Watching the Mountain

Chapter 325: Chapter 189: Hidden Mountain Spell

Hearing this, Xu Ran glanced at him in surprise.

”Train every single one of them to be successful? Is that even possible? What were their results on the sect entrance assessment?”

Hearing this, Elder Xu fell silent for a moment before sighing. ”Their natural talent and aptitude are merely average. There’s nothing particularly outstanding about them. They don’t even meet the Sect’s old baseline.”

”This...?” Xu Ran murmured in disbelief, also falling silent. ’They don’t even meet the baseline? Not only are their numbers down, but their quality is worse than before. The impact this will have on the Sect is immense.’

Elder Xu glanced at his reaction and said,

”So what if they’re a little lacking? Regardless, I will now pour all my effort into finding a way to train them. Natural talent and aptitude aren’t everything.”

He paused for a moment, then tilted his head back slightly, his eyes shimmering with reminiscence as he said wistfully,

”Let me tell you, back in my Instructor Hall, there was a student whose talent and aptitude were merely average—passable at best—but she was incredibly dim-witted. The kind of dense where you could tell just by looking into her clear eyes that there wasn’t a single thought in her head.”

”But a student like that... she was incredibly serious and hardworking. When I first started teaching her, I thought to myself, ’She’s a lost cause.’ But by the time she left the Sect, her Cultivation was already far higher than many of her peers.”

”If someone dim-witted can grow through sheer effort, then naturally, so can those with less talent.”

”As long as they work hard enough, and I, their teacher, instruct them with care, we’ll be able to train them.”

When he finished speaking, Xu Ran was silent for a moment before slowly asking, ”Elder Xu, is the student you’re speaking of named Jiang Ling’Er?”

Elder Xu glanced at him in surprise. ”Hidden Mountain Elder, how do you know that name? Is she a relative of yours?”

Xu Ran smiled faintly. ”She is my disciple.”

”What?” Elder Xu exclaimed.

Seeing his reaction, Xu Ran said with a smile, ”That girl, Ling’Er, often spoke to me about you, Elder Xu. She said you were a diligent and responsible teacher who treated her especially well...”

Before he could finish, Elder Xu cut him off with a wave of his hand. ”Hidden Mountain Elder, there’s no need for that. Knowing that girl, it’s more likely she said I was very strict.”

Seeing his wistful expression, Xu Ran chuckled. ”She did say you were strict, but she also often said you were a good teacher. She said you would praise her. The only reason she worked so hard was to earn that praise from you.”

Hearing this, Elder Xu fell silent. After a long moment, he slowly lifted his head to look at Xu Ran and asked,

”That girl, Ling’Er... how is she now?”

Seeing his reaction, Xu Ran paused for a moment, then gave him a slight bow and said,

”If Ling’Er knew you still thought of her so fondly, Elder Xu, she would be very happy.”

At these words, an image of Jiang Ling’Er’s face, always fishing for compliments, surfaced in Elder Xu’s mind, and an involuntary smile spread across his stern features.

Just as he was lost in thought, he heard Xu Ran continue, ”Don’t worry, Elder Xu. Ling’Er is doing very well. Oh, and I haven’t told you yet—her Cultivation reached the Nascent Soul Stage a long time ago. She just isn’t staying in the Sect for certain reasons.”

”What?” Elder Xu exclaimed again. He stared at Xu Ran in utter disbelief. After a long moment, he took a deep breath to calm himself and said,

”Hidden Mountain Elder, you must be joking with me.”

Xu Ran shook his head. ”You worry too much, Elder Xu. The Sect Leader and Supreme Elder Zi Yun are both aware of this. And, ah yes, the Qing Xuan Peak Master knows as well. You can ask them for confirmation.”

Hearing this, Elder Xu stared at him intently. After a moment, he gave Xu Ran a quick bow and said, ”Hidden Mountain Elder, please wait a moment.”

With that, he quickly took out a Communication Jade Talisman to seek confirmation from Qing Xuan True Monarch.

Although he didn’t think Xu Ran had any reason to joke with him, the matter was simply too incredible. He wouldn’t dare believe it without confirming it himself.

”It’s... actually true?” A moment later, after receiving a reply from Qing Xuan True Monarch, Elder Xu murmured in a daze.

’That dense girl, Jiang Ling’Er, has actually become a Nascent Soul True Monarch?’

This was just too unbelievable. Even though the one confirming it was Qing Xuan True Monarch himself, he still found it hard to believe.

’Her Cultivation has already surpassed my own. More importantly, how long has it been since Jiang Ling’Er left the Sect? It’s only been a little over two hundred years.’

’That means she might have reached the Nascent Soul Stage at two hundred years old, or perhaps even younger.’

’That cultivation speed, while not quite on par with Wuchen True Monarch, is already comparable to the Evergreen Sword Saint.’

’The Evergreen Sword Saint also reached the Nascent Soul Stage in his early two-hundreds. Doesn’t that mean... I once taught a student on the same level as the Evergreen Sword Saint?’

At this thought, Elder Xu couldn’t help but take a deep breath, a sense of pride welling up inside him. But it only lasted a moment before he came to his senses and stared at Xu Ran with a fiery gaze.

He was self-aware enough to know that Jiang Ling’Er’s achievement of the Nascent Soul Stage had little to do with him. He knew his own limits.

He was over nine hundred years old and still couldn’t see the path to the Nascent Soul Stage. Jiang Ling’Er’s Cultivation had already surpassed his own—how could her success have anything to do with him?