Enlightenment: Attaining the Dao at Age 8

Chapter 80: Chapter 73: Utterly Outrageous

Seeing the group of white-haired old men staring at him, their gazes burning with curiosity, Li Chang’an felt a bit awkward. But he couldn’t very well refuse them, so he said casually, “I should be in the Grandmaster Realm at the moment, but I’m not exactly sure what level I’ve reached.”

In truth, he knew his exact realm.

After comprehending the Heaven and Earth Chaos Technique, he had entered a profound and mysterious state of Unity of Heaven and Man.

It was precisely this strange state that triggered the celestial anomaly. Countless streams of Azure Heaven Qi poured down like a tidal wave, allowing the already ’famished’ Li Chang’an to feast until he was completely full.

Li Chang’an had already reached the Grandmaster Realm five years ago. Now, after experiencing this celestial phenomenon, the Energy in his meridians had nearly filled him to the bursting point. His current realm was self-evident.

He was only concealing it now because his rate of improvement was simply too fast; he was afraid that saying it outright would be too much of a blow to the white-bearded old men present.

So he merely refrained from revealing his true realm: the late-stage Grandmaster Realm.

But even so, hearing the word “Grandmaster” still made the two Elders guarding the Inner Treasury and the Armory gasp in shock.

’Such a young Grandmaster…’

’What is wrong with this world? How could something so ridiculous happen for no reason?’

Although the two of them had heard rumors from the palace five years ago about Li Chang’an’s astonishing talent for the Martial Dao—that he was suspected of having stepped into the Grandmaster Realm at the age of three—they had always remained skeptical.

After all, in all their long lives, they had never even seen a three-year-old Non-stream Martial Artist, let alone a three-year-old Grandmaster. Naturally, they wouldn’t believe such wild, fabricated rumors from the outside world.

Furthermore, the Sixth Elder and the Grand Elder had been extremely tight-lipped about the matter and never brought it up, which led the two of them to dismiss it completely.

Now, seeing it with their own eyes, one could only imagine their shock.

Seeing that Li Chang’an was being vague about his specific realm, the Sixth Elder and the Grand Elder, who knew Li Chang’an’s background relatively well, were clearly a bit skeptical.

After all, Li Chang’an had likely broken through to the Grandmaster Realm five years ago. To have caused such a massive commotion today and claim he’d made no progress? ’Who would believe that!’

However, the two of them shared a tacit understanding and didn’t expose his little white lie.

An eight-year-old Grandmaster was already terrifying enough to talk about. Probing any deeper wouldn’t do anyone any good!

…

The old man saw the four of them surrounding Li Chang’an, all staring at each other blankly. He cleared his throat and took the initiative to ask, “That matter… did you really succeed?”

He was asking about what Li Chang’an had mentioned before—about organizing all the Cultivation Techniques in the Library Pavilion, taking their strengths to offset their weaknesses, and fusing them into one.

For him, who had guarded the Library Pavilion for most of his life, the answer to this question was extremely important.

Li Chang’an didn’t hide much, simply nodding. “Of course, I succeeded. However, there are still some issues that aren’t completely resolved. I might need more Cultivation Techniques to act as ’fuel’ in the future!”

Although he had already mentally prepared himself, upon hearing Li Chang’an’s affirmative answer, the old man’s jaw still dropped involuntarily. The shock he felt was even greater than when he first heard that Li Chang’an had broken through to the Grandmaster realm at age three!

—After all, his original reason for guarding the Library Pavilion, besides wanting to make some contribution to the Dayan Imperial Family before he died, was the sole hope of advancing further on the path of the Martial Dao.

Even a single, insignificant step would have been enough.

Unfortunately, his talent was limited and his potential exhausted. If he couldn’t find some fortuitous opportunity, he feared he would never be able to realize this wish in his lifetime.

That was why he had come to the Library Pavilion.

He had made many bold attempts in the Library Pavilion, including the idea of fusing several Cultivation Techniques to enhance their strengths, compensate for their weaknesses, and achieve a comprehensive mastery.

But no matter how he tried, he never succeeded. On the rare occasion he achieved anything, the resulting fused technique was even worse than the originals.

And this result was from merely trying to fuse a few Cultivation Techniques with similar Attributes.

If what Li Chang’an said was true, he had taken the thousands of Cultivation Techniques and Secret Manuals from the entire Library Pavilion and fused them all at once, creating a Martial Arts Technique that was uniquely his own…

And he had actually succeeded.

Without a doubt, the blow to the old man was absolute, shaking him to his core.

Something he had poured his heart and soul into for decades without success was, for Li Chang’an, apparently as simple as eating and sleeping.

After receiving this confirmation, the old man’s expression became somewhat dazed.

After a long while, a weary look appeared on his face. “You’ve emptied the five floors below in the Library Pavilion,” he said. “If you still need more ’fuel,’ I’m afraid only the sixth floor might be of some help to you…”

At this, his voice paused. He glanced at the other Elders and said, “It’s a good thing we’re all here to bear witness. Have the Primordial Ancestor take you to the sixth floor to have a look!”

Li Chang’an sensed that something inside the old man had collapsed. He gave a wry smile and said, “Six Patriarchs, if you wish to advance further on the path of the Martial Dao, it’s not entirely impossible. Give me some time to think it over, and I will let you know then!”

’I don’t like crushing people’s spirits, especially not one of our own,’ he thought. ’But sometimes, I just can’t help it. There’s nowhere to hide this damned talent of mine.’

The old man assumed he was just offering empty words of comfort and didn’t take it to heart. He waved a hand, looking disheartened. “Sigh, this old man already has one foot in the grave. I’ve long since learned to let go of many things. I’m not about to compete with you youngsters. Don’t mind me. Hurry up and go!”

Seeing this, Li Chang’an could only nod. “In that case, I’ll have to trouble the Primordial Ancestor to take me to the sixth floor for a look!”

…

The sixth floor of the Library Pavilion was the very top level, and the items stored there were clearly far more important than those on the five floors below.

So much so that even Li Chang’an, holding the key, couldn’t open the main door directly. It required the Grand Elder to activate an Array from the outside to grant entry.

As the ancient metal door slowly swung open, a faint cloud of dust wafted out to meet them.

Li Chang’an was the first to step inside. He gave the room a quick glance and discovered that the sixth floor was smaller than he had imagined, only a few hundred square feet in size—the kind of space you could take in with a single look.

The first thing that caught his eye was an exquisitely crafted puppet. Its surface was covered in a dense network of fine lines, beside which were marked even smaller characters.

Li Chang’an moved closer for a look and found that the characters marked on the puppet seemed to be the human body’s acupoints, while the fine lines represented the meridians.

From behind him, the Primordial Ancestor’s placid voice drifted over. He looked at the model puppet and said, “Weren’t you the one who wanted to learn how to make Puppets?”

“This is the method of Puppet creation left behind by the third Grandmaster of our Dayan Dynasty. In the art of Puppetry, he was a foundational figure in the Jianghu, one who established his own school. You may observe it here for thirty days. After thirty days, you must leave, whether you have learned it or not. This item will not be made available to you a second time!”

Li Chang’an stared at the puppet model for a long moment, seemingly a bit dazed. After a brief silence, he said, “There’s no need. I’ve already learned it.”

The Primordial Ancestor: “…?”

Despite his usually unruffled composure, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of exasperation.

He knew this puppet was not just a model. If one touched it lightly, they could sense the faint spiritual imprint left behind by the third Grandmaster.

Someone with a talent for manipulating Puppets could quickly learn the entire method of their creation and use by relying on the annotations of the meridians and acupoints, along with that wisp of a spiritual imprint left by the third Grandmaster.

The reason for the time limit was that the spiritual imprint would grow dimmer with each use until it eventually vanished completely.

He himself had painstakingly studied and mastered the Puppet Manipulation Skill through this very method.

It had only taken him twenty days.

’But now, Li Chang’an hadn’t even used the aid of the spiritual imprint. He just looked at it for a few moments and learned it?’

’Simply outrageous!’

The gray-robed old man opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

But the words on the tip of his tongue turned into a sigh. Whether Li Chang’an had actually learned it or not, since the boy himself said he didn’t need it, there was no reason to force the issue.

So, the two averted their gazes and looked toward the second item in the room.

It was a cyan-gray longsword that seemed to be made of something between gold and jade. It was a little under four feet long, its surface carved with patterns of flowers, birds, fish, and insects. It looked quite ancient, possessing an understated aura.

The gray-robed old man gazed at the longsword, a complicated look in his eyes. He slowly began to explain, “This is called the Cyan Gold Treasure Sword. It was the weapon used by the Grand Ancestor of Dayan. Legend says it was left behind by an Immortal Master who had attained the level of a Land Immortal.”

“The Immortal Master’s movements were ethereal, and he long ago ceased to concern himself with mortal affairs. This longsword is the legacy he left in this world.”

“Because of this sword, the Dayan Imperial Palace has been coveted by countless villains over the past thousand years. In my memory alone, I have killed at least several dozen Innate Masters who came for it…”

As he said this, he seemed to sigh with emotion. His tone paused, and his expression seemed to travel back hundreds of years to a past that was not so distant for him.

Back then, he was still young, and his heart for the Martial Dao had not yet been tarnished as it was today.

After a long moment, he leisurely continued, “This sword made the Grand Ancestor, and it made our Dayan Dynasty. It’s a pity that ever since the Grand Ancestor fell, no one has been able to lift this sword. As a result, whether it truly contains the legacy of a Land Immortal remains a debated, thousand-year-old mystery…”

At this point, his expression finally turned serious. “You can try to lift the Cyan Gold Treasure Sword. If you cannot, it means you have no affinity with it…”

He didn’t even have a chance to finish his sentence.

Li Chang’an reached out, picked up the cyan-gold longsword from the table, and examined it in his hand for a moment before saying, “This is actually quite interesting. Let me feel it out and see if the legacy of a Land Immortal is really in here!”

Saying this, he didn’t stand on ceremony, immediately sitting down cross-legged on the spot. He slowly sent his consciousness probing into the treasure sword.

The gray-robed old man: “…”

His voice stopped abruptly. His weathered, indifferent eyes had, at some point, flown wide open, his ancient face filled with utter disbelief.

’The Cyan Gold Treasure Sword—passed down from the Grand Ancestor and untouched by any descendant for nearly a thousand years—was just picked up by Li Chang’an so easily?’

…