Taking a Disciple

A month later, Yi Xuan finally saw his little courtyard again. Naturally, he had brought back what he had gained on this trip—the Spirit Fire, Golden Flame.

With the help of his senior brother Shi Zhenghao, Yi Xuan had already fully refined Golden Flame. It now shone brilliantly in his sea of consciousness.

Yi Xuan had originally thought the auction would be the hardest part of the trip. To his surprise, it had gone extraordinarily smoothly. He had secured Golden Flame for just fifteen Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, something even he found hard to believe.

Shi Zhenghao, who had accompanied Yi Xuan, explained that Spirit Fires like Golden Flame were not uncommon in the cultivation world. In particular, a Spirit Fire like Golden Flame, which had no special properties, was beneath the notice of any cultivator with a bit of strength.

Those who did fancy it could not come up with so many Spirit Stones, which was why Yi Xuan had been able to obtain it so easily.

After hearing his senior brother describe Golden Flame, Yi Xuan thought for a moment and said, "Tasteless to eat, but a pity to throw away?"

Shi Zhenghao had not expected Yi Xuan to describe cultivators' attitude toward Golden Flame so precisely. He nodded, his face full of satisfaction.

Yi Xuan was left alone, a mess in the wind.

Fortunately, all Yi Xuan needed from Golden Flame was its heat, so he did not pay much attention to what the cultivation world thought of this kind of Spirit Fire.

He had been away from the little courtyard for nearly two months, yet it was remarkably tidy. The weapons he had casually refined for practice and tossed into the courtyard had even been neatly arranged on a shelf in the corner.

His bedroom was just like the courtyard. One glance was enough to tell that someone had been tending to it every day.

Yi Xuan knew this had to be Liang Shi's doing. After all, he had left the courtyard key with him when he departed.

Yi Xuan went over to the only vase in the room and examined it for a long while. Apart from being spotless, the vase did not appear to have been moved.

Still, Yi Xuan could not be certain. He turned the switch and entered the secret room.

As Yi Xuan entered, the secret room suddenly lit up.

"Boss! Welcome home!"

No. 01's familiar voice rang out, leaving Yi Xuan, who had been away for two months, feeling somewhat dazed.

"No. 01!"

"Yes, boss. What can I do for you?"

"Has the information been fully entered?"

The moment Yi Xuan entered the secret room, he knew it had been completely secure during his absence.

He had installed a self-destruct system inside No. 01. If an unauthorized stranger remained in the secret room for more than ten minutes, No. 01 would automatically begin a self-destruct countdown.

After ten seconds, everything would be completely destroyed except for the Jade Slip that served as No. 01's hard drive.

Since No. 01 had greeted him of its own accord, what he had worried about clearly had not happened.

"Boss, all information was entered ten days ago!"

Yi Xuan nodded at No. 01's words. Before leaving, he had entered information into No. 01's hard drive that, at its reading speed at the time, would have taken two months to finish reading.

He had not expected No. 01 to finish reading the information ten days early. It seemed that, as No. 01 learned on its own, its abilities in every respect were improving rapidly.

"Boss, should I continue entering information?" Seeing that Yi Xuan had said nothing, No. 01 actually took the initiative to ask.

Yi Xuan thought for a moment and said, "Not for now. No. 01, calculate how long a comprehensive self-check would take."

No. 01's screen began flashing continuously. When it stopped, No. 01's voice rang out again. "Boss, the calculation is complete. At the current stage, a comprehensive self-check will take eight hours! Should I begin the comprehensive self-check?"

Yi Xuan calculated the time in his head, then nodded. "Begin the self-check!"

He then left the secret room.

The next morning, Yi Xuan was awakened by the sound of sweeping in the courtyard.

He opened the door to find Liang Shi diligently sweeping the courtyard with a broom.

Hearing the door open, Liang Shi looked over in surprise. When he saw Yi Xuan emerge from the room, his face lit up. "Sir, when did you get back? I had no idea."

Then, seeing Yi Xuan's sleepy eyes, he glanced at the broom in his hand and seemed to understand. He hurriedly explained, "I'm terribly sorry, sir. I didn't know you were back, and I disturbed you!"

Yi Xuan waved a hand to show it was all right, then looked Liang Shi up and down. "All right, there's no need to sweep today. Come with me."

With that, he took Liang Shi by the arm and headed up the Azure Cloud Sect's mountain. Liang Shi, being pulled along by Yi Xuan, was somewhat at a loss. Yi Xuan led him all the way up the mountain to the Azure Cloud Sect's rear mountain.

When they stopped, Liang Shi looked at the building before him. Three large characters were written on it: Scripture Repository!

Liang Shi was startled, but Yi Xuan paid him no mind. He went to the rocking chair at the entrance to the Scripture Repository and said to the grand elder, "Elder, I'd like to take this kid to have his Spirit Root tested. Would that be all right?"

Without even opening his eyes, the grand elder flicked a token out of his sleeve and moved no more.

After thanking the grand elder, Yi Xuan pulled Liang Shi along again and ran to the place where the sect tested Spirit Roots. He presented the token the grand elder had given him.

The elder in charge of testing Spirit Roots gave Yi Xuan a surprised look but said nothing. He merely told Liang Shi to place both hands on a transparent sphere.

The sphere lit up, and the elder said, "Fourth-Grade Spirit Root," before falling silent again.

Yi Xuan nodded in satisfaction and led Liang Shi away.

That was right. Yi Xuan wanted to take Liang Shi as his disciple. Although Yi Xuan followed the path of technology, he still hoped his disciple would be able to cultivate, which was why he had brought Liang Shi to test his Spirit Root.

A Fourth-Grade Spirit Root could be considered the lowest grade in the cultivation world, but Yi Xuan did not care how good or poor Liang Shi's Spirit Root was. As long as he could cultivate, that was enough.

Back in the courtyard, Yi Xuan sat down, looked at Liang Shi standing before him, and asked, "Liang Shi! We've known each other for nearly half a year now!"

"Yes, sir!"

"When I first asked you to come work for me, it was only because I needed someone to run errands. But over these past several months together, I've found quite a few things about you that I greatly admire. So now, there's something I want to ask you!"

Seeing Yi Xuan's serious expression, Liang Shi responded solemnly, "Sir, whatever it is, please just give the word!"

"Would you be willing to take me as your master?"

"What?" Liang Shi could hardly believe his ears. In his heart, Yi Xuan had always been a reclusive expert. Even the grenades he casually made could sell for more than a hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

Yet now, this reclusive expert wanted to take him as a disciple. Liang Shi was too excited to speak. He opened his mouth for a long time, but no sound came out, so he dropped to his knees and kowtowed to Yi Xuan again and again.

Yi Xuan understood what he meant and helped him up. "But there are some things I have to tell you. Even though you're taking me as your master, you won't be a disciple of the sect! Do you understand?"

Although Liang Shi did not understand why Yi Xuan said that, he nodded to show that he understood.