Dev smiled and told the old man that there was no need to be so polite. As he spoke, he poured him another cup of tea. Old Liu accepted it with trembling hands, his heart filled with excitement. Just as Dev was about to pour him more tea, a sudden knock echoed from the door.
"Oh? Looks like someone's here," Dev said calmly. "You rest here, Old Liu. I'll go check."
Dev had already decided to call him Old Liu. No matter what he tried, the old man simply refused to stop addressing him as Senior.
Old Liu, however, stood up and followed Dev toward the courtyard and the front door. His expression darkened slightly.
Who dares to come at a time like this? he thought irritably. Senior was just about to pour me another cup of tea, and now I'll have to wait. Tch… let me see who ruined this.
Then another thought crossed his mind.
But if someone came to meet Senior, they must be someone important… someone strong, right?
When they reached the door, Dev opened it to find three people standing outside. One was an old man, nearly as aged as Old Liu.
The second was a middle-aged man, and the third was a beautiful young woman whom Dev immediately recognized.
"Ah, Miss Julie," Dev said with a smile. "It's nice to see you again."
Though a trace of disappointment lingered from their previous meeting, Dev quickly pushed it aside.
She didn't pay for the painting back then, he thought. But it seems she told her family.
That must be why they sent her here—to settle the price. Her uncle is here too… and judging by his gaze, he seems interested in paintings as well. Hehehe… I hope I'm right.
Dev then turned his attention to the two older men and asked who they were. Julie replied respectfully, explaining that one was her father and the other her great-grandfather.
Interesting, Dev mused inwardly. Julie is clearly a cultivator, but her father and great-grandfather seem like ordinary people—at most martial artists who trained enough to live longer and look younger than their age.
The same goes for her uncle. That explains why she didn't have enough money at the time. So she took the painting and came back later to pay…
He paused, then smiled inwardly.
If she truly intends to pay, then for a mere painting, I won't charge her anything.
With that thought, Dev greeted them warmly. The two men returned the greeting with equal courtesy. He then invited them inside for a conversation.
As they entered the courtyard, they noticed Old Liu walking toward them. Dev chuckled softly.
"I don't think introductions are necessary," he said lightly. "Come, everyone. I don't have much, but I'd like to invite you all to stay for lunch."
He gestured for them to follow, but just as they were about to move, Julie suddenly remembered something.
"Oh—Senior, please wait," she said quickly. "We brought something for you. We hope you'll accept it."
She took out a small box and opened it. Inside lay a bone bracelet—dark in color, yet possessing a strange, unique light.
The moment Old Liu saw it, his breath caught.
Ancestor… how did you come so quickly? he thought in confusion. Weren't you planning to discuss this further before visiting?
Although he felt happy that his friend would also receive benefits from Senior today, a faint regret lingered in his heart.
If they had arrived just a few minutes later… I might have already broken through.
Then suddenly, his eyes widened, and his mouth fell open in shock. His body trembled as he turned toward the old man.
"Y-You… You old man…" Old Liu stammered, his voice shaking. "Are you serious? You're really giving that… that treasure you valued so highly? You refined it with that bracelet—and you're giving it away? For real?!"
The scene shifted back to the sect, when old liu left.
The old ancestor asked Julie a few more questions about her previous meeting with Dev. As he listened carefully to every detail, his expression grew increasingly serious.
This Dev… he thought. He is no ordinary person. He is truly someone powerful.
After a moment of silence, the ancestor reached into his spatial ring and took out an object. It was a bottle—one that looked like an ordinary wine container at first glance, yet carried a strange sense of uniqueness, as if it had been specially crafted for a single purpose.
When the sect leader saw it, his eyes widened slightly.
"Ancestor… are you really going to use that?" he asked, his tone filled with disbelief.
The ancestor nodded calmly. "Yes."
He then took out the bone bracelet that Kao had left behind earlier. After that, he produced a bowl and carefully poured all the liquid from the bottle into it. The liquid shimmered faintly as it settled.
Next, he placed the bone bracelet into the bowl.
The moment it touched the liquid, the bracelet began to glow. Its surface shimmered as its color slowly shifted, releasing faint ripples of energy. The changes were unmistakable—it was no longer the same object as before. The bracelet absorbed nearly all of the liquid, leaving the bowl almost dry.
With utmost care, the old ancestor lifted the bracelet out. After examining it briefly, he placed it into a box and handed it to Julie.
"Julie," he said gently, "take this. Since Senior gave you that painting, it is only right that you give this to him in return."
The sect leader nodded in agreement. "Yes, Ancestor. You did the right thing. Compared to that painting, this is nothing."
Soon after, they set out to find Dev and arrived at his residence.
The old ancestor wore a proud smile as he spoke, "Of course. Senior is so great, so powerful. Compared to the painting he gave us, this gift is insignificant."
He then turned toward Old Liu and laughed.
"Hah! And look at you, old bastard—you came without any gift. Am I not better than you? At least I have proper etiquette!"
Just then, Dev's voice sounded calmly from ahead.
"Oh? Julie… you really didn't have to. This looks quite expensive."
Julie hurriedly shook her head. She felt that Senior was being generous again and didn't want to trouble her.
"No, Senior," she said earnestly. "It's not expensive at all. It's very normal. Please accept it."
Dev fell silent for a moment.
So her family isn't wealthy… he thought. Just an ordinary household—perhaps only slightly better than poor.
After a brief hesitation, he looked at Julie and nodded.
"Alright," he said with a small smile. "Since you insist, and it's a gift, I won't refuse. Thank you."
He then turned and gestured inward.
"Now come. Let's go—let's have lunch now."
Dev led them into his house and then into the dining room, gesturing for everyone to sit.
The moment they took their seats, they felt it.
An indescribable energy filled the room—flowing from the table, the carpet, the ground beneath their feet, even the air itself. It was gentle yet profound, making their bodies feel light and refreshed.
Dev moved quickly and began cooking.
They watched him in silence.
There was no unnecessary movement, no wasted motion. Every action felt natural, almost effortless—yet the energy released with each step grew denser and denser. Old Liu suddenly felt something stir within his body.
Crack.
A long-blocked meridian finally loosened.
Old Liu's eyes widened. He turned slightly and glanced at the old ancestor, realizing that he was experiencing the same subtle changes. The aura released while Dev cooked was simply too overwhelming.
When the fragrance of the food spread through the room, the effects intensified.
The sect leader's body trembled as his cultivation surged forward—he broke through without warning. Julie gasped softly as a wave of energy rushed through her, pushing her cultivation up by two full levels. In an instant, she reached the same realm as her father.
The old ancestor and Old Liu did not break through, but neither felt disappointed. On the contrary, a faint glow appeared in their eyes—clear signs that their foundations were being strengthened.
At this point, one didn't even need to look at their eyes.
They were already drooling, desperately trying to hold themselves back.
Dev soon finished cooking and placed the dishes on the table, serving everyone calmly.
"You may start," he said. "I hope you'll like it."
The old ancestor instinctively turned to Old Liu—only to see him eating without the slightest restraint. Liu shoveled food into his mouth as if he were about to leave for a long journey and might never taste his favorite dish again.
This sight made the old ancestor's face twitch.
Shameless! he thought angrily. Absolutely shameless!
Though he himself was drooling, he was doing his best to maintain dignity in front of Dev. However, when he glanced at Julie and the sect leader, his expression stiffened.
They were no different from Old Liu.
The old ancestor's face reddened instantly—especially when he noticed Dev watching them with a complicated expression. Unable to endure it any longer, he stopped observing others and finally picked up his chopsticks.
Let me see what kind of food makes them behave like this, he thought.
The moment he took the first bite—
He froze.
It was as if the food was filled with heavenly energy, which surged through his body and washed over his soul.
His eyes shone brilliantly.
A glow so profound that no one else could see it.
That glow existed because of a martial art he practiced—Eye Cutting Sky.
It was an extremely difficult martial technique, one that he had practiced for many years without making much progress. Even so, he had never given up.
Despite its name, Eye Cutting Sky was not a technique where one blinked and sliced the heavens, nor did lasers shoot directly from the eyes. Instead, it manifested as the shadow of a sinister eye—an intangible projection that released threads of light so thin they were nearly invisible to the naked eye. These light threads were impossibly sharp, capable of cutting through anything within the user's range of sight.
Because the attack traveled at the speed of light—or just too much faster—it was said to be impossible to dodge. The moment the user willed it, the strike was already complete.
As for its name, it originated from its creator.
When the technique was first developed, its creator was only able to structure it up to nine levels—the limit of his own comprehension at the time. Upon reaching the ninth level, he once used it in battle and cleaved his enemy in half. However, the light thread did not stop there. It continued onward, slicing through several mountains and even tearing a faint portion in the fabric of space itself.
That single battle made Eye Cutting Sky infamous.
Countless cultivators sought to learn it afterward. Yet, the greater the technique, the harsher its demands. While the cultivation manual itself was not difficult to understand, mastering it was another matter entirely. The creator had personally taught it to many of his disciples, hoping that one day someone might surpass him—reach a realm even he could not.
But none ever did.
Most disciples failed to reach even the third level, which deeply disappointed him. Still unwilling to give up, he later allowed his friends and disciples from other sects to learn it as well. After many years, only a handful of extraordinarily talented individuals managed to reach the fifth or sixth level.
Eventually, the creator ascended to the Immortal Realm after reaching what he called Level Nine and a Half—because he had sensed the existence of a true tenth level where he had not reached yet.
Generations passed.
The technique survived.
Through inheritance and fortune, the old ancestor eventually obtained Eye Cutting Sky. Understanding its terrifying potential, he began practicing it as well. Even if he could never reach the creator's realm, merely reaching the third level would allow him to slaughter countless experts of the same cultivation realm.
Yet reality was cruel.
After all these years, he was still stuck at Level One.
And now—
That glow in his eyes was the unmistakable sign of a breakthrough.
He had advanced in Eye Cutting Sky.
Before today, he had estimated that it would take him another hundred years of bitter cultivation to even touch Level Two. Yet a single bite of the food Dev prepared had erased a century of hardship.
His eyes shone brilliantly, moisture gathering at their corners as if he might cry at any moment. His heart filled with admiration—no, reverence—for Dev. He wanted to speak, to thank him, to say something—anything—
But before he could, his hand moved on its own.
Reaching for the food.
Eating.
Again.
And again.
Without realizing it, he had become just like Old Liu and the others—discarding all dignity, devouring the meal like a starving beast.
Watching them eat like that, Dev wore an awkward expression. He thought to himself:
It seems they're not just an average family… maybe even poor—or perhaps something else.
His gaze softened as realization slowly formed.
No… this fits better. They must have once been a wealthy family, but somehow lost everything. That would explain it—their clothes are different from ordinary people's, yet so old and worn. Not because they don't care, but because they can't afford new ones. And even in that condition… her father still worked tirelessly to make his daughter a cultivator.
A faint mist gathered in Dev's eyes—tears of admiration.
At the table, everyone had finished eating. Or rather, they had overeaten.
Each of them leaned back slightly, stomachs faintly bulging as they rubbed them with embarrassed expressions, trying to digest the overwhelming meal. Seeing this, Dev stood up.
"I'll get some water for you," he said, turning away.
The moment he left, the old ancestor's expression changed.
"Oh no…" he muttered softly.
Old Liu frowned. "What are you trying to say, old man? Speak clearly."
The ancestor lowered his voice. "Don't you understand why Senior suddenly left us alone?"
Julie and the sect leader looked at him in confusion. "Why?"
"I'm not completely certain," the ancestor said seriously, "but I believe Senior wants us to circulate the energy from the food immediately—to refine it and use it for breakthroughs."
He paused, then said firmly, "Do it. All of you."
After a brief hesitation, everyone nodded.
They immediately began circulating the energy within their bodies.
The energy was unimaginably dense, yet perfectly controlled. As it moved through their meridians, breakthroughs followed one after another. During the meal, they had already advanced slightly—but now, the changes were far greater.
Julie and her father advanced rapidly, reaching a realm only one level below what the old ancestor and Old Liu had been when they first arrived at the sect.
Those two old men also advanced several stages.
The old ancestor focused most of the energy on Eye Cutting Sky, pushing the technique forward to Level Three and a Half.
Old Liu, on the other hand, refined multiple techniques at once, strengthening his overall foundation.
After some time, Dev returned.
He paused when he saw them sitting calmly, expressions peaceful and stable.
Smiling faintly, he said, "Since this is the first time you've visited my home, I want to give you something."
Then he turned to Old Liu.
"Mister Liu," Dev asked casually, "you liked my painting, didn't you?"
When Dev went to fetch water for them, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
Yeah… since they're so poor, I should help them a little, he thought. If I give them something valuable as a gift, they can sell it in the market and earn some money. And while they're at it… it'll give me some free advertisement too. Hehe.
The more he thought about it, the more satisfied he became.
Yes, that sounds good. I should give them something.
That was why, when Dev returned, he spoke up.
Since Old Liu had shown clear interest in his painting earlier, Dev decided it would be best to start with him.
"Old Liu," Dev said casually, "you wanted my painting, right? Tell me exactly what you want, and I'll make one for you."
To Dev, this was nothing special. He was absolutely confident in his crafting and painting skills—so confident that he believed they were unmatched in this world. Offering to make a painting felt natural.
However, to those listening—
It was anything but.
Old Liu froze.
The sect leader stiffened.
Julie's breath caught.
Even the old ancestor was momentarily speechless.
By now, every one of them was looking at Dev with eyes filled with awe and admiration.
They were all so excited and old liu was just getting crazy.