Chapter 295: Acceptances

Han Xuhan’s face was blank as he watched Elder Kong Ye’s hands forming a blur over the pages. Bottled ink flew out on its own, controlled by Kong Ye’s thoughts, and a perfect script appeared on the papers with mechanical precision.

Good heavens! How could someone develop the printing press industry in the world of cultivation when text could be produced like this?

Even diagrams and images were being drawn in the blink of an eye, each of them more complex than the last! What was the lowest level of cultivation required to achieve this feat?

His face grew nonplussed when Kong Ye finished writing and offered the thick stack of papers to him.

"Elder, this is...?"

"A basic manual to cultivate a special Mystic Art. It’s not in our sect’s collections. So I had to write it down from memory."

"You’re giving away a Mystic Art for free? To me? Just like that?" Han Xuhan asked, feeling a little alarmed.

Shouldn’t they first discuss what sort of special skills the Elder possessed? He could then choose one among them. That was the deal, right?

Why did the Elder go off track?

"I’ve just noticed an... issue with your foundation tower, disciple Xuhan," Kong Ye said in a low voice. Han Xuhan’s alarm grew a notch. He did not like the expression on the Elder’s face, not one bit.

Seeing his thousand-yard stare, Kong Ye decided to press on.

"Correct me if I’m wrong, but recently your foundation tower has experienced some rather strange mutations, yes?"

Dumbfounded, Han Xuhan could only nod. Did he even know that? Incredible!

Tasting success with the opening, Kong Ye continued exploiting his uncanny skill of bombarding his disciples with knowledge about them that he wasn’t supposed to know.

"Secondly, your main cultivation technique, the one that summons skeleton minions, is a very sloppy one. I haven’t seen any of its content. But I can see through your dao heart, disciple. There is nothing remotely close to sophistication, nothing ponderous about this Mystic Art. It doesn’t nurture or guide your dao heart in any way!"

At this point, Han Xuhan’s jaw was about to fall off. The shallowness of the Skeleton Monarch Mystic Art was something he understood very well. There was a reason why this Mystic Art had been thrown among the trashiest collection in the Sect’s Archives.

It was only because of Mu Ran’s insistence that Han Xuhan had given it a second look, and later, he got seduced by the idea of mashing multiple trashy Mystic Arts together...

Looking back, his path as a cultivator was truly bizarre, filled with whimsical choices.

So it was even more astounding to find someone seeing through it all and identifying the unpredictable developments inside his spiritual world.

For a moment, he considered asking if Elder Kong Ye knew what the color of his underwear was. But then he realized that if the Elder didn’t know that too by now, there was no reason to prompt him to do so. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.

"I know my assessments are correct," Kong Ye said smugly.

"Anyways, what you need to do right now is to practice this Mystic Art that I’m giving to you. It might not cure your problems, but at least it’ll sustain your journey until you find a better solution.

"If you don’t take remedial measures as quickly as possible, even if you somehow reach the peak of the Physique Transformation realm, you’ll still die a horrible death once you attempt to break through to the soul reformation realm. That is, unless..."

"Unless?" Han Xuhan caught onto that one word with all the remaining hope in his heart. Was there another way? A lifeline just for him?

"Unless you end up becoming crippled halfway through the physique transformation realm, completely dashing your chances of ever even reaching the bottleneck to the soul reformation realm. Judging by your current situation, it’s a very, very plausible outcome.

"If you don’t believe me, just get your meridians checked today. Seems like your extravagant methods of fast-paced cultivation are further damaging them."

Han Xuhan: "..."

Where did Elder Ye catch this habit of leaving his words hanging, just to add something even more depressing while getting his hopes up?

"Well... This is not entirely unexpected. From your assessment, it looks like there’s still hope for me."

After a long silence, that was the only response Han Xuhan could come up with.

The shock and despair enveloping his mind were hard to dispel. But he had been through similar experiences so many times in this world that, at this point, he had automatically chosen not to focus much on the negative aspects.

Kong Ye could tell that he wasn’t putting up a fake front of bravado. But recalling how his system had given Han Xuhan’s Dao heart [ C- ] in its assessment, he couldn’t help but feel puzzled.

For someone with such a mediocre rating to have a heart so impervious to negative emotions... seemed quite unusual.

Did it have something to do with the [Unawakened] Tag? Would the assessment change once Han Xuhan formally awakened his Dao Heart?

Perhaps this disciple might not turn out to be as mediocre as it looks right now. Kong Ye felt a rush of anticipation at that thought.

"How do I repay you for this Mystic Art, Elder?" Han Xuhan asked, interrupting Kong Ye’s imagination. Giving him a puzzled look, Kong Ye placed the stack of papers in front of him.

"It’s free. Consider it a gift."

Han Xuhan’s first thought was that he was being tricked somehow. Was there anything truly free in the world? The possibility was even lower in the world of cultivation!

But considering his circumstances, it wasn’t as if giving him a Mystic Art could benefit Kong Ye. He might not even be able to cultivate it properly before he ended up getting crippled. What selfish motives could the Elder possibly have?

In the end, despite feeling that he was taking a risk, Han Xuhan chose to trust Kong Ye’s words and accepted the gift.

Since the Elder seemed to be in a generous mood...

"Elder, do you have any way to counter the last problem you mentioned? Are you perhaps skilled in any secret technique that can remedy damaged meridians? You told me that you could teach me anything as long as I accept you as my master."

Kong Ye’s lips tightened into a thin line upon hearing his question.

"I cannot exactly guarantee that I’ll be able to dig out an absolute solution to your problems, disciple, because you have too many of them.

"But I’ll protect you from being crippled as long as you follow my instructions. And make no mistakes, no Elder of this sect has the skills to do this much either. I swear that on my dignity as a teacher."

Briefly, Han Xuhan considered once again whether he was being conned. Kong Ye was being suspiciously vague.

But then he remembered a certain fact. He, Han Xuhan, was one of the trashiest disciples of his generation. The entire outer court might have been fooled by his feats, but that couldn’t change the truth. His current standing as a formidable young talent would not last long.

Even if Elder Kong Ye was desperate for apprentices, he wouldn’t need to stoop so low to lure him in with false promises. Few disciples of his generation would let go of the opportunity to learn under this man’s wing.

"Then there’s not much for me to consider."

Calmly, Han Xuhan got up from the floor and clasped his hands together.

"Master, this apprentice greets you."