Ni Tian wiped the sweat streaming down his forehead, having just finished picking all the tomatoes in the vast field.
He stood upright, his face tired, clothes stained with mud, but he felt a strange sense of inner satisfaction.
He looked toward Uncle Han and asked:
"Alright... I finished picking. Now what?"
Uncle Han calmly rose from his wooden chair and pointed toward the center of the field.
"Good. Now, go stand there."
Ni Tian moved with slow steps, weighed down by exhaustion and heat, until he stood where the old man had pointed.
"And what do you want me to do?"
Uncle Han looked at him with a calm gaze and said:
"Close your eyes, and repeat the saying of the Great Hermit:
The Dao cannot be seen, cannot be heard, yet it splits mountains without an axe..."
Ni Tian replied quietly:
"That's the Blind Hermit, the Sage of the Eastern Forest..."
Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a light smack on his head. His eyes shot open in alarm…
A red liquid began to drip down his face.
He reached up to feel it… Tomato?!
He looked up in surprise, only to see Uncle Han chuckling softly as he said:
"What's wrong? Never seen a tomato before?"
Veins popped on Ni Tian's forehead as he shouted:
"Hey! What the hell is wrong with you, old man?! Are you insane?!"
Hao Ran stepped in, laughing:
"Don't be mad, my friend… this is your first training."
Uncle Han stepped forward calmly and said:
"This is the beginner's lesson. If you wish to master the Art of the First Pillar, you must start from the root."
He then looked at Hao Ran:
"Hao Ran, show him your example… throw it at me."
Hao Ran smiled, picked up a large tomato, and hurled it with all his strength toward Uncle Han.
The old man closed his eyes, then assumed a familiar combat stance—the same one Ni Tian had seen him take the first time they met.
But this time… something different happened.
Ni Tian felt energy gathering around the teacher's body. Fine threads of Qi began to appear on his arms, extending to his palms.
Then suddenly…
As the tomato touched Uncle Han's hand, it split in half calmly… without him even moving. No impact, no strike… just stillness, and a perfect cut.
Ni Tian stared, stunned, unable to believe what he had just witnessed.
The teacher smiled and said:
"What you just saw… is the first face of the Art of the First Pillar: Western Water Dragon."
He stepped closer, his voice quieter and deeper:
"To master this technique, you must become like the surface of water… still, centered, pure within.
Only when your mind is free of impurities will you be able to receive power without breaking… and return it without moving."
Ni Tian stared at him, confused:
"And what does a tomato… have to do with all this?!"
Uncle Han laughed:
"Farming, boy… is the root of all art.
And one who cannot master calm in the fields… shall never grasp the dragon's throat in battle."