"Zhang Xiaofan!"

  A loud shout, a sweet voice, yet deafening. Zhang Xiaofan woke up from his dream, opened his eyes, and suddenly saw a big mouth with two rows of sharp teeth in front of him, scaring him into shouting: "Ah!"

  "Hahaha..." A burst of laughter came from behind.

  Zhang Xiaofan finally calmed down and took a closer look, only to find that it was a large yellow dog, about half the height of a person, with shiny bright yellow fur, lying on his bed. Behind the yellow dog, Tian Linger wore a red dress, tightly dressed, laughing and bending her waist.

  Zhang Xiaofan sneaked a glance at the big dog, seeing its massive body, sharp teeth, and a long tongue hanging out, looking very ferocious. He had never seen such a large dog before, and his heart was somewhat afraid, but then he looked at Tian Lingers smiling face and whispered: "Sister, whats going on?"

  "Whats the matter?" Tian Linger smiled and said, suddenly turning serious, frowning and shouting loudly: "Its already daylight, what are you asking me about? Hurry up and get out of bed, Im going to go up the mountain with you to cut bamboo."

  Zhang Xiaofan was stunned and asked in surprise: "Youre going too?"

  Tian Linger said, "Nonsense, all disciples of our sect have to go up the mountain to cut black bamboo for the first three years after entering the sect. I started when I was ten and this is my last year. Hey, are you still lying in bed?"

  Zhang Xiaofan hastily responded with a sound, carefully and cautiously avoiding the big dog, coming out from the other corner of the bed, and hurriedly putting on his clothes.

  Tian Linger shouted: "Next!" and threw a hatchet over.

  Zhang Xiaofan grasped it with both hands, and found that it was an ordinary hatchet, which felt quite heavy in his hand. After preparing himself, he turned to Tian Linger and said: "Sister, do you want to call Big Brother together?"

  Tian Linger gave him a white eye and said, "Didnt you hear me say that only entry-level disciples need to do homework? Now its just me and you going to cut bamboo, lets go."

  With a wave of his hand, Zhang Xiaofan had not yet made a move, but the big yellow dog on the bed suddenly stood up, jumped down from the bed, wagged its tail, barked "wang wang" twice at Zhang Xiaofan, showed its teeth and made a fierce appearance, then ran out.

  Zhang Xiaofan felt a sense of familiarity and recalled hearing several barks yesterday when he followed his senior brother back, it seemed that this big yellow dog was the one. He couldnt help but think to himself: "The Qingyun Gate is indeed impressive, even their casually raised dogs are much bigger than those in our village."

  He followed Tian Linger out of the house, and saw that it was still early in the morning, with a misty fog drifting between the mountains in the distance.

  The two men and one dog walked towards the back mountain of Dazhu Peak like this.

  Yesterday, Zhang Xiaofan was carried by Song Daren to that hillside, and he felt that it wouldnt take long to get there, the road was also easy to walk. Unexpectedly, when walking here alone today, after only half of the way, he felt that the slope became steeper and steeper, and the distance was much farther than he had imagined.

  Looking at Tian Linger beside me, she didnt use that "Amber Red Silk" today, yet she was still walking with ease, her small red figure fluttering about on the mountain path, extremely quick. As for that big yellow dog, its even more energetic than usual, darting forward one moment and running back the next, occasionally burrowing into the woods beside the road, who knows what its doing? After a while, the rustling of grass and trees sounded, and it actually emerged from another spot, looking very lively and excited.

  After walking for nearly half a time, Zhang Xiaofan was already panting heavily, his legs aching and extremely tired.

  Tian Linger walked ahead, looked at him and snorted, saying: "Really useless, stop and rest for a while."

  Zhang Xiaofan hastily nodded and sat down with a thud, panting desperately. The big yellow dog was nowhere to be seen at this moment, and it was unknown where it had gone again.

  Zhang Xiaofan panted for a while before gradually catching his breath. He sat on the mountain path, looking down to see that Dazhu Peak stood tall and upright, with nearby mountains all appearing shorter by comparison, giving off an air of pride.

  "Sister, I have something to ask you, dont know..."

  Tian Linger listened to his somewhat timid words, and a pair of eyes looked over, feeling a sense of pride in her heart. Subconsciously, she smoothed out her hair with her hand, and with a serious expression, she said solemnly: "Ask away."

  "Why do we have to chop bamboo as homework? I thought homework was for practicing Taoist skills?"

  Tian Linger curled her lip and said, "What do you know? For cultivators, the body is the most important thing. My mother said that if the body is not good, even with the best methods, its hard to cultivate. Our Qingyun Gate originated from Taoism, which attaches great importance to nourishing life and physical health. The deeper one goes in cultivating Taoist techniques, the more important the body becomes. Take our Qingyun Gates highest and most extraordinary technique, Divine Sword Conquering Thunder True Method for example..."

  Zhang Xiaofans body shook violently, and his face changed drastically.

  Tian Linger asked strangely: "Whats wrong with you?"

  Zhang Xiaofan came back to his senses, his face changing color, and muttered: "N-nothing, Ive heard this name for a long time, it sounds very powerful."

  Tian Linger glared at him and said, "Of course its powerful. This is one of the ultimate techniques of our Qingyunmen sect, and not many people can cultivate it. According to my father, to display this true essence, one must use oneself as a guide, assisted by divine soldiers and sharp blades, to summon the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder, shining with heavenly power and divine might. Its truly invincible, with unparalleled power."

  Zhang Xiaofan sighed and said, "Yes."

  Tian Linger said, "Then think about it, even with the true secret to protect yourself, but when faced with the mighty power of the heavenly thunder, ordinary people will instantly turn to ashes upon contact. The practitioners cultivation is indeed very deep, but if their body is not good, they might be struck dead by the divine lightning before they can even react. Whats the point of talking about being invincible?" She glanced at Zhang Xiaofan and said, "Thats why my father asked you to do this task for your own good, yet you still look so unwilling."

  Zhang Xiaofan was startled, and hastily jumped up, saying: "Nothing like that, I absolutely dare not have any disrespect towards Master, nor do I have any unwillingness. Ah, Ive rested enough now, lets go, lets go!"

  After finishing speaking, he picked up the axe and ran towards the mountain with quick steps. Tian Linger looked at his back and smiled lightly, following him closely.

  After much difficulty, Zhang Xiaofan finally reached the front of the small hill, already panting heavily. In front of the bamboo forest, that big yellow dog was lying down, and when it saw them coming up, it barked "wang wang" a few times, but didnt get up, and instead turned its head away.

  Zhang Xiaofan was stunned for a moment and said: "So fast!"

  "Are you talking about Dahuang?" Tian Linger walked up from behind with a calm face.

  Zhang Xiaofan pointed at the big dog and said, "Is it called Da Huang?"

  Tian Linger said: "Yes, dont underestimate it, its very powerful."

  "Look at its size, its obvious that it has been raised for at least twenty years."

  "Whats wrong with you!"

  Zhang Xiaofan exclaimed: "Its less than twenty years old, and Dahuang can really grow a child."

  At this time, Da Huang let out a loud bark at Zhang Xiaofans front.

  Tian Linger said: "Im saying that there are so few years. Hmm, let me calculate it, it seems like when Fourth Brother came, it was already there, thats seventy years, no, Third Brother said he was here too, thats ninety-seven years! Ah!" She suddenly shouted, startling Zhang Xiaofan, who hastily asked: "Whats wrong?"

  Tian Linger said with a smile: "I remembered, when I was young, my mother and father had a quarrel, they said harsh words, saying that they would slaughter the big yellow dog that father raised since he was little to make dog stew soup, which made father so angry that he almost died, and Big Yellow was also scared for many days and didnt dare to come home!"

  Zhang Xiaofan was surprised and said: "Doesnt Dahuang dare to go home?"

  Tian Linger said, "Yes, Da Huang has lived for many years and understands human nature. He knows my mother is formidable and fears being poisoned by her, so he ran away with his tail between his legs. Hows that? Isnt she formidable?"

  "Awesome!" Zhang Xiaofan exclaimed, not knowing whether he was praising the big yellow dog or admiring his masters skills. He took another two glances at the big yellow dog, but to his surprise, the dog didnt even bother to look at him, let out a loud snort, shook its tail, turned its head aside and lazily lay down on the ground.

  The two of them had now walked to the front of the bamboo forest, and Zhang Xiaofan said to Tian Linger: "Sister, when I just arrived at Tongtian Peak, I also saw a huge monster that was many times bigger than Da Huang. Brother Dashi said its called Shui Qilin. Is Da Huang also a spirit beast like it?"

  Tian Linger walked into the bamboo forest and shook her head, saying: "No, the Spirit Lord is an ancient strange beast, a Hong Huang spirit breed, far superior to Da Huang, cant be compared."

  As they spoke, she took Zhang Xiaofan and shuttled through the forest, walking for a while before arriving at a place with more fine bamboo. The black-jointed bamboo here was generally only the size of a wrist, slender and delicate.

  "Its here, you can just cut one every day for the next three months." Tian Linger said seriously.

  "Cut down just one of such a thin tree?" Zhang Xiaofan exclaimed in surprise.

  Tian Linger hummed and said, "You try chopping it."

  Zhang Xiaofan nodded, picked up the axe and walked to a thin bamboo in front of him. He looked it up and down for a moment, then swung his axe and chopped downwards. With a crisp sound, the axe struck as if it had hit a hard stone, causing Zhang Xiaofans palm to go numb. The thin bamboo was chopped by him once, leaning forward, and after a moment, it sprang back, Zhang Xiaofan dodged too late, his head was heavily hit by the bamboo branch, the pain was unbearable, leaving a red mark.

  "Hehe......" Tian Linger laughed and bent her waist, and after a while, she said with difficulty: "You can chop here, Im going to do my own homework." After finishing speaking, she smiled and turned around to leave.

  Zhang Xiaofan touched the painful spot on his face, and saw that the bamboo had been cut to leave only a faint white mark. He couldnt help but take a deep breath. That morning, Zhang Xiaofan faced the black bamboo alone, using every method he could think of - cutting, chopping, sawing, grinding, pressing, and bending. After two hours, the sun was high in the sky, and he was drenched in sweat, his hands and feet numb and weak. Yet, he had only managed to make a small opening of about two inches on the black bamboo.

  At this time, a song came over, Tian Linger hummed an unknown tune, jumped and jumped back, saw Zhang Xiaofans embarrassed appearance, looked at the black bamboo again, shook his head, raised the axe, and made a gesture to chop.

  "Eldest sister, what are you doing?" Zhang Xiaofan hastily asked.

  Tian Linger said impatiently: "Help you chop it."

  Zhang Xiaofan shook his head vigorously and panted heavily: "No need, thank you sister. But this is my homework, Ill finish it myself."

  Tian Linger hummed and pointed at the sun, saying: "Do you know what time it is now?"

  Zhang Xiaofan was originally stubborn, gritted his teeth and said: "I will keep chopping until nightfall..."

  "Idiot!" Tian Linger suddenly cursed loudly with her hands on her hips. Zhang Xiaofan was shocked and couldnt say a word for a moment, staring blankly at his senior sister.

  Tian Linger was majestic and powerful, with a bit of her mothers demeanor. She angrily said: "Dont you look at the time? Dont you think about others? Youre chopping until nightfall, do you want me to accompany you until nightfall too? If you really want to compete, you should work hard every day from now on, think of ways to finish your homework within two hours, instead of talking nonsense about chopping until nightfall!"

  As soon as she finished speaking, her hand rose and the knife fell, the sound of the knife piercing the air, "chop chop chop chop" four times, that bamboo pole fell with a crash, leaving Zhang Xiaofan staring in amazement.

  Tian Linger glanced at him and said lightly, "Lets go back." She then walked towards the outside of the forest. Zhang Xiaofan felt both ashamed and guilty in his heart, secretly making up his mind to work even harder from now on and do a good job with his studies.

  ※※※

  When he returned to his residence at Dazhu Peak, it was already noon. Tian Linger walked silently towards the back of Guan Jing Tang. Zhang Xiaofan hesitated for a moment and moved with difficulty towards his own room. At the door of the corridor, he saw his senior brother Song Dahai standing there.

  Song Darens mouth corner revealed a hint of a smile, saying: "How is it, little Shidi, tired?"

  Zhang Xiaofan forced a smile and shook his head.

  Song Daren saw that he was young, but his temper was quite stubborn, and couldnt help but smile. He accompanied him to the room first, saying: "Theres usually hot water in the kitchen, you can go get some water to wash up when you come back later, well be eating soon. You rest for a bit first, Ill come call you, after dinner we still have homework to do."

  Zhang Xiaofan was startled and said, "There are still classes in the afternoon?"

  Song Daren saw his big reaction, was stunned for a moment, and then came to his senses, laughing: "Oh, I made a mistake. This afternoon is when Ben Miaos disciples practice their Taoist skills. From today on, Ill teach you some introductory Taoist skills."

  Zhang Xiaofan finally breathed a sigh of relief, his heart filled with surprise and joy, and he quietly asked: "Big Brother Master, are those Taoist spells very powerful and difficult to learn?"

  Song Daren smiled and said, "When you cultivate to a deep level, it will naturally be extremely powerful. As for whether its difficult to learn or not, it depends on each persons innate talent and wisdom. However, even if your innate talent is inferior, it doesnt matter. You also heard what Master said last night: The ocean of the Tao has no bounds, diligence is the boat. As long as you persist in cultivating diligently and perseveringly, even if its extremely difficult, you can still achieve success."

  Zhang Xiaofan nodded vigorously.

  At noon that day, Tian Bu Yi asked a few questions about Zhang Xiao Fans homework situation. Tian Ling Er added fuel to the fire and scolded Zhang Xiao Fan severely, making his face turn bright red, not daring to lift his head.

  Tian didnt listen to his daughters words and shook his head repeatedly. Finally, he waved his hand and only said two words: "Eat dinner."

  Tian Bu Yi was too lazy to scold Zhang Xiao Fan, but in Zhang Xiao Fans eyes, he felt that his master was very concerned about him. Although he didnt do well, his master didnt scold him and was extremely generous. He was truly a rare mentor in the world. Zhang Xiao Fan felt ashamed in his heart and didnt dare say anything else. He secretly vowed to himself that he would work hard to cultivate himself in the future to repay his masters kindness.

  After dinner, Tian didnt easily follow his usual eight-character steps, swaying back and forth a couple of times before returning to his Guardian Hall. The other disciples went to the Taiji Cave, while only Song Daren and Zhang Xiaofan came to the room, saying: "Younger brother, our sects Taoist methods emphasize foundation, youve just entered the door, Ill first teach you basic techniques, remember them well, then practice on your own, if theres anything unclear come ask me, understand?"

  Zhang Xiaofan nodded repeatedly, with a surge of excitement in his heart.

  Song Darens face turned serious, and he said solemnly: "There is another matter that I must inform you of. The extraordinary skills of our school are profound and mysterious, and many evil demons and monsters have tried to spy on them. You need to make a heavy oath that after you learn it, if its not a disciple of our school, you will never pass it on to outsiders."

  Zhang Xiaofans heart skipped a beat, and he felt a little dazed for a moment, but immediately came to his senses. With a resolute expression on his small face, he said: "Yes. Heaven is above, disciple Zhang Xiaofan vows that if he ever reveals the secrets of Qingyun Gates Dao methods, he will be struck by five thunderbolts and die without a place to bury his body."

  Song Daren smiled and nodded, letting him sit down at the table. He first taught him how to meditate and think deeply, then roughly explained the human bodys meridians and the circulation of vital energy. Finally, he passed on to him the first layer of cultivation method of "Taiji Xuanqing Dao".

  "Taiji Xuanqing Dao", is the foundation of all the extraordinary skills and wonderful methods of Qingyunmen, it was enlightened by Qingyunzi on that unnamed ancient scroll 2,000 years ago, after being refined by generations of Qingyunmen masters, up to today, it has become a supreme method that surpasses creation and is unmatched in mystery.

  Taiji Xuanqing Dao has three realms: Yuqing, Shangqing and Taiqing. The disciples of Qingyunmen, including many intelligent and talented individuals, can hardly break through the realm of Yuqing in their lifetime. Even so, the top-level cultivation of Yuqing is already rare in the world.

  In the Qingyun Gate, there are nearly a thousand people, but those who can break through the Yuqing Realm and enter the Shangqing Realm are only about ten people, with the gate master Dao Xuan Zhenren being one of them. However, these ten or so people make the Qingyun Gate one of the strongest and most profound sects in the current cultivation world. As for the legendary Taiqing Realm, it is said that only the extraordinary talent Qingye Ancestor had cultivated to that level in the past.