Under one person: I, Zhang Zhiwei, the arrogant Zhang.

"Senior Brother Zhang, didn't you always say that you couldn't stand those Xuanmen masters who liked to only say half of what they meant and used coded language like 'hands behind their backs' or 'three taps on the head'? How come you've learned to only say half of what you mean now?" Wang Ai couldn't help but complain from the side.

"When did I ever say half of what I was saying?" Zhang Zhiwei looked at him with amusement.

"Just now, you were talking about Ah Xing's innate ability," Wang Ai reminded her.

Upon hearing Wang Ai's words, Zhang Zhiwei became even less anxious and laughed, "You seem quite concerned about this Ah Xing."

"We absolutely have to take that seriously!"

Wang Ai slapped his thigh and explained, “I have thoroughly investigated Ah Xing’s background. He is an orphan who has had a difficult life since childhood. Coincidentally, during that period, our Tiantong Church was engaged in a lot of charity work, and orphans like Ah Xing naturally received a lot of help from the church. His food, clothing, and shelter were improved, and he even attended a church school. Naturally, he came to believe in the Tiantong Church. Later, he practiced the hoeing technique and, by chance, obtained Qi.”

Wang Ai became more and more excited as she spoke: "Senior Brother Zhang, think about it, he's not like those other supernatural beings who joined halfway through their careers. He's practically one of our own, a true and loyal member! Our current protection team, although it's starting to take shape, is mostly made up of a few big shots and small fry, not very capable. I need someone who can take on a major role. I see a glimmer of hope in Ah Xing."

Zhang Zhiwei smiled and said, "It's more than just a glimmer of hope. If you let him take on a major responsibility now, he might be able to handle it."

Upon hearing this, Wang Ai was overjoyed and rubbed her hands together, asking, "Senior Brother Zhang, you still haven't told me what his innate ability is."

Zhang Zhiwei said, "If you have carefully investigated his background, you should not find that he has experienced many unbelievable life-and-death crises since childhood, right?"

Wang Ai pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's true. He himself said that when he was a child, he was hit by a foreigner's car and was knocked unconscious for an afternoon, but when he woke up he was fine; he had also had food poisoning before, but it didn't cause any serious problems even after a few days of diarrhea; he was also beaten up by a group of thugs when he was a child, but he still pulled through..."

After listing some examples, Wang Ai added, "But isn't that what it means to have a strong birth chart? I know some people who are born to cultivate Taoism. Their birth charts are so strong that they might not even die from jumping off a cliff. Even if they fall into the sea, they might be washed ashore by chance."

"Do you think Ah Xing is in this situation?" Zhang Zhiwei asked rhetorically.

"Is there something else going on?" Wang Ai asked.

“It has nothing to do with whether his birth chart is strong or weak,” Zhang Zhiwei explained. “The reason he is like this is because his innate ability is ‘the thief of saints,’ but he himself is not aware of it, or rather, his situation is somewhat special.”

“Ordinary innate extraordinary individuals are born with the ability to sense and control the Qi within their bodies, thereby utilizing their own abilities. Ah Xing's ability, however, is a passive ability beyond his control. As for why he couldn't sense and control the Qi within his body before…”

Zhang Zhiwei paused for a moment, then continued, "I suspect that it is precisely because of his passive 'Saint Thief' ability that the Qi within his body is too vast, while his own life cultivation is too low."

"This immense Qi is beyond his control, so he naturally cannot use it. Only when he encounters an accident and is in a state of unconsciousness will this Qi flow on its own to protect him."

"During this time, he practiced the hoeing technique, which greatly improved his life cultivation, reaching the minimum standard to control the Qi within his body. So he successfully 'obtained Qi'. Strictly speaking, he did not obtain Qi, but rather he finally reached the threshold of being able to control his own power."

After hearing Zhang Zhiwei's explanation, Wang Ai was stunned and speechless: "Holy crap! Is there such a strange ability in the world? His innate ability is actually the Saint Thief?! God is so unfair! It's infuriating to compare people like this!"

Although he said that, Wang Ai's smile was practically reaching his ears. He had stumbled upon such a promising talent by sheer luck; Wang Ai exclaimed that he had struck gold!
Of course, this may be inevitable, after all, he cast a wide net and spread the skills of farming, and in the process of sifting through the sands, a few grains of gold will always be found.

"Senior Brother Zhang, such a promising talent shouldn't be wasted. You must give him some guidance!" Wang Ai said hurriedly.

Zhang Zhiwei nodded and said, "Indeed, they should be nurtured. No matter how extraordinary a natural genius is, they still need to be shaped and cultivated. Of course, the most important thing is their own self-cultivation. After all, there are quite a few stories of 'the tragedy of Zhong Yong' in history."

Thinking about it this way, Zhang Zhiwei really wanted to see what kind of aptitude Ah Xing had.

“Then I’ll bring him to see you right away!” Wang Ai said impatiently.

Zhang Zhiwei shook his head: "There's no need to rush. Let him practice his hoeing skills first; this skill won't let his talent go to waste. As for giving him guidance, we'll talk about that after I finish what I'm doing."

"Senior Brother Zhang, what are you planning to decorate in this cathedral?" Wang Ai couldn't help but ask.

Zhang Zhiwei lowered his eyes, his gaze seemingly piercing through layers of floorboards, landing on the enormous statue of the Heavenly Tong Sect Master inside the church, where he left a lightning incarnation.

Logically, an incarnation detached from its original form is like a rootless duckweed, destined to dissipate soon. However, nourished by the immense power of faith within the statue, this incarnation not only endures but grows ever stronger.

But that's not enough, because the avatar is currently only "borrowing" the power of faith to survive and cannot truly utilize this immense power. To use it, Zhang Zhiwei himself would need to personally oversee things, or... make some further arrangements.

He didn't want to personally oversee the situation; he had more important things to do. So he planned to make some arrangements here so that the statue would become a nail driven firmly into place.

“I need to set up a Qi formation here,” Zhang Zhiwei said slowly. “It will be a sharp sword, and when necessary, it can also be a sanctuary.”

"Is there anything I can do?" Wang Ai asked immediately.

"Just come with me for a walk."

After saying that, the two left the clock tower and strolled around the vast Tian Tong Parish.

Since taking over the territory of the Catholic Church, Wang Ai has successively purchased some surrounding land and incorporated it into the cathedral, creating a huge parish that integrates a series of charitable organizations such as church schools and orphanages, where many people live.

It was morning exercise time, and some people who didn't go to the square were still practicing their hoeing skills at their own locations.

Although most of them had not attained Qi, they were all strong and healthy, full of energy. Zhang Zhiwei even saw several elderly people in their sixties and seventies, easily playing with stone locks weighing over a hundred pounds.

Zhang Zhiwei appeared to be aimlessly looking around, but in reality, he was surveying the landscape, observing the geomantic energy of the area, and searching for the key point of this land's energy formation. After all, to set up a Qi formation, one must first understand the flow of the earth's energy to create a closed structure and thus form the Qi formation.

The two walked to the edge of a parish when suddenly a newly built building came into view. It was a towering Western-style building with a very peculiar roof design, resembling two huge Japanese swords crossed together, with a round hole in the middle. At that moment, the sun was rising, and the sun shone directly through that round hole, radiating golden light.

From a distance, the scene looked like two cold steel knives descending from the sky, aimed directly at the Tiantong Cathedral, as if to cut it in two!

Wang Ai noticed Zhang Zhiwei's gaze, pointed to the building, and said in a deep voice:

"That's a newly built building by the Japanese pirates. Although I don't understand anything about feng shui or qi layout, just by looking at those two broken Japanese swords on his head, I know that this thing is definitely not a good thing."

Zhang Zhiwei nodded and said, "It's definitely not a good thing. It's a feng shui arrangement called 'Double Blades Slaying the Dragon,' a vicious method used to disrupt the feng shui pattern."

"They really came for us! These Japanese pirates are truly wolves in sheep's clothing!" Wang Ai said angrily.

“It is indeed malicious,” Zhang Zhiwei said. “The reason I built Tiantong Church here is because the Catholic Church has already chosen a location with excellent feng shui, which can nurture the land. But after this building was erected here, those two Japanese swords are equivalent to piercing through this feng shui pattern. In the long run, something bad may happen to Tiantong Church. However, with my statue guarding it and a vast amount of faith power inside, nothing too serious will happen.”

"Do we need to dismantle this thing?" Wang Ai asked.

“No need.” Zhang Zhiwei waved his hand, a cold smile appearing on his lips. “I’m preparing to modify the feng shui of this place to create a more powerful Qi formation. His two Japanese pirate swords and the disc in the middle will not only not affect me, but will be used to my advantage, adding a touch of killing intent to my Qi formation.”

"Aren't they just shooting themselves in the foot?!" Wang Ai spat. "A bunch of overconfident, stupid Japanese pirates, daring to show off their skills in front of Senior Brother Zhang!"

Zhang Zhiwei smiled but said nothing. The Japanese pirates were indeed showing off their limited skills before an expert; feng shui and qi formations are static, but people are dynamic. What's the point of all this fancy stuff? He could just snap his fingers and use a clay potter's wheel to flatten them all.

Afterward, the two strolled around for a while, covering almost the entire parish. Zhang Zhiwei closed his eyes, and a three-dimensional map of the entire parish appeared perfectly in his mind.

In an instant, he knew the location of the array's core in the Tiantong Diocese.

"Found it, let's go!"

He led Wang Ai to the backyard of Tiantong Cathedral. There, there was an inconspicuous little pond. The water in the pond was a deep green, almost black, and exuded a chilling aura—not just ordinary cold, but the kind of cold that seeped into the bones and chilled the soul.

Wang Ai explained, "This pond is a bit strange. It's clearly stagnant water, yet it never smells bad. No matter how long it goes without rain, it has never dried up. In the past, some teachers from church schools wanted to plant some lotus flowers here, but no matter how many they planted, they all died, so they eventually gave up on it."

“This should be the key point of the earth veins in this area,” Zhang Zhiwei said. “The pond is not the key; the key is that beneath the pond, there are underground water veins that connect to this place. The water veins influence the Qi veins, forming a natural key point.”

"What happens after we find it?" Wang Ai asked.

“We need to build a well here to fix the Qi and water veins of this place, and then bury some small things around it to create a completely enclosed layout. At that time, this place will become a hexagram.”

Zhang Zhiwei explained: "The upper part is heaven, and the lower part is marsh. This hexagram is 'Guai'! The commentary says: 'Marsh above heaven, this is Guai. The superior man bestows favors upon his inferiors, but he is wary of dwelling on virtue.' 'Guai' means decisiveness, and it has the meaning of decisiveness and killing! It perfectly matches this situation."

"At that time, whether it is the Qi in the sky, the earth veins and water veins on the ground, or the power of faith in the church, they will all be locked in this pattern and used by me. No matter how powerful the external attacks are, as long as this pattern cannot be broken, the power inside will be endless."

Wang Ai perked up immediately: "Then, Senior Brother Zhang, I'll arrange for someone to come and fix it right away!"

“The key to the formation must be kept secret,” Zhang Zhiwei said. “It’s not safe to hire someone to do it. If others investigate later, they will be able to find out where the key is and find a way to break the formation.”

Wang Ai narrowed his eyes and suddenly thought of a method, but he didn't say it aloud.

Zhang Zhiwei ignored what Wang Ai thought and continued, "It's just a little trick, no need for anyone's help. Using people would be a waste of time. I'll do it myself."

As he spoke, he casually rolled up the sleeves of his Taoist robe, and with a thought, he unleashed the "Kun Character - Earth River Chariot".

He pointed lightly at the pond, and the earth instantly emitted a muffled rumble!

To Wang Ai's astonishment, the ground around the pond began to tremble violently, as if the soil and stones were being kneaded and shaped by an invisible hand.

Immediately afterwards, a simple stone well covered with mysterious runes slowly rose from the earth!

The well seemed to have always been there, perfectly blending into its surroundings without any trace of artificial intervention.

The whole process took only a snap of the fingers.

"boom……".
At the moment the well was formed, the entire area around it seemed to shake for a moment before quickly stabilizing.

Wang Ai didn't feel anything. He only felt that the water in the well in front of him was becoming clearer at a speed visible to the naked eye, changing from emerald green to transparent, and seemed to shimmer with golden light under the sunlight.

Zhang Zhiwei could sense that the surrounding Qi was converging on this place, and this well had become a treasure that stored the power of heaven and earth.

"Senior Brother Zhang, what's the name of this well?"

Zhang Zhiwei walked to the well, scooped up a handful of water, and said, "This is a well of power. I plan to call it the Well of Yang Hao!" (End of Chapter)