Southern Tang Shu Tang Sect

"Master, is this the new junior sister?"

Upon seeing Meng Yiran, Ning Rongrong, being the most extroverted of the three, had eyes that lit up as she looked at the girl.

As for the relatively reserved Zhu Zhuqing and Luo Xiaoshi, they felt nothing amiss and simply offered their greetings.

Everyone knew that it was impossible for Chen An not to take on disciples, especially now that he had just displayed a wave of his strength.

After Chen An nodded, Ning Rongrong took the initiative to take on the task of introducing everyone.

"Greetings, Eldest Senior Sister, Senior Brother, and Third Senior Sister."

Meng Yiran greeted them one by one. Chen An ranked seniority here based on the time of entry, not by some sloppy age-based order.

"Yiran will be joining you for team formations; you all can figure out the 2v2 pairings in a moment. Yiran, come with me to the Technique Pavilion first."

Arriving before the Technique Pavilion, Meng Yiran, like the other disciples, entered a dazed state and obtained her cultivation technique.

Yet, Chen An felt a bit depressed—how could this girl have sobered up so quickly?

She had only been in the state of technique inheritance for half a minute, which meant she had gained almost nothing. Watching this scene, Chen An furrowed his brows.

What did this signify? There were only two possibilities: either Meng Yiran's talent was relatively weak, or the technique inheritance she received was meager.

"Disciple, what technique have you obtained?"

Seeing Meng Yiran emerge with a face full of joy, he asked.

"The Startling Feather Art, and another set called the Flying Flower Mechanism Record."

He had some impression of these techniques, but they were quite unfamiliar. After a quick search, he realized they were techniques from JX3.

As for that general record, it was a cultivation method from Moonlight Blade, which recorded the hidden weapon techniques of the Southern Tang Shu Tang Sect, as well as the puppet mechanism arts developed after the strife of the Eight Desolations.

"Hiss, how could it be this stuff? Is it fate?"

Chen An muttered to himself. This set of things had a ceiling; it was completely incomparable to the techniques of his other three disciples.

"Do you wish to practice this technique?"

As he spoke, he glanced at the record in her hands, then shifted his gaze to her face and continued.

"If you want to change it, I can help you replace it."

He stood by his principle: he would not dictate his students' paths. The Flying Flower Record could be practiced, but he was truly unsatisfied with this technique.

The gap was too large; in the later stages, she would likely be unable to keep up with the pace of her other senior brothers and sisters.

"Master, I still wish to practice this."

Meng Yiran was silent for a moment. She vaguely understood what her master meant, but the technique in her hands happened to hit her specific interests perfectly.

After she spoke under pressure, Chen An felt a bit dejected. If the child wanted to practice it, then so be it. At worst, he would do as he did with Huo Huo—pile resources on her. Even if he had to brute-force it, he would pile her up to the pinnacle of this realm.

But her next sentence made his mood improve quite a bit.

"I am interested in hidden weapons, and now I am also interested in mechanism puppets, but I am completely ignorant regarding internal energy. I ask Master to enlighten me."

Chen An blinked, feeling a sense of relief.

So she wasn't a stubborn child after all. That was good, very good.

External techniques were easy to handle; whether it was hidden weapons or conventional martial arts, they were all just means to an end.

Only internal energy was the most crucial of all.

If one practiced poor internal energy, their mana bar would be shorter than the opponent's, and they would be at a pure disadvantage during combat.

"Cough, this Startling Feather Art is a tier too low for you; it is a technique meant for registered disciples. Your master has a technique here that I have refined myself, called the Supreme Mystery Scripture. What do you think?"

This Supreme Mystery Scripture was the one from Jin Yong's works.

Chen An had once been bored and modified techniques; after all, he had the means to evaluate whether his modifications were better or worse.

Thus, he had picked one at random, and it was precisely this Supreme Mystery Scripture.

"I will respectfully follow Master's arrangements."

After settling this matter, Chen An took the opportunity to find a quiet place and began giving Meng Yiran her first lesson.

It was the same established content as always, followed by guiding her in practicing the Supreme Mystery Scripture.

But before starting, Chen An asked.

"Little Meng, what led you to walk the path of hidden weapons?"

By now, Meng Yiran was much more familiar with Chen An, and her speech became natural.

"Master, initially, it was because my martial soul is a Serpent Cane, so I started looking for things to strengthen my own power.

Later, throwing knives attracted me. A few days ago, while hunting for soul rings, I met a person named Tang San and came into contact with a higher definition of hidden weapons, only then realizing my own shallowness."

Throwing knives counted as a type of hidden weapon; Meng Yiran was not wrong.

And since she hadn't finished speaking, Chen An didn't interrupt, letting her continue.

"Originally, I thought that was all there was to hidden weapons, but after following you, Master, and learning of this Flying Flower Mechanism Record, I realized that there is a heaven beyond heaven, and people beyond people."

According to the claims in the Flying Flower Record, relying solely on mechanisms and hidden weapons was enough to pacify the world and stand proud above all heroes.

Pondering this matter, Chen An made up his mind to provide in-depth instruction on the art of mechanisms in the future.

Things like concealing hidden weapons within mechanisms or firing cannons on flat ground.

"Then what is your take on the scene within the inheritance?"

Chen An continued to ask. On the way over, he had already inquired about what she saw to gauge the situation.

"I yearn for it; the scene was incredibly prosperous."

Anyone who has obtained a cultivation technique and received an inheritance would speculate and eventually realize that there is more to the world than just Douluo.

Chen An did not hide anything; as long as someone asked, he would answer truthfully.

"Then do you want to know the specific background?"

Meng Yiran nodded. Understanding the background is actually beneficial to practicing martial arts, much like how remembering a historical event is easier when you understand the cause and effect, which helps with memory and comprehension.

"Those were two incredibly glorious dynasties; one was called Tang, and the other was called Song..."

Chen An spoke at length, more detailed than ever before, because he held unique emotions and a certain nostalgia for these matters.

Meng Yiran listened very intently, but after hearing it all, she unexpectedly became worried.

"Master, will the Southern Tang Shu Tang Sect acknowledge me?"

Chen An thought about it; this was indeed a good question.

"They will acknowledge you. If you were to go there, you would hold an orthodox position."

If they did not acknowledge her, how could the inheritance within the cultivation technique have taken effect? Of course, this acknowledgment still depended on the people involved, but he believed that if she truly met that Sect Master and spoke properly, it should be fine. Not everyone was like Tang San.

"Then Master, I once heard that Tang San say he came from the Tang Sect."

Chen An shook his head. This Tang Sect was not that Tang Sect; they were things from two different worlds, merely similar.

"No, the two of you will inevitably have a battle. It will be similar to a struggle between schools of thought and orthodoxy, or perhaps a dispute over who is real and who is fake. Unless you stop practicing this martial art, or submit to the other party—in which case you might have to cripple your own cultivation."

Chen An spoke the truth without exaggerating to intimidate Meng Yiran, because there was no need.

Given Tang San's mindset, he would certainly think this way and act accordingly.

"Master, I want to cultivate. I am not necessarily weaker than others, and as you said, the technique chose me and acknowledged my identity, so I must shoulder this responsibility."

Chen An smiled with gratification. He had thought this girl might shrink back due to emotions or other factors, but he had not expected her to be so responsible.

In that case, he would have to teach her even better. He found himself inexplicably looking forward to what it would be like when the two of them clashed: Tang Sect versus Tang Sect—whoever lost would be the fake, and whoever lost would be the one who stole the technique.

"I have another martial art on hand that is suitable for you. Let me go over it with you before you practice your internal energy."

Chen An took out a manual. Written on it was Little Li Flying Dagger, but in Chen An's heart, it had another name.

Little Li Mother Flying Dagger!