For Chen Yan, a greater blow than losing to Qin Qingyu at the Heavenly Summit Mountain Dao Inquiry was losing to her without being able to fight back at all.

The strongest genius among the younger generation of Kongshan Sect disciples.

This was not something Chen Yan claimed about himself. It was a fact acknowledged throughout the cultivation world of Chenping Continent.

Under the watchful eyes of more than twenty thousand cultivators from the Five Regions and Eight Wilds of Chenping Continent, representing various cultivation sects, what should have been the “battle of the champions” among the younger generation of Chenping Continent ended in a manner so swift it was almost comical.

He had been a heaven-chosen talent who had enjoyed nothing but smooth sailing ever since the day he set foot on the path of immortality, never once encountering a setback. Yet after suffering such a crushing defeat, he received no sympathy or sighs of pity. There were not even any voices of mockery or scorn.

He was simply ignored, treated as if he were invisible.

Everyone could see only that bright moon suspended in the sky, and no one noticed the star in a corner of the night sky, like a speck of dust beside the moon.

......

The Path to Immortality stretches on without end.

A year after the Heavenly Summit Mountain Dao Inquiry, Chen Yan, now at the peak of the Martial Spring Realm, voiced this sentiment for the first time.

He was now nineteen years old.

Since losing to Qin Qingyu a year ago, Chen Yan had become much more reserved than he had been in the past, when he was utterly overconfident.

He had learned to guard against both arrogance and impatience.

At his current rate of cultivation, it would take no more than two years for him to break through to the Qi Sea Realm.

This pace had already left Chu Xiyao and Li Haowen behind.

Li Haowen was twenty-three this year, and only a month ago had he finally begun his seclusion.

According to Wei Mian, Sword Master Elder of Yuanhua Mountain, Li Haowen was certain to reach the Qi Sea Realm within two months.

Speaking of Wei Mian, Chen Yan had always thought this Yuanhua Mountain Sword Master Elder was an interesting person.

Because of his close ties with Li Haowen and Lin Xinyang, Chen Yan often crossed paths with Elder Wei as well.

He looked to be a little over forty, with a beard that was neither short nor long on his chin. His favorite pastime was fishing beside the Jieyou Abyss on Yuanhua Mountain.

Rather than a great power of the Myriad Transformations Realm or Yuanhua Mountain’s Sword Master Elder, Chen Yan thought Wei Mian seemed more like the smiling uncle from his past life who had lived next door and always greeted him with a grin.

“Well, if it isn’t Chief Disciple Chen!”

Whenever Chen Yan visited Yuanhua Mountain and happened upon Wei Mian fishing beside the Jieyou Abyss, Wei Mian would always greet him with a half-joking remark like this.

Chen Yan believed that Wei Mian deserved at least seventy percent of the credit for Li Haowen and Lin Xinyang growing into such upright and kindhearted people.

However, on Kongyuan Mountain, neither Wen Hongli, its Upholding Law Elder, nor Zhong Yin, its Dignity Elder, seemed to think very highly of Wei Mian.

The reason was that Wei Mian “had no foundation.”

Chen Yan was somewhat surprised when he first heard this rumor.

The dignified Sword Master Elder of Yuanhua Mountain had no foundation?

What exactly did “foundation” mean?

...Could it mean the Four Supreme Courts?

These were only guesses Chen Yan had made on the spur of the moment. As a Lower Three Realms cultivator and merely the chief disciple of Kongyuan Mountain, he naturally had no opportunity to interact with any of Kongshan Sect’s Grand Elders.

As for the so-called Four Supreme Courts, Chen Yan had only the vaguest outline of them in his mind.

As for Qingchan Peak, after a year, Qin Yue’s cultivation continued to advance by leaps and bounds.

Although she still had yet to catch up with Chu Xiyao, if things continued this way, it seemed only a matter of time before Qin Yue surpassed her in cultivation.

Kongyuan Mountain, early morning.

The instant the rising sun pierced the morning mist and cast its light over Kongyuan Mountain’s sheer cliffs, the shadow of a young disciple appeared outside Chen Yan’s residence.

“Senior Brother Chen.”

The young disciple raised a hand and gently knocked on the door three times.

Chen Yan, meditating cross-legged on his bed, slowly opened his eyes, then turned his gaze toward the young disciple.

For a cultivator at the peak of the Martial Spring Realm, the need for sleep was almost negligible.

Chen Yan spent most nights sitting cross-legged on his bed, cleansing his meridians and circulating his true qi.

Chen Yan also knew the figure standing outside his door.

His name was Wei Zhen. He was a manager disciple at Kongyuan Mountain’s Scripture Hall, and could be considered a direct subordinate of Chen Yan’s Master within the hall.

Under normal circumstances, if Wei Zhen came to see him, it meant only one thing.

Lu Li was looking for him.

“What is it?”

Though Chen Yan already had a good idea, he still asked.

“Protector Lu wants you to come to the Scripture Hall.”

The voice came from outside again.

“Understood. I’ll be there right away,”

Chen Yan replied.

“Very well, Senior Brother Chen. I’ll take my leave.”

After saying this, Chen Yan saw the shadow outside the residence bow in his direction, then depart from the doorway.

Chen Yan rose from his bed and walked toward the door.

The instant he opened it, cool, fresh air greeted him.

He looked at the courtyard before him.

Ever since he had entered Kongyuan Mountain from the outer court at the age of thirteen, he had seen almost exactly the same scenery each time he stepped outside.

How long had this view remained unchanged?

A hundred years? A thousand?

Chen Yan did not know.

The only thing he knew was that today, Kongshan Sect seemed just as unchanged as ever.

Musing on this, Chen Yan stepped out of the courtyard and headed toward the Scripture Hall.

Lu Li was seated in a side hall of the Scripture Hall, sorting through the classics arranged in front of him.

“Master.”

Chen Yan looked at the lean-faced young man seated behind the desk and bowed from the doorway.

“You’re here?”

Lu Li raised his eyes slightly.

“Junior Brother Wei said you wanted to see me,”

Chen Yan continued.

“There are a few matters I need you to take care of.”

Lu Li said,

“Three days from now, I’ll be going to Lingxiao Temple with Elder Murong. I may not return for more than a month, so you’ll need to handle some of the Scripture Hall’s affairs in the meantime. If anything proves difficult, go straight to Wei Zhen or Supervisor Tang and have them take care of it for you. Also...”

At that, Lu Li suddenly fell silent.

“Master?”

Chen Yan had been listening closely to Lu Li, and now he felt something was amiss.

The next instant, he felt the meridians throughout his body twitch, and the true qi flowing through them began to grow chaotic.

Chen Yan hurriedly regulated his breathing and steadied the true qi within his body.

Just as he was wondering what was happening, a distant roar seemed to come from the direction of Kongshan Sect’s outer court.

“What happened?”

Perplexed and bewildered, Chen Yan turned around and looked out of the Scripture Hall.

Lu Li, seated behind the desk, remained motionless.

Countless fluctuations flashed through his eyes, as if he had experienced tens of thousands of years in the blink of an eye...

At last, Lu Li slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they held nothing but calm, without sorrow or joy.

“It’s only what was supposed to happen.”

“Lu Li” said.

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