New Year's Eve

A few days later, when Lin Chan went to Scripture Gorge again, Zhang He repeatedly apologized for his drunken antics.

"Daoist Lin, I can't hold my liquor, and my behavior was just as bad. I feel deeply ashamed about what happened that day," Zhang He said, somewhat embarrassed.

"Brother Zhang, these are trivial matters, not worth mentioning." Lin Chan didn't mind at all.

Hearing the words "Brother Zhang," two tears of gratitude trickled down Zhang He's aged face.

From the time he was a teenager, as a Registered Disciple, he'd always been at the bottom, never receiving any attention. Though he'd stubbornly clung on for sixty years—a full cycle—and managed to grind his way to the position of Outer Sect Steward, it was just a sinecure. The Inner Sect Disciples and Inner Sect Stewards never gave him a second glance. He'd never imagined that an Inner Sect Disciple would treat him as an equal. Of course, Lin Chan treated everyone equally.

"Brother Lin!" Zhang He's old face was streaked with tears.

"Brother Zhang, what's wrong?" Lin Chan was full of confusion.

Of course, calling Zhang He "Brother Zhang" was just out of respect for an elder. They were too familiar now for a title to feel right. But if it came down to swearing blood brotherhood over wine and taking a poison oath, Lin Chan definitely wouldn't agree. Old Zhang, already eighty, had no hope of Foundation Establishment and at most a few decades left. How could Lin Chan swear to die in the same year and month as him?

Zhang He clearly remembered the words he'd blurted out in his drunken stupor, which had been very offensive to Lin Chan. He deliberately avoided bringing it up, only saying, "I, Old Zhang, have wasted most of my life, and I'm about to enter the grave. To meet a true friend like Brother Lin—I'm overjoyed!"

"I'm happy too!" Lin Chan echoed.

"Brother Lin, you don't understand. You're an Inner Sect Disciple, born to reach Foundation Establishment. Your life is long, your future bright. My talent is poor; from the moment I came up the mountain, I was at the bottom. I've managed to persevere and cultivate until now, and though I've achieved something, it's only as an Outer Sect Steward. In front of Inner Sect Disciples, to put it bluntly, I'm less than a dog. Only Brother Lin has truly treated me as a friend."

Zhang He knew he didn't have many years left, and he let out the grievances he'd bottled up for so long. Though Shu Mountain had no official hierarchy like this, the clear divide between inner and outer sects was obvious to Lin Chan.

"Brother Zhang, the Inner Sect senior brothers might not look down on you. They're just busy with cultivation and various affairs, unable to waste time building deep friendships with you," Lin Chan comforted him.

He could also see that those senior brothers and elders had endless daily tasks, so naturally they wouldn't open their hearts to an Outer Sect Steward. If Zhang He hadn't taught him techniques, Lin Chan might have been like those senior brothers and said little to him.

"Alright, Brother Lin, I, Old Zhang, won't be sentimental. Another day, I'll treat you to Spiritual Wine and Monster Beast Meat." Zhang He wiped his tears and stopped dwelling on it.

"That sounds great." Lin Chan went along with it.

Lin Chan stayed to read some books, borrowed a few more, and then left.

After that, he cultivated daily, and time passed bit by bit. Before he knew it, Lin Chan had reached his eleventh birthday. He didn't mention it to anyone or celebrate. He simply chose a new talent as a birthday gift to himself from heaven.

Sword Heart Prototype: When holding a sword, it generates a faint "resonance," making sword strikes more precise and swift, and easier to comprehend sword techniques.

This talent perfectly matched his technique, the Heart Sword Same Origin Art. With this Sword Heart Prototype, his cultivation speed would increase considerably. Of course, he'd have to wait until he got his flying sword to see the actual effect.

As for his own cultivation progress, he was already halfway through polishing the first layer of Qi Cultivation. In a few more months, he'd break through to the second layer.

After sitting in meditation in his cave dwelling for a while, Lin Chan counted the talisman coins in his hands. The Incense Talisman Coins he'd brought from home were untouched—twenty-three of them. Counting the Incense and Fire Prayer Power they contained, they should be worth about a hundred Mortal Talisman Coins. Additionally, in his half year at Shu Mountain, though he hadn't worked and only cultivated, he still received some monthly salary. One Mortal Talisman Coin per month. After paying Little Li and Little White's food and tuition fees, and spending one coin on treating others to a meal, he had only three left. These Mortal Talisman Coins were newly made, without any Incense and Fire Prayer Power, so their value was exactly that. It wasn't that Lin Chan was frugal and hadn't spent anything.

The main thing was that Lin Chan lived on Tianquan Peak, ate Bigu Pills, and had a free cave dwelling—there really wasn't much to spend on.

Of course, he could buy some pills to aid his cultivation.

But Sixth Senior Brother Xu Chang didn't recommend Lin Chan take too many pills. The few Qi Gathering Pills distributed by the peak each month were enough, with maybe just a little extra supplement.

Every medicine had its toxicity. Even pills that assisted cultivation contained Pill Toxin.

A small amount was fine, but if it accumulated too much and couldn't be dispelled, it would greatly hinder future breakthroughs at bottlenecks.

The cultivation bottleneck itself was already an extremely unpleasant thing, and with Pill Toxin blocking the way, it could shatter one's Dao heart.

Everything was like this—too much was as bad as too little.

Besides, the cultivation improvement from pills was very hollow. How could it compare to the solid gains from self-cultivation?

So Lin Chan saved up these things, planning to buy some magical tools later.

Something like the Cloud-Treading Boots, which could help him speed up, would be excellent.

Of course, Lin Chan also had to consider bringing gifts for Lin Fangzheng and the others when he went home in a few years.

After all, when he left home, his father had given him all the savings the family had accumulated over the years.

"If only my monthly allowance could be a bit more," Lin Chan thought with anticipation.

On this point, the Shu Mountain Sword Sect had clear rules—each tier of disciple received corresponding treatment.

Once he reached the middle stage of Qi Cultivation, his monthly allowance would naturally increase.

Given Lin Chan's current situation, he still had a few years to endure.

He could only hope that his master would finish forging his flying sword soon, so he could connect his heart and sword and speed up his cultivation.

Right up until the eve of New Year's Eve, True Person Xuan Chen hadn't finished forging Lin Chan's flying sword.

Lin Chan could understand this, but he was still a bit anxious.

During these days, the Shu Mountain Sword Sect also had a holiday.

Those with families down the mountain could go down to reunite with them.

Most of the outer sect disciples were recruited from various towns and villages below the mountain, and almost all of them went home. The entire outer sect was half-empty, desolate and quiet.

A few inner sect disciples whose worldly ties weren't yet severed also returned home.

Cultivation at Shu Mountain emphasized Dual Cultivation of Life and Spirit, along with cultivating merit. It followed the natural way of heaven and didn't indulge in suppressing heavenly principles to extinguish human desires.

If worldly ties weren't broken, they wouldn't force you to cut them off immediately or make you ruthlessly sever the mortal world. They just let time slowly wear them away.

Time made people grow old.

When one's closest relatives died one after another, those worldly ties naturally broke.

For example, those older Foundation Establishment disciples only devoted themselves fully to cultivation and the sect after their parents and siblings had passed.

Lin Chan highly approved of this, and it also strengthened his sense of belonging to the sect.

After cultivating, Lin Chan prepared to rest. Before sleeping, he decided to check if anyone had left him a message through the sect's Jade Jue.

Although he had few contacts, and they almost never reached out, the mountain life was boring, and he had nothing else to do anyway, so Lin Chan casually checked, also seeing if his master had finished forging his flying sword.

Lin Chan infused his spiritual power into the Jade Jue and activated the communication array.

This array, Lin Chan usually kept turned off.

The reason was simple—if it suddenly stirred while he was cultivating, he'd definitely suffer a Qi deviation.

Once this function was on, Lin Chan saw a message Zhang He had sent in the afternoon.

It roughly meant inviting him to spend New Year's Eve together at his home in a mortal town. He had prepared Spiritual Wine and even specially bought a ten-year-old Phoenix Tail Pheasant from the Monster Locking Pagoda on Kaiyang Peak.

"Never mind anything else—for good wine and good meat, I have to go!" Lin Chan hesitated briefly, then smiled knowingly and agreed.

His home was several thousand miles away, and he couldn't make it back anytime soon.

Even using a Thousand-Mile Speed Talisman would take several days, and the round trip would be over ten days.

His time was precious now; he couldn't waste it like that.

He could only wait a few years, until his cultivation was accomplished and he could ride his sword for long distances, before returning home in glory.