Grand Supreme Elder

"Junior Brother Lin killed a roving bandit at the Eighth Layer of the Golden Core Realm?!"

"How is that possible... The Eighth Layer of the Golden Core Realm is already close to the standard for a Shushan elder!"

The other Shushan disciples recording the results could hardly believe it. They all turned to the Shushan disciple who had led the group.

The Shushan disciple at the Golden Core Realm Ninth Layer nodded. "Junior Brother Lin did indeed kill the roving bandit Sima Kuang himself. I saw it with my own eyes; there isn't a word of falsehood in it. Junior Brother Lin has now reached the Seventh Layer of the Golden Core Realm."

"Junior Brother Lin has only been in the sect for four years, and he's already at the Seventh Layer of the Golden Core Realm?"

"Back then, my master said I was a cultivation prodigy, but it took me forty years of cultivation in Shushan to reach the Seventh Layer of the Golden Core Realm. I never imagined Junior Brother Lin would only need four. Compared to him, I might as well have spent those forty years living a dog's life."

"Alas, the difference between one person and another is greater than the difference between a person and a dog."

"If that's true, Junior Brother Lin really is a heaven-sent genius. His future prospects are boundless."

"Since we'll be in the same sect from now on, please look after us, Junior Brother Lin."

The Shushan disciples all regarded Lin Qingzhi with newfound respect.

After only four years in the sect, Lin Qingzhi's cultivation was already approaching the minimum requirement to become a Shushan elder.

In a few years, once Lin Qingzhi reached the Nascent Soul Realm and completed the trial to become an elder, he would presumably be a bona fide Shushan elder.

Although Lin Qingzhi might not become the youngest Shushan elder in history, his cultivation speed would definitely rank among the top ten.

Seeing Lin Qingzhi's frightening potential, some of the Shushan disciples, without prior agreement, struck up conversations with him.

A good number of female disciples looked at Lin Qingzhi with more interest.

Although Lin Qingzhi was ordinary-looking, his chance of becoming a Shushan elder was enough to win the hearts of many female disciples.

However, Chen Yao stood beside Lin Qingzhi, making many female disciples hesitate to approach.

Chen Yao was a beauty of the first rank, a Grand Supreme Elder's final disciple, and possessed a special physique. She was certain to become a Shushan elder in the future; few female disciples of Shushan could stand beside her without paling in comparison.

How could this guy already be at the Seventh Layer of the Golden Core Realm? Doesn't that put him two minor realms above me...

Xiao Xiangdao possessed a Spirit Sword Body and cultivated diligently. During the year of training after the Shushan Disciple Tournament, he had advanced to the Fifth Layer of the Golden Core Realm and thought himself the finest Shushan disciple of his cohort. He had never expected Lin Qingzhi's cultivation to have surpassed his long ago.

I'm the third prince of the Liang Kingdom. How could I lose to an orphan? I'll cultivate day and night and reclaim first place!

Unwilling to accept it, Xiao Xiangdao rode his sword through the air and returned to Weiyang Peak, where Li Changye resided.

"Now that the training is over, I should return to Jade Moon Peak and continue cultivating under my master."

At a thought from Chen Yao, the Heavenly Azure Sword behind her left its sheath.

"Disciple, see her back."

Seeing that his eldest disciple had made no move, Lu Changsheng urged him on.

This was a chance to establish a connection with a Shushan Grand Supreme Elder.

Perhaps his disciple's luck would turn.

"All right."

Treating it as a task from his master, Lin Qingzhi escorted Chen Yao back to Jade Moon Peak.

In truth, there was no need to worry about safety in Shushan—at least, that was the case for now.

On Jade Moon Peak, an old woman leaning on a wooden staff was watering herbs that had been growing in a medicinal garden for a thousand years.

Two streaks of light descended, and one of them spoke in a slightly excited voice. "Master, I've returned from my training!"

"Mm."

The old woman responded calmly. The more she had experienced, the calmer she had become.

"Lin Qingzhi, a disciple of Azure Cloud Peak, pays his respects to the Grand Supreme Elder. My master ordered me to escort Senior Sister back to Jade Moon Peak."

Lin Qingzhi treated the seemingly ordinary old woman before him with the utmost respect.

This Shushan Grand Supreme Elder was from the same era as the Shushan Sect Master. For all he knew, she might even be the Shushan Sect Master's senior or junior sister. Having lived to such an age, her cultivation was unfathomable.

"Oh?"

The old woman turned and looked Lin Qingzhi up and down, her gaze sharp as a blade, but he remained calm and unmoved.

"With that Dao Bone of yours, you've attained such cultivation in less than twenty years? Is your master the elder of Azure Cloud Peak? If this old woman remembers correctly, that Lu Changsheng of Azure Cloud Peak was the last personal disciple my junior brother, the sect master, took in. His aptitude couldn't be called poor, but he was no peerless genius either. How could he have taught a disciple like you?"

"That's right. At the time, the master of Crouching Dragon Temple told my junior brother, the sect master, that Lu Changsheng had an immortal affinity with our Shushan. That's why my junior brother accepted Lu Changsheng as his disciple."

The old woman seemed to be speaking to Lin Qingzhi, yet also seemed to be talking to herself.

Lin Qingzhi was secretly startled.

The old woman called Taiyuan True Person her junior brother, the sect master. In other words, was she Taiyuan True Person's senior sister?!

Didn't that make her even older than Taiyuan True Person?

In this world, age had a great deal to do with cultivation, for a simple reason: without sufficient cultivation, one simply couldn't live that long.

The old woman before him had lived at least three thousand years.

"I have fulfilled my master's orders, so I shall take my leave."

Lin Qingzhi bowed with the utmost respect.

Chen Yao lightly bit her delicate lip. Light flickered in her eyes, mixed with a trace of disappointment.

"Boy, did you only bring my little disciple back because your master ordered you to?"

The old woman's expression suddenly turned serious.

"I..."

Lin Qingzhi was about to answer truthfully when the old woman suddenly sent him a covert voice transmission.

"You brat, if you dare answer truthfully, this old woman will kill you with one palm strike, then kill your master too!"

"Senior, have I done something wrong?"

"Just do as this old woman says."

"As you command."

A chill ran down Lin Qingzhi's back. He had heard that this Grand Supreme Elder, knowing she had no hope of transcending her tribulation, had ended her secluded cultivation and devoted herself to teaching her disciple. She had a strange temper and really might kill him and Lu Changsheng in a fit of anger.

The old woman spoke, and Lin Qingzhi had no choice but to repeat her words. "Naturally, I wasn't merely following my master's orders. I also wished to see Senior Sister back myself. Senior Sister Chen, you can come to Azure Cloud Peak to spar with me anytime... anytime you like."

"Mm."

Chen Yao beamed, all her earlier disappointment swept away.

Lin Qingzhi rode his sword away from Jade Moon Peak.

"Alas, how did my disciple come to like a blockhead? She's in for a hard time. Still, it's wonderful to be young..."

Leaning on her wooden staff, the old woman seemed to recall many things from the past.

Lin Qingzhi returned to Azure Cloud Peak, where Lu Changsheng continued to perform Transmission Empowerment for him and reward him with various medicinal pills, Law Treasures, and Cultivation Methods.

Lin Qingzhi had been away from the mountain for a year. Without Lu Changsheng's Transmission Empowerment during that time, his cultivation had advanced slowly, and he was still at the Seventh Layer of the Golden Core Realm.

Over the past year, however, Lin Qingzhi had traveled through the jianghu and broadened his experience considerably. That experience would be of no small help to his future cultivation.

Cultivating only in seclusion would undoubtedly be like building a carriage behind closed doors.

It was like a student in an ivory tower: without going out into society and striving for a while, they would ultimately find it hard to become a pillar of society.

Besides that, Chen Yao, a disciple of Jade Moon Peak, occasionally visited Azure Cloud Peak.

With Lin Qingzhi and Chen Yao as sparring partners, the energetic Lian finally no longer had to go around causing trouble.