A Completely Different Attitude

[Reincarnation Ended]

[This Reincarnation Evaluation: D (Naive; being too outstanding may not necessarily be a good thing)]

[Accumulated Cultivation: Qi Condensation Realm Late-stage]

[Reincarnation Reward: None]

[Reincarnation Settlement complete. The Host will return to the Previous Reincarnation Record Point, inherit the Accumulated Cultivation from this reincarnation, and Restart Life.]

"Senior Brother Chen."

"..."

"Senior Brother Chen?"

"Haah!"

Chen Yan abruptly opened his eyes, gasping for breath.

Cheng Ziying, standing before him, had clearly been startled. She shrank back a little, then looked at him cautiously.

"What's wrong, Senior Brother Chen? Did you have a nightmare... Instructor Lu Li's lecture is about to begin. Hurry up, or there won't be any seats left!"

With that, Cheng Ziying trotted toward the Scripture Hall.

"So I'm back at this point again..."

Chen Yan looked around. The tranquil courtyard gave him an intensely unreal feeling.

As though it had truly all been nothing more than a dream.

But he knew that everything was real.

The true qi flowing through his body was the best proof.

Chen Yan recalled the several Black Shadows who had entered his quarters before his death.

The reason he had been killed was that he was some so-called "cause of calamity."

Chen Yan had originally intended to trade on his own exceptional talent for more cultivation resources.

Then break through to the Martial Spring Realm as soon as possible and earn the qualifications to enter the inner sect.

Chen Yan raised a hand and lightly touched his throat.

It was completely unscathed.

Empty Mountain Sect.

As one of the Five Great Sects of the Chenping Continent, Empty Mountain Sect was, in the eyes of the entire cultivation world, unquestionably a famed and righteous sect.

Before Chen Yan had had his throat slit, he had thought so too.

Yet the truth was not so.

Cause of calamity?

What was a cause of calamity?

Turning these matters over in his mind, Chen Yan rose and headed toward the Scripture Hall.

The Scripture Hall was still packed to the brim. He once again found a corner and sat down.

Within the quiet hall, only Lu Li's voice as he lectured sounded at an unhurried pace.

"Observe emptiness and form, hear emptiness and sound, feel emptiness and resonance, comprehend emptiness and the Dao—unceasing as mountains and rivers."

"Temper the body to gather qi; when qi flows freely, it becomes a spring; when the spring surges, it gathers into a sea."

"Qi is blazing fire; Empty Mountain murmurs on; heaven and earth are clear and still..."

Chen Yan's heart stirred. The circulation of true qi within him was actually set into motion once more, entirely beyond his control.

This was the fruit of deep accumulation bursting forth.

The cultivation he had accumulated over nearly a hundred years in his previous reincarnation was beginning to show its effects now that Chen Yan's qi and blood had become abundant again.

The spiritual qi between heaven and earth had already begun to gather in his direction.

And Lu Li's gaze fell upon Chen Yan once more.

"Young friend in the eastern corner by the Scripture Hall entrance, wait a moment. There is something I would like to discuss with you."

After the lecture ended, events unfolded exactly as they had in his previous life.

"Qi Condensation Realm?"

"Yes."

Chen Yan replied.

"What is your name?"

"In reply to Instructor Lu, this disciple is called Chen Yan..."

Chen Yan paused.

"I am fifteen years old and have yet to take a master."

"Mm."

Lu Li merely nodded.

"Cultivate diligently. Once you break through to the Martial Spring Realm, you'll be promoted to the inner sect."

"This disciple understands."

"You may leave."

Chen Yan was slightly taken aback, then cupped his hands in a bow.

"Yes, Instructor Lu."

This was different from how things had unfolded in the previous cycle.

That was it? I'm leaving?

Where's my Qi Guiding Pill?

"Wait."

Just as Chen Yan was preparing to leave, Lu Li called him back.

"You seem to have some confusion?"

"...Yes."

"You may tell me."

Chen Yan fell silent for a while. He was hesitating.

In the previous cycle, Lu Li had given him a great deal of help.

Whether it was that bottle of Qi Guiding Pills or the promise he had made to Chen Yan, both had been immensely precious.

That was also why Chen Yan had chosen to return to the Scripture Hall in this cycle to listen to Lu Li's lectures.

Chen Yan believed that this instructor, who would one day become the Martial Suppression Elder of Qingchan Peak, cherished talent.

Otherwise, he would never have offered him so much help.

If he wanted to obtain more cultivation resources, he had to find someone to rely on.

Lu Li—the current Scripture Hall instructor and future Martial Suppression Elder of Qingchan Peak—was unquestionably an excellent choice.

The Lu Li of this cycle was much colder toward Chen Yan than he had been in the last.

I must have said something wrong.

Speaking as Lu Li had taught him to in the previous cycle had instead incurred his displeasure.

Yet Chen Yan still decided to take a gamble.

He looked into Lu Li's eyes as the man sat before him.

This was the first time he had met the gaze of someone above him, and also the first time he had dared to look directly at a Martial Spring Realm expert.

Lu Li's gaze was calm as still water. It seemed that no matter what happened, he would feel neither joy nor sorrow.

"...Instructor Lu, may I ask if you have heard of the shortest record for breaking through from the Body Tempering Realm to the Qi Condensation Realm?"

Chen Yan asked.

"Half a year."

Lu Li answered without hesitation.

"This record was set by our sect's current Sect Master, Yun Yichen. Not only that, he took merely one year to break through from the Qi Condensation Realm to the Martial Spring Realm."

Of course, Chen Yan knew all this.

After all, Yun Yichen was the current Sect Master of the Empty Mountain Sect, and Chen Yan was a disciple of the Empty Mountain Sect.

Even the most peripheral disciple was still a disciple of the Empty Mountain Sect.

"Instructor Lu, is there anyone in this world who broke through faster than the Sect Master?"

Chen Yan asked.

"Yes."

Lu Li replied.

"How fast?"

Lu Li fell silent.

"I am answering your doubts, not letting you amuse yourself by asking me such meaningless questions."

"This disciple was presumptuous. I beg Instructor Lu's forgiveness."

Chen Yan hurriedly cupped his hands in a bow.

"But if someone truly could accomplish such a thing, they would surely be a heaven-favored prodigy capable of shaking the entire Chenping Continent."

Lu Li said solemnly.

"If they were a disciple of my Empty Mountain Sect, I would surely protect them on their path to proving the Dao."

Chen Yan's lips twitched slightly.

"Disciple understands."

"Why did you ask me such a question?"

Lu Li asked.

"It was merely a sudden whim."

Chen Yan replied.

"Mm, you may leave."

Lu Li said.

Chen Yan bowed to Lu Li once more, then turned and walked toward the exit of the Scripture Hall.

Something wasn't right.

He kept feeling that something was off.

He couldn't put it into words.

What exactly was wrong?

Just as he was about to step out of the Scripture Hall, his chest suddenly went cold, followed by a searing pain.

Chen Yan lowered his head in astonishment and looked at his chest.

A pitch-black hole had appeared squarely in his chest. Looking through it, he could even see his still-beating heart.

It hurt so much.

Chen Yan opened his mouth, only to find that he could not make a sound.

Only scalding blood kept gushing from his throat.

Ah...

Struggling, Chen Yan reached for his chest, trying to cover the wound.

But his hand passed straight through the hole in his chest.

Blood spilled across the ground like a waterfall.

His limbs began to disobey him, going numb as he fell forward into a pool of blood.

The true qi circulating through his body kept his consciousness clear.

Struggling, he twisted his head around and used the last of his strength to look behind him.

Lu Li, clad in a pale white Daoist robe, still sat steadily upon the cushion on the Lecture Stage, his expression indifferent.

The direction indicated by the index finger of his outstretched right hand was precisely Chen Yan's chest.

[Reincarnation Ended]

[This Reincarnation Evaluation: D (Repeating the same mistakes— the only lesson humanity learns from history is that humanity cannot learn any lessons from history)]

[Accumulated Cultivation: Qi Condensation Realm Late-stage]

[Reincarnation Reward: None]

[Reincarnation Settlement complete. The Host will return to the Previous Reincarnation Record Point, inherit this reincarnation's accumulated cultivation, and Restart Life.]

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