Sect Master Tongtian hadn't completely washed his hands of the matter. From time to time, he still checked in on Lin Chuan, though far less often than before.
After all, whenever he saw Lin Chuan,
his mood inevitably soured.
Inside the Jade Purity Palace,
this was such an enchanting cultivation sanctuary that no one could resist its allure.
Anyone who had the chance to cultivate in such a sacred place would consider it a blessing earned through a million years of good fortune.
But...
Lin Chuan's every move nearly made people spit blood in anger.
He could actually sleep!
He didn't cultivate at all. He spent the entire time sleeping.
If he had only been sleeping, that would have been one thing. But what left everyone utterly baffled was that, even though he spent all his time sleeping and slacking off, his strength somehow kept improving.
Sect Master Tongtian was, after all, a Heavenly Dao Sage.
If he couldn't even see that, he might as well have gouged out his own eyes.
He knew Lin Chuan's strength was constantly increasing. Lin Chuan wasn't cultivating, yet his strength was growing...
It was downright inexplicable!
Sect Master Tongtian had been suspicious from the start. But no matter how much he speculated, he couldn't uncover the answer he wanted, as if the Heavenly Secrets were obscured.
Even he was deeply shaken by it!
Still, he hadn't tried too hard to get to the bottom of things. Instead, he was even more convinced that Lin Chuan was hiding some unspeakable secret.
If it had only happened once or twice,
that might have been easy enough to explain. But when it happened again and again, it was bound to leave anyone astonished.
Now...
After seeing Lin Chuan teach the top-tier Eight-Nine Profound Art to Zhao Gongming, the corner of Sect Master Tongtian's mouth twitched.
He'd thought Lin Chuan had only been talking.
But the kid had actually done it!
"This kid—I'll make you pay one of these days!"
"I just need to think of a way. I refuse to believe I can't deal with you. I'm simply not letting you leave!"
Unable to come up with a countermeasure right away, Sect Master Tongtian muttered to himself. He knew perfectly well that Lin Chuan's most urgent desire was to leave Golden Ao Island.
But he refused to let him!
That made him feel a little better, at least. He could still annoy Lin Chuan a bit.
Of course, it was just a consolation. If it had been anyone else, Tongtian would probably have already flown into a rage.
But because it was Lin Chuan, he could only feel so frustrated.
Lin Chuan was definitely hiding a secret.
That was something Sect Master Tongtian firmly believed.
Not only had Lin Chuan known about the Great Tribulation of Investiture of the Gods before anyone else did, he could even describe in detail how many traitors the Interception Sect would have.
Though Tongtian didn't know whether it was true,
based on everything else, it did seem plausible.
At the same time, Lin Chuan was clearly slacking off all the time, yet his strength was impressive—greater than that of most of the disciples!
That left Sect Master Tongtian in a difficult position. Even when Lin Chuan occasionally did something outrageous, Tongtian had never truly considered punishing him too harshly.
Instead, he wanted to guide him!
"Wait..."
Sect Master Tongtian finally realized what had happened. He had been feeling a little frustrated just moments ago, since Lin Chuan had casually passed on a top-tier technique. It was honestly infuriating.
But as soon as it dawned on him,
he was utterly stunned—and deeply shocked.
In an instant, he vanished from where he stood.
He turned into a figure invisible to everyone else and appeared right beside Lin Chuan and Zhao Gongming.
He looked them up and down. The more he looked, the more shocked he became. He had been watching Lin Chuan the whole time, yet Lin Chuan had already mastered the Eight-Nine Profound Art!
Good heavens!
He hadn't even begun learning it before. In fact, Tongtian had only just assigned him the task of mastering those top-tier techniques, deliberately making things difficult for him.
Sect Master Tongtian had never believed anyone could master a top-tier technique in just a few short days, no matter how astonishing their talent was.
It simply wasn't realistic.
But...
What was he seeing now?
Good heavens!
Sect Master Tongtian was utterly shocked. He could already sense the aura of the Eight-Nine Profound Art on Lin Chuan.
Did that mean...
Lin Chuan had mastered it completely?
Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
Even as a Heavenly Dao Sage, Sect Master Tongtian couldn't believe anyone could master a top-tier technique in such a short time. Just how heaven-defying would someone's talent have to be?
Even he wouldn't dare claim that he could completely master a technique he'd never practiced before in such a short time!
One could imagine
just how shocked he was when he sensed this for himself!
Then he looked at Zhao Gongming.
There was no mistake!
It was the aura of the Eight-Nine Profound Art!
If Lin Chuan hadn't mastered it, he absolutely couldn't have taught it to someone else. Yet Lin Chuan had succeeded with such ease.
Sect Master Tongtian was completely astonished!
But that wasn't all. When he carefully sensed it again, an unmistakable look of shock spread across his face.
This...
This... Lin Chuan hadn't just mastered the Eight-Nine Profound Art. He had also learned the basics of all the other top-tier techniques, even if he'd only just begun.
That alone was terrifying. In just a few days, he'd accomplished something unprecedented!
Good heavens!
Sect Master Tongtian took another look, then vanished on the spot, appearing and disappearing without a trace. He made sure no one noticed him.
His emotions were so turbulent that the slightest slip could give him away. If someone caught him there, it would be terribly awkward.
Yet even after leaving, he couldn't calm the storm raging inside him.
He was utterly shocked!
"This kid has been hiding his true abilities all along!"
"Not only is he incredibly strong, he's even learned the basics of every technique—and he's completely mastered the Eight-Nine Profound Art."
"Could it be that he'd been cultivating it for a long time?"
Sect Master Tongtian shook his head slightly. He didn't think that was possible, because he'd sensed from the beginning that Lin Chuan had no other auras on him.
That meant Lin Chuan hadn't practiced it at all before.
He'd only come into contact with those top-tier techniques when Tongtian had assigned them to him.
And in just a few short days, he'd achieved such an astonishing result!
If he hadn't taught it to Zhao Gongming, Tongtian might never have found out!
Amid his shock, a smile slowly appeared at the corner of Sect Master Tongtian's mouth.
No one knew why he was smiling, but that smile was strangely reassuring.
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