At this, she even chuckled. "Besides, the Xie Family definitely changed these terms midway. They must have seen that you comprehended two Dao Rhymes in half a month, Brother Zhong Ming. That’s why they’re only offering benefits without making any demands."

"Otherwise, when a great family befriends a prodigy, they might not ask them to become a slave or a servant, but they will establish certain Dao Oaths—for instance, requiring the prodigy to take action for the family two or three times after they’ve grown powerful."

As she said this, Yi Yunya’s tone was resolute, as if she had witnessed such things firsthand.

The reason for this was that her own attitude had just undergone a transformation.

Before this battle, Yi Yunya had bet everything on Zhong Ming.

But she had also planned to use her sincerity as a weapon to influence his future, to make him follow the path she laid out for him.

But the appearance of his second Dao Rhyme, along with that transcendent attack, had changed her attitude completely.

’Senior Brother... his Talent is far greater than I ever predicted... I absolutely cannot do anything superfluous!’

...

’Half a month, two Dao Rhymes... What an outrageous Talent... And with this, his status as a genius is confirmed beyond a doubt.’

Comprehending one Dao Rhyme might be chalked up to luck, but two in half a month? Calling that luck would be a real stretch.

This overwhelming Talent filled Xie Yongjie with emotion as he walked away from Zhong Ming.

At the same time, he was filled with genuine regret.

’What a pity. If only we had been the first to befriend Zhong Ming. Our family would have undoubtedly produced a Sect Leader’s Wife... Zhong Ming comes from a humble background, with no family to back him. That would be no different from our own family producing a Sect Leader.’

’That would have guaranteed the Xie Family’s prosperity for at least three to five hundred years.’

’Sigh... We were just one step too late.’

As he was sighing, he turned his head and noticed that his cousin’s expression was twisted.

"..."

The sight gave Xie Yongjie a huge shock and made him feel quite embarrassed.

"Ahem, cousin, don’t blame me, and don’t blame the family. Xie Yuzhu is still young and doesn’t know the first thing about vying for favor. Besides, you wouldn’t want her to be a concubine. That’s why the family sent Xie Yushuang over."

Xie Yushuang was called Zhong Ming’s follower, but as for what that truly entailed... those in the know understood.

It was only with her serving as a liaison that the Xie Family would feel secure enough to invest so many resources in Zhong Ming.

Thinking Xie Lingmin was angry about this, Xie Yongjie quickly tried to explain.

However, he soon discovered that his explanation did nothing to improve her expression.

How could she possibly be happy? ’He might not know, but I do. Xie Yuzhu could have been the most important person by Zhong Ming’s side.’

At the very least, she could have been on equal footing with Yi Yunya.

It was her hesitation that had ruined it all.

Before, she could still console herself by saying that Zhong Ming might not necessarily fulfill his potential.

But for him to comprehend two Dao Rhymes in less than half a month... A Zhong Ming with such outrageous Talent made her feel a profound and genuine regret.

"Sigh..."

...

"Senior Brother Qi Hong, I’ll have to trouble you and the others with Xie Yuzhu for now."

While Xie Lingmin was filled with regret, Xie Yuzhu felt no such emotion. Just as Xie Yongjie had said, she was still young and didn’t dwell on such matters. Right now, she was simply thrilled at the prospect of practicing the Sword Dao with Zhong Ming.

And so, Zhong Ming entrusted her to Qi Hong and the others.

Zhong Ming had his own cultivation to attend to and simply had no time to teach her personally.

Of course, having accepted the Xie Family’s resources, he wouldn’t just ignore her completely.

"Junior Sister Yuzhu, for now, follow Senior Brother Qi Hong and the others to get familiar with how to practice the Longxi Swordsmanship. This afternoon, if you have any questions, you can come find me, and I’ll see if I can answer them for you."

"Okay, I understand!"

After sending the overjoyed Xie Yuzhu on her way, Zhong Ming found a quiet spot, took out an Elixir Pill, and prepared to swallow it to focus on his Longxi Breathing Method practice.

But before he could begin, a somewhat cold and aloof figure walked over.

"Senior Brother, are you preparing to take an Elixir Pill?"

The newcomer was Zhong Ming’s new follower, Xie Yushuang. Seeing her, Zhong Ming nodded. "Yes, I am. Is there a problem?"

"There is, actually. I was wondering, Sir, have you ever had your Four Qi and Five Flavors tested?"

"Four Qi and Five Flavors?" The term left Zhong Ming a little bewildered. "What’s that?"

Seeing that Zhong Ming genuinely didn’t understand, Xie Yushuang smiled and explained, "Every person’s body is different, so their tolerance to Elixir Pills also varies..."

Through her explanation, Zhong Ming learned that because Cultivators have different constitutions, the amount of Erysipelas remaining in their bodies after consuming Elixir Pills varies.

Furthermore, different constitutions have varying absorption efficiencies for Elixir Pills of different attributes.

At lower levels, there are thousands of kinds of Elixir Pills for advancing one’s cultivation. Due to differences in constitution, a particular pill might be highly effective for one person, but less so for another.

Testing a person’s Four Qi and Five Flavors can identify the most suitable Elixir Pills for a Cultivator and precisely determine how many they can safely consume per day.

After hearing Xie Yushuang’s explanation, Zhong Ming had only one thought:

’Isn’t this just a cultivation-style medical checkup?’

After that realization, Zhong Ming looked at Xie Yushuang.

"You can test someone’s Four Qi and Five Flavors?"

"Yes. I am a disciple of Cuixiang Mountain, and this is what I studied."

Hearing this, Zhong Ming immediately understood that the Xie Family hadn’t sent him a useless beauty, but someone with genuine skills. This caused his attitude toward her to soften.

"Miss Xie, I’ll have to trouble you, then."

And so, with Zhong Ming’s permission, Xie Yushuang drew a small amount of his Magical Power and blood to begin testing his Four Qi and Five Flavors.

The first thing she tested for was the residual Erysipelas in Zhong Ming’s body, which would allow her to determine the optimal number of Elixir Pills for him to consume each day. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

However, after a series of complicated tests, the result made Xie Yushuang’s eyes widen in disbelief.

"How is that possible?"

In disbelief, she ran the test again. When the result came back the same, Xie Yushuang could no longer contain herself and blurted out, "Senior Brother, have you never taken Elixir Pills before?"

"..." Xie Yushuang’s question left Zhong Ming speechless. "How could that be possible? I’ve been taking Elixir Pills every single day since I joined Longxi Peak. Why would you reach that conclusion?"

Xie Yushuang replied, "Because there’s no Erysipelas in your body."

"That’s even more impossible."

As he said this, a hint of suspicion crept into Zhong Ming’s eyes as he looked at Xie Yushuang.

’Could it be her skills are just not up to par?’

Zhong Ming wasn’t the only one thinking it; Xie Yushuang herself was beginning to doubt her own abilities.

She had seen him about to take an Elixir Pill, yet she couldn’t detect any trace of Erysipelas. It seemed the only possible explanation was that her skills were inadequate.

Just as she was about to apologize, a thought suddenly struck Zhong Ming, and his eyes lit up.

"Wait... could it be the influence of my Dao Rhyme - Flow of Water!"