Chapter 2 - Master
Chapter 2: Master
"Damn it all — why is today such a terrible day? First I get dumped, and now a ghost is chasing me!" Ye Chen cursed under his breath as he sprinted through the dark grass.
After running several hundred meters, his pace finally slowed. He glanced back over his shoulder — the floating figure was nowhere to be seen. He exhaled in relief and leaned against a tree, chest heaving, trying to catch his breath.
"Hey, kid. Why are you running?"
A voice sounded right beside him. Every hair on Ye Chen's body stood on end.
He turned his head — and there was the old man, hovering calmly in the air.
"Please — Grandpa Ghost, Ancestor Ghost — don't eat me! I swear my flesh tastes terrible!"
"Hahaha! Young man, I'm not a ghost. I'm a human being, just like you," said the old man, stroking his long white beard with an amused smile.
"Liar! Humans can't fly. Do all ghosts try to trick people like this?"
"I truly am human. But I am also a cultivator who has reached the divine realm. I happened to be passing through this world when something interesting caught my attention." The old man smiled warmly.
"You're not from this planet?"
"Of course not. Space is vast — there are countless worlds and countless peoples beyond what you know."
"Really?" Ye Chen stared at him with wide eyes, still skeptical.
"Why would I lie to you?" the old man replied calmly.
"Then… why were you chasing me just now?"
"I needed to verify something." Without further warning, the old man reached out and grasped Ye Chen's right wrist.
Ye Chen struggled instinctively, but no matter how hard he pulled, he couldn't break free.
"Excellent. I didn't expect to find a treasure like this on such a remote planet." The old man chuckled and released his grip.
"What do you mean?"
"Son, you possess a very rare Ancient Body. Throughout the entire universe, there are few physiques as suited to cultivation as yours."
"And what's that to me?" Ye Chen asked flatly.
"Aren't you curious? Don't you want to become stronger?"
"Not particularly," Ye Chen answered without hesitation.
The old man blinked. "…Why not?"
"Because being a cultivator means sitting still with my eyes closed for weeks, maybe years. That sounds incredibly boring. If there's nothing else, I'll be on my way." Ye Chen gave a polite bow and began walking toward his village.
The old man stood there, speechless. In all his years of wandering the cosmos, he had never once encountered someone who turned down the path of cultivation without a second thought. Every person out there would sacrifice their fortune — even their freedom — just for a chance to enter the path of a cultivator. And here was this boy, walking away as if it were nothing.
The old man shook his head and quickly caught up to him.
"Son, are you absolutely sure about this?"
"Completely sure. I don't want to spend my life locked away training."
"Son… I forgot to mention something important. The owner of an Ancient Body — if left untreated — will suffer from an excess of Yang energy. And if that imbalance is never corrected…" He paused for effect. "It will tear your body apart from the inside."
Ye Chen stopped in his tracks. "What?"
"The Yang energy building within you will eventually explode outward. You'll be destroyed."
"What?!" Ye Chen spun around. "Then how do I stop it?"
"Hehe. Nothing in this world comes free. Accept me as your master and I'll tell you everything you need to know."
Ye Chen studied the old man with narrowed eyes. "What could you possibly want from me?"
"A seed like you is one in a billion. With your physique, you could reach heights that even I was never able to attain in my lifetime." The old man's expression softened. "I have lived for over three hundred thousand years, and I don't have much time left. I wish to pass on what I know before I go."
Three hundred thousand years. Ye Chen's mind went blank for a moment. Could a cultivator really live that long?
"Well then." The old man cleared his throat. "What are you waiting for? Are you going to bow to your master or not?"
Ye Chen looked at the old man for a long moment, then lowered himself into a formal bow. "This student greets his teacher."
"Hahahaha! Good, good! You are now my disciple!" The old man laughed heartily, his earlier stunned expression replaced with pure delight.
"Now — how exactly do I fix this Yang energy problem?"
"The most effective method," the old man said with a slight smirk, "is through the harmony of Yin and Yang between a man and a woman."
"That's… it?" Ye Chen blinked. "That sounds easy enough."
"Easy to say. But without the proper technique to guide and refine the process, it's useless. Fortunately, I happen to have just the thing for you." The old man reached into his sleeve and produced a slim book.
On the cover, three characters were written: Heart of the King.
"This cultivation manual was written specifically for someone with an Ancient Body like yours. Take it. Study it carefully."
Ye Chen took the book and flipped to the middle section. His face twitched. The contents were… far more explicit in detail than he had expected. He had only ever held hands and shared a hug with Yu Ting. This was another world entirely.
The old man watched his expression and burst out laughing. "Hahaha! Quite a book, isn't it?"
"Master… do I really have to learn this?"
"If you want to live, yes. You have less than five years before the Yang energy overwhelms your body. If you don't start soon, death will come for you whether you're ready or not."
Ye Chen tucked the book away with a resigned sigh.
The old man rose to his feet. "Good. Now, Chen — it's time to begin your training." He reached into his sleeve again and produced a small, glowing object.
He held it aloft. Light poured from it, and in moments, the surrounding sky and earth dissolved into a boundless white expanse.
"This is the Wheel of Time. While inside it, time passes far more slowly — one month here equals only one day in the real world."
"So if we train for ten years inside here, only about four months will have passed outside?" Ye Chen's eyes lit up.
"Ahem." The old man coughed. "This item is extraordinarily rare. I only have twenty in reserve. That's enough for twenty months of real-world time."
"Chen —" The old man fixed him with a firm look. "Prepare yourself, body and mind. Over the next twenty months, I intend to push you to your absolute limits." A slow, dangerous smile spread across his face.