James White stood to the side, quietly giving pointers. Thinking that Brian Clark was a total newbie and probably wouldn’t understand, she changed her approach and said, “Just let me know if you feel anything.”

　　That said, James White didn’t expect Brian Clark to ‘get it’ on the first try. She was already prepared for him to fail repeatedly. In her view, this junior brother was too flighty and not steady enough—if he couldn’t calm his mind, he wouldn’t be able to read the Daoist scriptures, let alone use their essence to stimulate the spiritual energy within him.

　　The reason she didn’t point this out was intentional; letting Brian Clark experience a few failures would help temper his character, so he wouldn’t always suffer from a restless mind in the future.

　　She had experience with this—when teaching her own disciple, she’d made them slog through the Daoist texts for a whole month.

　　Meanwhile, Brian Clark was flipping through the Daoist book faster and faster—“speed reading” didn’t even begin to describe it. In his lower abdomen, the warm vortex of spiritual energy was spinning faster and faster, swelling until it couldn’t stay stable and then surging into the Yin Linking Vessel, even causing a reaction in the Yang Linking Vessel.

　　Brian Clark’s face flushed red. He suddenly snapped the Daoist book shut. “Senior sister, I feel it! It’s coming!”

　　“What feel… that fast?!”

　　James White was stunned at first. While she was still in disbelief, Brian Clark displayed his ‘astonishing talent’—the perfect balance of yin and yang, with energy and blood surging to form the very first meridian within him.

　　Bang!

　　A buzzing exploded in his ears. Brian Clark’s body trembled, he let out a long breath, and turned to give James White a big thumbs-up.

　　“Senior Sister White, mission accomplished.”

　　“He actually… did it for real… he really did…”

　　James White saw through the truth and was utterly shocked—partly at Brian Clark, and partly at Henry Grant, who now resided in the little box.

　　Before, she’d really thought Henry Grant chose Brian Clark as a disciple just to pass on the Yuhua Sect’s legacy, and since his time was almost up, he didn’t have many options, so he just picked someone pleasing to the eye off the street.

　　“Junior Brother Clark, you did—”

　　James White was about to offer some praise, but when she saw the irrepressible smile at the corner of Brian Clark’s mouth, she instinctively thought of her own silly disciple who’d get smug over a little talent. Her face instantly turned cold: “Too slow. You took so long just to open your meridians. If Uncle Grant knew how poor your aptitude was, he wouldn’t rest easy in the afterlife.”

　　He’s already in the little box—how could he have any rest?

　　Brian Clark coughed lightly and said, “Senior sister, Master always said I had outstanding talent and it’d be a shame if I didn’t cultivate. I disagreed, so he beat me up.”

　　Out of respect for her sect’s elders, James White couldn’t argue, but she was even less willing to see Brian Clark get arrogant over his talent, so she kept belittling him: “Poor aptitude is poor aptitude. I have a disciple who opened their meridians just by flipping a single page of the Daoist scroll. Their talent is leagues above yours.”

　　No way, I don’t believe it!

　　Brian Clark looked skeptical. Instantly getting a job just by glancing at it was a player-exclusive trait—since the game hasn’t even launched yet, where would such a super genius come from?

　　“Junior Brother Clark, I know you don’t believe it, but the cultivation world is never short of talented people. Some stand above the masses, but even more end up ordinary.” James White advised earnestly.

　　“Thank you for the guidance, senior sister. I understand now.”

　　A wave of caring warmth washed over him. Brian Clark decided not to argue anymore, admitted his mistake, and changed the subject: “Senior sister, now that I’ve opened my meridians, I should work hard and seize the momentum. So, what should I learn next?”

　　Rich lady, I’m hungry, hand over the cultivation techniques—I want to learn some skills!

　　James White: “……”

　　Facing Brian Clark’s eager, hungry-for-knowledge gaze, James White suddenly felt a lot of pressure. She hadn’t prepared any post-meridian-opening techniques yet.

　　Previously, James White’s plan was to have Brian Clark slog through the Daoist texts for two months. By the time he finished, the Yuhua Sect would be more or less restored, and she could teach him properly.

　　As for techniques, she could have taught him the Lingxiao Sword Sect’s methods.

　　But that wouldn’t work either.

　　Back then, Henry Grant had left the Lingxiao Sword Sect without permission, and even beat up the sect leader before leaving. He wasn’t expelled, but the whole situation was a tangled mess.

　　Besides, Henry Grant had founded his own sect and passed it on to Brian Clark. Strictly speaking, Brian Clark wasn’t a disciple of the Lingxiao Sword Sect. James White could teach on behalf of her master, but she couldn’t pass on the Lingxiao Sword Sect’s techniques.

　　Because of all this, James White had asked a friend at Dasheng Pass to carefully select some excellent techniques, and she planned to pick them up soon.

　　It was a good plan—she just hadn’t expected Brian Clark to be so fast, completely ignoring the script and opening his meridians in the blink of an eye, throwing her foolproof plan into chaos.

　　“Senior sister?”

　　“……”

　　“Senior sister, say something!”

　　Brian Clark urged her. Seeing James White at a loss was pretty amusing.

　　“Junior Brother Clark, it’s good to have momentum, but cultivation is about balancing tension and relaxation. Your foundation is too shallow—you should focus on stabilizing it.”

　　“So?”

　　“No more cultivation today. I—I’ll teach you a set of fist techniques first.”

　　“???”

　　……

　　She tossed him a fist technique manual and hurried off.

　　Destination: Dasheng Pass.

　　Brian Clark’s talent was astonishing, so the original plan was scrapped. To maintain her authority as senior sister, she had to get him a suitable cultivation technique as soon as possible.

　　The sooner, the better!

　　Brian Clark watched James White leave, shrugged, and opened his now-updated personal panel.