Chapter 69: All the Children Cast Out

Muddled, he followed Lin Dong back to the room once again. Seeing the thick stack of spiritual techniques on the table, Xiao Tianchi’s gaze grew confused.

Lin Dong remained silent, sitting on the bench and watching Xiao Tianchi quietly.

It took a long time before Xiao Tianchi regained his composure. Suppressing the urge to grab all the spiritual techniques at once, he slowly turned his gaze toward Lin Dong, filled with deep shock and confusion.

Showing twenty-one high-level spiritual techniques in front of someone stronger meant one was either a fool or someone very close to them—otherwise, no one would dare do such a thing. He couldn’t possibly believe Lin Dong was a fool or someone so gullible.

After decades of experience, Xiao Tianchi had never met anyone he couldn’t understand. Yet this Lin, the innkeeper, seemed utterly mysterious to him now.

To recruit Tianhao as his disciple, he had carefully gathered information about Lin—the innkeeper: honest, timid, and kind-hearted. That’s why he had orchestrated the incident where Zhang’s son’s leg was broken, then forced Tianhao to become his follower. When that failed, he tried tricking Lin by pretending the leader of the Gu Huan Sect would visit the inn. But both plans failed completely. Especially when the Gu Huan Sect was reduced to nothingness, and it seemed hopeless to recruit Tianhao as a disciple, yet Lin suddenly agreed to let Tianhao join the sect without asking for any reward, Xiao Tianchi found this Lin even more mysterious.

Not to mention just an innkeeper—even the head of a major family would likely send Tianhao to a grand sect right away. After all, with Tianhao’s talent, he could become an heir in any grand sect. The benefits involved were too great for even the royal family to refuse. Yet this Lin gave up all those benefits just because the leader of the Gu Huan Sect seemed suitable as Tianhao’s teacher. If not for the fact that Lin was in his early twenties, Xiao Tianchi would have thought he had met a sage who saw through everything in the world.

After much thought, there was only one possibility: in Lin’s eyes, Tianhao was more important than any benefit.

When they met again, Lin started by talking about how hard Tianhao was working on his training, which further solidified Xiao Tianchi’s belief. But then, the spiritual techniques he showed brought back that fading sense of mystery like a tide.

Showing twenty-one high-level spiritual techniques at once was something only the leaders of grand sects or peak experts could do. This Lin, given his age, couldn’t possibly be one of them. Even the idea that a peak expert passing by the inn recognized his talent and taught him these techniques was hard to understand.

First, someone in their early twenties who hasn’t yet reached the Agile Phase—such talent wouldn’t even earn a glance from a minor sect like the Gu Huan Sect, let alone prompt them to share their knowledge. Second, even a solitary peak expert has sect rules; advanced spiritual techniques are never casually shown to others. It’s chaotic, extremely chaotic. Unless Manager Lin is hiding his true strength and his talent is actually on par with Tian Hao’s.

His body trembled as Xiao Tianchi suddenly looked up at Lin Dong. “Manager Lin, just now…”

“The hermit who came to the inn once taught me a self-defense spiritual technique,” Lin Dong said nonchalantly. “I never used it before. Today, when I saw Sect Master Xiao, I decided to give it a try on the spot.”

Xiao Tianchi remained silent. He understood that Lin Dong must have noticed his hesitation regarding the twenty-one spiritual techniques. What he didn’t understand was how any spiritual technique could instantly send someone a hundred meters away.

“Sect Master Xiao, with these twenty-one spiritual techniques at my disposal, you shouldn’t worry that Tian Hao’s strength will be hindered by a lack of such techniques, right?” Lin Dong asked with a smile.

Xiao Tianchi nodded. With these techniques, if Tian Hao practiced diligently and had a bit of luck, he could stay low-key until his strength grew. Fifty or sixty years later, Tian Hao would surely be among the next generation of peak experts in the Great Han Nation.

But the problem was, if Tian Hao could learn these techniques, could he pass them on to the disciples of the Gu Huan Sect once he became its sect master?

Watching Lin Dong’s indifferent expression, Xiao Tianchi felt powerless. With that mysterious technique that had just sent him out of the Lin’s Inn, even if he tried to seize it by force, it would be impossible, even if he could deceive Tian Hao.

Taking a deep breath, Xiao Tianchi looked at Lin Dong and asked cautiously, “Manager Lin, can the disciples of the Gu Huan Sect learn these techniques?”

“We’ll discuss that later,” Lin Dong replied with a smile. “Let’s talk about Tian Hao’s training in the Cold Pond first! Connecting a pipe to the bottom of the pond and then practicing—sounds easy. But the pressure underwater and the coldness require endurance for six or seven hours a day. It may stimulate potential and improve tolerance, but since Tian Hao has no deep grudges to avenge nor a preference for being abused, doesn’t Sect Master Xiao think this is too harsh?”

Waving to cut off Xiao Tianchi’s explanation, Lin Dong’s tone turned cold. “If Tianhao volunteers to endure such suffering because he, like Sect Master Xiao, regards promoting the Ancient Huan Sect as his greatest goal, then it’s none of my business. But how did Sect Master Xiao persuade him? To prevent his father and sister from being bullied, he has to endure what others can’t. I think it would be better to get my consent before saying such things, right?”
Xiao Tianchi smiled bitterly. “I was too hasty.”
Lin Dong said slowly, “Sect Master Xiao, are you interested in trying cultivation here?”
Xiao Tianchi was confused.
“Give it a try!” Lin Dong opened the inn’s system and changed the cultivation bonus from triple to double.
Although he didn’t understand Lin Dong’s intentions, seeing his determined gaze, Xiao Tianchi nodded, went to the wooden bed, and sat cross-legged.
After a moment, his tightly closed eyes suddenly opened, and he stared at Lin Dong in shock.
“Lin, Manager Lin, what’s going on? For three consecutive weeks, my cultivation speed has doubled.”
Lin Dong smiled. “It’s the Ninth-Level Spirit Speed Array.”
“That’s impossible! How could you set up a Ninth-Level Spirit Array?”
Xiao Tianchi stood up abruptly, his eyes filled with awe. During cultivation, using spirit stones could increase the amount of spiritual energy in the meridians, while using pills could increase the spiritual energy in the dantian. Unless one took pills to clear impurities from the meridians, there was indeed only the mysterious Ninth-Level Spirit Array that could explain how to increase the speed of spiritual energy flow in the meridians.
But the Ninth-Level Spirit Array—only one peerless expert in the entire Great Han Nation could set it up, and that expert surely couldn’t be Manager Lin before him.
“I didn’t set up the array.”
The implication was clear: the Ninth-Level Spirit Array was set up by that reclusive expert. If that reclusive expert happened to be that peerless expert, then it might be possible. Realizing this, Xiao Tianchi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Manager Lin’s hidden strength was already astonishing enough; if he were also a peerless expert who could set up a Ninth-Level Spirit Array, he simply couldn’t accept it.
Not to mention a peerless expert in his early twenties—there had never been any record of one in his early thirties either. To witness such a thing in person wasn’t just witnessing history; it was like dreaming. Xiao Tianchi had already suffered the shock of realizing that twenty-one advanced spirit techniques were just a dream. He didn’t believe he could endure it again.
“I’ve had these spirit techniques and the Spirit Speed Array for years, but I never told Tianhao because I thought he was too young and shouldn’t pursue strength excessively,” Lin Dong said leisurely. “So, if Sect Master Xiao understands my intentions, it would be best if you took Tianhao on more trips.”

Xiao Tianchi nodded with a bitter smile. With advanced spiritual techniques and a ninth-level spiritual array that could speed up cultivation, even if he were confused, he understood that teaching Tianhao was the best way for his own benefit. After all, besides realm and spiritual techniques, mental resilience was also key to becoming a peak powerhouse.

Lin Dong poured a cup of tea and handed it to Xiao Tianchi. “From now on, I’ll leave Tianhao in Master Xiao’s care.”

“Don’t worry, Shopkeeper Lin,” Xiao Tianchi said, taking the cup and drinking a sip. The shock from the Spiritual Speed Array gradually subsided. His gaze toward Lin Dong turned intense again. “Shopkeeper Lin, can only one person cultivate using this Spiritual Speed Array?”

“You can cultivate anywhere in the room. Moreover, there are two such arrays in the inn,” Lin Dong replied, raising his eyebrows slightly. “Additionally, when I obtained those twenty-one advanced spiritual techniques, there was no rule prohibiting their dissemination.”

Xiao Tianchi was stunned for a moment before his face lit up with ecstasy. His body trembled with excitement.

If the disciples of the Guhuan Sect could learn these techniques and cultivate using the Spiritual Speed Array, perhaps he wouldn’t have to wait until Tianhao became a peak powerhouse. He might see the day when the Guhuan Sect became a great sect while he was still alive.

By the time Tianhao succeeded as the head of the Guhuan Sect and became a peak powerhouse, the sect might even become the greatest sect in the Great Han Nation.

In an instant, tears streamed down Xiao Tianchi’s face. After forty years of hard work, he finally saw hope.

Lin Dong remained silent, waiting patiently for Xiao Tianchi to calm down.

It was true that Tianhao would eventually become the head of the Guhuan Sect, but not yet. Since he had given away all the spiritual techniques—even those crucial for cultivation enhancements—other than refusing to give Tianhao the Yu Tian Jue, he surely had his own demands.

He had already offered everything; now it depended on whether the other party was willing to risk everything in return.