Watching the Mountain

"This..." Xu Ran fell silent after hearing Shen Wuchen’s explanation.

As Shen Wuchen had said, some opportunities, once missed, were gone forever. Even if they could be remedied, there would always be a flaw. And that single flaw could become an insurmountable chasm, halting one’s progress. Therefore, the only option was to accept the mistake and see it through to the end. Perhaps that was the only right choice.

Shen Wuchen smiled faintly at Xu Ran’s reaction and continued,

"So, Master Xu, there’s no need to worry about me. All you need to do now is wait for news of my victory over the Evergreen Sword Saint, and then you can officially take me as your disciple."

Xu Ran was taken aback for a moment before it dawned on him. ’That’s right. Shen Wuchen has already reached the Nascent Soul Stage, while Zhang Zhentian is still only in the Golden Core Stage.’

Although a Flying Immortal Stream Nascent Soul cultivator’s performance was underwhelming against others in the same realm, they were still incredibly dominant against those in the Golden Core Stage.

The gap between the Golden Core Stage and the Nascent Soul Stage was immense. Even the weakest Nascent Soul cultivator was still a Nascent Soul cultivator—not someone an ordinary Golden Core cultivator could hope to challenge. At the very least, the Profound Pure Sect’s Flying Immortal Nascent Soul cultivators had previously shown overwhelming dominance when facing ordinary Golden Core cultivators.

’In other words, has the time finally come to take Shen Wuchen as my disciple?’

He looked at the eager Shen Wuchen before him and, after a moment of thought, couldn’t help but offer a word of caution. "So confident? Don’t forget, the Evergreen Sword Saint has a long record of defeating enemies in higher realms. Are you certain you can beat him?"

He was worried Shen Wuchen was getting a bit too carried away and that his joy would turn to sorrow.

Shen Wuchen’s expression stiffened at his words. He had been quite confident. ’I’m at the Nascent Soul Stage,’ he’d thought, ’and the Evergreen Sword Saint is only a Golden Core. Won’t this be an easy win?’

He had always won easily when fighting enemies in lower realms, never once facing an upset.

But hearing Xu Ran bring up the Evergreen Sword Saint’s track record reminded him of the dark memories from those three years—of the more than three thousand matches he had lost to him.

He suddenly grew nervous. ’The chances are slim, but what if?’

’I can’t afford to be careless.’

Whenever he got nervous, his expression would involuntarily shift into a cold, arrogant mask, and his speech would become stilted.

After a long moment of silence, he looked at Xu Ran, his face expressionless, and said stiffly, "I will defeat him. You just have to wait."

With that, he bade his leave and turned to go.

He had originally planned to rush to the New Domain immediately to challenge the Evergreen Sword Saint to a match.

But after Master Xu’s reminder, he felt he couldn’t be careless. He needed to be better prepared.

’For starters, I’ll need to spar with a few fellow disciples to get used to my Nascent Soul Stage cultivation. Then I’ll find some in the Golden Core Stage to fight, just to see how wide the gap between us is.’

’That should be enough.’

*

*

*

Not long after Shen Wuchen left, Xu Ran heard news of his sparring matches. Reportedly, he had faced a combined attack from five Golden Core Stage cultivators and defeated them with relative ease.

Upon hearing of this feat, he felt a little more at ease.

’It seems that no matter how weak the Flying Immortal Stream’s Nascent Soul Stage is, it’s still the Nascent Soul Stage. It can’t be compared to the Golden Core Stage. With that in mind, there shouldn’t be any surprises when Shen Wuchen fights Zhang Zhentian.’

’Looks like I really am about to gain a Nascent Soul Stage disciple.’

’It’s a strange thought, considering I’m only at the Foundation Establishment Stage myself.’

’But when I remember that it’s Shen Wuchen, it doesn’t seem so strange. He’s always been a steadfast person.’

Just like the other day, when he came to see me after breaking through to the Nascent Soul Stage, his attitude was the same as ever. It had never changed.

Even the reproachful, hurt look he gave me was exactly the same as before, just like a young boy’s.

It made him feel incredibly lucky that he had met Shen Wuchen that day. Had it been someone else, someone with a malicious heart, perhaps their first act after growing powerful would have been to eliminate the very person who had shown them the way.

The saying "kill the one who showed you the way after you’ve reached your destination" was not an uncommon occurrence in the Cultivation Realm.

Shen Wuchen was still adjusting to his new cultivation and would probably not seek out Zhang Zhentian for their match for at least half a year. Xu Ran stopped worrying about it; he would just wait for the outcome.

Then his thoughts turned to another matter. ’Now that Shen Wuchen has reached the Nascent Soul Stage, I wonder how Senior Sister Yue is doing.’

’Come to think of it, it’s been nearly seventy years since she went into seclusion. If she were only breaking through to the Nascent Soul Stage, it shouldn’t have taken this long.’

He also recalled the Sect’s ambiguous attitude back when Zhao Wuyang and Liu Yunge gathered cultivators from twenty other sects to challenge Senior Sister Yue. He couldn’t help but wonder, ’Could she really be planning to break through to the Divinity Transformation Stage in one go?’

’If that’s true, it would be an earth-shattering achievement, enough to shake the entire Cultivation Realm. After all, the Sect has already produced one Ye Shan.’

Xu Ran mulled this over silently, then shook his head, casting aside these stray thoughts as he walked into the Scripture Pavilion.

Due to his appearance, his time in the Scripture Pavilion was always peaceful. He spent his days studying the insights and experiences left behind by his predecessors to deepen his own understanding, or browsing through new Cultivation Techniques and Daoist Techniques.

Besides, Teacher Qing Xuan had arranged for him to be here specifically to hide his identity and had no real expectations of him. He was more than happy with the peace and quiet.

Then today, as he was weaving through the bookshelves in search of more insights, he suddenly spotted a graceful figure in white.

The moment he saw her, he immediately assumed it was Yue Qingyu.

’But when did she come out of seclusion?’ he wondered. ’And why would she be here?’

Just then, the graceful figure in white turned around, revealing an unfamiliar and utterly ordinary face.

He froze when he saw her features clearly.

’It’s not Senior Sister Yue?’

He immediately focused on her aura and realized it was indeed different from Senior Sister Yue’s.

This left him puzzled. Although the woman’s facial features were quite plain, he still found her breathtakingly beautiful, like a Fairy who didn’t belong in the mortal world.

The bizarre contrast felt wrong to him.

Such a presence shouldn’t belong to an ordinary woman.

At this thought, a flicker of light crossed Xu Ran’s eyes. When the woman in white left, he silently followed.

He made no effort to hide, following her openly. The woman in white seemed to notice him but didn’t stop or say anything, simply continuing on her way.

When he saw the woman in white stop in front of his own Cave Mansion, he no longer hesitated. He raised his hands and bowed slightly. "Senior Sister Yue."

The woman in white turned to face him and asked calmly, "How did you recognize me?"

Xu Ran smiled faintly. "Senior Sister, though your appearance and aura have changed, you haven’t hidden your presence."

"What presence?"

Xu Ran frowned in thought. "I just feel that such a beautiful presence shouldn’t belong to someone with an ordinary face. Senior Sister, if you want to hide your identity, you’ll need to restrain that presence."

Yue Qingyu furrowed her brow and considered this seriously for a moment before nodding slightly. "I’ll keep that in mind," she replied calmly.

Xu Ran studied her for a moment before asking hesitantly, "Senior Sister, why did you change your appearance like this? And your cultivation..."

He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but the fluctuations of Spiritual Power coming from Yue Qingyu didn’t seem very strong—perhaps only on par with his own.

Yue Qingyu looked at his reaction and replied calmly, "Your senses are correct. I’ve started my cultivation over."

"Hm?" Xu Ran looked at her in astonishment. "Started over? Why?"

"It’s nothing much. It’s just that after seeing Junior Brother Ye Shan’s sword strike, I saw a higher and more distant path."

"So, I started over."