Watching the Mountain

Chapter 44: Chapter 38: Evergreen Sword Saint

Shen Wuchen struggled for a long time after hearing Xu Ran’s explanation. Finally, with a look of relief, he said, ”Do I have any other choice?”

After thanking Xu Ran with a solemn expression, he asked with some confusion:

”Master Xu, if that’s the case, then in the future... who should I fight?”

Facing Shen Wuchen’s question, Xu Ran didn’t answer him directly. Instead, he said to him with profound meaning:

”That depends on your personal goals. If your cultivation is for the sake of attaining the Dao, freedom, and eternal life, then in the future, when you’re out and about and encounter an enemy of the same Realm, don’t hesitate for a second—just run. When you meet someone of a lower Realm, strike hard and crush them with your superior Realm.”

Hearing Xu Ran’s words, Shen Wuchen looked a little lost. He could understand running away from someone at the same Realm, but striking hard against those at a lower Realm?

’This... Isn’t this a bit... wrong?’

The Cultivation Realm has its own rules. Except for particularly intense conflicts, Cultivators are generally not supposed to attack other Cultivators of a lower Realm than themselves.

This was especially true for people from Major Sects like them. They couldn’t act as unscrupulously as Loose Cultivators, as their actions represented the reputation of their Sect.

If word got out that they were bullying the weak, wouldn’t they be ridiculed? How could they hold their heads high in front of their peers throughout the world?

The Cultivation Realm was a bustling place; when you traveled the world, you had to maintain some face.

Shen Wuchen looked at Xu Ran and asked hesitantly, ”But Master Xu, won’t people laugh at me for doing that?”

Xu Ran calmly retorted, ”Do you want face, or do you want to raise your Cultivation and survive?”

Hearing this, the hesitation on Shen Wuchen’s face vanished. He took a deep breath, raised his hands, and performed a deep bow to Xu Ran, saying solemnly:

”This disciple has understood. I beg Master Xu to teach me.”

Seeing this, Xu Ran nodded with a gratified expression. He extended his hands to help him up and said, ”Good. I hope you won’t regret this in the future.”

”Since this is my own choice, I will naturally have no regrets!”

*

*

*

When Xu Ran normally lectured the new disciples in the Instructor Hall, he always stuck to the rules, following the world’s established methods for teaching them.

The Instructor Hall was a place for laying a disciple’s foundation. It focused more on long-term development rather than how quickly their Cultivation could be raised to a certain Realm.

Because of this, Xu Ran didn’t dare to mess around, lest he lead the disciples astray.

Hindering another’s future went against his usual principle of not making enemies.

However, when it came to Shen Wuchen, he had no such concerns.

Ever since he obtained the Divine Technique, the Ten Thousand Woods Transformation Spell, from Xiao Que back then, a whole new world had opened up to him. He realized that cultivation could be done this way.

At that time, he had wanted to try and see what would happen if he taught someone to cultivate using a ”cramming” method.

Now, he finally had the chance.

The Elder who had been in charge of recruiting new disciples had said before that for Shen Wuchen, he only needed to comprehend a sliver of its mysteries to have a chance to continue cultivating.

His idea was to lay out the characteristics of Dao Rhyme and explain them directly, as if they were just combinations of words. Shen Wuchen would only need to memorize these characteristics without comprehending them too deeply, just enough to meet the standards for a breakthrough and allow him to continue cultivating.

However, this method definitely had its flaws. First, compared to others at the same Realm, his comprehension of Dao Rhyme would be too shallow. In battle, both the quality of his Spiritual Power and the might of his Magic Techniques would be far inferior.

Most importantly, with a Cultivation raised this way, the foundation would be too shallow. He couldn’t predict how far one could go with it.

Xu Ran explained all these drawbacks clearly to Shen Wuchen, telling him to consider it carefully and decide whether he really wanted to cultivate this way.

Shen Wuchen gave a wry smile and said to him, ”No matter what the future holds, it’s better than being stuck forever at the Qi Cultivation Third Layer like I am now.”

”The method you mentioned, Master Xu, may have its flaws, but at least it gives me hope. Of course I have to seize it.”

Seeing him express himself this way, Xu Ran had no more worries.

”First, do this, then this... Very good. Now stop, hold out your hand, and carefully feel my Spiritual Power. Do you feel it? The Dao Rhyme of water is like this—soft yet resilient. It seems weak, but it’s continuous and unending. When it strikes fiercely, it can stir up monstrous waves.”

”Which form it takes depends entirely on your mood. You don’t need to overthink it. Just remember this feeling, brand it deep into your mind. The next time you circulate your technique, just follow this feeling...”

”Yes, yes, yes, next is this, then this... Do you feel it? Do you understand?”

A few days later, Shen Wuchen’s eyes snapped open. He looked at Xu Ran, his face filled with pleasant surprise. ”Master Xu, I feel it! I understand!”

*

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*

The Profound Pure Sect was located in Changqing County, which possessed twenty-one prefectures. Among them were twenty-seven Sects with Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, and the Profound Pure Sect was ranked among the very top.

Even though it had experienced some mishaps in recent years and lost three main peaks, it was still one of the best.

Every ten years, the various Sects would arrange a grand competition for their new disciples. Firstly, it was to exchange insights on the Dao and maintain relations between the Sects.

Secondly, it was also a way to resolve certain disputes.

Whenever there were conflicts or resource disputes between Sects that they didn’t want to escalate into an all-out fight, they would use the outcome of matches between their younger generation disciples to resolve conflicts or decide on resource allocation.

This was a very common method in the Cultivation Realm. The young disciples were the future of a Sect, so it was quite reasonable to have the outcomes of their matches determine the allocation of some resources.

For the young disciples of the various Sects, this was also a grand event. For one, they could gain fame and stand out among their peers. For another, the rewards for the competition were also extremely generous.

In past competitions, the teams from each Sect were led by Golden Core Elders, and sometimes even a Nascent Soul True Monarch would personally lead a team.

For example, after the Profound Pure Sect’s Sect Leader took on a genius disciple like Yue Qingyu, he personally led the disciples to that year’s grand competition. It was said that afterward, he even got lost on his way back to the Sect, wandering in circles around the various Sects in Evergreen County before finally returning. It must have been a real ordeal for him.

The situation with this year’s competition was special. Due to the battlefronts in the Evil Domain and Demon Realm, the Sects were short-staffed. They could only have a Purple Mansion Stage Cultivator take the lead, with the rest of the teams led by Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators.

Not only that, but among them was one team leader who was only at the Qi Cultivation Stage, which left the disciples of the other Sects completely baffled.

Having Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators lead teams was one thing, but how could someone from the Qi Cultivation Stage show up? Weren’t they in the same Realm as us?

They understood that the current situation was special, but no matter how you looked at it, having a senior brother of the same Realm as them lead a team seemed far too dismissive, didn’t it? They were the future of their Sects, after all.

Faced with the disciples’ discussions, the Purple Mansion Stage Cultivators leading the various Sects would tell them that it was because the Profound Pure Sect’s team had a Steward at the Qi Cultivation Stage leading them. Out of respect, they had adopted a principle of equivalence and also had a person at the Qi Cultivation Stage lead one of their teams.

The Cultivation Realm wasn’t just about fighting and killing; one also had to consider etiquette and relationships. As the most powerful Sect in Evergreen County, the Profound Pure Sect still had to be shown some respect, even if it had declined somewhat.

Hearing this, the disciples from the various Sects instantly exploded into an uproar. Many began to chatter amongst themselves.

”The Profound Pure Sect, the most powerful Sect in our Changqing Village? I heard their situation hasn’t been great lately, but I never thought they’d let someone at the Qi Cultivation Stage take charge of the Instructor Hall. Have they really fallen that far?”

”No, no, maybe that person at the Qi Refining Stage has some special background. I never would have thought it! Even a Major Sect like the Profound Pure Sect has this kind of shady business going on inside. No wonder they’ve declined so much.”

Hearing these discussions, some of the team leaders ignored them, while others directly rebuked them:

”Silence! You only see that someone at the Qi Cultivation Stage is in charge of the Instructor Hall, but you don’t stop to think why someone at the Qi Cultivation Stage has the ability to be in charge of the Instructor Hall?”

”Putting everything else aside, it’s said that the Profound Pure Sect’s Steward, while at the same Realm, once defeated the ’Evergreen Sword Saint Zhang Zhentian.’ Just based on that alone, ask yourselves, could any of you do that?”

The Evergreen Sword Saint, Zhang Zhentian.

Hearing this name, the disciples on the scene immediately fell silent.