Watching the Mountain

"The instructor is fierce. He'll call me stupid." After a pause, she raised her head, a dreamy look on her face. "Besides," she added,

"I want to get better in secret so everyone will be impressed with me, hehehe."

The corner of her mouth curled up as she spoke, lost in some fantasy.

Xu Ran sighed softly. He understood now. She was just a student who was a bit slow. After probably being talked down to by the instructor and gossiped about by her peers, she wanted to study hard in secret and then shock everyone with her progress.

'Yes, to put it simply, she just wants to be praised.'

He shook his head slightly, then nodded at Jiang Ling'Er and said,

"Alright. Tell me what questions you have."

He used to be an instructor in the Instructor Hall and was very familiar with the basic Beginner's Technique, so he wasn't worried he would lead her astray.

Jiang Ling'Er's face lit up. She frantically flipped open her Cultivation Technique manual and began to ask questions.

When Xu Ran heard her questions, his expression faltered. He suddenly understood why she was too afraid to ask the instructor at the Instructor Hall.

He had seen the instructor from the Qing Xuan Peak Instructor Hall before—the same old man who had made Wang Zhenye swear an oath. He certainly seemed stern and old-fashioned.

'If that man saw these questions, he'd probably get so angry his beard would stand on end, and he'd start screaming at Jiang Ling'Er.'

'He'd never seen such a dense student.'

That was exactly how Xu Ran felt right now. He had been an instructor at the Instructor Hall on Spirit Stream Peak for decades and had taught several classes of disciples. The disciples he had taught back then were even recruited under special, urgent circumstances with lower standards.

But even those disciples weren't so bad that they couldn't grasp the absolute basics.

He silently studied Jiang Ling'Er. 'So, how on earth did she get in?'

'Did she slip through the cracks of the Sect's entrance exam, or has the Sect lowered its standards?'

Seeing his gaze, Jiang Ling'Er flinched. She bit her pinky and peeked at him timidly.

"You... you're not going to yell at me too, are you?" she asked, her voice trembling with anxiety.

Xu Ran shook his head. "Don't worry, I don't yell at people. There's no need to be afraid. I'll start explaining now, so listen carefully."

She was instantly overjoyed. "Hee hee, thank you! I'll study hard."

*

*

*

The people around Xu Ran had always been geniuses. Throughout the Sect, everyone learned quickly. He, on the other hand, was the one who was constantly being put in his place by their talent.

After he started teaching Jiang Ling'Er, he suddenly felt like he was experiencing what Teacher Qing Xuan must have felt when teaching him.

'Seriously, now that I've started teaching her, I *have* to make sure she learns. If word gets out that I couldn't, I'll never be able to show my face again.'

So, even though teaching Jiang Ling'Er gave him a headache every single time, he always suppressed the urge to yell, forced a smile, and said reassuringly,

"It's okay. It doesn't matter if you don't understand. I'll explain it again."

"Oh, okay. Thank you, Teacher." Jiang Ling'Er would nod blankly, her large, crystal-clear eyes wide.

Every time Xu Ran saw that expression, his heart would ache. 'What have I gotten myself into? Why on earth did I agree to her request?'

'Well, it's too late now. I have to see this through to the end.'

This went on for three years. Then, one day, Jiang Ling'Er came running up to him, bursting with good news.

"Teacher, the instructor praised me today!"

She held her head high, her expression proud, and grinned at Xu Ran.

Hearing this, Xu Ran felt an unparalleled sense of satisfaction wash over him. It was all worth it.

He nodded at Jiang Ling'Er and said sternly, "Good. Don't get complacent. Keep working hard."

Jiang Ling'Er's face fell. She nodded obediently. "I... I understand."

A flicker of disappointment crossed her eyes. 'Honestly, Teacher,' she thought, 'what's so wrong with praising me a little?'

*

*

*

While teaching Jiang Ling'Er, Xu Ran's Dao Seed quietly finished coalescing. His Cultivation had also nearly reached its peak, and in another year or two, he could start preparing for a breakthrough.

Compared to Xu Ran's leisurely days, the Cultivation Realm beyond the sect was a flurry of excitement.

A few years had passed. Of the seven Secret Realms that had fallen near the lands of the Immortal Ancient and the Demon Race, two had now stabilized.

Preliminary explorations revealed that both Secret Realms were as vast as an entire region.

The few creatures that had been inside were already wiped out by the Sword Qi of Sword Dao Ye Shan.

All that could possibly remain were some Arrays and Restrictions. Everything else was resources and opportunities for the taking.

This sent the entire Cultivation Realm into a frenzy. The resources of a whole region, and from beyond the heavens, no less! It was highly likely they contained opportunities the Cultivation Realm had never seen before.

If one could obtain traces of entirely new Daos and Laws from within, even the slightest insight could lead to a monumental leap in one's cultivation.

Most importantly, the Major Sects of the Cultivation Realm didn't hoard these Secret Realms for themselves. Instead, they opened them to the entire Cultivation Realm. Anyone could enter, and any resources or treasures found would belong to whoever was fated to find them.

When this news was announced, it drove people into an even greater frenzy.

Countless people poured into the Secret Realms. Before long, news began to spread of someone obtaining some great treasure and their Cultivation skyrocketing, and other similar stories.

Many of the things from beyond the heavens had never been seen in the Cultivation Realm. Where there were opportunities, there were naturally dangers. News also frequently spread of someone dying instantly after mistakenly consuming something from inside a Secret Realm.

In short, ever since the Secret Realms opened, the daily talk of the entire Cultivation Realm revolved almost exclusively around them.

Lately, wherever Xu Ran went, all he heard his fellow sect members discussing were the Secret Realms.

After the Secret Realms opened, many disciples from the Profound Pure Sect entered them as well. Some found great opportunities, while others never returned.

However, Xu Ran could clearly feel one thing: the Sect had grown increasingly deserted. It seemed like every day, more people were leaving for the Secret Realms.

The Sect didn't try to stop it. Instead, it was announced that anyone could enter the Secret Realms as long as they registered with the Sect first. Of any resources they obtained, they only needed to tithe ten percent to the Sect; the rest was theirs to keep.

This drove everyone into an even greater frenzy. Usually, when a Secret Realm appeared, the Sect would take the lion's share, and disciples would only get the leftovers. But this time, they only had to turn in ten percent. That was practically free!

So, with cries of excitement, countless disciples rushed into the Secret Realms.

Xu Ran felt that if this kept up, the entire Sect would be empty soon.

However, he hadn't heard of anyone close to him entering the Secret Realms yet. Neither Zhang Zhentian and Chen Chang'an, nor True Monarch Flowing Clouds and Teacher Qing Xuan, had gone. For now, they were all choosing to wait and see.

As for Shen Wuchen, that went without saying. Although he was the youngest Nascent Soul True Monarch in the Cultivation Realm in the last hundred thousand years and had been fighting almost daily, he wasn't skilled in true life-or-death combat. The Secret Realms, for all their opportunities, had a high casualty rate and were not a good fit for him.

However, several of the Sect's Supreme Elders had entered the Secret Realms.

Then, while most of the Sect was in a frenzy over the Secret Realms, Ye Qingyue, whom Xu Ran hadn't seen in a long time, quietly came to visit him.

Ye Qingyue looked the same as ever, dressed in an elegant, light-blue skirt, her long hair falling to her waist. With her fair face, she exuded a youthful, girlish air.

Upon seeing Xu Ran, she bowed and then asked softly, "Master, can you take me as your disciple?"

She called Xu Ran "Master" because of his relationship with Shen Wuchen; they were not actually master and disciple.

Xu Ran was stunned by the request from his disciple's partner and asked in utter confusion, "Why?"

Ye Qingyue fell silent for a moment before replying, "I want to become your disciple before he does."

Hearing this, Xu Ran frowned. His expression hardened as he asked in a low voice, "Did you two have a fight? Did Wuchen bully you?"

It was so sudden, that was the only reason he could think of.

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