After transmigrating into the body of the protagonist's childhood friend, he was targeted by a

The moment the contract was finalized, Lin Zhixu could feel a subtle connection in his heart.

It's Xiao Hei's scent.

She was docile, dependent, and a little resentful of being forcibly suppressed by Yu Linzhou.

He put Xiao Hei on the ground, and the little thing immediately shook its fur, hopped away a few steps on its four short legs, and then, as if it had been freed from some kind of restraint, its body grew in the wind.

In the blink of an eye, the little black dog that only reached his ankles had become a behemoth two meters tall.

Its body resembled neither a wolf nor a lion, with dark black flames swirling within its jet-black fur. Its four paws pounded the ground, and waves of heat subtly distorted the surrounding air.

Yu Linzhou waved his hand to set up a barrier for Lin Zhixu to prevent him from being injured.

Lin Zhixu looked up at the enormous creature in front of him and was shocked by the species in the cultivation world for the first time.

Yu Linzhou strode over to him with his arms crossed, his tone tinged with pride: "Little Black is still in its infancy, it will grow even stronger in the future. You are too weak now, having it by your side will allow it to be both a mount and a protector, killing two birds with one stone."

This was truly a pleasant surprise for Lin Zhixu: "Thank you, Master."

Yu Linzhou's gaze lingered on his face for a moment: "So you can smile? I thought you were born with a blank expression. It's so boring to be so old-fashioned at such a young age. It's so cute to smile like this."

Lin Zhixu instantly straightened the corners of his mouth.

Yu Linzhou: "...?"

He coughed lightly, composed himself, and said, "Sit down."

Lin Zhixu did as he was told, sitting cross-legged on the ground.

Yu Linzhou placed one hand on Lin Zhixu's back, and a powerful, almost violent, spiritual energy flowed into his palm.

His spiritual power was extremely domineering. Once it entered his meridians, it was like a red-hot iron being pressed into ice water. Lin Zhixu jerked violently and instinctively tried to break free.

But Yu Linzhou firmly pressed down on his shoulder with his other hand, his fingers tightening, pinning him to the spot.

"Don't move."

pain.

It was much more intense than the dull pain from the Marrow Cleansing Pill.

The excruciating pain of having the entire meridian stretched open, torn apart, and forcibly reshaped from the inside is like someone stirring back and forth in the gaps between the bones with a red-hot iron rod.

Lin Zhixu's forehead veins bulged, his jaw clenched tightly, and his body trembled violently uncontrollably.

"Master! It hurts so much! I can't take it—"

Yu Linzhou pressed his shoulder, secretly clicking his tongue in his mind.

Despite being a skinny boy, he had considerable strength when he struggled, and they couldn't hold him down.

He could certainly use more force to completely subdue the person, but with those small arms and legs, he could easily crush their bones with just a little pressure.

She could only hold him down with restraint, and Lin Zhixu's movements caused her to sway a couple of times.

Lin Zhixu struggled too much, so Yu Linzhou clicked his tongue, resisted the urge to pull him back, wrapped his arms around him from behind, and imprisoned him in his embrace.

Oh no, he's filthy. He actually hugged a man on his own initiative.

Although the other person is quite beautiful, I'm still not happy!

Lin Zhixu's back slammed into his chest, and he was tightly encircled, with only his two legs able to kick futilely on the ground.

"Don't move," Yu Linzhou's voice came from above, tinged with impatience. "Opening the meridians can't be done halfway. Otherwise, at best you'll have to start all over again, at worst you'll ruin the entire spiritual meridian. Do you want to do it again?"

Lin Zhixu was panting heavily, clenching his teeth and refusing to utter another sound, but his body was trembling uncontrollably.

Yu Linzhou maintained his spiritual energy output, looked down at the excessively thin boy in his arms, and once again felt that he had really lost his mind back then.

Why bother taking on apprentices? They've had too much of a good life; they're just asking for trouble.

However, we can't just abandon it now.

So many eyes have seen him take Lin Zhixu as his disciple. If this disciple is a good-for-nothing, where will he put his face?

Besides, Yan Lingcang has acquired a top-grade golden spiritual root. If he cultivates this inferior spiritual root, it might even become stronger than Yan Lingcang's disciple. Then the world will understand.

What is Yan Lingcang? Yu Linzhou is the one who is truly capable!

Thinking about it that way, the troublesome person in his arms actually seemed a bit more pleasing to the eye. He glanced down at Lin Zhixu's pale profile and softened his tone, "Just bear with it a little longer, it'll be over soon."

Lin Zhixu gritted his teeth and said in a trembling voice, "Master, please stop talking, you're so noisy."

Yu Linzhou's forehead veins bulged: You brat!

Once you're capable of cultivation, I'll definitely give you a good beating.

After an unknown amount of time, the violent spiritual energy finally subsided.

Yu Linzhou released his grip, and the two of them exhaled simultaneously, their clothes soaked with sweat.

Yu Linzhou pushed Lin Zhixu away, stood up, looked down at Lin Zhixu who was slumped on the ground, and then awkwardly looked away.

Lin Zhixu's expression at this moment was quite subtle.

His clothes were torn open in the struggle, the collar was wide open, and the soaked clothes clung to his body, outlining the thin outline of the young man.

He lay on his back on the ground, his chest heaving violently, his face covered in sweat and tears, his eyes red and swollen. He looked as if he had just been severely bullied.

Yu Linzhou inexplicably found the scene somewhat jarring.

"...Get up," he said in a harsh tone, "and don't look like you've been bullied."

Lin Zhixu: "..."

Lin Zhixu didn't even have the strength to roll his eyes.

Looking at his half-dead state, Yu Linzhou frowned in disgust, bent down, pinched his chin, and stuffed a pill into his mouth.

The pill melted instantly upon entering the mouth, and a warm medicinal power slid down the throat, quickly dispelling some of the soreness and weakness in the limbs.

Lin Zhixu caught his breath and slowly sat up, supporting himself on the ground.

"Master, could you have told me beforehand that it would hurt this much? So I could have been mentally prepared."

Yu Linzhou scoffed, "Don't you have any backbone? You can't even handle this little bit of pain? What will you do if you get struck by lightning during your tribulation later?"

Lin Zhixu recalled the scene of being struck by lightning during his tribulation, remained silent for a moment, and then collapsed back to the ground.

Destroy it all, I don't want to try anymore.

Yu Linzhou kicked his shin in disgust: "Get up, and see if your spiritual energy can circulate."

His tone carried a hint of disappointment, "Yan Lingcang's disciple was able to achieve Qi Induction half a month ago. You've already fallen far behind. If you don't catch up, what will you have to compete with him?"

Lin Zhixu lay on the ground, weakly saying, "Luo Yiyan has a top-grade metal spiritual root, while I have a low-grade wood spiritual root. What's the point of comparing us?"

"I don't care about that," Yu Linzhou said matter-of-factly. "Anyway, you can't be worse than his disciple. Hurry up, I'll teach you how to draw Qi into your body now and establish your foundation as soon as possible."

Lin Zhixu remained silent for a moment, then resignedly propped himself up and sat cross-legged again.

Yu Linzhou sat down opposite him, raised his hand and made a hand seal, a gentle spiritual energy flowing from his fingertips.

"Follow my lead."

He slowed down his movements and demonstrated the technique of drawing qi into the body from the beginning.

His fingers were long and slender, leaving a faint black mark as they traced the air. His hand gestures were fluid and graceful, quite pleasing to the eye.