Xiao Yan's Thesis Topic: Yunlan Sect

Xiao Yan's Thesis Topic—Yunlan Sect

"It seems you're surprised. You think that since I caused such a scene at the Yunlan Sect over your broken engagement, I shouldn't be treating you kindly, don't you?"

Seeing the surprise on Nalan Yanran's face, Yang Chen smiled as he accepted the tea Yun Yun had poured. After nodding his thanks and taking a light sip, he gently shook his folding fan again and said,

"Do you really take me, Yang Chen, for such a petty man?"

"Yanran would not dare. It is only that Yanran never imagined that True Lord would not mind Yanran's previous offense."

Nalan Yanran's expression was complicated. She could not help recalling how her fellow disciples of the Yunlan Sect had changed their attitudes toward her yesterday, and a sense of irony rose in her heart.

She, Nalan Yanran, the future young sect master of the mighty Yunlan Sect, had been endlessly criticized, cursed, and ostracized by all the sect's disciples, openly and in secret.

If she had truly caused the Yunlan Sect tremendous losses and countless casualties, then she would have accepted their reproach and abuse without a word of complaint.

But what had actually happened? Other than Great Elder Yun Leng offending Yang Chen and getting injured, and the jade plaza needing repairs, how much had the Yunlan Sect really lost?

The Yunlan Sect was still the same Yunlan Sect. Sect Master Yun Yun and the many experts within the sect had not lost a single person because of this.

Its greatest loss was probably the powerful prestige that had once shaken the Jia Ma Empire. Its disciples had lost the capital to swagger about and the intimidation they used to bully the weak.

But even without her, Yang Chen would still exist. Others would still stand above the Yunlan Sect, and the Yunlan Sect would no longer be the sect that could run rampant without restraint.

Yet in the end, Yang Chen did not hold much resentment toward her because of the broken engagement. Instead, those who had supported her decision to break it off were constantly belittling and insulting her. How ridiculous.

"Who has not been youthful, reckless, ignorant, and impulsive? To recognize one's mistakes and correct them is the greatest virtue."

A trace of sorrow flashed through Yang Chen's eyes. Though he had never experienced it himself, the inheritance he had received contained Erlang God Yang Jian's experiences from back then. Because of a moment of impulsiveness, he had caused the deaths of his closest loved ones.

Perhaps because the pain had been so heartrending, even that experience had been fused into the inheritance, leaving Yang Chen deeply affected.

Yun Yun caught the flash of sorrow in Yang Chen's eyes, and her heart inexplicably ached. Her delicate hand clenched unconsciously, while her beautiful eyes lingered on him for a long time.

"Let's not speak of that. I have an agreement with your teacher. I can teach you cultivation, of course, whether you are willing is entirely up to you. I have never liked forcing others."

As he spoke, Yang Chen's gaze turned toward Cloud Mist Mountain. Yet the depth of his eyes made it impossible to guess what he was thinking.

The Yunlan Sect, and even the two women before him, shared extraordinary ties with him. More precisely, Yun Shan had a deep connection with him. Back then, if not for Yun Shan, perhaps he would have...

Thinking this, Yang Chen could not help glancing at Yun Yun. Then he lowered his eyes, and the fingers holding his teacup tightened slightly.

The moment Yang Chen spoke, Nalan Yanran's face changed in shock. She stared at him in disbelief, then looked at Yun Yun, whose eyes were practically glued to him. A smile rose uncontrollably at the corner of her lips.

"Yes. Then Yanran thanks True Lord greatly!"

"There is no need to thank me. I am merely doing it in passing. Sometimes, the road of life is lonely when one walks it alone. You, Xiao Yan, and even Xiao Xun'er are all quite good. To encounter someone who walks the same path—whether an opponent, a close friend, or something else—is a very happy thing."

Yun Yun lightly bit her red lips. Looking at the man before her, whose tone carried a sense of loneliness and emptiness, an impulse surged in her heart. But when the words reached her lips, she forcibly suppressed them.

"Besides, if I do not teach you, then three years from now, not to mention Xiao Xun'er—even Xiao Yan may not be someone you can withstand for ten exchanges."

If Nalan Yanran was too weak, how could she temper Xiao Yan? If the whetstone was no good, how could it sharpen an unparalleled blade?

To describe Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran's current situation in terms from before his transmigration:

Xiao Yan was the top scorer on the middle-school entrance exam, with perfect scores in both subjects. But for certain reasons, he had not attended middle school and had only taught himself some fundamentals.

Nalan Yanran, meanwhile, had also performed excellently on the entrance exam and had been directly admitted into a six-year elite training class, receiving full-time instruction from a renowned teacher like Yun Yun.

Now, the high-school entrance exams had ended. Nalan Yanran had taken first place, while Xiao Yan's grades were poor, but his intelligence was off the charts and his foundation was solid. He was now receiving one-on-one, full-time tutoring from a top professor and academic authority like Yao Chen.

Though Yun Yun was also a renowned teacher, compared to an academic giant like Yao Chen, the gap was like heaven and earth. At the same time, the test setters were all Xiao Yan's uncle's people, and the entire exam had been designed for Xiao Yan to take.

Under such circumstances, as long as Xiao Yan paid attention in class and answered the questions properly over the next three years, the top scorer's title would practically be his for the taking.

But top scorers were not all the same. A top scorer with seven hundred points was still a top scorer. A top scorer with seven hundred and fifty points, or one who won the title with seven hundred and forty-nine points—well, he was still a top scorer. But how could the two be mentioned in the same breath?

Therefore, Yang Chen intended to give Nalan Yanran some study materials, allowing her to rise from aiming for seven hundred points to aiming for seven hundred and forty. That way, she could give Xiao Yan a sense of pressure and make him work even harder to raise his score.

Yang Chen had never merely wanted Xiao Yan to obtain the title of top scorer. He wanted Xiao Yan to strive for higher marks, to push from seven hundred to seven hundred and twenty, seven hundred and thirty, or even seven hundred and fifty.

Hearing Yang Chen's words, Nalan Yanran unconsciously pictured the young man's resolute eyes. Her heart was stirred, and she did not refute Yang Chen. She did not know whether she trusted Yang Chen's judgment or the young man who had left such an unforgettable impression on her.

Then Xiao Xun'er's figure appeared in Nalan Yanran's mind, and her gaze instantly became firm. Clenching her fists tightly, she answered in a low voice,

"I definitely will not disappoint True Lord!"

"Then it will depend on you."

Yang Chen smiled. He was quite interested in seeing just how far Nalan Yanran could go. In terms of talent, she was already an excellent choice. Now that her temperament had improved so greatly, her future was indeed promising.

"Miss Yun, I will be leaving Jia Ma Holy City tomorrow, so I will pass this inheritance on to you first. You are her teacher, so naturally you must give it more thought."

Yun Yun, who had been called upon, still wore a blank expression when she saw Yang Chen staring directly into her eyes. Before the embarrassment in her heart could even rise, a massive flood of information poured into her soul.

It was the inherited cultivation method of Wind Lord Feilian, the ancient deity who governed the wind. Though calling it Wind Lord's inherited cultivation method was not entirely accurate, because it contained only the first portion. That portion was what lesser deities under a god would cultivate; the latter part was the true inheritance of a god.

As for the subsequent inheritance, Yang Chen did not possess it at present. After all, Wind Lord was unlike the Sun-Devouring Divine Lord. Erlang God might not have had Wind Lord's inheritance, and at least for now, Yang Chen did not have it.

Even so, this small portion of the cultivation method was enough to support cultivation all the way to the Dou Saint realm. In terms of cultivation methods and combat techniques, it was sufficient to rival Xiao Xun'er's.

Yang Chen did this partly because he wanted to see a contest between Nalan Yanran and Xiao Xun'er, but naturally, it was also to give Xiao Yan enough pressure.

Unlike the original story, Xiao Yan now had Yang Chen's help. Combined with Xiao Yan's own talent and Yao Chen's full support in training him, he would definitely become stronger than he had originally been.

Nalan Yanran, on the other hand, was in the opposite situation.

Because of Yang Chen's battle on Cloud Mist Mountain, Yun Yun and core Yunlan Sect members such as Yun Leng had developed a tremendous rift. It could even be said that Yun Yun had more or less been kicked out of the Yunlan Sect's inner circle.

Without the Yunlan Sect's enormous resource support and Gu He's assistance, Nalan Yanran would naturally find it extremely difficult to reach her original realm of a Great Dou Master three years later.

With this back and forth, Xiao Yan would not need long to catch up to her, perhaps even surpassing her quickly. If that happened, Xiao Yan would have no pressure at all.

Though Xiao Yan, having experienced three years of decline, was now almost incapable of becoming arrogant, complacent, or losing himself due to rapid growth in strength, once he lost his goal, he could still easily slack off and lose his fighting spirit.

Therefore, this first goal had to place enough pressure on Xiao Yan.

Besides, Yang Chen naturally needed to cultivate as well. He could not keep watching Xiao Yan forever. Having a Nalan Yanran constantly spurring Xiao Yan onward would be a good thing.

Moreover, according to Yang Chen's agreement with Yun Yun, after he taught Nalan Yanran, Yun Yun would help him keep the Yunlan Sect in check, allowing him to cultivate without worry for the time being.

As for flattening the Yunlan Sect, Yang Chen did possess that strength now. Although Yun Shan was a Dou Zong, Yang Chen was not without means to kill him if he went all out. But in that case, he himself would need a long period of recovery, which could easily affect his cultivation.

More importantly, he would leave this tough bone for his nephew as a trial. In the terms of his previous life, the Yunlan Sect was like the first thesis topic that Xiao Yan's professor uncle had chosen for Xiao Yan after he entered university.