To change his destiny? Him, stuck at the peak of the ninth layer for years? Untalented, unable to breakthrough?

A chance for the forest clan to rise, to stand proud? The same as those high-ranked influences, the same as that overbearing overlord?

Could this youth really provide him with this opportunity?

On the surface, Ming Ren was merely a youth at the peak of the fifth layer of the Body Tempering Realm. By all means, he would be deemed untalented. But this same youth that was said to be in a deep slumber for ten years somehow woke up and escaped from the Cloud Clan's custody.

The simplest explanation was that he had help, but everyone that had any information about the matter of the Bright Clan knew the only reason he was taken to the Cloud Clan in the first place was his friends.h.i.+p to the young mistress of the clan, a true peerless talent, capable of moving even the Royal Family.

There were also rumors floating around that this lady was in love with the youth, so the Cloud Clan was in distress because of this. One capable of reaching the heavens, the other a progeny of a fallen clan stuck at the fourth layer for many years. No one in their right minds would think this was a good match!

To make things worse, there were also rumors that someone from the Royal Family wanted to take her as one of his wives, only to be met with rejection.

In that scenario, even if they didn't take any extreme measures, it was unlikely they would just let him go. Also, if he didn't escape, why would he be hiding in this dangerous forest? He had nowhere else to go, all a.s.sets of the Bright Clan were gone since long ago.

Since Little Fu's mother was also from the Bright Clan, he knew there was some sort of treasure there and that the coma was related to it. The situation surrounding the clan was also in part because of it. Putting everything together, couldn't his mysteriousness also be?

But the greatest factor that left the Elder pondering was this youth's bearing and former display. To be able to hunt and kill the Green Scaled Beast, no ordinary fourth layer cultivator would be able to do so. To be able to roam free in these woods alone, to display such cooking prowess, and peerless sword skill, even if he tried to hide it, this all pointed to an extremely talented young man.

He was unafraid and composed. He showed no signs of lying when he offered this opportunity.

This Elder's name was Lin Dong and he was called East Elder in the clan. His position was low because of his cultivation base, but the Patriarch still held him in high regard. Nevertheless, he was still powerless.

What did he even have to lose? Face? He didn't even have much in the first place!

The Elder hesitated, but Ming Ren didn't blame him at all. This was a heavy decision to make considering everything.

The Elder's eye shone decisively, and he clasped his hands together, "If your words are true, this Elder is willing to trust the Young Lord, and walk through fire and water!"

Ming Ren smiled, "Good! First, circulate your Cultivation Law."

This time the Elder didn't hesitate. He sat cross-legged and circulated the Qi inside his body, revolving the Forest Clan's Cultivation Law, [One With the Wood]. He already decided to trust this young man, and being from the Bright Clan, how could the poor Law of the Forest Clan be of any worth to him?

Ming Ren's eyes didn't show any change but in truth the Bright Eyes technique activated silently, fully scanning the Elder's body. Ming Ren noticed he had before several problems in his meridians and channels, lowering the amount of spirit energy that could pa.s.s through.

His Spirit Energy, although at the peak of the Body Tempering Realm, didn't show any signs of being different than a normal cultivator with an incomplete Spirit Sea.

This last step, consolidating Spirit Sea, he was never able to cross, but Ming Ren knew that after his cooking his chances improved immensely. Lin Dong also didn't show any affinity to rare energies, but surprisingly he had a True Element, the Wood element.

Unfortunately, the cultivation law of the Forest Clan didn't any special qualities, and its base was only at the Body Tempering Realm, making progress difficult at the Spirit Realm and so forth.

Ming Ren was unable currently to enhance Laws of the Spirit Realm, but even a Body Tempering Heaven-grade Law was an amazing a.s.set.

"Your meridians and channels were naturally thin, and some even damaged. It's no wonder you couldn't form a complete Spirit Sea before. However, they have started to improve since you ate the b.l.o.o.d.y Stew," Ming Ren told him truthfully.

"... Is that… true? Will I be able to break through?" Lin Dong asked full of hope.

"Yes. And not only that, as your body is attuned to the Wood Element!"

Now Lin Dong was startled. Being attuned with the Wood Element meant he was no longer a common cultivator and entered the realm of the blessed ones! But why didn't he feel it before?

Ming Ren knew what he was thinking about, "Since you were unable to form a Spirit Sea, of course you were also unable to reach the half-step required to feel your inner element. It's nothing surprising."

The Elder clenched his fists. He truly wanted to believe this young man's words.

Seeing that all the problems in his body were easily solved by properly tempering and cleansing impurities before breaking through, Ming Ren moved to the next step, "Teach me your Cultivation Law."

Even the lowest Law needed to be consolidated by the Rule of Heaven, therefore even if Ming Ren understood them completely he was unable to form the True Law.

The Elder recited the Law's formula, and Ming Ren nodded. He started to cultivate the law and circulated it inside his body. [One With the Wood] was a low-grade human realm cultivation law, full of flaws. Low-grade Qi Gathering Speed, low-grade Qi Might, low-grade Body Strengthening, low-grade Qi Distribution.

Truly a Law from a sixth-ranked influence!

However, like the One Breath Luminescence art, it also had a smaller innate connection to the True Element of Wood. The connection was feeble and almost non-existent but was still there nonetheless.

Ming Ren once again breathed through the technique, correcting the mistakes and improving wherever he could.

Qi Gathering, Perfection Stage!

He improved the technique to match Elder Lin Dong's const.i.tution, High-Grade Qi Distribution in general, Perfect Grade for the Elder!

He took notice of the best path inside the Elder's body and chose the best way through the channels, High-Grade Qi Might, Perfect Grade for the Elder!

He chose almost the same path as with his own cultivation art for the tempering, but purposely lowered its effect and the amount of energy needed so a common cultivator would not need as much as him to progress, High-Grade Body Strengthening!

He circulated the technique once more, happy with the results. This [One With The Wood] was now Heaven Tier Human Law, almost reaching peak Heaven tier for Lin Dong.

"Good!" Ming Ren smiled. Elder Lin Dong was flabbergasted. This youth learned the law as if it was nothing and circulated it at tremendous speed. He seemed to be focused on… changing the law? Was he going crazy? Could there be a cultivator that could change Cultivation Laws like this?

Were laws always this simple?

Ming Ren didn't need to recite the Law back. He merely extended his Spirit Sense until it touched the Elder's forehead and pa.s.sed the Law to him. The Elder seemed in a daze, but as soon as the law popped in his mind he sat to cultivate.

He even forgot to question how Ming Ren pa.s.sed the Law to him in the first place, since he wasn't able to understand his Spirit Sense.

Ming Ren only took less than fifteen minutes to improve the Law, but the Elder took an hour to completely understand all the changes and properly circulate it inside his body. It was nothing like before, frightening speed!

"This...this...this… Heaven Grade Cultivation Law!!! No, wait, higher than Heaven Grade…? HEAVENS!" The Elder almost died from shock. He stared at Ming Ren with wide open eyes. Who was this youth?!

In the next, second…

...Putong!

The Elder kowtowed on the ground in front of Ming Ren!

Ming Ren: "O__________O Elder, please get up!"

The Elder was grateful from the bottom of his heart, "Thank you, benefactor! As long as I live I will never let the Forest Clan forget your kindness! If Benefactor needs me to go east, I will never go west! I thank you for this chance!"

"Huh? Oh, Elder, please calm down. That wasn't the chance I was talking about. It was only a gift to you, Elder," Ming Ren said casually.

The Elder's heart almost gave out. Only a gift? Not the chance? There's… more?

"You must remember to properly temper your body with this Cultivation Law before breaking through. Now, teach me… the Secret Arts of the Forest Clan!" Ming Ren said like it was nothing.

The Elder legs almost gave out and he wobbled vigorously. This time… Secret Arts? Is he going to…?

He blinked several times in a row to check if he was dreaming but then right away showed the Arts of the Forest Clan. They weren't anything special, but he made sure to show Fist, Palm, Sword, Spear, Leg, and Movement Techniques. As Ming Ren expected, they were fairly common at low-grade human tier and carried no innate element.

No matter what he tried Ming Ren was proficient at it. The Elder stood there dumbfounded as he saw Ming Ren practice each Art for a few minutes, completely mastering and improving them all. Compared to the time it took to create his own style, improving these arts that carried no innate element was even easier.

"Good!" Ming Ren finished, and once again used his Spirit Sense to transfer the techniques back to Elder Lin Dong. The Elder had tears of happiness flowing down his middle-aged face.

Although it was only a Body Tempering Real Cultivation Law, it was heaven-grade, and would even surpa.s.s common Spirit SeBased Laws. Those arts of his clan weren't anything special before, but now… they were all high-grade Human Tier arts. Even those top-ranked influences would be interested in them.

Earth Tier or Heaven Tier arts belonged both to the Spirit Sea and Spirit Gate Realm, respectively, and as such were extremely rare. Only the royal family had access to high-grade Earth Tier arts, and the top-ranked influences would do with low grade or middle grade.

But only very few of them would have Heaven-grade Human Tier arts, and his Forest Clan now had several of those. This kind of art would be able to reach power comparable to those low-grade Earth Tier arts and be extremely beneficial to their young cultivators.

This was the strength and foundation of an entire clan. With this, it would be a matter of time before the Forest Clan could rise to be of the best in the entire province, even without higher-tiered laws.

Elder Lin Dong thanked Min Ren non-stop. He would grovel at the ground if Ming Ren let him do it.

"Elder, this matter, cannot treat lightly. You should be aware of the kind of trouble those arts might bring. Before the Forest Clan is able to reach enough power to protect itself you must teach those only to the most talented of the clan, and never breath word of it outside. It would be ideal if only you, the Patriarch, and a few trusted elders know about it!" Ming Ren calmly said.

The Elder nodded, "I was too happy there for a while, almost forgot the obvious. I will be extremely careful about this! I, Lin Dong, will forever be your loyal dog in grat.i.tude for the Forest Clan! I can't speak for the clan itself, but I can bet the Patriarch will be willing to follow Young Lord Ming Ren in the future!"

Ming Ren smiled, "I don't need a servant! What I need is a sharp sword! One that will keep our mutual enemies at bay and slash at their throats when they least expect!"

Elder Lin Dong clasped his hands, "That I can promise! We will never forget that humiliation! Even if it takes thousands of years we will strike back!"

Ming Ren shook his head, "Even ten years is too much!"

He thought about it for a few breaths, and once again his Spirit Sense flowed into the Elder's mind, transferring several Pill Recipes.

Ming Ren never thought about fighting alone.

With his current abilities, rising a clan status was only a matter of time and strategy. He would aim this "sword" at the thing they liked the most...

...The Silver Clan and Sunflower Pavilion base industries!