The "Heavenly Balloon" incident had done the one thing Li Jian feared most: it made him famous.
For three days, the alleyway outside the 'Heavenly Brew' was packed. People weren't just looking for tea; they were looking for miracles. Li Jian had to hire 'Little Tiger' and his reformed thugs just to keep the crowd from breaking down the door.
However, on the fourth morning, the crowd went silent.
A path cleared as an old man walked slowly toward the shop. He wore simple green robes, but they were woven from spirit-silk. Behind him, two young disciples carried a portable rosewood table and a set of silver brewing tools.
"The Tea Saint of the Southern Province!" someone whispered in the crowd. "Master Lu! He's come to see the 'Hidden Expert'!"
Li Jian, who was busy trying to scrub a tea stain off his counter, looked up and sighed. Here we go again.
Master Lu entered the shop, his eyes scanning the room. He ignored the two Goddesses—though his eyebrows jumped slightly when he sensed Ling Yue's cold aura—and fixed his gaze on Li Jian.
"I have spent eighty years studying the Way of Tea," Master Lu said, his voice deep and resonating. "I have brewed for Emperors and Sect Leaders. I heard that in this dusty corner of the world, a 'Senior' uses tea to turn people into balloons and heal shattered meridians. I find this... offensive."
Li Jian put down his scrub brush. "Honestly? I find it offensive too. It was supposed to be a regular detox."
Master Lu slammed his hand on the counter (gently, because he was a refined gentleman). "Tea is a path to the Dao! It is not a carnival trick! I challenge you, Young Man, to a 'Brewing Duel'. If I win, you close this shop and admit you are a fraud. If you win... I will give you my Silver-Leaf Tea Seeds, worth ten thousand spirit stones."
Huo Fenghuang stepped forward, her hand on her heavy sword. "You old fool! You dare challenge the Senior? You aren't fit to wash his tea cups!"
"Stand down, Fenghuang," Li Jian said, surprisingly calm. He looked at the Silver-Leaf Tea Seeds. Ten thousand spirit stones? I could retire for real with that!
"Fine," Li Jian agreed. "One brew each. The crowd outside will be the judge."
Master Lu smiled confidently. He set up his silver tools. He used 'Cloud-Mist Water' and 'Dragon-Spit Charcoal'. His movements were like a dance—precise, elegant, and filled with Qi. When he finished, the tea smelled like a mountain forest after a storm. It was, objectively, the best tea any mortal had ever smelled.
The crowd cheered. Even Ling Yue looked impressed. "A solid technique," she whispered. "Level 7 at least."
Now it was Li Jian's turn.
He didn't use silver tools. He used his chipped clay pot. He didn't use Cloud-Mist Water; he used the well water from the backyard. But as he started to brew, the 'Supreme Tea Brewing Technique' kicked in.
To the observers, Li Jian didn't look like he was dancing. He looked like... nature itself. He was so casual, so relaxed, that it felt like watching a tree grow or a river flow. There was zero wasted movement.
He poured the tea into a simple wooden cup. It didn't smell like a forest. It didn't smell like anything at all.
"Water?" Master Lu sneered. "You serve hot water?"
"Drink," Li Jian said simply.
Master Lu took a sip, intending to scoff.
The moment the liquid touched his tongue, the old man froze. He didn't see the shop. He didn't see the crowd. He saw his childhood. He saw the day he first tasted a tea leaf. He saw the mistakes he had made in his cultivation, and suddenly, those mistakes corrected themselves.
His wrinkled skin smoothed out. His gray hair turned charcoal black. He wasn't just drinking tea; he was drinking Time.
Master Lu fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face.
"The Dao..." he whispered. "It's not in the silver tools. It's not in the expensive charcoal. It's in the heart... I have been a fool for eighty years!"
He turned to his disciples, his voice trembling. "Pack the table. Give the Senior the seeds. I am no longer a 'Tea Saint'. I am... a beginner."
He bowed so low his forehead touched the floor. "Senior, please! I don't want the seeds back. Just let me stay here and wash your floors! I wish to learn the Way of the Ordinary!"
Li Jian stared at the old man, then at the two Goddesses, and then at the crowd of people now begging to be his "servants."
"No," Li Jian said, his voice cracking. "No more servants! I have a maid, a manager, and three reformed thugs! I don't need a Tea Saint to wash the floors!"
"I can wash them better than the thugs!" Master Lu shouted, already grabbing a mop.
Li Jian walked to the back of the shop, sat on a crate of ginger, and put his head in his hands.
"I am the worst 'hidden' expert in history," he sobbed. "I'm literally hiring my own paparazzi."