The Invincible Strongest Student

Tieguai Li had never tasted Zhou Gong Wine, but for a wine enthusiast like him, that stuff was far more appealing than any elixir or money.

Being able to get drunk on Zhou Gong Wine was already a luxury, let alone obtaining its brewing method.

However, thinking back to the last time the prominent families held a banquet, trying to get Lin Tian drunk, that kid ended up drinking everyone at eight tables under the table by himself. Nobody knew how much Baodaozi he consumed; his alcohol tolerance was astonishing.

Old Li thought carefully and realized he wasn’t a match for this kid. If he couldn’t out-drink him, then wasn’t talking about Zhou Gong Wine pointless?

Suddenly, Old Li felt duped, and quite badly at that!

"Kid, were you deliberately tricking me?" Tieguai Li furrowed his brow deeply, trying to read something from Lin Tian’s face, but he got nothing.

"What benefit would I gain from tricking you? Do you think you’re a young maiden? Do you have breasts? Or a butt? Or the ability to have kids? Why would I trick you?"

"You..." Tieguai Li was rendered speechless by this rascal. How could he be such a scoundrel? Is that how you talk to your elders?

"Are you drinking or not?"

"Screw it! I’m going to face you head-on! Drink we shall!"

...

Ever since Tieguai Li drank himself into oblivion and was carried back by the Li Family people as if he were a sick patient, Lin Tian felt that this old guy wouldn’t dare to come back again.

Who knew, the older the dog, the thicker his skin. This old dog kept visiting the small courtyard where Lin Tian resided, pestering him for the Zhou Gong Wine recipe, refusing to leave until taught!

Having interacted with these family members for a long time, Lin Tian understood they were a group of face-saving people who wouldn’t do anything disgraceful, making them relatively easy to get along with.

But Li, the limping rascal, was different, and Lin Tian was at a loss. So, he put out a message: whenever you can drink me under the table, I’ll give you the Zhou Gong Wine recipe.

Upon hearing this, Tieguai Li immediately deflated like a punctured balloon, lost his temper, snorted heavily, and stormed out of the courtyard in a huff.

With Li no longer around sharpening knives at his ear, Lin Tian felt much more at peace. Even though Tieguai Li was somewhat unscrupulous, Lin Tian took his words to heart.

In his mind, he recalled interacting with the heads of various prominent families, hoping to determine which family was a fickle friend and which were true enemies.

But no matter how he pondered, he felt they were a group of old foxes, impossible to pinpoint any coherent thought.

Currently, Lin Tian could only trust Miaoqiu and the Great Elder, referring to the individuals rather than the Alliance or the Xu Family. After all, the Alliance was not just the Great Elder’s word; the Patriarch of the ancient Xu family had become Xu Beishan, which were two different dynamics.

But one thing was certain, over the years, they surely had insiders in various families. However, very few could get close to the family core.

Such top-level affairs naturally were family secrets, which external personnel couldn’t access.

So, those people were of no help at all.

Since he couldn’t figure it out, he decided not to think about it anymore. In time, the truth would surface.

...

The past two days, Lin Tian dispatched the little lamb and Shisan Niang, among others, out of the courtyard to stand guard and reject any visitors.

As for what Lin Tian was doing inside, no one knew...

"Exhaust all your inner strength, completely empty the Sea of Qi, don’t leave a single drop! Oh please, Xiang Ming, stop wasting your effort; your face is all red without even managing a fart, and besides, you don’t have any inner strength left!"

Lin Tian stood upon the steps, holding a reed, loudly addressing the crowd below.

Sitting below were Martial Sect, Wu Hong, Miaoqiu, Xu Xianrong, Zhao Qingtang, and the little fellow Xiang Ming, each sitting cross-legged on a cushion.

"Yes!" they replied in muffled voices, except Xiang Ming, who was rolling his eyes at Lin Tian.

When Martial Sect and Wu Hong originally sought Lin Tian as their master, it was to learn techniques, specifically the art of absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

Even though they previously shared a mentor-student relationship, certain skills aren’t easily imparted, especially since they were initially enemies. Now time had passed, and having passed the evaluations, it was time to teach these two reluctant disciples, lest they flee.

Before this, Lin Tian had put in enough effort. Days earlier, he dispatched people to gather rare materials from the prominent families. Of course, the materials weren’t given for free; they were exchanged with Lin Tian for pills and medical herbs. As for these pills and herbs, they were gifts from the prominent families, and now used to exchange for materials, it left them quite upset, frustrated but silent, having to swallow their complaints.

After collecting the materials and processing them, Lin Tian began wandering around the courtyard with these materials and some fresh plants, placing a pot of grass here, burying a piece of Bai Yu there, and placing a beasthouse bone on the rooftop; he was busy for an entire day before finishing.

After everything was ready, Lin Tian gathered everyone to teach them at once, making it more convenient. Of course, Xu Xianrong wouldn’t admit she was Lin Tian’s disciple, and Lin Tian didn’t dare to recognize her as one. Since she wanted to learn, Lin Tian wasn’t stingy.

Beforehand, each of them had soaked in a herbal bath for an hour and changed into special loose training clothes, then finally sat cross-legged before Lin Tian.

"After depleting your inner strength, place the pill I gave you earlier in your mouth but do not swallow it."

"Yes!"

"Let the body serve as a vessel, the meridians as bridges, directing the absorbed Spiritual Qi toward the heart, allowing the heartbeat to facilitate its flow. The process shouldn’t be rushed; transitioning from fast to slow requires a gradual approach." As Lin Tian spoke, he clasped his hands behind his back, his eyes scanning over everyone, carefully observing their every movement, ready to correct any mistakes.

Nobody responded to him this time. He could hear only the hum in the air filling the courtyard, and the roof tiles on the dwelling were rattling with a ’clack clack’.

Centered around them, the Spiritual Qi formed an intangible but palpable ’vortex’, surging through their skin’s countless pores.

Because of the impressive momentum, when standing in the yard and looking at the sky, the air’s hum caused distortions, creating an entirely self-enclosed space.

The reason this was happening was due to the Spirit Gathering Array Lin Tian crafted with various materials, making the current spectacle completely expected.

Moreover, Lin Tian wasn’t worried about the commotion being discovered by other experts at Luoyan Dock; the Spirit Gathering Array had some barrier properties, and without deliberate probing, it wouldn’t be noticed.