Chapter 50: Don’t Rush, Hear Me Out

Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Don’t Rush, Hear Me Out

"Junior Brother, why has your cultivation regressed?"

Inside the Bamboo Garden, after Yang Haichen delivered the Purple Bamboo Grass, he hesitated for a long while before finally being unable to suppress his confusion. The last time he had sensed Liu Chen’s cultivation, the man was at Body Tempering Minor Success. How had he now dropped to Body Tempering Beginner?

Even if someone suffered a cultivation deviation, it would at most result in a weakened state and an inability to cultivate further. He had never heard of someone’s cultivation actually regressing!

"This is my true cultivation."

Liu Chen answered nonchalantly. There was no need to explain. In his eyes, Senior Brother Yang was something of a friend, but he certainly couldn’t be compared to his junior sisters.

Liu Chen couldn’t be certain what kind of person Senior Brother Yang truly was. You can know a person’s face, but not their heart. Spending less time together each day than it takes to drink a cup of tea, he certainly couldn’t just bare his soul to Senior Brother Yang.

As for his two junior sisters, Liu Chen wasn’t worried. They were disciples of his Master and his wife first, and his junior sisters second. That was the source of his trust in them.

"I understand, I understand."

Although Yang Haichen had his doubts, he didn’t press the issue. He simply turned and left. Watching his back, Liu Chen had no idea what this senior brother actually "understood."

「At noon」

Liu Chen observed his two junior sisters’ current Body Tempering Cultivation. Their Beginner realm had already solidified. ’Once they reach Body Tempering Minor Success,’ he planned, ’I’ll change my own displayed cultivation to Body Tempering Minor Success. That should buy me some stability.’

’As long as I don’t leave Purple Bamboo Peak, even if a Cultivator from a realm higher than Body Tempering comes to visit, they probably won’t probe my cultivation without reason.’

Nothing eventful happened at noon. In the afternoon, after finishing his Body Tempering, Liu Chen gave his junior sisters some instruction before beginning to practice the Sword Control Technique.

He inscribed a Dharma Seal made of Spiritual Power onto the Bamboo Sword, then controlled it to weave freely through the bamboo forest. Perhaps because of his foundation in the Artifact Manipulation Technique, this step was quite easy.

In the time it took for an incense stick to burn, he reached the Beginner level for the Sword Control Technique. Next, Liu Chen had the Bamboo Sword practice his personal Basic Sword Skill. This Swordsmanship was unique to him. Even if he passed it on to his junior sisters and they managed to cultivate it to the Perfection realm, they could at most unleash seventy percent of its power. If they wanted to bring out its full potential, they would have to modify it to suit themselves. By then, however, it would become their own Basic Sword Skill.

After one round of the Sword Dance, his Proficiency with the Sword Control Technique shot up by one hundred points. This greatly pleased Liu Chen. ’Looks like I have some talent for Swordsmanship after all. My old dream of roaming the world with a sword in hand might still come true.’

He finished two sets of the Sword Dance within an hour. If he kept at it, he might even reach Minor Success in the Sword Control Technique by tonight. But Liu Chen didn’t want to deviate from his set plan. ’Giving up on a plan is a terrible habit to form. Since I have a choice now, I don’t want to let myself develop one.’

Liu Chen took the Bamboo Sword in hand again. A wisp of cyan Spiritual Power appeared as his movements changed. The Bamboo Sword shifted constantly in his grasp, its cyan Sword Qi tracing the image of a cyan lotus in the bamboo forest.

Cyan lotuses bloomed throughout the bamboo forest. At some point, an imprint of a cyan lotus had appeared in Liu Chen’s eyes.

[Cyan Lotus Demon-Slaying Sword Proficiency +50]

The cyan lotuses in the bamboo forest slowly faded, as did the lotuses in Liu Chen’s eyes. The proficiency increase was completely different from what he was used to.

’It seems this Swordsmanship isn’t as powerful as I imagined.’

Liu Chen narrowed his eyes. This was the Swordsmanship the Grand Elder had given him. He probably only gave it because Senior Brother Yang had received Spiritual Cuisine for nothing. It was never going to be some profound sword art.

’But that’s for the best. If the Grand Elder had just handed over a sword art that people would fight to the death for, I’d have to worry about his ulterior motives.’

Liu Chen placed the Bamboo Sword into his Storage Ring and headed back to the Bamboo Garden. His afternoon cultivation was finished. Now it was time to make dinner.

After dinner, Liu Chen took out two boxes and placed them on the table. "Here are forty stalks of Purple Bamboo Grass. Junior Sisters, please take them for your cultivation."

"Senior Brother, we can’t possibly accept this."

Ye Linglong refused immediately. Although she wanted to use the Purple Bamboo Grass to get stronger, she knew her senior brother had traded Spiritual Cuisine for it. She already felt indebted after he made it clear he wouldn’t treat her like a servant. Her conscience wouldn’t let her accept so much Purple Bamboo Grass now.

"That’s right, we don’t even do much to help you every day..."

Ji Suyao quickly chimed in. To be honest, she was tempted, but she felt their senior brother was more important. Besides, Purple Bamboo Grass was hardly as appealing as Spiritual Cuisine.

"Don’t be so quick to refuse. Listen," Liu Chen said. "Purple Bamboo Grass is useless after one reaches Body Tempering Great Success. I’ve already taken a lot, so now that I’m at Great Success, it’s useless to me. If you don’t take it, my only other option is to brew it as tea."

Liu Chen reassured his junior sisters. The Purple Bamboo Grass truly was of no use to him anymore. Apart from these stalks, Liu Chen still had a dozen or so left over that he planned to use to test if it could be brewed into tea.

Ji Suyao and Ye Linglong looked at each other, seeing the mutual hesitation. They didn’t know if the grass was truly useless to him, which left them feeling conflicted.

"And don’t forget, Senior Brother Yang brings twenty stalks of Purple Bamboo Grass every day. Today is the first of the seventh month; it’s the time when all the disciples on Purple Bamboo Peak have their largest supply."

Liu Chen added with a helpless sigh. Even if he had known back then that Purple Bamboo Grass was useless after reaching Body Tempering Great Success, he probably wouldn’t have changed his request. At the time, he hadn’t yet reached Great Success, and the grass was the only way to accelerate his progress.

"Thank you, Senior Brother," Linglong finally relented.

Ye Linglong finally gave in. Her reasoning was simple. ’I owe Senior Brother so much that I could never repay him, even if I sold myself into servitude. There’s no point in being coy about it anymore. I just hope I can be of some help to him in the future.’

"Thank you, Senior Brother!"

Ji Suyao raised her voice, mimicking Ye Linglong’s bow. When she finished, she shot Ye Linglong a look that Liu Chen couldn’t decipher.

"Junior Sister, you don’t have to be so loud. I can hear you."

Liu Chen’s lips twitched. ’If she were any louder,’ he thought, ’Master’s wife would probably send a voice transmission over to ask what’s happening.’

"Senior Brother, do you have any letters to send? We’re planning a trip to the post station tomorrow."

Ye Linglong shot Ji Suyao a look, then remembered the important business at hand. ’We need to handle the matter of Senior Brother becoming an Honored Guest Elder for the Ye Family as soon as possible.’

’According to Purple Cloud Valley’s rules, a member of the Ye Family has to sign a Spirit Contract with Senior Brother. Afterward, the valley will send someone to the Ye Family to investigate, mainly to prevent Inner Sect Disciples from being scammed. That way, even if the other Ye Family members cause trouble, Senior Brother can still become the Honored Guest Elder of our family branch.’

’As long as Senior Brother doesn’t mind, Purple Cloud Valley won’t interfere. Then, Father’s situation will improve drastically. As for the rest of the Ye Family... I lost all hope in them the moment I heard the terrible news.’

"Just give me the letter tomorrow, Junior Sister," Liu Chen said. "According to Senior Brother Yang, there are Outer Disciples on Purple Bamboo Peak specifically for delivering mail. There’s no need for you to make a special trip."