Don’t you dare to pull your tricks on me!” she turned around and warned him.

“Otherwise, I’ll make sure you live your life in regret.” She took one long look at him and waved her fist.

This reminded him of a romantic scene from a poem –’Away she tries to fly. She never stops; But to look back. Leaning against the door, she pretends to sniff at the blossoms once more.’ Shen Lian found the current situation funny.

It was as the Chinese idiom said, ‘Wind does not come from an empty cave without reason’. Shen Lian knew that there was no smoke without fire – the Shen family must have intended for him to father a few children after marrying Shen Ruoxi, in order to continue the family lineage.