Cognition

When Bian Chunchou saw so many people around, he hurriedly pulled his two friends away from Six Lectures Peak and found an unoccupied summit to talk.

"Wen Xu-Xu, you were insanely cool just now! But that doesn't seem like you at all." Bian Chunchou spoke excitedly. "Chen Zui-Zui, don't you think so?"

Chen Zui merely scratched his head, utterly puzzled. "Didn't he just speak a few truths? We really aren't familiar with Lin Congcong."

"Forget it, you don't need to understand." Bian Chunchou smiled. "Wen Xu-Xu, what happened to you these past few days? Why didn't you reply to any Communication Talismans?"

Before Wen Xu could speak, Chen Zui spoke first. "He advanced."

Bian Chunchou: "OvO?"

"The Seventh Layer of Qi Refining?" Chen Zui looked at Wen Xu, boundless competitive spirit blazing in his heart.

Wen Xu nodded. "Mm. A few days ago, according to my master, I had an epiphany."

Bian Chunchou: !!!!!!!!

As expected of my brother! He immediately offered his congratulations. "Congratulations, Wen Xu-Xu! You're so smart!"

Wen Xu lightly pressed his lips together, but the corners still could not help curling up a little. "Thank you."

Chen Zui thought, what was there to thank him for? A real man ought to say, "Wen Xu, want to fight?"

Wen Xu: ...This humble student is a scholar.

Cognition

Leaping from the Second Layer of Qi Refining to the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining, Wen Xu honestly did not feel much about it. He had merely opened the Myriad Things Arise Art, then understood the principle that wind could influence all things.

Then, he began to feel that the first-level technique of the Myriad Things Arise Art, Birth of Myriad Things, which had originally been obscure and difficult to comprehend, had suddenly become simple. It was like when he took the children's examination: the examiner had handed him a Provincial Graduate examination paper. He had studied it for ages without finding an answer, but after his epiphany, the examiner handed him the correct children's examination paper, and naturally, he could take the test with ease.

Those seven days had, in his perception, lasted no more than an instant. When he opened his eyes, he heard his master's voice, brimming with laughter. "Not bad. An epiphany on your very first cultivation session, and you've reached the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining."

Only then did Wen Xu look inward at his Dantian. Sure enough, there were five more Qi Seas within it, and each Qi Sea had expanded considerably. He tried circulating the spiritual power in his body; compared to before, it flowed more smoothly by more than tenfold.

Joy immediately rose in his heart. "Thank you for your guidance, Master." He had taken another great step toward the Golden Core.

Divine Venerable Cheng Wei smiled and waved a hand. "Easy, easy. But your cultivation has risen too quickly, while your body's reactions have yet to catch up. Blades, spears, staffs, axes—which do you like?"

Wen Xu thought for a moment, then honestly shook his head. "This disciple has no particular preference."

Divine Venerable Cheng Wei, this dragon, seemed unreliable, but those who truly knew him all knew that he was exceptionally meticulous. He would only be meticulous where he felt it necessary. For instance, right now, many people on Yonglu Mountain, including quite a few high-ranking elders, believed he had accepted a disciple merely because he was bored and wanted someone to play with. As for how seriously he would teach, that remained open to question.

But in truth, he was quite a traditional dragon. Since he had taken in this reserved disciple, he could not avoid prying open the little fellow's defenses. To him, this was quite interesting—and quite challenging. "I see. A-Xu, can you tell your master about your experiences in the Mortal Realm?"

Wen Xu did not understand. "What does Master wish to know?"

"Eh, can't your master learn more about his only personal disciple? Your master is over a thousand years old and has accepted only you as a disciple. It's my first time being someone's master, so I have no choice but to cross the river by feeling for stones. Shouldn't I ask?" Divine Venerable Cheng Wei sat down casually on the ground and restrained his aura, looking exactly like an ordinary person.

At least, that was how he appeared in the face-blind Wen Xu's eyes.

Wen Xu froze, then hurriedly waved his hands. "No, that is not what this disciple meant. This disciple simply... does not know where to begin." Few people had ever taken an interest in his past.

This little fellow seemed terribly starved for affection. Divine Venerable Cheng Wei propped his cheek on one hand and said carelessly, "Then start with... how you learned to read and write. A-Xu, were you a scholar in the Mortal Realm?"

"How did Master know?"

"Mm-hm. Everyone says your master can see straight into people's hearts. You don't believe it?" As for the truth, this little fellow possessed an Imperial Destiny, but it had been suppressed too fiercely. Thus, some azure scholarly aura formed through acquired effort still lingered around his Destiny Pattern.

Wen Xu: I believed it before, but now I'm not so sure.

"Master is right. This disciple truly was a scholar in the Mortal Realm."

"Did you earn any scholarly rank?"

"At eighteen, I became a Provincial Graduate."

Oh ho, my disciple is actually a Literary Star! No wonder he could comprehend the Myriad Things Arise Art so quickly. Scholars cultivating immortality actually had such an advantage? If word spread, quite a few shameless old fellows would likely sneak off to the Mortal Realm to seek out disciples to their liking.

"I heard that scholars in the Mortal Realm need to be physically healthy and free of disabilities. You did not pretend to be blind before?"

At the mention of this, Wen Xu was slightly embarrassed. "Mm."

"It must have been hard, right?" Divine Venerable Cheng Wei thought about it. He had needed to keep up with his studies while concealing his unusual eyes, and the crucial thing was that he had done it rather successfully. Cheng Wei was beginning to admire his disciple's character.

Wen Xu instinctively wanted to deny it, but before he could speak, his master's voice sounded again. "A-Xu, don't casually deny your own hardships and efforts. Deny them too often, and perhaps even you yourself will overlook things that should have been valued."

Wen Xu was stunned, so much so that he forgot what he had intended to say.

"Enough, enough. Your master won't chat with you any longer. Cultivation must have both tension and relaxation to endure for the long haul. Go play with your little friends. If you don't go out soon, there won't be any room left to set foot among the Communication Talismans on the gate."

Just as Divine Venerable Cheng Wei was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something and turned back. "I nearly forgot. Since you have no preference, start with sword practice. Don't limit yourself to any particular moves—go choose something yourself at the Scripture Repository Tower. Your master doesn't have those low-level sword arts."

Wen Xu: ...Master truly came and went like the wind.