Watching the Mountain

Chapter 41: Chapter 35: Enlightenment

It is said that humans are sentimental creatures, easily moved by their surroundings.

For Xu Ran, this was precisely the case.

As he sat on the platform in the Instructor Hall, gazing at the sea of youthful faces below, he felt a sense of dissociation. A montage of memories began to flicker through his mind.

The memories began with the excitement of his first day of school in his past life. They shifted to the liberating farewell of tossing books and exam papers into the air after his final exams, and the aimless uncertainty of college graduation. Then, the scene changed again, to the mix of apprehension and anticipation he felt upon joining the Profound Pure Sect decades ago. Finally, the images settled on the night he’d bid farewell to everyone as they left for the battlefield, just a few months prior.

In the blink of an eye, he was now sitting on the same platform where Qing Xuan Master once taught. It felt as if his life had spanned a great, long road, yet it also felt like only a moment had passed.

If he didn’t deliberately reminisce, it felt as though time was forever frozen in the present. But once he began to recall the past, his memories seemed like a bottomless pit—endless, with more and more surfacing the deeper he dug. He could never reach the end of them.

A complex, indescribable emotion began to flow through his heart, gradually spreading throughout his entire being.

The first to be affected by this emotion was Little Xiyue, who sat in the very front row, closest to him.

Little Xiyue didn’t know what was happening. As she looked at Xu Ran on the platform, her mind suddenly filled with thoughts of her mother, Ning Caique. Memories of their time together surfaced one after another, and she became deeply immersed, unable to pull herself away.

Then, one by one, the hundred or so disciples below also lowered their heads. Many even began to sniffle, as if on the verge of tears.

Noticing the commotion below, Xu Ran was slightly taken aback. As his thoughts pulled back from that emotional state, he immediately sensed that something was amiss.

Unwittingly, his Cultivation had suddenly advanced from the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer to the Eighth Layer. It happened silently, like water flowing into a lake, without causing the slightest ripple.

As this realization dawned on him, his mind reeled. ’This seems to be the first time since I began cultivating that I’ve achieved Enlightenment Dao completely unconsciously.’

Moreover, the Mental Realm he had just entered was different from the Will of Death he had comprehended while training under Ye Shan’s sword.

He had grasped the Will of Death through sheer unwillingness to yield and his own willpower. By experiencing the sensation of death time and again, he slowly grew familiar with the lingering feelings and emotions it left behind. This sentiment finally crystallized and was forced out when he witnessed the sudden tragedy that befell Xiaoque’Er.

In a way, his grasp of the Will of Death was like his cultivation—achieved through brute force, not talent.

But the Mental Realm he had just experienced was different. It had been triggered naturally, welling up from the depths of his soul. There had been no warning signs whatsoever; it was a true, spontaneous enlightenment, which was why his Cultivation had advanced so naturally along with it.

This was true Enlightenment Dao.

However, when he tried to recall that Mental Realm, it was like trying to grasp a flower in a mirror or the moon’s reflection in water—the feeling was completely beyond his reach.

He wasn’t too concerned about it, though. ’If it happened once, it can happen again.’ He believed that with this experience of Enlightenment Dao under his belt, he would surely be able to enter that state again in the future.

As Xu Ran’s mind cleared, the disciples in the Instructor Hall also broke free from that emotional state.

Little Xiyue was fine. She simply thought she had been moved by the sight of her master, Xu Ran, sitting on the teaching platform, which in turn had made her think of her mother.

The other disciples, however, looked bewildered. A question involuntarily surfaced in many of their minds:

’What was that all about? I’ve only been away from home for a few days. Why am I suddenly so homesick?’

On the platform, Xu Ran simply smiled at their reactions, with no intention of showing off by claiming it was his doing.

After a brief self-introduction, he slowly began to speak:

”Today, I will be giving you your first lesson on cultivation.”

The Sect had strict regulations about the content of the first lesson for new disciples, a tradition passed down since ancient times.

Although the Profound Pure Sect was not considered a top-tier Sect in the present day, it possessed a long and storied history—so long, in fact, that many of its records had been lost to the river of time.

It was said that at its peak, the Profound Pure Sect had several Divinity Transformation Stage cultivators. At its lowest point, its strongest members were but a few Purple Mansion Stage cultivators. It had seen many ups and downs, but it had never completely vanished.

To have endured through so many fluctuations and still exist was, in a sense, a testament to the Profound Pure Sect’s resilience and strength.

The Profound Pure Sect’s first lesson on cultivation was one shared by all ancient sects in the Cultivation Realm; the content was always the same.

Even today, many Sects still adhered to the tradition of teaching this first lesson.

Xu Ran swept his gaze across the disciples, then raised his hand. Channeling his Spiritual Power, he wrote a single word in the air—”Immortal”—and slowly began to speak:

”It is said that we seek the path of the Immortals. But does anyone know what an Immortal truly is?”

He didn’t wait for the disciples to answer, continuing on his own.

”In the beginning, when our ancestors lived in primitive tribes, eating raw meat and drinking blood, the definition of an Immortal was a being with the power to move mountains and fill seas.”

”This is because, in that era, mountains and seas were the greatest obstacles to the survival of the Human Race. Our ancestors desperately wished to move the mountains that blocked their path and fill the seas that barred their way, all to create a better environment in which to live.”

”Therefore, I want you all to remember this: The concept of an Immortal was born from the desire to protect. It originated from our ancestors’ hope and desire to provide a better life for their people.”

”Once you embark on the path of cultivation, you must remember this original purpose and carry on this spirit of protection. You must not, after gaining power, turn around and look down upon mortals as if they were ants...”

After speaking, Xu Ran couldn’t help but sigh to himself. ’The Cultivation Realm has changed so much over the long eons.’

’Yet, there are still Sects like the Profound Pure Sect. No matter how many dark sides they have, or how domineeringly they act within the Cultivation Realm, they at least hold true to their original purpose when dealing with mortals, protecting the peace of their domain.’

He knew this from personal experience. From his encounter with Yue Qingyu over a century ago to the towns he later visited, everything under the Profound Pure Sect’s governance was orderly and well-managed.

’Perhaps this is the true meaning behind their insistence on passing down this first lesson of cultivation.’

*

*

*

”Senior Sister Ning, we heard you’re Steward Xu’s disciple. Can you tell us what kind of person he is?”

”Yeah, I heard that Stewards in the Sect are supposed to be at the Foundation Establishment Stage at least. How did Steward Xu become a Steward while still in the Qi Cultivation Stage?”

In a corner of Spirit Stream Peak, a few newly-admitted disciples gathered around Little Xiyue, asking her in hushed tones.

After Xu Ran took charge of the Instructor Hall, it was no longer appropriate for him to keep the title of an ordinary Outer Disciple. To make his work easier, he had the Sect appoint him as a Steward.

Little Xiyue knew that Xu Ran’s current Cultivation Realm would cause many disciples to look down on him, undermining his authority. To prevent that from happening, her eyes darted about as an idea came to her.

She beckoned the others closer and said mysteriously, ”I’ll tell you, but you absolutely cannot tell anyone else. It’s my master’s secret, and he told me never to speak of it.”

As she spoke, she held out a chubby little finger and pointed toward the sky. In a hushed voice, she said, ”My master... he has connections in high places.”

”Even many of the Elders don’t dare to offend him. A while back, a few Elders said some bad things about my master, and Senior Sister Yue, the Sect Leader’s disciple, took them away. They were never seen again.”

She knew that a good lie needed to be a mix of truth and fabrication; making things up entirely wouldn’t work. So, she combined things she had heard from Xu Ran and embellished them.

The disciples’ faces went pale with shock, their mouths agape. ”Really? Even Sect Elders were taken away?”

Little Xiyue was very pleased with their reaction. She nodded and continued her intimidation, ”So you understand now, don’t you? You know how you should act when you see my master in the future. Otherwise, if you offend him, the consequences...”

She left the rest unsaid. Hearing her words, the disciples looked terrified and nodded vigorously, like chicks pecking at rice.

Seeing this, Little Xiyue was secretly pleased. ’Now these disciples won’t dare to look down on Master, will they?’

*

*

*

Xu Ran returned from his meeting with the Spirit Stream Peak Master feeling quite dejected. He was already beginning to regret taking over the Instructor Hall.

Just now, the Peak Master of Spirit Stream Peak had told him to prepare to lead a team to the grand competition for young disciples from all the major sects in a few years.

The matter concerned the Sect’s reputation, so he was urged to prepare thoroughly. At the same time, the Peak Master told him not to feel any pressure, saying that the Sect wouldn’t blame him even if he failed to achieve good results.

Xu Ran grumbled internally at this. ’If that’s really the case, why even say the first part?’

He felt dispirited. He knew about the grand competition for new disciples; Qing Xuan Master had always led the team in the past, and the Profound Pure Sect’s results had consistently been good.

However, this current batch of disciples had been recruited in a hurry. Their talent was no match for the disciples recruited through the normal process. Under these circumstances, he had no confidence at all that he could lead them to a good result.

Furthermore, he felt insecure about leading the team as someone still in the Qi Cultivation Stage. After all, during every grand competition, the team leaders from the various sects were also likely to exchange pointers and discuss the Dao.

’Sending me to lead the team... wouldn’t that just be an embarrassment for the Sect?’

At this thought, Xu Ran sighed helplessly. He began to flip through the files of the new disciples, looking for any hidden talent he could nurture for a fighting chance.

Halfway through the files, his eyes were suddenly drawn to one disciple’s record.

Shen Wuchen, Male, 12 years old, Sect Entry Assessment Results:

Root Bone: A+

Comprehension: Rock-bottom

Seeing this disciple’s file, Xu Ran’s eyes widened, and he couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath.

’Max-level Root Bone and the absolute worst Comprehension?’

’What kind of bizarre combination is this?’

’Does such a strange person really exist in this world? Could the test have been wrong?’