For ten years I practiced Gu poison in Southeast Asia; all living beings revered me as a deity.

"Ati".

Inside the stilted monks' quarters at the Princess Temple in Wankao Village, a coconut oil lamp cast a small glow.

Tell me everything that happened last night, in detail.

Master Puttawong sat in front of the betel nut tray. Thai monks have a habit of chewing betel nuts, and it seems that the master himself was no exception.

The old man, dressed in a brown monk's robe, looked at Luo Feng with a gaze that was not only kind but also profound.

"Yes."

Luo Feng quickly recalled his experience at the Ghost Temple and then recounted the abridged version of it.

"So you were completely unaware of Devan's disappearance?"

Putaon, who had been sitting, moved his hands and feet slightly. His manner was casual, but his intention in asking the question was extremely serious.

"I only saw the hungry ghosts chasing him, but I don't know anything about him."

Luo Feng had no intention of revealing that Divan had attacked him, and besides, there was no way to prove it since the dead had already killed him.

"All right."

Master Putaoon continued, "Later, after entering the Buddha hall, you also saw a ghost monk. Also, you took the keepsake from the jar, but later put it back, right?"

"Yes."

Luo Feng nodded.

"What kind of token is that?"

Master Putao asked again.

"A leaf from a betel nut tree, with a tiger pattern painted on it."

Luo Feng replied.

Upon hearing this, Putaon exchanged a glance with Alichaya, who was sitting on the other side, and the latter nodded slightly.

"All right."

The old man fell into a brief silence, as if deep in thought. Suddenly, his face twitched, and a complex emotion flashed in his eyes as he gazed at Luo Feng.

"Ati, you did a good job."

Putaon squinted his eyes, revealing a loving expression.

"Although you didn't actually obtain the token during this trial, I still agree to let you become my disciple."

"Thank you very much, Master Putao."

Luo Feng was taken aback.

This is somewhat unexpected.

He hadn't expected Puttaw to agree so quickly.

"While it's a good thing for me, it's still a bit strange..."

Luo Feng pondered, but a feigned joy appeared on his face.

"but……"

He then wore a puzzled expression.

"Wasn't the trial already interrupted? Does that mean I'm the only one who will become your disciple, Master?"

"Since Diwan has already disappeared, and you also obtained the token from the jar, you have indeed qualified for the first trial."

Alichaya explained, "The trials for the other eight will be held in a while, so you don't need to worry about that."

"I see."

Luo Feng nodded.

"Ati, you should go and rest now."

Old man Putao gave an order, and Luo Feng obediently withdrew.

After he disappeared from sight, Alichaya lowered her voice and said solemnly, "Teacher, this time we can be completely certain that Ati is Sena's son, and the two share the same blood..."

"Yes, the fact that even that ghost monk appeared undoubtedly proves that Ati's lineage triggered some kind of latent resonance."

Master Putao nodded with a stern face.

"I just didn't expect that his bloodline would even cause strange phenomena with that reclining Buddha statue. These are indeed the same as those recorded in ancient books... In order to prevent outsiders from knowing about this, this trial has to be interrupted."

The old man said in a deep voice, "The most important thing is to prevent news of this from getting out of Bangkok and Wat Khao Ao in southern Thailand."

"However, Devan's death is somewhat suspicious... The Bonton family probably won't let this go easily."

Alichaya smiled wryly: "Ati wasn't telling the truth either; there's probably more to Diwan's death than meets the eye."

"It's alright."

Master Putaoon remained expressionless, his demeanor calm.

"The Banton family has been acting domineeringly in their own little corner of the world for the past few years. This time, they even dared to play some tricks in the trial I organized... Hmph, Banton's Pacharason only lost a son this time. If it were Ati who had been in trouble, the price would be too high for them to bear."

The old man's voice was calm, but his eyes were cold and menacing. Alichaya trembled, knowing that her teacher must have noticed some of the Bondon family's little schemes and was now angry.

He thought to himself that although outsiders thought that his teacher, Putaong, was a highly respected and gentle man who had presided over the Princess Temple for many years and helped people solve their problems, they seemed to have forgotten that he was also a black-clad Ajarn with terrifying abilities in black magic.

"What are the mere Bunton family compared to this...? The teacher could wipe them all out with just a flick of his finger..."

Thinking of this, Alichaya lowered her head and said, "Teacher, please calm down."

Master Putaoung let out a heavy sigh, shook his head, and said, "Don't worry, I won't get too upset over a few outsiders... By the way, starting tomorrow, Acharya, you will be responsible for teaching Ati meditation, Pali scriptures, and some corresponding precepts. This is the foundation for learning our school's sorcery and incantations."

"Yes, ma'am."

Alichaya nodded again.

Their lineage's magical foundation is inherently closely related to Theravada Buddhism, and it is common for them to use Buddhist teachings to perform incantations.

"Starting the day after tomorrow, I will personally take charge of teaching him the Lanna school of witchcraft and the methods of curse binding."

Master Putao's voice was low and deep, his tone much more profound: "My original intention was for Ati's father, your junior brother Sena, to take on that 'heavy responsibility,' but unfortunately his obsession was too deep, and he was ultimately unable to shoulder the great task. I only hope that Ati's will is firm enough to fulfill the long-cherished wish of our sect."

……

……

The next day.

Alichaya was responsible for teaching Qiluofeng, imparting to him some basic knowledge, especially meditation, Pali scriptures, and the corresponding precepts.

On the third day, at night, Luo Feng visited Master Putaoon again. The old man acknowledged him as a disciple and decided to personally teach him the magic spells of the Lanna school.

"Ati, from today onwards you are my disciple."

Master Putaoon said, "Our school has been passed down for twenty-six generations since the time of our founder, Kruba Kam. You are the twenty-seventh generation disciple... Tonight I will begin to pass on to you the Tiger Mantra method, one of the five major methods transmitted by my school."

"Thank you, teacher."

Luo Feng respectfully kowtowed to him.

"alright."

Putaon nodded in satisfaction.

"Listen carefully. Our sect's Tiger Curse Technique is divided into three types: Man-eating Tiger, Headless Tiger, and Seven-segment Tiger. A person's lifespan is limited, and they don't have much energy. Of these three techniques, I recommend that you learn only one. Which technique do you intend to learn?"

"Teacher, I am willing to learn the Seven-Section Tiger Method."

Luo Feng spoke without hesitation.

"hehe."

The old man smiled.

"That's what Naricha told you, right... Fine, then you can choose the Seven-Stage Tiger Method."

Luo Feng laughed too.

"So, Master Putao, what are the differences between these three tiger-themed methods?"

"The core of all three Tiger Curse methods is binding, which means using one's own 'body' and 'life' to entangle powerful ghosts, shaping them with talismans and incantations to make them stable."

Master Putao slowly revealed the methods of the practice of binding with spells.

"These three tiger techniques are similar. The man-eating tiger originates from the legacy of the fierce tiger She Shimian. It focuses on spirit control techniques. After successful cultivation, one can control more vengeful spirits and evil spirits, such as tiger-taming-champions, to create and drive champions."

"The Headless Tiger Method: The so-called headless tiger is a ferocious tiger in legend. Its characteristic is that it has no head and no tail... Do not underestimate the point of 'no head and no tail'. Without a head, it is neither alive nor dead and has no weakness; without a tail, it can come and go without a trace."

"The Seven-Section Tiger is a tiger that can transform in countless ways and has the ability to split its body and spirit. Mastering this power makes one fearless of all kinds of attacks and has many transformation methods... Regarding the Seven-Section Tiger method, our school also has an ancient saying, which is called the Seven-Body Seven-Life Seven-Section Tiger."