Chapter 34: Have Faith in Me, Too

Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Have Faith in Me, Too

"When you gave the Secret Manual to Liu Chen, did you ask if he had any foundation in Swordsmanship?"

The Grand Elder watched his disciple sheathe his sword and prepare to practice a Fist Technique, and couldn’t help but ask. Although Mo Xuan himself had been a swordsman, and his disciple would likely inherit the corresponding Swordsmanship, the issue was that Body-Protecting Techniques were typically only taught after one reached Body Tempering Great Success.

Going from Body Tempering Great Success to Perfection was actually the easiest part; it just required slow and steady accumulation. At this stage, disciples had the leisure time to cultivate Body-Protecting Techniques, and upon reaching this step, they had to start going out on missions.

Yang Haichen thought back for a moment, then froze on the spot. When Junior Brother Liu had agreed to continue trading Spiritual Cuisine for Purple Bamboo Grass, he had been so overjoyed he was practically ready to kneel. How could he have remembered something like that?

"Next time, remember to bring the Swordsmanship fundamentals."

The Grand Elder saw his expression and knew the answer. That particular Swordsmanship was difficult to learn even for disciples who had practiced with a sword since childhood—Yang Haichen was the perfect example. If someone had never been exposed to Swordsmanship before, they probably couldn’t even manage a crude imitation in their entire lifetime, let alone reach the Beginner stage.

However, since it had already been given to Mo Xuan’s disciple, he had no regrets. Even if the two of them had a certain degree of competition on Purple Bamboo Peak, they were still both members of the peak. He still hoped Liu Chen would be able to learn it.

He hoped that, for the sake of that Swordsmanship, his own not-so-bright disciple could also remain safely on Purple Bamboo Peak.

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[Purple Bamboo Scripture Body Tempering Chapter: Minor Success, 390/1000]

In the early morning, Liu Chen checked his Body Tempering progress and slowly rose. Without Purple Bamboo Grass, five Body Tempering sessions a day yielded fifty Proficiency points. With Purple Bamboo Grass, it was three times that.

Even though using Purple Bamboo Grass extended a Body Tempering session from half an hour to a full hour, it was still a decent improvement.

’In five days, I’ll reach Body Tempering Great Success.’

Liu Chen narrowed his eyes. His two junior sisters had been practicing Body Tempering for nearly ten days, but they still hadn’t reached the Beginner stage. In fact, from his perspective, they were still far from it. Under these circumstances, his own cultivation speed was a bit too conspicuous.

He would need to find some magic that could conceal the fluctuations of his cultivation.

Breakfast was uneventful. His two junior sisters, Ye Linglong and Ji Suyao, were waking up earlier and earlier, having basically adapted to Liu Chen’s schedule.

As for Liu Chen’s own routine, it had started as a side effect of Body Tempering before slowly becoming what it was today.

Liu Chen had thought about changing it before, but since his master and master’s wife hadn’t said anything, he saw no need to.

"Senior Brother, did you and Senior Brother Yang reach an agreement?"

As a stream of water summoned by the Purification Technique washed the dishes, Liu Chen heard Ji Suyao’s voice.

"That’s right. I traded Spiritual Cuisine with Senior Brother Yang for enough Purple Bamboo Grass. After you reach Body Tempering Beginner, you can come to me for some."

Liu Chen nodded slowly. Senior Brother Yang might hide this from the others on Purple Bamboo Peak, but Liu Chen certainly couldn’t hide it from his two junior sisters. The extra Spiritual Cuisine at lunch alone wasn’t something he could easily explain away, nor was there any need to.

"Thank you for your kindness, Senior Brother, but your cultivation is more important."

Ye Linglong first thanked him, then politely declined.

Ji Suyao, at the side, was a bit bewildered. ’How did Purple Bamboo Grass suddenly get involved? Every time I do Body Tempering, it hurts like hell. If I used Purple Bamboo Grass, wouldn’t that be even worse?’

"It’s no trouble. I have more than I can use anyway."

Liu Chen shook his head. This time, it was Ye Linglong’s turn to be baffled. ’Isn’t Purple Bamboo Grass the herb that you can only get five stalks of per month according to the rules? How could he possibly have more than he can use?’

"Um, Senior Brother, in three months, could you help me prepare a serving of Spiritual Cuisine...?"

Having snapped out of her daze, Ji Suyao asked with some difficulty. She really hoped her grandfather could eat Spiritual Cuisine, but she already felt like she was enough trouble for her Senior Brother. To bother him with something else felt a little embarrassing.

"No problem."

Just as Ji Suyao was about to offer some reasons, Liu Chen agreed immediately. All told, there were less than three months until the Inner Sect Disciple assessment. According to his master, his identity as a Spirit Chef would be known to everyone in Purple Cloud Valley by then.

Since he wouldn’t be able to keep a low profile then anyway, making a serving of Spiritual Cuisine for his junior sister was a simple matter. The person who could make his junior sister ask with such an expression, he thought, must be very important to her.

"If there’s nothing else, go cultivate. If you can advance to the Meridian Passage Realm within ten years, you can also directly become an Inner Sect Disciple."

Liu Chen nodded. He had asked his master about the matter of Inner Sect Disciples. The answer he received was that, strictly speaking, Outer Disciples weren’t considered part of Purple Cloud Valley. Only Inner Sect Disciples were truly considered one of their own.

And right now, most relationships on Purple Bamboo Peak weren’t master-disciple, but rather teacher-student.

After hearing this, Liu Chen understood his master and master’s wife’s intentions for his two junior sisters. If they were just ordinary students, there would be no need to pay them so much attention.

Perhaps they didn’t know it, but his master and master’s wife were likely grooming them to become Inner Sect Disciples. Or rather, that was the goal they were being groomed for at this stage.

The only thing Liu Chen didn’t understand was why, when he was teaching his two junior sisters, he had never seen his master or master’s wife come forward to offer corrections.

His guess was that the time just wasn’t right yet. If they hadn’t even reached the Beginner stage of Body Tempering, their cultivation journey hadn’t truly begun.

"Senior Brother, you think we can do it?"

Ye Linglong couldn’t help but ask. It was uncertain if she could even succeed at Body Tempering within ten years. Although this conclusion came from the Nangong Family and wasn’t necessarily accurate, they hadn’t had a complete falling out at the time, so it might not have been a baseless claim either.

"You need to have faith in yourselves. Even if you don’t have faith in yourselves, you should have faith in me. After all, I’m a Spirit Chef. Your cultivation speed will definitely be faster than most people’s."

For a moment, Liu Chen didn’t quite know how to answer. If everything went smoothly, he would surely reach Body Tempering Perfection this year. And no matter how hard it was to step into the Meridian Passage Realm, it couldn’t possibly hold him back for ten years, could it? As for his two junior sisters, with the support of Spiritual Cuisine and Purple Bamboo Grass, it shouldn’t be much of a problem.

"Linglong naturally has faith in Senior Brother."

Ye Linglong smiled faintly. After receiving her Senior Brother’s promise, she had felt as if her own thinking had hit a dead end. But now she understood. He was a Spirit Chef! With his help, even if she couldn’t become a Spirit Chef herself, she could still make a real attempt at cultivation.

"I have faith in Senior Brother too."

Ji Suyao, snapping back from her happy surprise, hastily agreed, afraid of being left behind.

"Go cultivate."

Liu Chen shook his head and walked toward the bamboo forest. The scenery there was quite pleasant. After briefly explaining some of the tricks to a few types of Magic, Liu Chen took out a stalk of Purple Bamboo Grass, consumed it, and began his Body Tempering.

A phantom image of silvery-white bamboo leaves appeared, and Ye Linglong and Ji Suyao, who were still practicing their Magic, immediately looked over.

"Now I know why Senior Brother changed the subject."

Ye Linglong was a little dazed. This was a phenomenon that only occurred at Body Tempering Minor Success.