Chapter 24
Shan Heyuan looked up in surprise.
Beside him, Qi Yuanbai was also staring in astonishment.
Ignoring Qi Yuanbai, He Wu topped up Shan Heyuan's teacup and said gently, "You have exceptional talent,
and though the bond between master and disciple
was not destined to be mine with you, you and I still have an affinity. Since you're about to reach Foundation Establishment, becoming my Registered Disciple will allow the Supreme Harmony Sect to help you along the way."
Shan Heyuan had not expected He Wu to think so highly of him.
Since transmigrating, he had received no small amount of care from the Supreme Harmony Sect, and in the past, he had collected quite a few subsidies from the sect.
Later, once his cultivation improved and he no longer lacked spirit beads, he stopped collecting the subsidies, but he kept the Supreme Harmony Sect's kindness in mind.
All sorts of thoughts welled up in Shan Heyuan's mind, and he quickly made a decision. "I'm honored by your favor, Senior. I'm willing to become your Registered Disciple."
"Good!" He Wu laughed heartily and looked at him with appreciation. "The year is nearly over, yet I never expected to encounter such a happy occasion. From now on, you are my Registered Disciple, and half a disciple of the Supreme Harmony Sect as well."
He Wu seemed delighted to have Shan Heyuan as a Registered Disciple and took two gifts from his storage Law Artifact especially for him. "This is a restriction talisman for Thousand Cries Peak. It permits you to move freely around the peak from now on. This bag contains seeds of the Foundation Establishment grade. You've always loved growing things, so take them and have fun."
Shan Heyuan accepted them and promptly changed how he addressed him. "Thank you, Master."
Qi Yuanbai was also delighted. He looked at He Wu, then at Shan Heyuan. "Shouldn't you call me senior brother from now on?"
He Wu said, "You two can work that out yourselves. I won't interfere."
Shan Heyuan looked at Qi Yuanbai's somewhat youthful face and simply couldn't bring himself to call him senior brother. He could only say, "Why don't we go by age? You should be the one calling me senior brother."
Qi Yuanbai thought that made sense too, and readily called him, "Senior Brother Shan."
Shan Heyuan answered, and everyone laughed together.
He Wu was a prominent figure in Jingzhishan Town. Before Shan Heyuan had even left Thousand Cries Peak, news that He Wu had taken him as a Registered Disciple had already spread.
On his way home on his flying sword, Shan Heyuan received several communication talismans. Everyone was asking about him taking a master.
He had no time to answer. All he wanted now was to rush home and tell Shen Duheng the news.
After Shan Heyuan left Thousand Cries Peak, Jiu Mingyue hurried into the hall. "Master, aren't you placing a little too much faith in Junior Brother Shan?"
He Wu looked up at his disciple and smiled. "You're already calling him junior brother. Don't you think highly of him too?"
Jiu Mingyue sat down opposite He Wu, fetched a fresh cup, and poured himself some tea. "I don't think quite as highly of him as you do, Master."
He Wu looked at his disciple drinking tea. Instead of answering the question, he said unhurriedly, "I cast a divination for your Junior Brother Shan earlier. I couldn't divine the truth, only what lay on the surface."
Jiu Mingyue was surprised. His master's swordsmanship only ranked among the top ten in Jingzhishan Town, but his divination was the best. For even him to be unable to divine the truth was truly extraordinary.
He Wu gave his assessment. "Your Junior Brother Shan's Root Bone is average, but his comprehension and fortuitous opportunities are truly at the level of a genius. His future accomplishments will surely be extraordinary."
Jiu Mingyue said, "Master, you've treated Junior Brother Shan too generously. I'm afraid it will be hard to justify to Martial Uncle Sect Leader."
He Wu said, "Isn't that what I have you for? Sorry for the trouble, but I'll need you to help explain it. Speaking of which, you've spent so long with him that you should know something of his character. Don't you think highly of him?"
Jiu Mingyue couldn't lie about that. "Junior Brother Shan is diligent and honest, optimistic and positive. He really is a very good person."
He Wu said, "He's such a good person, and now your master has brought him in as your junior brother. Isn't that good?"
Before Jiu Mingyue could answer, He Wu said with a smile, "Rather than adding flowers to brocade, it's better to deliver charcoal in the snow. Disciple, you still have much to learn in this regard. Don't be afraid of judging someone wrongly. Even if you do, it doesn't matter. There's no need to be stingy about such things."
Jiu Mingyue nodded solemnly. "I understand, Master."
Shan Heyuan had no idea that master and disciple had held such a conversation behind his back.
He hurried home in high spirits, found Shen Duheng, and excitedly told him what had happened.
Shen Duheng said, "He's an old fox, all right."
Shan Heyuan didn't mind at all. "Even if Master has something to gain, I'm still happy."
Shen Duheng said, "You and the Supreme Harmony Sect really do have some affinity."
Shan Heyuan said, "Mm! Master gave me a restriction talisman that lets me come and go freely from Thousand Cries Peak. In a couple of days, once the disciple center has everything ready, they'll give me a disciple talisman too. Then I'll be able to go into the Supreme Harmony Sect's library and read those basic books whenever I want."
Seeing how happy he was, Shen Duheng smiled too. "The treatment they're giving you is quite good. You'll probably reach Foundation Establishment within six months. It wouldn't hurt to take this opportunity to read more texts on Foundation Establishment."
Shan Heyuan said, "That's what I thought too. I'm not a formal disciple, so I can't use contribution points to read the finest texts, but even the ordinary ones are much better than what's available on the market."
Chapter 24
Only after becoming He Wu's disciple did Shan Heyuan learn that he also had a private garden.
Thousand Cries Peak's Spirit Plant garden was property assigned to the peak by the Supreme Harmony Sect. It was managed by successive Peak Masters, and when a Peak Master stepped down, the garden was passed on as well.
He Wu's private Spirit Plant garden, however, was truly his personal property and had nothing to do with the Supreme Harmony Sect.
Before the New Year, He Wu was leaving on a long journey, so he gave Shan Heyuan an extra restriction talisman for the Spirit Plant garden and asked him to look after it. He could use the Spirit Plants in it too, as long as he replenished them promptly afterward.
He Wu had been smiling as he spoke, and Shan Heyuan suspected that he knew the secret of his cultivation.
This nominal master was so generous that Shan Heyuan hardly knew what to say.
It really did help him enormously, though.
He no longer had to rack his brains searching for Foundation Establishment-grade plants.
Shan Heyuan did need a batch of Spirit Plants to speed up his cultivation now, so he didn't refuse.
He had always been the kind of person to return a peach with a plum. After deciding to cultivate in He Wu's private Spirit Plant garden, he gathered a batch of materials for firing fertilizer pills, planning to make them for He Wu's Spirit Plants.
When He Mingqing heard about this, she sought Shan Heyuan out. "Junior Brother Shan, could you do the firing at the Supreme Harmony Sect? We'd like to let the sect's growers and planting enthusiasts observe."
Shan Heyuan was surprised and reminded her, "Senior Sister He, my refining methods and techniques all come from Ge Xuan's Notes. There's nothing special about them."
He Mingqing said, "It's precisely because the methods and techniques all come from Ge Xuan's Notes, yet you can refine something different with them, that it's so surprising. If you agree, Junior Brother Shan, the sect can ask a talisman master to help set it up, and provide a batch of materials as your payment."
He Mingqing had clearly asked around and knew about his demonstrations for the other growers.
A demonstration for one group was still a demonstration, and so was one for two groups. Besides, he had learned the Spirit-Imbuing Heap-Burning Method from a book He Wu had given him, and it was no secret.
Shan Heyuan readily agreed. "Please make the arrangements, Senior Sister He. Once everything's ready, I'll do the refining."
The demonstration was ultimately held at the Supreme Harmony Sect's sword practice grounds.
That day, more than half the Supreme Harmony Sect came. The crowd was a sea of people, and nearly everyone wore an expression of excitement and curiosity.
The Supreme Harmony Sect's leader, He Wei, personally presided over the demonstration, clearly placing great importance on it.
It wasn't as though Shan Heyuan had never seen a big occasion.
When he was at university, he had given a graduation speech as a student representative. More than eight thousand people had been in the audience, nearly ten times the number here.
Even then, he hadn't been as nervous as he was now.
A few months ago, he had still been a penniless transmigrator whom a senior of the Supreme Harmony Sect had judged to have too many impurities in his body to cultivate.
In just a few short months, he had become a newly recognized genius grower, invited to demonstrate the Spirit-Imbuing Heap-Burning Method, one of the techniques that had made his name, before the Supreme Harmony Sect's disciples.
The sheer change in his circumstances was enough to make him sigh, and to make him nervous too.
The formation needed for heap-burning was soon ready. Shan Heyuan stood beside it, silently reciting the Clear Heart Instruction to clear his distracting thoughts.
Before stepping forward to begin the firing, he glanced at Shen Duheng, who stood beside He Wei with his sword in his arms, guarding him. His heart suddenly steadied, and only then did he step forward to begin heap-burning.