"Master, why do you think our Quanzhen inner alchemy has to be practiced by hand?"
"Can't it cultivate itself automatically?"
"It's the age of artificial intelligence. Why can't the inner elixir spawn a personal dan spirit to help us train?"
Shiratori Riku sat in the inner room of Baiyun Temple. The question had struck him mid-meditation, and the more he turned it over, the more brilliant it seemed.
His inner elixir was already mature. It should learn to cultivate on its own, grow stronger on its own. He could not be the one feeding it effort forever.
"You brat, shut up before I tan your hide."
"Artificial intelligence? You sound like someone with a screw loose."
"How could the arts handed down by our ancestors be altered at whim? If something goes wrong, will you take the blame or will I?"
Hojo Toten rubbed his temples. His apprentice was off on another flight of fancy. Sometimes being too clever was not a virtue.
"Of course I take responsibility for my own cultivation. Fine, Master, if you want to be responsible, be my guest."
"I'll research it first. After I figure it out, you can practice ahead of me. If you accidentally burp, it will be for me - no, it will pave the way for future generations."
Riku grinned at his master and stepped closer with a look that said, just relax and let me handle it.
"Get lost. One of these days you'll talk me into an early grave."
Hojo Toten kicked Riku out. "And close the door."
"Kicking me out and still making me close the door? That's rich."
Riku muttered, but he shut the door anyway. Outside, he tipped his head back to the sky.
It had been eighteen years since he dropped into this world.
Born an orphan abandoned in the mountains, he had thought he would burp his last. Instead, he was found by Hojo Toten of Quanzhen's Baiyun Temple and taken in as a disciple.
At first he thought he had landed in a parallel world. Then, at six, he met his junior aunt.
Pink hair, adorably dense, her name was Rokudo Rinko, and her great-grandfather was called Rokudo Jin.
That was when he realized he had crossed into the world of Under One Person. That was also when he awakened the entry [Understanding Against the Heavens].
"Uncle, did Uncle Master kick you out again?"
Rokudo Rinko happened to be practicing outside. Spotting the freshly expelled Riku, she trotted over.
"What do you mean, kicked out? I just refuse to argue with that stubborn old man. He doesn't get me at all."
"Think about it. If the inner elixir could cultivate fully automatically, and we could craft an artificial dan spirit, how great would that be? If it works, we won't have to bust our backs anymore."
Seeing Rinko, Riku launched straight into his idea, then complained at length about how old-fashioned his master was.
Rokudo Rinko's eyes went wide, shining with pure innocence, as if knowledge had never contaminated her.
Which was about right. She had no idea what Shiratori Riku was talking about. Her head felt fuzzy.
"Uncle, I... I don't get it."
After a while, her eyes started to spin. She was getting dizzy.
"Hey, when you've got time, use your brain a little more. Read a book or two. Training day and night without thinking won't get you far."
Riku ruffled Rinko's hair, then said, "It's late. Go to bed early."
"Okay, Uncle. Got it, Uncle. I'm going now, Uncle."
At the word sleep, Rinko sobered right up. She might not know much, but she knew food and naps.
"Can that silly girl really live on her own when she leaves the temple?"
Watching her skip away, Riku truly worried she would be tricked by bad people the moment she went outside.
He looked up. Clouds covered the moon, and only the stars still glittered.
"By the way, why is there only one inner elixir? If I made more than one, wouldn't I be even stronger?"
Staring at the stars and moon, a new idea popped into his head. The power of a single inner elixir was limited.
But the power of countless inner elixirs was limitless.
He could create a primary elixir, then spin off multiple auxiliary elixirs to boost his strength. The auxiliaries could even help the primary cultivate.
With that thought, he turned on his heel and went back inside.
"Master, listen to me. I've got another idea. What if I take..."
"You crooked-path rascal! Out! You're sleeping outside tonight!"
"No, Master, hear me out. We combine multiple elixirs with automatic cultivation and dan spirits to forge a supreme art."
"From then on, the entire world of the gifted answers to our Quanzhen. Dragon-Tiger Zhengyi? Nothing special."
Riku was thrown out again, this time literally booted from the room. Sitting on the ground, he began to ponder how to perfect his art.
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