SFS Chapter 45 Tempering Pool
Chapter 45 Tempering Pool
Tie Heng led the group through several mountain gates and finally stopped in front of a side hall.
An elderly man in gray robes, around fifty years old, with a thin build and bright, piercing eyes, stood at the entrance of the hall.
Tie Heng stepped forward, cupped his hands, and greeted Elder Xu.
The other person simply grunted in response, their gaze sweeping over the several new faces.
It lingered on Lu Yuan for less than a moment before moving away.
The gaze was like that of someone inspecting goods, neither warm nor cold.
"Are these the new handyman disciples this year?"
The elder servant opened the roster and read out the names one by one.
Lu Chuan, the female disciple, and the three rogue cultivators stepped forward one by one to pay their respects.
He barely lifted his eyelids, simply scribbled over each name on the roster with his pen, then put the roster away and turned to leave.
None of them reacted in time. They looked around and stood there dumbfounded.
Tie Heng pointed at the crowd and said:
"Except for Lu Yuan, everyone else will follow the Elder of the Miscellaneous Services. From today onwards, you will all be under the jurisdiction of the Miscellaneous Services Hall."
"And what about him?"
One of the rogue cultivators pointed at Lu Yuan.
"He returned to his ancestral home and took charge."
The several independent cultivators looked at each other in bewilderment.
After a moment of silence, he followed.
The entrance to the palace was now empty.
Tie Heng beckoned to Lu Yuan: "Come with me. Let's not go to the main hall yet."
"Shouldn't we report to the sect leader first?"
"The sect leader specifically instructed... that since you have just broken through to the Blood Condensation Realm and your foundation is not yet fully stable, you should first go to the Body Tempering Pool to hone your skills. There's no rush to report for duty."
Lu Yuan did not ask any further questions.
Perhaps the treatment of a direct disciple is indeed not quite what he imagined.
Instead of first paying respects to their master and performing the grand ceremony of kneeling in worship, they were directly assigned to cultivation.
That makes sense.
He followed behind Tie Heng, walking along a bluestone path towards the back mountain.
The scenery on the back mountain is completely different from that of the palaces and pavilions in front.
Towering ancient trees block out the sun.
A faint smell of sulfur permeated the air, growing stronger the further you went in.
At the end of the path is a cliff more than ten feet high, with a natural cave on the cliff face, where mist rises from the entrance.
The crimson spring water gushing from the cave flows down the slope and gathers into a pool below the cliff.
Steam rose from the water, shrouding the surrounding ancient trees and stone walls in a hazy mist.
The edge of the pool was lined with bluestone embankments.
The water color deepens as you get closer to the cave entrance, gradually transitioning from light red to deep red.
There were already seven or eight disciples cultivating in the pool.
There are men and women.
Some sat cross-legged in the shallow part of the pool, closed their eyes and focused their energy, fine beads of sweat appearing on their foreheads.
Some leaned against the stone wall by the pool, grimacing as they splashed water on themselves, their brows furrowing with each splash.
Several female disciples occupied the shallow water area in another corner of the pool, their faces also showing signs of pain.
"Today is the open day for the inner disciples' body tempering pool."
Tie Heng explained.
"The Body Tempering Pool is open to disciples of all realms. The water in this pool gushes out from the cave, and the deeper you go in, the darker the water becomes, and the stronger the tempering effect."
You've just broken through to the Blood Coagulation Realm, and your foundation is still shallow... Remember, you must act according to your abilities and choose a suitable position.
If you feel unwell, come out immediately; don't push yourself.
"Is there anything special about this pool of water?"
"The water in the body-tempering pool contains the body-tempering power from the depths of the Iron Bone Mountain, which can penetrate the meridians and temper the blood and qi."
The deeper one's cultivation level, the stronger the water pressure one can withstand; the deeper one goes, the more obvious the tempering effect becomes.
Conversely... if one's cultivation level is insufficient and one rashly ventures into too deep an area, the energy in the water will backfire on one's meridians, causing minor issues like reversed blood flow or, in severe cases, damage to one's foundation.
When Tie Heng said this, his gaze lingered on Lu Yuan's face for a moment.
Lu Yuan was already flexing his wrists.
He now wants to see how far his talent can take him compared to others.
Tie Heng looked at his eyes and didn't say anything more.
Some people can't be stopped, and there's no need to stop them.
After giving his instructions, Tie Heng left.
After passing through several peaks, we arrived at the main hall.
In the center of the main hall, a man stood with his hands behind his back.
"How did it go? Did you send the person over?"
"It's been sent over, Sect Master," Tie Heng said, bowing.
"But Sect Leader, he just entered the sect and went straight into the Body Tempering Pool. If the other disciples found out, wouldn't that be a bit..."
Tie Qianshan waved his hand.
"It doesn't matter. A true genius is one who inspires envy in others... I just want to use the body-tempering pool to see just how talented he really is!"
...
Meanwhile, beside the quenching pool.
Lu Yuan stood by the pool, scanned the area, found a spot not too far from the cave entrance, took off his coat, folded it neatly, and placed it on a rock before stepping into the pool.
A male disciple who was soaking in the bath against the stone wall across the pool suddenly opened his eyes and looked him up and down.
"New here? Looks unfamiliar."
The man was in his early twenties, with a long face, tall and thin, and light eyebrows. His tone wasn't particularly aggressive, but his eyes held a scrutinizing quality.
"Which elder's disciple are you from?"
"Mind your own business!"
Several disciples in the pool opened their eyes at the same time.
I've seen people who speak bluntly, but I've never seen anyone this blunt.
"How come I've never seen you before? Are you newly promoted from the outer sect?" another disciple asked.
Before Lu Yuan could answer, the tall, thin man chimed in.
He leaned against the edge of the pool, rested his arm on the stone wall, and tilted his chin up.
"Senior Brother Lin Fan has been hanging around here for ages, why don't you, the newcomer, come over and say hello? A mere outer disciple newly promoted to inner disciple, don't you even know the rules?"
Lu Yuan glanced at him.
He had an expression that suggested he was enjoying the spectacle.
The "Senior Brother Lin Fan" he mentioned was probably the male disciple in the center of the pool who was surrounded by several people like a star being fawned over.
He was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with fair skin and a gentle smile on his lips.
He was leaning against the pool wall with his eyes closed, seemingly oblivious to the noise around him.
"Alright."
Lin Fan opened his eyes, his tone gentle.
He waved to the tall, thin disciple.
"It's normal that the new junior brother doesn't recognize me since he just entered the inner sect. He's probably been transferred from some remote peak. There's no need to make things difficult for him."
After saying that, he smiled slightly at Lu Yuan, his smile carrying a perfectly appropriate sense of tolerance.
Several disciples in the pool nodded in agreement, and one of them whispered something.
"Senior Brother Lin is truly kind."
The tall, thin man, however, refused to give up.
Seeing that Lu Yuan neither bowed nor spoke, and didn't even glance at Lin Fan, he snorted.
"Senior Brother Lin is so magnanimous and doesn't hold it against you, do you really think you're in the right? Are you mute or what? You can't even greet your senior brother when you see him."
"Didn't your peak's elders teach you any manners?"
The pool was quiet for a moment.
Several disciples who had been cultivating with their eyes closed opened their eyes, their gazes sweeping back and forth between Lu Yuan and the tall, thin man.
That's enough.
A cool, clear female voice came from the other side of the pool.
The sound wasn't loud, but each word was like a cold spring dripping onto a stone slab—crisp and clear, without any warmth.
Lu Yuan looked in the direction of the sound... In the shallow water area on the west side of the pool, a female disciple was sitting cross-legged in the pale red pool water.
She was in her early twenties, and her plain white top was slightly damp from the steam.
It clings to the body, outlining slender yet powerful lines.
Her long hair was tied up high with a jade hairpin, revealing her slender neck, with a few strands of hair dampened by steam and sticking to her ears.
Her eyebrows and eyes were extremely beautiful, but that beauty was cold, like frost flowers that form on a window on a winter morning; you can only look at them through the glass, you can't touch them.
The tall, thin man's arrogance immediately diminished.
"Senior Sister Liu."
He quickly stood up from the pool, splashing water all over himself, and repeatedly bowed to the female disciple.
"I was wrong, I was wrong. It wasn't intentional. It's just that this new kid is so inconsiderate..."
He was halfway through his sentence when he met Liu Qiuyan's expressionless eyes, and he swallowed the rest of his words.
Simply because those eyes... are too intimidating.