When Qin An heard his brother ask if he wanted to cultivate with him, he was completely stunned. His face was filled with surprise, excitement, and exhilaration; no words could describe his feelings at that moment.

"Really? Brother, you really want to teach me cultivation!" Qin An looked at Shu Lan with anticipation.

"Of course. But if you want to cultivate with me, you must become my disciple." On this continent, teaching cultivation requires a master-disciple relationship. Moreover, the master-disciple relationship is the closest besides that of a cultivation partner. It is even closer than that of parents.

Because cultivators have very long lifespans, if their parents are mortals, they will eventually leave them. But a master and disciple relationship is different. When they become master and disciple, they share both glory and misfortune. They are a community of shared destiny. Therefore, many masters are extremely cautious when choosing their disciples.

Although Qin An had not entered the world of cultivation, he still understood this principle.

Therefore, when Qin An heard that he needed to become Shu Lan's disciple, he immediately knelt down and performed the disciple-acceptance ceremony. "Master, please accept my bow."

"No need for formalities." Shu Lan helped Qin An up. She was very happy to have such a well-behaved little apprentice.

"Then, Master, how should I address you from now on?" Qin An asked Shu Lan respectfully.

“We, master and disciple, don’t need so many formalities. In front of outsiders, you can call me Master, but at home you can call me whatever you want. You can call me Brother, or you can call me Master. My relationship with you is that of both master and brother.”

"Then, is it alright, Master?" Hearing Shu Lan say there was no need for formalities, Qin An reverted to his usual self. He looked at Shu Lan with a sly grin.

"Master Brother. What a strange way to address you!" Shu Lan was both amused and exasperated, but what's said is said. She could only silently accept this odd address.

"Tonight, your master will open up all your meridians and cleanse your marrow."

"Okay, sure."

After making her decision, Shu Lan continued practicing her swordsmanship, while Qin An eagerly awaited the arrival of night.

As Qin An waited anxiously, night finally fell.

After finishing dinner with Qin An, Shu Lan took Qin An to her room.

Shu Lan first explained the precautions to Qin An, and only after Qin An nodded in agreement did she begin the formal process of cleansing the marrow and opening the meridians.

Shu Lan had Qin An sit cross-legged in front of him, and then sat down cross-legged herself. Once everything was ready, Shu Lan began to circulate the Ancestral Spirit Scripture. The spiritual energy in the air was involuntarily absorbed by Shu Lan and transformed into Primordial Ancestral Spirit Energy.

Shu Lan concentrated strands of ancestral spiritual energy at the fingertips of her right hand, and with lightning speed, meticulously pressed each acupoint on Qin An's body. With each press, a strand of ancestral spiritual energy seeped in, helping Qin An to open up the acupoint.

Qin An felt a comfortable energy entering his body, making him feel warm and cozy, as if he were soaking in a hot spring.

Qin An couldn't help but secretly open his eyes, only to see beads of sweat trickling down Shu Lan's cheeks. Cleansing someone's marrow and opening their meridians wasn't an easy task; it was quite tiring. That's why Shu Lan was sweating and felt a slight soreness in her arms.

Finally, the last step was approaching. Shu Lan took a deep breath and saw Qin An secretly open his eyes. Shu Lan scolded, "Concentrate and calm your mind!" At the same time, she slapped the top of Qin An's head with her final palm.

Upon hearing this, Qin An immediately closed his eyes, keeping his mind clear. A large amount of ancestral spiritual energy flowed into Qin An's body from the top of his head. Qin An felt a "pop" sound, as if something inside his body had been opened up. He felt much more comfortable.

At that moment, Shu Lan pointed a finger at Qin An's brow. Simultaneously, a large amount of information was transmitted in. It was a very profound cultivation technique.

While Qin An was still in surprise, Shu Lan spoke up. "This is the 'Spirit Guiding Technique,' which can purify ordinary spiritual energy tenfold. By cultivating this technique, one can coexist peacefully with spiritual energy and absorb spiritual energy that suits them."

Hearing his brother's words, Qin An, though not understanding them, felt in his heart that this cultivation technique must be extremely powerful. He was deeply moved, thinking how kind his master brother was, not only cleansing his marrow and opening his meridians but also giving him such a precious cultivation technique. He resolved to cultivate diligently and never let his master brother down.

"Now follow my spiritual energy circulation technique." Shu Lan used the ancestral spiritual energy to circulate through Qin An's meridians for one cycle according to the cultivation method of the "Spirit Guiding Technique".

Qin An immediately focused intently on learning from those behind him, quickly memorizing the cultivation technique's operational route. He began to autonomously circulate the technique again and again, drawing in the surrounding spiritual energy into his body.

Through Qin An's unremitting efforts, he finally stepped into the first level of Qi Refining.

Qin An opened his eyes and excitedly said to Shu Lan, "Master Brother, I succeeded! I succeeded in my cultivation!"

Shu Lan nodded with satisfaction. "Yes, you have already stepped into the threshold of cultivation. You are now at the first level of Qi Refining. Starting tomorrow, you will follow me to learn spells and swordsmanship."

"Mmm-hmm-hmm." Qin An nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

Suddenly, Qin An noticed that Shu Lan's expression was a little off. "Brother Shizun, what's wrong?"

Seeing Qin An's comical appearance, Shu Lan couldn't hold back any longer. "Pfft, hahahaha!" Shu Lan laughed loudly while pointing at the mirror, "You should go look in the mirror."

Qin An had never seen Shu Lan laugh like that before, and he was somewhat stunned. Shu Lan's laughter was unrestrained and flamboyant, coupled with his handsome face. It was a pleasure to watch.

At that moment, Qin An smelled a foul stench. Looking down at his hands, he saw that they were covered in a black, filthy substance, as were his arms. Qin An shuddered and rushed to the mirror.

The little figure in the mirror was completely dark, its face covered in black grime, making it impossible to recognize its original appearance; it was utterly comical.

Seeing Shu Lan laughing heartily, Qin An felt a pang of unease. Although his master's smile was handsome, it shouldn't be when he looked so ridiculous.

Qin An was angry, her little face flushed red. It was just that it was covered in black dirt, so you couldn't tell.

"Master, stop laughing!" Qin An stormed up to Shu Lan, reaching out his claws to strike. "Master, you try it too!"

Just as Qin An's black claws were about to land on Shu Lan's face, Shu Lan leaned back, dodging the "sneak attack." "Hey hey hey, you can't catch me, you can't catch me! Hahaha!" Shu Lan dodged Qin An's little black claws while jumping up and down around the house.

Qin An found it fun as he filmed; as long as he was with his master, everything was fun.

The next moment, Shu Lan ran outside and slammed the door shut. "Xiao An, the bathwater is ready in the room. You'd better hurry up and take a bath. It stinks!"

"Aaaaaah! Master brother is so annoying!" Qin An was furious when he heard Shu Lan laughing and walking away from the house.

He stormed to the bathtub and quickly stripped off his clothes, throwing them one by one onto the floor in a fit of rage.

"I don't smell bad. I'm going to wash myself clean!" Qin An said angrily, scrubbing herself with her little hands.