Zhang Fan was stunned. He knew Lin Yueru was referring to teaching her cultivation, but at this moment, Zhang Fan's primary focus was on improving his own strength. Only by enhancing his own power could he accomplish more of what he desired.
Furthermore, how could the path of cultivation be so easily imparted? Even if Zhang Fan intended to take disciples in the future, he wouldn't agree so hastily.
"We'll talk about it later," Zhang Fan considered, not refusing outright.
"Mm," Lin Yueru nodded. Although she had anticipated this, a flicker of disappointment crossed her eyes. However, the next moment, her gaze turned resolute. She clenched her fist, consoling herself, "It's not that easy to find a先天宗师 to take you as a disciple. If I fail this time, there's next time. If I fail next time, there's the time after that. I will never give up..."
Influenced by her father since childhood, she had always been deeply interested in martial arts and cultivation, especially in the legendary figures of martial arts, the 先天宗师, who could walk on water and possess bodies protected by罡气. She yearned for such supernatural abilities. And today, she had encountered a living 先天宗师, which made her uncontrollably excited.
"Let's go back," Zhang Fan said, gently closing the car door and walking towards the residential compound.
Watching Zhang Fan's retreating figure, Lin Yueru's eyes shone like the moon. His once ordinary back now appeared extraordinarily significant in her eyes.
The red Mercedes sports car lingered at the entrance of the compound for a moment before its engine roared, and it sped away.
...
Hua Yuan Community was a typical six-plus-one building, seven stories high. Zhang Fan's aunt lived on the top floor.
Although the top floor had poorer conditions, being cold in winter and hot in summer, and sometimes leaking during rain, and inconvenient for travel due to its height, the price was considerably lower.
Zhang Fan had a key to his aunt's place and entered directly, finding them about to have dinner.
"Xiao Fan, you're back," his aunt, Zhang Xin, said, surprised by his return. She knew Zhang Fan was on a trip with his classmates and was expected to be back in about ten days, yet he had returned in just a week.
"Brother Zhang Fan," his cousin, Zhao Qingqing, also called out joyfully.
"Have you eaten? We're just about to have dinner," Aunt Zhang Xin asked with concern.
"What are you talking about? Xiao Fan's return now means he's back for dinner! I'll get another pair of chopsticks and bowls, and we can all eat together," his uncle, Zhao Yongchang, said, getting up.
"Mm," looking at this scene, Zhang Fan felt a warmth spread through him, and he nodded.
"If I'd known Xiao Fan was coming back, I should have prepared a couple more fresh dishes," Aunt Zhang Xin said with a hint of self-reproach, looking at the somewhat meager dinner on the table.
There was only one fresh dish on the table, with the other two being leftovers from lunch.
"It's fine, it already tastes great," Zhang Fan said, taking the rice his uncle had served him and beginning to eat heartily, as if it were a delicacy.
At this moment, he suddenly realized that while he might not care much for the currency on Earth, it was extremely important to his loved ones. It was something that could change the life of an ordinary person!
"It seems I need to find an opportunity to earn some money," Zhang Fan decided.
After dinner, Zhang Fan returned to his room and took out the wooden Ganoderma from the wooden box.
"A seventy-three-year-old wooden Ganoderma isn't enough to refine a Foundation Establishment Pill," Zhang Fan sighed with regret.
The Foundation Establishment Pill was a second-grade spiritual pill, and the wooden Ganoderma could serve as an auxiliary ingredient for its refinement. However, to successfully refine it, a wood-attribute spiritual medicine of at least a hundred years old was also needed to be combined with the wooden Ganoderma to produce a batch of wood-attribute Foundation Establishment Pills.
"It's unlikely I can refine a Foundation Establishment Pill in the short term. To continue improving my strength, I'll have to focus on other aspects," Zhang Fan mused. He had already reached the peak of Qi Refining, his body as strong as tempered iron, capable of dealing with most dangers. His only weakness was his eyes.
"It seems I need to cultivate a divine ability to temper my eyes," Zhang Fan closed his eyes. Millions of divine abilities and secret techniques flashed through his mind. He wasn't looking for the strongest, but only the most suitable for his current cultivation.
"Got it." After a while, Zhang Fan had chosen a divine ability.
"Thunderfire Divine Eyes! A sixth-grade divine ability. The left is the Emperor of Thunder's Divine Eye, and the right is the Divine Eye of Fire. When both eyes are perfected, one eye can destroy a True Immortal, and the other can incinerate galaxies!"
Divine abilities were divided into nine grades, with first grade being the lowest and ninth grade the strongest. Above ninth grade were even more powerful God-grade divine abilities. Zhang Fan naturally possessed many ninth-grade divine abilities, and even several God-grade ones. However, a divine ability didn't need to be the strongest. No matter how powerful a divine ability was, if it wasn't suitable for one's own cultivation and one couldn't even begin to learn it, then even a God-grade divine ability would struggle to display its full might.
For ordinary cultivators, even first-grade divine abilities were extremely precious, because if a first-grade divine ability was cultivated to perfection, its power could not be underestimated.
"Cultivating here isn't ideal. I should go out," Zhang Fan thought. The commotion from cultivating divine abilities would be too great in this small room. If he wasn't careful, he might even destroy this entire floor.
Zhang Fan prepared to get up and lock the door, then jump directly out of the window. Seven floors were less than twenty meters high, which for someone at the peak of Qi Refining like Zhang Fan, was just a small jump.
As Zhang Fan reached the door, he heard a knock.
"Brother Zhang Fan, are you asleep?" Zhao Qingqing's voice came from outside the door.
Zhang Fan hesitated for a moment, then retreated to the bedside and leaned against it, replying.
"Not yet."
"Then I'm coming in." As soon as Zhao Qingqing finished speaking, she opened the door.
"What is it, Qingqing?" Zhang Fan asked.
"Um, Brother Zhang Fan, tomorrow is a classmate's birthday party, and they said I could bring a friend. Could you accompany me?" Zhao Qingqing, wearing a pink pajama set, looked exceptionally cute with her naturally chubby cheeks.
"Birthday party?" Zhang Fan suddenly recalled that in his previous life, it was after attending a classmate's birthday party during the summer break of her first year of high school that Zhao Qingqing fell seriously ill. She refused to say anything, and no one ever knew what had happened that day.
"Okay, I'll go with you." Seeing Zhao Qingqing's somewhat hesitant demeanor, Zhang Fan sensed something was amiss.
In his previous life, Zhang Fan had been devastated by the events concerning Qin Luoshui's mother and had not returned, so Zhao Qingqing had gone alone. This time, Zhang Fan wanted to see what exactly had happened at that birthday party.
"Mm." Seeing Zhang Fan agree, Zhao Qingqing happily responded and then retreated from the room.
Zhang Fan glanced downstairs. There were hardly any people on the小区's roads now. After locking the door, he jumped directly out of the window, landing softly on the ground without making much noise.
Zhang Fan darted out of the community and ran dozens of miles before finding a patch of mountain forest with relatively concentrated spiritual energy to serve as his cultivation ground for the night.