Under One Person: Starting with the Dual Cultivation of Body and Soul.

"But the world is a dangerous place, and people's hearts are unpredictable. There are also some with bad intentions who want to step on you to get ahead and make you look bad on stage."

"In short... this circle of extraordinary people is no different from other secular circles; it's also a place of fame and fortune."

"You are my disciple, Lu Jin. My title of 'Ten Elders' still carries some weight in the martial arts world. There are bound to be people who want to step on you to make a name for themselves."

"Your Reverse Rebirth Triple Stage cultivation has now reached the point where you can transform Qi into your skin and flesh, and your foundation is so solid."

"Among the younger generation of martial arts masters, there are probably few who can rival you. I can now confidently hold this apprentice-acceptance banquet."

Upon hearing this, Li Chang'an smiled and said, "Grandpa, you've really thought of everything!"

To be honest, even though he had already achieved enlightenment, if he had been asked to compete with others on stage five years ago, he really wasn't sure he wouldn't have failed miserably.

Lu Jin laughed loudly, "Of course. You are my disciple, and I absolutely cannot let you follow in my footsteps."

"old road?"

Li Chang'an asked the question knowing the answer already.

Lu Jin blushed, paused, and said:

"Yes, your great-grandfather suffered a great loss in this regard. During a competition at an elder's birthday banquet, I was caught off guard and was tricked by an old scoundrel. I've been ridiculed for almost a hundred years now. Lessons from the past should guide future actions. Of course, I can't let you suffer the same loss."

"What are they laughing at? It's just a loss in a competition. Victory and defeat are common in war. What's there to laugh at?"

Li Chang'an asked the question again, knowing full well the answer.

Lu Jin waved his hand, pretending to be relaxed, and said:

"It's just a trivial matter, let's not talk about it, let's not talk about it!"

"Anyway, if there's a competition at the banquet, and we run into people from the Celestial Master's Mansion, just give those stinking old Taoists a good beating!"

"Give the old man a good beating, preferably one that breaks his spirit, making him cry and scream."

Seeing Lu Jin's fierce expression, clearly still harboring resentment about what happened back then, Li Chang'an laughed:

"Since the old man has spoken, I definitely have to give them a good beating."

Lu Jin nodded, but then suddenly felt uneasy.

Although Li Chang'an's regenerative state is very strong, what if he is not good in actual combat?

Therefore, Lu Jin suggested that since Li Chang'an and Lu Lin could both transform their bodies with Qi, why don't the two of them have a friendly spar first, as a warm-up for the upcoming birthday banquet competition?

"Okay."

Li Chang'an readily agreed.

Lu Jin said, "You agreed very readily. I know your Qi transformation state is very strong, but Lu Lin broke through two years earlier than you and has more experience. Won't you feel pressured?"

“No pressure!” Li Chang’an said, “I don’t consider Lu Lin a rival.”

"You don't consider him a rival?" Lu Jin laughed. "You think you've got him figured out?"

Li Chang'an shook his head and said seriously, "Although I think I can definitely defeat him, not treating him as an opponent is not because I look down on him, but because cultivation is not a martial arts competition where you have to fight to see who is better and who is worse."

"If I really had to find an opponent for myself, then that opponent could only be myself."

"Constantly tempering one's physique and refining one's character to overcome one's own weaknesses and delusions is the process of conquering oneself time and time again."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "Your level is quite high, kid."

"How tall?" Li Chang'an asked with a smile.

Lu Jin paused. He had only offered a compliment, so why was he panting? And why was he asking how high it was?

Thinking of a line from a movie released a few years ago, Lu Jin said irritably:

"It's as tall as three or four stories!"

"Hahaha..." Li Chang'an burst into laughter.

The two chatted as they walked into the courtyard.

Seeing that Li Chang'an maintained the state of having snow-white hair and jade-like skin after the Reverse Life Technique was activated, and showed no intention of reversing it, Lu Jin asked:

"You intend to continue your cultivation in this state forever?"

Li Chang'an nodded: "As long as the mind is calm enough and this state of circulating Qi is maintained, the effect of tempering life will be better. From now on, I will stay in this state."

Lu Jin cautioned, "This state is extremely mentally taxing. Be careful not to overexert yourself, or you'll suffer the consequences."

He still remembered how his master looked when he was exhausted and extremely old after he stopped practicing his martial arts.

"Don't worry, sir, I know what I'm doing. If I feel mentally exhausted and can't keep going, I'll stop immediately and rest properly. I won't push myself," Li Chang'an said.

"As long as you know what's going on," Lu Jin said. "You must be hungry after being in seclusion for so long. I've prepared some food for you in the kitchen. Just go and eat."

"Thank you, sir!"

Li Chang'an was indeed a bit hungry, so he turned around and went to the kitchen.

On the kitchen stove, a pot of medicinal cuisine was warming, containing a fine free-range chicken, supplemented with various precious century-old ginseng, lingzhi and other highly nourishing ingredients.

Upon lifting the lid, a waft of steam carrying the aroma of medicine wafted out.

Li Chang'an picked up the soup bowl and slowly drank it all, eating every last drop, soup and even the solids.

The warm medicinal food, once swallowed, transforms into a gentle, nourishing current that warms the body; this is the process of transforming the essence of food and water acquired through the body's processes.

Afterwards, Li Chang'an returned to his quiet room to continue his cultivation.

In recent years, Li Chang'an's cultivation of life force has improved rapidly, and he can maintain the reverse life state for longer and longer periods of time.

He only lasted half a month this time, and it was still a long way from being mentally and physically exhausted, so he did not choose to rest, but instead read a book for a while.

Reading has become one of Li Chang'an's daily practices in recent years.

Before long, it got dark, and Lu Lin was dismissed from school.

Lu Lin has just entered her senior year of high school. Her studies are very demanding, and she also has to take care of her cultivation. She is very busy every day.

After returning home, he went to see Lu Jin as usual. As for his schoolwork, he had already finished it during evening self-study.

Lu Jin looked at her great-grandson, who was over 1.8 meters tall and almost as tall as herself, and smiled as she told him she had some good news to tell him.

"Grandpa, what's the news?" Lu Lin asked hurriedly.

"Your senior brother Chang'an, he has already..."

Lu Jin originally wanted to say "You've successfully broken through the barrier," but the words caught in his throat as he suddenly remembered what Li Chang'an had said during the day: he had never broken through barriers and had no interest in doing so. So he changed his words to:

“Your senior brother Chang’an has also reached the realm of Qi transforming into flesh and blood!”

Chapter 55 Competition

"Great! Senior Brother Chang'an has finally decided to break through the barrier."

Lu Lin was genuinely happy about this; the more capable Li Chang'an was, the less pressure he felt.

"Chang'an has made a breakthrough, why are you even happier than him?" Lu Jin said with a smile.

“We’re fellow disciples, so the more powerful Senior Brother Chang’an is, the greater our hope for the revival of the Sanyi Sect will be, right?” Lu Lin said with a smile.

Seeing Lu Lin's genuine joy for her fellow disciple, Lu Jin nodded and said:

“That’s certainly something to be happy about. By the way, now that you two have both reached this level, I’d like to arrange a competition between you two.”

Lu Lin was taken aback: "Grandpa, I've been at the breakthrough level for two years, while Senior Brother Chang'an just broke through. Wouldn't it be too unfair to compare myself to him now?"

Looking at his honest and unassuming great-grandson, Lu Jin sighed and said:

"It's not so much bullying him, but Grandpa thinks it might be bullying you."

"You're bullying me?"

Lu Lin was immediately filled with confusion.

To prevent Lu Lin from underestimating his opponent and suffering a humiliating defeat, Lu Jin decided to give him a heads-up:

“Your senior brother Chang’an’s breakthrough method is very special. He belongs to the extremely rare type of ‘accumulated strength for a sudden burst’. In fact, he could have broken through two years ago, but he kept it to himself.”

"He's unleashed a powerful force. Although he's only just entered the first level of Reverse Life, his strength is formidable. You must not underestimate him, or you will suffer a terrible defeat."

Upon hearing this, Lu Lin's expression immediately turned serious:

"So that's why Senior Brother Chang'an hasn't broken through yet."

He straightened up and solemnly promised:

"Don't worry, Grandpa, I will do my best."

Lu Jin nodded, took out her phone and called Li Chang'an, asking him to come over.

Li Chang'an hung up the phone and leisurely arrived at Lu Jin's courtyard.

In the courtyard, Lu Lin had already changed into the San Yi Sect's signature white training robe. Although he had learned from his great-grandfather that Li Chang'an had completed the Qi transformation, he was still shocked when he saw Li Chang'an in person.

Because Li Chang'an's current state was too otherworldly, his long hair reached his waist, and under the moonlight, the strands of hair shimmered with a faint glow. His skin was like white jade, with a subtle radiance shining through the depths of his skin. The hem of his white training clothes fluttered slightly in the night breeze.

His steps were unhurried, his face was handsome, his expression was indifferent, without any superfluous expressions. He exuded an ethereal and otherworldly aura, as if a true immortal had walked in.

Lu Lin inexplicably felt that Senior Brother Chang'an's state was somewhat different from her own.

But he couldn't quite put his finger on what was different, he just felt that the other person was... less human, yes, less human.

"Congratulations, Senior Brother Chang'an," Lu Lin said quickly.

Li Chang'an nodded to Lu Lin, greeted her, and then looked at Lu Lin again:

"Grandpa, is he here?"

Lu Jin said, "This courtyard can't withstand your antics. If you want to have a competition, you have to go to the back mountain."

As the group headed towards the back of the mountain, they encountered several elders from the Lu family. Upon learning that the two were going to spar, they all rushed over to watch.

Of course, the term "older generation" only refers to Li Chang'an and Lu Lin.

In fact, they were all Lu Jin's sons or nephews, all in their seventies or eighties, living in the Lu family compound. Some of them were even walking with difficulty and were far less energetic than Lu Jin. But when they heard that the younger generation wanted to have a sparring match, they still came with their canes.

Seeing that a group of younger people had gathered around, Lu Jin wasn't angry.

Lu Lin and Li Chang'an are both equally dear to her.

He never takes sides, and he can accept who wins or loses.

Moreover, he intentionally pushed for the competition to be held in front of everyone in order to create momentum for Li Chang'an.

In recent years, Li Chang'an has been focusing on his cultivation, and he is completely clueless about interpersonal relationships.

Although many of the Lu family elders didn't say it aloud, they couldn't help but have some complaints about him, feeling that he was impolite and too aloof.

As for his talent, it hasn't been shown in a straightforward way, so people aren't very enthusiastic about him.

However, due to the family's upbringing and manners, they never showed any real neglect or made things difficult for Li Chang'an.

But in Lu Jin's view, this situation was ultimately not good.

He wanted to show these short-sighted juniors Li Chang'an his terrifying strength and change their perception of him.

After all, if his apprentice is talented, he, as the master, will also feel proud, right?

……

……

On the spacious open space behind the mountain.

Li Chang'an and Lu Lin stood facing each other.

Lu Lin's expression was solemn. She placed her left palm over her right fist, arched her eyebrows, and slightly bent her waist.

This is a greeting among peers in the circle, meaning "Please enlighten me, senior brother."

Li Chang'an returned the same courtesy.

After the ceremony, Lu Lin spoke:

"Senior Brother Chang'an, although you are the senior brother, I broke through two years earlier, so please make the first move."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin, who was standing to the side, curled her lip.

That silly boy is so honest, it was a waste of my time to remind him.

Li Chang'an glanced at Lu Jin and said to Lu Lin with a smile: