Don't Be Afraid, Your Master Is Here!

"This house is quite spacious..."

After being led into the rented room by Luo Jun, Old Yuan looked around and nodded. "Looks like you're not short of money, kid. I was worrying too much."

"Five thousand is not lacking, but fifty million is still lacking..." Luo Jun chuckled as he poured himself a cup of tea. "Master, you said on the phone earlier that you wanted to ask me some questions?"

"By the way," Old Yuan, sitting on the sofa, taking a sip of tea, then placing a Soundproof Barrier on the floor, enveloping the entire room. He then lowered his voice and said:

"You're the one who made the elders and two accompanying members of the Hell Creek Family disappear, aren't you?"

Luo Jun scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly. "Master, you already know?"

"Nonsense, how could I not know about something so big?" Old Yuan rolled his eyes at him and said, "The Hell Creek Family is now attacking the Yuan Cultivation Society, claiming that their delegation is missing in Ningdong."

"Does the Yuan Cultivation Society fear a foreign Lineage?" Luo Jun said with a sneer.

"It's not a matter of fear; everything has to be reasonable," Old Yuan said. "If someone goes missing while they're with you, you have to give an explanation. The Yuan Cultivation Society provided evidence that those three people left the Yuan Cultivation Society, proving they disappeared after secretly leaving the Yuan Cultivation Society's premises. It's a personal matter, and the Yuan Cultivation Society is currently investigating the disappearance case..."

"But in reality, the Yuan Cultivation Society discovered more than just this, didn't they?" Luo Jun asked tentatively.

"Of course, do you think the organization is just sitting around doing nothing?" Old Yuan sneered. "We already know that these three guys went to Yuanqiang Group. The Yuan Cultivation Society has already contacted Zheng Yuanqiang and knows that those three died at the entrance of Yuanqiang Group... but only a corpse was left behind."

"As expected!" Luo Jun slapped his thigh. "Those two guys really did come back to life."

"So it really was you who killed him?" Old Yuan glared at him, and Luo Jun shrank back, "Master, have I gotten myself into trouble?"

"What do you think?" Old Yuan sneered, "That's the Hell Creek Family, the largest Cultivators Lineage in the Federation. Looking across the entire Main World, only the Ling Family can rival them—a behemoth. And you just so easily killed an elder of theirs? Do you know what that means? Do you know how much trouble this has brought to the Yuan Cultivation Society? You've simply..."

Luo Jun felt guilty after being scolded by his Master, and his head drooped lower and lower. Just as he was about to admit his mistake, Old Yuan's hand landed on his shoulder. "Well done!"

"Huh?" Luo Jun was taken aback, and when he looked up, he saw his Master's smug expression.

"Old Rex and his filthy brethren have always been arrogant and domineering, thinking themselves superior wherever they go. We, Zhendan land of propriety, treat them with courtesy, yet they really think they're something special! I've long disliked them; killing them is good, it'll vent my anger!"

"But... won't this cause any serious consequences?" Luo Jun asked.

"The impact has been caused, but it's not as serious as it appears on the surface." Old Yuan waved his hand. "The Hell Creek Family has a blood pool, which is a rather powerful treasure that can resurrect twelve people every year. The Lineage changes the number of resurrected people each year based on the previous year's performance. Basically, important figures in the Lineage will be resurrected after death. So, of the three people you killed this time, only one actually died, a relatively peripheral Lineage member."

"Of course, no matter what, a death is always a difficult thing to explain. Before a perfect solution is found, the Hell Creek Family is well aware of whether Yuan Cultivation Society announce the death. Relying on the fact that Yuan Cultivation Society make a big fuss about it openly. The Federation Foundation is also adding fuel to the fire. The association is indeed in a rather passive position right now..."

"But don't worry, these are just minor issues. With your Master here, the trouble won't fall on your head." Old Yuan waved his hand, looking Luo Jun up and down. "What I'm more concerned about now is, what level are you really at? According to the Yuanqiang Chamber of Commerce of Commerce, you didn't even take a minute to kill a Peak opponent?"

Luo Jun thought to himself, "What do you mean, 'one minute'... If I wasn't worried that the corpse would be too shattered to anchor the Hundred Treasure Box, I would have attacked with all my might, and that Old Man wouldn't even have had a chance to transform..."

"Master, regarding cultivation, I have good news and bad news..."

Upon hearing this, Old Yuan raised an eyebrow. "Tell me the good news first."

"The good news is, I'm now at the Foundation Establishment Realm..." he said, extending his right hand and showing his index finger and Thumb: "Eighth Floor!"

"Huh!" Even though he was somewhat prepared, Old Yuan was still taken aback by this level of advancement. "It's only been three months since we parted ways at Utopia, right? No matter how talented you are, this is a bit too fast!"

"Well..." Luo Jun scratched his head, "I don't know how it happened, but ever since I came into contact with Karruth's aura in Amgilla, my cultivation path has felt unusually smooth... It seems to have merged with the Godly Aura from the [Savage Wilderness] Underground Ruins, causing some kind of modification to my body. After that, my cultivation speed has increased by leaps and bounds, and breakthroughs haven't been as difficult... Plus, during this time, I've acquired some magical artifacts that aid in cultivation and breakthroughs through various channels..."

Luo Jun had made up his mind. He would attribute his inexplicable speed of progress entirely to Godly Aura. After all, no one had ever encountered such a thing before, and there was no precedent for it, so he could make up whatever he wanted.

"You have your own channels now?" Old Yuan asked curiously, "The Yuanqiang Black Market?"

"I frequent the black market, but there's another, less-than-legitimate, channel..." Luo Jun chuckled, scratching his head. "Remember those three wanted criminals? I got a lot of good stuff through them... but those three weren't very cooperative, so I took them out and used the bounty to pay them."

What Luo Jun said wasn't entirely wrong; he did indeed obtain valuable items from the three men, and he did kill them. However, based on his account, a normal person would understand it as him maintaining long-term contact with the three wanted criminals, trading many valuable items, and ultimately killing them due to a conflict.

"Wanted criminals are all vicious and ruthless, they can't be trusted. Don't touch this kind of channel again!" Old Yuan said seriously, "But with your current strength, it's not my place to worry about you."

"By the way, what's the bad news you mentioned?"

At this point, Luo Jun sighed, "The bad news is that, up until now, I haven't shown any inclination towards any particular ability."

"No bias?" Old Yuan frowned.

"Yes, Master, do I lack the talent to cultivate the Heart Refining Realm?"

Old Yuan stroked his chin. "Based on my many years of experience, there are generally three possibilities in this situation."

"The first one is that they have absolutely no talent and will never reach the Heart Refining Realm in their lifetime."

"The second is pure Martial Combat Faction talent. Because the abilities of Martial Combat Faction are basically an enhanced version of those in the Foundation Establishment Realm, although they usually show a tendency, it is difficult to detect. Many people think they have no talent and eventually break through to become Martial Combat Faction without even realizing it."

"As for the third, that would be the Mystic Faction."

Old Yuan looked at Luo Jun and said, "The abilities of the Mystic Faction are unpredictable and do not conform to other schools. They are all kinds of strange and unusual, so their tendencies are different from those of ordinary schools. Sometimes they don't even show any obvious tendencies, making them difficult to discern."

Which type do you think you are more like?

"This..." Luo Jun circulated his Inner Breath and sensed his vital energy. "I feel like I still don't have any reaction... It's not a matter of whether it's obvious or not, it's just that there's nothing..."

Old Yuan waved his hand. "You haven't shown any inclination, so your judgment is probably not very accurate... Here, you should focus all your energy on stimulating your vital energy, and I'll take a look."

"All... all of my strength?" Luo Jun looked at Old Yuan: "Are you sure?"

"Are you worried your internal energy is too strong?" Old Yuan saw through Luo Jun's thoughts and waved his hand. "Haven't you already learned my Gathering Origin Protective Qi? With the compression effect of Gathering Origin Protective Qi, even the strongest internal energy can be compressed into a thin layer." "Uh..." Luo Jun looked at his master. "My Gathering Origin Protective Qi is probably not that thin..."

"Huh? So confident?" Old Yuan laughed. "Then I'd like to see even more."

"No... it's not the main thing..." Luo Jun looked up at the ceiling. "Alright, Master, I'll give it a try."

After speaking, Luo Jun circulated his internal energy, and surging qi began to appear on his body surface. Under his powerful control, it was simultaneously compressed into a condensed state.

At first, it was indeed just a thin layer, which, according to the Vital Energy Vision, looked like a transparent plastic raincoat draped over the body.

Then, the raincoat turned into a coat, then into a down jacket, and then into a mascot costume for an amusement park, completely covering Luo Jun's body with a thickness of several tens of centimeters.

Seeing this, Old Yuan nodded in satisfaction; he was very pleased with his disciple's level of skill.

But soon, the expression on his face changed from a satisfied smile to shock...

The protective aura surrounding Luo Jun's body grew thicker and thicker, covering an increasingly larger area, until it finally reached the rooftop before stopping.

Looking at Luo Jun's thick protective aura before him, Old Yuan was dumbfounded.

Last time in [Utopia], when facing Mosayus, Luo Jun had just learned the Gathering Origin Protective Qi, and it was only a thin layer. When he activated it with all his might and concentrated it, it could only condense into a sharp weapon the size of a wrist blade on his fist. But now, Luo Jun maintains Gao Qiang of Gathering Origin Protective Qi on his body surface, and every inch of its thickness far exceeds that of the wrist blade he used to have!

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Let alone Gathering Origin Protective Qi, even loose ordinary qi wouldn't have much that thickness.

In just two or three months, it has undergone a complete transformation.

"Well, Master, can you see the problem?" Luo Jun asked.

"Uh..." Old Yuan coughed lightly twice, and released his own qi, which came into contact with Luo Jun's qi. By merging their primordial qi, he directly sensed the other's qi attributes. After probing for a while, he withdrew his qi.

"Let's take it," sighed Old Yuan.

Luo Jun withdrew his internal energy and looked at Old Yuan, whose brows were furrowed, with some concern. "Isn't the situation a bit pessimistic?"

"It's not a matter of optimism or pessimism..." Old Yuan frowned and said, "I don't quite understand your qi..."

"Don't understand? What does this mean?" Luo Jun looked completely bewildered.

"Even if others' internal energy has no particular inclination, it will still have a personalized style depending on factors such as the individual's personality and physique. Therefore, there is a saying that internal energy, like fingerprints, is Cultivators's second identity card."

"But your internal energy is different. When it's still, it's as calm as water; when it flows, it's silky smooth... seemingly completely pure, and therefore without any distinctive features."

"This..." Luo Jun blinked. "Is this good or bad?"

"I can't explain it clearly," Old Yuan shook his head. "Because I've never seen a case like yours before. Generally speaking, the characteristics of Qi have both advantages and disadvantages. Although they aren't significant, if used properly, they can indeed provide an advantage in battle. Since you have nothing, it probably doesn't really matter whether it's good or bad..."

As he spoke, he looked at the ceiling. Directly above Luo Jun's head, there was a shallow mark left by the force of the energy just now.

"But don't be too anxious," Old Yuan comforted him. "With the thickness and purity of your Gathering Origin Protective Qi just now, even without the ability to Mind Stillness, you would be virtually unmatched after reaching the Feather Transformation Realm just by relying on Gathering Origin Protective Qi."

"I never expected this! In my lifetime, I would actually see such a substantial amount of Gathering Origin Protective Qi!"

Seeing the joy and pride on Old Yuan's face, Luo Jun quietly raised his hand. "Master, I have something else to report."

"Hmm?" Old Yuan was taken aback. "What else?"

Luo Jun laughed and said, "I was afraid of breaking the ceiling, so I wasn't actually going all out just now."

"What?" Old Yuan's eyes widened. "You mean, the thickness of the Gathering Origin Protective Qi can be increased?"

Luo Jun held up two fingers, indicating length. "It can be increased by just a little bit..."

"Good lad!" Old Yuan slumped onto the sofa, stunned for a moment, and then sighed with a sense of loss.

"It seems that I won't be able to offer you much guidance in cultivation anymore."

"Not at all." Luo Jun knelt down in front of Old Yuan. "Master, you are experienced and highly respected. I still have much to learn from you."

Old Yuan waved his hand and suddenly asked, "By the way, you still need to break through to the ninth level of the Foundation Establishment Realm, right? Do you have any magical artifacts to aid in the breakthrough?"

Luo Jun instinctively wanted to answer yes, but after looking at Old Yuan's hand on the Hundred Treasure Box and the expectant look in his eyes, he shook his head. "I've used up Master's... and the difficulty of breaking through to the Eighth Floor is already very high. I only succeeded because I was lucky. I estimate that the ninth level will be even more dangerous." As he spoke, he showed a worried expression.

Upon hearing this, Old Yuan's eyes lit up, and he took out two more treasures from his Hundred Treasure Box, handing them to Luo Jun: "Very well, these are the remaining rewards from my mission to Xiluo. They are all for assisting in breakthroughs. The final hurdle is dangerous, so be sure to use them with caution!"

Luo Jun took them and saw that one was Escort Spirit Talisman, and the other was an Epic-level consumable item whose effect was to eliminate the backlash after a failed breakthrough...

"Thank you Master!" Luo Jun looked at the treasure in his hand, a warm feeling welling up in his chest. "I will definitely make good use of it and live up to Master's expectations!"

Old Yuan nodded. "By the way, it's almost Chinese New Year. If you have nowhere to go, why don't you come to my house for the holidays?"

"Master's house?" Luo Jun was slightly taken aback, thinking to himself that he had never been to Old Yuan even after being a disciple for so long.

"Can I go?" Since his grandfather passed away, Luo Jun has spent the Spring Festival alone at home for the past few years. He symbolically buys a box of frozen dumplings and listens to the firecrackers outside. It's as if the lights of thousands of homes are a world apart from his small rented room. He hasn't experienced the joy and liveliness of a festival for a long time.

"Why not? You're my personal disciple, just like my own child!" Old Yuan laughed. "Then it's settled. You'll come home with me on New Year's Eve and spend the holiday at my house."

(End of this chapter)