Unfortunately, nothing major ever happened at Mingcan Courtyard, so he was never needed. The old man never got a chance to show off.

He could only remain a gatekeeping old man.

"This kid is practicing such a powerful technique. A shame she suffered from Qi deviation. If she had mastered it, its power would have been absolutely extraordinary."

Elder Deng looked at the young woman’s crimson skin with a hint of regret.

Zhao Rui nodded and said, "Her Inner Strength has stabilized. After she regulates her energy for a bit, she’ll be fine!"

"It’s a good thing you were here. I’m afraid that even if I had stepped in, I might not have been able to save her."

"I’m off!"

Master Deng sighed, and with his hands clasped behind his back, he ambled out of the Meditation Chamber.

After Master Deng left, Qin Rui asked curiously, "Isn’t that the old man who guards the testing room?"

"Yes. A Grandmaster Realm expert."

"Ah!"

Qin Rui jumped in fright.

"If you’re in danger in the future and neither I nor the other coaches are around, go hide in the testing room. With him there, he can at least keep you safe."

Zhao Rui said.

Qin Rui nodded seriously. This had happened several times now; everything Zhao Rui said, both directly and indirectly, was filled with a sense of crisis.

Of course, she took his warnings to heart.

"Water...!"

As the two of them were speaking, a weak voice called out.

The young woman was awake.

Hearing this, Qin Rui hurried out and got a cup of warm water from the cooler.

Zhao Rui didn’t let her drink it right away, having her moisten her lips first.

Only after checking her condition again did he allow her to take a small sip.

"Thank you, Captain!"

Having recovered a little, the young woman managed a faint smile as she thanked Zhao Rui. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"Don’t mention it. Your body still needs to be nursed with Inner Qi day and night to recover. Don’t practice any Martial Arts during this time."

"Okay!"

The young woman nodded and said with lingering fear, "I... I practiced that Exotic Skill and Technique!"

"You’re lucky to be alive! Next time you want to practice it, let me know. I’ll act as your Guardian."

"Okay!"

The young woman nodded in agreement, then pulled out a handwritten book from beside her seat. "This is that Exotic Skill and Technique," she said to Zhao Rui. "I... I came across it by chance."

"Captain, I want to learn it. So, consider this Cultivation Technique my gift to you. I only hope that after you learn it, you can help me."

Zhao Rui hadn’t expected her to be so determined to practice this Martial Art. He casually took the book and glanced at it.

"Fiery Heart-Breaking Palm? As I thought, an Exotic True Qi Martial Art."

Zhao Rui said, slightly surprised.

’To be able to obtain a Martial Art like this... this girl’s luck is really something else.’

"Rest for a week. After that, I’ll assist you in your Cultivation."

With that, Zhao Rui handed the book back.

"Captain, aren’t you going to learn it?"

The young woman was taken aback.

"We’ll see about that later."

Zhao Rui smiled and said, "Rest for a bit, then head back. Don’t go out for a while; just focus on your recovery."

After saying this, he left the training room with Qin Rui.

Once they were outside, Qin Rui asked curiously, "That Martial Art is so bizarre. Look how her skin turned dark red. Is it very powerful?"

"Yes, it’s very powerful, but it also consumes a great deal of True Qi. It’s nowhere near as suitable for you as the Guiyuan Skill."

"Oh! I know. It’s not like I’m trying to steal her Martial Arts!"

Qin Rui shot him a reproachful glance.

Zhao Rui just smiled and said no more.

After returning to the side hall, the two of them cultivated for another two hours before leaving.

Over the next several days, Zhao Rui split his time between guiding the new team members to improve their strength and teaching the Guiyuan Skill to Qin Rui and Li Xinran.

During this time, the young woman who practiced the Exotic Skills and Techniques also contacted him.

The young woman’s name was Guo Wenru. She was a university freshman, at Level 7, and had decent talent.

"Captain, my body has recovered, but my skin is still a little red. Will it ever go back to normal?"

Guo Wenru’s tone was filled with worry.

"Not for now. Once you reach initial mastery of the Cultivation Technique, it will return to normal on its own."

Zhao Rui said.

"Oh! In that case, Captain, when do you have time? I want to start my Cultivation."

Guo Wenru was slightly disappointed. A girl’s appearance was just too important.

If she had known that practicing recklessly would lead to this, she never would have tried to learn it in secret.

"Every night from nine to eleven! Go to the Wall-Facing Chamber on the back mountain!"

"Okay!"

Guo Wenru agreed, her voice firm.

And so, Zhao Rui’s workload tripled.

Aside from teaching Qin Rui and Li Xinran, which he did for free, his other teaching duties were quite valuable.

This was especially true of the young woman’s Fiery Heart-Breaking Palm, a Martial Art on par with the Cold Ice True Qi.

To be honest, Zhao Rui was tempted.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have agreed to act as her Guardian and teach her Cultivation.

With Zhao Rui’s protection, she was guaranteed to overcome the first major hurdle in cultivating Exotic Skills and Techniques.

This Martial Art possessed Attribute Power. However, when Spiritual Qi had yet to manifest or its purity was insufficient, the Palm Technique itself was no stronger than Yong Chun Boxing or the Eight Trigrams Palm. In fact, in terms of refinement, it was even somewhat inferior.

But once it was enhanced by refined True Qi—that is, in a place with abundant Spiritual Qi—practicing this Cultivation Technique could summon scorching flames and produce unimaginable effects.

However, the current concentration of Spiritual Qi was too low, and the young woman hadn’t yet reached the Grandmaster Realm. On top of that, the very fact that she was female created a natural twenty-percent handicap when practicing this type of fiery Cultivation Technique.

In other words, at her current stage, she was completely incapable of igniting her Inner Strength and transforming it into a fire-attribute power like that of the Burning Wood Saber Technique.

If she cultivated it directly, it would inevitably trigger a backlash from her own heart-fire, causing the Qi in her Meridians to flow in reverse.

But with Zhao Rui by her side, he could regulate her Meridians, guide the flow of her Inner Qi, and even ignite the Inner Strength Heart Flame for her.

With his help, her Cultivation would naturally proceed without issue.

「In the blink of an eye, more than a month passed.」

Even with Zhao Rui there to guard and guide her, it still took Guo Wenru a full month to cultivate a tiny spark of fire within her Inner Strength, barely crossing the initial threshold of the technique.

Seeing this, Zhao Rui didn’t waste any time. Under the guise of checking her progress, he copied the entire Fiery Heart-Breaking Palm technique.

’With this Palm Technique, I can wield ice in my left hand and fire in my right. I’ll let my dear enemies have a taste of both extremes.’

Just as Zhao Rui was celebrating his acquisition of a Divine Skill, a phone call from the Qingcheng Sword Sect summoned him.

There was an anomaly at Longevity Cave!

Spiritual Qi had begun to pour out from Longevity Cave.

It wasn’t just the Qingcheng Sword Sect; famous mountains and great rivers throughout the Huaxia heartland were all changing at the same time.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Rui didn’t dare to delay and immediately rushed over.

By the time Zhao Rui and his group arrived at the Qingcheng Sword Sect, the entirety of Qingcheng Mountain was already enveloped in a thick, palpable aura that was gradually spreading to the surrounding ranges and plains.

"The Spiritual Qi is no longer condensing into Crystal Stones; it’s gushing out in massive quantities... The disciples are all following your instructions, cultivating in the cave without daring to rest for even a moment."

’Hmm, so this is the "opportunity" the higher-ups were talking about? It really pays to have connections; makes it easy to reap the benefits!’

Zhao Rui’s eyes narrowed slightly. He walked straight into the cave, sat down cross-legged, and began to absorb the Spiritual Qi, which was clearly far purer than before.

This pure energy entered his body, circulating rapidly and nourishing his every cell.

It felt like being completely reborn.

Unfortunately, for someone like him who had already reached the Grandmaster Realm, this change was almost useless.

’It seems this is only effective for Martial Artists below the Grandmaster Realm who haven’t yet cultivated True Qi.’

’I should have brought Qin Rui and the others... but it’s not too late.’

Without another word, Zhao Rui called Qin Rui and told her to bring Li Xinran to Qingcheng Mountain immediately, without a moment’s delay.

He also called his cousin, Zhao Xin, who was far away in Jeju.

Though bewildered by the call, Qin Rui obediently contacted Li Xinran, and the two of them rushed over by plane.

By the time the two women arrived, the Spiritual Qi had already spread beyond the borders of Qing City.

"What is this?"

The two women asked in astonishment when they saw Zhao Rui.

"This is True Qi, something only those in the Grandmaster Realm can produce," Zhao Rui’s voice transmitted to them. "Don’t overthink it. Hurry up, sit down, and cultivate. Use the Guiyuan Skill to perform the Great and Small Circulation, and keep it up for as long as you possibly can..."

Upon hearing this, though astonished and confused, the two women immediately sat down cross-legged, activated their Guiyuan Skill, and began to absorb the Spiritual Qi, circulating it through their bodies.

By evening, Zhao Xin had also arrived, rushing without rest. With a look of utter shock on his face, he too sat down cross-legged and began to meditate.

Zhao Rui called over Yun Hao and Yu Zhengnan. The three of them positioned themselves on the front and back of the mountain, standing guard separately to act as Guardians for all the Qingcheng Disciples.

On the Spiritual Qi-suffused Qingcheng Mountain, disciples were cultivating everywhere. Even the handymen normally hired for cooking and errands were using the rudimentary martial arts they had picked up to circulate their Inner Strength.

Beyond Qing City, across the entire Central Plains...

In famous mountains and great rivers, large and small, and in hidden, secluded valleys, Spiritual Qi was overflowing.

Everywhere, Martial Artists sat cross-legged, absorbing this pure Spiritual Qi.

The Great Dao reveals itself in simplicity; a heaven-sent opportunity had descended upon the world!