The residence of the branch family was quiet that night.
Most cultivators preferred meditating under the moon to absorb spiritual energy, but the twins' courtyard was dimly lit only by a single lantern.
Michael sat cross-legged on the wooden floor polishing a small iron hammer.
Across from him, Matthew carefully examined a stack of old scrolls.
Their grandfather's study had been messy since the old man passed away several weeks ago.
Neither of them had the heart to clean it immediately.
But tonight they finally decided to sort through his belongings.
Matthew sighed.
"Grandfather really collected a lot of junk."
Michael smirked.
"Don't say that too loudly. His spirit might come back and hit you."
Matthew rolled his eyes but kept searching.
Scroll after scroll.
Most were simple manuals:
Basic breathing techniques.
Common herb guides.
Ordinary smithing notes.
Nothing particularly valuable.
Which was expected.
Branch families rarely possessed anything rare.
Suddenly Matthew froze.
His fingers brushed against a scroll hidden beneath a cracked wooden box.
The scroll looked ancient.
Far older than the others.
The jade thread binding it had faded almost completely.
Michael noticed his brother's expression.
"What did you find?"
Matthew slowly lifted the scroll.
"I think… this belonged to grandfather personally."
He carefully untied the thread.
Dust floated into the air as the scroll opened.
Golden characters filled the page.
Even after countless years, the writing seemed to glow faintly.
Both twins leaned closer.
The title was written in large ancient characters.
Long Airloom Dual Cultivation Technique
Matthew blinked.
"Dual cultivation?"
Michael frowned.
"That usually requires two cultivators cultivating together."
Matthew nodded slowly.
"But look here…"
He pointed to the description.
"This technique requires two cultivators with perfectly balanced Yin and Yang spirit roots."
Michael's eyes widened.
"That's… exactly like us."
Matthew continued reading.
But as he reached the next section, his expression became strange.
"This… is insane."
"What?"
Matthew read aloud.
"To open the first stage of cultivation, the practitioner must condense spiritual energy one hundred times greater than ordinary cultivators."
Michael nearly choked.
"One hundred times?!"
Matthew nodded.
"And that's just the beginning."
They continued reading.
The manual explained that the technique did not cultivate normal Qi.
Instead, it created something called Origin Qi.
A type of energy far purer than ordinary spiritual power.
But the cost was terrifying.
Every breakthrough required impossible amounts of energy.
For normal cultivators, the method would be suicide.
Michael leaned back.
"No wonder nobody uses this."
Matthew nodded.
"But it also says something interesting."
"What?"
He pointed to another line.
"Only cultivators with perfectly balanced Yin–Yang spirit roots can survive the process."
The room became quiet.
Michael slowly smiled.
"So… basically this technique was made for people exactly like us."
Matthew nodded.
"But there's a problem."
"What?"
Matthew tapped the scroll.
"If we fail to gather enough energy during a breakthrough… our meridians could collapse."
Michael shrugged.
"We've always had bad luck anyway."
Matthew laughed.
"That's not exactly comforting."
But despite the danger…
Both of them felt strangely drawn to the manual.
Inside their souls, something stirred.
The ancient dragon spirit quietly watched.
And whispered.
Children…
This technique… was created long ago by one who understood the nature of Yin and Yang.
It is not a coincidence that it has found you.
Michael suddenly looked around.
"Did you hear something?"
Matthew frowned.
"No."
But deep down…
Both twins felt the same thing.
This manual would change their lives.