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Chapter 37: Heartache
Chapter 37: Heartache
Over the years, Lin Yuan had been a solitary figure, but he got along well with Qingping, who often came by to chat and share the latest news and gossip from Dragon-Tiger Mountain.
In addition to Qingping, Daoist Changqing would also pay Lin Yuan visits from time to time. To Changqing, Lin Yuan was as good as his own offspring, and his attitude towards Lin Yuan would not change regardless of whether he became a Celestial Master or not. Changqing always felt a sense of guilt towards Lin Yuan. If he had arrived at Zhang's Fortress in time back then, perhaps the fortress would not have met such a tragic end, and Lin Yuan would not have had to grow up on Dragon-Tiger Mountain, living a life of austerity.
"A few days ago, the Head of the Manor sent the four of us down the mountain to gain some experience," Qingping mentioned casually.
The 'four' he referred to were naturally the four dao children who had obtained the Celestial Master's swords during the trip to the Sword Tomb, although they couldn't compare to Lin Yuan, who had been chosen by the True Martial Arts Sword. Nonetheless, they were now the hope of the Celestial Master's Manor.
The reason for sending them down one after another instead of together was to prevent extreme events from occurring, such as the simultaneous death of all four.
With Lin Yuan, the Celestial Master seed, having gone 'astray', if these four seeds of heavenly phenomena were to also perish, Dragon-Tiger Mountain would take at least fifty years to recover.
"Down the mountain?" Lin Yuan was slightly curious. In the eighteen years since his consciousness had arrived in this world, he had only been outside on the day he was born. The rest of the time had been spent on Dragon-Tiger Mountain.
"Peak Brother, you're a Celestial Master seed, so it's different for you. You can't go down the mountain," Qingping said, feeling a bit nervous. He wasn't an ignorant young disciple anymore. He understood the importance of a Celestial Master seed to the Celestial Master's Manor. Only disciples recognized by the True Martial Arts Sword could become Celestial Master seeds, and each seed always kept the True Martial Arts Sword with them. If Lin Yuan went down the mountain, it would mean that the True Martial Arts Sword would have to leave as well. Should any mishap occur, resulting in the loss of the sword, it would be an unprecedented blow to the Celestial Master's Manor. The current Head of the Manor would probably be so angry that he would vomit blood on the spot.
Lin Yuan's deviation as a Celestial Master seed was indeed serious, but it did not shake the foundation of the Celestial Master's Manor. At most, after Lin Yuan's death, the True Martial Arts Sword would return to the Sword Tomb, and there would still be hope for the Manor to birth another Celestial Master. However, if the True Martial Arts Sword were lost, then there would truly be no redemption.
Qingping could well imagine that if Lin Yuan sneaked out because of him, Head Manor Master Cang Qingzi would probably want to rip his heart out.
"I was just joking," Lin Yuan shook his head slightly. He wasn't really an eighteen-year-old youth. In terms of actual age, Lin Yuan was probably over fifty years old, taking into account all the time he had lived. Moreover, with his heaven-defying comprehension, he didn't need any so-called mountain training. Dragon-Tiger Mountain was the best place for him, with all the food and drink he needed, and it was also extremely safe. Why would he want to go down the mountain?
"That's good," Qingping heaved a sigh of relief.
"By the way, Peak Brother," he continued, "I've been feeling something strange during my cultivation lately."
Qingping chatted for a while before bringing up his cultivation again. Lin Yuan asked a few casual questions and soon understood the reason.
"You're wrong," Lin Yuan said slowly and incisively. "Your mindset is wrong. You're walking the path of the Sun's Extreme Yang. The Sun's Extreme Yang is the epitome of firmness and yang energy. More than half of the thirty-six Celestial Masters of our Celestial Master's Manor throughout the generations, including the strongest first Celestial Master, walked this path."
"What is the Sun's Extreme Yang? It is firmness, yang energy, and charging forward without hesitation. You've been hesitating and overthinking lately, and naturally, you'll feel something amiss when you try to cultivate the Sun's Extreme Yang," Lin Yuan explained.
This didn't mean that all who walked the path of the Sun's Extreme Yang were impetuous and reckless. Rather, it required a resolute mindset and decisive actions.
"So that's it," Qingping exclaimed, finally understanding. He had indeed been agitated about the idea of going down the mountain to gain experience, excited to see the outside world, but also worried about encountering dangers. Now, with Lin Yuan's reminder, his mindset suddenly became clear.
Hum.
Qingping felt the energy in his body flowing smoothly, and his limbs and bones were filled with a scorching heat.
"Third-grade," Qingping exclaimed, his eyes shining with excitement a moment later as he opened his eyes. With Lin Yuan's guidance, he had directly broken through from fourth-grade to third-grade.
In this world, the cultivation levels were divided into nine grades, with nine being the lowest and one being the highest. Third-grade was considered upper-third-grade, and even on Dragon-Tiger Mountain, it was considered the level of a strong cultivator.
"Thank you, Peak Brother, for your guidance," Qingping bowed deeply to Lin Yuan. He knew that without Lin Yuan's words, not only would he not have broken through to third-grade, but he might have even regressed in his cultivation if he had continued on the wrong path.
"Don't mention it," Lin Yuan waved his hand dismissively. With his current level of cultivation, guiding a cultivator who hadn't even reached the Heaven's Phenomenon realm was a simple matter.
True Martial Hall.
Head Manor Master, Cang Qingzi, rubbed his temples, a trace of fatigue flashing across his face.
With the Wanmo Sect constantly stirring up trouble outside, the most crucial issue was that the Celestial Master's Manor couldn't do anything to stop them and could only join forces with other righteous sects to suppress them.
Furthermore, the Sect Master of the Wanmo Sect had obtained the legacy of the Primordial Demon Sect, causing the demonic path's battle intent to soar.
This led to consecutive clashes between the righteous and demonic paths, each ending in crushing defeat for the righteous path.
The myriad pressures were truly suffocating for Cang Qingzi.
"It seems that the Sect Master of the Wanmo Sect is indeed a remnant of the Primordial Demon Sect. The previous generation's Celestial Master had discovered traces of the Primordial Demon Sect while traveling the world, but he couldn't find the source."
"Back then, it was thought to be a coincidence, but now it appears that the remnants of the Primordial Demon Sect already existed at that time."
"Over the years, the Wanmo Sect has been secretly supported by the remnants of the Primordial Demon Sect."
The plump Immortal standing beside him spoke up.
As the ancestral home of the Daoist sect, Dragon-Tiger Mountain, and with the Celestial Master's Manor as the foremost authority, their intelligence capabilities were naturally exceptional. It didn't take long for them to uncover the truth behind the Wanmo Sect.
"Talking about this now is already too late."
Cang Qingzi shook his head. The most important thing at the moment was finding a way to continue suppressing the Wanmo Sect.
Just then, a figure rushed in from outside.
It was Qingping.
"Master, I've reached the third grade!"
Qingping's voice was cheerful as he shared the good news.
As one of the four Dao children who were seeds of the Celestial Master's Manor, Qingping had always received direct guidance from Cang Qingzi himself.
Whenever they made progress in their cultivation, they were to inform Cang Qingzi immediately.
"Third grade?"
"So fast?"
Cang Qingzi's eyebrows furrowed slightly at this news.
It wasn't that he didn't want Qingping to break through; he was just worried that Qingping might have used some quick and easy method.
According to the cultivation speed of previous generations of disciples who had obtained the Celestial Master's sword, it would take at least fifteen to twenty years to enter the upper third grade.
Yet, Qingping had been cultivating for less than a decade in total.
His cultivation speed was clearly abnormal.
"His foundation is solid; I don't see any problems," said the plump Immortal as he stepped forward to examine Qingping closely before reaching his conclusion.
Hearing this, Cang Qingzi's furrowed brows finally relaxed.
"Qingping, how did you achieve such a cultivation speed?"
Cang Qingzi still couldn't help but be astonished.
"Master, it's because of Peak Brother's guidance that I was able to break through so quickly," Qingping said truthfully.
Before this, although Qingping often received guidance from Lin Yuan, his cultivation speed was only slightly faster than the other three Dao children.
It was still within the normal range.
Therefore, Cang Qingzi hadn't asked about it, thinking that Qingping's progress was due to his own hard work.
However, this time, advancing from the fourth grade to the third grade normally took five to eight years.
Qingping's effortless leap naturally caught Cang Qingzi's attention.
"Was it Peak who guided you?"
Cang Qingzi's tone held a hint of astonishment.
A few casual pointers had enabled Qingping to enter the third grade. Peak's strength should far surpass the third grade.
Even most Heaven's Phenomenon realm experts might not be able to achieve this.
"Yes, Peak Brother has been guiding me all these years. He's amazing. Every word he says is like a revelation, and my strength increases as a result."
Qingping's words were like thunderbolts to Cang Qingzi and the other Heaven's Phenomenon realm experts.
"Every word he says is like a revelation, and my strength increases."
These three sentences might seem insignificant, but to a powerful expert like Cang Qingzi, they signaled something amiss.
Only those with a profound understanding of the essence of cultivation and the nature of power could achieve such a feat.
And this insight was attributed to Lin Yuan, whom Cang Qingzi had completely given up on?
"I also feel that Peak Brother is very strong. Whenever I see him, it's like seeing you, Master."
Qingping gathered his courage to speak when he saw that Cang Qingzi remained silent.
As soon as these words left his mouth, the room fell silent once more.
On par with Cang Qingzi?
Cang Qingzi was a Heaven's Phenomenon realm expert! Could it be that Lin Yuan was also a Heaven's Phenomenon realm expert?
Reaching the Heaven's Phenomenon realm at under twenty years old—there had never been a Celestial Master in the previous generations who had achieved this.
"Could it be that Peak is an unprecedented genius?"
The plump Immortal's expression was shocked as he murmured to himself.
"Genius..."
Cang Qingzi fell silent, a bitter smile appearing on his face.
If what Qingping said was true, then Lin Yuan was indeed a genius.
A genius far beyond their imagination.
However, what good was being a genius? With his dual cultivation of the Supreme Yin and Supreme Yang, his limit was the Heaven's Phenomenon realm, and he would never be able to reach the heights of the previous Celestial Masters.
Because the Yin and Yang powers within his body would explode the moment he became a Celestial Master.
"To have such a profound understanding of the nature of power at such a young age, our Celestial Master's Manor..."
The plump Immortal trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.
At that moment, a heartbreaking thought emerged in his mind.
Such a genius...
Why did he have to stray from the right path?
(End of Chapter)
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