"Master, do you think I have any hope of forming a core someday?"
The voice beside him carried unease and confusion. Luo Chen looked at the middle-aged man, his brows drawing together.
Luo Chen had not put much effort into cultivating this Registered Disciple.
Or rather, teaching disciples had never been Luo Chen's strength.
Whether with his true disciple Qu Lingjun or the younger Zeng Yilong, Luo Chen's guidance had mostly taken the form of putting them to work.
That had much to do with his own experience.
Throughout his life, Luo Chen had received little systematic instruction in theory. He had largely made his way by raising his proficiency step by step.
That was true of Pill Refining, spells, cultivation, and Body Tempering alike.
To him, practice mattered more than theory. Practice was where real skill came from.
So when he taught disciples, he often had them learn by doing.
Xu Muxian was no exception.
Xu Muxian had worked tirelessly processing medicinal ingredients for him and showed some talent for Pill Refining. Unwilling to let that talent go to waste, Luo Chen had accepted him as a Registered Disciple, taught him some basic Pill Refinement Art, and occasionally corrected his mistakes.
But any deep bond between master and disciple?
That was nonsense.
Xu Muxian's status as a Registered Disciple was more symbolic than a true inheritance of Luo Chen's Dao Lineage.
He was a signboard Luo Chen had erected to reassure the families of the Flying Swallow Islands.
So when Xu Muxian suddenly asked that question, Luo Chen was taken aback.
Then he frowned and shook his head.
"You're only at Qi Refining Seventh Layer, yet you're dreaming of the Golden Core Great Dao. Don't you know better than to reach beyond your grasp?"
His tone was harsh.
Xu