Watching the Mountain

Chapter 29: Chapter 24: Senior Brother Ye Shan, What Did You Just Call Me?

Xu Ran smiled at Zhang Zhentian. ”If you’re so nervous, then why did you agree to take Elder Qing Xuan’s place?”

Zhang Zhentian waved it off, his tone turning serious.

”Senior Brother, you saw that I’ve already reached Foundation Establishment. It’s something I’ll have to go through sooner or later.”

He then looked Xu Ran straight in the eye and said very seriously:

”Don’t forget, Senior Brother. I’m determined to surpass Senior Sister Yue and Senior Brother Ye Shan, to become the number one disciple of this generation in the Profound Pure Sect, and then take charge of our Sect.”

His expression was firm. ”This has always been my goal. It has never changed.”

Xu Ran looked at his earnest expression, and after a moment of silence, asked:

”Senior Brother Ye Shan... is he still your goal now?”

Zhang Zhentian nodded affirmatively. ”Of course. Even if he’s fallen now, the heights he once reached are still beyond my grasp. Until I achieve more than he ever did, he will always be my goal.”

At this, he paused for a moment, then added, ”Actually, I came back this time for Senior Brother Ye Shan. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have returned at all.”

”Hm?” Xu Ran grunted in surprise, then asked with some curiosity, ”What do you plan to do?”

Zhang Zhentian shook his head, his expression complex as he replied, ”I don’t know either. But I feel that Senior Brother Ye Shan can’t go on like this. The situation in the Cultivation Realm isn’t peaceful right now.”

”News from the Demon Race says that the Evil and Demon Domains have been quiet lately. Perhaps in a few years, they will launch a major invasion. When that time comes, most of the people in our Sect might have to head to the battlefield.”

”Senior Brother Ye Shan is the most talented combatant in our Sect. If he were there, our situation on the battlefield would surely be much better.”

”Otherwise, given the Sect’s current situation, I’m afraid things will be difficult when the time comes.”

Zhang Zhentian’s voice was low, and he was clearly heavy-hearted, worried about the Sect’s future.

Xu Ran looked at him, and the memory of when he first saw this little brat surfaced in his mind. Seeing him now, so weighed down by his thoughts, Xu Ran’s expression grew a little dazed for a moment.

He quickly composed himself and asked, ”Is the intelligence from the Demon Race that grim?”

Xu Ran didn’t know much about the Evil and Demon Domains. He only knew they weren’t the kind of fiends he had imagined. They were also ordinary human Cultivators who had, for some unknown reason, suddenly appeared in the Immortal Ancient World. They had since occupied most of its territory, leaving the native Cultivators of Immortal Ancient with only the lands of the five races.

The Human Race and the Demon Race were allies. If war broke out for one side, the other had to provide full support.

The Immortal Ancient World had been peaceful for nearly a thousand years. If a war really did break out on the Demon Race’s side, the Human Race certainly couldn’t stand by and watch, and the Profound Pure Sect would naturally be unable to avoid it.

Just thinking about the Profound Pure Sect’s current situation, Xu Ran couldn’t help but shake his head. ’If it really comes to that, this could be disastrous for the Profound Pure Sect.’

Zhang Zhentian nodded. ”The situation is very bad. War could break out in a few years at the soonest, or a few decades at the latest.”

Seeing this, Xu Ran nodded slightly and then asked, ”And what if Senior Brother Ye Shan can’t get back on his feet?”

Hearing this, Zhang Zhentian fell silent for a moment before slowly raising his head, his expression incredibly serious as he said, ”Then I will take his place and become the Sect’s new faith.”

*

*

*

After speaking with Xu Ran, Zhang Zhentian went to find Ye Shan. No one knew what they discussed, but in any case, when Xu Ran saw him again the next day, his face was grim.

Meeting Xu Ran’s gaze, he clenched his fists and said, gritting his teeth:

”To think I once saw a person like that as my goal... it’s ridiculous. And what’s even more ridiculous is that because of him, Elder Qing Xuan punished me with a year at Avoiding Cliff. It pisses me off just thinking about it.”

Seeing his reaction, Xu Ran asked curiously, ”What did you two talk about?”

Zhang Zhentian fell silent for a moment at the question. Then he shook his head, unclenching his fist, and replied in a somewhat melancholy tone:

”It’s nothing. Forget it, it’s all in the past now. In any case, Senior Brother Ye Shan is a broken man. He can never again become the Sect’s faith and hope.”

After speaking, he took a deep breath, looked Xu Ran straight in the eye, and said with the utmost seriousness:

”Senior Brother, I will take Senior Brother Ye Shan’s place. I will become the Sect’s new faith!”

”I ask for your help, Senior Brother.”

Xu Ran was slightly taken aback, then asked, ”How can I help you? You know my Cultivation. Your strength surpassed mine long ago.”

Zhang Zhentian shook his head and stared at him silently. After a long moment, he finally said:

”I will seal my own Cultivation. Senior Brother, can you let me experience that Swordsmanship you used to defeat me back then?”

”Are you serious?”

Zhang Zhentian nodded with absolute certainty. ”I ask for your help, Senior Brother.”

Xu Ran was silent for a long time before nodding. ”Then follow me,” he said faintly.

*

*

*

It was the same wasteland where Xu Ran had once asked Ye Shan to let him feel what it was like to face death head-on.

Only this time, he was the one wielding the sword, and the one standing in his former position was Zhang Zhentian.

Half a day later, Zhang Zhentian awoke, his face deathly pale.

After waking, he stared at Xu Ran with a horrified gaze. ”Senior Brother, what is this sword technique called?”

”Silent Sparrow,” Xu Ran replied faintly.

”How did you comprehend it back then, Senior Brother?”

”The same way you are now. Later, a friend of mine... my little sister... was gravely injured and didn’t have long to live. After seeing her condition, I stayed here for a night, and I comprehended it.”

Zhang Zhentian stared at him in silence for a long time. Then, he gritted his teeth and shouted, ”Senior Brother, continue.”

”Are you sure? I only gave you a taste of it just now. I haven’t even used my full strength. If we do it again, you might never be able to stand up again.”

It was the same question Ye Shan had asked him back then. Now, he was asking it of Zhang Zhentian.

Hearing this, Zhang Zhentian replied with a fierce expression, ”Continue.”

Xu Ran had been able to get back up because he had experienced death once in his previous life and had a real memory of it. Zhang Zhentian, on the other hand, endured it based purely on his own willpower.

This time, it took him three days to regain consciousness.

But after waking and recovering for a moment, he asked Xu Ran to continue again.

Xu Ran could feel his determination. He was serious when he said he wanted to take Ye Shan’s place and become the Sect’s new faith.

So, he said no more. He continued. He swung his sword.

Three days. Two days. One day.

Back then, Ye Shan had trained Xu Ran for a full month. This time, Xu Ran also trained Zhang Zhentian for a month.

However, Zhang Zhentian didn’t complete his training. He had to leave because of a sudden development on the Demon Race’s front. The Sect urgently dispatched an initial group to provide support, with plans to organize and send a larger contingent later.

Zhang Zhentian volunteered to be in the first group heading to the battlefield.

Xu Ran silently offered him a blessing in his heart.

Then, the day after Zhang Zhentian left, Xu Ran saw Ye Shan.

Ye Shan looked even older now, a full head of white hair messily draped over his shoulders. In contrast, the sleeves of his True Disciple robes were immaculate and ornate. It was as if this was the only way for people to recognize him as a True Disciple—the once-invincible prodigy who had dazzled the Cultivation Realm.

Upon seeing Xu Ran, he hunched his body, timidly clasped his hands in a salute, and said, ”True Disciple Ye Shan greets Elder Xu.”

When Xu Ran heard this, his face darkened. ”Senior Brother Ye Shan, what did you just call me?”