One person: Starting with the Snow Drinking Blade

Ma Xianhong personally acted as a guide, leading the three of them at a leisurely pace through the village. The seven or eight people who were clearly core members followed at a distance, serving as both guards and monitors.

The village appears larger inside than from the outside, its layout following the contours of the mountain, creating a charmingly staggered effect. The roads are paved with bluestone slabs, worn smooth by time. Most houses are stilted structures, wooden buildings with black tiled roofs; some look quite old, while others are clearly newly built or renovated. Almost every household has dried corn, chili peppers, or some unidentifiable herbs hanging outside their doors. The air is filled with a mixture of cooking smoke, earthy scents, vegetation, and the faint smell of livestock.

"This is our village's ancestral hall," Ma Xianhong said, pointing to a larger and more elaborately constructed stilted building. "It enshrines Chiyou, the ancestor of the Miao people, as well as the sages of our Jie Sect. On the first and fifteenth of each month, the villagers hold sacrifices here, praying for favorable weather, peace, and good health."

Two young men were cleaning at the entrance of the ancestral hall. When they saw Ma Xianhong, they bowed respectfully, looked curiously at the three men with black pipes, and then lowered their heads to continue their work.

"That's the village school." Ma Xianhong pointed to another relatively independent building, from which the faint sound of children reading could be heard. "All the school-aged children in the village receive their early education here, learning to read and write, and also learning some basic breathing and guiding techniques to strengthen their bodies."

"Does the Jie Sect also teach this?" Wang Zhenqiu raised an eyebrow.

"Education should be provided to all without discrimination." Ma Xianhong smiled. "Whether or not one can become an extraordinary person, a strong physique and a clear mind are always beneficial."

Continuing on, we passed a relatively open area, like a small square. Dozens of villagers were practicing there—though it was more of a comical scene than a practice: some were clumsily punching wooden stakes, wincing in pain; others sat cross-legged, eyes closed in concentration, but couldn't help sneaking peeks at the passing "visiting group"; and two teenagers were trying to manipulate two small knives, clearly magical implements, into the air, but the knives wobbled and nearly stabbed an elderly woman watching nearby, drawing laughter and scolding.

"Is this...morning exercise?" Black pipe looked at the ragtag scene and his lips twitched almost imperceptibly.

"I suppose so," Ma Xianhong said calmly. "Some people in the village are interested in the abilities of superhumans, so I taught them some basic Qi cultivation methods and application techniques. I don't aim to make them masters, but only to give them more self-protection in this chaotic world. Everyone started late and their aptitudes are different, so it's already quite an achievement to have reached this level."

His tone was calm, and when he looked at the villagers practicing clumsily, there was no contempt in his eyes, but rather a gentleness that was almost compassionate.

Xiao Zizai twirled his prayer beads and suddenly spoke: "Master Ma, you seem... to care a lot about these ordinary people."

Ma Xianhong paused slightly, turned around, and looked at Xiao Zizai. His amber eyes were exceptionally clear in the morning light: "Master, what makes you say that?"

"It's a feeling," Xiao Zizai smiled, "the way you look at them doesn't seem like you're looking at tools or believers, but more like you're looking at... students? Children?"

Ma Xianhong was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Master, you have great insight. In my eyes, they are no different from me. It's just that some people walk faster and some walk slower. But everyone has to walk their own path."

He then pointed to a carefully tended hillside planted with various medicinal herbs, where several elderly people were weeding: "That's a medicinal herb field. There are people in the village who understand medicine, and they lead everyone to grow some herbs. They can be used for minor ailments like headaches or fevers, or for small injuries sustained while practicing martial arts. Being self-sufficient is always better than asking others for help."

The sights and sounds they encountered along the way were completely beyond the expectations of the three members of the Black Pipes. There was none of the sinister and eerie atmosphere of a cult stronghold they had imagined, nor the blind obedience of fanatical followers. Instead, it resembled more of a... utopian community attempting to construct an idealized pastoral life far from the hustle and bustle of the world. The villagers seemed to be in relatively good spirits, respectful but not fanatical towards Ma Xianhong, and interacting with each other in the manner of ordinary villagers.

"Master Ma," Wang Zhenqiu couldn't help but ask, his tone unusually serious, "you've made such a big fuss, setting up this village, building that furnace... what's the point? Just so these people can farm, practice martial arts, and be self-sufficient?"

Ma Xianhong stopped, turned around, and glanced at the three people before finally looking at the undulating mountains in the distance and the rising sun. The morning light shone on his white Taoist robe, gilding it with a pale gold.

"What's the point?" he repeated softly, then smiled. "Perhaps, it's just about 'fairness'."

"Fair?" Black pipe frowned.

"Yes, fair." Ma Xianhong's tone remained calm, but a flame was quietly burning deep in his eyes. "All men are created equal. This statement is written in countless books and charters and has been recited by countless people. But in our world of supernatural beings, this statement has always been a joke."

He stretched out his hand, palm up, a wisp of pale golden, extremely pure "Qi" slowly flowing at his fingertips: "Some people are born with this talent, starting from a point that ordinary people can hardly reach. Some people are born into prestigious sects with a thousand-year-old tradition, where resources and techniques are readily available. But many more..." He pointed to the villagers in the village who were clumsily practicing or working in the fields, "They may be diligent, they may be intelligent, but just because they are of ordinary birth and lack opportunities, they are isolated from another world for life, only able to look up, only able to revere, and even... only able to fear."

"The abilities of extraordinary individuals should not be the privilege of a few, nor should they be a monopolistic form of capital, much less a yardstick for dividing social classes and determining nobility and baseness." Ma Xianhong withdrew his hand, and the wisp of "qi" dissipated into the air. "The Body Cultivation Furnace is the answer I have given. It is not perfect, it is risky, and the success rate is not high. But it at least gives those who are excluded a choice—a chance to touch another world through their own will and effort."

He looked at the three men with black pipes, his eyes burning: "The three of you are all outstanding individuals in the world of superhumans, so you must be able to better understand what this 'opportunity' means to ordinary people."

Hei Guan and Xiao Zizai remained silent. Wang Zhenqiu scratched his head, unusually not responding.

Ma Xianhong's words did indeed touch upon something. The world of the extraordinary is inherently cruel. Talent, inheritance, and resources almost determine everything. For ordinary people to step into this world is as difficult as ascending to heaven. The existence of the Body Cultivation Furnace, despite its many flaws, is undoubtedly a ray of light in the darkness for those who yearn to change their fate.

but……

"Master Ma," Xiao Zizai spoke slowly, his voice still gentle, yet tinged with coldness, "have you ever considered that your 'light' might... be a will-o'-the-wisp leading to the abyss?"

Ma Xianhong's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Forcibly transforming ordinary people into superhumans goes against the laws of nature and defies the normal course of life," Xiao Zizai continued, his fingers moving faster as he twirled his prayer beads. "Even if they succeed, can their minds and bodies withstand it? The sudden acquisition of power, without the corresponding mental fortitude to control it, will it be a blessing or a curse? Not to mention those who fail—can you bear the price they pay? Furthermore, once your furnace is spread, how much impact will it have on the existing order of the superhuman world? How much strife and bloodshed will it trigger? Have you considered these things?"

The smile on Ma Xianhong's face vanished completely. He looked at Xiao Zizai in silence for a long time before slowly saying, "What the master says is not without reason. Every change has its price and its risks. But if we give up eating because we are afraid of the price and the risks, and become stagnant and closed off, then there will never be any progress in this world."

He paused, then his tone hardened: "As for order... if the old order is unjust, what's wrong with breaking it and rebuilding a new one?"

These words immediately created a subtle atmosphere. The core members behind Ma Xianhong also sharpened their gazes.

He snorted coldly, about to speak, when suddenly, Old Meng's urgent voice came through the miniature communication earpiece he was wearing:

"Black pipe! Chu Lan and Bao Bao have been exposed in the back mountains! They're being chased by at least twenty people! They're retreating towards the village entrance and are expected to reach your vicinity in three minutes! Prepare to provide backup!"

Almost simultaneously, from the other side of the village, faint sounds of fighting and shouting could be heard!

Ma Xianhong had obviously heard the noise as well. He turned his head to look in the direction from which the sound came, his brows furrowing slightly.

"Looks like," Blackie flexed his wrist, the muscles under the black bandage starting to bulge and making a slight "thumping" sound, "our leisure time is over."