Bad habits—blatant, shameless bad habits.


    Han didn’t mince words in his criticism of such behavior.


    “After my breakthrough, I quietly observed Black Cloud Town from the shadows,” Bai Tian explained. “Once I got a rough grasp of the situation, I decided to spend some time consolidating my newfound strength, all while keeping a discreet eye on the town.”


    He turned to his audience and added, “So today, Fang Zhenyu had no chance of touching any of you.”


    So, he’d been lurking in the background all along, watching.


    “Father, where did you go into seclusion?” Bai Ruoyue asked, her curiosity piqued.


    “In the Yun family’s secret domain,” Bai Tian replied. “It’s the safest place around. Plus, there are some supplementary techniques there that offer a bit of help and completely mask any disturbances from my breakthrough.”


    “The Yun family, huh…” Han mused.


    At first, it caught him off guard, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. A breakthrough wasn’t a trivial matter—Bai Tian couldn’t just pick any random spot to hole up in. Safety came first. If he’d passed over even the hidden chamber beneath Tai Bai, it meant he’d found somewhere even more secure. In all of Black Cloud Town, nothing topped the Yun family’s domain. It seemed Bai Tian had struck some kind of private deal with them too.


    The descendants of the Mountain God might look like they only had a handful of Bone Refining Day Wanderers on the surface, but anyone with a bit of insight knew there were deeper waters beneath.


    “Yun Yuannan’s one heck of a actor,” Han said with a chuckle. He had to hand it to the Yun family head—his poker face was impeccable. All those past visits, and Han hadn’t picked up on a thing. Truly worthy of being the patriarch.


    Not that he thought Yun Yuannan had done anything wrong. It was just a casual observation.


    Bai Tian smiled warmly as he gazed at his seven disciples. Lu Qingmo had already left after wrapping things up, leaving only the Tai Bai crew behind.


    “Every so often, you lot manage to surprise me,” he said. “Whether it’s your progress in cultivation or something else, you’ve all done brilliantly—near perfect, really. Taking you on as my disciples is honestly my good fortune.”


    Bai Ruoyue puffed out her chest, beaming with pride. “Of course, Father! You’re blessed to have us. And once Little Junior Brother and I become family, you’ll be doubly blessed!”


    Her cheeks flushed slightly at the thought. It wasn’t her fault for dreaming—despite the influence of extraordinary powers in this world, where women weren’t seen as lesser than men and many customs differed from Han’s past life, some things stayed the same. A hug or a kiss here wasn’t just a casual gesture; it was a commitment. Back in the world Han came from before crossing over, such acts had practically turned into polite hellos. Here? Try pulling that and calling it “etiquette”—you’d be lucky not to get a fist to the face.


    “With Master’s breakthrough, Tai Bai Martial Hall can sleep easy now,” one disciple chimed in.


    “Seriously! A True Blood Realm hall master? You won’t find one in all of Tianyue County—at least not openly!” another added.


    “Master, you’re the best!”


    The group buzzed with excitement. In this world, a cultivator’s status hinged on talent and strength, but until you became a powerhouse yourself, your background was what mattered most. Bai Tian’s breakthrough was a clear win for everyone.


    Bai Tian ruffled Shen Yu’s hair, opting not to deliver any grand lectures. Sure, there were always bigger fish and higher skies—he might dominate Black Cloud Town as a True Blood now, but the future was anyone’s guess. Still, as their master, his job was to hold up the sky for his disciples. Whatever stronger foes or greater dangers lay ahead, those were his burdens to bear, not theirs.


    His seven disciples were already exceptional—flawless, even. Any shortcomings weren’t their fault; they’d stem from him failing to give them the best environment possible.


    Bai Tian only took in geniuses as disciples—a common practice under the heavens. But he went further, doing everything in his power to ensure those geniuses had the resources and opportunities to shine, maybe even surpass their natural limits.


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    Well… except for his youngest disciple.


    Bai Tian turned to Han, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “Han, you’re good. Really good.”


    He struggled to find the right words. Gushing too much would make him sound like a brown-noser instead of a master, so he kept it simple, letting his genuine approval shine through.


    “At this point, you’re ready to graduate,” he said. The Bone Refining Day Wanderer stage was the unspoken “graduation line” for sects and clans across the world. Han’s martial prowess might not be there yet, but his strength already was.


    “Nah, still early days,” Han replied with a grin. “You’ve got a few more years of teaching me left.”


    Bai Tian’s expression softened with emotion. “There’s not much left for me to teach you. Honestly, I haven’t taught you much at all. With your talent, I’m not the one to guide you.”


    He could confidently say he’d played a big role in shaping his older disciples into who they were today. But Han? Beyond the basics—martial initiation, secret techniques, some cultivation pointers—Bai Tian hadn’t done much. Han’s talent was so overwhelming it left him at a loss.


    Of course, that was just Bai Tian being modest. Anyone with a functioning brain could see he’d taught Han plenty. It was just that Han’s sheer brilliance created a gap that made Bai Tian feel out of his depth.


    “Father, you’ve taught Little Junior Brother less than I have,” Bai Ruoyue teased with a huff. “After he joined, you went off to Black Mountain, and not long after you got back, you were in seclusion again. I’m the one who raised him up! I’d say he’s half my disciple at this point. Go on, Little Junior Brother—call me ‘Master’!”


    Han’s face twisted into an odd expression. Was his senior sister into role-playing or something? Talk about a thrill.


    Zhang Yuantao piped up, “Master, this breakthrough took so long—did anything go wrong along the way?”


    Bai Tian shook his head. “No hiccups, thankfully. Thanks to Han’s dream ability from way back, I anticipated every possible snag and cleared every hurdle. Condensing true blood, though, is a grind without the right rare treasures to help. You’ve got to hammer your essence, body, blood, and even your spirit over and over, refining them into something sublime. It’s not a quick process.”


    “You’ll see what I mean when you get there,” he added.


    In Bai Tian’s mind, with his guidance, five of his disciples could reach the peak of the Marrow Cleansing Realm and touch the True Blood threshold. Whether they broke through would depend on their own luck. Without some massive stroke of fortune, that was as far as he could take them.


    Why five? Because the other two were destined to soar far beyond him.


    “I’ve got a Ten Thousand Blood Spirit Flower,” Han said quietly. “Aunt Mo said it’s useful for condensing true blood.”


    Bai Tian froze, then let out a heartfelt sigh. “I’ve heard of that legendary plant. Using it during a True Blood breakthrough wouldn’t just boost the refinement—it’d cut the time down significantly. Your luck is unreal, Han. Guard that treasure well—it’ll come in handy down the road.”


    His youngest disciple was a marvel—talent, character, luck, the works. Still in the Visceral Realm, and he’d already snagged something this rare. Items that aided a True Blood breakthrough were even scarcer and more valuable than those used for True Blood cultivation.


    Bai Tian could already picture Han breezing through that stage, no two-month slog of nonstop blood-condensing like he’d endured. His own breakthrough had been relatively swift, thanks to the experience gained from “Dream Enlightenment,” but some martial artists took six months or even a year.


    That brutal reality was why Bai Tian hesitated to claim he could push Han beyond his natural gifts. The kid’s talent and fortune were so staggering, he didn’t dare make bold promises. As far as he was concerned, not holding Han back was victory enough. Coaching a prodigy like this to exceed their potential? Bai Tian felt too small for that—maybe some legendary immortal could pull it off.


    “By the way, Master,” Han said, “Aunt Mo mentioned that at the Bone Refining Realm, you start tempering your blood and there’s a specific method for it?”


    “Yep,” Bai Tian nodded. “I figured neither you nor Ruoyue would hit Bone Refining by the time I came out, so I didn’t bring it up earlier.”


    His guess had been spot-on.


    “Once you two reach that stage, don’t worry about blood-tempering techniques. The secret martial arts you practice have matching methods—perfect for you both.” He turned to Shen Long and the others. “Theirs won’t suit you, but I’ll set you up with top-tier blood-tempering methods too. No one’s getting left behind.”


    Shen Long and the rest quickly thanked him. Bai Tian might not take many disciples, but he spared no effort for the ones he did—always giving them the best he could offer.


    “What’s a blood-tempering method like?” Han asked, intrigued.


    “They vary,” Bai Tian explained. “Back when I was traveling, I saw the Divine Hammer Method—condenses a ethereal hammer to pound your blood into shape. Then there’s the Blood Field Method, forming a field to pool your blood and nurture a seed of vitality, watering it over time. For you two, the secret martial arts come with the Eight Trigrams True Furnace. It’s a special process—gathering unique forces to forge a furnace in your body, lighting its flames, and tossing your blood in to be tempered a thousand times over into pure gold. That’s what they call ‘Forging a True Saint in the Eight Trigrams Furnace!’”


    The others just found it fascinatingly mystical, but Han froze.


    Forge an Eight Trigrams Furnace?


    He glanced at the names of his secret martial arts—Bull Demon, Flood Dragon Demon… Future ones were easy to guess. Was this blood-tempering method really meant to pair with them? Why did it feel like he was walking into a trap—or straight-up signing his own death warrant? No need for a magic circlet—he’d be jumping into the furnace himself. Wild.


    “I’m looking forward to this Eight Trigrams Furnace,” Han said, his tone tinged with something wry. Could it refine him some fiery golden eyes while it was at it?


    “Catch me up on what’s happened since I went into seclusion,” Bai Tian said. “I scoped out Black Cloud Town for a few days after coming out, but it wasn’t enough to get the full picture.”


    He definitely didn’t know the specifics of what Han and the others had been through—those were their little secrets.