Chapter 517 - 229: Smitten?
Upon entering the Scripture Pavilion, the first person Qin Fang saw was, of course, Master Zhou Xuanmo.
The moment Master Zhou saw Qin Fang, he began to scrutinize him, which left Qin Fang rather baffled.
After a long moment, Master Zhou asked tentatively, "Linyuan... do you know who I am?"
Qin Fang: "...?"
’Master, are you trying to be funny?!’
"Master... you’re joking with me, right?"
Qin Fang was speechless.
Hearing this, Master Zhou actually let out a huge sigh of relief and nodded slightly. "It seems you do have your wits about you, after all..."
Qin Fang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
’It’s obvious. Master Zhou is worried I’ll become another Senior Brother Yun...’
’I really want to tell him, Master, the dangers of the Spiritual Sense Leaf Skill aren’t just limited to memory loss...’
’But I’m afraid that’ll just cause more trouble.’
He could only cup his hands with a wry smile. "Thank you for your concern, Master. I am fine, and I remember your warnings well..."
Only then did Master Zhou nod slightly, stroking his beard. "Hm, good... So, what brings you to the Scripture Pavilion?"
"I’ve come to redeem the next Cultivation Technique."
Qin Fang didn’t hide his purpose.
And just as he’d expected, as soon as the words left his mouth, Master Zhou’s eyes flew open, and he nearly tore out his own beard in shock.
"The next... Cultivation Technique? You... you’ve reached Condensing Truth?"
Qin Fang nodded calmly.
’It’s not like I can hide it. I’ll have to go up to the fourth floor soon, and as the Scripture Pavilion Steward, he’d find out anyway.’
Zhou Xuanmo’s eyes were wide, and after a long moment, he murmured, "Truly monstrous Talent... How long has it been since you entered the Second Realm? All told, it hasn’t even been three years, has it?"
Normally, going from the Second Realm to the Third Realm takes six years at the bare minimum!
For someone with lesser Talent... this might be the peak of their life’s achievements.
After all... Breaking Through is no joke.
And yet, Qin Fang had gone from the Second Realm to the Third Realm in just three years...
Breaking Through in one go!
Such Talent... was simply unheard-of!
"Linyuan, tell me the truth... Did you use some special ability to hide your constitution? You’re actually a Dao Body, aren’t you?"
Master Zhou’s eyes gleamed as he asked via Transmission.
Qin Fang: "..."
"Master, I just have a Bone of Acupoints, how could I possibly have a Dao Bone? ...And never mind hiding it... even if I did, why would I? The Sect’s masters and elders care for me so deeply. What reason would I have to hide it?"
His words left Zhou Xuanmo stunned. After a long moment, he murmured, "Right, there would be no need... But your Cultivation speed is just... far too unnatural..."
Three years. From the Second Realm to the Third Realm.
In all his years, he had never seen anything like it!
Seeing that Master Zhou seemed to be getting a bit obsessed, Qin Fang quickly said, "Let’s not talk about this, Master. I’m going to go redeem my Cultivation Technique now..."
With that, he bolted up the stairs.
Zhou Xuanmo snapped back to his senses, but he was still reeling from the shock.
"What an absolute monster..."
He murmured.
Fortunately, there weren’t many disciples nearby. Just then, however, a disciple happened to walk into the Scripture Pavilion and overheard Zhou Xuanmo’s muttering. He paused, stunned for a second, before asking curiously, "Master, what monster are you talking about?"
He was clearly familiar with Master Zhou.
Master Zhou snapped out of it. After a moment of dazed silence, he said irritably, "You’ve got a nose for everything, don’t you? Why all the questions? Shoo, shoo, get out of here!"
With that, he turned and went back to his seat.
The disciple was left completely bewildered by the tongue-lashing.
He could only scratch his head...
’...No idea what’s gotten into the Master this time...’
Qin Fang went straight up past the third floor and finally stepped onto the fourth.
As he was looking around curiously, a voice suddenly called out, "Junior Brother Qin?"
Startled, Qin Fang turned to see a large man sitting cross-legged on the floor.
His features were stern and unyielding.
Qin Fang froze for a second, then quickly bowed in salute. "Greetings, Senior Brother."
Who else could it be but Yue Shan?
Yue Shan was on the fourth floor, too.
He sized Qin Fang up for a moment before speaking. "You’ve reached Condensing Truth?"
Qin Fang bowed slightly. "Yes, I’ve had a breakthrough."
A glint flashed in Yue Shan’s eyes but vanished just as quickly. He gave a slight nod. "Not bad."
He paused, then added, "Truly excellent Talent."
"You flatter me, Senior Brother," Qin Fang said, a little embarrassed.
After watching Qin Fang for a moment, Yue Shan nodded slightly. "The fourth floor is different from the ones below. It holds all the Secret Manuals for the Condensing Truth, Divine Illumination, and Guizhen Realms... However, you can only redeem the ones for your corresponding Cultivation. The manuals for the Condensing Realm are on that shelf."
Yue Shan pointed to a nearby bookshelf.
Qin Fang paused, stunned. ’I can’t believe the fourth floor holds the Secret Manuals for three entire Realms.’
"Thank you, Senior Brother."
He glanced at the bookshelf and offered his thanks respectfully.
"Don’t mention it." After speaking, Yue Shan said no more and returned his gaze to the book in his hands.
Qin Fang hesitated for a moment, but ultimately couldn’t contain his curiosity. "Senior Brother, are you reading... a summary of a Cultivation Technique?"
Yue Shan looked up at Qin Fang and then nodded slightly. "I am."
He paused, then explained, "These summaries aren’t just for our Sect’s Secret Manuals; some of them introduce the Root and Leaf of other Sects. They don’t contain the specific cultivation methods, but they give a general overview of the characteristics and abilities of other Sects’ Root and Leaf Skills. Reading these will help you understand the specialties of various schools. If you face them as an enemy one day, you won’t be completely in the dark."
It was then that it dawned on Qin Fang.
He almost immediately recalled his first day in Lanyang City. He had merely mentioned the name of his Pile Method, and Senior Brother Yun had instantly identified it with the words, ’The Hai Ming Sect’s Root Skill’...
’...Looking back now, he most likely got that information from here.’
That made sense. The atmosphere within the Sect was excellent, but this World was hardly a peaceful place.
It was like how the Various Mansions and Sects were currently gathered together to deal with the Three Religions, looking for all the world like one big happy family.
But that was only because they had a common enemy in the Three Religions.
If that common bond didn’t exist... if they were to run into each other out in the World, things might not be so amicable.