Lin Kong felt quite dissatisfied in his heart; he was here to teach him martial arts, not to be a servant. He wanted the Fourth Prince to understand this point, so he became increasingly cold toward him. Even the Master has a temper; don’t think you’re so remarkable just because you’re the Fourth Prince. Don’t forget, right now you need me.

Initially, when he first met the Fourth Prince, he noticed that he was brooding over his blinded eyes. Perhaps out of personal interest, he told him there was a way to restore his original appearance, but the risk was great.

At first, the Fourth Prince was somewhat unbelieving when he heard it was possible to restore his looks.

One has never heard of such things in the world: that even after one’s eyes have been gouged out, they can grow back.

Later, Lin Kong told him that he was the Master of Celestial Master Zhang, proficient in divination; although making eyes grow back was quite difficult, it wasn’t impossible as long as the Fourth Prince listened to him.

Upon hearing that he was Celestial Master Zhang’s Master, the Fourth Prince became a bit more convinced. Celestial Master Zhang was very skilled, and even the imperial father treated him with courtesy. Since he was Celestial Master Zhang’s Master, maybe it really was possible.

So, he decided it wouldn’t hurt to try; perhaps he could really regain his sight. At worst, nothing could be worse than his current state, at most, he would just die.

At the beginning of practicing martial arts, Lin Kong told the Fourth Prince it was an evil cultivation; once practiced, there would be no turning back. He cautioned the Fourth Prince to think it over and not blame him, his Master, in the future when he becomes neither human nor ghost.

Seeing Lin Kong’s seriousness, the Fourth Prince believed him even more. He said, "Master, as long as I can regain my former appearance, I am willing to sacrifice decades of my life."

The Fourth Prince expressed that his current life was worse than death; as long as he could restore his former appearance, he would be willing to live even if only for ten or twenty years more.

Seeing this, Lin Kong couldn’t be bothered to say more anyway, merely asking out of formality. In the future, should the Fourth Prince have complaints, he could use this against him.

At the start of their practice sessions, the two of them secretly went outside the city at night, capturing people from villages to nearby groves for practice.

The first time the Fourth Prince practiced, he was scared to death, let alone eating someone’s eyeball raw; he climbed up a tree and refused no matter what.

Lin Kong did not force him, just said blandly, "If you don’t want your eyes restored, then don’t eat. I, as your Master, won’t force you."

The Fourth Prince thought it over repeatedly, too eager to have his sight back. Once his eyes were restored, he would have everything: the love of his imperial father and Empress Mother, and the contest for the throne would return to how it used to be.

So, he compromised.

Having done it once, the second time was much easier. Gradually, the Fourth Prince got used to this kind of practice. Slowly, he felt a reaction in his left eye: a burning sensation in the vacant area, which filled him with joy and strengthened his determination to cultivate evil arts.

Later, the eyeball slowly grew back. Although the entire eye was white, the Fourth Prince was very happy, as all the hardships had not been in vain.

Unfortunately, just when he was smugly ecstatic, the excessive killings alarmed the government, even attracting the War Prince.

The Fourth Prince had no choice but to hide in his mansion and used the maids and servant boys for practice. Unexpectedly, due to too many disappearances in the mansion, the steward panicked and reported to the officials, exposing that the fourth prince’s mansion was hiding numerous corpses.

The Master looked displeased, and the Fourth Prince did not dare to say anything, retreating obediently.