219: Chapter 218 Third Senior Brother, "Drunkard" Li Zhan

"Alright, Qingxuan, go about your business! Let's go."

The Fifth Hall Master waved his hand at Yang Qingxuan and walked forward.

Yang Qingxuan shouldered his hoe, winked at Xia Jin, and whispered, "Let's chat later," before turning back toward his spirit fields with a chuckle.

Xia Jin did not hesitate; after a glance at the departing Yang Qingxuan, he followed the Fifth Hall Master.

The two walked one after the other, eventually stopping before the gate of a small courtyard near a hillside.

"From now on, you will stay here."

The Fifth Hall Master stood at the courtyard gate, not entering, and spoke plainly.

Xia Jin walked into the courtyard and looked around. Though simple, it was pleasantly quiet and secluded.

"Thank you, Senior."

He turned and cupped his hands toward the Fifth Hall Master.

The Fifth Hall Master waved his hand, his cloudy eyes showing no emotion. "No need to thank me. Reaching this place was your own doing."

He turned to leave, but after a few steps, he stopped and left him with a message: "Kid, someone will come to find you later to tell you the rules here in the Third Heaven. Use this time... to rest well and prepare well."

"You might only have one month left!"

The words had barely fallen when the man was already far away.

Xia Jin stood in the courtyard, frowning slightly as he watched the gray-robed figure, which seemed to exude a faint sense of sorrow.

Could he have misread it?

"Prepare well? Only one month left? Is this Fifth Hall Master reminding this King about the Extraterrestrial Races?"

Forget it, what will be will be. Why overthink it.

He withdrew his gaze and turned to inspect his "new home."

After a brief tidying up, he sat down at the stone table in the courtyard.

Xia Jin took out a jar of wine from his storage ring and poured himself a bowl.

The wine was given to him by Mu Qing'er back in the Second Heaven, and it was quite precious.

Especially in a place so quiet it was almost desolate, drinking a few bowls had its own unique charm.

He picked up the bowl, took a light sip, and looked over the courtyard wall at the rolling shadows of the mountains in the distance.

The Third Heaven... Having stepped into this place, he would soon be qualified to go out and fight against those alien races.

*Knock, knock, knock.*

Someone was knocking at the courtyard gate.

Calling it a knock was generous; it was more like a casual slapping, carrying a sense of nonchalance.

Xia Jin looked up at the gate.

He remembered he hadn't closed the gate when he came in; it was currently ajar, allowing a direct view of the courtyard from the outside.

Sure enough, a palm reached through the gap, gripping the doorframe, followed by a head poking in.

It was a man who looked to be about thirty years old, with jet-black hair loosely tied behind his head. He wore a loose green robe and looked as if he had just been woken up from a nap.

The man's eyes were fixed intently on the jar of wine on the stone table in front of Xia Jin.

That look was like a cat that had been hungry for a long time suddenly seeing a plump fish.

Xia Jin held his wine bowl and locked eyes with the man for a moment, unable to help but chuckle.

"If you want a drink, come on in."

He set down his bowl and nodded with a smile at the man at the gate.

Hearing this, the man's eyes immediately lit up like two lanterns. Without a word, he pushed open the gate and strode in.

"Then I won't be polite!"

The man walked to the stone table in a few steps, sat down unceremoniously on the stone chair opposite Xia Jin, grabbed the jar of wine, brought it to his lips, and tilted his head back to pour it down.

The wine flowed down the corners of his mouth, soaking the collar of his green robe. He didn't care at all, gulping it down as if someone who hadn't drank for three days and nights had finally found a spring.

Xia Jin watched him quietly without stopping him.

He drank more than half the jar before finally putting it down and letting out a long breath of wine-scented air.

"Huuu~"

He let out a loud belch, squinted his eyes, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"Not bad, not bad. This wine of yours is not bad!"

Xia Jin smiled and said nothing. He simply swept his hand over the table.

A dozen jars of wine appeared neatly on the stone table.

"Drink as much as you like," Xia Jin said, taking a light sip from his bowl. "I have plenty of this wine."

The man looked at the dozen jars that had suddenly appeared, stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"Good! Good! Good!"

"I knew you were a good one!" He gave Xia Jin a thumbs-up. "Very generous, just my style!"

As he spoke, he picked up another jar, slapped off the clay seal, took a large gulp, and then sighed contentedly. He leaned back in the stone chair, squinting as he sized up Xia Jin.

"This little brother looks very unfamiliar."

"I take it this is your first time in our Third Heaven?"

Xia Jin nodded. "I just arrived today."

"No wonder, no wonder."

"I was wondering why I'd never seen you. The Third Heaven is only so big; it's just us few old faces coming and going. I could count them with my eyes closed. Your face... I definitely haven't seen it."

As he spoke, he sat up straight, placed the wine jar on the table, and straightened his expression.

"I am Li Zhan. People call me—The Drunkard."

When he said the words "The Drunkard," there wasn't a hint of embarrassment in his tone; instead, he sounded rather proud, as if the nickname were some grand honor.

"Of course, according to the rules of the Third Heaven, you can also call me Third Senior Brother. Or... Senior Brother Li. Whichever you prefer."

Third Senior Brother.

Xia Jin's heart stirred slightly.

Just now he had met Yang Qingxuan, and now another Third Senior Brother, Li Zhan, had appeared.

He stood up and bowed to Li Zhan.

"Xia Jin greets Third Senior Brother."

Li Zhan waved his hand, signaling him to sit. "Don't be so stiff. We don't have that many rules here in the Third Heaven. If there's a stool, sit; if there's wine, drink. Why bother with all those empty formalities?"

Hearing this, Xia Jin didn't stand on ceremony and sat back down.

"By seniority, I should call you Junior Brother. Since you're a newcomer, you must be very unfamiliar with the Third Heaven."

His gaze fell on Xia Jin's face. "Since I drank your wine and took your things today, I should introduce a few things to you. Otherwise, if word gets out that I, Li Zhan, am a freeloader, I'll have nowhere to hide my face."

Xia Jin picked up his wine bowl and said seriously, "Please advise me, Third Senior Brother."

"It's not really advice, just some talk based on experience."

Li Zhan rested the wine jar on his lap and leaned back.

"This Third Heaven... it's not exactly big, but it's not small either."

"However, for a newcomer, there is one place in the Third Heaven you must go."

"Oh?" Xia Jin's brow furrowed slightly. "What place?"

"The Yuanling Pool."

When Li Zhan spoke those three words, his tone became noticeably more solemn.

"Yuanling Pool?" Xia Jin repeated the unfamiliar name.

"Correct. The Yuanling Pool of the Third Heaven can temper the Physical Body, repair hidden injuries invisible to the naked eye, and mend the tiny cracks left behind during the process of Breakthrough, allowing your Physical Body to reach a state of... Perfection and Fusion."

"You can think of it like this: our Physical Bodies are like weapons being constantly forged. Every Breakthrough is a quenching, but the quenching process inevitably leaves tiny cracks. The Yuanling Pool is the hammer that reforges you, turning you from 'almost there' into 'one whole'."

Xia Jin nodded thoughtfully after listening.

"May I ask where this Yuanling Pool is, Third Senior Brother?"

"The back mountain." Li Zhan jerked his chin toward a certain direction outside the courtyard. "Follow this road straight north, pass through those spirit fields, and you'll see a valley. The Yuanling Pool is at the very depths of that valley."

"Besides the Yuanling Pool," Li Zhan said vaguely, "you'd best visit the other Senior Brothers here during this time. Get to know everyone and get familiar. After all..."

He suddenly stopped, a flash of complex emotion in his eyes.

"After all what?" Xia Jin asked.

Li Zhan was silent for a long time before saying in a low voice, "After all, in the battle a month from now, we might need you to fight."

The battle in one month.

Xia Jin frowned and was about to ask more, but Li Zhan had already stood up.

He picked up two unopened jars of wine, one in each hand, carrying them casually at his sides.

But his back...

The playful, relaxed feeling he had when he entered had completely vanished, replaced by an indescribable... desolation.

"Third Senior Brother."

Xia Jin called out to him.

Li Zhan paused and turned his head slightly.

"The battle you mentioned in a month's time," Xia Jin paused, looking him straight in the eye, "are you talking about the contest with the Extraterrestrial Races?"

Li Zhan did not answer immediately.

He stood at the courtyard gate for a long while before finally letting out a soft "Mhm."

"The Fifth Hall Master didn't tell you?"

"He only said to prepare well; he didn't go into specifics."

Li Zhan was silent for a moment and then sighed softly.

"Fair enough. It's a long story; the old man probably didn't want to waste his breath."

"Junior Brother, I'm taking the wine. I'll find you for another drink later."

He didn't answer Xia Jin's question; after saying this, he turned and walked out of the courtyard gate.

Xia Jin stood at the gate, watching his figure disappear around a bend in the road.

"It seems everyone isn't exactly brimming with confidence regarding the battle with the Extraterrestrial Races in a month's time."

"However, no matter who the opponent is, how could this King lose!"