35: Newly added compulsory courses

Su Ming stood shirtless in the center of the courtyard, repeating the simple punching motion over and over again.

Sweat trickled down his lean back, reflecting tiny glints of light under the moonlight.

It had been a week.

Master had fallen into a deep sleep, completely silent for an entire week.

The shock and fear of that night, after seven days of sedimentation, had transformed into a deeper emotion—a reverence for the unknown and a hatred for his own weakness.

Every day, besides studying, he spent all his time on Body Refining and meditation.

Each punch he threw was more powerful than the day before.

Each meditation was more focused than the last.

He was forcing himself, using physical exhaustion to suppress his inner anxiety.

He didn't dare to stop, fearing that if he did, the terrifying killing intent that had leaked from Master that night would resurface in his mind, tearing his heart and guts apart. Su Ming exhaled a mouthful of turbid Qi, retracted his fist, and prepared to return to his room.

Just then, a hoarse voice, tinged with extreme exhaustion, abruptly sounded in his mind.

"Kid, not sleeping in the middle of the night, who are you putting on a monkey show for here?"

Su Ming's body trembled violently, and ecstasy instantly washed away all his fatigue and anxiety.

"Master! You're awake!"

Lin Yu thought to himself: "Finally, I've managed to firmly bind that madwoman's resentment... Damn it, building a prison in my own mind, I really am a Genius. It's just the after-effects... my Soul Power feels like it has a ticking time bomb, ready to blow up my retirement home at any moment."

Lin Yu's voice still sounded weak, but it was much more stable than before.

"Mm." He responded indifferently, maintaining the basic composure of a powerful figure.

"Master, your body..." Su Ming asked eagerly, his voice full of concern.

"No matter, it was just some residual Heart Demon filth, which I have already refined." Lin Yu said lightly.

Lin Yu thought to himself: "Refined my ass! I just tied it up with Seal strips and stuffed it into a corner! That thing is now a high-purity source of spiritual pollution, I wouldn't dare touch it!"

Upon hearing this, Su Ming's worried heart finally relaxed for the most part.

But he hesitated for a moment, then asked the question that had bothered him for a week: "Master, that night... was it also caused by that residual Heart Demon filth?"

He asked very carefully, afraid of touching upon Master's secrets.

The ring fell silent for a moment.

Lin Yu grumbled: "Oh, the kid's gotten smarter, he even knows how to beat around the bush to gather information. Good, it's time he knew some things, otherwise, how will he be my gold-medal bodyguard and mobile power bank in the future."

"Yes, and no." Lin Yu's voice deepened, "Disciple, do you know that what we encountered that night was not an ordinary wild lone spirit?"

Su Ming's expression turned serious, and he stood respectfully with his hands at his sides: "This Disciple is foolish, please enlighten me, Master."

"That thing is called a 'vengeful womans lamp'." Lin Yu slowly explained. All this information, he had spent a full seven days piecing together from those chaotic memory fragments.

"Using the Soul of a woman who died with a grievance and was pregnant as the main ingredient, supplemented by seven extreme Yin objects, refined within a special lantern. Fed daily with the vital essence of living people, it takes a hundred years to fully form. On the day it forms, it is incomparably malevolent, capable of polluting one's Divine Soul and seizing one's lifespan."

Su Ming's scalp tingled, and chills ran down his spine.

He had never imagined that such a malicious and evil thing existed in this world.

"This lamp has a Master." Lin Yu dropped an even more startling piece of news.

"A Master?"

"Indeed. The person who refined this lamp had grand designs. He placed this lamp in that dilapidated temple, nourishing it with the Yin Qi of the mountain's earth pulse, clearly cultivating it as a future Magic Treasure. We destroyed it, which is equivalent to ruining that person's century of painstaking effort."

Lin Yu thought to himself: "More than just ruining his painstaking effort, it's like stealing the pig he fattened up for New Year's slaughter. This grudge is huge."

Su Ming's heart sank, and he thought of a terrifying possibility: "Then... will the person who refined the lamp..."

"He will." Lin Yu confirmed his guess, "Such an evil object, when refined, connects with the Master's Divine Soul. The lamp's destruction, he already knows. What's more troublesome is..."

Lin Yu's tone became unprecedentedly solemn.

"Although this Master devoured the vengeful spirit in the lamp and resolved the crisis, I also became entangled in its Karma. A tracking brand has been placed on... us."

"Tracking brand?!" Su Ming's face turned pale, and he subconsciously touched the ring on his finger.

"That brand is extremely subtle. If this Master hadn't nearly been consumed by it this time, I wouldn't have noticed it either. It's like a faint odor in the air that ordinary people can't distinguish, but in its Master's nose, it's as conspicuous as a lighthouse in the dark."

Lin Yu thought to himself: "It's over. I thought I just killed a wild monster and got some equipment, but it turns out I demolished someone else's tower and got a permanent debuff. Now I'm done for. My retirement plan has switched directly from 'peaceful retirement' mode to 'desperate escape' mode."

A huge sense of crisis, like dark clouds, enveloped Su Ming's heart.

He was no longer that ignorant mountain village youth. He clearly knew that a person who could refine an evil object like the vengeful womans lamp was definitely not someone a farm boy like him could contend with.

Even the powerful Master was extremely wary of it.

"Master, what should we do?" Su Ming's voice trembled slightly.

"What to do?" Lin Yu snorted, "When soldiers come, we block them; when water comes, we cover it with earth. If he wants to come, let him come!"

Lin Yu thought to himself: "Run! Of course, run! Quickly pack up and flee! But I can't tell my Disciple that, I have to motivate him, make him stronger, so he can carry me when we run!"

"However," Lin Yu changed his tone, "sitting idly by and waiting for death is not what we do. You must become stronger, strong enough to protect yourself, strong enough to make those petty villains not dare to easily come knocking!"

Fighting spirit rekindled in Su Ming's eyes, and he nodded heavily: "Disciple understands!"

"You understand my ass!" Lin Yu mercilessly retorted, "You can't even touch the enemy's shadow, you wouldn't even recognize them if they stood in front of you, so how can you talk about self-preservation?"

Su Ming's face instantly flushed red.

"Therefore, from today onwards, your Cultivation must add a compulsory course."

"Please instruct me, Master!"

"Recognize demons, distinguish ghosts, know devils, guard against evil!" Lin Yu said word by word, "This Master will teach you how to distinguish the types, habits, and weaknesses of these Yin and evil beings. What you need to learn is not just how to fight them, but also how to avoid them, how to hide yourself!"

Lin Yu continued: "Among the memory fragments of that vengeful spirit, there is an incomplete Cultivation Technique called the ' The Heart Sutra of the Hidden Spring' (Nether Spring Heart Sutra), which is a method for Cultivating Yin and evil Soul Power. This method is malicious, but its understanding of Yin Qi has its merits. This Master will remove the dross and extract a method for concealing aura to teach you."

"Your Yang Qi is as tempting as honey to these things. The first thing you need to learn is to Seal that honey jar tightly for me!"

Lin Yu thought to himself: "And also don't let other stray dogs sniff it out and come to snatch my food."

Su Ming's heart was ablaze.

This was what he wanted!

This was true Cultivation!

Not just studying to understand principles, but also possessing the power to protect himself and his family!

"Also," Lin Yu's voice took on a hint of playfulness, "there are some interesting things in the vengeful spirit's memories. For example, why it was suppressed in that temple. That temple, a hundred years ago, seemed to be the ruins of a small immortal sect, and there might still be some things hidden in the mountain belly that haven't been moved out."

Su Ming's breathing hitched.

Immortal sect ruins?

"However, that place is now a great ominous land. With the vengeful womans lamp occupying it for a hundred years, Yin Qi soars to the sky, and who knows how many other things have bred there. With your current strength, going there is just asking to be served up as food." Lin Yu promptly poured a basin of cold water on him.

Lin Yu thought to himself: "First, draw a picture, keep his appetite whetted. When he's strong enough, he can go treasure hunting and be my sapper. Perfect."

Su Ming clenched his fists tightly, engraving this information deeply into his mind.

Become stronger!

He had never yearned to become stronger as much as he did now!

"Alright, enough with the small talk." Lin Yu's voice returned to seriousness, "Now, sit cross-legged, calm your mind and focus your spirit. I will transmit to you the first layer of the Breath Concealment Art. Remember, this method focuses on 'hiding,' not 'fighting.' The highest good is like water, the greatest wisdom appears foolish. A true expert is one whose existence the enemy can never discover!"

"Yes, Master!"

Su Ming suppressed the turbulent thoughts in his heart and sat down in the courtyard as instructed, closing his eyes.

The cold moonlight shone upon him, and the boy's face visibly shed its childishness, replaced by a resilience and composure beyond his years.

Deep within the ring, Lin Yu watched this scene and nodded with satisfaction.

Lin Yu thought to himself: "This Disciple can be taught, indeed he can be taught... Now he has enough motivation. Passive Cultivation and active Cultivation have vastly different efficiencies. My gold-medal bodyguard training program has officially begun!"

However, deep within his Soul Power, in the corner sealed by layers of Seals, an imperceptible wisp of black Qi gently trembled with the fluctuations of Su Ming's Yang Qi.

As if a caged hungry beast had smelled the aroma of food outside its prison.