A chubby little face with obsidian-like eyes blinking shyly, the girl quickly hid behind Lady Qin after greeting them, then peeked out while nervously twisting her clothes to steal glances at Li Pingcan. 

This well-behaved little moe girl was simply adorable. Nothing like those village brats who threw stones at people with their rude behavior.

"Hello little sister," Li Pingcan greeted cheerfully. "What's your name?" 

Though inwardly curious—where did this little loli come from? He didn't recall the Li family having any close relatives. Surely she couldn't be father's illegitimate daughter!? 

Mother would have made father sleep on the floor every night if that were the case.

"This is your little sister Xie Yuan, a year younger than you," Lady Qin said with a fleeting trace of sorrow in her eyes, not elaborating further as she led the travel-weary girl inside to rest.

Li Rongzhou sat on the stone weight-lifting platform and beckoned Li Pingcan over, intending to sit him on his lap for a talk.

Li Pingcan squirmed away in protest. "Father, I'm not a child anymore! I'm seven years old now!"

"Haha, our Can'er has grown up. Then you must take good care of little Xie Yuan from now on."

Li Rongzhou sighed. "She's your martial grandfather's youngest granddaughter."

Three years ago during the disaster evacuation, the White Crane Dojo master had sustained severe injuries before being relocated to the sparsely populated Barren Wastes. Lacking proper clothing and food while laboring daily to reclaim land, the dojo master had unfortunately passed from illness a month ago.

Refugees couldn't easily transfer registrations. Without travel permits, they couldn't leave the Barren Wastes—unless a woman had marriage arrangements, which provided some flexibility.

Unable to bear seeing her only granddaughter suffer, and being gravely ill herself, the dojo master's wife had entrusted a security escort to bring Xie Yuan to Peach Blossom Village.

"Officially it's being called a childhood betrothal, but just treat Yuan Yuan as your little sister. Your martial grandfather treated me well, so remember to look after her."

"Understood, father." Li Pingcan naturally had no ulterior thoughts, only finding the girl cute and pitiable given her tragic circumstances. 

Though no matter how pretty she was, it didn't cloud his judgment—he maintained an instinctive wariness. 

If Xie Yuan actively integrated into the Li family, he wouldn't mind treating her like a blood sister. If no familial bond developed, he'd still arrange a good marriage for her when she grew up, repaying the martial grandfather's teaching kindness to his father.

"One more thing." Li Rongzhou lowered his voice. "Your martial grandfather passed down all the mental formulas of the 'Three White Crane Forms' to me, permitting me to teach others. Can'er, with your strong vital essence and good bone structure, you can start martial training early."

He looked at Li Pingcan. "Between the 'Crane Style' and 'Black Tiger Technique,' which do you want to learn?"

Finally able to practice martial arts!

Li Pingcan was thrilled. All these years of forced foundational training—daily stance practice had nearly numbed his crotch from straddle stances.

After brief consideration, he answered decisively: "Father, I want to learn the 'Crane Style' from you."

Learning the Black Tiger Technique would first require substantial silver—not that they couldn't afford it, but frugality mattered. Secondly, Zhou Enxian would inevitably learn about his progress, compromising secrecy.

The Crane Style was different—family interests were aligned, sharing glory and loss. Stylistically, the Crane combined lightness and agility with graceful elegance for refined bearing.

Not that looking cool was the main point—the key was being able to run fast when danger struck!

......

Three years had passed, yet Li Pingcan's [Breath of the Tree] had only reached LV3—in martial terms, the third layer. His eldest brother reached the second layer, father the first, while mother and second brother had just achieved initial circulation.

This showed that while the Breath's peak effect could grant 300 years of life, its benefits diminished greatly for those with mediocre martial talent.

Even so, it remained an exceptional health-preserving art—reaching a hundred years disease-free wasn't difficult. 

More remarkably, Breath of the Tree conflicted with no other techniques—no reversed meridians or qi deviation risks—far surpassing both Crane Style and Black Tiger Technique.

That afternoon.

Li Rongzhou meticulously taught Li Pingcan all three forms of the White Crane Style.

This was the advantage of family transmission—no "starve the disciple to protect the master" mentality, with complete openness.

"The Three White Crane Forms embody the crane's virtues of 'clarity, agility, and stillness,' combining the forces of 'relaxation, integration, and penetration.'"

Visualizing a white crane spreading snow-white wings, Li Pingcan sank his qi to the dantian, feet separating yin and yang as arms slowly rose from ribs to shoulder height. Palm roots pushed like waves before qi surged like wind—wings sweeping clouds—as index and middle fingers formed a crane beak hand thrusting diagonally from behind the ear with a whistling thrust.

Running lightly, his footwork resembled a crane riding wind—graceful and untainted by dust.

Paired with Breath of the Tree, his breathing became long and endless.

After several cycles, warmth blossomed in Li Pingcan's organs, pores opening with indescribable smooth comfort. Though physically nearing exhaustion, the wondrous sensation of clarity drove him to repeat the forms again and again.

"This is..."

Li Rongzhou frowned momentarily. For martial beginners, the greatest danger was depleting blood qi through forced breakthroughs, leading to exhaustion.

Thus martial artists must balance ferocity with knowing when to "stop before overextending."

Yet his son, though tired, had bright eyes and showed no blood qi depletion.

"Forcing interruption would harm his martial heart. Let's observe further."

After another incense stick's time.

Noticing Li Pingcan's aura growing increasingly turbulent as it broke through barriers, Li Rongzhou exclaimed joyfully, "He's broken through already?"

When Li Pingfu first achieved breakthrough, it had taken half a month.

While three years of Purple Centipede Paste baths and natural compatibility with Crane Style contributed, the key factor was his younger son's superior martial talent!

......

Martial progress required daily accumulation. After his breakthrough, Li Pingcan didn't rush further advancement.

At dinner, the family gathered.

This was the Li family's unwritten rule—no matter how busy, all who could return home for meals must do so.

Lady Qin introduced Xie Yuan to brothers Li Pingfu and Li Ping'an.

"Hello Yuan Yuan. Stay here peacefully—if anyone bullies you, big brother will beat them up."

Having passed his voice-changing phase, Li Pingfu's deep voice resembled their father's. Years of training had built his tall, muscular frame—broad-shouldered like a bear yet harmlessly grinning, which didn't frighten Xie Yuan.

Li Ping'an teased, "With your hulking presence standing guard, no one would dare bully her—but no one would dare befriend her either."

This scholarly gentleman reserved his sharp tongue for family, especially his elder brother.

Xie Yuan giggled, sparkling eyes and flushed face easing her initial shyness. 

Stealing a glance at the handsome Li Pingcan, she said softly, "With three big brothers, Yuan Yuan isn't afraid of having no friends."

Children matured early through hardship.

Though young, Xie Yuan had tasted life's bitterness and warmth, making her exceptionally clever and observant.

"Such a good girl," Lady Qin said affectionately, stroking her head.

But Li Pingcan noticed Xie Yuan's dark eye circles, bloodshot eyes, and abnormally flushed face—masked by the excitement and tension of a new environment.

'Once the adrenaline fades, she'll likely fall seriously ill.'

In this era, childhood illnesses remained terrifying—a single misstep could prove fatal.

Unable to bear it, Li Pingcan decided to use [Nature's Gift] on the little loli!