Watching the Mountain

[A disclaimer first: there will be no master-disciple romance.]

Zhang Zhentian was indeed growing stronger and stronger. Lately, Xu Ran could hear news about him every day in the Sect.

In the past, his greatest goal had been to replace Ye Shan and become the Sect’s new idol.

But no matter how hard he tried, in the hearts of the older generation of disciples who had lived through Ye Shan’s era, he was still just a promising junior. Their attitude toward him was more one of pleased approval.

Now, he had let go of his obsession. He no longer wanted to be Ye Shan; he only wanted to be the Evergreen Sword Saint.

However, many of the older disciples believed he would be the new Ye Shan, and might even surpass the original.

Most importantly, a reinvigorated Evergreen Sword Saint could make everyone forget Ye Shan.

Ever since Zhang Zhentian returned to pioneer the New Domain, many of the older disciples who had lived through Ye Shan’s era finally let go of their obsession with him, turning their attention to the Evergreen Sword Saint instead.

And so, the name Ye Shan gradually and completely faded from the Sect.

The older generation of disciples was unwilling to mention it, while the newer disciples were completely unfamiliar with the name.

Now, when Ye Shan walked within the Sect, he was like a stray dog on the side of the road. No one stopped for him.

He had also changed out of his magnificent and noble True Disciple robes, trading them for a simple gray robe and tying up his messy white hair.

To Xu Ran, Ye Shan was becoming something of an enigma. ’Judging by his condition, he should have recovered, yet he refuses to return to the Sect’s ranks. He just wanders around every day like an idle loafer. I have no idea what he’s busy with.’

A while ago, the time came for the first test of his bet with the Little Witch, Ye Qingxue.

Ye Shan had said he would give Ye Qingxue three chances. If by the third time, Ye Shu’s progress still hadn’t reached a level that satisfied him, Ye Qingxue would be considered to have failed completely.

Then came the first test of her results. Unsurprisingly, Ye Qingxue did not pass.

Ten years had passed, and Ye Shu had grown into a dashing young man. Ye Qingxue had deliberately dressed him to resemble the young Ye Shan, giving Xu Ran a sense of déjà vu, as if he were once again seeing that high-spirited, fearless prodigy of the past.

But it was clearly just an illusion. After ten years, Ye Shu’s Cultivation was merely at the Qi Cultivation First Layer. His training, much like the first impression he gave, felt sluggish.

During the test, Ye Qingxue seemed to be intentionally making him imitate the young Ye Shan’s mannerisms, but with his slow-paced nature, he couldn’t mimic them at all.

"Junior Sister, are you trying to raise a new version of me, or do you want him to be your disciple? I hope you’ll think this question over before you come looking for me again."

Ye Shan had spoken a particularly philosophical line to Ye Qingxue.

Even Xu Ran was a little surprised. The Ye Shan who had once declared "I fear nothing" under the scorching sun could actually say something so thought-provoking.

In Xu Ran’s memory, Ye Shan was powerful, but he was also flippant and bombastic, even crude at times. He rarely said anything so serious.

’Perhaps it’s because he was speaking to Ye Qingxue.’

For Ye Shan, this adopted daughter his master had doted on was always special.

After Ye Qingxue left, Xu Ran had a rare meal with Ye Shan at the Outer Sect Cafeteria. When they arrived together, no one’s gaze lingered on them. After just a fleeting glance, everyone looked away.

They were like two strangers who had come to eat in a place where everyone else knew each other. The others were all talking and laughing, leaving only the two of them excluded.

This put Xu Ran in a strange mood. ’It seems no one remembers Ye Shan anymore. Or maybe some do, but after all his years of silence, they’ve chosen to selectively ignore him.’

’It makes sense, though. Ye Shan has been quiet for nearly a hundred years. Even the hearts of those who once held out hope and expectations for him have grown cold. They wouldn’t know what to say if they saw him, so it’s better to just ignore him.’

When he parted ways with Ye Shan, Xu Ran’s heart felt heavy. Ye Shan’s fate had once again made him deeply understand the heartlessness of time.

After a mere century of silence, a once dazzling prodigy had become a complete stranger whom no one would spare a second glance.

’If a thousand, or even ten thousand years were to pass, perhaps even the closest of people would become strangers.’

He looked up at the half-moon hanging in the night sky. Its light was golden and beautiful, yet it seemed tinged with a lonely chill.

*

*

*

In stark contrast to the subdued Ye Shan, the atmosphere in the Sect had recently been incredibly fervent, like a raging fire that made the blood of everyone within boil with excitement.

Since the official establishment of the Flying Immortal Stream proposed by Xu Ran, the Sect had gained eleven new Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and dozens at the Core Formation Stage in just ten short years.

Eleven Nascent Soul cultivators. That was an increase of more than fifty percent over the Sect’s original number.

Even Xu Ran, the creator of the Flying Immortal Stream, was shocked.

However, he later figured it out. The reason for such a sudden surge was that the Sect already had many Core Formation Cultivators who were stuck, unable to cross the threshold to the Nascent Soul Stage.

Under the original cultivation system, it would have been considered a great success if even one of those eleven had managed to break through. In fact, it was more likely that none of them would have succeeded. Otherwise, the Sect wouldn’t have had so few Nascent Soul True Monarchs all these years.