As the demonstration ended,
Lan Yaoye sheathed her sword and flicked a jade scroll toward him. "Here. The Scorching Sky Dragon Tempest Art. Top secret — tell anyone, and I'll burn you myself."
Lin Chen caught the scroll with trembling hands. His face had gone pale, cold sweat tracing down his back.
Just witnessing that display of power nearly frozen his soul. The sheer magnitude of that attack… he almost lost control of his body just remembering it.
He swallowed hard, imagining what would've happened if that strike had been directed at him.
Not even the ashes would remain.
[No need to imagine.] Aiva's voice echoed calmly in his mind. [If that strike ever touches you, there's no need for a grave. You'd skip the burial and head straight to the afterlife.]
[It seems Heaven Mark Realm cultivators truly are inhuman. Their Essence Qi flows like rivers, their power vast enough to crush mountains and boil seas.]
"I know," Lin Chen muttered under his breath. "I have eyes—they're indeed inhuman. They're just nuclear warheads in human form."
Note to self — never, ever make this woman angry.
"So, if you have any doubts while learning the technique, come to me," Lan Yaoye said proudly, crossing her arms. Her gaze sparkled with confidence, as if the entire world were bowing before her presence. "I'll demonstrate it again for you."
She looked rather pleased with herself, clearly enjoying the dumbfounded expression on Lin Chen's face.
It was as though she had successfully established herself as a master worthy of awe and reverence — a peerless expert whose very existence inspired trembling devotion.
"Demonstration?" Lin Chen asked. His face perfectly straight, a faint trace of dry sarcasm hidden beneath his polite tone. "Then, Master, will you not explain how it actually works?"
He had learned the day before that the techniques were divided by grade — Mortal, Profound, Spirit, Illustrious, Saint, and the Immortal rank at the pinnacle.
And, of course, each grade was further divided into three sub-levels: Low, Mid, and High — a difference vast enough to separate mediocrity from transcendence.
Saint-rank techniques, like the one she just displayed, stood only one step beneath those used by true immortals.
Such divine arts were not things one could master by simply reading a scroll. They required guidance, precision, and deep comprehension passed down from a true expert.
"You see, disciple…" Lan Yaoye coughed lightly, turning her head away. "When it comes to explaining things… I'm not exactly the best."
Her voice carried a strange mix of pride and embarrassment.
She's a genius when it comes to understanding techniques and a monster in battle… but teaching others what she knows? Yeah, that's clearly her Achilles' heel.
Lin Chen stared at her silently, his gaze flat and unblinking.
So that's why all her disciples ran away, he thought dryly. She's powerful beyond measure — but she absolutely sucks at teaching.
Still, he wasn't too disappointed. It wasn't as if he needed her help anyway. With Aiva assisting his comprehension, even the most complex Saint-rank technique would unfold before him like an open book. He had only asked out of formality.
"Don't worry, Master," Lin Chen said solemnly, clasping his hands and bowing slightly. "That doesn't diminish my respect for you in the slightest."
Lan Yaoye's expression softened, clearly pleased with his words.
Of course, the truth was he had zero respect to begin with — so there wasn't anything to diminish.
To him, she was less like a mentor and more like a walking treasury — a beautiful one at that — who occasionally showered him with spirit pills, resources, and precious treasures.
And honestly? Lin Chen had no complaints about that arrangement.
Lan Yaoye gazed at her new disciple. A flicker of surprise flashed in her eyes. In the past, whenever she failed to meet her disciples' expectations, all she received were disappointed looks before they left one by one.
The truth was, her decision to take Lin Chen as a direct disciple had little to do with any noble desire to pass down her legacy. In reality… she was simply bored.
The sect had been too peaceful for too long. No rival sects causing trouble, no geniuses worth keeping an eye on, not even a duel fierce enough to break the monotony.
Every day was the same — meditation, cultivation, and more meditation. The silence of the sect was almost suffocating.
Then Lin Chen appeared — a disciple who could weave new techniques out of mere low-grade manuals, his comprehension bordering on monstrous. Even the so-called prodigies of the sect paled before such unorthodox brilliance.
To Lan Yaoye, it was almost laughable. A disciple who didn't need guidance, who could comprehend everything on his own — wasn't this practically a heaven-sent gift made just for her?
She wouldn't even need to lift a finger. He'd cultivate, comprehend, and progress on his own while she sat back, sipping tea and enjoying the quiet life. Truly, the heavens had shown mercy to her lazy soul.
Now, as she watched Lin Chen sitting obediently before her — polite, sharp-eyed, and outwardly humble — a faint warmth stirred within her chest.
"My dear disciple is truly kind and well-behaved," she thought with a gentle smile. "How could anyone not love such a sweet child?"
If only she knew what schemes were spinning inside that "sweet child's" head, perhaps that smile wouldn't have looked quite so serene.
Lin Chen had no idea that his master had completely misunderstood his words.
Before Lin Chen could process what was happening, Lan Yaoye grabbed him in a sudden burst of excitement, pulling his face squarely into her chest. He was smothered against two soft, overwhelming mountains.
"Master loves you so much! To have such a disciple..." she cooed.
As a man, he knew that this situation should have been a benefit, but reality was dangerously tight. He couldn't draw a breath.
"Master... I can't... breathe..." his voice was a stifled gasp. If this continued, he would tragically suffocate between a woman's breasts, forever recorded in history as the most pathetic death imaginable.
***
A week quietly slipped by after that incident.
During this time, he made full use of his status as the direct disciple of an Elder, enjoying privileges that most inner sect disciples could only dream of.
He spent his days immersed in the Inner Court's Technique Hall, freely perusing scrolls and jade slips that were strictly forbidden to ordinary disciples.
As he absorbed these teachings, Aiva upgraded his cultivation technique. The first version had allowed him to absorb Essence Qi at a rate of 100% efficiency, but now, with the upgraded Version 2, the efficiency had soared to 500% — five times faster than before.
Such efficiency rivaled the rare High-Grade Illustrious techniques; even within the sect, techniques of this caliber occupied the very pinnacle.
Although it was still nothing more than a spark for his trash-tier body, it was at least useful—his cultivation speed had increased, even if only slightly.
However, cultivation progress wasn't the only thing that had changed in that week.
His master, Lan Yaoye—was proving to be a greater challenge than any bottleneck.
She showed up everywhere.
When he trained his sword, she appeared.
When he exercised, she appeared.
When he cultivated, she still appeared.
The only time she wasn't around was when he was bathing… and he had the sneaking suspicion she was considering that too.
"Master, don't you have… duties? Sect meetings? Disciplinary tasks? Anything?" Lin Chen finally asked one day, his patience on the brink of collapse.
Her response nearly made him cough up blood.
"No," Lan Yaoye said seriously, puffing her chest with pride. "I always mess up official matters. So, all the administrative work is handled by the other elders. I just handle muscle work when someone needs to get beaten."
Lin Chen froze.
That day, in his mind, he added two new titles to her ever-growing list—
Slacker and Clumsy Musclehead.
Still, despite her constant interruptions and unpredictable behavior, his cultivation advanced smoothly.
By the end of the week, he had broken through to the Second Stage of the Essence Forging Realm.
And yet… today was different.
Because today, something important awaited him.
"It's finally time…"
*****
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